Richard hails from the Isle of Man, a small island in the Irish Sea that shaped his interested in seabirds. He now considers himself a proud Dunedinite, having swapped the auks of the Northern Hemisphere for the penguins of the south. He came to New Zealand 8 years ago pursuing his love of seabirds and rugby. While a distinct lack of ability hampered his rugby career, he’s made great strides with a career in penguin conservation. Richard completed the Master of Wildlife Management Programme at Otago University in 2018. He completed his thesis under Thomas’s supervision, using animal-borne video loggers to investigate hoiho/yellow-eyed penguin foraging ecology. After graduating he landed a Ranger role with the Department of Conservation before linking back up with Thomas to coordinate a national monitoring programme for kororā/little penguins under the banner of the NZ Penguin Initiative. Throughout this time Richard contributed to the Tawaki Project by squeezing into tawaki burrrows to monitor nests and retrieve tracking devices. Richard is now back at the Department of Conservation working as Senior Ranger for Coastal Species, leading the management of hoiho and pakake/NZ Sea Lions.