Stephen J. M. Gantlett is a British

birder Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device such as binoculars or a telescope, ...

. He lives with his wife Sue in

Cley-next-the-Sea Cley next the Sea (, ) is a village and civil parish on the River Glaven in the England, English county of Norfolk, England, Norfolk. Cley next the Sea is located north-west of Holt, Norfolk, Holt and north-west of Norwich. History The vil ...

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

. A qualified optician, SJMG retired from this profession in 1982 to become a full-time ornithologist. He was the editor of

Birding World ''Birding World'' was a monthly birdwatching, birding magazine published in the United Kingdom. It was the magazine of the Bird Information Service, based at Cley next the Sea, Norfolk. With the publication of issue No. 26/12 in January 2014, ''Bi ...

magazine until it ceased production in January 2014. He also co-runs Birdline, a telephone information service containing news of rare birds, with Richard Millington. Steve Gantlett is a

twitcher Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device such as binoculars or a telescope, ...

. He is one of a small number of

birders Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device such as binoculars or a telescope, ...

who have seen over 500 species in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

. He is a former member of the

British Birds Rarities Committee The British Birds Rarities Committee (BBRC), established in 1959, is the national bird rarities committee for Britain. It assesses claimed sightings of bird species that are rarely seen in Britain, based on descriptions, photographs and video re ...

. Gantlett's specialism as an ornithologist is the advancement of bird identification. Among the areas of knowledge in which Gantlett has played a key role are the identification of orange-billed terns. He also found the UK's first Rock Sparrow at Cley on 14 June 1981 (with Richard Millington), still the only record in the UK. He has published papers on this subject in

and in British Birds.Gantlett, S.J.M. Lesser Crested Tern in Norfolk. '' British Birds'' 81, 282-283.

References

British nature writers Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) British magazine editors People from Cley next the Sea {{UK-ornithologist-stub