Quick Facts
Biography
Lee Evans is a well-known British bird-lover, author on rare birds and bird tour leader. He has seen 579 species of bird in Britain and Ireland; however his principal interest is British Isles yearlisting, where he aims to see over 300 species of bird in the wild in Britain and Ireland each year. Amongst his many accolades are seeing a record 386 species in Britain and Ireland in 1996, 704 species in the Western Palearctic in one calendar year, 222 species in Britain in January and 209 species in just one week - he is addicted and obsessed in every way.
Evans setup and runs the UK 400 Club, a group for birders interested in rare birds and twitching, but his role there is sometimes seen as a conflict of interest by his close rivals - and some editorial comments he has made and the resulting writs have made him a controversial figure in British twitching
He has written 27 different books on birds, including the highly acclaimed and sought-after Rare Birds in Britain 1800-1990 and a number of volumes in his Rare Birds and Scarce Migrants of... series as well as producing a large number of identification papers (such as those on white wagtails, redpolls, Hume's yellow-browed warbler, etc.) and was instrumental in launching the Bird Information Service and its associated magazine and Birdlines.
Evans is a regular contributor to BirdWatching magazine, writing a monthly round-up of UK and Irish rarities.