. Mark
Finn |

Birdwatching
Breaks
Principal
Leader |
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Mark
lives on the Black Isle in Scotland
and is the principal leader of Birdwatching
Breaks having formed the company in
May 1987. Mark originally trained in
hotel management and catering before
pursuing careers in the Merchant Navy,
industrial catering and finally as a
sales representative. He has travelled
widely in search of birds both whilst
leading trips and on reconnaissance
trips for future tours. His travels
have taken him to a wide variety of
destinations including North and South
America, most of Europe, South Africa,
Sri Lanka, Japan and Taiwan. Mark is
also a member of the Scottish Ornithologists
Club and RSPB. In between leading tours
Mark deals with the administration work
of Birdwatching Breaks and writes articles
for various magazines. He has a keen
interest in sport, particularly cricket
and soccer, and enjoys wine and good
food. |
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.Roy
Beddard |
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Roy
lives in North London. Roy has a wealth
of ornithological experience having
been a leader for the North London RSPB
Group. He has travelled extensively
in Europe and South and North America
in pursuit of birds. Roy also contributes
articles on birdwatching tours, book
reviews and optical equipment for Birdwatch
magazine. He visited Armenia in 2001/2002
and immediately the country and its
birds became close to his heart. Roy
adds a wealth of experience to the Birdwatching
Breaks team and has a handy knack of
locating rare and unusual birds. |
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.Chris
Bradshaw |
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Chris
lives in Gillingham, Kent.
He is a vastly experienced birdwatcher
having travelled to many countries in
pursuit of birds. Chris has built up
a loyal following among clients who
appreciate his professionalism and knowledge
in the field. He is particularly interested
in the birds of Asia and is an authority
on the region’s birds having led
many tours there. Chris is also responsible
for updating and compiling the Birdwatching
Breaks website, a legacy from his previous
employment in the information technology
industry. |
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.Richard
Cruse |
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Richard
lives in Oloron-Ste-Marie near the French
Pyrenees. He has travelled to over eighty
countries around the world. Richard
works as a birding guide for Birdwatching
Breaks in the French and Spanish Pyrenees.
He is also gaining a reputation as an
authority on the birds of West Africa
in Senegal and Ghana and further south
in Malawi. His command of the French
language is invaluable on our tours
to French speaking nations. Richard
also takes part in survey work for La
Ligue de Protection des Oiseaux, the
French equivalent of the RSPB. |
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.David
Damarani |
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David
lives in Accra, Ghana. David
works for the Wildlife Society of Ghana
and is their premier ornithologist.
He has a remarkable ear for species
found in West African forests and knows
all the songs and calls of birds occurring
in Ghana, a great asset on any tour.
He has a pleasant personality and the
ability to communicate and get on with
people. David is invaluable to our West
African tour programme. |
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.Nikolay
Dilchev |
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Nikolay
lives in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Nikolay operates Pandion D, his own
birding and natural history company.
He is one of Bulgaria’s leading
ornithologists having put the country
literally on the birding map of Europe.
Outside interests include being with
his family and enjoying football. |
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.Steve
Duffield |
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Steve lives on South
Uist in the Western Isles of Scotland
where he operates Western Isles Wildlife
tours. Steve has been an active birder
for many years having travelled extensively
in Asia and South America. He has also
held jobs with conservation bodies within
the UK. Away from birding, Steve is
a keen mountaineer having climbed several
high peaks around the world. Steve is
now settled in South Uist where he has
found many rarities in recent years
in addition to being the moth and butterfly
recorder for the islands. |
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.Chris
Gaskin |
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Chris lives in New
Zealand but grew up in Fiji. He worked
as an artist and illustrator over
a period of 25 years, first as an
artist employed by the NZ Forest Service
illustrating the natural history and
landscapes of southern New Zealand,
then as a free-lance illustrator with
a number of award winning books to
his name. More recently, Chris has
run and operated Kiwi Wildlife Tours,
a birding and natural history company
specialising in the birds and wildlife
of New Zealand |
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.Cristian Jensen |
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Cristian
lives in San Carlos de la Rapida in
Catalonia and currently operates Audouin
Birding Tours with Iben Sorenson. He
is also one of Spain’s up and
coming birding guides with a particular
interest in the birds of Spain. His
travels have taken him to Iceland and
Mauritius where he has worked with the
Mauritius Wildlife Association. Cristian
is a welcome addition to the Birdwatching
Breaks team with his easy going nature,
language skills and extensive knowledge
of birdlife.
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.Meseret Mekuria |
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Meseret
Mekuria lives in Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia. Meseret formerly worked for
the national park service in Ethiopia
studying birds and mammals. Today he
is one of the country's top birdwatchers
with a passion for Ethiopia's endemic
birds and mammals. Meseret is a welcome
addition to the Birdwatching Breaks
team of guides in this relatively unknown
country for birds. |
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.Simon
Papps |
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Simon
lives in Waltham Abbey, Essex. Simon
is a vastly experienced birder having
travelled to a wide range of countries
in pursuit of birds. He was formerly
the sub-editor at Birdwatch Magazine,
the highly respected monthly publication
for birders. Currently Simon works
as the Commissioning Editor for Natural
History Books at New Holland Publishers
based in London. Simon is leading
our tours to Ghana and Madagascar
during 2008. Away from birding, Simon
enjoys all sports, but particularly
football.
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.Edward
B. Rickson |
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Edward
is originally from the UK
but has lived and worked in Iceland
since 1997. He has a deep interest
in the birds of Iceland and has birded
in virtually every part of the country,
at all times of the year, seeking
out both common breeding birds and
major rarities. Edward speaks fluent
Icelandic and works as a translator.
His other interests are literature,
music and fell-walking.
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