The majority of my career was not in the field that formed the basis of my Fellowship, which was the conservation and breeding of wildfowl.

I continued to work in that field at The Wildfowl Trust for a number of years following my return and was able to put into practice much that I had learned in North America in relation to wildfowl and other waterbirds, particularly in relation to the successful breeding of 'difficult' species in captivity.

However, eventually I returned to law – my subject at Oxford and Cambridge. I joined a Manchester commercial law firm in 1983. It merged and expanded and eventually I became a partner in the international firm Eversheds Sutherland, specialising in pensions law. I recently retired from the firm and now work as an independent trustee of pension schemes.

I have, however, always maintained a close interest in birds and wildfowl in particular, and have maintained a very close connection with The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT). I was proud that Eversheds Sutherland selected WWT as one of the main charities for its cultural involvement and sponsorship programme.

My Fellowship fed my lifelong interest in, and connection with, birds and conservation.