"All life is one. This is not a cliche, but a biological reality". -Paul R. Ehrlich
About Me.
My name is Dean, and I am a dedicated birder based and living in the Ystwyth Valley, Ceredigion, Mid Wales in the UK. My birding patch is the Ystwyth Valley between Cwm Ystwyth and the Cambrian Coast.
I am a BTO/RSPB supporter, and a member of the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales. I am a 'T-Permit' trainee bird ringer with the Teifi Marshes Ringing Group (teifimarshbirds.blogspot.co.uk), and I am a professional wildlife photographer specialising in... you guessed it.
My story: I have been passionate about the natural world ever since I was in primary school. We always had a weekly lesson called EVS (Environmental Studies). We were taught about the world of communities, habitats and populations, and the fascinating things we were taught have stayed with me all the way. I have been involved with conservation projects across Wales over the years, and I have a National Diploma in Countryside Management... (not that much to get the dream job, but enough to heighten one's appreciation for the living natural world- and the fragile environment in which it all survives).
I have a special interest in birds, especially sea birds and waders. My local RSPB reserve is at Ynys Hir on the Dovey Estuary. My personal birding patch includes the Ystwyth River which supports a wide variety of life, which seems to thrive despite the presence of lead which leaches out of the many abandoned mines higher up the valley (who knows how much?). I am a firm believer in wildlife and habitat conservation, and try to do all I can to support and protect it. I get such a huge amount of pleasure watching animals and birds carrying on with their daily routines, because for me, their behaviour represents true freedom, something which humans currently don't have. I hope to spend as much time as possible watching and photographing wildlife and birds before time's up.