Avian Odyssey

Passionate about nature and wildlife, Beccy has been Chief Executive of the RSPB for six years.

The RSPB is the largest nature conservation organisation in the UK, with 1.2 million members, more than 2,000 employees and around 12,000 volunteers.

Beccy started her career in local government in Scotland, and then moved into management consultancy, working on mergers and acquisitions. Beccy made the move to the charity sector in 2000, and since then has worked in leadership roles at the National Trust and Woodland Trust.

As well as saving species and creating habitats in the UK and also internationally, through the RSPB's work with members, supporters, businesses and government, it is playing an active role in sustainability, climate change, food and farming, planning and infrastructure and much more.

Beccy is based in the East Midlands and in her spare time enjoys walking, camping and spending time in nature.

Dr Alex Bond is the Principal Curator and Curator in Charge of Birds at the Natural History Museum, and co-lead of the Adrift Lab, a research collective that focuses on seabirds & marine plastics, and the conservation of island systems.

An active researcher for more than 20 years, he has published 200 peer-reviewed articles, 9 book chapters, and 2 monographs as well as a children’s book about bird diversity.

Since 2005, he has been fortunate enough to study and conserve birds in Canada, Alaska, Australia, Tristan da Cunha, the Pitcairn Islands, and elsewhere (inc. swimming in four of the world’s five oceanic basins).

As former chair of LGBTQ+STEM and passionate advocate for making a better place for marginalised scientists, he was awarded the 2020 Royal Society Athena Prize and the 2022 BTO Marsh Award for Ornithology. Since 2014, he has lived in the UK with his husband, Jeremy.

Hugh Hanmer is a Senior Research Ecologist in the BTO Terrestrial Ecology team where he has worked for the last 7 years.

His research primarily focuses on urban ecology and avian demography using long and short-term citizen science surveys alongside novel field surveys. He has a particular interest in human-wildlife interactions relating to UK garden and urban birds, first started during his PhD at the University of Reading and continued at BTO, as well as more recently the transmission and impacts of disease in garden birds.

Alongside his work, Hugh is also a lifelong birdwatcher and experienced volunteer bird ringer with interests ranging from garden, reedbed and woodland passerines to owls and nightjars.

Fangyuan Hua is an Assistant Professor of Conservation Ecology at Peking University in China.

She was trained as an avian ecologist with field experiences in the US, Indonesia, and China, and orients her research around understanding and bettering the fate of biodiversity under the interrelated contexts of habitat loss, degradation, and restoration.

Fangyuan’s research group has led a portfolio of research projects to understand how wild species and assemblages are affected by anthropogenic changes of forest ecosystems, as well as to identify practical solutions that can lessen the loss of these species and assemblages and promote their recovery – with a particular focus on forest birds. In addition to academic research and teaching, Fangyuan also provides active service to academic journals and conservation organizations in China and internationally, with board membership for the journal Current Biology and the organization Society for Ecological Restoration being two examples.

Talatu Tende is an alumnus of and affiliated to the A.P. Leventis ornithological Research Institute (APLORI) Jos, Plateau State Nigeria.

Her passion for nature began as a little girl growing up, where she unconsciously loved being in nature and to hear bird calls, an interest that turned out to be a career field.

She is an enthusiastic citizen scientist, a nature lover, an ardent ornithologist and wildlife biologist. She is also a molecular ecologist, employing the principles of population genetics and molecular phylogenetics to address ecological questions on birds as well as mammals. As an enthusiastic citizen scientist, Dr Tende is actively involved in teaching and changing the mindset of the Nigerian youth positively towards nature through awareness creation about birds and the environment in institutions of higher learning as well as conservation/environmental-related organisations in Nigeria and Africa.

She is actively involved in teaching field techniques, acting as a bird tour guide as well as contributing to data collection to map the distribution of Nigerian birds, aimed to understand spatiotemporal changes. Her dedication to birding and knowledge of birds not just in Africa, but even Europe where she studied for her doctoral degree has ranked her as one of the best ornithologists in the country.

She is the deputy director at APLORI, coordinating researchers and research activities of the institute. She also manages the first nationwide citizen science project in Nigeria – the Nigerian Bird Atlas Project (NiBAP). Travelling, exploring nature and making friends are some of her hobbies.

Tohar Tal is an ornithologist and conservationist from the Netherlands, who recently graduated with an MSc from the University of Amsterdam and the current chairman of the Batumi Raptor Count in Georgia.

As a passionate birdwatcher and movement ecologist, with a special love for raptors, the Batumi bottleneck has been close to his heart since he first joined the count in 2018. He is proud and honoured to lead the incredible team monitoring and protecting thousands of migratory raptors in the Batumi region.

Lia Kajiki is a Brazilian biologist and behavioural ecologist with a PhD from the University of Brasília.

Her research experience focuses mostly on investigating birds in the Neotropics, spanning more than 10 years of fieldwork activities in the region, including the Amazon forest, Atlantic Forest and Cerrado biomes. Kajiki’s main research interests involve the evolution of sociality and social networks, and sexual selection in birds.

For four years, she studied the natural history and breeding biology of the Helmeted Manakin (Antilophia galeata), a beautiful bird endemic to the Cerrado biome that was thought to have deviated from the general behavioural pattern found in the family.

Kajiki strongly believes in the power of education and the paramount role of local communities in the conservation and protection of biodiversity. Thus, she currently orchestrates in London conservation projects with the 'ribeirinhos' (river-dwellers) in the Lower Rio Branco Jauaperi region in the Brazilian Amazon.

Dr Stuart Butchart is Chief Scientist at BirdLife International, the world’s largest partnership of national nature conservation organisations. He leads BirdLife Science Division, providing strategic oversight for the team’s work to develop and manage BirdLife global scientific datasets and undertake research to underpin BirdLife Conservation Programmes.

He has worked on assessing the extinction risk of the world’s birds for the IUCN Red List, developing biodiversity indicators (including the Red List Index), establishing the Key Biodiversity Areas Partnership and was a Coordinating Lead Author for the IPBES Global Assessment. He has published widely on the state of the world’s birds, the threats to them, the solutions required, and the impact of conservation.

I am not affiliated with a bird organisation or research body. Can I still attend?

Yes. This conference is open to all. All children aged 16 and under must be accompanied by an adult and we would suggest the content will be best enjoyed by those aged 15 and over.

How much does it cost to attend?

Adult: £10.00

Students, disabled adults and job seekers: £7

Disabled person companion: Free

Online: £5

Where is the conference?

The conference is being held in the 200-seat Flett Theatre in the Natural History Museum. The nearest entrance is the East Entrance on Exhibition Road.

How do I get into the Museum?

Please visit our getting here page for information on how to find us.

What’s included?

One day programme of speakers. Entrance to the museum’s temporary exhibitions is not included, however the day is designed so that guests will have time to visit the museum galleries and exhibitions during and after the event. Tickets for temporary exhibitions will need to be purchased separately.

What’s not included?

Lunch & refreshments are not included. South Kensington is well provided with local eateries that will cover a range of dietary options. The lunch period has been extended to allow time for delegates to make their own arrangements. For a full range of options, visit Discover South Ken.

Can I view the conference online?

Yes, livestream tickets are available from £5.

I can no longer attend. What do I do?

Please email conference@nhm.ac.uk and we can reallocate your ticket

I have registered but have not received a confirmation email.

Email conference@nhm.ac.uk, and it can be resent.

I have another question.

Please email conference@nhm.ac.uk