Spent a lovely day on the SOC Clyde Branch outing to Musselburgh Links today. The sun shone all day and good birds included Long-tailed Duck, Velvet Scoter, Slavonian Grebe, Grey Plover and Shoveler. Best sightings of the day however were a total of six birdwatchers under 25: two young women from China, three High School-age girls and a young man who has recently taken up a post at the SOC. I was delighted to meet every one of these people. Without them and others like them our hobby and anything it might achieve for birds would be finished. As a personal reflection, I credit Chris Packham hugely with popularising nature to the extent that it is seen by increasing numbers of young people as something worth investing their time in.