A slightly different episode talking about Neil’s recent trips to Yorkshire, one with Zeiss to test out their Victory SF binoculars while enjoying the wildlife of Flamborough Cliffs and hoping to see the Albatross that had been seen there, and a 2nd trip to….well listen to find out! We also take a closer look at…
We talk to Fiona McKenna and Dave Smallshire of the British Dragonfly Society (BDS) and the work they and the BDS do to engage people, record and conserve dragonflies and damselflies. We also find out what their favourite species of this fascinating group is!
In this episode we look at the Emerald damselflies, the Lestidae, found in the UK. The Common, Scarce, Southern and Willow Emeralds, looking at how to identify them, their habitat preferences, egg laying and larva habits, the recent arrival and spread in the UK of the Willow and Southern Emeralds and some more geeky info…
Vic and Neil talk about our 9 resident Blue Butterfly species, looking at each species and their preferred habitats, larval food plants and their relationship that some have with ants, including how they trick the poor ant hosts into caring for their caterpillars.
The Legal Protection for some of the UK’s most vulnerable Wildlife, including adder, pine martens and mountain hares, is under threat from new proposals by the JNCC to only allow those that are classified as Endangered or Critically Endangered, or a European Protected Species (EPS) to be protected by law. Neil and Steve Allain look…
Just a heads up In this episode we talk about women being subject to harassment and worse. We talk to Lucy McRobert about the subject of her ‘Call it out’ article she wrote for Bird Guides (do have a read if you haven’t already), how birding or simply being out in nature alone can make…
We talk to Jack Greenhalgh, who is studying a PhD on the wonderful underwater acoustic world of ponds & rivers. We talk about his research and listen to some of the noises made by freshwater invertebrates underwater.
Something a bit different for episode 50, we invited 7 other wildlife podcasters onto the show: Susy Buttress from Casual Birder , Ryan Dalton from Into the Wild, Emma Bridson from For What is Earth, Jack perks from the Bearded Tit, Rachael Horowitz from Hidden Wings and Bloodlust and Ellie and Ben from the Wildlife…
In this episode we talk to Dr Jenni Stockan about Wood Ants, which are 3 of our largest and arguably most interesting species of ants. We discuss how they live, what effect they have on the habitats they live in and the somewhat bizarre stories of people relocating them, sometimes to some far off places!
Our first ever in the field interview, and it is with Mike Coates, warden for RSPB Farnham, where we discuss the Back from the Brink backed Field Cricket reintroduction project and these wonderful insects. In news I cover dogs chasing deer, a bad few weeks for BOP persecution and a project to help the Twaite…
In the second of our spring flowers episodes we talk about the the Bluebell and the Wood Anemone; how and where they grow, why they spread so slowly and the neat trick bluebells use to get phosphorous. In news we talk about the Big Garden Birdwatch results, Large Marsh Grasshopper being reintroduced to Norfolk, the…
In the first of 2 spring flower episode we take an in depth look at the Pasque Flower and Snake’s-Head Fritillary, their ecology, native status and uses in history. In news we discuss Freddie the seal being attacked by a dog, Puffin numbers booming to 1940s-level high on Skokholm, Buglife’s investigation finding ‘I’m a Celebrity’…
We discuss cuckoos with Professor Nick Davies, field naturalist and author of the book ‘Cuckoo: cheating by nature’. We talk about the cuckoos diet, migration and their extraordinary nest parasitism. Over many years of study Nick and his colleagues have answered many of the questions around how the cuckoo gets away with laying it eggs…
We talk about bee-flies, the cute brown fuzzy flies that start to appear in Early spring. As guest host we have the only person we could have asked, the woman Nick baker that described as “the best thing that has ever happened to flies, Dr Erica McAlister! (Who was a great guest back in Ep26).…
We are joined by Prof. Helen Roy, President of the Royal Entomological Society, to discuss ladybirds. We talk about what ladybirds are, what they eat and their lifecycle. We also ask Helen some of your questions on the value of recording and impact of invasive ladybirds, and finally we talk about who the Royal Entomological Society are and…
Steve joins us again for another herpetological episode, this time we cover the Uk’s snake species: Adders, Grass Snakes, Smooth Snakes and Aesculapian Snakes.
We talk to Nick Gates, naturalist and natural history TV producer, vlogger and writer. We discuss the Ancient or Traditional Orchards, the topic of the book Orchard, which he co-authored. These orchards can hold a wealth of wildlife, including rare and declining species such as the noble chafer, lesser spotted woodpeckers and redstarts. We also, answer…
We are joined by James Harding-Morris, who is the Communications Manager for the Back from the Brink project, a large collaboration of UK nature conservation bodies which aims to save 20 species from extinction and benefit over 200 more through 19 projects that span England. We discuss the aims and achievements so far, some of the many…
We talk about tawny owls which are very active and calling at this time of year. In news we discuss The badger cull ‘halting’, using birth control to control squirrels, more raptor persecution and a strange arrangement between Natural England and BASC, a study showing half of all bird biomass in August is non native…
We talk to the fish twitcher himself, Jack Perks, about how he ended up filming freshwater fish and other wildlife, his quest to film every species of British freshwater fish and many other things. In news we cover the call by conservationists to monitor our smaller streams and ponds, andJack also gives his insights on…
