February 14, 2023
The State of the World’s Birds and What Can You Do To Help!

Derek Matthews

Chair of the Vancouver Avian Centre

Derek was born in Hertfordshire, north of London, England and developed a very early interest in birds, joining a local bird ringing group as a young teenager.

A passionate ornithologist, avian researcher and conservationist, Derek is the Chair of the Vancouver Avian Research Centre, a Master bird bander (a Master Bander is an individual licensed by Environment Canada to capture and band wild birds) and an NABC (North American Banding Council) Certified Trainer.
With his wife Carol, Derek has traveled extensively, birding throughout the world in over 85 countries.

They have a life list of over 5,500 species and have developed World Bird Traveler (https://worldbirdtraveler.com/who-we-are/) as a resource to help birders plan trips.

Derek also leads field trips and bird tours and hosts Bird Monitoring and Banding and Bird Identification workshops. He enjoys sharing his knowledge and enthusiasm for birds and the environment with others, and this can be seen from the many testimonials from participants in the workshops he teaches. He is also known as an entertaining educator and charismatic speaker who addresses groups across the country on issues relating to birds and the environment.

“The birds of the world are in serious trouble and common species are in decline around the globe with 1 in 8 of the world’s birds threatened with extinction.”