Leading Tours since 1987

 

. Mark Finn

Birdwatching
Breaks
Principal
Leader
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.
.Roy Beddard
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.
.Chris Bradshaw
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.
.Richard Cruse
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.
.David Damarani
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.
.Nikolay Dilchev
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.
.Steve Duffield
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.
.Chris Gaskin
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
.Cristian Jensen
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.
.Meseret Mekuria
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.

.Simon Papps

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.
.Edward B. Rickson

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.