Jon Mason has spent almost four decades as a geography teacher, an Opticron ambassador, and to a growing audience on Instagram, sharing early morning birding moments from Otmoor and beyond.

In this episode, Chris sits down with John to talk about a fascination with birds that started before he could walk, why he calls himself a birder rather than a birdwatcher, and how a heart attack a decade ago changed the way he spends his time. From spider's webs at sunrise to a nightingale nobody could see, this is a conversation about noticing more, rushing less, and why the simplest birds are often the best ones.

Episode Takeaways:

• A lifetime with birds — Jon traces his love of birds back to a highchair full of sparrows, and explains why for him birding has never been a hobby, it's just always been there.
• Birder, not birdwatcher — Why Jon relies on his ears as much as his eyes, and how an old LP called Bird Sounds in Close Up trained him to recognise calls as a boy.
• You are the lesson — Forty years of teaching geography taught John that you can't fake passion in front of students — you have to live it, out loud, on a chalk hillside with a telescope.
• The heart attack that changed everything — How a health scare ten years ago led Jon to step back from work, invest in time outdoors, and discover that nature does more for his blood pressure than medication.

Episode Timestamps:

• 03:00 — A lifetime of loving birds, starting with sparrows on a highchair
• 07:00 — Where "The Early Birder" name comes from, and a body clock tuned to the dawn chorus
• 11:00 — Sharing birding in the moment on Instagram, and the firecrest that stopped a photograph
• 13:00 — Forty years of teaching: "you are the lesson," not the one delivering it
• 24:00 — Titchwell RSPB and why it has everything
• 33:00 — Quality over quantity: spider's webs, nightingales, and not losing the point of the day
• 40:00 — The heart attack, the wake-up call, and why nature is better than medication

Important Links & Resources:

• Follow My Birding Life on Instagram
• Subscribe to My Birding Life on YouTube
• The Early Birder
• Follow Jon on Instagram