It is with much regret to announce yet another tragic loss to birding today
- that of STEPHEN LAMBERT, who died peacefully on Wednesday morning at Bristol
Royal Hospital. Stephen had been battling the impacts of a severe stroke
suffered two years ago but had sadly given up after being diagnosed with neck
lymphona more recently. He died with a BBA British List of 449.
Stephen was father to Robert Lambert, a keen birder himself and a lecturer
at Nottingham University. I had known the pair, and of course Rob's mother Joan,
for a very long time and had shared many wonderful moments with the family on
the Isles of Scilly in October. Stephen had always been highly supportive of me
and had always given me great encouragement, even when I was at my lowest and
being attacked from all sides. It was one of the great father and son birding
relationships, equal to that of Ron and Simon King, Peter and Jacob
Everitt, Geoff and Alan Clewes, Jeff and Chris Hazell, Bob and Alan Henry, Bill
and Antony Brydges and other memorable birding family pairings, and he will be
sorely missed.
I am particularly heartened and touched by the fact that over the last
three weeks of his life in hospital, Stephen had clutched his paper copy of his
UK400 Club Life List and had taken great relief and excitement in reliving many
of the great birds he had been lucky enough to see, especially some of those
special birds on Scilly, such as the Short-toed Snake Eagle, White's Thrush and
Blue Rock Thrush. Even as recent as 2011, he had added Scarlet Tanager and
Northern Waterthrush from that archipelago. His last new bird had been the
Western Sandpiper at Cley, just two weeks before the stroke, while the male
Desert Wheatear at Severn Beach last November was one of his final outings in
the field.
Stephen revelled in the comradery and fellowship that survived and
prospered on Scilly throughout the 90's and thoroughly enjoyed life to the full
with his family prior to when he became immobilised. I will miss you
Lee G R Evans
