A birding first

IN January 1992 I was working at the RSPB and remember reading the first issue of

Birdwatch in the library there and thinking ‘What a great magazine ... aimed at the keener birder’. I worked in the press office and recall seeing Dominic Mitchell’s name in our database. After meeting him at occasional events we soon became firm friends.

Fast forward to 2004 when, having left the RSPB, I was invited to be on the magazine’s advisory panel and then the following year I became a monthly contributor of short articles as well as providing news stories and helping with the new website. It was great to get to know all of the staff and I particularly enjoyed writing the monthly feature covering interesting species and where to see them, which ran from 2005 to 2018.

Birdwatch wasn’t the only birding first for Britain in 1992, and in the following 30 years it has witnessed the huge growth of the British list with more than 80 species added. Its high-quality writing has included a wide range of top contributors, such as the late, great Ian Wallace and the everentertaining Bill Oddie. With ID articles, topical comments and detailed rare bird reports I have always found it to be a great read. It has been a privilege to play a small part in the success of Birdwatch over the years, and I will never forget the thrill of winning Bird Brain of Britain at the 2004 Birdfair as a representative of the magazine! Chris Harbard