The Bearded Tit‘s Podcast

On todays show I'm chatting with fellow fish botherer David Miller who is arguably the UK's leading fish artist as well as painting birds and mammals. We talk about how he started painting fish, how to get the fish looking perfect and how he gathers his reference material.  Davids Website Celtic Deep Puffin Snorkel Trip Buy Me a Coffee Facebook Page Twitter

In this episode I go into what happens behind the podcasting curtain and talking about how the podcast started, some of the stats, my fav and worst interviews and whats coming up next for the podcast as a whole!

In this weeks podcast I’m chatting to scuba diving doctor Ben Burville, who’s spent years exploring the underwater world around the Farne islands and in particular its grey seals which he has a unique and unrivalled relationship with. We talk about whether the seals recognise him, what he's discovered diving with them and the population of white beaked dolphins of the Northumberland coast. Ben's T...

In this weeks show I’m talking to Jack Heathcote who lives in Carlton in Nottingham and has the largest private aquarium in the country. Its nearly 7ft deep and has a variety of native freshwater fish in their putting my fish tank to shame! He also makes custom aquariums and his website is linked below.   This was shot on location and you can hear the tank in the background so that’s the faint noi...

On today's show I’m chatting to Tania Esteban who is a zoologist, self shooting assistant producer and wildlife filmmaker. She's worked on many high profile natural history series like Planet Earth II and The Mating Game as well as producing her own impactful films. Myself and Tania discuss if she enjoys the editorial process, what its like working for netflix and filming animal sex! Tanias Websit...

In todays show I have Greame Denton who is the managing director of from the notebook beer which is a company formed in 2012 to celebrate the diversity of British wildlife through the lovely drink that is beer! They donate money from each beer sold to help fund wildlife charities.  In todays chat we sample three beers while looking at what gave him the idea to start the company, how much many has...

In this weeks show I’m talking to Miranda Krestovnikoff who is president of the RSPB and a tv presenter best known for appearances on the one show and coast.  Miranda studied zoology at the university of Bristol and is closely associated with marine environments which she has a deep passion for exploring and preserving.   We talk about the challenges of presenting underwater, what being the presid...

This week I talk to Shark expert Richard Pierce being a trustee of The Shark Trust and founder of The Shark Conservation Society. We talk about the likelihood of there being great white sharks in Britain, examine the possible sitings and the closet confirmed records of them to the british coastline. Richards Website Buy Me a Coffee Facebook Page Twitter  

In this weeks show I’m talking to Hugh Warwick is an ecologist and author with a particular passion for hedgehogs - he is the spokesperson for the British Hedgehog Preservation Society, has written three books (so far) about them and a book about beavers on the way. Today myself and Hugh waffle about what food you should give hedgehogs, are the houses we put out for them any good and why they are...

In this episode I’m talking to heather buttivant about a subject close to my heart Cornish rock pools! A native to north cornwall her interest in rock pools has persisted from childhood into adult life and she’s volunteered with cornwall wildlife trust and written books including Rockpool : the extrodianty encounters between tides.  We talk about why rockpools fascinate her, the best places in cor...

In this weeks show I’m talking to bbc natural history unit producer James Brickell who’s worked on a host of acclaimed tv series such as life in cold blood, the great barrier reef, deadly 60 and many more. Today myself and James waffle about how we meet, what its like working with David Attenborough, the career path to being a producer and what moments really stood out to him traveling across the...

In todays show I’m chatting to wildlife artist Harriet mead. Harriet specialises in sculpting animals out of scrap metal turning thrown away junk into pieces of art. Her sculptures an are quirky combination of metal and her love of the subject. Today we talk about how she combines nature and art, the process of sculpting a animal and how long it takes. Harriets Website Buy Me a Coffee Facebook Pag...

This week I speak to Dave Hamilton who is a keen forager as we talk about where you can forage in the uk and laws around it, how to watch out for deadly mushrooms and how you can drink your wife's urine after ingesting mushrooms to get high! Daves Book Buy Me a Coffee Facebook Page Twitter

This week I speak to wildlife tv researcher Sophie Pierce as we talk about what kind of ideas are best to pitch, what a researcher does and the frustrating aspects of the job. Sophies Website Buy Me a Coffee Facebook Page Twitter

Many of you will know I’m a keen wildlife gardener and love me a pond so I’ve wanted to do a podcast on wildlife ponds for a while. Probably the best book on the market about the subject is written by todays guest Jules Howard, titles the wildlife pond book. Its well worth a read if you haven’t got a copy.  We are going to do something slightly different today and rather then straight questions I’...

In todays episode I’m speaking with Ellie & Ben from The Wildlife Garden Podcast and also Ellies Wellies which are a  Nottingham-based garden maintenance company and consultancy that specialises in wildlife gardens using organic methods. Ellie and Ben set up one of the first totally organic garden maintenance companies in the UK, Ellie’s Wellies Organic Gardening. No matter what size the garden, E...

This week I’m joined by wildlife photographer dan Ruston. Dan is based in Dorset and quite frankly is a master at fieldcraft getting closer to species like roe deer, peregrine and red fox which he has a special affinity for.  We talk about what fieldcraft really means in wildlife photography, the use of commercial hides and how starting off in a gamekeeping background helped his photography. Here’...

This week I’m talking to Sheena Cruickshank about parasites that love nothing more then living in the human body. She’s a professor at the university of Manchester and specialities in immunity & infection. We talk about 50ft worms in your gut, how pubic lice are declining and how some parasites might actually make you healthier.  Sheena Cruickshank Buy Me a Coffee Facebook Page Twitter

In todays episode I’m having a chin wag with Chris Yates, Chris is an angler preferring to use more traditional techniques and is well known for being part of Hugh miles passion for angling as well as catching the bishop a former uk record carp. Chris is also a brilliant writer and naturalist and we spoke for hours about bird watching after the podcast. I have to thank Hugh miles for setting this...

Today I’m talking to singer - song writer kitty Macfarlane who mashes up folk tunes with natural sounds to make some incredible pieces of music. She’s guest presented radio shows on BBC Radio 3 & 4 was nominated for a horizon award. Her debut album namer of clouds is out now. We chat about why she uses nature as a theme for her music, how she incorporates the sounds of nature into her songs and wh...

This week I’m joined by Bertie Gregory who is a British wildlife filmmaker. He’s been named a National Geographic Young Explorer and The Youth Outdoor Photographer of the year, Bertie's goal is to find stories that get people to fall in love with the natural world. Bertie currently splits his time between shooting behind the camera as a cinematographer for the BBC's landmark series and hosting sho...

In this Bonus episode I talk about the topic of wildlife photography going into decline as a career choice. Is it still a viable career and what have been the changes in it over the years?   Buy Me a Coffee Facebook Page Twitter

This week I’m with wildlife camerawomen Jessica Mitchell who is well known for her variety of work including time-lapse, topside and especially underwater. She’s filmed for groups such as Natural World, BBC & Oxford scientific films to name a few.  Today we cover the pressures of being a wildlife camera op, whether it should even be called cameraman or camera operator and the distant lack of women...

This week I’m joined by fellow countryfile presenter Joe Crowley,  Joe has presented a host of television programmes from holiday hit squad to police 5 but is best known for his regular slots on both the one show and country file. It's here he embraces his passion for the outdoors and in particular rivers and recently made a film for panorama about the disgusting amounts of raw sewage entering Bri...

In todays show I’m chatting to springwatch presenter Gillian Burke. Gillian finds herself living in Cornwall now and over the years has done lots of narration and voicework before making the leap to the big screen and presenting for many BBC wildlife programmes most notably the watches. She’s also a biologist, public speaker and writer. Today we talk about how voice work is different to presenting...