My Birding Life

Chris Ducker
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My Birding Life is the podcast for anyone who's ever been stopped in their tracks by a bird. Every episode, host Chris Ducker sits down with a passionate birder for an honest, warm conversation about the hobby we love. From conservationists dedicating their lives to protecting species and habitats, to lifelong birders with decades of stories to tell, to everyday birders who found birds at just the right moment in their lives — every guest brings something different, but they all share one thing: a genuine love for the natural world. We go deep into the stories behind their journeys. The first sightings that sparked a lifelong obsession. The wild places that shaped them. The birds they'll never forget. The hard-earned tips that only come from real time in the field. And the conservation work being done to protect the birds that matter most. Whether you've been birding for fifty years or you've just started noticing the birds in your garden, My Birding Life is your show. Warm, personal, and full of the kind of conversations that make you want to grab your binoculars — this is birding through the eyes of the people who live it. Real birders, real stories, real advice!

  1. 8h ago

    Living the Life of a Wetland Ranger with Ajay Tegala

    Ajay Tegala started volunteering on a nature reserve at 15 years old and never really left. Now the ranger at Wicken Fen, one of the National Trust's most historic reserves, Ajay has spent his career on the front line of British conservation, from seabird colonies on Blakeney Point to reed bed management on the fens. He's also a familiar face from Countryfile and Springwatch, and the author of two books, The Unique Life of a Ranger and, most recently, Wetland Diaries. In this episode, Chris sits down with Ajay for a wide-ranging chat about childhood ducks and grey herons, the long, unglamorous road into ranger work, and what it actually takes to keep a wetland reserve wet. They cover the return of breeding cranes after 500 years, the tidal surge that upended his first winter on the Norfolk coast, and the challenge of turning a life's work into a book without losing what makes it personal. Episode Takeaways: Volunteer, volunteer, volunteer — The unglamorous but essential path into ranger work: a year of unpaid volunteering on the Norfolk coast, working bar jobs to get by, before a seasonal role finally opened upLife on Blakeney Point — Six months living on a remote shingle spit working with seals and seabirds, a kingfisher moment that confirmed he'd found the right path, and a tidal surge that smashed up the reserve just as things were going wellManaging a wetland for wildlife — The grazing livestock, winter scrub clearance, and the moment each November when a tap is turned and the water and the wigeon, arrive almost overnightThe return of the cranes — Cranes began nesting at Wicken for the first time in over 500 years, five years in the making before the first chick finally fledged Episode Timestamps: 04:50 - Ajay’s Early Birding09:47 - Breaking Into Ranger Work10:50 - Blakeney Point Breakthrough14:31 - Kingfisher Sign and Storm15:29 - Returning to Wicken Fen17:36 - Changes at the Reserve19:18 - Why Wicken Works20:39 - Accessible Fen Experiences21:12 - Ranger Life Explained22:01 - Habitat Management Basics23:16 - Birds Reedbeds and Cranes26:47 - Water Challenges and Solutions28:32 - Writing Wetland Diaries Important Links & Resources: Follow My Birding Life on InstagramSubscribe to My Birding Life on YouTube

    Living the Life of a Wetland Ranger with Ajay Tegala

  2. Sep 9

    Birding, Lifers, Travel & Restrooms with Hannah Buschert

    Chris is joined by Hannah Buschert of Hannah & Erik Go Birding, one of the biggest names in the birding podcast world! Hannah's story starts almost by accident — a required biology of birds course in college, taught with the help of David Attenborough's Life of Birds, was all it took to hook her for good. From there she worked as a park ranger at Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park, picked up a serious taste for far-flung birding destinations, and eventually settled on the Oregon coast. Hannah and Chris dig into how Hannah & Erik Go Birding got started back in 2018 on long drives through Florida, why she went on to launch Women Birders Happy Hour and Bird Nerd Book Club, and what it's really like building an audience and a business around a shared love of birds. Episode Takeaways: The Podcast Was Born on Long Florida Drives: Hannah and her husband Eric started Hannah & Eric Go Birding in 2018 because the birding podcasts they listened to on road trips were too technical and didn't capture the fun of actually going out and birding.Three Podcasts, Three Purposes: Beyond the flagship show, Hannah runs Women Birders Happy Hour and Bird Nerd Book Club.Travel and Logistics Matter as Much as the Birds: Hannah has a master's degree in tourism management, and the show deliberately covers the practical side of birding trips — guides, hotels, restaurants, and yes, bathrooms, not just the birds themselves.Online Criticism Comes With the Territory: Hannah's learned to shrug off the odd bit of negativity by remembering how much effort goes into putting anything out publicly. Episode Timestamps: 03:46 - Go Birding Origins07:49 - Birding Beginnings11:06 - Early Struggles Community14:12 - Building Podcast Network18:17 - Puffin Walks Costa Rica20:45 - Budgeting Big Trips22:53 - Monetising Go Birding24:42 - Birding Books Picks29:16 - Audience Fame Feedback38:04 - Bird That Got Away39:35 - Dream Destinations41:31 - Forever Birding Place Important Links & Resources: Follow My Birding Life on InstagramSubscribe to My Birding Life on YouTubeFollow Hannah on InstagramGo Birding Podcast

    Birding, Lifers, Travel & Restrooms with Hannah Buschert

  3. Sep 2

    Life on the Road, Chasing Rare Birds with Nigel & Kayleigh

    This week Chris sits down with Nigel and Kayleigh Cheetham, the couple behind Backyard Aviary Adventures. What started as a lockdown project, building an aviary and filming the golden pheasants, doves, and finches they raised in it, has since morphed into car camping, then a van conversion, and now full-blown twitching trips all over the UK chasing rare, scarce, and unusual visitors to our shores! The conversation covers how each of them found birding, the highs and hazards of the twitching community, and where they stand on their second consecutive UK big year. Episode Takeaways: How They Each Found Birding: Nigel rediscovered it in his late 20s after losing his dad to cancer and inheriting his camera; Kayleigh caught the bug on their honeymoon in Gambia, spotting a woodland kingfisher before he did.The Van Was Bought With Grief: After losing his sister to cancer at 44, Nigel and Kayleigh used money she left them to buy the van that now takes them all over the UK on rare bird chases.Why Twitching Feels Like a Countrywide Game of Where's Wally: For Nigel and Kayleigh, the pull of twitching isn't just the bird itself, it's the addictive thrill of the hunt, and the privilege of seeing something that isn't supposed to be there at all.276 Species in a Single UK Year: Their 2025 big year total landed them at number eight nationally and this year, every rare bird they tick off doubles as a donation to Birds on the Brink Conservation Charity. Episode Timestamps: 06:38 - Lockdown Aviary Origins11:23 - How Birding Began15:53 - Life Filming Together17:56 - Channel Shift Twitching29:27 - Big Twitch Experiences30:58 - Big Year Reality Check32:15 - Couple Rivalry and Solo Ticks39:49 - Strategy for the Rest of Year41:33 - YouTube Changes the Chase43:13 - eBird Rankings vs Enjoyment49:55 - Gambia Happy Place and Kingfishers Important Links & Resources: Follow My Birding Life on InstagramSubscribe to My Birding Life on YouTubeFollow Nigel and Kayleigh on InstagramSubscribe to Backyard Aviary Adventures on YouTube

    Life on the Road, Chasing Rare Birds with Nigel & Kayleigh

  4. Aug 26

    Low-Carbon Birding and No Binoculars with Sara Humphrey

    This week Chris sits down with Sara Humphrey, aka Sussex Sara, a wildlife photographer, low-carbon birder, and one of the most distinctive voices in UK birdwatching right now. Sara doesn't drive. Every birding trip she takes, from the Cairngorms to the Lake District, is done by train, bus, or on foot, which means her whole approach to finding wildlife has had to become far more strategic than most birders ever need it to be. Sara and Chris talk through what low-carbon birding actually looks like day to day, her mission to see and photograph some of Britain's hardest and most threatened species: turtle doves, ring ouzels, nightingales and why she doesn't carry binoculars at all. It's a conversation about patience, close observation, and choosing depth over ticking boxes. Episode Takeaways: Life Without a Car: The Low-Carbon Birding Rule: Sara's approach to reducing her footprint without making the hobby unmanageable. Trains, buses, and long walks by default, with the occasional taxi when safety calls for it.What Turtle Doves Actually Need to Recover: Shallow water, the right seed in field margins, and thick hedgerow nesting habitat plus why logging sightings via BirdTrack for Operation Turtle Dove matters.Why Sara Never Carries Binoculars: As a photographer first, she found swapping between binoculars and camera cost her the shot every time, so she trained herself to read movement, body language, and calls instead.Letting the Animal Lead the Shot: Sara doesn't plan a composition and wait for wildlife to walk into it, she watches behaviour first and lets the animal dictate the photo. Episode Timestamps: 03:45 - Low Carbon Birding07:53 - Planning Car Free Trips12:54 - Why Turtle Doves Declined18:05 - Ring Ouzels And Hides20:23 - No Binocular Birding23:45 - Learning Calls And Nightingales26:58 - Territory And Displays30:35 - Behaviour Led Photography34:35 - Wild Boar Close Call36:05 - Terns And Flybys Important Links & Resources: Follow My Birding Life on InstagramSubscribe to My Birding Life on YouTubeFollow Sara on Instagram

    Low-Carbon Birding and No Binoculars with Sara Humphrey

  5. Aug 19

    Making the Ordinary Extraordinary with Andy Green

    Recorded live on the Whinchat stage at Global Bird Fair, this is the second episode we're publishing from that day, bringing Chris together with wildlife photographer Andy Green, a Kent-based creative known for his ultra-detailed close-up bird photography, co-host of The WildX Podcast alongside Adam Jukes and Mike Phelps, and founder of The Wild Den, an online community built around nature, creativity, and mental wellbeing. After turning 40, Andy set out to make wildlife his full-time work, and he's never looked back. In this conversation, Chris and Andy dig into the New Forest moment that started it all, the "still point" theory behind Andy's most memorable wildlife encounters, the ongoing blur between birding and bird photography, and why Andy built The Wild Den to bring community and joy back into sharing creative work online. They round things off with a rapid-fire audience segment covering spark birds, dream destinations, and crucially, the best birding snacks. Episode Takeaways: The New Forest Robin That Started It All: Andy's very first proper wildlife shoot in 2000, where a robin, a brambling, and a jay all landed within reach and hooked him for good.The "Still Point": The idea of a moment where everything goes quiet except you and the animal in front of you, illustrated by Andy's first encounter with an otter on Mull.Why The Wild Den Exists: Andy's answer to social media negativity and algorithm fatigue: a community space for chat, challenges, and in-person meetups, built to make birding and photography fun again.Content Creation Without the Pressure: Andy's advice for anyone hesitant to start posting: do it because you enjoy it, ignore the comparison trap, and expect it to take years, not overnight. Episode Timestamps: 03:03 - Origin Story03:55 - Making Ordinary Pop06:25 - Hide Versus Wild09:33 - Nature as Reset10:48 - Still Point Moments12:35 - Birding Meets Cameras15:00 - Why The Wild Den18:27 - Group Walk Dynamics19:41 - Building a Safe Community24:26 - Memories Over Metrics28:29 - Dream Trips and Lifers Important Links & Resources: Follow My Birding Life on InstagramSubscribe to My Birding Life on YouTubeFollow Andy on InstagramThe Wild Den

    Making the Ordinary Extraordinary with Andy Green

  6. Aug 12

    Dreaming Wild for 100 Years with Nick Acheson

    Recorded live from the Whinchat Podcasting Stage at Global Bird Fair 2026, sponsored by Swarovski Optik, this episode is the first of two shows Chris recorded in front of an audience at the fair. His guest is Nick Acheson, naturalist, writer, broadcaster, and a regular contributor to BBC Springwatch, known for pairing sharp field knowledge with a genuine gift for storytelling. Nick is based in North Norfolk, where he's a passionate advocate for conservation, and is the author of two books: The Meaning of Geese (2023 East Anglian Book of the Year) and This Wild Dream. The conversation centres on Norfolk Wildlife Trust's 100th anniversary, from its founding in 1926 to the ice-age ponds of Thompson Common, before turning to Nick's own birding life: a childhood that never really had a "before," a daily 5am ritual that's more about healing than ticking species, and a closing reflection on why birds should never be treated as a currency. Episode Takeaways: 100 years of Norfolk Wildlife Trust: The story starts in 1926, when Dr Sidney Long and 11 friends raised the money to buy Cley Marshes for around £5,000. Nick traces how the trust grew from a small, land-holding organisation into one managing more than 50 nature reserves across 5,500 hectares of Norfolk today.The pingos of Thompson Common: Nick explains these ice-age ponds, formed as the Devensian glaciation retreated 12,000 years ago, and how Norfolk Wildlife Trust has used LiDAR to find pingos filled in by farmers and restore them, with rare wetland seeds still viable in the silt and springing straight back to life.A Birding Life with No Beginning: Nick can't remember a time before birds. Growing up in North Norfolk, three school biology teachers filled his head with species and normalised birding trips that most people would consider extraordinary.The 5am Ritual: Nick walks the same route every morning in spring, summer, and autumn, not to chase species but to connect. He describes crying at the first willow warbler of the year and knowing exactly which week each returning bird will start singing. Episode Timestamps: 04:04 - Norfolk Trust Origins06:49 - Land Advice And Habitats09:05 - Reserve Success Stories10:07 - 1976 Royal Milestone12:26 - Nick Birding Beginnings16:32 - Thompson Common Pingos19:12 - Pond Restoration Wins21:11 - Norfolk Roots and World Travel21:55 - Stories Behind This Wild Dream24:19 - Birding as a Doorway26:39 - Finding Nature Again Important Links & Resources: Follow My Birding Life on InstagramSubscribe to My Birding Life on YouTubeFollow Nick on InstagramNick's Website

    Dreaming Wild for 100 Years with Nick Acheson

  7. Aug 5

    How the Wildest Ones are Living Life with Simon Owen

    Simon Owen is a Manchester-based filmmaker and photographer, the founder of Standby Productions, and the creative force behind Wildest Ones, a YouTube series that interviews people whose lives have been shaped by wildlife and the natural world. In this episode, Simon talks Chris through a childhood spent on RSPB stopovers with his dad, a detour through skateboard filmmaking that quietly taught him the patience wildlife photography demands, and the string of hard years, a business hit hard by COVID, a breakup, that sent him back outdoors and, eventually, into making Wildest Ones. The conversation covers the three-chapter structure behind every Wildest Ones episode, the moments that have caught Simon off guard while filming other people's stories, turning half an acre of garden into a nesting site for goldfinches and great t**s, keeping a balcony bird list in the middle of Manchester, and how a business decision to give back during COVID turned into becoming Lancashire Wildlife Trust's first-ever ambassador. Episode Takeaways: Why Wildest Ones Exists: The series is built around three chapters for every guest: connection to the wild, mental wellbeing, and conservation, and it's deliberately open to anyone with that connection, not just birders.A Masterclass in a Hide From a Stranger: While struggling to find a little stint at Abberton Reservoir, Simon was helped by a birder in his 70s who found the bird in five minutes and stayed to chat for an hour, one of many reminders, Simon says, that he's never met an unfriendly birder.Building a Darden for Goldfinches: After moving to a half-acre plot eight years ago and noticing an odd lack of birdsong, Simon and his family deliberately built up feeders, boxes, and water, finally getting goldfinches to nest three years in, with great t**s and great spotted woodpeckers nesting there for the first time this year.From Peatland Film to First-Ever Ambassador: A post-COVID decision to give back through Standby Productions led to a Save the Peatlands film for Lancashire Wildlife Trust that helped shift compost retail legislation, and two years later Simon became the Trust's first ambassador. Episode Timestamps: 02:21 - Photography Style Origins03:22 - Childhood Birding Roots09:38 - Wildest Ones 18:04 - Birding Passion and Raptors20:26 - Garden Birds and Feeders22:13 - Balcony Bird List24:27 - What Makes a Great Outing24:44 - Chasing the Perfect Shot26:42 - Surprise Wildlife Encounters28:40 - Wildlife Trust Ambassador 35:03 - Birding With the Kids Important Links & Resources: Follow My Birding Life on InstagramSubscribe to My Birding Life on YouTubeFollow Simon on Instagram

    How the Wildest Ones are Living Life with Simon Owen

  8. Jul 29

    Embarking Upon a Great British Bird Quest with Beth Sheils

    Beth Sheils has built a brilliant corner of the birding world on Instagram under the name Beth The Bird Nerd, helping people, whatever their experience level, get outside and fall in love with what's around them. In this episode, her first ever podcast interview, Beth talks Chris through a birding life that started on canal walks with her dad in Bootle, the British Bird Quest she's steadily working through, and why she'd rather watch the pigeons in her garden than chase something flashy. The conversation covers her Instagram journey, the mental health lift she gets from getting outside with a camera, her honest take on twitching and crowds at popular sites, her role as Northwest ambassador for Birds and the Belles, and how a pair of binoculars bought on Mull turned into a Viking Optical ambassadorship. Episode Takeaways: A birding life she can't remember starting: Beth grew up walking the canal from Bootle to the Dock Road in Liverpool with her dad, and was correcting classmates on mute swans by infant school.The British Bird Quest: An open-ended hunt for 256 regularly occurring British species, currently at 169, with a return to Mull in August for the eagles.Why she's not a twitcher: Beth explains her clear line on rarities: if it's not on her list, she's happy to leave it be, even when a rare bird turns up close to home.Birds and the Belles: Her role as Northwest ambassador for the all-female birding network and why it exists. Episode Timestamps: 03:47 - How Birding Began05:51 - Teaching and Not Knowing07:52 - Birding for Mental Health11:37 - Learning Through Mistakes15:19 - British Bird Quest Explained23:48 - Favorite Birds and Raptors25:44 - Quest Strategy Talk26:15 - Seabird Trips Plans27:21 - Not a Twitcher30:32 - Birds and The Belles Important Links & Resources: Follow My Birding Life on InstagramSubscribe to My Birding Life on YouTubeFollow Beth on InstagramBirds and the Belles

    Embarking Upon a Great British Bird Quest with Beth Sheils
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About

My Birding Life is the podcast for anyone who's ever been stopped in their tracks by a bird. Every episode, host Chris Ducker sits down with a passionate birder for an honest, warm conversation about the hobby we love. From conservationists dedicating their lives to protecting species and habitats, to lifelong birders with decades of stories to tell, to everyday birders who found birds at just the right moment in their lives — every guest brings something different, but they all share one thing: a genuine love for the natural world. We go deep into the stories behind their journeys. The first sightings that sparked a lifelong obsession. The wild places that shaped them. The birds they'll never forget. The hard-earned tips that only come from real time in the field. And the conservation work being done to protect the birds that matter most. Whether you've been birding for fifty years or you've just started noticing the birds in your garden, My Birding Life is your show. Warm, personal, and full of the kind of conversations that make you want to grab your binoculars — this is birding through the eyes of the people who live it. Real birders, real stories, real advice!

Information

  • Creator
    Chris Ducker
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    17
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 Chris Ducker
  • Show Website
    My Birding Life