Tim Cleeves died suddenly on Friday night. He will be greatly missed by many friends, former colleagues and birders who came across him in the field.
Tim was born on the outskirts of Bristol in Hanham, across the River Avon from where I spent my earliest years, and he kept a rich Bristol accent all his life. Hearing Tim’s voice would always take me home to Bristle.
An ace birder, Tim kept notebooks of his sightings from the age of 13 onwards – I’ve seen some of them. He was a very knowledgeable and skilled birder but it was as a wit and raconteur that I will always remember him. Sitting in a bar with Tim and some friends and listening to story after story roll out in that fruity accent was a delight and we often reached last orders when it felt that we’d only just got together. Tim’s stories were well-observed but never nasty, and were told with such a cherubic smile on his face that he could get away with a lot.
Tim had various jobs from taxidermist to petrol pump attendant and debt collector in his early years which helped to fund birding trips abroad. But he also worked for the RSPB as Species Protection Officer on a summer contract in Wales, guarding Red Kites and Peregrines in the mid-1970s. Later he landed the job of warden of Hilbre Island where he lived for four and a half years (1977-81), with his wife Ann. As they started their family Tim got a job in the RSPB Midlands office and was involved in coordinating volunteers on such projects as the Symonds Yat Peregrine Watch. Tim worked in a variety of roles for the RSPB, mostly in the north of England, but all benefitting from his skills with people.
Here are a few of the things that people have said about Tim on hearing of his passing:
Tim Melling: ‘One of the most charismatic, entertaining, generous, caring people I have ever had the pleasure to know’
Andy Clements: ‘Very sad to hear of Tim Cleeves passing, a passionate and generous birder & conservationist – great memories from Fair Isle Bird Observatory in 1975 when he and Ann met – thoughts are with you’
Lee Evans: ‘Sad to wake up to the devastating news that long-standing keen birder Tim Cleeves has died overnight. Full of enthusiasm for birding to the very end. He brightened up many a stressful day on the Scillies with his witiful yarns and is a ginormous loss for the hobby. A wonderful man.’
BirdGuides: ‘Very sad to learn that Tim Cleeves passed away during the night. Our thoughts are with Ann and his family.’.
Mark Thomas: ‘My favourite Tim Cleeves saying – ‘game of three halves’. Massively enjoyed weekend birding with him when he worked at the Lodge in late 90’s. Always made me laugh, especially that he had a pager but couldn’t work it ! It would mega & he wouldn’t know what to do ! – technobirder!’
Those are some of the ways in which Tim Cleeves will be remembered by his mates. Others might remember the 1998 Druridge Bay Slender-billed Curlew that was a curlew with a slender bill but probably not a Slender-billed Curlew. When I last spoke to Tim about this he said that ‘If you are going to claim what might be the last record in the world of an extinct (probably!) bird then you have to be sure – and I think the new information on the underwing pattern by Andrea Corso from Sicily means that we certainly can’t be sure. So it’s not on my British List because I only count species that are accepted by the BBRC.’. He seemed pretty cheerful about it all things considered.
Tim leaves two daughters, Sarah and Ruth, and his wife Ann, the very successful crime novelist. Tim and Ann met on Fair Isle, Tim proposed to Ann on Fair Isle and they have been frequent visitors ever since. Tim will be missed by friends and birders from the north of Shetland to the westernmost point on Scilly. And like all the best Bristolians – he was a Bristol Rovers supporter.
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I only met Tim twice but he left a lasting impression of a very kind and thoughtful man and of course a wonderful birder. It also of course makes one feel your own mortality as Tim and I are the same age.
Paul – and that first impression was a true one. Thanks Paul.
Tim’s birding exploits are legendary – and just being with him taught me so much. He was, of course, colour blind and the sessions colouring in his notebook were always fun. But of course he was also one of that era of overworking, pioneering, enthusiastic individuals that built momentum for the RSPB in the 80s. But it’s the laughter, and the sheer fun of Tim’s company that I will miss. A wonderful man.
Andre – laughter and fun indeed. I know you and Tim were very close friends.
A bad word said about Tim Cleeves is rarer than either Slender billed or Eskimo Curlew. That is the measure of the man who had a positive influence on everyone who and into contact with him. A massive loss not only to the birding world but society in general.
Paul – well put. Thank you.
Met him at the Franklin’s Gull at Whittle Dean last year and had a chat. He was a bit concerned that none of his kids and grandkids were into wildlife with some one pointing out that at the Tyneside bird club on Thursday there was only 1 youngster in the audience!!
He was always cheerful and there to help like with the gull at Linton lane End where a hybrid was being picked over for a Thayer’s Gull and dismissed by Tim. He had found a Ross’s Gull that very morning at Seaton Sluice!!! The second loss to the North East in a short time [Jimmy Steele] and a bigger loss to the family. MY thoughts are with the family.
Very saddened by this news. I knew Tim when he worked in the West Midlands for the RSPB in the 1980s when I was a graduate student researching Marsh Warblers there. He frequently came to visit me and I valued his words of support and encouragement. I have some pencil sketches he did of Marsh Warblers during one of these visits framed on my sitting room wall. They are much treasured.
Martin – gosh, yes. Those Marsh Warblers were a long time ago! Thank you.
I first met Tim nearly 15 years ago when I started working for RSPB in the north of England. That first impression still stands today: a witty, knowledgeable, passionate and incredibly brilliant chap who was great to be around and work with. The office was always a buzz when he was part of the mix. He will be missed and thoughts are with his family.
David – thank you. Indeed.
Tim really was one of a kind – an authentic, funny and generous guy, with boundless enthusiasm for birding and conservation. I first met him on Fair Isle in 1975. Years latet it was always a pleasure to be in his company, as a colleague and a friend.
Paul – funny and generous – that was him.
Although I had only limited opportunities over the years to meet and work with Tim, the occasions when I did were without fail enjoyable and productive. Tim was always open and friendly, challenging when the need arose, committed to birds and conservation, but most of all one of the really “good guys”. A huge loss to his family but also to all those who were lucky enough to know him.
Len – many thanks.
I’m so very sad to learn that we’ve lost Tim. We first met over a Blyth’s Reed Warbler near my Shetland home some eleven years ago, and became firm friends. His delight when I finally found one in my garden last year was typically ebullient and generous.
In the intervening years we birded together in Shetland and Cornwall – I think my happiest memories will be of beer fuelled dinners in my kitchen that stretched long into the small hours – Tim was a spectacular spinner of yarns, mischievous and controversial but always good-natured. That wonderful Bristle accent just got richer and richer as the evenings wore on and the stories grew more scandalous! I’ll miss him enormously. He was a dear friend.
Jon – that sums him up well. Thank you.
I remember being out birding with a friend and bumping into Tim who was coming the other way round a circular boardwalk. He looked up and in pure Bristle said ‘what are you doin ere?’ We replied looking for migrants, had a chat and moved on. The fact we met at High Island in Texas was irrelevant, with Tim you were always a mate and seeing him with that mischievous smile brightened any day.
Ian – nice story. Sounds just like him. Thanks.
I first met Tim birdwatching on Hilbre Island when I moved to the Wirral in 1977. My memories of this time are sea-watching in the bird hide above the old Lifeboat Station with our bird observations punctuated by stories from Tim. Birds, stories and the smell of cigarette smoke stayed with me on the long walk across the sands back to West Kirby. I last saw Tim and Ann at the funeral of Ray Eades last year, held in the small church on the front at Parkgate. The years melted away as we went back into his stories of life as the Hilbre Island warden. I will miss him.
David – thank you. So many of us have similar memories of Tim making us smile or laugh out loud with his stories.
First met Tim when I had 18 month contract with the RSPB at the Denby dale office in 2000 pulling together farm stewardship schemes. He had great birding knowledge and experience but never talked people down. Day to day in the office was always a laugh and from his many stories. Occasionally he would come out with me to meet landowners and to look at stewardship opportunities and if we bought a sandwich on expenses he would say we were eating a member. Such a witty funny guy. Now gone but we all have our memories.
Geoff – many thanks. Nice story.
For my birthday one year I was given Tim and Peter Holden’s bird guide, and soon after we visited Blacktoft Sands. There we came upon two men staring into the bushes. There was a Rufous Cuckoo in there, one of them said. I turned to my new book for information only to be told that the man looking through the telescope was one of the authors, Tim Cleeves. After making sure that we had seen the Cuckoo, Tim took my book and sketched the bird in the front cover and signed it. That book has remained a treasured possession. We also met Tim on the Bridlington boat trips when his commentary was always both funny and informative. It is so sad to know we will never bump into him again. Our sincere condolences to his wife and family.
Pauline and Gordon – thank you. All these stories reinforce the fact that Tim was a lovely man.
I met him in 2006 when we were both on a birding trip to Gambia. He was there to fill a decades-old ambition – to see an Egyptian plover (and we did). Along the way, he was a delight to travel with – super birder, great guy, always calm, kind, and the wickedest dry wit. Really, really sorry to hear that he has passed, my sympathies to all around him.
Keith
Keith – thank you.
I admit I didn’t know Tim or much about him, being only a part time birder and general naturalist. He was just a name I would come across. I hear of far more naturalists and birders than I ever meet because I don’t travel much and am a confirmed local patch person.
However, the reason I’m commenting is that I am moved by the tributes paid. You see I believe that naturalists, whether they be birders or whatever group are some of the most important people in our society. What we know about our biodiversity, the natural world, tends to come from enthusiasts, not just in the UK, but around the world. Some of these people are employed in conservation, but most are not. No one goes into conservation to become wealthy.
My point is that natural history is not just another interest. Even if people just pursue it like another interest, the general information they gather, and the enthusiasm they generate builds up the big picture, which leads to our better understanding of the natural world, and it’s protection. Compared to every other endeavour less money and effort is put into conservation, biodiversity etc, than any other field of human endeavour. Especially in the terms of it’s overally importance to us. Without enthusiasts like Tim, very little of what has been achieved would have been achieved.
In my eyes naturalists should get far more recognition. This is why it moves me so much about the tributes being paid to Tim, because even if society fails to honour and recognise the work of naturalists as such happen, it is important that fellow naturalists and birders honour them. My condolences to Tim’s family. He devoted his life to something which really mattered.
Very sad news. Although I could never claim to be a birder he always spoke to me as an equal when we discussing “what was about” I persuaded him to do a talk on field guides at one of the RSPB retail conferences and his knowledge and humour made it one of the most memorable sessions we’ve had.
Paul – thank you.
I first met Tim 25 years ago in the Hartlepool Obs when I was amazed that he recognised my name from an objection to a planning application that the RSPB had been involved with. But that was Tim – caring about people as well as about birds.
In the last few years we shared trips to Texas and New Mexico and to Sri Lanka – always great company and with a ready wit, Tim also cared deeply for wildlife conservation and had a great passion for birding. A sad loss to all who knew him but my thoughts are particularly with Ann and the family.
Chris – well said.
I met Tim on a number of occasions over the last few years, first on Fair Isle and then various birding locations around NE England. He was always positive, even when not seeing the desired bird. He was genuinely pleased to bump into other birders and share news, a joke, or a story (or all three). A rare breed. He will be missed.
An ingenious, mischievous and often hilarious man, with a wonderful, off-beat take on life. Nice to read all these fond reminiscences, which are helping to soften the blow of this sad news. Thoughts are with Tim’s family. Thanks Mark.
I worked with Tim from the day he joined the Denby Dale office and some years later more closely on the Beckingham Marshes project. I have vivid and fond memories of a trip to Gothenburg when Tim dressed as a giant Albatross and sang “Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep” to crowds of rather bemused Swedes to try and gain support for the “Save the Albatross” campaign. I don’t think I ever laughed so much and I don’t think the Swedes did either! He was a joy to work with and hilariously funny. He was also very kind and caring. I learned so very much from Tim about birds and conservation and it was a privilege to know him.
Jill – thank you. That’s a nice story.
It was 1985 that a pair of Monties were found breeding on the Berkshire downs local to us. Tim, together with Carl Nicholson came down from the Midlands office to help local birders set up an informal wardening scheme. Before they set off on their drive back to Droitwich I offered them a coffee at my place which was on their way. On arrival at the house (in the company of these two RSPB figures) I was confronted by a Blackbird nest complete with eggs sitting on my doorstep!! Inexplicably to me it had been left there by someone who knew I had a keen interest in birds, having found it while cutting their hedge. Tim saw the humour in the situation but one which clearly made me squirm. At subsequent meetings on Scilly and at the Bird Fair he always had time to stop and chat. I often wondered if he remembered me specifically because of the Blackbird incident. Thankfully the Monties bred successfully.
I was very saddened when I heard this news. Tim was a smashing bloke. My condolences to his family.
A wonderful birder and observer of life. I had the pleasure of sharing Tim’s company on Fair Isle in 1992 and 1993. His razor-sharp wit regarding Bristolians and tales of past twitches kept us in fits of laughter. A truly lovely man and a very skilled birder. UK birding has certainly lost a treasure here. I feel very privileged to have known him and birded with him. Thoughts to his family at this time. Stu
I only heard the news last night from Jonny B Good in Bristol. OUCH! I was having such a nice day. If you think my piece is flippant that’s because it is, because that’s how he was, and how he would want it to be, the mad b*****d, (my first impressions meeting him in ‘The barn’, Cley c. 1973, the same year I was cooked lunch by his future missus in Fair Isle bird obs).
Now, to try and keep this succinct I’ll cut to the chase. Dashing out of the ladies toilet at Portland Bill at three in the morning when the deafening foghorn went off, Tim,or any of us didn’t know that birding would be the new rock n’roll. We also didn’t know then what we do now and that he and we would (hopefully) become part of the solution to a problem that we couldn’t see coming. Turtle doves were common, birds of prey were rare. Why would they ever not be? More to the point, what was this Slender billed Curlew that we’d never heard of until the Heinzel and Ripley field guide was published. Yes, Numenius tenuirostris. Sorry Tim, but having seen a few ‘real’ ones in Morocco but,admittedly, not ‘Cleeve’s Curlew’ itself I was never convinced by your bird. But I have a cunning plan in memory of Tim and so many other birders who are no longer with us. Please stay with me and read on.
Many of us know birders who we can only remember, and sadly there are many, and perhaps disproportionally, Bristolians. Laurel tucker, Bob Richardson, (who was with Tim that unforgettable day in ‘The Barn’) to name but two. I was with Alan Adams when he ‘disappeared’ in Nepal, the last person to see him alive and I still think of him as being in my care when that happened, he was only twenty one.
So, I propose this, if you are in any way of a spiritual bent you could join ‘The NWBC’ , yes, the ‘Next World Bird Club’. Or if you prefer ‘The ALBC’, being ‘The Afterlife Bird Club’. I told you this was going to get serious! If you are more of an intellectual, another pal of Tim’s, Rod Martins, has suggested, quite simply ‘ The Dead Birders society’.
Or in super special memory of Tim . who will of course be the president, the ‘RIPB’.
If you think I’m joking, think again, because we’re all going to be joining Tim, (and Alan, and so many more) sooner or later. The late, great Richard Richardson, (who taught me to paint birds) will be on hand to update the ‘Field guide to the late, great birds of the World’. Think about it, some of our old friends have probably got Great Auk and Passenger Pigeon on their lists already………And we haven’t…. Yet. So, see what we’ve got to look forward to.
Personally, I’m looking forward to sit down with Tim and watch some real Slender billed Curlews again because I don’t think anybody in this world is going to now. Having said that, I would definately detour for a Moa.
RIPB Tim. See you soon. Line those goodies up for me.
One of my abiding memories as a wet-behind-the-ears RSPB CO back in about 2002 was listening to the Tim Cleeves and Andre Farrar comedy double act at a café table at East Midlands airport. I can’t even remember what we were actually there to talk about, but we were all in stitches. He was a great guy and one of the people that made RSPB a great place to be. Sorry I didn’t know him better. Au revoir, Tim.
Colin – thank you.
I was very sad to hear the news of Tim’s passing. Had the good fortune to meet him on a few occasions, both on Fair Isle and near his home in the North East. A very funny man, easy to talk to, and had some fantastic stories.
One of my lasting memories will be his animated face as he performed his Thick-billed warbler impression. I stiil have texts on my phone from October where we exchanged banter.
My thoughts go to Ann and the family.
A fantastic man, who I was incredibly fond of. You will be missed
Kevin – well said. What does the Thick-billed Warbler face look like, I wonder…
RIP Tim being with Tim and Clive in the barn at Cley in 1973 on many a night. Eating Coypu stew cooked by Billy Fletcher or Spiny Norman, we had some laughs. But also some serious moments especially in the field, where Tim was one hell of a birder. I’m in for Clive’s Bird Club, see you some day Tim. Up the Rovers!
Ray O’Reilly – thank you. Up the Rovers!
Very sad to hear of the passing of Tim Cleaves. A really pleasant and knowledgeable colleague at the RSPB in the early 90s, and a great birder to boot. Many condolences to his family.
Tony – thank you. Indeed.
Miranda and I were so grieved to hear this news and our hearts go out to Ann and the family. I first met Tim on Hilbre in 1980 and his enthusiasm and encouragement over the next three years were a significant part of the inspiration for us to set up the A Rocha bird obs in Portugal. Over the years that followed we had plenty of great moments not least when he lured me up for petrel ringing on Tyneside and we re-caught the Swinhoe’s that very night. His wonderful sense of humour was always there. “Have you been to Abingdon before?” my father asked him as drove us back to their home after an A Rocha meeting some place. “Not by rocket, no” said Tim after a typical ride with my former bomber-pilot Dad. And Tim’s determination never to let the chance of a rarity slip – organising a line of people across a wet field just after dawn one pouring late October on the Wirral to gently persuade a Richard’s Pipit to call as it flew up in front of us. But he was scrupulously honest too – witness not just how he lived the Slender-billed saga but the time he downgraded a potential Sharp-tailed Sand to a Pec at the Weaver Bend, disappointing about 80 people who until that point had persuaded themselves otherwise. In recent months in Kenya, Sweden and here in Wiltshire I have met friends of Tim’s and always they have funny stories and talk of his kindness. We and plenty of others in A Rocha will miss him greatly.
Peter – thank you. That sounds like Tim!
I was so sorry to hear about Tim. I knew him from my time in the office at Denby Dale. I remember him with a broad grin for his wicked sense of humour. And with fondness for a lovely, gentle man.
I remember dashing off with Tim and two others to see the collared fly catcher in Arbroath. Tim you were an inspiration and so knowledgeable as well as being very witty. You will be a miss to everyone especially Ann and family. RIP
Terribly sorry to hear of Tim’s passing, he was a truly wonderful man, gentle and kind, wise and brilliantly funny. Heartfelt condolences to his family.
Very sad to hear about Tim. Our paths first crossed in the mid-1980s when he was the RSPB rep liaising with Thames Water and, with his characteristic good-humoured style, he won lots of bird-related outcomes without people feeling they’d been pressured. When I moved to a new job the north-east, there he was again! He was a friendly face and we worked together on incorporating benefits for birds into several flood and coast protection projects. Latterly I’m afraid we’d lost touch, due to both changing jobs, but I’ve never forgotten his approach to life (& work): driven by a passion but always helpful, always good natured and a great bloke to have a pint with. Condolences to Ann and their daughters. RIP Tim.
John – thank you
I have know Tim since the early 90’s when I was just getting into birding. His enthusiasm and encouragement to a newbee to birding left me with a lifelong passion for birds and a lifelong love for this warm, crazy amazing birder.
He told me a story about when he was staying in digs he thought he had a tapeworm and when he took a sample of it to the doctor it turned out to be dental tape which the landlady used to throw down the toilet…told in his deep pirate drawl he had me in stitches.
R.I.P legend and deepest sympathy to Ann, Sarah and Ruth
Lovely turnout and words spoken at the funeral
RIP Tim, a brilliant birder, a die hard gas head, and a really funny guy. I use to enjoy meeting him when I stay at Portland Obs in May. I will never forget when he decided that he needed to give me counselling when I missed a Long-tailed Skua one May morning. Deepest sympathy to all his family
How very sad we are to hear about Tims death. Our sympathies go to his wife, family and his close friends.
He visited Foula a few years ago…and thank goodness he did ! We had the pleasure of his company for a few days only. He left a lasting and positive impression on us both .We remember laughing until we cried at his tales…what a tonic that was …and we recounted the tales long after he left the island…and we are still laughing at them.
But it didn’t end there ….out of the blue some months later a bird guide book arrived in the post….gifted from Tim .We used it to help with the Identification of a Humes Warbler in Nov 2017….and we emailed to thank him . People come and people go…lots you forget..and some you don’t.
Tim was a lovely man.
John – indeed he was. Thank you.