Z1205/236

Male. Enthusiastic local birdwatcher. b. 20.09.1953 SIDE A (00 mins)Raised in, Bromley, in the suburbs of south London. Remembers the very cold winter of 1962. (05 mins)At the weekends and during the summer holidays, great freedom to go off with friends and play where they liked. Trips to Tonbridge to fish on the River Medway in Kent. (10 mins)Boys used to go "birds nesting" - collecting bird's eggs. They pricked a hole in one end and blew out the yolk, so that they were left with just the shell to keep in their collection. He ended up with about 30 species of common birds. This practice is now illegal. He stopped collecting when he was 13. He now finds it revolting that some people still do collect them and make the survival of rare birds less likely. (15 mins)He is a self-taught birdwatcher. He moved to Bedfordshire when he was 27 and met someone who was a keen birdwatcher and taught him a lot. They visited the large RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) reserve called Minsmere on the Suffolk coast. His Father was a mechanical engineer, involved in designing conveyor belts such as those used by London Brick Company. Mother did secretarial work. (20 mins)The children learned to do shopping and put meals in the oven, to help Mother cope with working full-time. Reflects that children, these days, are too reliant on cars and are not used to using public transport. Grandparents. (25 mins)Parents married at the end of the war. Passed 11+ exam and went to a technical high school. He was good at most subjects except English. Was very interested in art and took GCE 'A' Level Art and Woodwork before going on to art college. (30mins)Studied design studio subjects. Took three-year degree course. (32mins)End of Side A SIDE B (00 mins)Studied three-dimensional design. Got more and more interested in product design. After university, took a few years off doing dead-end work, then got a job with a manufacturing firm in Woburn Sands, where he has been ever since, for 20+ years. Married and bought a house with a 100% mortgage. (05 mins)Has never been ambitious. Designs plastic bottles and other containers of all sizes and for all uses. (10 mins)His wife used to help him improve his bird knowledge by testing him on illustrated bird books. Does some bird photography. Goes on bird-watching holidays. (15 mins)Goes bird watching locally in the Marston Vale area three or four times a week, mainly in the evenings. Records his sightings. (20 mins)Details of gulls populations and migrations. Does survey work including British Breeding Birds for the British Trust for Ornithology. (25 mins) Identifies and counts species. Thinks the Millenium Country Park around the Forest Centre is good for birds, because Stewartby Lake was already a well-established nature reserve and now there are a variety of habitats. (30mins)Predators. (32 mins)End of Side B SIDE AContinued from CS236C (00 mins)Local predators. Weasels - threat to young birds. Stoats - threat to rabbits. One mink near Pillinge hide - threat to water birds Magpies and carrion crows - also threats to young birds in nests. He would only intervene if it was a very rare specimen. Pheasant behaviour. (05 mins)Pheasant breeding. Barn owls breeding. Putting up bird boxes to encourage species round Forest Centre. (10 mins)Laying gravel and suppressing vegetation to encourage plovers or terns in the wetland. Most success with barn owls and tawny owls in Millennium Park. Wet grassland has encouraged many birds to visit and breed including redshank, snipe and lapwing. (15 mins)Stewartby Lake and the Pillinge are both full of fish. Hope that bitterns will eventually be tempted to visit. Site designed to attract them. Masses of dragonflies and butterflies in area. Occasional nightingales. They bred at Brogborough Lake. (20 mins)Bats - pipistrelles, noctules. Migration birds. Seasonal bird walks. Birdwatching skills - "jizz". (25 mins)Bird identification problems. Bird pellets. As forest develops, more woodland birds, in future. Greater range of birds. (30 mins)Effects of wetland management on bird species. (32 mins)End Side A SIDE B (00 mins)Impact of brickworks then landfill sites on birds present in area - ducks because of water-filled holes from clay extraction; gulls attracted by rubbish tipped in holes. Personal changes in his family life. (05 mins)End of Side B End of Interview Original Interview 100 mins.

14 July 2003

From: 1950 To: 2003

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climatology, birdwatching, fishing, eggs, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, designer, University, photography, ornithology, weasels, stoat, rabbits, magpies, pheasants, owls, golden plovers, larks, nightingales, bats, landfill, pollution, ducks, pits, Bromley, Kent, Suffolk, WOBURN SANDS, STEWARTBY, South Pillinge, BROGBOROUGH