John Barnes 1936 - 2013
John died on the 30th
December, 2013 at Plas y Garnedd Residential Home in Llanberis. He was 77 and
had been ill for many months.
John was born and brought up in Long
Eaton, Derbyshire and started birding his local area as a boy. After
University, he taught French at Secondary School level. Somewhat naturally for
a birdwatcher, his first post was at a school in Diss, Norfolk
They moved to North Wales in 1966,
when John took up a post at the (then) Caernarfon Grammar School
Although a Modern Languages graduate
he had always considered Ornithology to be a major interest and he had
travelled widely finding, studying and photographing birds. His particular
interest was in woodland birds, from the Welsh oak-woods to the tropical
rainforest.
John not only enjoyed birdwatching
and ornithology, he was interested in all aspects of natural history,
especially mammals. He contributed a great deal to the appreciation and
recording of our local wildlife by becoming involved with natural history
societies and conveying his quiet enthusiasm for the natural world to other
people. The following are some of his achievements:
He had been President of the
Cambrian Ornithological Society and was made an honorary life member in
recognition of his services. He also edited the Society’s Bulletin for over 26
years. He retired after editing his 100th bulletin in 2008.
His book “Birds of Caernarfonshire”
was published in 1997 and 10 years later he published a second book “Dreamcatcher:
four decades of North Wales birdwatching”.
He was an active member of the North
Wales Wildlife Trust, serving both as a Council member and Trustee.
John had also been president and
committee member of Bangor Bird Group and regional representative of the
British Trust for Ornithology for 18 years as well as being the County recorder
for the Caernarfonshire area.
He contributed greatly to the North
Wales Ornithological scene for many years and will be sadly missed. Rest in
peace.
By Ron Evans
I corresponded with John in the mid to late 1990s on Dotterel in North Wales. He was always enthusiastic about the birds and hoped the odd pair would remain to breed one day. I have a few lovely photos of Dotterel taken by John.
ReplyDeleteColin Richards.