John Cantelo

John was born in Southampton in 1950. He has been interested in birds - and drawing them - since childhood. One of his earliest memories is of getting covered in mud whilst attempting to get a closer view of Dunlin. In retrospect the ticking off that followed was clearly prophetic! Fortunate to find a like minded friend on the first day of Infant School and more of the same at Secondary School, his teenage years were spent chasing the wrong kind of bird first across his native Hampshire and then later into Dorset before reaching the dizzy heights of Norfolk and Suffolk. Birding expeditions to Fair Isle, Austria, France and Spain soon followed. In more recent years he has birded extensively in Europe and also in North America.

Having qualified as a teacher in 1975, he soon realised that a migrating to Kent was a wise move ornithologically and he has been resident in the county since 1978. For some years he was leader of the Canterbury RSPB Group, then a YOC Leader and later helped to organise a number of successful KOS conferences at Canterbury Christ Church University College. Throughout the 80s and 90s most of his birding was done by bicycle although his ability to cadge lifts allowed him to catch up with most Kent rarities! Throughout this period he continued to draw and paint birds with illustrations appearing in KOS publications, "British Birds", "Birding" and other magazines. Moving to part-time teaching in 2000 has given him more time to indulge his interest in painting and drawing birds and to take on the role as a Field Teacher at Dungeness RSPB Reserve.

John may be contacted by post at 17 Clyde Street, Canterbury, CT1 1NA or by email at lancelot@nasuwt.net .