I'm one of a growing number of Gen Z birdwatchers - it helps my mental health
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Glasgow-based Caitlin Andrew found a passion for birdwatching in her early 20s "I would be such a grump," says Caitlin Andrew, recalling her teenage self on walks with her parents.
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"They are both into birdwatching and they would stop and listen and look at things.
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"We had some really nice walks and experiences, but I just didn't have an interest in them at the time.
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I do feel quite bad about it now." Three years ago, during a difficult period in her life, Caitlin discovered birds offered an unexpected escape from her troubles.
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She joined the growing number of young people flocking to birdwatching.
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More stories from Glasgow & West Scotland "I was 24 and living in Glasgow as a student," says Caitlin, who grew up in Midlothian.
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"I had poor mental health and was feeling a bit low, and finding it quite difficult to connect to the world around me."
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Around that time, Caitlin joined her family for a holiday on Islay.
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The southern-most island of the Inner Hebrides is renowned for its wild birds, with more than 120 species to spot during the spring and autumn migrations, external.
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"When we were there we did a lot of birdwatching," says Caitlin.
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"And as you can imagine there are incredible things to see - choughs and white-tailed eagles."
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Caitlin says, rather than feeling grumpy, she found a sense of peace and calm watching birds.
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"Just taking time to look and listen and take in everything you are connected to the environment you are in."
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Her parents were delighted when she asked for a pair of binoculars for her birthday.
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Gannets are one of Caitlin's favourite birds But making her first forays into birdwatching, Caitlin felt no-one else shared her passion for birds.
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"I did feel a little bit embarrassed to say I was doing it," she says.
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"It is a stereotype, isn't it?
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It's associated with older people with a sedate life and picking it up in retirement - all things which I don't think are negative at all.
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"But among my peers I was certainly the only person doing it properly in any kind of capacity."
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Caitlin enjoys how different birds give pointers to changes in the seasons Caitlin, who is a Gaelic speaker, found she was far from alone as a young female birdwatcher when she made a BBC Alba documentary about her hobby. She came across an Inverness chapter of the Feminist Bird Club - a group founded in New York in 2016 to help make the interest inclusive and safe.
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Caitlin also met female professionals and volunteers involved in bird conservation.
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She says: "In the birdwatching community, everyone is so friendly and happy to tell you they have something interesting in their scope or have seen something interesting."
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Research carried out for the RSPB suggests there are more than four million birdwatchers in Britain, up from 2.7 million eight years ago.
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The number of Gen Z enthusiasts - people aged 16 to 29 - rose from an estimated 61,000 in 2018 to 724,000 today, according to the study.
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Crested tits are another of Caitlin's favourites to spot Caitlin's favourite birds include crested tits, which in the UK are found in native pine forests in parts of the Highlands, Moray and Aberdeenshire, external.
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"I love seeing crested tits in the Cairngorms.
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They are rare, so its a special thing to see them," she says.
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"I'm always happy to see a gannet.
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They are big and so powerful.
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They're like dinosaurs."
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Caitlin enjoys how different birds signal changes in the year. "When you start to hear a chiffchaff in maybe March or April you know spring is coming, and that is really exciting," she says.
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"And then when coming into winter there are redwings and fieldfares. "It feels like these creatures are giving you pointers that things are changing, and it's lovely to connect to that." She adds: "Life can be so turbulent.
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Things go and down and you never know what's coming - the political nonsense and all the rest of it.
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"And these little animals, they are just all about finding food, raising babies, fledging their young and then doing it all again - they're just trying to survive.
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"It does make your problems feel very small."
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Why Gen Z birdwatchers are flocking to reserves
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