David Michael Bird

I have spent forty years of my life studying birds of prey at McGill University in Montreal, amassing nearly 200 peer-reviewed scientific publications and supervising fifty graduate students. I have also taught ornithology and wildlife conservation to several hundred undergraduate students. Many of my students have gone on to secure influential jobs in wildlife biology in North America and beyond. I also believe strongly in promoting science to the public and have given countless hours to writing magazine and newspaper columns and appearing on radio and television. Ten years ago, I came across the use of drones by military personnel and immediately saw their potential for studying and managing wildlife. I supervised four graduate theses on applications of drones for this purpose and, four years ago, I founded the Journal of Unmanned Vehicle Systems.

October 2016