Birds
A keen ‘birder’ since early childhood, I've had plenty of time to improve those vital ID skills in the field, and I've discovered the amazing variety of birds at home and abroad. This has included time as a guide in the Peruvian rainforest (one of the most diverse places on Earth for birds); as a ship’s naturalist on the high seas since 1995; and on an expedition to study the St. Vincent Parrot in the Caribbean. I've travelled in nearly all the tropical regions of the World, to the Arctic, Antarctica, and mountains to deserts, mangroves to saltmarshes, and many other locations.
Seabird lectures can be done on a regional basis, but I can also do a general presentation. Covering all seabirds in one lecture can be quite a challenge and I can focus seperately on oceanic seabirds and coastal seabirds, if required.
THE GREAT OCEAN WANDERERS - A LOOK AT OCEANIC SEABIRDS
A look at oceanic seabirds and their amazing adaptations, with plenty of images, facts, and anecdotes. Find out how to identify seabirds and how they adapt to their environment. Learn about the Wandering Albatross with the longest wingspan in the world; why oceanic birds don't have to drink freshwater; why gannets are nature’s missiles; the problems caused by introduced rats, and just how far a Manx Shearwater can fly (forget about the Apollo 11 mission to the moon!).
BIRDS AT THE EDGE - A LOOK AT COASTAL BIRDS
A look at the variety of coastal birds and how to identify them, appreciate them, approach them, and how they behave. Could you tell the diffrence between a sandpiper and a plover by the way it walked?
SAVE THE ALBATROSS!
Learn about the fascinating life history of the Wandering Albatross that can live for 60+ years and mate for life. Find out how it wanders the seas and how, with many other albatross and seabirds, it is threatened with extinction due to the impact of long lining, and rats, and what is being done to prevent this.
PENGUIN POWER!
With plenty of images I can talk about everyone’s favourite - penguins - from majestic King Penguins to cute Adelie Penguins and curious Gentoo penguin chicks to the amazing life of the Emperor Penguin. Learn about the life history of these fascinating birds - and why the Victorians got it wrong when they assumed these flightless birds were ‘primitive’!
BIRDS OF A FEATHER @ EGGS AND NESTS
I also have presentations on two of the wonders of nature:
- The bird feather
- Eggs and nests
I can also give presentations focusing on bird behaviour, bird identification, and some of the fascinating adaptation of birds. I learnt a lot studying British Birds over the years, and improved my skills on all seven continents, from the tropics to the polar regions, including time as a resident naturalists at Explorer's Inn on the Tambopata river in SE Peru. It has the biggest bird list in the World (over 600 species!) and in the 'hidden realm' of the Amazon, it has to be one of the most challenges locations to look for and identify birds. I learnt a lot as a guide here and it was not just about observing birds, but how to look for them, to approach them, and, crucially, listen for them.