Tweet of the Day

Latest Episodes:

Waxwing Feb 14, 2014

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Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.

John Aitchison presents the waxwing. Waxwings are winter visitors from Russia and Scandinavia where they breed in conifer forests. They head south to feed on berries and other fruits, and if these are in short supply on the Continent, the birds flood into the UK. It happens every few years or so and the sight of these punk-crested plunderers swarming over rowan and other berry-producing trees is sure to attract your attention.

Long-Eared Owl Feb 13, 2014

Show notes

Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.

John Aitchison presents the long-eared owl. The low moaning hoot of a long-eared owl filters through the blackness of a pine wood. Long-eared owls are nocturnal and one of our most elusive breeding birds. They nest in conifer woods, copses and shelter-belts of trees near wide open grasslands and heaths where they hunt for rodents.

Dunnock Feb 12, 2014

Show notes

Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.

John Aitchison presents the dunnock. You'll often see dunnocks, or hedge sparrows, as they were once called, shuffling around under a bird table or at the bottom of a hedge. They're inconspicuous birds being mostly brown with a greyish neck and breast. They aren't, as you might imagine, closely related to sparrows, many of their nearest relatives are birds of mountainous regions in Europe and Asia.

Wren Feb 11, 2014

Show notes

Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.

John Aitchison presents the wren. You'll often see the male wren, with its tail cocked jauntily, singing from a fence-post or shrub, bill wide and trembling with the effort of producing that ear-splitting territorial advertisement. It's the extrovert side of what can be an introvert bird that normally creeps, like a mouse, among banks of foliage or in crevices between rocks. They can live almost anywhere from mountain crags and remote islands to gardens and city parks.

Chaffinch Feb 10, 2014

Show notes

Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.

John Aitchison presents the chaffinch. The name chaffinch refers to its habit of flocking in stubble fields, often in the company of other birds, to sort through the chaff for seeds. In less tidy times when spilled grain was a regular feature in farmyards and stubble was retained for longer periods, these winter flocks were widespread.

Great Spotted Woodpecker Feb 07, 2014

Show notes

Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.

Chris Packham presents the great spotted woodpecker. In late winter and early spring, brightly-coloured head-bangers are livening up the woods. The handsome Great Spotted Woodpecker really knows how to grab our attention. They don't sing but instead advertise their territories by drumming loudly on the branch or trunk of a tree.

Avocet Feb 06, 2014

Show notes

Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.

Chris Packham presents the avocet. With its black and white plumage, blue-grey legs and delicate upturned bill, the avocet is one of our easiest birds to identify. They are a conservation success and are now breeding in Norfolk, Lincolnshire, Kent and elsewhere.

Mallard Feb 05, 2014

Show notes

Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.

Chris Packham presents the mallard. Mallards are our commonest ducks. In winter, mallards from Continental Europe join our resident birds. Some may have flown from as far away as Russia and many infiltrate local flocks, so the bills which snatch your bread may have been born hundreds, if not thousands of kilometres away.

Great Bustard Feb 04, 2014

Show notes

Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.

Chris Packham presents the great bustard. Great bustards, one of the heaviest flying birds in the world, were most common in Wiltshire and East Anglia but in the past they were hunted to extinction and the last known breeding birds in the UK were in 1832. Today, great bustards are back on Salisbury Plain, thanks to the work of the Great Bustard Group. The Group aims to establish a self-sustaining population in the UK.

Grey Heron (Winter) Feb 03, 2014

Show notes

Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.

Chris Packham presents the grey heron. Winter can be a challenging time for grey herons. In freezing conditions, their favoured food supplies of fish and amphibians are locked beneath the ice and prolonged spells of cold weather can be fatal for these birds.

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