WOS Lifetime Achievement Award
Welsh Ornithological Society
The WOS Lifetime Achievement Award is given to individuals who have made a lasting contribution to ornithology in Wales. Nominations are made by WOS members and Affiliated clubs.
- Who can nominate?
Any member of WOS, affiliated bird clubs or Wildlife Trust bird group in Wales can nominate a person for the award. The nominee does not have to be a WOS member to receive the Award. - What do they win?
Each award is produced in glass for the winner to keep. They will be presented to the winner at the Conference, to which the nominee will be invited as a special guest. - How do I nominate someone and what does my nomination need to include?
Email your nomination to chair@birdsin.wales. You will need to include details of the nominee, confirmation of your eligibility to nominate and a supporting statement. It would be helpful if you could use the attached form (PDF or Word doc) when making a nomination. Please read the guidance before completing your nomination. - What is the timescale for nominations?
We usually invite nominations in July each year, with a closing date of the end of September.
No awards were made in 2020 or 2022, but two awards were made in 2021 – to Bob Haycock and Al Venables – and two in 2023 – to John Wilson and Bob Tallack. The panel of Award Winners below will be updated shortly to include both John and Bob separately.
Who has been awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award?
See who has been honoured so far in our hall of fame
A very successful and thought-provoking 2023 Conference – and WOS will take action on the messages
120 delegates came to the 2023 Annual Conference at Aberystwyth University on 4th November, including an encouraging number of Young Birders, and they enjoyed an excellent and thought-provoking day. There were some clear messages for WOS Council coming out of the presidential introduction, the talks and the panel discussion about the need for all of us to take action about the alarming state of our red-listed species and our increasingly impoverished biodiversity.
2021 – Al Venables
Dr Al Venables has been involved with the Gwent Ornithological Society for 49 years, as Chairman for a five year
2021 – Bob Haycock MBE
Bob Haycock arrived on the Welsh scene as NCC warden in Brecknock in 1978 straight from the wardenship of the
2019 – Tony Cross
WOS Lifetime Achievement Award 2019 Tony Cross It seems premature to nominate Tony for a ‘lifetime’ achievement award as the
2018 – Bob Howells
Bob Howells was one of the founder members of Gower Ornithological Society some sixty years ago, beginning a lifetime of
2017 – Jerry Lewis
Jerry has played an important birding role within Gwent and the wider area of South Wales over many years. He
2016 – Steve Roberts
Steve has spent his spare time seeking out and researching birds and in recent years has been a chief-nest finder
2015 – Dr Stephanie Tyler
Until very recently, there were too few women in conservation or the natural sciences. Steph Tyler was one of the
2014 – David Saunders MBE
Being appointed Skomer’s first Warden in 1960 began a lifelong association with Pembrokeshire, from where he organised the first ever
2014 – Peter Davis MBE
Having been warden of Lundy Bird Observatory from 1951, Skokholm from 1954 and Fair Isle from 1957, and after a
2013 – Graham Williams
Graham Williams has done more for the acquisition and management of land for wildlife than any other person in Wales.
2013 – Roger Lovegrove
Roger is the foundation on which RSPB Cymru still operates today. In 27 years as its Director in Wales, he
2013 – John Lawton Roberts
For more than 40 years, John Lawton Roberts has been watching, ringing, reporting on and photographing birds, primarily in Northeast
2012 – Mike Shrubb
Mike’s knowledge of the birds of agricultural landscapes has helped to ensure that our understanding of the impacts of farming
2012 – Graham Rees
Graham has been a ‘Strumbler’, one of a hardy band of birders at Pembrokeshire’s Strumble Head, for many years. He
2012 – Peter Hope-Jones
Starting his career at the newly-founded Fair Isle Bird Observatory, Peter returned to Wales in the 1960s, firstly as NCC