Esteemed SRSG scientist wins prestigious award

Dr Mick Marquiss, a long-term SRSG member and the current Co-Chair of the North East Raptor Study Group has been awarded the prestigious BTO Bernard Tucker Medal for services to ornithology.

The Tucker Medal is an annual award for outstanding contributions to the scientific work of the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), the UK’s leading bird research organisation.

Mick joined the BTO in 1967, qualifying for his bird ringing permit in the same year. The medal was awarded specifically for his role, over more than 20 years, as a member of a voluntary panel of experts providing advice on special methods of marking and tracking birds.

Mick received his medal at the recent BTO annual conference in Derbyshire. Introducing him, Ken Smith said: “Mick’s mix of practical fieldcraft, common sense, wealth of ornithological experience and good science have allowed him to make a massive contribution to the work of the expert panel, and make him a worthy recipient of this prestigious award”.

Receiving the award, Mick said: “Thank you BTO for recognising me in this way. I have always thought that providing this technical advice has been vital for both ensuring the welfare of the birds but also in ensuring good quality data are collected. I have been very pleased to have been able to make such a contribution over the years”.

Mick’s unassuming nature belies a razor-sharp mind. He is perhaps best known amongst SRSG members for his pioneering research on the effect of white-tailed eagle predation on lambs in western Scotland and his long-term study on the effects of persecution on a North East goshawk population.

Congratulations, Mick!

This is the third consecutive year that an SRSG member has won the Tucker Medal. In 2010 it was won by Dr Hugh Insley (Highland Raptor Study Group) and in 2011 it went to Mike Nicoll (Tayside Raptor Study Group).