Birders, Photographers and Artists:

Established as one of the world’s top bird photographers in the mid 1990’s Arthur Morris continues to produce the most eye-catching and beautifully created images of birds one could imagine possible. He is a Canon contract photographer.

During the course of a year I spend a lot of time in the field with Garth. His images are of a consistently high quality and he has won the Birdguides ‘Photo of the week’ competition three times. In my opinion the best bird photographer in my home county.

Formerly based in Northamptonshire, Richard Bedford has now moved to Suffolk where I’m sure he will continue to create some of the best images of birds in flight I have ever seen. I spent a day in Richard’s company a few years ago when we were attempting to photograph Short-eared Owls. He does not do ‘perched’ but look at his website and you’ll see why!

Long before the advent of digital cameras, Mike was taking stunning bird images. Based in Berkshire he still maintains a very high standard of bird photography both in the UK and overseas. I joined Mike for a very enjoyable bird photography trip in 2006 to Spain.

I first met Kit in 2005 when I got back into photography and went digital. Kit produces images of such a high quality. This has been recognised far and wide and he recently won the British Birds Bird Photographer of the year award. I regard him as one of the UK’s best Bird Photographers.

Bedfordshire birder Steve is a very experienced and knowledgeable birder who has recently returned from a long spell living and birding in Ecuador. Committed to his patch and 'vis-migging' he is a proficient digiscoper and always produces well composed and often evocative images.

Cleybirds is run by Birding World Editor and keen bird photographer Steve Gantlett. I've birded Northern Finland and spent two autumns with Steve on Fair Isle in 1992 and 1993, and know just how enthusiastic he is about his birding, and about the hallowed 10km square which encompasses the parish of Cley – the birding Mecca of Norfolk.

                                                                                David Hyde

I started birding with David in the early 1980’s when together we visited some of the UK’s premier wildlife sites. David is a talented watercolour artist and has written several excellent books on painting wildlife and birds. He is also a superb photographer and I was delighted that he was on hand to take the photographs when Jill & I got married.

Richard Thewlis

Working as a research scientist for the BTO, Richard has established himself as an award-winning artist and his artwork has appeared in top birding journals, magazines and books. Richard and I go back a long way and he has accompanied me on two icy cold birding trips to Finland in winter as well as several long haul twitches.

Ian Lewington

Ian is a fellow Sunbird leader but is perhaps better known as one of the world’s best bird illustrators. He illustrated the Rare Birds of Britain & Europe in 1991 and his work appears in Handbook of the Birds of the World and numerous other top Birding publications. Simply the best.

Marcus Conway originates from Yorkshire and for someone of his young years he has a superb eye for an image. Now living in the Scottish Highlands he combines his bird photography with tour leading and what better place to be based than the home of Capercaillie, Black Grouse and Crested Tit!

Phil Yates is a forensic scientist and well-travelled birder based in Cambridgeshire. In the last 8 years Phil has visited many locations around the world including Brazil, Kenya, Venezuela, Colombia, Argentina, Thailand and he also joined me for my 40th birthday celebrations in a rather chilly -30 Japan.

Mark Telfer

I’ve known Mark for 20 years and in the early days did many long distance UK twitches with him. Mark is a professional entomologist and naturalist and his knowledge of insects is encyclopaedic. What he doesn’t know about beetles is not worth knowing!

Menno Van Duin

Menno is a great birder, photographer and tour leader based in The Netherlands. He has exceptional birding skills and having birded with him I can vouch for his incredible awareness of birds and his hearing, which is amazing.

Jaap Schelvis

Jaap has a life long passion for photography and natural history. Trained as a zoologist and with a PhD in environmental archaeology his interests range from the smallest creatures to the development of both cultural and natural landscapes. He is based in The Netherlands and also works as a photographer and bird tour guide to mainly East-European destinations.

James Ownby

I first came across James when I went to Brazil. Pre-trip I was researching the races and subspecies of what we were likely to encounter on our tour and I found that time and again James’ website contained many stunning images of Brazilian Rainforest endemics we wanted to see. He has many superb galleries detailing his extensive overseas birding exploits including images of stunning birds like the Satyr Tragopan shown above.

Peter is a birder and photographer based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire. In addition to photographing the birds and wildlife of Cambridgeshire he shares my love of North America and Canada and has recently returned from a successful visit to Point Pelee Bird Observatory in Ontario.

I’ve known Tom since the 1980’s. He is one of the best bird photographers in the northeast and produces some mouthwatering images of what appear to be virtually impossible birds to photograph. His images of the Filey Two-barred Greenish Warbler are probably some of the best ever images of this Asian species.

Romy Ocon

Romy is the authority on bird photography in The Philippines. There are some fantastic birds in his country and from his base in Luzon he has some stunning images to do them justice! His photography and his love of the subject make his work truly inspirational.

Travel & Logistics:

The best of Birdwatching Tours. Sunbird has been taking birdwatchers all over the world for 30 years and I've been with them for just over 10. We lead over 150 tours to 80 countries every year and pride ourselves on the extensive knowledge and experience possessed by our leaders. Join us on a tour, you will not be disappointed!

This lodge is set in the Atlantic Rainforest of Brazil and is only a one hour journey from Rio. I spent two weeks here in 2007 and can highly recommend it. Andy & Cristina Foster are wonderful hosts and as well as ensuring that you see a hatful of fantastic birds, they’ll really look after you.

About 2 hours from Cairns, Queensland I stayed at Kingfisher Park for a week in August 2009. Such a great place with many fantastic species in the grounds including Australian Owlet-nightjar, Masked Owl and the amazing Duck-billed Platypus.

Run by Phil and Sue Gregory this is THE place to see Southern Cassowary in Queensland. A wonderful place to go birding with Victoria’s Riflebird and Spotted Catbird often seen visiting the breakfast table and numerous other species in the grounds.

Run by Nick Upton, this website is a mine of information for any birders planning on visiting Thailand. There are numerous site guides, maps and trip reports including areas like Pak Thale, the wintering grounds of the critically endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper.

Finnature

Having done 3 winter trips to Finland I can highly recommend my good friend Jari Peltomaki and his close associate Olli Laminsalo. They know where the birds are and have purpose built hides as well as great networks for bird/mammal sightings and information.

Newton George

We used Newton when we birded Tobago in 2004. Without doubt the best bird guide in Tobago and a thoroughly nice guy. If you want to see the specialities of Tobago including Blue-backed Manakin, Collared Trogon and the Spadebill, he’s your man!

Optics and Equipment:

My camera of choice. I’ve used Canon digital SLR’s, lenses and accessories since 2005.

Zeiss work in partnership with Sunbird, providing all senior leaders with the fantastic lightweight and waterproof FLT* binoculars and telescopes.

I’ve been dealing with Tim and his team at Focus Optics for over 25 years. Whatever your optical requirements, they are the premier binocular and telescope stockist in the midlands. Highly recommended and always a pleasure to deal with.

Bryan Canarthan’s website contains comprehensive reviews of Canon cameras, lenses and accessories. He is a highly respected critic and thoroughly knowledgeable reviewer.

I’ve been dealing with Matt since 2005. Always efficient and helpful, MPB is the place to go for used Canon photographic gear at competitive prices.

Travelling to locations with extreme temperatures requires the right clothing. Over the last 20 years I’ve used Open Air in Cambridge for everything from a down-filled jacket for use in the -30 temperatures of Japan, to lightweight breathable safari shirts for use in the hot and humid forests of Papua New Guinea.

I bought my first big telephoto from Aperture in 2005. They are always very helpful and easy to deal with.

The two sections which follow do not contain individual recommendations but in all cases they are organisations/establishments to which I belong, am affiliated to, or have links with.

Conservation Organisations:

Identification, Reference and Recordings: