David B. Wingate

David Balcombe Wingate ( born October 11, 1935 in Smith 's Parish, Bermuda ) is an ornithologist and conservationist.

In 1951, he played opposite Robert Cushman Murphy ( 1887-1973 ) and Louis Septeme Mowbray ( 1909-1976 ) to the team that rediscovered the Bermuda Petrel. He then studied zoology at Cornell University. After his return to Bermuda, he took over the post of Chief Conservation Officer ( Head of the conservation authority ), from which he retired in 2000. His lifelong efforts to preserve the Bermuda Petrel to extinction, leading to Nonsuch Iceland project. Wingate and his eldest daughter Janet built on the barren island of Iceland Nonsuch an outdoor museum and put the pre-colonial ecology restored. During this process, the Bermuda Petrel, and some other species have been reintroduced. Previously awarded the MBE medals and other awards, he received in 2001 for his public ministry the Order of the British Empire.

Wingate has three daughters. His eldest daughter Janet wrote in 2005 about the Nonsuch Iceland project an educational autobiography.