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Obituary for Mike Lubbock: Birdman and adviser to the late Queen – The Times

Elizabeth II had a problem: her red-breasted geese, a gift from the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust in Slimbridge, Gloucestershire, where she was patron, refused to breed. Instead, they hung around and ate the juicy grass on the lawns of Buckingham Palace.

In the spring of 1975, Mike Lubbock, a caretaker at Slimbridge, was sent to the palace in the trust’s little green Leyland van. After inspecting the grounds, he was taken indoors and presented to the queen. “How are we going to get the geese to breed, Mr. Lubbock?” asked Her Majesty.

His suggestions included changing the birds’ food, diverting the royal helicopters to land further from their nests and keeping the corgis at a greater distance. “One more thing,” he said. “Is it possible

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