Mark Pearson BSc Hons

Birding/Wildlife Guide

Qualifications: Higher National Diploma in Ornithology, BSc (Hons) in Environmental Science

Personal Profile:

Mark is an obsessive Yorkshire coast birder and naturalist whose roles include wildlife guide, ecologist, speaker, writer and educator.

He is well known as a passionate, exceptional communicator, whether in the field with YCN clients, in the classroom with schoolkids, in lecture theatres, on television screens, on radio airwaves or via the written word.

“We need more people like Mark – passionate, engaging, knowledgeable leaders in their field” - Chris Packham, Bioblitz Special

He grew up on Flamborough Head, where the seeds were quickly sown – the family home became a bird hospital, complete with Puffins taking over the bathtub! - and he's been studying and advocating the wildlife of the area ever since.

He is regularly asked to share his knowledge and enthusiasm on TV and radio, and this has included co-presenting features with both Simon King and Chris Packham (on the BBC's Springwatch and Autumnwatch), with Michaela Strachan (Springwatch at Easter), with Chris for his recent Bioblitz campaign, and as a lead presenter of an episode of the BBC's flagship Natural World series. His appearances on radio, nationally and internationally, are numerous.

“Who better could have I asked to help guide me?” - Simon King, live on BBC Autumnwatch

He is fortunate to have travelled world in his pursuit of birds and wildlife, with many memorable adventures across the globe in his notebooks; he is particularly fond of South and East Asia, Scandinavia and North America. He has managed various conservation and engagement projects in many different settings, from urban London (including the award-winning Cockney Sparrow Project) to rural Yorkshire, and his ecological fieldwork has taken him across the country from the Outer Hebrides to Kentish coast.

Mark is in demand as a communications expert, with many successful past and present projects involving Birdlife International, Birdlife Israel, Champions of the Flyway, RSPB, several British Bird Observatories and many others. He also has a BSc (Hons) in Environmental Science and an HND in Ornithology.

Mark's nature writing has been a constant feature in the UK media over recent years. His regular pieces in Birdwatch magazine and Birdguides are well known, as are his many articles for the RSPB, Birdwatching magazine, British Birds and various others. Recent book commissions include writing sections for the bestselling Lost In London and Birding Frontiers – Challenge Series books.

“Nobody knows the birds and wildlife [of the area] quite like Mark” - Michaela Strachan on BBC Springwatch

Mark is often invited to give talks and lectures for a wide variety of organisations, from local RSPB & bird groups to camera clubs, NGOs and universities. He has recently been asked to give talks at the Birdfair (five years in a row and counting!), Spurn Migration Festival (several times) and the International Bird Observatories Conference among many others.

He delights in spreading the gospel by any means necessary, whether through outreach, education and community engagement or campaigning on local, national and international stages for conservation. He is equally happy leading a YCN tour, being surrounded by a class of 30 urban schoolkids or seawatching for eight hours in a gale force northerly.