Born and raised in Liverpool, UK, Stephen emigrated to Sweden in 2020 and now lives in the southern city of Malmö. He is editor of British Birds, a prestigious ornithological journal whose history goes back to 1907, and is manager of Falsterbo Bird Observatory. Although most days are now spent at his desk, Stephen is blessed with some fantastic birding opportunities locally – not least the spectacular migration that occurs in the region each fall – and is actively involved in the banding at Falsterbo as often as he’s able to be.
Before coming to Sweden, Stephen worked first with app development in London, including developing the Collins Bird Guide app, before moving to the south coast of England where he spent two years working for The Sound Approach. Stephen is currently a member of the British Birds Rarities Committee and he has a particular interest in identification, molt and taxonomy. He has birded extensively across Europe and the wider Western Palearctic.
Stephen is an exceptional guide, particularly for someone relatively young. He combines superb birding skills (especially by ear) with an impressive ability to manage overall logistics, and problems as they come up.
- Malcolm B. on Morocco in Spring
Stephen was excellent. Top notch guide, wonderful with all of us on the tour as well as dealing with the logistics with the locals. He was very good about directing his attention equally to all of us.
- Mary G. on Morocco in Spring
Stephen made such a great impression with his leading that as soon as I got home, I booked another one of his tours. I plan to book another Wings tour soon, a different leader, but if Stephen is representative of Wings leaders, then I’m all in! He’s great!
- Tara O.
Stephen Menzie is a wonderful guide and brings a vast source of knowledge about the local birds. He has an uncanny ability to locate birds by ear. In addition, he also had a store of interesting stories of birds, birding and adventures in Oman and was always willing to answer questions. I really enjoy traveling with guides that bring more than just the location and identification of birds. I would recommend Stephen to anyone considering one of his tours and would definitely travel with him as a guide again.
- Eva L. on Oman
Stephen was a delight, he gave us the insider's view of bird banding and migration at Falsterbo. In addition, he provided a running commentary on an outsider's perspective on life in Sweden. We ate at fantastic restaurants, learned a lot about Viking history, stopped at a Viking museum and rune stone.
- Dana L. on Sweden: Fall Migration at Falsterbo