The Birders

Alan Davies

Birds are my passion, always have been. From a very early age, birds have been the focus of my life. The reason to suffer altitude sickness in the Andes to see an Ecuadorian Hillstar, trek across the Karoo desert in 45C to glimpse a small grey Eremomela, empty my stomach over the side of a small boat with engine failure just to see an Isabelline Wheatear it has always been birds. To see birds in wonderful places is what I live for.

Birds have always played an important role in Alan's life, from his first job cast adrift as a warden alone on Llandwyn Island off Anglesey at the tender age of 16, to paddling about in dinghy off the North Norfolk coast protecting a huge tern colony. For the past five years, Alan has been Site Manager of the RSPB reserve at Conwy on the North Wales coast, and has overseen its development into a popular visitor attraction as well as a haven for wildlife. Although this must be the dream job for a keen birder, Alan is giving up his job with the RSPB to travel the world and fulfill a lifetime ambition with The Biggest Twitch.

Ruth Miller

Ruth is a relative rarity in the UK: a female birder in her own right. Not a reluctant partner dragged along to twitches across the country but someone who goes birding regularly herself for the sheer pleasure of looking at birds. Already a keen outdoors girl interested in wildlife, Ruth met Alan through their mutual work at the RSPB, and her passion for birds has grown under his influence.

Having left her job as the RSPB’s Head of Trading and moved to North Wales, Ruth now works as a freelance marketing consultant which allows her the freedom to escape the office if a good bird shows up. When not writing marketing plans, Ruth can usually be seen walking and birding in the beautiful Welsh countryside. Combining this with her third passion of drinking tea, Ruth is also writing “Birds, Boots and Butties”, a guide to the best places in North Wales for birding, walking and enjoying a good cuppa.

"I’m always looking for something new, to see what’s just around the corner. I walk along looking at life rather than where I’m putting my feet, and if it’s flying, crawling, growing or flowering, I want to take a closer look at it, even if I don’t know its name.

When I’m old, I want to be able to look back on my Big Adventure. The chance to see exciting destinations and wildlife is irresistible, and if I can go birding round the world with Alan seeing the most bird species ever in a single year, so much the better! And as a born organiser, I’ll be able to keep Alan on track for our target. After all, if I don’t, who will?!"