Talking Naturally

Episode 30 is all about Hen Harrier Day 2016, a nationwide protest at the vanishingly low numbers of breeding Hen Harriers in England, where the scientific consensus is clear: there should be more than three hundred pairs but in 2016 there were just three: illegal persecution has brought the Hen Harrier to the brink of being wiped out as a breeding species in England. This podcast is a series of vox pops and in-the-field conversations, with birders, naturalists, political leaders, and leading conservationists including Mark Avery and Chris Packham.'.

So, you and your mates decide you'd like to produce a definitive photographic field guide to the birds of Britian and Ireland. You think about what's needed and ten years later, having sifted through a quarter of a million photos and enlisted one of the UK's top birders to write the text, it's finally out. Is it what you hoped? Is it what birders have been waiting for? Or are we all switching to apps, and is a new field-guide what's needed anyway? Andy Swash and Rob Hume give us their thoughts.'.

Episode 31 is in two parts. First a recording from this year's British Birdfair of Charlie Moores (Talking Naturally and BAWC), Dominic Dyer (CEO of the Badger Trust), and Mike Dilger (ecologist and TV presenter eg the BBC's One Show), discussing wildlife crime, then a conversation with the World Parrot Trust's Africa Programme Manager Dr Rowan Martin on why the Convention on Trade in Endangered Species must move the Grey Parrot from Appendix 2 to Appendix 1 and end the trade in wild-caught birds.'.

A shorter than usual Talking Naturally conversation, a fact we're cunningly disguising by calling it a 'Special' - which isn't to say that isn't special, just a bit short. This one is about parrots, and I talked with David Woolcock, curator at Hayle's Paradise Park, about an hour after I finished a 24 hour, 200 mile cycle ride - Pedal for Parrots - from Wiltshire to the Hayle Estuary in Cornwall, raising funds for the World Parrot Trust.'.

Episode 28 and this time around we are swapping out our own 'birds conservation wildlife' tag for something completely different. We're talking about mental health with Tris Reid, aka The Inked Naturalist, a conservationist/general naturalist who has become well-known for wearing his heart on his sleeve and covering most visible parts of his body with tattoos of birds. Why the change in focus? Because while this podcast might not work for most people, if it helps even one listener it will have been worth posting it.'.

Owned by Northumbrian Water, Kielder Water holds a staggering 200 billion litres of water, making it the largest reservoir in the UK by capacity with a shoreline that is almost exactly the same as the length of a marathon! The reservoir itself is the centre-piece of the Kielder Water and Forest Park which boasts the largest working forest in England. Wildlife? Ospreys, Otters, Red Squirrels, Water Voles, Adders and much, more more...'.

Named after Estonian explorer Karl Ernst von Baer, east Asia's Baer's Pochard is (to quote Richard Hearns at Slimbridge) 'nondescript' and 'poorly-known'. Why is it worth discussing then? Listed as Critically Endangered in 2012, the species is in freefall and it's clear that without concerted conservation action it could soon be gone forever.'.

In this special Talking Naturally podcast about Derwent Reservoir, produced in association with Northumbrian Water Limited, we'll talk wildlife and water, meet two sets of ringers, find out what a ranger does, and talk with Northumbrian Water's Conservation and Land Manager. Water companies have conservation managers? They sure do.'.

Episode 26 and we have two interviews linked by beaches and things that - most of us will probably agree - shouldn't be on them: feral cats and trash. First up is Grant Sizemore of the American Bird Conservancy discussing plans to sue New York State Parks for maintaining a colony of neutered feral cats which are endangering breeding Piping Plovers, then Martin Dorey, founder of #2minutebeachclean who is asking everyone to do just a little bit to help keep beaches free of plastics and other trash.'.

Episode 25 and we have two interviews and both begin with the letter H: we're talking Hedgehogs with Charlie Creek of Willows Hedgehog Rescue, and hunt trespass with Joe Hashman of Hounds Off Both are creating a hub of information, both are working to halt harm to our wildlife...so hip hip hooray to the both of them.'.