About Peter Harrison
Ornithologist. Author. Artist. Conservationist. An extraordinary man on a fascinating journey.
Peter Harrison has devoted his life to studying, painting, and writing about the seabirds of our world. He has authored over a dozen books and is one of only a handful of authors to both write and illustrate their bird books. Peter’s first book—the critically-acclaimed Seabirds: An Identification Guide published in 1983—has been considered the bible of seabird identification for nearly 40 years. That is about to be eclipsed by his latest work, SEABIRDS: The New Identification Guide. Fifteen years in the making, this lavishly illustrated book comprises 600 pages discussing 435 species of Seabirds.
In recognition of his acclaimed work in natural history and his global conservation efforts, Peter was invited to Buckingham Palace to receive an MBE from Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. Subsequently, Peter received the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds’ Conservation Gold Medal, the United Kingdom’s highest conservation award. Past recipients include Sir David Attenborough. More recently, Peter was honored to receive the Linnaean Society’s Eisenmann Medal Award for Excellence in Ornithology. In 2019, Peter was invited to the House of Lords, Westminster, London, to deliver an impassioned speech to raise awareness and funds for the Gough Island Restoration Project, arguably what will prove to be one of the most important conservation projects in the world today.
As an explorer and co-founder of global travel company, Apex Expeditions, Peter Harrison has led expeditions throughout the world, from the Arctic to the Antarctic and everywhere in between. Exploration and discovery remain a driving force for Peter and during a recent expedition to Chile he led a six-person team to locate, catch and describe the first completely new storm petrel species to be discovered in nearly 100 years, the Pincoya Storm Petrel.
When not leading expeditions, Peter and his wife Shirley Metz enjoy their home in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.
Shirley Metz and Peter Harrison at Grytviken, South Georgia.
Shirley’s interest in ocean health and conservation led her to Antarctica. Inspired by her first visit, she hoped to promote Antarctic conservation and raise awareness of the continent’s challenges. Shirley joined an international expedition team that would attempt to ski from the edge of Antarctica to the South Pole—800 miles. On January 17, 1989, the nine-member team, which included two women, arrived at the end of the world. Shirley made her way into the Guinness Book of Records as one of the first women to ski overland to the South Pole.
In 1990, while working in Antarctica, Shirley met the “Birdman,” Peter Harrison, on board an expedition vessel. This chance meeting sent both their lives careening towards 30 years of global travel and helping to raise millions of dollars towards global conservation efforts. Shirley is a board member of the “Friends of South Georgia,” under the auspices of the South Georgia Heritage Trust and continues to raise funds and awareness for environmental issues. She is a member of the Explorers Club and the Society of Woman Geographers and a recipient of the Soviet Polar medal.
Meet the Seabirds Team
Hans Larsson
Hans Larsson was born in the Gambia but lives in Sweden and is one of the country’s leading bird artists. He was voted Bird Artist of the Year (1994) by Vår Fågelvärld, the leading Swedish ornithological journal. Subsequently, the Swedish Ornithological Union honored him as its Birder of the Year (1996).
Hans is not only a gifted bird artist, but he is also a recognized Laridae expert who understands the complex and often bewildering vortex of gull, tern, and skua taxonomy. Han’s contribution to this project has been hugely significant. Ten years of his life was dedicated to creating the 93 plates for the Seaduck, Gull, Tern, and Skua sections of SEABIRDS: The New Identification Guide.
Hans has previously illustrated the acclaimed Terns of Europe and North America (1995) and Skuas and Jaegers of the World (1997), both by Klaus Malling Olsen. More recently (2004), he completed the 96 plates for Klaus Malling Olsen’s seminal work, Gulls of Europe, Asia and North America.
Hans lives in Sweden with his wife and three children.
Martin Perrow
Dr. Martin Perrow has been a professional ecologist for 30 years as head of one of the foremost ecological consultancies in the UK. He has authored more than 130 scientific papers, articles, reports, and book chapters. However, Martin is probably best known as editor of several seminal books including the two-volume Handbook of Ecological Restoration and the four-volume Wildlife and Wind Farms: Conflicts and Solutions. In 2015, Martin received the Carl Zeiss Award from the British Birds Rarities Committee.
Peter met Martin on the decks of a ship in the lee of Campbell Island, south of New Zealand. A gale was blowing with seabirds all around the vessel. It was a pivotal moment in both their lives as from that day forward Martin became a sentinel part of the “seabird team.” Martin has added structure and uniformity to texts Peter wrote over the life of the creation of SEABIRDS: The New Identification Guide. Most importantly, Martin has tightened up taxonomy and relationships, revamping it all to include the latest research findings.
An avid birder with an innate love of water, Martin has traveled the oceans in both hemispheres, on both a personal seabird quest and as a tour guide. Martin lives in the UK with his wife and two children.
This photo: Wandering Albatross. © Peter Harrison