Poet Paul Farley welcomes the return of the shelduck to our shores, back after their summer migration to the Wadden Sea. These vast mudflats off the coast of The Netherlands and Germany provide a refuge for shelducks as they go through their so-called 'catastrophic moult' where they simultaneously loose all their flight and tail feathers. Paul imagines this vast gathering of around 200,000 birds as sort of 'Shelduck Glastonbury' where they get completely flightless, and is always glad to see them home.Presented by Paul Farley and produced by Sophie Anton for BBC Audio in Bristol
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Roland Arnison on the Leach's Petrel
In 2024 and 2025 expedition leader and film-maker Roland Arnison kayaked along the west coast and isles of Scotland to find and record the sounds of seabird species. His quest took him 40 miles out into the Atlantic to St Kilda in search of the Leach's petrel, one of Britain's rarest birds that only nests on a handful of offshore rocky islands. We join Roland scrambling up a cliff at midnight to hear the extraordinary call of this nocturnal bird.Presented by Roland Arnison and produced by Sophie Anton for BBC Audio in BristolThis programme features audio recorded on St Kilda by Roland Arnison.
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George McGavin on the Red-backed Shrike
Entomologist and wildlife presenter George McGavin describes his lifelong fascination with the red-backed shrike. When George bought his first bird guide at the age of 10, this small shrike caught his eye because of its habit of impaling large insects and small vertebrates on thorns. This 'butcher bird' was once a common visitor to the south of England but was lost as a British breeding species by the 1990s - and it wasn't until 50 years after first reading about it that George finally got to see one.Presented by George McGavin and produced by Sophie Anton for BBC Audio in BristolFeaturing a recording from Xeno-canto by Elias A. Ryberg (Red-backed shrike - XC676551)
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Paul Farley on the Redwing
Poet Paul Farley muses on the autumnal arrival of redwings, small thrushes that migrate here from continental and northern Europe to spend the winter. Paul watches a flock of redwings feast on a rowan tree laden with berries, and listens out for their high-pitched nocturnal call as they move under the cover of darkness.Presented by Paul Farley and produced by Sophie Anton for BBC Audio in Bristol.This programme features a recording from Xeno-canto by Mats Rellmar (Redwing - XC711115)
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Hannah Stitfall on the Firecrest
As autumn ripens in Cornwall, wildlife filmmaker and TV presenter Hannah Stitfall goes out in search of the firecrest. For Hannah, the firecrest is a jewel of the forest, with its dazzling golden crest and bright white eye-stripe. The dense evergreen woodlands and mild climate in Cornwall offer the perfect shelter and feeding grounds. Most firecrests seen in Cornwall in autumn are migrants from central Europe, pausing here on their way to their wintering grounds in southern Europe and north Africa. Hannah finds them notoriously difficult to film, but if you're lucky you might spot one hunting for insects hidden in leaves and pine needles.Presented by Hannah Stitfall and produced by Sophie Anton for BBC Audio in Bristol.
Discover birds through their songs and calls. Each Tweet of the Day begins with a call or song, followed by a story of fascinating ornithology inspired by the sound.
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