Born in Derby, England 1950. I have always had a passion for wildlife. My father had a love of birds and as a young child I remember being taken on country walks to The Peak District National Park and other interesting places in Derbyshire. My father could find nest sites very easily, a skill which he had learned as a child in an age when this was considered the normal thing to do. He would show my brother and I the nests of Dunnocks and small finches and we quickly learned to tell the difference between a Song Thrush nest and a Blackbird. I remember the first time I saw a Magpie which at the time in 1955 was a bird that wasn't seen often. That was a good day because we also watched the first Grey Squirrel. Imagine a time when magpies and Squirrels were rare!!!!!!!
I served as a musician in the Royal Marines and for ten years on the Royal Yacht Britannia. During my time on the Royal Yacht, as well as being the Royal Navy Birdwatching Society representative, I was fortunate enough to visit the Galapagos Islands, the Seychells, Tonga, Fij, New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, Pitcairn Islands, Easter Island, numerous Caribean Islands, the USA, Canada, Hawaii the Falklands and dozens of other countries. I had the opportunity to "bird" in all of these countries and I well remember being put ashore with Britannia anchored off as a friend and I literally alone wandered along the beach of Kangaroo Island (South Australia) well before tourism was rampant and being in awe of Superb Fairy Wren and Pardolote as well as a deadly melanistic Tiger Snake! My favourute place to bird is Belize and I have visited and birded there on 6 occasions. I have visited and birded Florida at least 20 times and every year, apart from one in the last 10 when instead, I spent 5 weeks in Northern Queensland. In the last 12 months I have been to Menorca, South Africa and Sri Lanka.
I am a Schedule 1. license holder, administered by Natural England, to photograph Kingfishers, Peregrine and Barn Owl.
I started this blog because of my passion and as a way of exploring my suroundings and sharing my love of nature. The environment is a free resource and one that we can all enjoy, we all have a share, we all own it in equal measure. No organisation or government body owns it more than you and I. it,s ours and we should treat it with the respect that we treat something we own and love. Armed with just a pair of eyes and ears and perhaps a couple of legs we can all enjoy the things around us. My other passion and interest in life is my beloved LYMPSTONE SOUTH WEST TELECOMS BAND> As an Associate of The Royal College of Music ARCM, I am the musical director and have been for 14 years. In that time we have won loads of contests including the Fourth Section National Title. We compete in the First Section of the National Gradings and perform concerts all over Devon and further afield. 
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