Jim Richards

Jim was born and raised in Oshawa, and he first took an interest in nature at age 7. At age 10, he took up the hobby of collecting birds’ eggs. By his early teens, Jim was hooked on birding and he was issued a collecting permit by the Canadian Wildlife Service in 1964 and a banding permit in 1968.

In 1974, Jim (together with his friend and fellow DOA recipient, Ron Tozer) co-authored Birds of the Oshawa-Lake Scugog Region, Ontario, considered to be one of the most well-respected regional bird monographs ever produced in Ontario. A dedicated conservationist, Jim founded the Second Marsh Defence Association (now the Friends of Second Marsh) and successfully advocated against development in the area over a period of 20 years. Later, Jim persuaded his employer at the time, General Motors of Canada, to convert a significant portion of the property acquired for its new corporate headquarters into wildlife habitat. This property is adjacent to the Oshawa Second Marsh which he has worked so passionately to preserve.

As well, Jim is an accomplished nature photographer whose photographs have appeared on the covers of numerous publications including A Nature Guide to Ontario, The Birds of Presqu’ile Provincial Park, Ontario Birds at Risk – Status and Conservation, Oak Ridges Moraine and Birds Worth Watching. His photographic documentation of the nesting Little Gulls in Durham Region in the early 1970s represents the best work on this species in North America. In addition, Jim documented the first Durham Region nest records of Ruddy Duck, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Northern Goshawk and Brewer’s Blackbird.

Jim is a devoted husband, father and grandfather who is eager to acknowledge his family for their support and understanding.