My South American Wader Quest Part 1

Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig looking at Spoon-billed Sandpiper on Sonadia Island, Bangladesh
Photograph taken by and copyright Helena Craig

I have a real connection and love of waders. They are my dad, Chris Craig’s favourite bird groups and through years of watching and studying them, he is amazing at identifying them. That love for waders has rubbed off on me.

So, as well as being a young birder, young conservationist, young speaker and young writer, I am also Ambassador for World Shorebirds Day so that I can help save waders.

Waders migrate huge distances along nine flyways, from breeding grounds through stop over points to wintering grounds. This makes them particularly at risk.

I have written lots of blog posts about saving the Spoon-billed Sandpiper, which I feel very strongly about.

Spoon-billed Sandpiper, Sonadia Island, Bangladesh
Photograph copyright Bangladesh Spoon-billed Sandpiper Conservation Project

In October 2014, I also wrote a 3 part guest blog for Wader Quest called “Birdgirl’s South American Wader Quest”.

I was really honoured to have been asked to write a guest blog for Wader Quest. When I was asked, I had to rack my brains for the most magical wader that I have seen. When you have seen 3,700 birds, it’s quite hard to choose….

In 2012, my parents home schooled me for six months whilst we headed off to South America for the birding trip of a lifetime (or at least until the next big trip!). I was 9 years old and I loved seeing so many birds and experiencing all those new places. We went to Colombia, Bolivia and Peru, trying to see as many birds as we could and fitting in schooling in between.

Young Birdgirl Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig studying in Bolivia
Photograph taken and copyright Helena Craig

Find out which was my most magical wader in South America in Birdgirl’s South American Wader Quest Part 1 http://bit.ly/18sRZfd

About the writer

Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig on Scilly

Photograph taken by and copyright Chris Craig

Mya-Rose Craig is a 12 year old young birder, conservationist, writer and speaker. She is based near Bristol and writes the successful Birdgirl Blog, with posts about birding and conservation from around the world. She was the youngest person to see 3,000 birds in 2013 and she hopes to see her 4,000th bird in Antarctica, her 7th continent, in 2015. Please like her Birdgirl Facebook Page and follow her on Birdgirl Twitter