This is not an obituary, just a few thoughts. It is customary for complimentary words to follow the demise of a friend, but in Chris's case there could be no others. He was genuinely one of the nicest people I have ever met. I've never heard a critical or disparaging word about him, or from him about anyone else.
Chris was a proud Shropshire man, but spent most of his life living, working and birding in Ceredigion. His knowledge of the county's birds was prodigious, and we spent many hours discussing sightings past and present, which he seemingly recalled without effort. He had an enormous network of friends and contacts, and on my birding outings over the years it wasn't unusual to be approached by a stranger who, seeing the bins, asked if I knew Chris Bird.
I will paticularly miss our Monday night chats. University Challenge had been our battleground for a good number of years, and at 9 o'clock we would compare scores and answers before moving to the latest bird news. By the way, he and Carol beat me this week.
My thoughts are with his wife Carol, their daughter and his brother Julian. He will be missed by many.