About Nick Watmough

Nick Watmough, Georgia, September 2018
Nick Watmough in Sakhalvasho, Georgia (September 2018)

Nick is a long time birder based in the United Kingdom. His spark bird was a European Goldfinch; a flock outside his primary school caused him insist the Head-teacher halted morning assembly! Since that moment more than fifty years ago birds have formed a rich backdrop to Nick’s life.

Nick started serious birding as a member of the Tyneside Bird Club in the mid-seventies. During those teenage years he enjoyed sea-watching, hunting migrants and even chasing the occasional rarity by public transport. But as an undergraduate in London birding stopped for over three years. The spark remained and with renewed enthusiasm for birds and birding Nick returned to his native North-East in 1982. During that second period on Tyneside he embraced the frenetic eighties twitching scene, embarked on his first overseas trips and discovered SW Ireland.

Nick gained a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Newcaastle-upon-Tyne in 1989, moved to the USA and marrried Ingrid, his long time girlfriend. They spent two fantastic years working and birding in Denver Colorado, before returning to the UK. Between 1990 and 2021 Nick lived in Norwich where he worked as a reseacher and educator in biochemistry at the University of East Anglia.

Currently Nick is taking a career break to facilitate a move to Cornwall and enjoying a bit more spare time.  Not only for birding and travel, but also to pursue more his recent interests in moth recording and digital photography. This website was set up to record those travels and showcase a growing collection of digital images. That said it may occasionally lapse into reflections of past adventures and the many birding friends Nick has made over the years.

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