Tweet of the Day

The CEO of the British Trust for Ornithology, Juliet Vickery, describes an encounter with a patrolling male woodcock 30 years ago, watching it circle its territory from high in the sky. Apart from this display these waders are very hard to see, usually inhabiting dense woods and heathland, which also makes them hard to monitor. However thanks to generations of volunteer observers, we know that the distribution of breeding woodcock in the UK is sadly less than half of what it was in the 1960s.
Produced by Sophie Anton for BBC Audio in Bristol.

Author and conservationist Isabella Tree began inviting friends over to hear nightingales at Knepp, her home and rewilding project in West Sussex, 15 years ago. Nightingales used to be associated with coppiced woodland, but at Knepp they’re thriving in dense, thorny scrub which provides protection for their nests, which they build a foot or so above the ground. Though nightingales are still one of the UK's rarest birds, today Knepp has around 60 singing males a year – around 1% of the UK population.
Produced by Sophie Anton for BBC Audio in Bristol.
This programme features audio recorded by Hazel Reeves at Knepp.

Ornithologist Jack Baddams remembers chancing upon his first spotted flycatcher nest at Creswell Crags in Derbyshire. He became hooked on them after that, and fitted the adult birds with coloured rings to see who had safely returned from Africa. Although the spotted flycatcher may not have the most interesting song, Jack was drawn to them by their behaviour, and the way they would dart out from the limestone crags to snatch an insect on the wing.
Produced by Sophie Anton for BBC Audio Bristol.

Entomologist George McGavin worked at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History for 25 years, where each year he looked forward to the return of swifts to their nest boxes.
Produced by Sophie Anton for BBC Audio in Bristol.

Poet Liz Berry has been sailing the Shropshire Union canal on a narrow boat since she was young. She describes the canal winding out of Wolverhampton into beautiful emerald green cuttings, where if you're lucky you might see a kingfisher. The canal's shallow and slowly moving waters are perfect hunting grounds. For Liz the azure and copper flash of a kingfisher darting low across the water is a magical sight.
Produced by Sophie Anton for BBC Audio Production in Bristol.