Show Notes
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 Bristol Featuring a recording from Xeno-canto by Elias A. Ryberg (Red-backed shrike - XC676551)
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RSPB President and NHS GP Dr Amir Khan has made his garden a haven for birds, with feeders and nest boxes. The sparrowhawk is among his garden visitors, a bird of prey which he describes a complicated relationship with. Produced by Sophie Anton for BBC Audio in Bristol. This programme features audio from Xeno-Canto by Regina Eidner (Eurasian Sparrowhawk - XC818384).
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.
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 Stanislas Wroza (XC633551 and XC600107 - Fieldfare).
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).
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 Bristol. This programme features audio from Xeno-Canto by Agris Celmins (XC1049856 - Pink-footed Goose).