Tony Soper
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Tony Soper (born 10 January 1929) is a British naturalist, author and broadcaster.
Life and career
[edit]Soper was educated at Hyde Park Elementary School and at Devonport High School for Boys, both in Plymouth. He joined the BBC at 17 as a "youth-in-training", subsequently graduating by way of studio manager to features producer in radio, then moved into television. Among the radio programmes he produced were Birds In Britain.
Soper co-founded the BBC's Natural History Unit as its first film producer, with Patrick Beech the then South West Controller. Cutting his teeth on the LOOK series he organised far-flung wildlife filming projects. He presented live television programmes, including Birdwatch, Birdspot, Discovering Birds, Discovering Animals, Beside the Sea, Wildtrack and Nature. Soper also co-presented Animal Magic with Johnny Morris for a few years in the 1960s. For many years he also had a regular column in the RSPB members' magazine.
As Expedition Leader and a pioneer of wildlife cruising, he spent twenty years between 1992 and 2012 exploring both polar regions. He holds a British Yachtmaster's certificate and is a qualified compressed air, oxygen, hard hat diver.
Soper's wife Hilary is a wildlife painter, and they have two sons.
Honours
[edit]He is a recipient of the British Naturalists' Association Peter Scott Memorial Award.[1]
DVDs
[edit]A single 23-minute episode of Wildtrack is available as a bonus feature on the DVD and Blu-ray release of David Attenborough's 1979 series Life on Earth.
Bibliography
[edit](incomplete)
- The Bird Table Book (1965, several editions to 2006)
- The Shell Guide to Beachcombing (1972)
- Wildlife Begins at Home (1975)
- Everyday Birds (1976)
- Wildlife of The Dart Estuary (1982)
- Discovering Birds (1983)
- Penguins [with John Sparks] (1987)
- A Passion For Birds (1988)
- Owls [with John Sparks] (1995)
- Wildlife of the North Atlantic (2008)
- The Arctic: A Guide to Coastal Wildlife (2012)
- The Northwest Passage (2012)
- Antarctica: A Guide to the Wildlife (2013)[2]
References
[edit]- ^ "The Peter Scott Memorial Award" (PDF). bna-naturalists.org. British Naturalists' Association. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
- ^ Chalfont St Peter: Bradt Travel Guides. ISBN 9781841624839
External links
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