We first met Sam when he and his mum came into the visitor centre last thing on a Friday afternoon during half term. It was getting dark, and they were both tired and muddy from their long cycle round Loch Leven from Vane Farm to Kinross, and back again, all in the name of birds!
So we asked Sam to write this blog to tell us (and you!) all about his sponsored cycle. It turns out that not only is Sam a top bird spotter, and inspiring fundraiser, but a pretty good writer too! Happy reading...
I love birds of prey because of the majesty of the Eagle, the swiftness of the Falcon and the silence of the Owl in flight. My favourite Bird of Prey is the Merlin because of its ability to imitate songbirds so that it can fly up close to its prey and then catch them. I was reading a book called British Birds of Prey by Marianne Taylor and I found out about the birds’ cruel persecution, so I decided to do a sponsored cycle for them.
The route I chose was from the RSPB Loch Leven nature reserve to Kinross and back (16 miles). On the cycle Mother Nature gave me a few wonderful sights. Four Kestrels hovering over the corn fields; a wonderful charm of Goldfinches fleeting about over the teasels; some very noisy geese flying overhead; a mewing buzzard; a flock of lapwing and a great view of a grey heron flying.
It was really easy for the first eight miles and I flew through them reaching an average of eleven miles per hour but then my energy began to drain and my legs began to strain and at one point I almost stopped but then I noticed a Kestrel nearby and I kept on trying until I reached the end.
I was able to raise more than £250 to help save some of Britain's finest birds.
Here is a photo of me at the halfway mark:
Sam Jeffrey
Aged 11