Jeff Clarke
@birderjeff.bsky.social
Lancashire birder/naturalist/ecologist/wildlife speaker and photographer in exile on Flamborough Head, East Yorkshire.
That moment when you find a semi rarity on a commercial bird survey and you have no knowledge of the BTO code. 🤣 Turns out Little Bunting does have a 2-letter code. FYI it's LJ. The alt 5-letter code is LITBU @btobirds.bsky.social @hesitantweasel.bsky.social @bucktonbirder.bsky.social
November 17, 2025 at 7:45 PM
That moment when you find a semi rarity on a commercial bird survey and you have no knowledge of the BTO code. 🤣 Turns out Little Bunting does have a 2-letter code. FYI it's LJ. The alt 5-letter code is LITBU @btobirds.bsky.social @hesitantweasel.bsky.social @bucktonbirder.bsky.social
Nature is never static, declines and increases are a constant. Great to see the revival of Eurasian Teal numbers wintering on the upper Mersey Estuary has continued. Nearly 1000 birds on today's Low Tide Count. @hesitantweasel.bsky.social @rspb.bsky.social @btobirds.bsky.social @haltonbc.bsky.social
November 12, 2025 at 4:20 PM
Nature is never static, declines and increases are a constant. Great to see the revival of Eurasian Teal numbers wintering on the upper Mersey Estuary has continued. Nearly 1000 birds on today's Low Tide Count. @hesitantweasel.bsky.social @rspb.bsky.social @btobirds.bsky.social @haltonbc.bsky.social
I've just payed in a further £80.01 to @birdlifemarine.bsky.social towards #savingseabirdsglobally following donations at my recent talks. Every penny makes a difference. @rspb.bsky.social
November 10, 2025 at 9:04 AM
I've just payed in a further £80.01 to @birdlifemarine.bsky.social towards #savingseabirdsglobally following donations at my recent talks. Every penny makes a difference. @rspb.bsky.social
Scarcely believable but a truly damning illustration of the vested interests controlling Parliament. Baroness Young should explain herself to RSPB members!
One of which was Baroness Young of Old Scone - RSPB Chief Executive from 1991 - 1998.
You couldn't make it up.
You couldn't make it up.
Last night, Peers voted against Swift bricks: rejecting a simple, proven way to help one of our fastest declining birds recover. ❌
We share @hannahbournetaylor.bsky.social's disappointment & frustration.
The vote came late, but with government refusing to back it, its fate was already sealed.
We share @hannahbournetaylor.bsky.social's disappointment & frustration.
The vote came late, but with government refusing to back it, its fate was already sealed.
November 5, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Scarcely believable but a truly damning illustration of the vested interests controlling Parliament. Baroness Young should explain herself to RSPB members!
Peregrine Falcon giving me a look of contempt, as it whipped along the cliffs at Buckton heading toward Jubilee Corner, earlier this morning. @rspbbemptoncliffs.bsky.social
October 31, 2025 at 12:15 PM
Peregrine Falcon giving me a look of contempt, as it whipped along the cliffs at Buckton heading toward Jubilee Corner, earlier this morning. @rspbbemptoncliffs.bsky.social
Our local Eurasian (Common) Kestrels Falco tinnunculus seem to have had a successful breeding season in the @rspbbemptoncliffs.bsky.social and Buckton area. A scan from a good vantage point often reveals 6, or more, in the air at any one time. @bucktonbirder.bsky.social @bemptonbirder.bsky.social
October 17, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Our local Eurasian (Common) Kestrels Falco tinnunculus seem to have had a successful breeding season in the @rspbbemptoncliffs.bsky.social and Buckton area. A scan from a good vantage point often reveals 6, or more, in the air at any one time. @bucktonbirder.bsky.social @bemptonbirder.bsky.social
Despite lots of suitable habitat, it's taken a surprisingly long time for me to add Common Stonechat to my Buckton patch list. @bucktonbirder.bsky.social @rspbbemptoncliffs.bsky.social
September 21, 2025 at 9:16 PM
Despite lots of suitable habitat, it's taken a surprisingly long time for me to add Common Stonechat to my Buckton patch list. @bucktonbirder.bsky.social @rspbbemptoncliffs.bsky.social
A new blog featuring the perilous lives of the young raptors found along the coastal fields and cliffs of Flamborough Head. www.jeffclarkenature.com/post/attrition @flamboroughbird.bsky.social @bucktonbirder.bsky.social @rspb.bsky.social @rspbbemptoncliffs.bsky.social @bemptonbirder.bsky.social
Attrition
It’s September as I type these words. The hedgerows are resplendent with berries, awaiting the fall of migrant thrushes from continental Europe, the cereal crops have all been harvested and the fields...
www.jeffclarkenature.com
September 11, 2025 at 2:22 PM
A new blog featuring the perilous lives of the young raptors found along the coastal fields and cliffs of Flamborough Head. www.jeffclarkenature.com/post/attrition @flamboroughbird.bsky.social @bucktonbirder.bsky.social @rspb.bsky.social @rspbbemptoncliffs.bsky.social @bemptonbirder.bsky.social
The bushes of Buckton and Bempton are still hosting plenty of these beautiful little bandits (Lesser Whitethroats Curruca curruca), feasting on the elderberries to fuel their migrations. @bucktonbirder.bsky.social @rspbbemptoncliffs.bsky.social Photo from this morning along Hoddy Cows Lane.
September 11, 2025 at 12:31 PM
The bushes of Buckton and Bempton are still hosting plenty of these beautiful little bandits (Lesser Whitethroats Curruca curruca), feasting on the elderberries to fuel their migrations. @bucktonbirder.bsky.social @rspbbemptoncliffs.bsky.social Photo from this morning along Hoddy Cows Lane.
I get sick of hearing people, who should know better, indulge in in RSPB bashing. Get over yourselves! No organisation is perfect but the RSPB, in my lifetime, has done more than any other body in the UK to protect our wildlife. @rspb.bsky.social Thank you! Here's a Marsh Harrier to celebrate you.
August 31, 2025 at 1:33 PM
I get sick of hearing people, who should know better, indulge in in RSPB bashing. Get over yourselves! No organisation is perfect but the RSPB, in my lifetime, has done more than any other body in the UK to protect our wildlife. @rspb.bsky.social Thank you! Here's a Marsh Harrier to celebrate you.
By now (31st July) most UK breeding warblers have started their migratory return to favoured wintering grounds. This Common Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita) at Buckton seems to have elected to cram in an extra brood. Still feeding the fledglings today. @flamboroughbird.bsky.social
July 31, 2025 at 2:28 PM
By now (31st July) most UK breeding warblers have started their migratory return to favoured wintering grounds. This Common Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita) at Buckton seems to have elected to cram in an extra brood. Still feeding the fledglings today. @flamboroughbird.bsky.social
I spent an enjoyable half-hour playing peek-a-boo with the Lesser Whitethroats along Hoddy Cows Lane yesterday evening. @bucktonbirder.bsky.social @flamboroughbird.bsky.social @btobirds.bsky.social @rspbbemptoncliffs.bsky.social @hesitantweasel.bsky.social
July 30, 2025 at 4:54 PM
I spent an enjoyable half-hour playing peek-a-boo with the Lesser Whitethroats along Hoddy Cows Lane yesterday evening. @bucktonbirder.bsky.social @flamboroughbird.bsky.social @btobirds.bsky.social @rspbbemptoncliffs.bsky.social @hesitantweasel.bsky.social
Has anyone else every seen the curlew tribe 'anting'?
In Iceland I watched this Eurasian Whimbrel pick ants off the plants & place them deliberately on different part of its plumage. @btobirds.bsky.social @rspb.bsky.social @aba.org @birdsoftheworld.bsky.social @birdsnewzealand.bsky.social
In Iceland I watched this Eurasian Whimbrel pick ants off the plants & place them deliberately on different part of its plumage. @btobirds.bsky.social @rspb.bsky.social @aba.org @birdsoftheworld.bsky.social @birdsnewzealand.bsky.social
July 6, 2025 at 12:05 PM
Has anyone else every seen the curlew tribe 'anting'?
In Iceland I watched this Eurasian Whimbrel pick ants off the plants & place them deliberately on different part of its plumage. @btobirds.bsky.social @rspb.bsky.social @aba.org @birdsoftheworld.bsky.social @birdsnewzealand.bsky.social
In Iceland I watched this Eurasian Whimbrel pick ants off the plants & place them deliberately on different part of its plumage. @btobirds.bsky.social @rspb.bsky.social @aba.org @birdsoftheworld.bsky.social @birdsnewzealand.bsky.social
Sowerby's Beaked Whale is an infrequently observed cetacean. Here's my blog about a recent fantastic encounter in the Iceland Basin www.jeffclarkenature.com/post/rolling... With plenty of instructive and thought-provoking images. @whalesorg.bsky.social @rspb.bsky.social
Rolling in the Deep
As a cruise ship wildlife speaker and as a member of the Ocean Wildlife Encounters (OWE) team, I get to visit some pretty remote and exotic parts of our blue planet. As the song goes "Far have I trave...
www.jeffclarkenature.com
July 4, 2025 at 5:21 PM
Sowerby's Beaked Whale is an infrequently observed cetacean. Here's my blog about a recent fantastic encounter in the Iceland Basin www.jeffclarkenature.com/post/rolling... With plenty of instructive and thought-provoking images. @whalesorg.bsky.social @rspb.bsky.social
Celebrating #WorldOceansDay on the East Yorkshire coast at @rspbbemptoncliffs.bsky.social and Buckton. Taken this morning at this sensational seabird city.
June 8, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Celebrating #WorldOceansDay on the East Yorkshire coast at @rspbbemptoncliffs.bsky.social and Buckton. Taken this morning at this sensational seabird city.
My local Peregrine tiercel was on a favoured perch calling to his partner early this morning. It's usually the falcon I see perched there so it made a change.
May 31, 2025 at 10:37 AM
My local Peregrine tiercel was on a favoured perch calling to his partner early this morning. It's usually the falcon I see perched there so it made a change.
Our now resident 2nd calendar year Peregrine Falcon was back on her favourite perch along the Yorkshire coast this evening. If you want to know more about this interesting bird you can read my latest blog here. www.jeffclarkenature.com/post/the-wan...
May 27, 2025 at 8:57 PM
Our now resident 2nd calendar year Peregrine Falcon was back on her favourite perch along the Yorkshire coast this evening. If you want to know more about this interesting bird you can read my latest blog here. www.jeffclarkenature.com/post/the-wan...
The illegal persecution of raptors continues unabated in the UK. When was the last time you found successfully nesting Peregrine Falcons on, or near, a grouse moor?
This blog celebrates this charismatic predator. Long live the Peregrine! www.jeffclarkenature.com/post/the-wan...
This blog celebrates this charismatic predator. Long live the Peregrine! www.jeffclarkenature.com/post/the-wan...
The Wanderer
All images by Jeff ClarkePeregrine Falcon - unique female brown bird photographed Northwich, UK May 2006 © Jeff ClarkeAs a young birdwatcher in the 1970's seeing a Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus wa...
www.jeffclarkenature.com
May 25, 2025 at 9:57 PM
The illegal persecution of raptors continues unabated in the UK. When was the last time you found successfully nesting Peregrine Falcons on, or near, a grouse moor?
This blog celebrates this charismatic predator. Long live the Peregrine! www.jeffclarkenature.com/post/the-wan...
This blog celebrates this charismatic predator. Long live the Peregrine! www.jeffclarkenature.com/post/the-wan...
The significant majority of Columba livia resident on the cliffs of @rspbbemptoncliffs.bsky.social and at Buckton are pure looking Rock Doves and act like it, at a location they would have bred at naturally for millenia. For me they are Rock Doves even if a percentage of birds show 'feral traits'.
May 11, 2025 at 8:21 PM
The significant majority of Columba livia resident on the cliffs of @rspbbemptoncliffs.bsky.social and at Buckton are pure looking Rock Doves and act like it, at a location they would have bred at naturally for millenia. For me they are Rock Doves even if a percentage of birds show 'feral traits'.
The Corn Bunting Emberiza calandra, is a 'poster-child' for the decimation of biodiversity caused by modern farming intensification and the overuse of pesticides. From abundant farmland bird to largely absent in 40 years. @rspb.bsky.social @btobirds.bsky.social @rspbbemptoncliffs.bsky.social
May 11, 2025 at 7:54 PM
The Corn Bunting Emberiza calandra, is a 'poster-child' for the decimation of biodiversity caused by modern farming intensification and the overuse of pesticides. From abundant farmland bird to largely absent in 40 years. @rspb.bsky.social @btobirds.bsky.social @rspbbemptoncliffs.bsky.social
I'm in the chair for Naturewatch this Saturday 3rd May. Approx. 7:20am on BBC Merseyside 95.8fm or online. I'll be joining Paul Beesley's Breakfast Show. We'll be discussing insect declines, meadows & the dawn chorus. Join us. @beezoradio.bsky.social @rspb.bsky.social @hesitantweasel.bsky.social
May 2, 2025 at 2:31 PM
I'm in the chair for Naturewatch this Saturday 3rd May. Approx. 7:20am on BBC Merseyside 95.8fm or online. I'll be joining Paul Beesley's Breakfast Show. We'll be discussing insect declines, meadows & the dawn chorus. Join us. @beezoradio.bsky.social @rspb.bsky.social @hesitantweasel.bsky.social
Could hardly believe my eyes when looking out of the window very early this morning. This stunning male Hawfinch was bouncing around underneath the garden feeders in Buckton @bucktonbirder.bsky.social @hesitantweasel.bsky.social @rspb.bsky.social @flamboroughbird.bsky.social @birdguides.bsky.social
April 27, 2025 at 1:43 PM
Could hardly believe my eyes when looking out of the window very early this morning. This stunning male Hawfinch was bouncing around underneath the garden feeders in Buckton @bucktonbirder.bsky.social @hesitantweasel.bsky.social @rspb.bsky.social @flamboroughbird.bsky.social @birdguides.bsky.social
A few nights ago I gave my Antipodes - Edge of the Abyss talk to Hudds&Halifax RSPB group. Many thanks for the donation of £48.11 towards #SavingSeabirdsGlobally @rspb.bsky.social
April 21, 2025 at 8:12 PM
A few nights ago I gave my Antipodes - Edge of the Abyss talk to Hudds&Halifax RSPB group. Many thanks for the donation of £48.11 towards #SavingSeabirdsGlobally @rspb.bsky.social
My contribution to #worldcurlewday a Hudsonian Whimbrel I photographed in Arica, Chile during a gig for Ocean Wildlife Encounters.
April 21, 2025 at 7:22 PM
My contribution to #worldcurlewday a Hudsonian Whimbrel I photographed in Arica, Chile during a gig for Ocean Wildlife Encounters.
The Buckton Barn Owl finally gave me a close-up. Pity the light wasn't quite right. Wildlife photographers do nothing but moan! 😂 @bucktonbirder.bsky.social
April 21, 2025 at 3:46 PM
The Buckton Barn Owl finally gave me a close-up. Pity the light wasn't quite right. Wildlife photographers do nothing but moan! 😂 @bucktonbirder.bsky.social