Derek Thomas Author & Editor

COLIN REES is a life-time birder and natural scientist having devoted his career to the conservation of wildlife and the natural environment. He has worked for international organizations in many countries and written extensively on biodiversity conservation and the protection of the natural environment. He continues to work on the international scene as well as supporting efforts to conserve bird populations and their habitats in the State of Maryland, USA. He is a former President of the Anne Arundel Bird Club and currently Chair of the Long-range Planning Committee of the Maryland Ornithological Society. He lives on a creek in Annapolis with his wife Valerie and Zorba, their Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Derek Thomas has had a lifelong interest in natural history, combining his career as an academic, with his passion for birds and other wildlife. He has served at local and national level with many organisations including The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, The British Trust for Ornithology and The Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts. Recently retired as Chairman of Wildlife Trusts Wales, he continues to work in wildlife conservation, and is currently the UK representative for the Smithsonian Institution’s Bird Friendly Coffee Program. He and his wife Pranee live in a small cottage surrounded by the sea on the Gower Peninsula in Wales.