BY DAY, John Davis is a wine consultant

But, come nightfall, canaries rather than Chardonnay are on his mind, as group leader for the Croydon branch of the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds).

John, who has been a member of the RSPB for 40 years, said: "I've always been interested in nature full-stop: trees, countryside, you name it.

"The whole of our group are amateur volunteers. I am not a bird expert at all, I am a wine consultant."

So what does the society offer to non-avian-experts?

"It's about doing our bit, everything from worrying about forestry in Sumatra to albatrosses in the Atlantic," John said.

"We do have fun, but our main objective is fundraising. You can't spell fundraising without fun."

Meetings are held on the second Monday of every month, and guest speakers are invited to talk on a wide range of subjects.

Each talk is given at 2pm and again at 8pm, at the Old Whitgiftian Association clubhouse, in Croham Manor Road, South Croydon.

"We have 4,000 members in our catchment area," said John, "but we get between 50 and 60 people at each meeting."

Judith Dunworth has the ominous task of booking speakers, and is already booking slots for 2013.

"Early retirement gave me a chance to get a little more involved." said Judith,

"The last booker stepped down and I stepped in temporarily. That was three years ago.

"A talk might be on another country, any patch in England, or a specific habitat like woodland or marsh. The speakers come from all over, or if not then they've been all over.

"It's about drawing on people's knowledge, experience and enthusiasm."

The group also takes regular outings to wildlife reserves.

"What I love doing," said Judith, "is going down to the coast, and seeing flocks of waders wheeling up into the sky."

Coming up this year are talks on the Swiss Alps and East Anglian birds, but John insists that none of the group are twitchers.

"We're birders, there's a big difference. Twitchers run around ticking boxes.

"I get as much joy from looking at a Blue Tit hanging on a branch as some rare migrant blown in from America."