Having always been interested in wildlife since I was a kid, I started birding seriously in 1994 during a period of unemployment after graduating from university. My initial efforts were centred around Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Oxfordshire. Now living near Liverpool, my routine birding is mostly in Lancashire. I enjoy travel, both within the UK and abroad, and always try to take the opportunity to do some birding wherever I am, even if travelling on business. My ambition is to travel to New Zealand and Antarctica.