Best YOLOBirder Podcasts (2025)

1
Episode 41: Michael J. Warren 50:37

Play Pause

15d ago50:37

50:37

Michael J. Warren is a writer, naturalist, medievalist and teacher of English with a passion for the places and birds of Britain. Michael is the author of two books, most recently The Cuckoo’s Lea; The Forgotten History of Birds and Place—a journey into the long past to discover the fascinating stories behind our ancient place-names. He was previou…

1
Episode 40: Indy Greene at Global Birdfair 34:27

5M ago34:27

34:27

In this episode of Golden Grenades, Kit is joined by his good friend Will Rose, for a live podcast recorded on the Whinchat podcasting stage at Global Birdfair 2025. Kit and Will’s very special guest for this episode is Indy Kiemel Greene. Indy is a conservationist, wildlife guide, RSPB volunteer and ambassador, Butterfly Conservation ambassador an…

1
Episode 39: Dawn Balmer 44:22

8M ago44:22

44:22

Choosing the five bird species to save from the ecological end of days for this episode is Dawn Balmer. Dawn has worked at the British Trust for Ornithology since 1992, and her roles include fieldwork, organising ringing projects, BirdTrack Organiser, Coordinator for Bird Atlas 2007-11 and now Head of Surveys, overseeing long-term schemes and proje…

1
Episode 38: Henry Day 37:52

11M ago37:52

37:52

Joining Kit for a chat about birds today is 11 year old Henry Day, aka Naturetastic Henry. He is absolutely crazy about wildlife and conservation and loves nothing more than exploring the natural world around his home in East Anglia and beyond, and sharing his adventures on his blog, socials and YouTube channel. He is a junior wildlife ambassador f…

1
Episode 37: Sky Hunter Special 1:09:13

1+ y ago1:09:13

1:09:13

This is where my obsession with the fastest bird on the planet all started! For a while, we were shown a weekly BBC educational programme at school called Look and Read which included a serialised drama section. And the storyline that made a 9-year-old me sit bolt upright on the hall parquet floor and stare wide-eyed at the big telly on wheels was …

1
Episode 36: Gareth Jones 41:16

1+ y ago41:16

41:16

For the second year running Kit and Will are out on location for a very special episode. We were invited by Gareth Jones of Gloucestershire Raptor Monitoring Group to join him for a weekend of ringing one of the best birds in the UK. But which bird?? Contains severed limbs, bad whistling, bonus churring and… the “king of the forest”! Will’s What Bi…

1
Episode 35: Emily Joáchim 52:28

1+ y ago52:28

52:28

In this episode, Kit is joined by Emily Joáchim, a freelance conservationist and writer. Emily has been obsessed with wildlife, particularly raptors and owls since childhood and, after completing her zoology degree, worked for various conservation organisations before spending 4 years studying the breeding ecology of the Little Owl for her PHD. She…

1
Episode 34: ATM Street Art 42:41

1+ y ago42:41

42:41

In this episode Kit is joined by ATM, a street artist who paints urban walls with birds threatened with extinction. He has a lifelong love of nature, having grown up surrounded by birds in an abundance which is now a distant memory. He has a particular connection to their songs, calls and the wild spaces they inhabit. His giant wildlife murals fill…

1
Episode 33: Graham Appleton 48:49

1+ y ago48:49

48:49

After a rather long hiatus, Golden Grenades is back! In this episode Kit is joined by Graham Appleton. Graham started birdwatching and ringing when at school in Birmingham and became heavily involve in the Wash Wader Research Group as a teenager. After a first career as a maths teacher and deputy headmaster, Graham worked for the BTO from 1997 to 2…

1
Episode 32: Josie George 47:28

2y ago47:28

47:28

Kit’s guest on Golden Grenades for this episode is Josie George. Josie is a writer and visual artist based in the West Midlands. She is the author of her highly acclaimed book A STILL LIFE, a memoir about life as a chronically ill mother with a big heart and wide-open eyes. She is a regular writer for The Guardian Country Diary and her own blog bim…

1
Episode 31: Northumberland Part 2 (Ft Mark Eaton and Tom Cadwallender) 40:04

2+ y ago40:04

40:04

In a break from your usual programming, Kit and his pal Will Rose are on location! In Part 2 of our Northumbrian odyssey, we pick up where we left off and Tom Cadwallender shows us around his local patch. Then we head into the hills to meet up with secretary of the Rare Breeding Birds Panel, Mark Eaton and hopefully a plethora of red-listed bird sp…

1
Episode 30: Northumberland Part 1 (Ft Wild Intrigue and Tom Cadwallender) 50:02

2+ y ago50:02

50:02

In a break from your usual programming, Kit is on location! He’s bought a roaming microphone, mounted it to a stick and is taking his old mucker Will Rose around Northumberland to show him the local wildlife. En route we chat to some local legends of the bird world, wear nets on our heads and learn that Puffins are mingers. Featuring; Heather Devey…

1
Lev Parikian: Taking Flight 20:56

2+ y ago20:56

20:56

In this Golden Grenades bonus/extra episode Kit talks to writer and conductor Lev Parikian about his new book, Taking Flight. SourceBy Golden Grenades Collective

1
Episode 29: Arjan Dwarshuis 50:57

2+ y ago50:57

50:57

This episode of Golden Grenades features Arjan Dwarshuis, a professional bird guide, writer, and motivational speaker, who also holds the current Guinness Book World Record for observing the largest number of bird species in a single year. In 2016, he launched his global “Big Year” and ultimately observed 6852 of the world’s over 11,000 bird specie…

1
Nick Acheson: The Meaning of Geese 13:04

3y ago13:04

13:04

Kit is joined by naturalist and conservationist Nick Acheson for a chat about his new book, The Meaning of Geese, published on Thursday 9th February 2023 by Chelsea Green Publishing. Buy it here: https://chelseagreen.co.uk/book/the-meaning-of-geese/ SourceBy Golden Grenades Collective

1
Episode 28: Samuel West 53:44

3y ago53:44

53:44

YOLOBirder’s guest on Golden Grenades in this new episode is actor and sometimes director Samuel West. He’s played Hamlet and Richard II for the Royal Shakespeare Company, Jeffrey Skilling in Enron in the West End and the voice of Pongo in Disney’s 101 Dalmations II. His television work includes Slow Horses, The Crown, Small Axe, Mr Selfridge and h…

1
Episode 27: Hector Gannet 43:55

3y ago43:55

43:55

YOLOBirder’s guest on the podcast this time is North Shields born singer/songwriter Aaron Duff, who works both solo and with his full band under the name Hector Gannet. Aaron talks about his five favourite birds, the five species that he would protect above all others when the environmental apocalypse arrives. We chat about how he started in music,…

1
Episode 26: Brian Briggs 44:03

3y ago44:03

44:03

YOLObirder’s guest in the post-environmental apocalyptic wasteland is Dr Brian Briggs, a conservationist and musician on a lifelong quest to tune into the natural world. Brian is both a manager of an internationally important nature reserve, and the singer/songwriter for the band Stornoway. Stornoway were the first unsigned band to appear on Later……

1
Episode 25: Kerrie Gardner 42:21

3y ago42:21

42:21

YOLOBirder is back with a brand new Golden Grenades episode with the fantastic artist, writer and all round nature lover Kerrie Gardner. Kerrie is a nature inspired artist and writer living in Devon who likes to dabble in a variety of crafts. Before becoming self employed she worked as an ecologist and prior to that was an environmental educator wi…

1
Episode 24: City Girl in Nature 37:43

3y ago37:43

37:43

YOLOBirder’s special guest on the increasingly infrequent Golden Grenades podcast is Kwesia, AKA City Girl in Nature. Kwesia is from South East London, and her experience of the outdoors growing up was playing football on the streets with dustbins for goalposts. She developed a secret interest in nature documentaries, and did not expect that a visi…

1
Episode 23: Jamie Dunning 42:37

3+ y ago42:37

42:37

After a bit of a hiatus, Golden Grenades is back! Joining YOLOBirder this time is ornithologist, Jamie Dunning. Jamie is working on his PHD at Imperial College on the social lives of House Sparrows, has discovered that Puffins’ bills fluoresce and has an amateur project on the go on Twite in England. Some of us are interested in birds, but Jamie ha…

1
Episode 22: Nicola Chester 42:30

4y ago42:30

42:30

In this episode of Golden Grenades nature writer Nicola Chester discusses her work and recently published memoir, On Gallows Down. Why do people keep giving her dead things in a Bag For Life? Which bird would she like to rename the Spangle Speaker? And which species did she use to spook armed American servicemen? Have a listen to find out! Source…

1
Episode 21: Mackenzie Crook 52:26

4y ago52:26

52:26

Actor, writer and director Mackenzie Crook discusses his love of birds, Detectorists and Worzel Gummidge and the bird he would most like to peck out one of his eyes! SourceBy Golden Grenades Collective

1
Episode 20: YOLOBirder and Will Rose 40:36

4+ y ago40:36

40:36

For the final episode of the second series, YOLOBirder is joined by his Golden Grenades partner-in-crime Will Rose for a bit of last day of term, bring-a-toy-in, do-no-work tomfoolery. Includes unacceptable bird tattoos, coot skills and Will flips the table on Kit making him reveal the five species of bird he would choose to survive the environment…

1
Episode 19: Jonny Fisk 46:20

4+ y ago46:20

46:20

YOLOBirder’s fellow apocalypse survivor this week is Jonny Fisk, lifelong wildlife enthusiast and for the past five years has lived and worked as an Estate Worker/Assistant Warden at Spurn Bird Observatory. Contains unexpected migration, bird serial killers, sky burials and a pointless game of Pointless! Source…

1
Episode 18: Alex Bond 48:15

4+ y ago48:15

48:15

This week’s guest on Golden Grenades is Dr. Alex Bond, senior curator in charge of birds at the Natural History Museum. Alex describes his work looking after the historically and culturally important specimens in his care and talks about his extensive work as a conservation biologist with a focus on the marine environment and island biology. Contai…

1
Episode 17: Lucy Lapwing 44:38

4+ y ago44:38

44:38

This week YOLOBirder is joined by naturalist and self-proclaimed nature nerd Lucy Lapwing. Lucy started blogging about wildlife on her Instagram during a period of illness in 2015, and aims to communicate the weird and the beautiful aspects of our natural world in a funny and inclusive way. She works for the RSPB in Communication, Fundraising and C…

1
Episode 16: Dominic Couzens 47:05

4+ y ago47:05

47:05

This week YOLOBirder is joined by the best selling nature writer and international tour guide Dominic Couzens, who discusses his lifelong love of birds and the five species that mean the most to him. From his first published article on gull identification to his latest book, Save Our Species: Endangered Animals and How You Can Save Them, Dominic ta…

1
Episode 15: Tiffany Francis-Baker 41:56

4+ y ago41:56

41:56

This week nature writer and illustrator Tiffany Frances-Baker talks about her five favourite birds, her love of the night sky and how to forage! Contains satanic buntings, knitted finches and the answer to this week’s Zero Punches Pulled question “Is it wrong to wish on space hardware”! Will YOLOBirder’s peregrine defeat Tiffany’s tribute in the be…

1
Episode 14: Fyfe Dangerfield 46:58

4+ y ago46:58

46:58

This week YOLOBirder is joined by musician and songwriter Fyfe Dangerfield who talks about his five favourite species of bird, his Birdwatcher project and EP and which bird he would chose to dress like if he could! Also contains a sneak peek of his next smash hit ‘Nightjar Superstar’! SourceBy Golden Grenades Collective