Martin Kelsey

Martin Kelsey OBE is a British ornithologist and professional guide based near Trujillo in Cáceres province, Extremadura. He has been birding for nearly 60 years and first visited Extremadura in 1992, captivated by the richness of its birdlife. He settled there in 2004 and has since been guiding small private groups — typically two to four people — to the region's steppe grasslands, river valleys, and cork-oak dehesas. He and his family run the El Recuerdo rural guesthouse near Trujillo, offering an integrated birding-accommodation base. Kelsey's earlier career took him to the Amazon basin for three years with the British Ornithologists' Union, studying marsh warblers, and then to BirdLife International for five years. He later worked with Save the Children UK, living four years in Colombia, four years in India, and a period in Ethiopia. He returned to Europe to take up residence in Extremadura, where he is a committee member of GUIDEX, the professional bird and nature guides' association for the region, and a regular leader for Honeyguide Wildlife Holidays.