My Birding Life

Simon Barnes spent over 30 years as chief sportswriter at The Times. His books on birding, including How to Be a Bad Birdwatcher and On the Marsh, have introduced more people to the joy of birds than almost anyone's in recent years. Now in the high 30s to mid-40s for books published, he's just released his latest, How to Fly. Simon joins Chris from his hut on the edge of his Norfolk marsh, where a marsh harrier, a pair of visiting cranes and a newly singing reed bunting have all been keeping him company. We talk about the Cetti's warbler that helped sell him the house, what he learned from a year at Minsmere, and evenings on the marsh with his son Eddie. We also get into why he believes sound is every bit as important as sight, and what he learned about swifts, bumblebees and pterosaurs while researching a book dedicated to flight. Episode Takeaways: Two sides of birding: Simon describes the daily "soap opera" of small, predictable moments that give you a sense of belonging, alongside the peak moments that leave you barely able to believe what you're seeing. It's the combination that brings you back. Let the land lead: A reed bunting singing on the marsh told Simon it's slowly turning into a reed bed. The lesson from Minsmere and the World Land Trust is that if you look after the habitat, the birds follow. Ears count too: Simon argues that sound is every bit as important as sight, and he learned it from a Zambian birder who recorded around 500 species. Now Eddie calls out the Cetti's warblers from the canoe. Watch with more intent: Researching How to Fly changed how Simon watches swifts, from ambient birds to a real show of speed, gliding and manoeuvrability. Ordinary birds become extraordinary when you slow down and look properly. Episode Timestamps: 00:38 - Meet Simon Barnes 02:40 - Books and Writing Life 04:01 - Buying the Norfolk Marsh 05:54 - Marsh Magic Moments 09:23 - Why Birding Moves Us 11:44 - Marsh Changes and New Birds 14:24 - Conservation Lessons Learned 21:44 - Eddie and Nature Connection 24:37 - Learning Birds by Ear 26:11 - New Book How to Fly 33:55 - Swifts and Watching Differently 39:10 - Rapid Fire Birding Q&A Important Links & Resources: Follow My Birding Life on Instagram Subscribe to My Birding Life on YouTube Pick Up Your Copy of How to Fly Simon's Website

Mya Bambrick has been birding since she was eight. She's now a BTO Youth Ambassador, winner of the BTO's Young Ornithologist of the Year Award and a familiar voice on Radio 4's Tweet of the Day. She works full time in conservation with Birds of Poole Harbour, and she's on a mission to get young people hooked on the hobby we all love. In this episode, Mya takes us from a street dance academy in Crawley to a hide at Warnham Local Nature Reserve, where an osprey and a kingfisher changed everything. We talk about the bird camp that shaped her path, ringing nightjars for a group of young birders, why birding is booming among young people, and how to keep the joy in birding when the camera and the phone keep pulling you away. Episode Takeaways: Find your people: A free BTO bird camp at 13 gave Mya the community she couldn't find at school. Ten years later, she's helping run one. Representation matters: Growing up in a single-parent household, with no birding role models who looked like her, drove Mya to make birding more accessible and inclusive, especially for young girls. You're a birder if you love birds: Sofa birder or seasoned twitcher, there's no right way to do it. Binoculars around your neck, and you're in. Protect the moment: Mya keeps camera days and content days separate from binoculars-only days, and she saves her eBird list until she's finished birding. Episode Timestamps: 01:46 - Meet Mya Bambrick 03:08 - How It All Began 07:27 - Kingfisher Chase Story 10:31 - Finding Young Birders 13:09 - BTO Youth Engagement 19:46 - Making Birding Inclusive 25:46 - Birding For Everyone 27:50 - Sofa Birders And Twitchers 28:28 - Camera Versus Birding 31:25 - Balancing Tech And Presence 32:11 - Apps Versus Pen And Paper 33:46 - Young Ornithologist Award 37:35 - Rapid Fire Birding Picks Important Links & Resources: Follow My Birding Life on Instagram Subscribe to My Birding Life on YouTube Follow Mya on Instagram

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 job Becoming 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 student A 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" feel The Birdwatching Baddie Identity — Reclaiming "baddie," refusing to fit a mould, and using her platform to show that birdwatching is for everyone Episode Timestamps: 05:01 - How Birding Began 06:35 - Weekly Birding Routine 07:24 - Traveling For Birds 10:47 - Getting Into Listing 13:44 - Apps And Logging Style 15:34 - Learning From Birders 21:52 - Birding For Everyone 23:35 - Safety And Representation 25:09 - Birder First Camera Second 26:10 - Gear Talk And Nikon Debate 27:41 - Trips Goals And Community 29:46 - Florida Scrub Jay And Bird Geeking Important Links & Resources: Follow My Birding Life on Instagram Subscribe to My Birding Life on YouTube Follow 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 up Life 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 well Managing 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 overnight The 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 fledged Episode Timestamps: 04:50 - Ajay’s Early Birding 09:47 - Breaking Into Ranger Work 10:50 - Blakeney Point Breakthrough 14:31 - Kingfisher Sign and Storm 15:29 - Returning to Wicken Fen 17:36 - Changes at the Reserve 19:18 - Why Wicken Works 20:39 - Accessible Fen Experiences 21:12 - Ranger Life Explained 22:01 - Habitat Management Basics 23:16 - Birds Reedbeds and Cranes 26:47 - Water Challenges and Solutions 28:32 - Writing Wetland Diaries Important Links & Resources: Follow My Birding Life on Instagram Subscribe to My Birding Life on YouTube Follow Ajay on Instagram Ajay'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 Origins 07:49 - Birding Beginnings 11:06 - Early Struggles Community 14:12 - Building Podcast Network 18:17 - Puffin Walks Costa Rica 20:45 - Budgeting Big Trips 22:53 - Monetising Go Birding 24:42 - Birding Books Picks 29:16 - Audience Fame Feedback 38:04 - Bird That Got Away 39:35 - Dream Destinations 41:31 - Forever Birding Place Important Links & Resources: Follow My Birding Life on Instagram Subscribe to My Birding Life on YouTube Follow Hannah on Instagram Go Birding Podcast