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What happens when someone who listens for a living turns their ears to the natural world? Branwen Munn is a professional DJ, music producer, and multi-instrumentalist based in West Wales and a birder with an infectious passion for the outdoors. In 2024, she embarked on a Big Year alongside her parents, travelling the length and breadth of the UK in search of as many species as possible. In 2026, the National Trust chose her to front their year of community birding events across West Wales, leading walks, spotlighting a Bird of the Month, and building something genuinely special along the way.
In this episode, Chris sits down with Branwen to dig into the highs, the logistical headaches, and the beautiful messiness of planning a UK Big Year, plus her refreshingly honest take on what kind of birder she really is.
Episode Takeaways:
How to plan a UK Big Year — Branwen breaks down her approach: start with habitats, cross-reference with the seasons, build a spreadsheet (or several), and don't underestimate the logistics of fitting it around real lifeThe numbers game — She ended 2024 on 176 species, aiming for 200. Why the early months gave her almost half her total — and why motivation gets harder as the year goes onThe Skye Christmas that wasn't — A week on the Isle of Skye in December to chase white-tailed eagles, a full week of rain, and a single beautiful day on the Sleat Peninsula that almost made it worth itApps and tools for tracking your year — Why Branwen landed on BTO BirdTrack to log sightings, and how having the data in one place changed her relationship with the recordsThe ethics of the tick — When does a bird count? Branwen talks through her decision to remove a snow goose from the list, the Pallid Harrier that keeps returning to Llanelli Wetlands, and why she's firmly not a twitcherBirding as a trans person — Branwen reflects candidly and warmly on her experience in the birding community, and why it's one of the most welcoming spaces she's foundThe National Trust project — How a talk about her Big Year at Dinefwr turned into a full year of community birding events across Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire, and Ceredigion — complete with walks, crafts, a community species log, and a celebration disco in DecemberEpisode Timestamps:
02:08 - What Is A Big Year04:25 - Results And Birding Style07:01 - Vlogging Origins08:54 - Mindful Birding Moment10:31 - Planning The Big Year12:11 - Budget And Family Team14:35 - Skye Setback Story17:18 - Birding Then and Now22:03 - Staying Motivated Midyear25:03 - Tracking With BirdTrack27:34 - Local Lifer Highlights29:39 - Birding Community32:30 - Identity and Inclusion34:47 - Counting Questionable Ticks38:45 - Fair Weather Birder Reflections41:24 - National Trust Big YearImportant Links & Resources:
Follow My Birding Life on InstagramSubscribe to My Birding Life on YouTubeFollow Branwen on Instagram
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Jon Mason has spent almost four decades as a geography teacher, an Opticron ambassador, and to a growing audience on Instagram, sharing early morning birding moments from Otmoor and beyond.
In this episode, Chris sits down with John to talk about a fascination with birds that started before he could walk, why he calls himself a birder rather than a birdwatcher, and how a heart attack a decade ago changed the way he spends his time. From spider's webs at sunrise to a nightingale nobody could see, this is a conversation about noticing more, rushing less, and why the simplest birds are often the best ones.
Episode Takeaways:
A lifetime with birds — Jon traces his love of birds back to a highchair full of sparrows, and explains why for him birding has never been a hobby, it's just always been there.Birder, not birdwatcher — Why Jon relies on his ears as much as his eyes, and how an old LP called Bird Sounds in Close Up trained him to recognise calls as a boy.You are the lesson — Forty years of teaching geography taught John that you can't fake passion in front of students — you have to live it, out loud, on a chalk hillside with a telescope.The heart attack that changed everything — How a health scare ten years ago led Jon to step back from work, invest in time outdoors, and discover that nature does more for his blood pressure than medication.Episode Timestamps:
03:00 — A lifetime of loving birds, starting with sparrows on a highchair07:00 — Where "The Early Birder" name comes from, and a body clock tuned to the dawn chorus11:00 — Sharing birding in the moment on Instagram, and the firecrest that stopped a photograph13:00 — Forty years of teaching: "you are the lesson," not the one delivering it24:00 — Titchwell RSPB and why it has everything33:00 — Quality over quantity: spider's webs, nightingales, and not losing the point of the day40:00 — The heart attack, the wake-up call, and why nature is better than medicationImportant Links & Resources:
Follow My Birding Life on InstagramSubscribe to My Birding Life on YouTubeThe Early BirderFollow Jon on Instagram
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Suzy Buttress has been hosting the Casual Birder podcast for nearly nine years, built entirely around the idea that birding should be enjoyable, accessible, and welcoming to everyone.
In this episode, Chris sits down with a fellow podcaster to hear how a childhood dream of being Snow White with birds on her hand turned into a 1,085-species world list, a husband she's converted into a bigger birder than herself, and a gentle but very real competition over who gets to 191 first.
From a wooden spoon worm-feeding contraption to paradise riflebirds in Australia to a missed crane on Big Day that still stings, this is a conversation about finding your people, birding at your own pace, and why the casual approach might be the best one of all.
Episode Takeaways:
Nine years of Casual Birder — How Suzy built a solo podcast from scratch, doing everything herself, and why the community it created changed her life more than she ever expected.The monster she created — Suzy started dragging her photographer husband along on birding trips. Now he's on 191 for the year and she's on 182. She calls it a monster of her own making.Getting serious about listing — How a women's birding challenge introduced Suzy to eBird, and why she won't count a bird unless she could identify it herself.The wooden spoon invention — Suzy's homemade worm-feeding contraption that got a robin coming in for slow-mo photography. Patented, apparently.Paradise riflebirds in Australia — The trip where live mealworms in the hand were suddenly worth the wriggle, thanks to a magpie-sized bird of paradise landing on her palm.The Big Day breakdown — How Suzy and her husband John approach the Global Big Day each year, why filming it adds chaos, and the crane she heard but couldn't bring herself to count.Episode Timestamps:
03:00 — Nine years, 148 episodes, and doing everything solo05:00 — How the podcast opened up Suzy's world and connected her to people globally06:00 — Where the love of birds began11:00 — Paradise riflebirds in Australia and the one time wriggly worms were worth it13:00 — When birding got serious: binoculars at 15, a photographer husband, and the podcast17:00 — Getting into listing, eBird, and an honesty rule that keeps the count clean19:00 — 1,085 species worldwide and why it could be more if she wasn't so strict21:00 — The black tern she missed while editing podcast episodes25:00 — Binoculars, scopes, cameras, and who carries what27:00 — Global Big Day: the logistics, the nightjar finish, and 79 vs 8433:00 — 30 Days Wild, red kites in a thunderstorm, and mindful birding39:00 — Target lifer: the crested eagle in PanamaImportant Links & Resources:
Follow My Birding Life on InstagramSubscribe to My Birding Life on YouTubeThe Casual Birder PodcastHannah and Erik Go Birding PodcastGlobal Big Day
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Tim Appleton MBE has spent decades shaping British birding, from building Rutland Water Nature Reserve from green fields to international acclaim, to co-founding the Global Birdfair to leading one of the UK's greatest conservation success stories: bringing ospreys back to England for the first time since 1847.
In this episode, Chris sits down with Tim to hear the personal side of that remarkable journey — how the Bird Fair was born from a visit to the Game Fair at Belvoir Castle, what it was actually like to show up to a job where the reserve didn't exist yet, and what a life spent in service of nature really feels like from the inside.
Tim also opens up about the next generation of conservationists, his concerns about youth engagement in the hobby, and the rapid-fire birding questions that reveal a bogey bird missed in Cuba twice, a three-plane adventure in Colombia, and a forever happy place you can probably already guess.
Episode Takeaways:
The Birdfair origin story — A visit to the Game Fair at Belvoir Castle planted the seed. How the world's first bird fair launched in 1989 with £2,000 from Swarovski and 1,200 people and raised £3,000 in year one.Why it still works — No committees, no public funding, no outside interference. Tim and Penny run the whole thing between two people, with 130+ volunteers who show up because they want to.Day one at Rutland Water — The reserve didn't exist, the farmers hated him, and his only orientation was an OS map.Building from scratch — 100,000 trees, deliberately wiggly lagoon edges, islands made from contractor spoil, and a close working relationship with landscape designer Dame Silvia Crowe.Bringing ospreys back to England — Two male birds in 1994 sparked the idea. The translocation project that followed made Tim the first person to find an osprey with young in England since 1847.The next generation problem — Why Tim believes organisations with millions of members still aren't doing enough to spark young people into conservation.Episode Timestamps:
01:00 — Who is Tim Appleton MBE and why he matters to British birding03:00 — Chris and Tim bond over last year's Bird Fair and a day on the Rutland reserve05:00 — Why conservation isn't reaching young people and what needs to change06:00 — Where the Global Birdfair idea actually came from14:00 — Day one at Rutland Water: an OS map and a reserve that didn't exist yet17:00 — Planting 100,000 trees and designing lagoons with Dame Silvia Crowe21:00 — The osprey story31:00 — The young birders giving Tim hope for the future38:00 — Bogey bird: the bee hummingbird, missed in Cuba twice40:00 — The Orinoco goose adventure43:00 — 129 species from the garden at Rutland this yearImportant Links & Resources:
Follow My Birding Life on InstagramSubscribe to My Birding Life on YouTubeThe Global Birdfair
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Most people don't go looking for birding. It finds them.
In this first episode, host Chris shares how a period of serious burnout brought him outside and how watching birds quietly changed everything.
That's the story behind My Birding Life, a brand new podcast where real birders share the moments, places, and birds that shaped them.
Episode Takeaways:
Why Chris started birding and why it genuinely changed his lifeWhat My Birding Life is all about and who it's forThe kinds of guests you'll hear from - conservationists, lifelong birders, content creators, and everyday people who found birds when they needed them mostWhat to expect in every episode: spark birds, favourite spots, the ones that got away, practical tips, and conservationChris's favourite UK woodland birdEpisode Timestamps:
01:00 — How burnout led him to spend more time outside and discover birding02:00 — Realising others had their own version of his story and why that inspired the podcast03:00 — What every episode will look like: spark birds, favourite places, and honest conversation05:00 — Practical tips, identification, and conservation06:00 — The guest lineup: conservationists, lifelong birders, content creators, and everyday birdersImportant Links & Resources:
Follow My Birding Life on InstagramSubscribe to My Birding Life on YouTube
