Oscar Thomas
Born in Auckland, New Zealand, Oscar Thomas spent his high school years volunteering for conservation organizations, advocating and raising awareness of New Zealand’s unique wildlife, and travelling the country in search of as many different birds as he could observe and photograph. His interest in birds began on a school visit to Tiritiri Matangi Island […]
Tharanga Herath
Tharanga is an acclaimed birder and tour leader with about 25 years of Birding experience who co- founded Ornithvacations birding & wildlife holidays. He is a key member and instructor of national organizations, volunteering in research and creating awareness in birdlife and conservation. He is a member of the expert panel of National Red List […]
Michael Mills
Michael Mills grew up in the Kalahari and Kruger National Parks, and it wasn’t long before the birding bug bit. After school he studied ornithology and conservation biology to masters level a the University of Cape Town’s Percy FitzPatrick Institute. Since then, for the past 20 years, he has been dividing his time between guiding […]
Dr Ravinder Kaur
All creatures in the sea and on land have always fascinated Ravinder Kaur since her childhood days. Thus, she pursued a degree in Conservation Biology at University Malaysia Sabah. Upon graduation, she began her career in conservation in Malaysian Nature Society as a Conservation Officer. She then went on her own to further her studies, […]
Dr Grant Humphries
Dr. Grant Humphries is the director of Black Bawks Data Science, lead data scientist at HiDef Aerial Surveying, and a marine ornithologist with a background in machine learning, non-parametric statistics and spatial ecology. Grant has been working with seabirds since 2006 but has experience in a number of fields focusing on ways of implementing cutting […]
Dr Susan Cunningham
Susie is a senior lecturer at the FitzPatrick Institute, University of Cape Town. She has been involved in the Hot Birds Research Project, an international collaboration investigating the impact of climate change on desert birds globally, since 2010. She leads the team’s research on birds’ behavioural responses to heat and consequences of these. Susie is […]
Niall Perrins
Niall cut his teeth birding as a youngster in Botswana, where his father Mike taught him the ropes. Since 2013 he has been leading tours, in Southern Africa, as well as further afield, in other parts of Africa, South and Central America, Asia and Europe. Photography and nature are his passions, which he enjoys sharing […]
Dr Rita Covas
Dr Rita Covas is a behavioural ecologist and evolutionary biologist with a strong interest in the evolution and consequences of sociality and a passion for fieldwork. She uses birds as study models having worked on cooperation using the sociable weaver for nearly 20 years and since 2016 she has been conducting research on another cooperative […]
Dr Petra Sumasgutner
Petra is an urban ecologist and raptor researcher who recently transitioned from a post-doc fellowship at the FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, Cape Town to the Konrad Lorenz Research Centre in Austria. She initiated the Viennese Kestrel Project as her PhD research, and graduated from the University of Vienna in 2014. Ever since she has […]
Anusuya Chinsamy-Turan
Professor Anusuya Chinsamy-Turan is a palaeobiologist in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Cape Town. She is a global expert on the microscopic structure of the bones of extinct and extant vertebrates. Her work has been recognized by several highly acclaimed awards: For example, in 1995 she received an NRF President Award, […]