UK Wildlife Podcast

I chat to Becky Pullinger who is Head of Land Use Planning for the Wildlife Trust about the Planning and Infrastructure Bill and why it will be such bad news for wildlife in the UK and won't help deliver more homes for people to live in, and what you can do to stop it.

We talk to Mark Anthony aka ATM Street Art about his amazing work, creating massive wildlife art pieces on human made structures and how it helps connect people to wildlife ATM Street Art Website here https://atmstreetart.com/street-art

In the 1st of our episodes recorded at Global Bird Fair, we talk to Luke Massey about the Wildlife haven he and his family have created in Spain: Wild Finca

We talk all about wildlife photography competitions – Vic gives some tips, from her perspective as a judge, on how to enter and we talk about our experiences in competitions and if it is worth entering them anymore.

We talk all about Golden Eagles, their ecology and the problems they face in the modern world

Neil goes for a walk back in May 2023 at Essex Wildlife Trust Thameside Nature Park, to see what bird species he can hear singing. A bonus episode before we start posting the normal episodes again soon!

We are back and we are talking all about Little Owls!

The 2nd part of the interview with Mike Dilger (from episode 83) where we talk about dragonflies, garden visitors, getting into wildlife TV / media and book writing This episode was available back in May for our members. Check out our Buy me a coffee page to see how to become a UK Wildlife Podcast…

We talk to Peter Howe of 3rd Eye Technology about PROJECT CamTag, his plan to develop satellite tags used on birds of prey to more modern technology, including cameras to catch criminals persecuting them. Also in news Neil rants about the Grouse moor originations attacking Dr Amir Khan for calling their claims about benefiting conservation…

We all chat about what we've enjoyed about Birdfair, Hares, ladybirds, Red Kites, Grass Snake poo and anal secretions….

The 1st of our episodes recorded live at Global Birdfair, we talk to Nigel Marven about how in got into wildlife, his pet caiman, his journey to becoming a wildlife presenter and how he ended up being chased by dinosaurs. We also talk about why Birdfair is such a great event and the positive impact…

We talk to Steffan Walton warden for the Sandwich Bay Bird Observatory Trust, all about the wildlife that can be found in Sandwich Bay area, the species found there and the work carried out by SBBOT. To donate to their appeal to buy Jubilee Field, or to find out more about the site head to…

We talk all about the Cockchafer or May Bug. It's lifecycle, habits, folklore and interesting historic relationship with humans In wildlife news we talk about Gannets changing eye colour, the water companies poor offer to clean their own mess and more Hen harriers being killed

We look look at Britain's orchids and give an introduction to this fascinating group of plants

We talk to Mike Dilger about his quest to see 1000 plants species in a year, which he talks about in his book One Thousand Shades of Green

We Talk to Hilary Jeffkins, series producer on the Wild Isles, talking to her about this great new BBC Series on wildlife in the British Isles, stories from making the show, her favourite moments in the filming and how she got started in making TV programs helping to crate the Really Wild Show.

We talk all about Springtails aka collembola , the little jumpy used-to-be-but-are-no-longer-are-insects with the national recorder for the group, Dr Peter Shaw

To celebrate World Wetlands Day, here is an episode on a seriously underrated pond (and lake!) creature, the Phantom Midge Chaoborus sp. a transparent fly larva, the UK's fastest striking predator and the only insect that is truly planktonic

We talk about the Lesser Celandine Ficaria verna, its adaptions to flowering in winter, its medicinal uses and how it spreads

We talk to Kat Mayer about the The Langholm Initiative and Tarras Valley Nature Reserve, what wildlife is there, how the community buyout happened, what projects are taking place to improve the site and the plans for the future

We catch you up on some recent British Wildlife News and update you on the some podcast news as well. Transcript:

We talk to Tony Whitehead who is one of the communications managers for RSPB England, and we discuss the Attack on Nature. Tony explains the concerns about the threat to the Habitats Directive (and what this directive does) from the Retained EU Law Bill, the harm that could come from ‘Investment Zones' and the uncertainty…

Continuing our celebration of #Arachtober we speak to Meg Skinner all about Harvestmen. How they differ from spiders, how they feed, what they eat and how you can identify and help record these wonderful arachnids.

An arachnid species special for #Arachtober on a creature you may be surprised to here is found in the UK, the Yellow Tailed Scorpion. Covering where they live, how they feed, courtship and their lifecycle.

We talk to Vicki Hird about the topic of her book Rebugging the Planet. We discuss the subjects covered in her book, what we can do to help bugs and Vicki also explains the current situation with ELMs, the scheme to help farmers farm in an more wildlife and environmental friendly way which seemed to…

We catch up on the news we missed on our break and some current news as well covering legalising the dumping of sewage in our rivers, the environmental credentials of the new government, plans to rip up the regulations that protect our wildlife and bird flu sweeping the country. We also talk about the recent…

We talk to Bafta Award winning wildlife cameraman Doug Allan about how he started his career in natural history videography, what its like filming polar bears and leopards seals, filming in a pub garden, his favourite wildlife sites and his upcoming talks. We have also included an automated transcription of the episode below, you can…

A short episode on what's going on with the Podcast, what we've been up to and when we will be back (Spoiler alert: its in autumn)

We talk to Dr George McGavin about the insects and arthropods that are the topic of his new audiobook All Creatures Small and Great. How he decided what to write and talk about, his guests and who else he would have liked to have included and generally chat about the wonderful world of invertebrates. We…

We talk all about Barn owls, diet, hunting strategies, breeding and folklore.

In part 2 of our chat with Chantelle Lindsay and Rory Crawford, we talk about the Albatross Task Force, the Great North Wood Project and breaking down barriers to nature for Black people. We finish with a more light hearted question of what their best ever wildlife encounter was. Links:Great North Wood ProjectAlbatross Task ForceChantelle's…

We talk to the hosts of the Cbeebies show Teeny Tiny Creatures, Chantelle Lindsay and Rory Crawford, about how they got to be presenting the show, getting a job in conservation (and how hard it is!) and their dream creature to do a Teeny Tiny episode on. We also chat about how Dr Amir Khan's…

Our guest this episode is Paul Williams from the BBC Natural History Unit, and director and producer on the latest BBC Nature Doc, The Green Planet.We talk about the Green Planet series, seeing the world's biggest flower, the difficulties filming a cactus parasite, stories from working with Sir David Attenborough and how he got to…

We look at an invertebrate commonly found in ponds and ditches, the water lice. We cover the 3 native UK species Asellus aquaticus, Proasellus meridianus, Asellus cavaticus and the non native Caecidotea communis, their life cycle, feeding, breeding and predators. We also read out our listeners 2021 wildlife highlights and discuss our own too.

The concluding part from episode 63.

It is 2 years since the 1st episode of this podcast was released so we decided to do something a bit different, and interview each other! As we asked all the questions that were sent in, it lasted a bit longer than intended so here is part 1 of 2…

We talk to Eleanor Colver, Conservation Officer at the British Dragonfly Society, who gives us an update on the State of Dragonflies report, talking about the results and future plans informed by the results, while we chat about dragonflies in general

We talk to Lee Davies, mycologist and Fungarium Curator at the Royal Botanical Gardens Kew, all about Fungi! We finally talk about this whole kingdom of life so far largely ignored by this podcast, discussing what fungi are, their different ecologies, the mycorrhiza fungi and their symbiotic relationships with trees, and how many are poisonous…

We talk to 2 young naturalists Mya Bambrick and Ben Rumsby abut their experiences being a young naturalist in the UK today. We discuss what got them into wildlife, the upsides of social media from a young naturalist's perspective, bird camps and Mya's work with the Cameron Bespolka Trust, Vlogging and what Noc-Mig is.

We talk Craneflies with Pete Boardman, national organiser for the UK Cranefly Recording Scheme. We talk about what craneflies are, the confusion when using the name daddy long legs, the diversity and lifecycle of the craneflies, and why there are so many about at this time of year.

We talk to Dr Isla Hodgson about the sharks found in UK waters, including Basking Sharks. We answer your questions on sharks and talk how little we do know about these often misunderstood and unfairly maligned creatures. We also discuss Isla's work with Basking Shark Scotland and the Save Our Seas Foundation which includes their…

We talk to Jack Wootton, Aquatic Ecologist for the Forth Rivers Trust, about European eels We discuss their lifecycle, diet and issues threatening their survival, and talk about the Forgotten Fish Project he started and the work they do to help eels and other fish.

A slightly different episode talking about Neil's recent trips to Yorkshire, one with Zeiss to test out their Victory SF binoculars while enjoying the wildlife of Flamborough Cliffs and hoping to see the Albatross that had been seen there, and a 2nd trip to….well listen to find out! We also take a closer look at…

We talk to Fiona McKenna and Dave Smallshire of the British Dragonfly Society (BDS) and the work they and the BDS do to engage people, record and conserve dragonflies and damselflies. We also find out what their favourite species of this fascinating group is!

In this episode we look at the Emerald damselflies, the Lestidae, found in the UK. The Common, Scarce, Southern and Willow Emeralds, looking at how to identify them, their habitat preferences, egg laying and larva habits, the recent arrival and spread in the UK of the Willow and Southern Emeralds and some more geeky info…

Vic and Neil talk about our 9 resident Blue Butterfly species, looking at each species and their preferred habitats, larval food plants and their relationship that some have with ants, including how they trick the poor ant hosts into caring for their caterpillars.

The Legal Protection for some of the UK's most vulnerable Wildlife, including adder, pine martens and mountain hares, is under threat from new proposals by the JNCC to only allow those that are classified as Endangered or Critically Endangered, or a European Protected Species (EPS) to be protected by law. Neil and Steve Allain look…

Just a heads up In this episode we talk about women being subject to harassment and worse. We talk to Lucy McRobert about the subject of her ‘Call it out' article she wrote for Bird Guides (do have a read if you haven't already), how birding or simply being out in nature alone can make…

We talk to Jack Greenhalgh, who is studying a PhD on the wonderful underwater acoustic world of ponds & rivers. We talk about his research and listen to some of the noises made by freshwater invertebrates underwater.

Something a bit different for episode 50, we invited 7 other wildlife podcasters onto the show: Susy Buttress from Casual Birder , Ryan Dalton from Into the Wild, Emma Bridson from For What is Earth, Jack perks from the Bearded Tit, Rachael Horowitz from Hidden Wings and Bloodlust and Ellie and Ben from the Wildlife…

In this episode we talk to Dr Jenni Stockan about Wood Ants, which are 3 of our largest and arguably most interesting species of ants. We discuss how they live, what effect they have on the habitats they live in and the somewhat bizarre stories of people relocating them, sometimes to some far off places!