Get Birding

Spring’s on the turn, and the birds are getting busy.

From the surprisingly wild love life of the dunnock to bowing and puffed-up chests on city balconies — we explore what courtship really looks like in the bird world. 

We’ll also get practical about nestboxes — where to put them, who they’re for, and how even a balcony can help the next generation fledge. With expert advice from the RSPB, we look at the small changes t...

Host Sean Bean swaps the perfectly pruned for the beautifully wild, discovering how ponds, hedgerows and a little untidiness can transform your garden into a haven for wildlife.

Along the way he's joined by broadcast legends and keen gardeners Zoë Ball and Jo While, ornithologist and environmentalist Dr Mya-Rose Craig, and NHS doctor and RSPB President Dr Amir Khan to explore why “messy” gardens are better for birds — and for ou...

From the distinctive whistle of the Blackbird to the drumming of a Great Spotted Woodpecker, in this episode we’re tuning into the soundscape of the natural world.

Host Sean Bean is joined by an all-star chorus of birders, broadcasters, and musicians to discover how listening to birdsong doesn't just lift the soul—it physically lowers your blood pressure.

With contributions from NHS doctor and RSPB President Dr Amir Khan, mus...

Get Birding is back for a brand new, fortnightly season—hosted by actor and longtime birder Sean Bean. In this opening episode, Sean grabs his binoculars and invites listeners into his garden to slow down, look up, and join the UK’s biggest citizen science event, the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch.

He is joined by NHS doctor and RSPB President Dr Amir Khan, fellow birder, Elbow frontman and BBC 6 Music DJ Guy Garvey; ornithologi...

The UK is nature-depleted and degraded, and the globe is living through climate crisis. How can we get where we need to be, empowered and living as part of a flourishing ecosystem?

As Get Birding closes its third series, Kwesia learns about the citizen's assembly that created the People's Plan for Nature, which sets out a public vision for reversing declines in Britain’s biodiversity.

Meanwhile she goes on a London nature walk wi...

Can paying attention to birdsong improve our music-making skills? And why do birds sing anyway?

Indie artist Albertine Sarges reveals how birdwatching in a Berlin park made her a better musician (and friend!)

Professor of philosophy & music David Rothenberg goes out in the world to improvise with the wildlife.

Meanwhile Nemone Metaxas - radio legend & therapist - delivers a mindful birdsong meditation.

Get Birding belie...

Why is the outdoors so often still seen as a male realm? How can women feel protected and at ease when out in nature? What are the risks when birding alone, and how should we mitigate them? Kwesia aka City Girl In Nature finds out ...

BBC Springwatch naturalist Lucy Lapwing details a horrible incident of sexual assault she experienced whilst birding, while Sheridan Alford discusses why she set up a Black Birders Week.

Get Bir...

Iconic actor Alison Steadman and bestselling author Jonathan Franzen talk about how a love of birds inspires creativity.

Meanwhile host Kwesia aka City Girl In Nature delivers some nature-inspired spoken word poetry.

Get Birding believes that access to nature is a universal right, not a privilege. Series 3 of the podcast is a Peanut & Crumb production, proudly supported by Canada Water.

Fly over to Twitter & Instagram ...

As well as being a podcast presenter & wildlife ambassador, Kwesia aka City Girl In Nature is a new mother & qualified doula. In this episode she asks what we can learn about parenting by observing birds with their chicks.

Nathalie Mahieu shows how to spot Peregrine Falcons nesting in the heart of London.

Writer and podcaster Charlie Bingham gives tips on how to get kids engaged with nature.

And behavioural ecologist Anton...

Get Birding returns for another series, making birdwatching & nature accessible for all. Your new host is the inspirational Kwesia aka City Girl In Nature.

Episode 1 finds Kwesia exploring busy, bustling London, in search of emotional wellbeing, nature, and feathered friends.

What better first guest than David Lindo, who made his name as the original Urban Birder? Lindo spells out some home truths about the lack of diversity ...

In this special one-off episode featuring a host of voices, Get Birding celebrates the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch 2022 in collaboration with the charity for their annual citizen science event.

Presenter Hamza Yassin encourages anyone in the UK to spend an hour spotting birds in their local park, green space or garden as part of this yearly weekend event. In 2021 over 1 million people took part, spotting 17 million birds.

Nat...

Being in lockdown has unleashed our love for nature. Get Birding is a podcast for budding birdwatchers and aims to help everyone, anywhere, discover more about the birds on our doorsteps. We want to break down barriers to birdwatching and believe that access to nature should be a right, not a privilege.

In this, the last in the current series of Get Birding, Hamza is settling in for the winter. With his guests he explores what c...

Hamza lives in the west coast of Scotland by the sea and has a small brackish loch just yards from his house. He’s surrounded by birds of many different kinds. But water attracts birds in whatever environment you live in, from your local pond, to a puddle at the side of a busy street. This week Hamza meets people who live in or near water and explores the varied birdlife that they encounter. 

Ajay Tegala was a guest in the ...

Being in lockdown has unleashed our love for nature. Get Birding is a podcast for budding birdwatchers and aims to help everyone, anywhere, discover more about the birds on our doorsteps. We want to break down barriers to birdwatching and believe that access to nature should be a right, not a privilege. In this episode of Get Birding Hamza considers the way in which birds are important to us as families and explores his passion for...

With the COP conference happening this week in Glasgow, we are thinking about the environment. Climate change affects every living thing in this world and of course birds are no exception. In this episode Hamza speaks to his guests about the things they are noticing changing and looks to the future as to potential ways forward. 

Ben McCarthy is Head of Nature Conservation & Restoration Ecology at National Trust. He talk...

Hamza was born in Sudan and grew up Northampton before moving to his current home in the west coast of Scotland. He's now surrounded by a plethora of bird life, but this has always been the case. In this episode of Get Birding Hamza explores birding as part of the built environment from how nature can inspire us and be experienced in the most densely populated and built up areas, how we can encourage this and how we can come to app...

In the first episode of series two, our new host - ornithologist and BBC Countryfile’s Hamza Yassin - talks to series one’s presenter, environmental campaigner Dr Mya-Rose Craig, about their shared love of birds.

The appearance of a rare black browed albatross this year was one of the hot birding stories of the summer. Hamza speaks to RSPB Bempton Cliffs Visitor Experience Assistant Poppy Rummery to shed some light on why it's h...

As lockdown restrictions start to ease, Mya-Rose Craig explores how we can expand our birding horizons from our back gardens and regular walks to further afield, paying a visit to the Wildfowl & Wetland Trust’s Slimbridge reserve in Gloucestershire which will reopen soon.

Writer, broadcaster and actress Emma Kennedy explains her love of birding, stork spotting, RSPB Minsmere and blackbirds singing show tunes – as well as rev...