Biography
I was born in Sheffield, United Kingdom, and have lived here all my life.
The following is a brief history of my interest in birds:
- I joined the Young Ornithologists' Club (YOC) when I was about 5
years old and became a member of the
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) in my twenties. Until the mid-1990s I
had always been an armchair birdwatcher - a condition, I was told, that many older birdwatchers
hoped to achieve.
- I became a member of the British Trust
for Ornithology (BTO) in 2002, though I had joined their
Garden Birdwatch survey in 1997. I have also taken part in the Scarce Woodland Bird
Survey and Bird Atlas 2007-2011 and continue to do fieldwork for the
Breeding Bird Survey. I served as the BTO Regional Representative
for Yorkshire Southwest and Yorkshire Southeast regions from 2007 until
2010, and was the regional organiser for Bird Atlas 2007-11 until its
completion in 2012.
- I have been a committee member of the
Hope Valley
Birdwatcher's Club in Hope Valley, Derbyshire, since 1999.
- I have also been a member of
Sheffield Bird Study Group (SBSG) since 2003.
- In 2005, I completed the
Cornell University Home Study Course in Bird Biology - biology has always been one of my favourite subjects.
- I joined the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT)
as a member in 2006.
