Tweet of the Day

1:33

Sophie Pavelle on the Merlin

Tweet of the Day ·

2026/10/04

Nature writer Sophie Pavelle has been searching for the merlin, but is yet to see one.Produced by Sophie Anton for BBC Audio in Bristol.

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1:32

Tom McKinney on the Fieldfare

Tweet of the Day ·

2026/09/27

For broadcaster and musician Tom McKinney the autumn arrival of fieldfare to the UK's east coast is one of the country's greatest wildlife spectacles. He describes being immersed in fieldfare at places like Spurn Point in East Yorkshire, with a constant stream of flocks coming in off the North Sea, and the noise of their cackles and wheezes becoming an overwhelming cacophony. Produced by Sophie Anton for BBC Audio in Bristol.This programme features audio by from Xeno-Canto by Simon Elliott and

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1:37

Susan Calman on the Goldfinch

Tweet of the Day ·

2026/09/20

After seeing a flock of goldfinch in a neighbour's garden, comedian Susan Calman suffered from a bout of 'bird jealousy', and describes the great lengths she went to in order to entice them into hers.Produced by Sophie Anton for BBC Audio in Bristol.This programme features audio by David Bissett from Xeno-Canto (XC811560 - European Goldfinch).

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1:37

Mike Dilger on the Pink-footed Goose

Tweet of the Day ·

2026/09/13

Every autumn naturalist Mike Dilger looks forward to the arrival of pink-footed geese to the Moray coast in Scotland. With its feet always caked in brown estuarine mud, Mike thinks this might be one of the more confusingly named British birds, and wonders if the 'chocolate-headed goose' would be more appropriate. Mike describes the spectacular skeins of birds as they arrive at the coast, and fly between mudflats and their farmland feeding grounds.Produced by Sophie Anton for BBC Audio in

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1:39

Isabella Tree on the White Stork

Tweet of the Day ·

2026/09/06

Conservationist Isabella Tree describes how the bill-clattering of white storks has become a characteristic sound of spring at Knepp in West Sussex. Since 2020 they've been nesting at the top of oak trees, and are the first to breed in England for centuries. Knepp is one of two sites where the White Stork Project has established a colony, where wild white storks are now breeding with re-introduced birds.Produced by Sophie Anton for BBC Audio in Bristol.This programme features audio recorded at Knepp

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1:39

Jasmine Donahaye on the Mallard

Tweet of the Day ·

2026/08/30

On a hot summer walk, author Jasmine Donahaye feels refreshed by the sound of mallards, as it announces the hidden presence of water. She's reminded that the familiar quack sound is the voice of the female, as they dabble on the water, corralling ducklings and sounding alarms. In summer the males molt their bright feathers and temporarily resemble the females, though their quieter, raspy quack gives them away.Produced by Sophie Anton for BBC Audio in Bristol.

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1:35

Sophie Pavelle on the Skylark

Tweet of the Day ·

2026/08/23

Nature writer Sophie Pavelle describes why the skylark has become an iconic avian muse. From Shakespeare and Wordsworth to First World War battlefields, the skylark has become a symbol of love and new beginnings. Despite being one of the UK's fastest declining birds, skylarks have soundtracked some of Sophie's most cherished memories walking Devon's coast and moorlands, hearing its liquid song tumbling from the air.Produced by Sophie Anton for BBC Audio Production in Bristol.This programme features

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1:34

Horatio Clare on the Herring Gull

Tweet of the Day ·

2026/08/16

Writer Horatio Clare describes why he finds the herring gull to be a fascinating and surprising bird, from their use of vomit in courtship, to how to deter them from stealing your chips.Produced by Sophie Anton for BBC Audio Production in Bristol.This programme features audio from Xeno-Canto by Jack Berteau and Irish Wildlife Sounds (European Herring Gull - XC717834 and XC741653).

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1:39

Isabella Tree on the Common Whitethroat

Tweet of the Day ·

2026/08/09

Common whitethroats arrive back at the Knepp Rewilding Project in West Sussex just as the hawthorn begins to bloom. Its numbers have increased there nearly 300% over the last 20 years. The secret of its success is the mass of scrubland habitat which has colonised this land since they gave up farming, providing insects and berries to eat. Conservationist Isabella Tree describes begin able to pick up the fast, scratchy, song of this long-distance migrant, above the cacophony of the dawn

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1:33

Anita Sethi on the Dunlin

Tweet of the Day ·

2026/08/02

On a summer walk in Upper Teesdale on her way to the great Cow Green Reservoir, nature writer Anita Sethi realises she is lost. Without her map, she turns to nature for a sign of where she is, and is rewarded with the call of the dunlin.Once known as the red-backed sandpiper because of their rusty-red and black summer plumage, dunlins are small waders that nest on upland landscapes in the summer months, where peaty pools provide habitat for food. In the winter, their plumage transforms to

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1:35

Juliet Vickery on the Willow Warbler

Tweet of the Day ·

2026/07/26

Each year, CEO of the British Trust for Ornithology, Juliet Vickery, waits eagerly to hear the beautiful song of the willow warbler, which migrates from sub–Saharan Africa. However, on her own Cambridgeshire doorstep the willow warbler is increasingly rare. The fortunes of this delicate little bird in the UK is now one of a north-south divide - increasing in the North and West, decreasing in the South and East. Thanks to a network of volunteer observers, we now know this is, at least in part,

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1:39

George McGavin on the Hoopoe

Tweet of the Day ·

2026/07/19

Entomologist George McGavin remembers the first time he saw a hoopoe, an occasional visitor to the UK. The hoopoe is largely insectivorous, and watching it forage for crickets and grasshoppers, and probe deep into the soil for larvae, reminded George just how important insects are for the survival of the majority of birds.Produced by Sophie Anton for BBC Audio in Bristol.This programme features audio by Olivier Swift from Xeno-Canto (Eurasian Hoopoe - XC697952).

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1:37

Isabella Tree on the Turtle Dove

Tweet of the Day ·

2026/07/12

In early summer at the Knepp Rewilding Project in West Sussex you're almost guaranteed to hear a turtle dove, one of the UK's rarest birds. Conservationist Isabella Tree writes how its gentle soothing sound tugs at the heartstrings, as today fewer than 3000 breeding pairs remain. But at Knepp, turtle doves can find areas of dense thorny thicket where they like to nest, and wildflower seeds to eat. Now every year they count 20 singing males, which is a quater of the population in Sussex.Produced by

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1:35

Liz Berry on the Rock Dove

Tweet of the Day ·

2026/07/05

Poet Liz Berry writes about her love for feral pigeons or rock doves, and how they rule the roost in Birmingham.Produced by Sophie Anton for BBC Audio Production in Bristol.

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1:32

Horatio Clare on the Grey Heron

Tweet of the Day ·

2026/06/28

The writer Horatio Clare reflects on the many tales told about the grey heron. They were seen as birds of augury by the Romans, or with a religious bent by the poet Dylan Thomas, and for Horatio their appearance makes them seem like judges, rather aloof and out of touch. But Horatio has watched herons, and writes of their patience and spearing in catching fish, and the intensity of their concentration on every eddy of water.Produced by Sophie Anton for BBC Audio Production in Bristol.This programme

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1:29

Anita Sethi on the House Sparrow

Tweet of the Day ·

2026/06/21

As a child growing up in Manchester, nature writer Anita Sethi used to dream of becoming a bird and flying away to the hills and moors beyond the city. Always on the lookout for signs of nature thriving in urban parks and streets, one of her favourite birds to spot was the noisy and sociable house sparrow. With greyish-brown plumage and a loud, chattering song, house sparrows aren't particularly flashy or exciting birds to many people, but they are highly resourceful and adaptable creatures and have

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1:37

Isabella Tree on the Cuckoo

Tweet of the Day ·

2026/06/14

Conservationist Isabella Tree tells the story of a remarkable cuckoo called Sayaan, who in April this year returned to her home and rewilding project at Knepp for the third year running. They are part of the British Trust for Ornithology’s Cuckoo Tracking Project, putting GPS trackers on cuckoos so we can learn about their migrations and help conservation. Sayaan left his overwintering grounds in the Congo in January, and crossed Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, refuelling on insects

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1:36

Roland Arnison on the Storm Petrel

Tweet of the Day ·

2026/06/07

We join explorer Roland Arnison on a kayaking expedition to the outer Hebrides on a quest to record the call of the storm petrel. These small and elusive seabirds spend most of their time at sea, nesting on rocky isles around the western coasts of the UK. While camping on the coastline of a remote uninhabited island, Roland patiently waited through the night until he heard the digital trill of the 'stormy' ring out in the dark.This programme features audio recorded by Roland Arnison, and it was

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1:37

Mike Dilger on the Whimbrel

Tweet of the Day ·

2026/05/31

For Naturalist Mike Dilger the whimbrel has just as much star power as the curlew. He likes to spot whimbrel on the Severn estuary as they migrate north on route to their breeding grounds in Scandinavia, Iceland and Russia. But to see this wader at its best, Mike recommends heading to their solitary British breeding outpost in Shetland where whimbrel combine their distinctive piping call with a bubbling flight song.Produced by Sophie Anton for BBC Audio in Bristol.

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1:36

Juliet Vickery on the Woodcock

Tweet of the Day ·

2026/05/24

The CEO of the British Trust for Ornithology, Juliet Vickery, describes an encounter with a patrolling male woodcock 30 years ago, watching it circle its territory from high in the sky. Apart from this display these waders are very hard to see, usually inhabiting dense woods and heathland, which also makes them hard to monitor. However thanks to generations of volunteer observers, we know that the distribution of breeding woodcock in the UK is sadly less than half of what it was in the 1960s

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