Athol Marchant is one of Southern Africa’s most experienced birders and bird tour leaders. Athol has a strong scientific background with a degree in Zoology, Entomology and Botany, Honours in Wildlife Management and a Masters in Zoology. He has served with the Natal Parks Board, now KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife, for 27 years as a terrestrial ecologist. He also worked as a game ranger in Botswana and has lectured on birds and bird identification on numerous occasions. Athol has also contributed to many bird-related publications including some very prestigious books. He is a long-standing member of the South African Rarities Committee and with over 870 species seen in Southern Africa, he is one of the regions most experienced birders. His adventures have taken him birding around the world and in particular, he spent months camping in Antarctica and is an acknowledged sea-bird expert. His other interests include indigenous plants and he has developed his own indigenous garden for birds which has featured in two books on indigenous gardening.