Butterflies & Orchids of Hampshire and The Isle of Wight

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.

Chris is a lifelong birder and has been fortunate enough to have travelled the world in pursuit of his passion. He has birded extensively and independently in the UK, Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, Central America, South America and Australasia. While birding in the UK, he has been fortunate enough to have found a few rare species, the best being White's Thrush, Western Orphean Warbler and Fea's-type Petrel. He was also lucky enough to have been on a Cornish headland when a Red-billed Tropicbird flew by. 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! 

Mark has had a life-long interest in wildlife and has been a birder for more than 45-years, initially around the heaths and woods of the Surrey/Hants border near his childhood home and at Pagham Harbour in Sussex.

After studying a degree in Geography, teacher-training brought him to Southampton and he spent 30-years teaching in local primary schools before taking early retirement in 2022. He is an active member of Hampshire Ornithological Society (HOS), serving on several committees, leading guided walks and as a writer for their annual report. He also takes part in local surveys for HOS, the National Trust and the BTO. More recently he has taken up moth-trapping and is enjoying the identification challenges that brings.

His current birding is mostly close to home along the Hampshire coast with regular forays to the bird observatories at Portland Bill and Gibraltar Point. He has been lucky enough to watch wildlife in more than 30 countries with Wallcreepers in the Pyrenees and Orangutans in Borneo a couple of the many highlights.

When not out birding, Mark and his wife Gilly enjoy walking, reading, music and gardening.