Jeremy Clarkson was left open-mouthed when he met local bird conservation expert Hannah Bourne-Taylor on the latest series of Clarkson's Farm. The self-declared 'bird lady' has become a new star of the show, captivating audiences with her fascinating life story.
Clarkson's Farm Returns with a Feathered Focus
Clarkson's Farm has returned to Prime Video, and the concluding episodes of series five saw Jeremy Clarkson exploring a lifelong passion of his. In a lighter moment away from his prostate cancer diagnosis, he disclosed he was an avid enthusiast of birds and wished to do more on the farm to safeguard its feathered residents. He explained he had consulted a local woman from the neighbouring village who had agreed to evaluate Diddly Squat Farm, and he introduced Hannah Bourne-Taylor.
Hannah's Extraordinary Bond with Birds
Hannah's passion for birds was evident as she jumped up and down with excitement at the sight and sound of some uncommon species. She also left Jeremy stunned when she disclosed she had allowed a bird to nest in her hair for 84 days. Hannah explained: "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, and I just tuned in to all the birds. I found a little nestling bird, and his nest had been blown down; his whole flock had abandoned him. He would have died otherwise, so I thought, okay, fine, I'll try and be a surrogate mother to this tiny little finch. It worked, but it meant I was his whole world, so he lived on my body for all of his time awake, and when he went to sleep and napped, he would make nests out of my hair. This went on for three months, so I hung out with this little bird in my hair."
An Award-Winning Campaigner and Author
The star is a passionate campaigner and author of the books Nature Needs You and Fledgling. Boasting more than 30,000 Instagram followers, she has regularly shared updates about her unconventional campaigns. One such campaign saw the dedicated bird enthusiast pose naked in the street, covered only by a handful of bird-shaped silhouettes. Reflecting on the daring stunt, she explained on her website: "I launched the ongoing national swift brick campaign in 2022, almost naked, as a solo, unfunded campaigner with a petition that ended up being the fastest growing government petition at the time, accumulating almost 110,000 signatures."
Hannah's Background and Influence
Her author biography in her book Nature Needs You reads: "Hannah Bourne-Taylor is a conservationist, bird lover and author of the acclaimed nature memoir Fledgling (2022), described by The Observer as 'intelligent, poetic and moving'. Dubbed 'a voice for nature' by the RSPB and with a loyal following on X for #firstbirdofmyday, Hannah is an award-winning nature campaigner, named on the Ends Report green policymaking 2024 Power List. She lives in Oxfordshire with her husband and their two Ghanaian rescue dogs."
Following her appearance on Clarkson's Farm, she posted a photograph of herself alongside Jeremy Clarkson, captioning it: "Delighted to be a small birdy part of Clarkson's Farm, banging on about the coolest things in the universe: birds." The specialist can be commissioned for bird surveys, conservation consultancy work, and delivering talks on conservation matters to the public.
Clarkson's Farm season 5 is on Prime Video.
