Chris Wilkinson – Operations Assistant

Chris joined the team in early 2024 and his busy role as an Operations Assistant includes answering client enquiries, sending out pre-departure information, amending and transferring bookings, making vehicle reservations and maintaining client records. Chris is a life-long birder and has been fortunate enough to have travelled the world in pursuit of his passion, and now leads numerous Naturetrek tours, mostly in the UK and Europe. In addition to his passion for birds, Chris is a keen and active naturalist and organises nature walks on the heaths, on the downs and in the woodlands of his home county of Surrey. He is particularly interested in butterflies and moths and spends a lot of time in search of the UK’s scarce and rare species. When not leading a group, he may be found deep in a Surrey woodland keeping a moth-trap company! 

It all started with a bamboo butterfly net, sweet jars from the corner shop and buddleia bushes in his grandma’s garden. Chris’s childhood fascination with all things natural was ignited by the Small Tortoiseshells, Red Admirals, Peacocks and various Whites that were found in profusion in those days. He can still recall the excitement of seeing and catching his first Painted Lady late one summer, having no idea that the creature’s origins were far to the south in North Africa. Chris grew up in Nottingham and spent many happy hours birding the gravel pits and woods of the Trent Valley with his father. This was a time when Willow Tits were common and the purr of the Turtle Dove was a familiar summer sound. Family holidays were spent mostly on the east coast and visits to Gibraltar Point and the reserves of north Norfolk served to inspire his love of birds and the natural world.