Roger Geoffrey Clarke (8 July 1952 – 28 January 2007), was an English

ornithologist Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...

and world authority on harriers and other

birds of prey Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as (although not the same as) raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively predation, hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and smaller birds). In addition to speed ...

.Obituary in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', 13 February 2007Obituary in ''British Birds'', April 2007, pp. 251–254
/ref>

Early life

Roger Geoffrey Clarke was born on 8 July 1952 in

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district. Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. He was educated at

Bedford Modern School Bedford Modern School (often called BMS or simply Modern) is a Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference independent school in Bedford, England. The school has its origins in Bedford Charity, The Harpur Trust, born from the financial endowme ...

and later qualified as a Chartered Accountant which he practiced for the rest of his life while still pursuing his main interest as an

. Clarke was said to have been 'vaguely interested in birds from his youth' but he was keener on playing lead guitar in a rock band until hearing damage ended his musical career. It was in fact a love of angling that steered him towards

ornithology Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...

. In 1981 he moved to Reach to fish pike and bream and would watch hen harriers hunting over the landscape.

Ornithological work

Two years later he teamed up with the artist Donald Watson to develop the UK Hen Harrier Winter Roost Survey. The thesis for Clarke's

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

biological sciences Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, and distribution of ...

, awarded by the

University of Liverpool The University of Liverpool (abbreviated UOL) is a Public university, public research university in Liverpool, England. Founded in 1881 as University College Liverpool, Victoria University (United Kingdom), Victoria University, it received Ro ...

in 1999, was on

bird of prey Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as (although not the same as) raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively predation, hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and smaller birds). In addition to speed ...

feeding ecology. Working for the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; ) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bis ...

, Clarke focused on

Orkney Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland, ...

hen harrier The hen harrier (''Circus cyaneus'') is a bird of prey. It breeds in Palearctic, Eurasia. The term "hen harrier" refers to its former habit of preying on free-ranging fowl. It bird migration, migrates to more southerly areas in winter. Eurasian ...

feeding. He also contributed to the controversial Joint Raptor Study Langholm Project, studying the predation of

red grouse The red grouse (''Lagopus scotica'') is a medium-sized bird of the grouse family which is found in Calluna, heather moorland in Great Britain and Ireland. It was formerly classified as a subspecies of the willow ptarmigan (''Lagopus lagopus'') ...

s and

peregrine falcon The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known simply as the peregrine, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (raptor) in the family (biology), family Falconidae renowned for its speed. A large, Corvus (genus), cro ...

s in southwest

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

's border country. Clarke's reputation took him to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

to study the world's largest harrier roosts for the

Bombay Natural History Society The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), founded on 15 September 1883, is one of the largest non-governmental organisations in India engaged in conservation and biodiversity research. It supports many research efforts through grants and publ ...

. He subsequently worked on a project that successfully reintroduced

red kite The red kite (''Milvus milvus'') is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other Diurnality, diurnal Bird of prey, raptors such as eagles, buzzards, and harrier (bird), harriers. The species currently breeds only i ...

s to several English regions. Clarke's first book, Harriers of the British Isles, appeared in 1990. It was followed by The Marsh Harrier (1995) and

Montagu's Harrier Montagu's harrier (''Circus pygargus'') is a migratory bird of prey of the harrier family. Its common name commemorates the British naturalist George Montagu. Taxonomy The first formal description of Montagu's harrier was by the Swedish nat ...

(1996). He was co-editor of Biology and Conservation of Small Falcons in 1993 and during the final months before his early death he worked on the second edition of The Hen Harrier, adding to the first edition written by Watson. Clarke was treasurer of the

British Ornithologists' Union The British Ornithologists' Union (BOU) aims to encourage the study of birds (ornithology) around the world in order to understand their biology and aid their conservation. The BOU was founded in 1858 by Professor Alfred Newton, Henry Baker ...

(2000–06). He also looked after the accounts of the

Society of Wildlife Artists The Society of Wildlife Artists (SWLA) is a British organisation for artists who paint or draw wildlife. It was founded in 1964. Its founder president was Sir Peter Scott, the current president of the society is British artist Harriet Mead. The s ...

(SWLA), whose then president, Bruce Pearson, was among his friends. His collection of more than 200 works of

wildlife Wildlife refers to domestication, undomesticated animals and uncultivated plant species which can exist in their natural habitat, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wilderness, wild in an area without being species, introdu ...

art formed part of a SWLA exhibition staged at the

Mall Galleries Mall commonly refers to a: * Shopping mall * Strip mall * Pedestrian zone * Esplanade Mall or MALL may also refer to: Places Shopping complexes * The Mall (Bromley), London, United Kingdom * The Mall (Patna), Bihar, India * The Mall (Sofia), ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in 2007.

Personal life

The weekend before Clarke's death, Pearson took him five miles into the heart of the fens. Hen and marsh harriers floated into view over the marshes, a final encounter with two bird species that had inspired his ornithological career. Clarke was survived by his wife, Janis, and by a son and daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Roger Geoffrey 1952 births 2007 deaths English ornithologists Alumni of the University of Liverpool People educated at Bedford Modern School People from Bedford 20th-century English zoologists