My Birding Life

Tamerra Jones, aka the Birdwatching Baddie, picked up birding almost by accident during lockdown, looking for something slower-paced to get her outside. Three years on, the Central Florida-based birder has racked up hundreds of species, built a joyful, unapologetically fun Instagram following, and become a genuine advocate for making the hobby feel accessible to everyone.In this episode, Chris and Tamerra dig into how she went from lockdown curiosity to serious lister, why field experience and mentorship beat any app or book, and what it means to bring her full self into a hobby that hasn't always felt built for people who look like her. They also swap camera gear notes, geek out over each other's "boring" local birds, and talk through her next big trip!Episode Takeaways:From Lockdown Curiosity to Serious Birder — How a search for something slow-paced and accessible during COVID turned into three years of increasingly serious birding, out three times a week even with a full-time jobBecoming a Lister — Why she tracks every sighting in real time on eBird and Merlin, needs eyes on a bird before it counts, and still considers herself very much a studentA Community That Takes You Under Its Wing — The value of learning in the field from other birders over apps or books, and why the birding community has a rare, generous "fireside chat" feelThe Birdwatching Baddie Identity — Reclaiming "baddie," refusing to fit a mould, and using her platform to show that birdwatching is for everyoneEpisode Timestamps: 05:01 - How Birding Began06:35 - Weekly Birding Routine07:24 - Traveling For Birds10:47 - Getting Into Listing13:44 - Apps And Logging Style15:34 - Learning From Birders21:52 - Birding For Everyone23:35 - Safety And Representation25:09 - Birder First Camera Second26:10 - Gear Talk And Nikon Debate27:41 - Trips Goals And Community29:46 - Florida Scrub Jay And Bird GeekingImportant Links & Resources:Follow My Birding Life on InstagramSubscribe to My Birding Life on YouTubeFollow Tamerra on Instagram

Ajay Tegala started volunteering on a nature reserve at 15 years old and never really left. Now the ranger at Wicken Fen, one of the National Trust's most historic reserves, Ajay has spent his career on the front line of British conservation, from seabird colonies on Blakeney Point to reed bed management on the fens. He's also a familiar face from Countryfile and Springwatch, and the author of two books, The Unique Life of a Ranger and, most recently, Wetland Diaries.In this episode, Chris sits down with Ajay for a wide-ranging chat about childhood ducks and grey herons, the long, unglamorous road into ranger work, and what it actually takes to keep a wetland reserve wet. They cover the return of breeding cranes after 500 years, the tidal surge that upended his first winter on the Norfolk coast, and the challenge of turning a life's work into a book without losing what makes it personal.Episode Takeaways:Volunteer, volunteer, volunteer — The unglamorous but essential path into ranger work: a year of unpaid volunteering on the Norfolk coast, working bar jobs to get by, before a seasonal role finally opened upLife on Blakeney Point — Six months living on a remote shingle spit working with seals and seabirds, a kingfisher moment that confirmed he'd found the right path, and a tidal surge that smashed up the reserve just as things were going wellManaging a wetland for wildlife — The grazing livestock, winter scrub clearance, and the moment each November when a tap is turned and the water and the wigeon, arrive almost overnightThe return of the cranes — Cranes began nesting at Wicken for the first time in over 500 years, five years in the making before the first chick finally fledgedEpisode Timestamps:04:50 - Ajay’s Early Birding09:47 - Breaking Into Ranger Work10:50 - Blakeney Point Breakthrough14:31 - Kingfisher Sign and Storm15:29 - Returning to Wicken Fen17:36 - Changes at the Reserve19:18 - Why Wicken Works20:39 - Accessible Fen Experiences21:12 - Ranger Life Explained22:01 - Habitat Management Basics23:16 - Birds Reedbeds and Cranes26:47 - Water Challenges and Solutions28:32 - Writing Wetland DiariesImportant Links & Resources:Follow My Birding Life on InstagramSubscribe to My Birding Life on YouTubeFollow Ajay on InstagramAjay's Website

Chris is joined by Hannah Buschert of Hannah & Erik Go Birding, one of the biggest names in the birding podcast world! Hannah's story starts almost by accident — a required biology of birds course in college, taught with the help of David Attenborough's Life of Birds, was all it took to hook her for good. From there she worked as a park ranger at Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park, picked up a serious taste for far-flung birding destinations, and eventually settled on the Oregon coast.Hannah and Chris dig into how Hannah & Erik Go Birding got started back in 2018 on long drives through Florida, why she went on to launch Women Birders Happy Hour and Bird Nerd Book Club, and what it's really like building an audience and a business around a shared love of birds.Episode Takeaways:The Podcast Was Born on Long Florida Drives: Hannah and her husband Eric started Hannah & Eric Go Birding in 2018 because the birding podcasts they listened to on road trips were too technical and didn't capture the fun of actually going out and birding.Three Podcasts, Three Purposes: Beyond the flagship show, Hannah runs Women Birders Happy Hour and Bird Nerd Book Club.Travel and Logistics Matter as Much as the Birds: Hannah has a master's degree in tourism management, and the show deliberately covers the practical side of birding trips — guides, hotels, restaurants, and yes, bathrooms, not just the birds themselves.Online Criticism Comes With the Territory: Hannah's learned to shrug off the odd bit of negativity by remembering how much effort goes into putting anything out publicly.Episode Timestamps: 03:46 - Go Birding Origins07:49 - Birding Beginnings11:06 - Early Struggles Community14:12 - Building Podcast Network18:17 - Puffin Walks Costa Rica20:45 - Budgeting Big Trips22:53 - Monetising Go Birding24:42 - Birding Books Picks29:16 - Audience Fame Feedback38:04 - Bird That Got Away39:35 - Dream Destinations41:31 - Forever Birding PlaceImportant Links & Resources:Follow My Birding Life on InstagramSubscribe to My Birding Life on YouTubeFollow Hannah on InstagramGo Birding Podcast

This week Chris sits down with Nigel and Kayleigh Cheetham, the couple behind Backyard Aviary Adventures.What started as a lockdown project, building an aviary and filming the golden pheasants, doves, and finches they raised in it, has since morphed into car camping, then a van conversion, and now full-blown twitching trips all over the UK chasing rare, scarce, and unusual visitors to our shores!The conversation covers how each of them found birding, the highs and hazards of the twitching community, and where they stand on their second consecutive UK big year.Episode Takeaways:How They Each Found Birding: Nigel rediscovered it in his late 20s after losing his dad to cancer and inheriting his camera; Kayleigh caught the bug on their honeymoon in Gambia, spotting a woodland kingfisher before he did.The Van Was Bought With Grief: After losing his sister to cancer at 44, Nigel and Kayleigh used money she left them to buy the van that now takes them all over the UK on rare bird chases.Why Twitching Feels Like a Countrywide Game of Where's Wally: For Nigel and Kayleigh, the pull of twitching isn't just the bird itself, it's the addictive thrill of the hunt, and the privilege of seeing something that isn't supposed to be there at all.276 Species in a Single UK Year: Their 2025 big year total landed them at number eight nationally and this year, every rare bird they tick off doubles as a donation to Birds on the Brink Conservation Charity.Episode Timestamps: 06:38 - Lockdown Aviary Origins11:23 - How Birding Began15:53 - Life Filming Together17:56 - Channel Shift Twitching29:27 - Big Twitch Experiences30:58 - Big Year Reality Check32:15 - Couple Rivalry and Solo Ticks39:49 - Strategy for the Rest of Year41:33 - YouTube Changes the Chase43:13 - eBird Rankings vs Enjoyment49:55 - Gambia Happy Place and KingfishersImportant Links & Resources:Follow My Birding Life on InstagramSubscribe to My Birding Life on YouTubeFollow Nigel and Kayleigh on InstagramSubscribe to Backyard Aviary Adventures on YouTube

This week Chris sits down with Sara Humphrey, aka Sussex Sara, a wildlife photographer, low-carbon birder, and one of the most distinctive voices in UK birdwatching right now. Sara doesn't drive. Every birding trip she takes, from the Cairngorms to the Lake District, is done by train, bus, or on foot, which means her whole approach to finding wildlife has had to become far more strategic than most birders ever need it to be.Sara and Chris talk through what low-carbon birding actually looks like day to day, her mission to see and photograph some of Britain's hardest and most threatened species: turtle doves, ring ouzels, nightingales and why she doesn't carry binoculars at all. It's a conversation about patience, close observation, and choosing depth over ticking boxes.Episode Takeaways:Life Without a Car: The Low-Carbon Birding Rule: Sara's approach to reducing her footprint without making the hobby unmanageable. Trains, buses, and long walks by default, with the occasional taxi when safety calls for it.What Turtle Doves Actually Need to Recover: Shallow water, the right seed in field margins, and thick hedgerow nesting habitat plus why logging sightings via BirdTrack for Operation Turtle Dove matters.Why Sara Never Carries Binoculars: As a photographer first, she found swapping between binoculars and camera cost her the shot every time, so she trained herself to read movement, body language, and calls instead.Letting the Animal Lead the Shot: Sara doesn't plan a composition and wait for wildlife to walk into it, she watches behaviour first and lets the animal dictate the photo.Episode Timestamps: 03:45 - Low Carbon Birding07:53 - Planning Car Free Trips12:54 - Why Turtle Doves Declined18:05 - Ring Ouzels And Hides20:23 - No Binocular Birding23:45 - Learning Calls And Nightingales26:58 - Territory And Displays30:35 - Behaviour Led Photography34:35 - Wild Boar Close Call36:05 - Terns And FlybysImportant Links & Resources:Follow My Birding Life on InstagramSubscribe to My Birding Life on YouTubeFollow Sara on Instagram