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. 1d ago

    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

  2. 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

  3. 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

  4. 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

  5. Jul 22

    One Family and a Lifetime of Birding with Becca Heywood

    Becca Heywood is a third-generation birder. She learned to watch birds alongside both her father and her grandfather and today she's turning that inheritance into something new, sharing South London's urban wildlife with the world. By day she works in inclusion and equity at WWF-UK, and that same lens shows up throughout this conversation with Chris. Chris and Becca trace her path from childhood trips down the M5 spotting buzzards, through a teenage stretch of quietly shelving the hobby for fear of not being "cool," to relaunching her passion at the very end of 2025 as a way to build community after moving to London. From there they dig into the parts of birding culture that don't always get talked about — the "all or nothing" mentality, the stereotype of who a birdwatcher is supposed to be, and why nobody is born knowing how to ID a gull. They also swap notes on why kingfishers still feel mythical no matter how many you've seen, Becca's love affair with analog Field Notes notebooks and a pocket photo printer over yet another listing app, and a rapid-fire round that surfaces a proper nemesis bird. Episode Takeaways: A Third-Generation Birder: Buzzards spotted from the back seat with her dad and grandad, birding as shared curiosity, not expertise.Birds With Becca, Built for Belonging: Launched 30 December 2025 to build community after a move to London, no gear or right answers required.Knocking Down Birding's Barriers: On the "hardcore twitcher" stereotype and why "I don't have the kit" is the easiest barrier to knock down.Notebooks Over Apps: Why Becca traded digital life-lists for handwritten Field Notes notebooks, plus the WWT Barnes bittern that's become her nemesis! Episode Timestamps: 03:21 - Third Generation Birder04:42 - Birding Shame to Joy06:42 - Birding Gatekeeping11:37 - Changing Birding Culture15:55 - Kingfisher Magic Bird23:44 - Analog Bird Notes25:37 - Scrapbook Ritual27:26 - eBird Backup System28:04 - Keep Birding Fun28:38 - Comfort and Inclusion31:18 - Breaking Barriers Important Links & Resources: Follow My Birding Life on InstagramSubscribe to My Birding Life on YouTubeFollow Becca on Instagram

    One Family and a Lifetime of Birding with Becca Heywood

  6. Jul 15

    Living a Life in the Wild World with Simon McCabe

    This week Chris is joined by wildlife filmmaker, presenter and storyteller Simon McCabe, who has spent over 30 years behind the camera bringing the natural world to life — from the British countryside to the wilds of Botswana. Simon writes, shoots, edits and narrates all of his own films, and his YouTube channel has become a go-to for anyone who wants their birding served up with genuine warmth and a great voice for it. Chris and Simon trace Simon's path from childhood fishing trips and watercolour painting, through photography and into filmmaking, before diving into stories from the field — a patient wait for a bullfinch at Lackford Lakes, a puffin-hunting boat trip under the cliffs at Bempton, luxury hide life while filming goshawks in the Estonian snow, and a documentary shoot in Taiwan that picked up a couple of awards along the way. They also swap notes on Botswana's Big Five, an unexpectedly brilliant morning of birding in Las Vegas, and what it's like attending the Global Bird Fair as a fan rather than a filmmaker! Episode Takeaways: From Fishing to Film: How a childhood love of fishing and watercolour painting — including being mentored by the illustrator behind the Collins guide books — set Simon on the path to photography and, eventually, filmmakingBotswana's Big Five (and a Lot of Birds): Filming alongside guides, getting IDs right roughly a third of the time at first, and coming home with 99.96% accuracy after reviewGoshawks and Luxury Hides in Estonia: Filming from a heated "Wildlife Dreams" hide complete with coffee, bacon sandwiches and a timely snowstormGlobal Bird Fair, From the Other Side of the Camera: Why Simon would attend even if he weren't filming, and what struck him most about the passion of the speakers and exhibitors Episode Timestamps: 04:07 - Origins in Nature04:41 - From Art to Film09:27 - Bullfinch at Lackford13:12 - Bempton Cliffs Tips21:04 - Vegas Birding Story24:53 - Next Birding Destinations25:47 - Snowy Estonia Highlights36:27 - Shot That Got Away37:35 - Dream Spots And Lifers Important Links & Resources: Follow My Birding Life on InstagramSubscribe to My Birding Life on YouTubeFollow Simon on InstagramSimon's Website

    Living a Life in the Wild World with Simon McCabe

  7. Jul 8

    How the Weekend Birder was Born with Kirsty Costa

    Kirsty Costa didn't grow up with binoculars around her neck. Her birding life began in the first week of Melbourne's pandemic lockdown, on a dawn walk with her dog when a strange, wide-eyed shorebird appeared in the reeds of her local wetland. It turned out to be a Latham's snipe, a species that migrates every year between Japan and Australia, and something about that discovery, a bird she'd never known was living on her doorstep, changed how she saw the world around her. That single sighting became Weekend Birder, now one of the most-listened-to science and nature podcasts in Australia, built around the idea that you don't need to be an expert, or even call yourself a birdwatcher, to fall in love with the birds already sharing your neighbourhood. In this episode, Kirsty joins Chris as the show's first Australian and first non-British guest, to talk about the difference between birders, birdwatchers, and twitchers, why she gets more joy from a surprise garden visitor than a guaranteed rare bird, the mental health science behind why birdwatching works as informal mindfulness, and what a two-week birding trip through Australia would actually look like. Episode Takeaways: Kirsty's spark bird story: how a Latham's snipe on a Melbourne dawn walk during lockdown turned into Weekend BirderBirder vs. birdwatcher vs. twitcher, and why Kirsty calls herself a "bird noticer" at heartWhy the surprise of an unplanned sighting means more to her than the guarantee of a rare bird everyone's chasingA rapid-fire tour through Australian birding: where to start, what to see, and the best-kept regional secretsThe neuroscience of birdwatching as mindfulness, and why it can leave you "a totally different person" after one walk Episode Timestamps: 03:44 Pandemic Spark Bird06:48 Birder vs Birdwatcher08:34 Twitching Ethics Debate14:25 Melbourne Birding Boom17:38 Two Week Australia Plan25:02 Digital Bird Lists25:45 Backyard Birds With Names27:05 Tawny Frogmouth Devotion29:25 Why Weekend Birder35:49 Birding As Mindfulness Important Links & Resources: Follow My Birding Life on InstagramSubscribe to My Birding Life on YouTubeWeekend Birder WebsiteListen to Kirsty's PodcastFollow Kirsty on Instagram

    How the Weekend Birder was Born with Kirsty Costa

  8. Jul 2

    Celebrating 20 Years of the Urban Birder with David Lindo

    He's one of the most recognisable names in birding and he's spent 20 years making the case that you don't need to travel to wild, remote places to find birds worth watching. You just need to look up. Born and raised in Wembley, North London, David Lindo taught himself to bird as a child with no mentor and no one around him who shared the interest. That self-taught curiosity became a mission: get people living in urban areas connected to nature through birds, wherever they are in the world. Along the way he's been named one of the seven most influential people in wildlife by BBC Wildlife Magazine, written books from The Urban Birder to Tales from Concrete Jungles, and birded in over 400 cities across the globe. In this episode, recorded to mark the 20th anniversary of The Urban Birder brand, David joins Chris to talk about how a chance BBC Springwatch screen test in 2006 turned a marketing idea into a life's mission, why he thinks the biggest barrier to birding is the myth that you need expertise first, his own experience with depression and a more recent vestibular migraine diagnosis, and why nature, even just outside your window, has the power to change how you feel. Episode Takeaways: How The Urban Birder was born the night before a BBC Springwatch screen test in 2006Why David believes the biggest stumbling block for new birders is thinking they need knowledge before they startBirding, burnout, and his 2024 vestibular migraine diagnosisBirding in 400+ cities and why the ones with nothing written about them online excite him most Episode Timestamps: 03:16 — Urban Birder Origins06:30 — Springwatch Breakthrough09:33 — Urban Birding Goes Global10:33 — Changing Views on City Birding15:00 — Getting People Started21:57 — Doorstep Birding Surprises25:27 — Birding and Mental Health27:28 — Health Crash and Recovery29:28 — Nature as Therapy30:12 — 400 Cities of Birding32:49 — Why Urban Birding Works35:09 — New Birders New Voices42:43 — Books and What’s Next Important Links & Resources: Follow My Birding Life on InstagramSubscribe to My Birding Life on YouTubeThe Urban BirderFollow David on Instagram

    Celebrating 20 Years of the Urban Birder with David Lindo
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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
    13
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 Chris Ducker
  • Show Website
    My Birding Life