Mike has been watching birds for as long as he can remember - according to his parents, since around the time he learned to ask "what's THAT one?". He cut his teeth birding around gravel pits and coasts of southeast England, developing an all-consuming interest in all things avian. Following in the footsteps of many other birders, he moved to Norwich (where he still resides) to study at the University of East Anglia, a decision based as much as its location as academic reputation!
Despite the distractions of living in a wildlife-rich part of the UK, Mike graduated in Ecology and has worked as a field ecologist and consultant for nearly fifteen years. This career fortunately allows plenty of opportunities for travel, and this period he has undertaken numerous independent trips around the world searching for birds and mammals. Within these groups, obsessions include - but are not limited to - identification and taxonomy, migration, seabirds, cetaceans, and pretty much anything nocturnal.
Away from work, he undertakes a variety of voluntary surveys and has a role on an educational project showing people urban-nesting Peregrine falcons.
