Keith Clarkson

Keith grew up in Sheffield with the Peak District as his playground. Against this wonderful backdrop, he discovered a passion for wildlife at an early age becoming fascinated by the visible migration of birds through the Pennines where, over a number of years, he observed and counted over a million birds passing over his local patch. This love of wildlife led to his undertaking a degree in Zoology at the University of Sheffield, where he went on to complete a PhD on the behavioural ecology of the Magpie, followed by trips to both the Canadian High and Low Arctic, where he carried out research on seabird populations. Brief sojourns to California to study Yellow-billed Magpies and Australia to monitor Zebra Finches followed before he settled down to spend many years working for Sheffield City Museum, the Peak District National Park Authority where he became an Assistant National Park Officer and the RSPB. His 10 years with the RSPB included the role of Public Affairs Manager for North West England, Yorkshire and the North-east Reserve Area Manager and his dream job, the Site Manager, responsible for the RSPB's Bempton Cliffs and Coquet Island nature reserves. At Bempton Cliffs, at the heart of the UK's largest mainland seabird colony, and with the support of a fantastic team of staff and volunteers, he was able to lead the transformation of this stunning nature reserve into Britain's most accessible seabird colony. Now retired, Keith is able to spend more time pursuing his passion for travelling, bird migration, moths, wildlife gardening. His travels have taken him to Thailand, Namibia, Morocco, the Caribbean, Arizona, Nova Scotia, New York and many parts of Europe including Iceland, Finland, Holland, Poland, The Canaries, Spain, Hungary and the UK. Keith is an active member of the RSPB, BTO and both Flamborough and Filey Bird Observatories, and keeps his feet on the ground by following The Owls - Sheffield Wednesday! He joined Naturetrek as a tour leader in 2018. In 2019 Keith was awarded an MBE for his services to wildlife conservation.