Several years ago I started “Simply Birding”, arranging bird identification tours to selected locations in my own county, as well as farther afield, especially Norfolk. My idea being to help and introduce newcomers and less experienced people to bird watching.

As an active birder, I enjoy “twitching” as much as I enjoy local birding, although these days I tend to be very selective in the rarities that I want to see. For me there is an adrenalin rush in seeing a major rarity and presently I have seen over 470 species in Britain. Nevertheless, I still get more pleasure out of finding a good bird on my “Local Patch”.

Most of my “Patch” birding takes place around the local reservoirs and gravel pits where I live. During the winter there are a number of gull roosts and I regularly cover the roost at Foremark, South Derbyshire. Mediterranean, Glaucous and Iceland Gulls are noted in the roost each winter. The Gravel Pits are good for waders, ducks and passage migrants, with Willington Gravel Pits being one of the better places in the Derbyshire Trent Valley for turning up a good bird.

Over the years I have travelled extensively throughout the British Isles and I have also made a number of bird watching trips overseas. I have also been visiting the Isles of Scilly each October since 1986. During 2004, I travelled to India, visiting the Tiger reserve of Bandhavgarh and the internationally famous bird reserve at Bharatpur.

Please CLICK on the tiger picture on my Home Page and read my article on the Trip.