THE son of a wildlife enthusiast from Camelford hosted a bird watch walk at Enfield Park in his late father’s memory recently.

Camelford town councillor Stephen Bond hosted a bird watch event in Enfield Park on Saturday, January 26, in conjunction with the RSPB garden bird count that weekend, and paying tribute to the years of dedication his late father, Andy Bond, put into local wildlife around Camelford, particularly in the park itself.

Andy, who lived in Camelford for over 40 years, passed away unexpectedly in August 2018 at the age of 70, which was a huge shock to his family and those who knew him around Camelford.

Andy would walk around Enfield Park each day and then post daily wildlife updates to the community Facebook page, ‘Love Camelford’. He was particularly fond of birds — after his death, a memorial walk was held in September and a new bird hide installed in the park was dedicated to Andy.

Following in his father’s footsteps, Stephen led the walk around Enfield Park on January 26, in conjunction with the RSPB big bird watch.

Stephen said: “I was asked to lead this year’s walk to carry on from my dad, Andy Bond. I have always been a keen birdwatcher and spent most of my childhood and teenage years out birding with dad. His knowledge on birds was immense and I picked up quite a lot from him.

“The weather for the walk was not the best, but a few of us turned up. We walked through the park and although it was very wet, a few birds were out. I think everybody enjoyed seeing what was there and the sight of the park’s resident buzzard was nice, as well as a flock of long-tailed tits.”

Stephen is due to host another walk for Camelford’s four days of fun on Sunday, June 2.

He added: “I just hope I can show people half of what dad used to.”