Birder's dying wish to publish book fulfilled

A late “birder” has had his dying wish fulfilled to see his second book published.

Well know Louth birder John Clarkson tragically died of a brain tumour at the age of 75 in August 2023.

As well as being a keen birder, he was also a passionate Tai Chi instructor and had spent three years on his first book dedicated to Birds of Louth, which was published in 2007.

Before he fell ill, he was working with Phil Espin on a second edition of Birds of Louth, and had spent many hours collating photographs and information about the many birds spotted in Louth - including one interesting find in historical records about a raven that was found in St James Church in Louth in the 1600s!

Phil Espin (left) with Nicky Clarkson and Geoff Mullett.

Sadly, John knew that when his tumour returned in 2023, that he would not see his hard work published.

In John’s preface to the book, he explained that upon his diagnosis, he asked Phil and his brother-in-law Geoff Mullet to take responsibility for the text and layout respectively, and his wife Nicky to proofread the text.

“It is a great sadness to me that I will not be there to see this new improved edition, but I know and trust that Phil, Geoff, and Nicky will do an excellent job and that the second edition will be a huge improvement on the first. Enjoy.”

And now Phil has fulfilled his friend’s dying wish, with Birds of Louth Vol. 2 boasting 148 pages detailing the 407 species of birds found in Lincolnshire – with written accounts of all 195 bird species recorded in Louth – illustrated with colour photographs taken by John himself and other birder friends.

Birds of Louth by Phil Espin and John Clarkson.

One of the rarest birds detailed in the the new books is the roller, which is native to northern Africa, as well as a yellow-browed warbler, a migratory bird which is known to fly to south and eastern Asia in the winter and a rose-coloured starling.

Phil said: “John was such a fit and active man, we all thought he’d live to be 90.

"We were working on the book together, and he was very keen that it should be done.”

Birds of Louth retail price is £12 and all profits from the book will be donated to Brain Tumour Research.

The book is on sale in the town at St James’s Church, Louth Museum and the Cheese Shop, Eastgate.

This Sunday (June 30) it will be on sale at the Zero Degrees Culture Festival, Riverhead Theatre in Louth from 12pm till 5pm and as a special offer you can pick up a copy signed by Phil for £10 (cash only).

Copies can also be purchased online from www.lincsbirdclub.co.uk/sales which will incur a post and packing of charge of £3.