If you have ever been to a large RSPB wetland reserve anywhere in the UK, and enjoyed the evocative calls of breeding redshank, snipe, curlew or lapwings, it is very likely that my friend Mark Smart, who has died suddenly aged 56, was involved in some way in directly creating that habitat. His work was formally recognised in 2018 when he was given the national Marsh Award for Wetland Conservation Achievement.
I first met Mark when we were teenagers volunteering with the Wash Wader Ringing Group (WWRG) in the saltmarshes of East Anglia. I was with my bird-obsessed parents, and he had tagged along with his older sister, Allison. This introduction to practical bird conservation sparked a passion for wetlands and wading birds that would lead him into a distinguished career over 30 years with the RSPB.
