Show Notes
Every year at Ealing Wildlife Group, we run a Dawn Chorus walk but this year we're in Covid-19 lockdown. So I thought I'd use my daily exercise one Saturday morning to share the Dawn Chorus with EWG members through Facebook Live. Here's what I discovered!
Come with me to a gorgeous Bluebell Wood in Spring as I talk about why birds sing, what's the difference between a call and song, who's singing, why at dawn specifically and lots other questions that come in from my live audience. We discover how to tell the difference between many of the common garden and woodland bird species, from their sound alone.
The response also proves just how important it is right now for us to stay connected with nature in times of social isolation.
Sean's Wild Life podcast is produced by Sean McCormack, co-produced and edited by Thomas Ntinas. Title track 'A Wild Life' kindly composed and donated by Mark Rose.
All costs of production have been self funded. If you've enjoyed this episode and would like to tip me by buying me a coffee you can do so here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/seanswildlife.
If you would like to sponsor a future episode of Sean's Wild Life please email [email protected] and visit www.drseanmccormack.com to learn more about Sean's work. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More from Sean's Wild Life
Alas, we have reached the final episode of season five of Sean's Wild Life podcast. And perhaps the final episode of the podcast entirely as I'm hanging up my podcast boots for the time being, So it seemed fitting to invite back our first ever guest to be our final one. Jules Howard is a zoologist, author, science communicator and broadcaster with a nifty perspective on the natural world. His latest book, 'Infinite Life' explores the story of evolution through the perspective of the egg. Some terrific insights and wondrous facts ensue. We also chat about his previous book, 'Wonderdog: How the Science of Dogs Changed the Science of Life'. And we couldn't let another catchup go by without talking about ponds, our mutual love of frogs and that fateful trip to an equine stud farm.
I caught up with naturalist, writer, wilding ecologist and TikToker extraordinaire Pete Cooper to indulge in his passion for the smaller, less glamorous species reintroductions happening in the UK at present. We delved into making Glow Worm porridge (that's made for Glow Worms, not with Glow Worms by the way!), the success of our Ealing Harvest Mouse reintroduction project which Pete has helped facilitate and some of the controversies around rewilding in general, particularly when it comes to species reintroductions.
Prepare for LOLZ. I caught up with my pal Chantelle, CBeebies presenter of teeny Tiny Creatures, Great North Wood project officer for London Wildlife Trust and Future Advisor for former podcast guests Heal Rewilding. I would say we had a great chat but truth is we laughed our way through lots of topics. But on a serious note we did explore why there is a lack of diversity in the nature and conservation space, how things are improving and can be improved further, what it's like to be a young, black woman working in wildlife conservation and how she's coping with a brand new media career.
I caught up with Gareth Steel, vet and author of new book 'Never Work With Animals' which lifts the lid on what it's really like being a vet. We discuss why he wrote the book, some of the stories it contains and how the perception Vs reality of the job often differ when it comes to the general public. Not many know the fact that veterinary medicine has the highest rate of suicide of any profession as well as issues with mental health, burnout and a high departure rate. We discuss the complex factors that feed into this problem, as well as some of the difficult topics like the use of alternative therapies in pets, balancing economic concerns of pet owners and farmers with animal welfare and of course some of the entertaining and positive experiences of what it means to be a vet. A must listen episode for anyone who ever thought "Oh I'd love to have been a vet" or has children interested in joining the profession.
In this episode we're moving away from wildlife and nature conservation to a serious animal welfare issue I face in my career as a vet, exploring the issues of flat faced or brachycephalic dog breeds. I'm joined by two incredibly knowledgeable guests, Alison Skipper and Dr Rowena Packer. Alison is a vet studying a PhD in the history of pedigree dog breeding and welfare. Rowena is a companion animal behaviour and welfare scientist at the Royal Vet College. Together we explore when and why the trend for flat faced dogs appeared, why they are popular, what problems they suffer from as a result of their extreme appearance and what can be done about it. It's a fascinating insight into a complex topic.