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About BirdGuides Ltd

BirdGuides staff on Holy Island, October 2011
Holy Island, 2011; from left to right: John Cromie, Stephen Menzie, Dave Dunford, Fiona Barclay, Richard Zito, Max Whitby.

BirdGuides Limited is a British company that produces videos, books and multimedia computer software for birdwatchers. Over the years we have built up what is most probably the world's most comprehensive library of quality footage of European and American birds and insects. This is made available via our DVDs and software.

The company also offers bird news services via the web, email and mobile phones, and has recently launched audio and video products for mp3 players, and apps for iPhone and iPad.

Directors

Max Whitby

John Cromie

Fiona Barclay

Max co-founded BirdGuides with Dave Gosney in 1994. Prior to that he studied Philosophy at Oxford University and then joined the BBC as a graduate trainee. He worked on Newsnight, directed the live Tomorrow's World studio and went on to produce numerous Horizon documentaries as well as 100 or so other films, mainly about science. He became involved in the BBC's pioneering Interactive Television Unit and headed up an early collaboration with Apple in San Francisco. Subsequently he co-led a management buyout and the resulting spin-out company floated on AIM in 1995. In 2004 he took the radical decision to train formally as a scientist and completed with distinction a masters in nanomaterials at Imperial College, which he followed with a PhD. In 2010 he founded Touch Press with Theodore Gray and John Cromie. Max is widely travelled, having filmed for the BBC, Channel 4 and BirdGuides in over 30 countries, including six memorable weeks in North Korea. He has received four BAFTA nominations and two BAFTA awards. At BirdGuides Max is responsible for strategic direction of the company.

John is a software and digital business professional with 20+ years of experience delivering successful projects on leading desktop, web and mobile platforms. He runs his own software development and consulting business, Skylark Associates, with clients in Europe and the US.

At BirdGuides, John is responsible for overall technical direction and for the software which powers BirdGuides' desktop and mobile products, together with the website architecture and news processing engine.

John is a keen naturalist and is active in conservation and research in Ireland, both locally and nationally. He is involved in volunteer surveys such as IWeBs and the Bird Atlas project, as well as monitoring the small Irish population of Red-throated Diver, and some of the recently established Golden Eagle territories. A moth enthusiast, John helps to run the Donegal Biodiversity Project - a long-term study aiming to record and map the distribution of flora and fauna in the county. John serves on the Board of BirdWatch Ireland, and is currently Chairman.

Fiona has a PhD in Chemistry, and after a spell in research, moved into sales and marketing. In 2001 she joined Sigma-Aldrich in a business development role, heading up a major scientific brand for the UK. Fiona arrived at BirdGuides in 2006, initially in a support capacity, providing sales and marketing expertise. Her business development background was put to good use, fostering key relationships with the RSPB, BTO and several other relevant organisations. Fiona took over operational management of BirdGuides in 2008 and has driven many innovations on the website. As well as running the business, Fiona has editorial, production, filming and editing skills. She is an early adopter of new technology, and is abreast of the latest web and gadget developments, providing strategic direction for BirdGuides. She has long been a birder and keen naturalist. In recent years she has developed a strong interest in lepidoptera, acquiring an expensive collection of moth traps.

Fiona became Managing Director of BirdGuides in 2010.

Staff

Stephen Menzie

Stephen, originally from Liverpool, joined BirdGuides in June 2010. He graduated from Liverpool University in summer 2009 with a BSc in microbiology but soon decided a career staring down a microscope was not for him; in spring 2010, he spent 3 months ringing in Catalonia before returning to the UK to work in BirdGuides' London office. Much of Stephen's work in the office involves editing assets ready for their inclusion in exciting new BirdGuides products; occasionally he is let loose with the camera, too.

Stephen has had an interest in birds for as long as he can remember, with particular interests including moult, ageing and identification, vocalisation, and taxonomy.

Pete Ellison

Pete started working in Technical Support for BirdGuides in 2003. He was a Radio Electronics Officer in the Merchant Navy for 14 years, then Technical Support Engineer for Reuters on their PC and Sun Unix networks for 16 years. His hobby is sailing.

Dave Dunford

Dave joined BirdGuides in June 2000. His main role at BirdGuides is to look after this website.

Before moving north, Dave was Chairman of the Oxford Ornithological Society, also designing their website and helping with the local annual report.

As well as maintaining the website, Dave is responsible for the technical aspects of our bird news services; and as a former copy-editor he also helps out checking articles for the webzine and making sure our communications aren't too littered with mistakes!

Josh Jones

Josh has been working on the Bird News Extra team since January 2009. Growing up in south Lincolnshire, Josh has been obsessed by all things birds since he was a toddler. He graduated from the University of Sheffield in summer 2011 with a BSc in geography, before taking on a full-time position at BirdGuides that autumn. Josh's role at BirdGuides is of News Team Manager, ensuring the smooth running of the news service as well as playing a role in the dissemination of the weekly newsletter.

When not working, Josh's free time is characterized by vagrant-hunting trips to the west coast of Ireland, fulfilling a new-found desire for Western Palearctic birding and listing, and pursuing his other passion: electronic music and DJing!