Start the Week

The Great Auk meets Victorian explorers, and zombie ponds


Listen Later

The Great Auk: Its Extraordinary Life, Hideous Death and Mysterious Afterlife is the subject of Tim Birkhead’s new book. This goose-sized seabird became the favoured food of hungry sailors and hunters, and the last two were killed in 1844. But then the bird became an obsession for collectors who vied for the last skins, eggs and skeletons.

Victorian hunters, explorers and collectors feature strongly in the story of the Great Auk. The writer Kaliane Bradley places the 19th century polar explorer Commander Graham Gore at the heart of her time-travelling novel, The Ministry of Time. The book is being made into a television series on BBC1 – to be aired later in the Spring.

Human activity has had, and continues to have, a big impact on bird populations. While several species have gone extinct, more are classified as threatened. But a joint conservation project between farmers and wildlife organisations is looking at restoring ‘zombie’ ponds, in an effort to increase pockets of wildlife. The RSPB’s Mark Nowers helps to organise the Lost Ponds Project and is involved in the protection of turtle doves, whose numbers are vulnerable.

Producer: Katy Hickman

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Start the WeekBy BBC Radio 4

  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7

4.7

152 ratings


More shows like Start the Week

View all
In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,404 Listeners

From Our Own Correspondent by BBC Radio 4

From Our Own Correspondent

370 Listeners

The Documentary Podcast by BBC World Service

The Documentary Podcast

1,837 Listeners

The Penguin Podcast by Penguin Books UK

The Penguin Podcast

147 Listeners

Front Row by BBC Radio 4

Front Row

124 Listeners

Global News Podcast by BBC World Service

Global News Podcast

7,683 Listeners

Arts & Ideas by BBC Radio 4

Arts & Ideas

294 Listeners

Thinking Allowed by BBC Radio 4

Thinking Allowed

304 Listeners

Great Lives by BBC Radio 4

Great Lives

507 Listeners

6 Minute English by BBC Radio

6 Minute English

1,817 Listeners

Learning English Conversations by BBC Radio

Learning English Conversations

1,086 Listeners

More or Less: Behind the Stats by BBC Radio 4

More or Less: Behind the Stats

895 Listeners

Books and Authors by BBC Radio 4

Books and Authors

371 Listeners

The Infinite Monkey Cage by BBC Radio 4

The Infinite Monkey Cage

1,940 Listeners

Newshour by BBC World Service

Newshour

1,060 Listeners

In Our Time: History by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time: History

1,899 Listeners

In Our Time: Culture by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time: Culture

594 Listeners

The Life Scientific by BBC Radio 4

The Life Scientific

239 Listeners

Moral Maze by BBC Radio 4

Moral Maze

58 Listeners

Bookclub by BBC Radio 4

Bookclub

238 Listeners

The Briefing Room by BBC Radio 4

The Briefing Room

74 Listeners

Americast by BBC News

Americast

746 Listeners

You're Dead to Me by BBC Radio 4

You're Dead to Me

2,974 Listeners

Limelight by BBC Radio 4

Limelight

256 Listeners