Chris Cook
Chris has been interested in natural history, especially birds, since a very young age. Brought up in a small village in rural west Dorset in southwest England, he has been associated with Portland Bird Observatory since 1970. He trained as a bird ringer there, and from 1975 he wrote a monthly newspaper column about Dorset birds for the local Dorset Evening Echo. In the late 1970s he was a committee member of Cape Clear Bird Observatory in southwest Ireland.
Since moving to Asia in 1981, he has lived in Hong Kong, Seoul, and, for over 30 years, in Tokyo, where he worked as a news editor at The Japan Times. Between the mid-1980s and mid-1990s he also wrote a weekly fashion column for the paper.
Chris spends his spare time birding and enjoys mountain hiking, especially spending time with his buddies, the Rock Ptarmigan, in the high mountains of Nagano Prefecture!
For two decades Chris has been leading birdwatching tours throughout Japan.
Foreign tour companies he has worked with include: Sarus Bird Tours, Ornitholidays (U.K.), Eco-Expeditions, American Birding Association and Massachusetts Aububon Society (U.S.), and Liberty Bird Tours (Switzerland). He also assists numerous individuals and couples who prefer a private birdwatching guide.
© 2020 Mark Brazil & Chris Cook
Last updated: 20200602