My Birding Life

Kate MacRae, better known as Wildlife Kate, is one of the best people out there at bridging the gap between birds and the rest of the world. She does it with livestreams and a network of cameras across her wet woodland in Carmarthenshire, South West Wales. Her setup has been featured on BBC Springwatch and Countryfile.
In this episode, Kate takes us from a black-and-white nest box camera hooked up to an old portable TV to a wicker basket, a handmade Clay Cavern and a Springwatch call. She also tells the story of selling up in Lichfield to chase a dream of real acreage, and what it’s like making habitat on your own.
Episode Takeaways:
Think Like a Photographer: A livestream should look as good as it works. Kate keeps the background well away from the perches so it blurs into soft, diffuse colour, and she uses mossy props from her own land to make every shot feel like a painting.
Experiment, Then Experiment Again: Kate’s brand started with a spare nest box camera, a wicker basket and some seed. Mistakes are part of the process, and she’s never formally trained.
Habitat Takes Time and Hard Graft: Her three acres hold a meadow, a quarry, hazel woodland and a copse. Three years in she has built ponds, owl boxes and a hide from an old caravan, learning skills from other people along the way.
Share the Joy: Kate wants to get people who don’t normally watch birds watching birds. Her grandchildren and a new generation of young birders keep her optimistic.

Episode Timestamps:
04:54 - Early Birding Roots
06:45 - Birding as a Lifelong Habit
10:25 - How the Cameras Began
11:31 - Nest Box Tech Breakthrough
14:49 - Clay Cavern and Springwatch
18:58 - Perfecting the Stream Look
23:30 - Finding Her Dream Land
27:50 - Nonstop Habitat Projects
28:45 - Managing Land Solo
29:45 - Life is Not a Rehearsal
31:55 - Finding My Tribe
35:58 - Next Gen Birding Boom
37:10 - Rapid Fire Birding Qs

Important Links & Resources:
Follow My Birding Life on Instagram
Subscribe to My Birding Life on YouTube
Follow Wildlife Kate on Instagram
Wildlife Kate's YouTube Channel

Short on time in a new place and want to see as many birds as possible? Hire a local guide! That’s how a long morning of lifers in Nashville Tennessee turned into this conversation with Graham Gerdeman, a volunteer eBird regional reviewer and working wildlife photographer.
You’ll hear how backyard birds and an embarrassing sapsucker mis-ID sparked a lifelong obsession, what it takes to document a rare bird properly, and the story of a sleepless night in the Hokkaido cold with Blakiston’s fish owls.
Episode Takeaways:
Embrace Your Mis-IDs: Get one wrong and you’ll never forget the bird. Go birding with someone more experienced and let the mistakes teach you.
Document Your Rarities: Back up rare sightings with field marks, photos or audio so your eBird records hold up. Your life list is yours either way.
Hire a Local Guide: Short on time somewhere new? A local guide gets you to the hotspots and the lifers. Travelling with friends on a custom trip gives you more flexibility than a set-departure tour.
Appreciate Your Local Patch: You don’t need a far-flung destination to be happy birding. Leave the camera behind now and then to build your field notes and soak up the moment.

Episode Timestamps:
04:02 - Nashville Birding
05:13 - Becoming a Birder
07:42 - Spark Bird MisID
08:25 - Learning From Mistakes
16:50 - Dream Birding Trips
17:40 - Japan Tour Highlights
20:45 - Photography Career Path
26:05 - Steller's and Sea Eagles
27:08 - Fish Owl Night Watch
30:48 - Cranes and Trip Wrap
32:09 -Rapid Fire Q&A
36:59 - Dream Destinations Antarctica
38:32 - Birding Beyond Content

Important Links & Resources:
Follow My Birding Life on Instagram
Subscribe to My Birding Life on YouTube
Nashville Vlog with Chris and Graham
Follow Graham on Instagram

Simon Barnes spent over 30 years as chief sportswriter at The Times. His books on birding, including How to Be a Bad Birdwatcher and On the Marsh, have introduced more people to the joy of birds than almost anyone's in recent years. Now in the high 30s to mid-40s for books published, he's just released his latest, How to Fly.
Simon joins Chris from his hut on the edge of his Norfolk marsh, where a marsh harrier, a pair of visiting cranes and a newly singing reed bunting have all been keeping him company. We talk about the Cetti's warbler that helped sell him the house, what he learned from a year at Minsmere, and evenings on the marsh with his son Eddie. We also get into why he believes sound is every bit as important as sight, and what he learned about swifts, bumblebees and pterosaurs while researching a book dedicated to flight.
Episode Takeaways:
Two sides of birding: Simon describes the daily "soap opera" of small, predictable moments that give you a sense of belonging, alongside the peak moments that leave you barely able to believe what you're seeing. It's the combination that brings you back.
Let the land lead: A reed bunting singing on the marsh told Simon it's slowly turning into a reed bed. The lesson from Minsmere and the World Land Trust is that if you look after the habitat, the birds follow.
Ears count too: Simon argues that sound is every bit as important as sight, and he learned it from a Zambian birder who recorded around 500 species. Now Eddie calls out the Cetti's warblers from the canoe.
Watch with more intent: Researching How to Fly changed how Simon watches swifts, from ambient birds to a real show of speed, gliding and manoeuvrability. Ordinary birds become extraordinary when you slow down and look properly.

Episode Timestamps:
00:38 - Meet Simon Barnes
02:40 - Books and Writing Life
04:01 - Buying the Norfolk Marsh
05:54 - Marsh Magic Moments
09:23 - Why Birding Moves Us
11:44 - Marsh Changes and New Birds
14:24 - Conservation Lessons Learned
21:44 - Eddie and Nature Connection
24:37 - Learning Birds by Ear
26:11 - New Book How to Fly
33:55 - Swifts and Watching Differently
39:10 - Rapid Fire Birding Q&A

Important Links & Resources:
Follow My Birding Life on Instagram
Subscribe to My Birding Life on YouTube
Pick Up Your Copy of How to Fly
Simon's Website

Mya Bambrick has been birding since she was eight. She's now a BTO Youth Ambassador, winner of the BTO's Young Ornithologist of the Year Award and a familiar voice on Radio 4's Tweet of the Day. She works full time in conservation with Birds of Poole Harbour, and she's on a mission to get young people hooked on the hobby we all love.
In this episode, Mya takes us from a street dance academy in Crawley to a hide at Warnham Local Nature Reserve, where an osprey and a kingfisher changed everything. We talk about the bird camp that shaped her path, ringing nightjars for a group of young birders, why birding is booming among young people, and how to keep the joy in birding when the camera and the phone keep pulling you away.
Episode Takeaways:
Find your people: A free BTO bird camp at 13 gave Mya the community she couldn't find at school. Ten years later, she's helping run one.
Representation matters: Growing up in a single-parent household, with no birding role models who looked like her, drove Mya to make birding more accessible and inclusive, especially for young girls.
You're a birder if you love birds: Sofa birder or seasoned twitcher, there's no right way to do it. Binoculars around your neck, and you're in.
Protect the moment: Mya keeps camera days and content days separate from binoculars-only days, and she saves her eBird list until she's finished birding.

Episode Timestamps:
01:46 - Meet Mya Bambrick
03:08 - How It All Began
07:27 - Kingfisher Chase Story
10:31 - Finding Young Birders
13:09 - BTO Youth Engagement
19:46 - Making Birding Inclusive
25:46 - Birding For Everyone
27:50 - Sofa Birders And Twitchers
28:28 - Camera Versus Birding
31:25 - Balancing Tech And Presence
32:11 - Apps Versus Pen And Paper
33:46 - Young Ornithologist Award
37:35 - Rapid Fire Birding Picks

Important Links & Resources:
Follow My Birding Life on Instagram
Subscribe to My Birding Life on YouTube
Follow Mya on Instagram

Tamerra Jones, aka the Birdwatching Baddie, picked up birding almost by accident during lockdown, looking for something slower-paced to get her outside. Three years on, the Central Florida-based birder has racked up hundreds of species, built a joyful, unapologetically fun Instagram following, and become a genuine advocate for making the hobby feel accessible to everyone.
In this episode, Chris and Tamerra dig into how she went from lockdown curiosity to serious lister, why field experience and mentorship beat any app or book, and what it means to bring her full self into a hobby that hasn't always felt built for people who look like her. They also swap camera gear notes, geek out over each other's "boring" local birds, and talk through her next big trip!
Episode Takeaways:
From Lockdown Curiosity to Serious Birder — How a search for something slow-paced and accessible during COVID turned into three years of increasingly serious birding, out three times a week even with a full-time job
Becoming a Lister — Why she tracks every sighting in real time on eBird and Merlin, needs eyes on a bird before it counts, and still considers herself very much a student
A Community That Takes You Under Its Wing — The value of learning in the field from other birders over apps or books, and why the birding community has a rare, generous "fireside chat" feel
The Birdwatching Baddie Identity — Reclaiming "baddie," refusing to fit a mould, and using her platform to show that birdwatching is for everyone

Episode Timestamps:
05:01 - How Birding Began
06:35 - Weekly Birding Routine
07:24 - Traveling For Birds
10:47 - Getting Into Listing
13:44 - Apps And Logging Style
15:34 - Learning From Birders
21:52 - Birding For Everyone
23:35 - Safety And Representation
25:09 - Birder First Camera Second
26:10 - Gear Talk And Nikon Debate
27:41 - Trips Goals And Community
29:46 - Florida Scrub Jay And Bird Geeking

Important Links & Resources:
Follow My Birding Life on Instagram
Subscribe to My Birding Life on YouTube
Follow Tamerra on Instagram