About Graham Clarkson

Born & brought up in Marshside, I started birding there in the mid 1970s & made my first birding trip to Martin Mere in 1977. I've lived, worked & birdied in Abu Dhabi, Northern Ireland & Gloucestershire & I've spent time working in Kazakhstan & Madagascar. I enjoy birding my various West Lancashire patches, making frequent birding visits throughout the north-west of England and North Wales. I stray elsewhere in the UK & enjoy birding abroad from time to time. I'm particularly interested in wildfowl (especially pink-footed geese) with an interest in waders & raptors, bird counts & surveys & conservation. I'm trying to get the hang of photography & digiscoping - I'll get there eventually.

My degree from Edge Hill University is in conservation biology. I've guided on numerous birding days out & trips & guided birding holidays to Lesvos, Andalucia, Extremedura, Majorca, Camargue, Hungary, Finland & Florida. I enjoy showing people birds & habitats & helping them learn more about birds & enjoy birding. I'm currently involved with the Birdwatching and Beyond course at Edge Hill and a brand new venture; Skein Birding.

As well as birding I'm interested in captive breeding & reintroduction projects & zoos, how they're managed & how they contribute to conservation. I'm a proud Lancastrian & love the Lancashire countryside & landscapes. I'm an Evertonian & also keep up with what's happening at Southport, PNE & Bristol Rovers. Gardening, dogs (I have a Labrador & a Tibetan Terrier) and keeping chickens (especially Marsh Daisys & Scots Dumpy Bantams). Ruth & I have two marvellous boys who both love nature too. I hope you find the blog and subjects covered interesting; please feel free to leave a comment.

Saturday, 2 February 2013

Slimbridge Festival of Birds

I've been busy all week and not had a chance to get out birding, but I enjoyed last weekend helping out down at the Slimbridge Festival of Birds. It's an annual festival, that's always well put together, well attended and is a great oppurtunity for WWT staff and volunteers to come together and show lots of people lots of birds. I presented my talk 'Birding the Ribble Coast & Wetlands' on both days and spent the rest of the time heping out showing birds to visitors; no great hardship with that! I really enjoyed spending a bit of time with some good friends and it was ace having sunshine on Sunday. Birding highlights were a couple of Bitterns, three Tundra Bean Geese (two adults and a 1st winter), 216 Eurasian White-fronted Geese, 200 plus Bewick's swans and a the usual Dumble and Tack Piece waterfowl show. A great place for some winter birding, if you haven't been this winter get yourself down there soon before the White-fronts and Bewick's start to head back over the North Sea.....
 One of the Slimbridge Bitterns. 27/01/13

Bewick's Swan on the Rushy Pen, Slimbridge. 27/01/13
 
Treecreeper, Slimbridge. 27/01/13
 
Rainbow over the Tack piece, Slimbridge. 27/01/13
 
Two Tundra Bean Geese with Eurasian White-fronted Geese at Slimbridge. 27/01/13
 
Drake Aythya hybrid, probably Ferruginous Duck x Pochard, Slimbridge. 27/01/13

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