Bob Brown spent most of his Sussex childhood getting soaked exploring for marine beasts and birds. University in Belfast and a PhD on mollusc ecology and oystercatcher feeding led to research in Sweden, before moving to Jamaica to develop oyster farming based on mangrove systems, as well as rearing hawksbill turtles and discovering the diverse butterfly life.
Back in Northern Ireland, for about ten years he managed the National Trust’s Strangford Lough’s coast and islands for their birds and marine wildlife, writing a widely acclaimed book on them. In 1991 he became Director of The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) operations in Northern Ireland, working on the Province’s most important birds and their habitats. During this period he and his team significantly expanded the range and depth of the Society’s work in Northern Ireland and developed strong links with equivalent interests in the Republic. A number of major land acquisitions were achieved, contributing to RSPB’s work for priority species and habitats. For nine years he sat on Northern Ireland’s Council for Nature Conservation and the Countryside (CNCC) and for part of this period represented CNCC on the UK’s Joint Nature Conservation Committee. He was also Chair of the Northern Ireland Biodiversity Group for six years, monitoring, and reporting on the delivery of the Northern Ireland Biodiversity Strategy as part of the Global Convention on Biodiversity.
Currently working independently, he is now an independent member of the UK's Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC). He also undertakes consultancy work on various conservation issues, and travels widely, notably in the arctic and south America, where he leads natural history tours. He has for a long time been fascinated by Northern Ireland’s ancient history and culture, and the way in which human and natural forces have shaped our countryside. In 2004 he was awarded an OBE for services to nature conservation.