|
Homepage |
|
About Us |
|
Contact Us |
|
Trip reports |
|
Tailor Made Tours |
|
Tour Calendar |
|
Latest Sightings |
|
Meet the Team |
|
Related Links |
|
Meet The Team |
|
Solent Wildlife Tours |
|
Birding since 1975, or that is when he saw his first Rarity, a Red-breasted Goose on Hayling Island, on a Y.O.C outing as a young boy. Lived in Hampshire all his life and married, with 2 teenage sons. Has seen / twitched rare birds all over the Country but now concentrates his efforts on his home County where he is a keen lister, having 304 species on his Hampshire list, with Black Stork being the most recent addition.
|
|
Birding since 1977. Wardening stints in Norfolk. One Hampshire’s finest rarity finders, with 3 American Golden Plovers to his name, he found a Glossy Ibis in 2008 and observed a flock of 6 in 2009. His list of finds is surpassed by few in Hampshire and just reward for the countless hours put in to his Keyhaven local patch.
|
|
Simon Ingram |
|
Tim Parminter |
|
Wayne Borras |
|
As a young teenager would watch wildlife wherever was in reach by public transport, mostly in southern Hampshire. During one of his more distant excursions to the Cairngorms in 1975 which Osprey was a highlight, his interest in birds surpassed his interest in mammals for the first time.
|
|
Regularly finds rare birds in the County, most recently- Sabine’s Gull, 2007 (1st ever spring record for Hants); Long-tailed Skua, 2008 and 2009; Red-rumped Swallow, 2009; Sooty Shearwater, 2009. Dedicated seawatching is rewarded with annual sightings of Shearwaters, Petrels, Skuas and various other species that are notoriously hard to see in Hampshire. Regular contributor to the Wetland Bird Survey. Hampshire Ornithological Society (H.O.S) Bird Report (section writer and contributor). Current member of H.O.S. rare bird panel. Survey work for Seawatch South-west, monitoring the Globally threatened Balearic Shearwater. Breeding & winter bird surveys. Constant surveying of Lakeside Country Park (2000-present). Birded in many Western Palearctic destinations (Tunisia, Portugal, Spain, Balearics, Canaries, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Sardinia, France, Austria etc). One of Hampshire’s keenest year listers and champion in 2006 and 2009 (241 species). January 1st day list record holder with Tim Parminter, with 120 species in 2009. Recently broke the day list record for Hants which had stood since 1994 at 151species; smashed with 153 species on 29/04/2011 by team Ornitholidays (Simon + Nigel Jones, Phil Jones & Sandy Jones) also equalled a few days later by the ‘Dipping Headlights’ race team! Recently taken up wildlife photography with photos regularly displayed on H.O.S. website. Has trapped moths in his Eastleigh garden for 7 years and has caught over 42,000 individuals of 550 species in that time. |
|
Undertaking breeding bird survey of the Pennington – Keyhaven area from 1998 to present time. Holder of the National Site Record for 3 consecutive years. January 1st day list champion team with Simon Ingram, with a record 120 species in 2009 and 117 species in 2010 Regular contributor to the Wetland Bird Survey and Hampshire Ornithological Society Report. Survey work for Seawatch South-west, monitoring the Globally threatened Balearic Shearwater. Annual visitor to the Isles of Scilly each October since 1994. |
|
The following year, the excitement of a spring and autumn stay at Portland Bird Observatory began his love of migration watch points. A total of five months of general natural history in the Dordogne provided an extended break after leaving school. A few years passed birding mainly in Hampshire and Dorset when an encounter with a Savannah Sparrow on Portland in 1982 ignited an orgy of twitching. There followed 14 stays on the Isles of Scilly, two on Shetland as well as numerous stays on Portland. Foreign trips involved four to the Indian subcontinent, one to Australia and three to Africa. In 1983 he saw a moth trap in action for the first time which sparked another major interest. Running mercury vapour traps from generators all over the country, in addition experimenting with traditional mothing techniques such as sugaring and sallowing. In recent years birding has been more concentrated in Hampshire resulting in a county list of over 300. |
|
Solent Wildlife Tours was formed in 2009 To introduce people to Wildlife: in particular Birds. These 3 guys have over 100 years of Birding experience! |
|
To Contact Us |