David Bradley is the Director of the British Columbia program at Birds Canada. He serves on the International Management Board and the Technical Committee at Pacific Birds Habitat Joint Venture.
David lives and plays on the Pacific Coast of Canada, where he first came as an undergraduate at the University of British Columbia. He spent much of his time at university on the shores of the Salish Sea closely watching water birds such as the Red-throated Loon and the Black Oystercatcher. A chance encounter during his 4th year led to fieldwork with Dr. Kathy Martin in the interior of BC on cavity nesting birds, which led to opportunities to assist on field projects in southern Mexico and Panama, where he learned much about tropical ecology and study design.
Despite his love of the ocean, David left the West Coast to pursue graduate work in Costa Rica and New Zealand, where he fostered his love for Latin America and working on small, isolated islands with endangered species. He became particularly fascinated in the behavioural implications for isolated populations in the emergence and maintenance of vocal dialects in birds.
Following his PhD work, David joined Birds Canada as a postdoctoral researcher, where he investigated the migration ecology of tree swallows. As luck would have it, David was able to return to British Columbia, where he is now the Director of BC programs. His current interests are focused are on the conservation of coastal waterbirds and species at risk.
David now lives with his wife and two young daughters in White Rock, BC.
Birds Canada is a non-profit, charitable organization built on the enthusiastic contributions of thousands of caring members and volunteer Citizen Scientists. Data (observations) collected by Citizen Scientists, alongside targeted research projects, are used to identify significant bird population changes and help direct conservation planning.
