Jeremy Clarkson was left in awe by Hannah Bourne-Taylor, a newcomer on Clarkson's Farm who revealed she once let a bird nest in her hair for 84 days. The final episodes of season five, now streaming on Prime Video, saw Clarkson explore his lifelong passion for birds.
Amid his prostate cancer diagnosis, Clarkson shared his desire to protect the winged inhabitants of Diddly Squat Farm. He introduced Hannah, a local woman from the next village, who agreed to assess the farm's bird population.
Hannah's enthusiasm was palpable as she jumped up and down at the sight and sound of rare birds. She left Clarkson speechless when she recounted her experience: "I spent a long time living on my own in the bush in Africa, where I had no friends, and I had birds living in my hair. I found a little nestling bird whose nest had been blown down and his flock had abandoned him. I became his surrogate mother, and he lived on my body for all his waking hours. When he slept, he made nests out of my hair. This went on for three months."
An Avid Campaigner and Author
Hannah is a conservationist and author of Nature Needs You and Fledgling. With over 30,000 Instagram followers, she shares updates about her eccentric campaigns. One such campaign involved posing naked in the street, covered only by bird-shaped silhouettes.
On her website, she explained: "I launched the ongoing national swift brick campaign in 2022, almost naked, as a solo, unfunded campaigner. The petition became the fastest growing government petition at the time, accumulating almost 110,000 signatures."
Her author biography describes her as "a conservationist, bird lover and author of the acclaimed nature memoir Fledgling, described by The Observer as 'intelligent, poetic and moving'. Dubbed 'a voice for nature' by the RSPB, she is an award-winning nature campaigner named on the Ends Report green policymaking 2024 Power List."
She lives in Oxfordshire with her husband and two Ghanaian rescue dogs. After her stint on Clarkson's Farm, she posted a photo with Clarkson, captioning it: "Delighted to be a small birdy part of Clarkson’s Farm, banging on about the coolest things in the universe: birds."
Hannah is available for bird surveys, conservation consultancy, and public speaking on conservation.
