Life on the Road, Chasing Rare Birds with Nigel & Kayleigh

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 Origins 11:23 - How Birding Began 15:53 - Life Filming Together 17:56 - Channel Shift Twitching 29:27 - Big Twitch Experiences 30:58 - Big Year Reality Check 32:15 - Couple Rivalry and Solo Ticks 39:49 - Strategy for the Rest of Year 41:33 - YouTube Changes the Chase 43:13 - eBird Rankings vs Enjoyment 49:55 - Gambia Happy Place and Kingfishers Important Links & Resources: Follow My Birding Life on Instagram Subscribe to My Birding Life on YouTube Follow Nigel and Kayleigh on Instagram Subscribe to Backyard Aviary Adventures on YouTube