Smith, Steve J.: - Living in the eastern valley of Gwent all his life, Steve has had an interest in natural history, particularly birds, since early childhood. This interest gathered momentum with maturity and he began to study birds in greater depth. He has been a licenced bird ringer with the British Trust for Ornithology for many years. Steve has contributed to many journals and books by other writers and has become an authority on the whinchat in Wales. He is also a keen photographer and artist as well as a part-time shepherd, helping to preserve rare breed sheep. He is a recently retired countryside ranger and he describes his interest in the whinchat as 'obsessive'