Christopher John (Chris) Mead (b. 1 May 1940, d. 16 January 2003) was a popular British ornithologist, author and an influential member of the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO).

Chris Mead, it has been said, was a big man, both in stature and personality. He was enthusiastic about the natural world, and about communicating this world to those around him. He was an avid lover of jazz, (watching) rugby, motor racing, local history and archaeology.

Family

He married Verity (known as "V") in 1965; they had three daughters called Vanella, Harriet and Miranda.

Education

Educated at Aldenham School, Hertfordshire, he read Mathematics at Peterhouse, Cambridge, but never finished his degree.

Migration and ringing

An acknowledged expert on bird migration, he worked for the BTO for more than 40 years, from 1961. For most of that time (33 years) he worked in the BTO's Ringing Unit. In his lifetime, he caught and ringed over 400,000 birds of some 350 species in 18 countries. He was head of Britain's National Ringing Scheme.

Manx Shearwater

In 2002, Chris Mead calculated that a Manx Shearwater, first ringed as an adult in 1957 on Bardsey Island, Wales, and re-trapped in July 2002, had probably flown about 5 million miles (8 million km) over its lifespan. The same bird was caught on Bardsey again in July 2003 and May 2004, having outlived Mead.

Nightingales

To raise funds for the BTO's Nightingale research, he devised a CD of poetry, and Nightingale song (including several historic archive recordings) Nightingales: A Celebration with an accompanying book by Richard Mabey.

Retirement

In 1995, ill health brought about his early, and supposed, "retirement", after which he became the Trust's media consultant, regularly being intervewed on radio and in the press.

Awards

Mead is probably unique, in being given each of the UK's three prestigious awards for ornithology:

• The British Ornithologists' Union's Union Medal (1996)
• The BTO Bernard Tucker Medal (1997)
• The RSPB Medal (1999; for his achievements in the causes of wild bird protection and countryside conservation)

Memorial

Amazed by the spontaneous out-pouring of warmth following Mead's death, his family and the BTO decided to use the many proffered donations to develop the BTO's library, and rename it The Chris Mead Library.

A memorial day was held at the BTO's headquarters, The Nunnery, on 5 May 2003, at which his family and colleagues spoke warmly of his knowledge, and generosity in sharing it.

Mead was also remembered in a special edition of BBC Radio 4 wildlife programme Nature on 12 May 2003 (available on-line, see below).

Books

(incomplete list)

• Bird Ringing (1974)
• The Atlas of Breeding Birds of Britain and Ireland (1976) (contributor)
• Hertfordshire breeding bird atlas (1982)
• Bird Migration(1983)
• Robins (1984)
• Owls (1987)
• The State of the Nations' Birds (2000) (available on-line, see below)
• Migration Atlas: Movements of the Birds of Britain and Ireland (2002; contributor)

External links

• BTO Chris Mead Memorial Fund (http://www.bto.org/notices/chris-mead.htm)
• BTO Chris Mead Library (http://www.bto.org/appeals/plan.htm)
• Daily Telegraph obituary (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&targetRule=10&xml=%2Fnews%2F2003%2F01%2F17%2Fdb1702.xml)
• Species Accounts from State of the Nations' Birds (http://birdcare.com/birdon/birdcare/items/sonb.html)
• BBC Nature tribute programme (http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/science/nature_20030512.shtml) (Available from this page as streaming Real Audio).
• Mead's tips on raising mealworms (http://birdcare.com/birdon/birdcare/tipsheets/foods.html)

Source

BTO Press release