Amid all the wonderful wildlife that is attracted to rivers, birds are some of the most spectacular. In this episode of Waterlands, Megan McCubbin hears stories of birding and freedom, kingfishers and kittiwakes.

David Lindo, aka the Urban Birder, “hit the wall” a couple of times in a gardenless flat in Spain during lockdown. He shares how he sought out a river as soon as the restrictions were lifted, and was brought to tears by the sight and sound of nightingales and Cetti’s warblers.

The sound-recordist Chris Watson takes a bus into town to visit the very noisy, furthest inland colony of kittiwakes in the world. He explains how the birds choose to spend their summers amid the hustle and bustle of downtown Newcastle, under the Tyne bridge. 

And musician Nick Penny reveals what he discovered about the iconic kingfisher when he dedicated a year of his life to watching them on the River Nene near his house.

Featuring: David Lindo, Chris Watson and Nick Penny. Presented by Megan McCubbin

If this episode has inspired you to take action for wetlands or discover more about our rivers, visit wwt.org.uk.

Waterlands is brought to you by WWT. It’s an 18Sixty production, produced by Ellie Richold, mixed by Melvin Rickarby and original music by Noah Bloom.