Tour Leader

John Poyner

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Scotland resident John Poyner has worked locally as a professional wildlife tour guide and freelance ornithologist since 2002. He spent 12 years guiding tours for two of Scotland’s leading wildlife holiday companies throughout the Scottish Highlands and Islands as well as abroad, while simultaneously performing ornithological survey work. In 2012, John launched his own company, Highland Nature, while also working as a wildlife expert and guide for the Birdwatching and Wildlife Club (BWWC) and the Grant Arms Hotel in Grantown on Spey. In recent years, he has guided alongside the well-known faces of Nick Baker, Iolo Williams, Mike Dilger, and David Lindo on the Grant Arms “Celebrity Weeks.” John holds a Bachelor of Science (honors) degree in Environmental Science & Ecology. He has extensive experience with upland windfarm survey work, working in Scottish mountain environments during the winter months as well as in the summer breeding season, and other standard bird survey methodology. Prior to working as a professional guide, John moved to Scotland in the early 1990s, where he worked for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) as a volunteer at Loch Garten and Insh Marshes. Thereafter, he spent a season building footpaths in the Cairngorms Mountains before becoming assistant warden at RSPB’s Loch of Strathbeg Reserve, where he spent the next two years. John has also worked as a seasonal countryside ranger for Aberdeenshire Council. Later, he spent time teaching in the Czech Republic before returning to the Highlands to become a full-time wildlife guide. John is a competent and experienced ornithologist as a well as a keen amateur naturalist. An active birder for over 35 years, he has been the Scottish Ornithologists Club Regional Bird Recorder for Highland since 2020, as well as administering various social media news services for the region. John is based in Nethybridge, at the heart of the spectacular Cairngorms National Park, where he resides with his wife, Lucka, and sons, Mattias and Jakub.