Our team
Professor Charles Tyler
Charles Tyler is a professor in Environmental Biology and Deputy Head of Biosciences at the University of Exeter. He has 30 years experience in environmental research. His team studies many aspects of animal biology, physiology and ecotoxicology. Most of his team’s work is focused on fish and the aquatic environment, but he also studies a wide range of other animal subjects including bees, birds and mammals. He works closely with industry and government regulatory authorities internationally to support input of high quality science in environmental protection. Charles has a passion for all aspects of natural history and loves nothing more than being out in the field watching and photographing wildlife. Cuckoos are a particular passion of his. |
Mark Lawrence
Mark Lawrence has more than 15 years of experience as a BTO ringer and nest recorder. He is the main nest recorder in the team and is one of the founding members of the group. He has been monitoring Dartmoor nests as a volunteer for the last 8 years, and is teaching the newer team members the fine art of nest finding. When monitoring nests away from Dartmoor, his species of interest include Cirl Buntings and Peregrine Falcons, amongst many others. |
Sara Zonneveld
Sara works in our group as a PhD researcher at the University of Exeter. Her main interest is in understanding breeding of Meadow Pipits, Stonechats and Whinchats. She has been a team member since 2013, spending the field seasons monitoring nests, mapping habitats and measuring growth rates of nestlings. She is also the admin and main contact person for this website. |
Lowell Mills
Lowell joined the team in 2014 as a NERC CASE funded PhD researcher with the RSPB. His main interest is the Cuckoo and its Meadow Pipit host. The aim of his work is to understand habitat use and foraging by these two species, and he therefore spends most the season recording foraging behaviours and collecting adult and chick faecal samples for diet analysis. |
Dave Scott
Dave is a wildlife artist and photographer, and runs a rehabilitation center for wild birds. Additionally he is a BTO ringer and nest recorder. You can check out some of his artwork here. |
John Walters
John is a field naturalist, wildlife artist and author. He has a passion for natural history and spends many hours each year observing and recording the behaviour of our Dartmoor birds and insects. You can find out more about his work on his website. |
Past team members
Others who have supported this work over the years in data collection and analysis are:
Josh Marshall - Nest recorder (2013-2014)
Marta Soffker - Research assistant (2011-2012)
Dominic Walter - Undergraduate project student (2011)
Louis Westley - Undergraduate project student (2012)
Jacelyn Hawkey - Undergraduate project student (2013)
Rachel West - Undergraduate project student (2014)
Others who have supported this work over the years in data collection and analysis are:
Josh Marshall - Nest recorder (2013-2014)
Marta Soffker - Research assistant (2011-2012)
Dominic Walter - Undergraduate project student (2011)
Louis Westley - Undergraduate project student (2012)
Jacelyn Hawkey - Undergraduate project student (2013)
Rachel West - Undergraduate project student (2014)
Collaborations
We work closely with a range of local and national organisations, including Devon Birds, the Dartmoor National Park Authority, the BTO and the RSPB.
We work closely with a range of local and national organisations, including Devon Birds, the Dartmoor National Park Authority, the BTO and the RSPB.