David grew up in Pretoria and lived in Durban for two years (where he was the chair of Birdlife Port Natal) but now resides in Cape Town. He visited the Kruger National Park numerous times as a child (and many times since), but only really started birding around 25 years ago. As a young geologist, he bought a guide to ID the birds he saw in the field. Birding has since turned into a passion and profession.

When he first moved to Cape Town, he volunteered at the Animal (Avian) Demography Unit at the University of Cape Town where he was involved with bird ringing, as well as African Black Oystercatcher and African Penguin research. He subsequently worked for an environmental consultancy as a contaminated land specialist.

Not only has David travelled and birded widely throughout South Africa, but he has birded in and guided birding trips to Namibia, Botswana and southern Zambia. He is also an enthusiastic bird and wildlife photographer.