He has lived in the Swan River Valley area for 50 years and he knows the area. His hobby lead him to  take a correspondence course in Bird Biology  from the Laboratory of Ornithology at Cornell University in 1988 when he retired from practicing optometry after 37 years.

His retirement got him into the "Feeder Watch Project" which he still keeps up. The Christmas Bird Count was begun that year too. It has been successfully carried out each year by 12 to 15 participants. A bird watching friend got him in to putting up over 100 boxes to check, lean and repair each year which are spread around the valley.  His wife Phyl and  himself try to visit these boxes at least three times a year and record their findings.

Hugh and his wife have also been involved in a Breeding Bird Survey each  spring for the past 10 years. Hugh has kept a log of his casual sightings and observations of wildlife encounters.

Hugh's special interests in Wildlife behavior and the challenge to understand what he is observing.

Hugh is a true lover of the outdoors!!!