‘Birdgirl’ Mya-Rose Craig: ‘I never used to see anyone who looked like me in the countryside’

Young star of the environmental activism scene speaks to Emma Snaith about birding, Cop26 and her fight for more access to nature for all

‘Birdgirl’ Mya-Rose Craig, is thought to be the youngest person to have seen half of the world’s bird species (Helena Craig)

“I was nine-days-old the first time I went bird watching,” Mya-Rose Craig says.

Her dad couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see a very rare lesser kestrel visiting from Europe. So her family went to the Isles of Scilly to see the bird just over a week after she was born.

Now 19 years old, Craig is thought to be the youngest person to have seen half of the world’s bird species. Also known as “Birdgirl”, she has seen more than 5,410 of the world’s 10,738 species after trips to 38 countries.