An exciting episode as we are finally highlighting an amphibian for the first time and it's the wondeful natterjack toad that gets the honour.Our loudest amphibian is also one of our scarcest, being restricted to only a handful of sites across the UK and unfortunately, these precious populations face many threats.Join us as we learn about this fascinating toad, its natural history, the pressures they are under, and of course, the incredible work being done to help conserve and bolster their numbers.Contact:As always, please do feel free to get in touch with us if you have any questions, feedback, comments, or just want to say hi! Have you ever seen or heard a natterjack toad? The easiest way to get in touch is to ping us a message on Instagram:Steve - @a.bird.in.the.lensMatthew - @a.bug.in.the.lensLinks:https://www.arc-trust.org/natterjack-toadhttps://www.arc-trust.org/saving-species-natterjack-toadhttps://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/amphibians/natterjack-toadhttps://naturebftb.co.uk/projects/gems-in-the-dunes/https://www.rspb.org.uk/about-the-rspb/at-home-and-abroad/scotland/conservationinscotland/natterjacks/https://www.arc-trust.org/news/returning-the-natterjack-toad-to-blackmoor
International Bat Night takes places over the last full weekend of August every year and we thought it would be the perfect excuse to record an episode all about bats!Grab your drink of choice and join us as we delve into the fascinating world of bats. From speedy fliers to the one of the world's smallest mammals, we got a bit carried away with bat facts. We also look into which species we have here in the UK, what threats they are facing, and of course, the wonderful work being done to protect them.We had a great time learning about a group of animals neither of us had a huge amount of prior knowledge about and were pleased to find some good news stories about the UK bat populations.We hope you enjoy!Contact:As always, please do feel free to get in touch with us if you have any questions, feedback, comments, or just want to say hi! What is your favourite bat fact and have you ever participated in a bat survey? The easiest way to get in touch is to ping us a message on Instagram:Steve - @a.bird.in.the.lensMatthew - @a.bug.in.the.lensLinks:https://www.bats.org.uk/https://arbtech.co.uk/british-bats/https://www.newscientist.com/article/2112044-speedy-bat-flies-at-160kmh-smashing-bird-speed-record/https://www.bats.org.uk/our-work/buildings-planning-and-development/bats-and-churches/bats-and-churches-partnership-project
After a week of hearing their captivating song in Croatia, we just had to do an episode on the nightingale. Known for producing one of the most beautiful songs in nature, this visually plain but audibly stunning bird is unfortunately struggling and in the UK their populations have seen a massive decline. They need our help.Join us as we learn all about the nightingale, from their cultural impact on poetry, operas, and radio broadcasts, to the environmental threats they are facing. We of course, also look at the invaluable work being carried out to save this incredible bird.Contact:As always, please do feel free to get in touch with us if you have any questions, feedback, comments, or just want to say hi! Let us know if you have ever seen or heard a nightingale and what was your favourite fact about them?The easiest way to get in touch is to ping us a message on Instagram:Steve - @a.bird.in.the.lensMatthew - @a.bug.in.the.lensLinks:https://www.bto.org/our-science/publications/conservation-advice-notes/managing-scrub-nightingaleshttps://www.gwct.org.uk/wildlife/species-of-the-month/2023/nightingale/https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/animals/birds/nightingale/https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/nightingale/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/01/nightingales-at-risk-due-to-shorter-wings-caused-by-climate-crisishttps://www.thefield.co.uk/country-house/why-are-nightingales-disappearing-from-the-british-countryside-45570https://www.bto.org/understanding-birds/birdfacts/nightingaleKent Planning Network for Nature (Steve's article on nightingales): https://kent-planning-network-for-nature.org.uk/sign_in?from=https%3A%2F%2Fkent-planning-network-for-nature.org.uk%2Fposts%2Fabout-the-nightingale
Reintroducing species, bringing those lost back and bolstering those that are on the verge of disappearing.Join us in this episode as we delve into the world of reintroductions. We look at what it really takes to make reintroduction projects succeed and how work to bring one species back can have far reaching conservation benefits.We also dive into some very well and some lesser-known UK reintroduction success stories.We had a great time researching and recording this episode and it could have easily gone on for hours. It is always nice to cover positive stories of when conservation efforts work. We hope you enjoy listening.Contact:As always, please do feel free to get in touch with us if you have any questions, feedback, comments, or just want to say hi! What is your favourite reintroduction success story and which species would you love to see be reintroduced?The easiest way to get in touch is to ping us a message on Instagram:Steve - @a.bird.in.the.lensMatthew - @a.bug.in.the.lensLinks:Ladybird Spider - Back From The Brink (naturebftb.co.uk)Field Cricket - Back From The Brink (naturebftb.co.uk)The projects - Back From The Brink (naturebftb.co.uk)Location of re-introduced Chequered Skipper butterfly revealed | Butterfly Conservation (butterfly-conservation.org)Reintroducing the Great Bustard To Southern England - The RSPBhttps://www.roydennis.org/
After our holiday in Croatia, where we both fell in love with the country and were blown away by the wildlife, we wanted to learn more about the nature that you can find there.So grab a drink and join us for our first international episode where we explore the reasons why Croatia has such a wealth of wildlife, discuss the species we saw and those we would like to go back for, as well as look into the pressures Croatian wildlife faces and how it is being protected.We had a lot of fun researching this episode and enjoyed doing something slightly different, we hope you enjoy it!Contact:As always, please do feel free to get in touch with us if you have any questions, feedback, comments, or just want to say hi! The easiest way to get in touch is to ping us a message on Instagram:Steve - @a.bird.in.the.lensMatthew - @a.bug.in.the.lensLinks:https://biodiversity.europa.eu/countries/croatiahttps://friendsofwallacea.org/2020/06/23/croatias-critical-role-in-protecting-european-biodiversity/https://biodiversity.europa.eu/countries/croatia#f7a812ac-5941-4105-b0c97142393ca3eahttps://www.cbd.int/countries/profile/country=hrhttps://www.npkrka.hr/en_US/prirodna-bastina/geologija/podzemni-svijet-krsa/podzemni-svijet-krsa-spiljska-fauna/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/the-olm-the-blind-cave-salamander-that-lives-to-100