Talking Naturally

In episode five of Talking Naturally we have natural history royalty in the shape of Sir David Attenborough's and his speech at the opening of the Simon Aspinall Wildlife and Education Centre at the Norfolk Wildlife Trust Cley reserve in Norfolk. We have a chat with Rachel French, who works at Mull Eagle Watch (that's White-tailed Eagle Watch of course), and with YOLObirder - a 'mystery birder 'who designed and then sold what he named the Hen Diagram t-shirt to raise money for Hen Harriers...Yes, we wander about the place here on Talking Naturally!

Episode 30 is all about Hen Harrier Day 2016, a nationwide protest at the vanishingly low numbers of breeding Hen Harriers in England, where the scientific consensus is clear: there should be more than three hundred pairs but in 2016 there were just three: illegal persecution has brought the Hen Harrier to the brink of being wiped out as a breeding species in England. This podcast is a series of vox pops and in-the-field conversations, with birders, naturalists, political leaders, and leading conservationists including Mark Avery and Chris Packham.'.

So, you and your mates decide you'd like to produce a definitive photographic field guide to the birds of Britian and Ireland. You think about what's needed and ten years later, having sifted through a quarter of a million photos and enlisted one of the UK's top birders to write the text, it's finally out. Is it what you hoped? Is it what birders have been waiting for? Or are we all switching to apps, and is a new field-guide what's needed anyway? Andy Swash and Rob Hume give us their thoughts.'.

Episode 31 is in two parts. First a recording from this year's British Birdfair of Charlie Moores (Talking Naturally and BAWC), Dominic Dyer (CEO of the Badger Trust), and Mike Dilger (ecologist and TV presenter eg the BBC's One Show), discussing wildlife crime, then a conversation with the World Parrot Trust's Africa Programme Manager Dr Rowan Martin on why the Convention on Trade in Endangered Species must move the Grey Parrot from Appendix 2 to Appendix 1 and end the trade in wild-caught birds.'.

A shorter than usual Talking Naturally conversation, a fact we're cunningly disguising by calling it a 'Special' - which isn't to say that isn't special, just a bit short. This one is about parrots, and I talked with David Woolcock, curator at Hayle's Paradise Park, about an hour after I finished a 24 hour, 200 mile cycle ride - Pedal for Parrots - from Wiltshire to the Hayle Estuary in Cornwall, raising funds for the World Parrot Trust.'.

Episode 28 and this time around we are swapping out our own 'birds conservation wildlife' tag for something completely different. We're talking about mental health with Tris Reid, aka The Inked Naturalist, a conservationist/general naturalist who has become well-known for wearing his heart on his sleeve and covering most visible parts of his body with tattoos of birds. Why the change in focus? Because while this podcast might not work for most people, if it helps even one listener it will have been worth posting it.'.

Owned by Northumbrian Water, Kielder Water holds a staggering 200 billion litres of water, making it the largest reservoir in the UK by capacity with a shoreline that is almost exactly the same as the length of a marathon! The reservoir itself is the centre-piece of the Kielder Water and Forest Park which boasts the largest working forest in England. Wildlife? Ospreys, Otters, Red Squirrels, Water Voles, Adders and much, more more...'.

Named after Estonian explorer Karl Ernst von Baer, east Asia's Baer's Pochard is (to quote Richard Hearns at Slimbridge) 'nondescript' and 'poorly-known'. Why is it worth discussing then? Listed as Critically Endangered in 2012, the species is in freefall and it's clear that without concerted conservation action it could soon be gone forever.'.

In this special Talking Naturally podcast about Derwent Reservoir, produced in association with Northumbrian Water Limited, we'll talk wildlife and water, meet two sets of ringers, find out what a ranger does, and talk with Northumbrian Water's Conservation and Land Manager. Water companies have conservation managers? They sure do.'.

Episode 26 and we have two interviews linked by beaches and things that - most of us will probably agree - shouldn't be on them: feral cats and trash. First up is Grant Sizemore of the American Bird Conservancy discussing plans to sue New York State Parks for maintaining a colony of neutered feral cats which are endangering breeding Piping Plovers, then Martin Dorey, founder of #2minutebeachclean who is asking everyone to do just a little bit to help keep beaches free of plastics and other trash.'.

Episode 25 and we have two interviews and both begin with the letter H: we're talking Hedgehogs with Charlie Creek of Willows Hedgehog Rescue, and hunt trespass with Joe Hashman of Hounds Off Both are creating a hub of information, both are working to halt harm to our wildlife...so hip hip hooray to the both of them.'.

Episode 24 and this episode is all about 'ultra marathons' - like marathons with a bit more distance and bit more suffering thrown in. Who is suffering and why? Radio producer Mary Colwell, who is walking 500 miles to fundraise for Curlews, and - myself: yes, in an outrageous piece of self-publicity I'm discussing with Jamie Gilardi, Director of the World Parrot Trust, my 24 hour 200+ mile cycle ride from Wiltshire to Cornwall to fundraise for wild parrots.'.

In a special episode of Talking Naturally I talk with Anna Clayton, a writer and researcher at Ethical Consumer magazine, shortly after the launch of a report she had written on the optics industry titled " 'Shooting Wildlife' - Who makes your binoculars, cameras and spotting scopes?" To quote the first four lines of the report: "'Sport optics', such as binoculars, spotting scopes and monoculars, are used by many keen birders and wildlife watchers. They are also essential pieces of equipment for hunters, resulting in some optics companies marketing products at both conservationists and sport hunters.'.

An interview with 'Birding Beijing's Terry Townshend recorded in 2012 shortly after he became BirdLife Species Champion for the Endangered and (then) virtually unknown Jankowski's or Rufous-backed Bunting and re-released as a companion piece to TN 023'.

In this episode we're talking with Terry Townshend, an ex-pat Norfolk birder who's been living and working in Beijing, China since 2010, where he writes the increasingly influential and conservation-based 'Birding Beijing' - a blog dedicated to celebrating the birds of China’s capital city. An excellent birder, Terry has a professional background in environmental law, is a regular contributor to the China Birdwatching Society’s lecture series, and in 2014 he became the BirdLife Species Champion for the Endangered Jankowski's or Rufous-backed Bunting.'.

In a special podcast we're back 'Around the Med' discussing the almost incredible numbers of migratory birds killed in the region every year - around 25 million birds killed illegally by shooters and trappers every year - with Roula Trigou and Fran Vargas-Bianchi of the Hellenic Ornithological Society or HOS, the BirdLife partner in Greece.'.

We have two interviews in this episode, themed (pretty loosely) around the Mediterranean. We're looking at Montagu's Harrier conservation on both sides of the Med with Mark Thomas (RSPB) and Almut Schlaich (Dutch Montagu's Harrier Foundation); and at the Critically Endangered Iberian Lynx (which like its principal prey item the European Rabbit) is endemic to the Med, with Eduardo Goncalves founder of SOSLynx and chief-exec of the League Against Cruel Sports.'.

A special TN podcast about Abberton and Hanningfield Reservoirs in Essex, sponsored by and produced in association with Essex and Suffolk Water, part of Northumbrian Water Limited. Abberton, where a successful expansion scheme was completed last year, is the largest body of freshwater in Essex, an SSSI, a Special Protection Area (or SPA), and a Ramsar Site because of the large numbers of waterbirds that roost, stage and winter here. Hanningfield is also an SSSI with a large colony of Soprano Pipistrelle bats and important numbers of waterbirds. Both locations hold small reserves managed by Essex Wildlife Trust, a partnership that works to manage and improve biodiversity across both sites.'.

In this episode we have three different interviews. First up is Pauline Kidner, founder of Secret World Wildlife Rescue a charity with the stated vision of preventing "British wildlife suffering needlessly and inspire in everyone an understanding and love of wildlife and the countryside". After Pauline it's Jeff Dawson of Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust who is working to save the critically endangered Mountain Chicken, which is now confined to just two small islands in the Caribbean. Last but of course not least is Israeli birder and conservationist Yoav Perlman, one of the organisers of the Champions of the Flyway, a unique series of events held in Israel that campaigns against the illegal killing of birds throughout the Mediterranean Flyways - a cause that surely everyone would support, but as Yoav is all too aware not everyone is happy with where Champions takes place.'.

In this episode we're discussing an Australian endemic, the critically endangered Orange-bellied Parrot with Mark Holdsworth: if it wasn't for the extraordinary efforts of Mark and other members of the Orange-bellied Parrot National Recovery Team the species would already almost certainly be extinct in the wild. Closer to home we're talking with Rob Adams, Chairman and Treasurer of Spurn Bird Observatory Trust about - of course - Spurn, site of the Spurn Migration Festival and the UK's newest observatory accommodation. On a serious note, Rob was a close friend and colleague of Martin Garner, one of birding's brightest stars who died at the end of January: Rob will be paying tribute to Martin as indeed will we.'.