Peter Howlett

 

Coming from the Channel Island of Guernsey my childhood was spent exploring the rocky beaches a few minutes from my home. This gave me a strong attachment to the sea and I don't like being away from the sea for very long.

 

At university I started bird ringing and this shaped my early career - I spent 6 years working at bird observatories. Two years each at the Calf of Man, Portland, and finally Fair Isle.

 

I moved from there to spend the next 23 years working as curator of vertebrates at the National Museum of Wales in Cardiff. It was during my time in the museum, in the early 2000s, that I began volunteering with MARINElife (and met several other members of OWE) and that really energised my interest cetaceans and seabirds.

 

I was able to take early retirement in 2012 and have been able to devote my time to my passion for photographing wildlife and undertaking some longer surveys for MARINElife, particularly a 5 week survey every October in conjunction with CEFAS.

 

I joined OWE in 2023 and since then have enjoyed spending many weeks helping passengers see wildlife and giving presentations and in the process dramatically expanded my knowledge of the world's seabirds and cetaceans.