Nature Tripping

This episode is a long field recording of a dawn chorus made at the beginning of April, and accompanies our podcasts on learning birdsong in the coronavirus lockdown. We provide a short spoken introduction, but then just leave the birds to it.

Coronavirus lockdown continues, but song thrushes and blackbirds are singing away in parks and gardens. Join Cathy and Jo in this episode to listen to and learn about their distinctive songs. Meanwhile the first summer visitors are back (chiff chaff), and chatty goldfinches seem to be everywhere. (Song Thrush @ 1min 55secs; Blackbird @ 8 min 35 secs; Chiff Chaff @ 18mins 0 secs; Goldfinch @ 26mins...

Cathy and Jo can't go nature tripping, so instead they're listening to birdsong on their doorstep, and sharing some tips on how to identify song from three of the nations's commonest species. (Robin @ 8min 15secs; Wren @ 15mins 0secs; Chaffinch @ 25mins 58 secs).

Storm Ciara has not long passed. Cathy and Jo are on a Hebridean Island and take a trip to the beach to experience wind, waves, stacks of seaweed and an encounter with the local seals.

It’s the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch weekend. Jo and Cathy stock up the bird feeders and settle in to observe what’s going on outside the back door. With small microphones attached to the garden tree, close-up sounds of birds pecking for food, beating their wings and squabbling with each other are revealed. The podcast ends with an extended recording of activity at the bird feeders.

As day is breaking Cathy and Jo visit the local allotments to listen to the winter dawn chorus and chat about identifying bird species by their song. After singing alone in the darkness, robins are joined by wrens, blackbirds and tits, as well as some less familiar British species, proving that although it's cold and dark, winter can be a fruitful time to listen out for birds.

It's a windy weekend in December and Cathy and Jo are at Caerlaverock on the Solway Firth. They listen to the wild ducks, geese and swans over-wintering in the vast merse (salt marshes) for which this area is famous. It proves to be one of the nosiest wildlife experiences to be heard in the British Isles during winter. The podcast includes (at the end) a long recording of the busy wetland soundsca...

Cathy and Jo take a field trip to Morecambe Bay - a popular winter feeding ground for many wading birds and ducks. Join them as the tide rushes in for a discussion about this vast estuarine habitat and its different bird species, their feeding behaviours, and migratory patterns. Time is also spent discussing the plight of the curlew - present on the Bay, but also one of Britain's most endangered b...