Birders Profile

From Croydon Birders

John Birkett

I have been birdwatching in earnest since the mid 1980s, but have vivid memories of being taken to see a heronry in Lincolnshire carried on the crossbar of my dad's bike in the 1950s (it was a bitterly cold day and I was wearing short trousers) and of Waxwings in our Grimsby garden in 1966. Most of my birdwatching is done in Croydon or going out with the Croydon RSPB group. However, I have been known to do the odd twitch from work with a colleague - Hume's Warbler, Lesser Scaup, Pine Bunting, Brown Shrike. My favourite place in Croydon has to be South Norwood Country Park although I don't get their as often as I would like. My main claims to fame are writing 'Two Centuries of Croydon Birds' and editing the annual Croydon Bird Report.