Tony Marr was born in Glasgow but he will always be associated with Sussex where he was one of a small group of birders in 1962 who founded the Sussex Ornithological Society (other leading lights being Richard Porter, Chris Mead, Bill Bourne and Mike Shrubb).
He attended Steyning Grammar School and was encouraged in his interest in birds by biology teacher John Luker. Marr was not the least bit interested in sport and was allowed to go for walks to look at birds instead. He joined the small Shoreham Ornithological Society as a teenager.
He spent two five-year stints on RSPB Council, one starting in 1970 and then another from 1988 which saw the arrival of Barbara Young as Chief Executive in 1991.
He led many bird tours, including to Antarctica and was an excellent birder with good knowledge of seabirds of the world. He joined the British Ornithologists’ Union Records Committee (which adjudicates on additions and sometimes deletions of species from the British list) in 1992.
In December 1978, when birding in the dusk at Pagham Harbour some other birders pointed out a mystery wader which Tony recognised as a sand plover. He returned at dawn the next morning (with Alan Kitson and Richard Porter) to clinch the first British record of Greater Sand Plover and that bird was seen by over a thousand others until it possibly succumbed to the cold weather on New Year’s Day 1979.
Eventually, Tony found Sussex too crowded and spent his time between north Norfolk and the north end of the Isle of Lewis – the former a renowned place for rare birds and the latter an area he thought should get more rare birds than had so far been spotted. He was right and found an American warbler, Wilson’s Warbler behind his house on Lewis which was the first record for Scotland.
The above is based on the interview of Tony Marr by Keith Betton in our book Behind More Binoculars.
I knew Tony from his role on RSPB Council and he was reassuringly sensible and knowledgeable as a Council member, as well as being very good company in the bar later and full of good stories (many of ornithological characters).
Tony passed away peacefully at a care home in Worthing on Monday 7 July.
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I first met Tony (was he not B.A.E. Marr?) at Dungeness Bird Observatory in August 1958 where I was lucky enough to join a group of JBRC lads on a bird ringing course. Not only did we have the benefit of Bert Axell’s vast knowledge, but also Tony’s youthful enthusiasm and assistance. Richard Porter was there too, and the star bird in the hand that week was a hoopoe!
Tony’s influence definitely contributed greatly to my lifelong interest in birds, so when I joined the RSPB staff in 1989 it was a great pleasure to renew my acquaintance with Tony in his role on RSPB Council.
I was very lucky to have known him.
Sad news for me. Tony was a dear friend and colleague at HM Land Registry, mostly in the field of training.
He had extraordinary knowledge of birds, the more so as Tony was colour blind. He concentrated on sea birds, which, as he pointed out to me, were very largely all shades of black and white.
I will miss him.