From Childhood Spark to Conservation Career with Mya Bambrick

Mya Bambrick has been birding since she was eight. She's now a BTO Youth Ambassador, winner of the BTO's Young Ornithologist of the Year Award and a familiar voice on Radio 4's Tweet of the Day. She works full time in conservation with Birds of Poole Harbour, and she's on a mission to get young people hooked on the hobby we all love. In this episode, Mya takes us from a street dance academy in Crawley to a hide at Warnham Local Nature Reserve, where an osprey and a kingfisher changed everything. We talk about the bird camp that shaped her path, ringing nightjars for a group of young birders, why birding is booming among young people, and how to keep the joy in birding when the camera and the phone keep pulling you away. Episode Takeaways: Find your people: A free BTO bird camp at 13 gave Mya the community she couldn't find at school. Ten years later, she's helping run one. Representation matters: Growing up in a single-parent household, with no birding role models who looked like her, drove Mya to make birding more accessible and inclusive, especially for young girls. You're a birder if you love birds: Sofa birder or seasoned twitcher, there's no right way to do it. Binoculars around your neck, and you're in. Protect the moment: Mya keeps camera days and content days separate from binoculars-only days, and she saves her eBird list until she's finished birding. Episode Timestamps: 01:46 - Meet Mya Bambrick 03:08 - How It All Began 07:27 - Kingfisher Chase Story 10:31 - Finding Young Birders 13:09 - BTO Youth Engagement 19:46 - Making Birding Inclusive 25:46 - Birding For Everyone 27:50 - Sofa Birders And Twitchers 28:28 - Camera Versus Birding 31:25 - Balancing Tech And Presence 32:11 - Apps Versus Pen And Paper 33:46 - Young Ornithologist Award 37:35 - Rapid Fire Birding Picks Important Links & Resources: Follow My Birding Life on Instagram Subscribe to My Birding Life on YouTube Follow Mya on Instagram