Brydon Thomason

A native Shetlander, Brydon grew up on a croft on the beautiful island of Fetlar.  With birds as evocative as Red-throated Diver, Storm Petrel, Red-necked Phalarope and Snowy Owl literally on his doorstep, it is little wonder that he had a passion for birds from childhood.

But it wasn't just birds that inspired Brydon: Otters, and in particular their secretive lives, fascinated him from a young age.  Learning to track their movements and elusive behaviour in his childhood developed into a life's passion.

As well as Brydon’s passion for birds and Otters he is also fascinated by the marine environment and in particular the sea mammals which abound within it.  In recent years he has worked very closely with the North Atlantic (and Scottish) Killer Whale Identification Project and has played an integral role in their research.

Brydon’s interest in his natural environment was greatly encouraged by his childhood hero, the legendary Shetland naturalist, the late Bobby Tulloch.  Like Bobby, Brydon has gained most of his knowledge as a field naturalist from the environment he has grown up in.

It was a combination of his experience as a naturalist, his warm personality and a heady blend of pride and passion that led Brydon to establish his wildlife tour company ‘Shetland Nature’, and build a career around the life he feels so privileged to live.  “Running our holidays and tours is for me the perfect way to celebrate and communicate my love for Shetland with its world-class wildlife.  Living in such an awe-inspiring environment as Shetland is an enviable privilege; sharing it with others is a way of giving something back”.

Although a proud Shetlander through and through, Brydon’s love of natural history has inspired him on many travels visiting Asia, Antarctic, Africa, the Americas and the Middle East.

Brydon is a keen photographer and in recent years his local knowledge and experience as a field naturalist has been sought out by well-known British wildlife photographers such as David Tipling, Peter Cairns, Mark Hamblin and Chris Gomersal.  He has worked closely on several TV productions: most recently and especially Simon King’s Shetland Diaries series.