Gerard Gorman, in truth, was much more into Bustards et al than ursus arctos, at least when this photo was taken, up in the Buda Hills sometime in the 1990s - but I liked the alliteration and the brown furry things do get a mention in this piece from 2007.
Back in 1991, I was a programme presenter on Radio Bridge - Hungary's first and only English-language broadcaster. Doing the breakfast show, I challenged the audience with a KesterTester which I thought would take quite a few clues and make for some fun throughout the programme.
I forget what the first clue was now, but to my utmost disappointment, this clever cloggs Lancastrian fellow phoned in with the correct answer. (I won't give that here - thinking about it I may be able to work into a blog tester at some time in the future.)
Gerard Gorman was, as I remember, teaching English in his day job, but he'd already written the first book about his main passion - birds. A Guide to Birdwatching in Hungary is a slim volume and long out of print, but, as far as we know, it was also a first book in English on the subject of Magyar aves. I still have the copy Gerard gave me, dedicated by the author on 27th August, 1991 when I interviewed him on air.
Before long, Gerard did what tens of thousands must dream of - he made his hobby his day job, and with a lot of hard work and dedication, he's guided hundreds of groups around Hungary and central Europe. Last I heard of, he had even expanded into South America.
He's also written a dozen books on birds and other wildlife, including six on his favourite species - woodpeckers.
I haven't met Gerard for at least a decade, but when I found a pdf in my email system of this book review, written for Diplomacy and Trade magazine in 2007, I thought it would be of interest for some readers.
If you fancy taking a trip to see the great bustards on the Hungarian puszta or beyond (Gerard has a lot of praise for Romania and the Danube Delta) his website is here:
www.probirder.com/index.html
Here's the review - I hope it's readable - and the book's still in print.
