Natural World (Birds) Episodes

Join us tonight, in the golden glow of a late spring twilight at our favourite mooring spot under the Forest of Arden’s mysterious gaze. As twilight begins to fall settle back, relax and enjoy the majestic splendour of the ancient evensong of the wild; a symphony in which every voice has a part. Journal entry: 1st May, Friday, Beltane “The dip and swell Of these gently folding fields Home to shadows and sheep And trees who have become Old friends...

Join us on a quiet night of summer rain as we listen to rooks and explore the beauty and ambiguities of two liminal places with a lot in common. We learn about the web-footed fenmen and are guided by Luke Sherlock to a ruined church under haunting skies. Journal entry: 6th June, Friday “We walk through the sheep field As the rain pours down. My boot socks still wet from last night. The rooks muster noisily at the One Oak. Even the magpies’ cackles...

Join us tonight under a waning April moon as we think about the local ducks preparing for the ‘long sitting’ and hear more about what happened to Mum and Dad after they had landed in Canada to start a new life together. Journal entry: 25th April, Friday. “Down in the engine bay De-rusting for painting. I am once more a clumsy adolescent. My feet grow too large and my knees and elbows get in the way. I no longer can bend as I once did. The march of time becomes visible In both the ...

Along the towpath, the battle between winter and spring has begun with days of warmth and days of sleet. Although even the young ducks teach us a lesson in conflict avoidance. Join us tonight as we celebrate the lives of two people who were central to the creation of Nighttime on Still Waters. Journal entry: 12th March, Wednesday. “The day winds down. A last walk along the canal side. Pebbled rings form in the open water. A kick of sleet Drives against my face. Captivated by the gold...

Send us a text Join us aboard the Erica, as we sit around the stove on a raw night of ice and freezing fog. Tonight, we reflect on boat (and other) life in the times of hard frost, the trials of swan and kingfisher life, and we finish with a short reading from Tom Rolt. Journal entry: 9th January, Thursday “The shatter of January light On fractured ice. The smouldering Of fallen leaves Frozen into the ringing silence Of stilled waters.” Episode Information: The shattered glass of...

Send us a text Did you know that ducks participate in ‘coordinated loafing’? But that might not be the only surprising/endearing thing about them. Tonight, we celebrate the joy ducks bring thanks to video posted by a stranger in Canada. Journal entry: 20th September, Friday “Hanging at the still-point between Summer and winter’s Swing and counter-swing. Rooks roister joyously westwards, Red with promise. Above them, fourteen successive Straggles of geese Head eastwards Flying on swif...

Join us on a wet and windy night as, tonight, we listen the strange and untameable tale of Fionnghuala, Oadh, Fiacra and Conn, the children of Lir, and meet up with our own (children of the) children of Lir who share their own wild mythologies. I also give an explanatory statement about the YouTube podcast channel. Journal entry: 11th June, Tuesday “Standing knee deep In a green ocean of grass. The woodpecker’s Seagull laughter Tumbles among the trees below. And here am I, On a su...

This week marked the anniversary of what has been considered by many to be one of the most important cultural events of the twentieth century. Tonight, we try to recapture that moment and explore why its power to move still remains today. Journal entry: 18th May, Thursday, “Is there anything more beautiful Than the softness Of April and May light While the clouds scramble For height Amid a sky of towering blue?” Episode Information: Apologies for the lack of sound during the 'Tuesday' ...

We are back! Spring sunshine and showers are transforming the fields and the canal and it is wonderful to be behind the microphone once again! The roof of a narrowboat can acts as a special extra room offering you panoramic views of a world of thee worlds. Why not climb up here and join us up on the roof of the Erica to enjoy rook play and the approach of a thunderstorm. This episode is dedicated especially to Stu and Vania. Journal entry: 10th May, Wednesday “A game of Pooh-sticks a...

This week saw the return of the cormorant which prompts a visit to Ernest Ingersoll to find out why they have no voice. A fairly severe reaction to the Covid jab meant that I missed attending this year’s graduation ceremony so join me as I think about past ceremonies and reflect on the journey of those passaging from graduand to graduate. Journal entry: 9th November, Wednesday “Here they come’ Like a stream in spate, Rolling black pebbles in its wake. Half a dozen tree-fulls of rooks...

There is a spot of ground that is special to me. Perhaps you have one too. They often are not particularly attractive, but somehow they are places we can go to find quietness. Join me to tonight when we visit one of my special places as we go down to the cattle pond with the help of Wendell Berry. Journal entry: 27th July, Wednesday “Drifts of mist rise and ghost upon the water In the pre-dawn light. The air is deliciously cool. The heron is in the cow-splash down by the oaks I climb...

These are the long days. The days of heat and dust. The days of quiet skies and dulled colours. Days of eclipse and renewal. These are the dog days of summer. Journal entry: 23rd July, Saturday [should read 16th July - blame the heat!!] “Martins twist and flit around the large ash, Clustering in the branches like cockney parakeets. En masse they drop, forking down to the water surface, Swimming the air with dolphin-like grace. We slip the mooring ropes and leave.” Episode Informat...

On the week that the cygnets of our swan pair hatched, we explore the rather contradictory nature of the canal through the eyes of poets Jo Bell, Nancy Campbell, and Ian MacMillan. We find romance amidst the unromantic and beauty in the unbeautiful. Journal entry: 1st June, Wednesday "Heron, streak of grey light, Standing on the bank, Coverletted in Moon's-Eye And the first flush of poppies of the season. Rain falls as needles of sunlight. The heron preens for a while And then is gon...

May slowly rolls into June, but is summer really here? The towpaths and hedgerows are garlanded in summer colours and the ducks (and swans) are beginning to move into their time of eclipse. Some of the mallard drakes are beginning to look very travel-worn! Meanwhile, days like these seem to bring a lot of childhood memories to mind. Journal entry: 27th May, Friday "Two hours until sundown and a stillness already settles. Shadows creep low and long through the sedge and long grasses on t...

The archdeacon is one of the colourful local characters who live here. Irascible and combative, he is nevertheless an important part of the social life of this small portion of the watery world. He’s a feral domestic duck with a chequered past and a strong sense of his own importance. A rather restless, listless day resulted in me drinking a lot of tea and reflecting on him and the work of Donna Haraway. Journal entry: 16th April, Saturday "I like it up here. It's not miles away from an...

Just as the wind swung north with its sting of sleet and hail, the first batch of ducklings were hatched this week. It was a far from simple event! However, as winter attempted to reassert itself with some biting winds and sharp frosts, we are reminded that winter’s growl is no match for the roar of Spring. Journal entry: 1st April, Friday "Penny looks up at me, hunched and quizzical, As snow pellets and plum blossom fall. There is nothing remotely romantic about these driven, windbl...

A week of glorious spring weather has heightened springtime activity along the canal sides and nearby fields. It also coincides with a particularly busy period personally. My response and those of the birds and animals around could not be more different. We dip our toes into the worlds of the polar north and the work of Kosuke Koyama to explore some possible explanations for this. Journal entry: 25th March, Friday “The fresh sun glances off the surface of the canal with a shimmering, si...

Over the last few weeks, we have watched our little swan family slowly begin the new phases in each of their lives. Whilst it can feel sad, it is also a celebration of the life of young Cyril who is now strong enough and equipped with enough skills to begin to make it in the adult world. It is also an endorsement of success for the young parents who, initially, encountered so many problems in nest building and egg laying. Journal entry: 12th March, Saturday “Last night I lay awake liste...

February has been a month of storms both meteorological and figurative that have left many of us feeling battered and anxious. Such storms leave their marks upon the landscape and familiar terrains can become strange, alien, and threatening. The cataclysmic events of the last few days are difficult to process and have catapulted us into what feels lik a much darker and more fearful world. How do we respond to it all and how do we navigate our way through times of intense darkness and confusion? ...

You join us tonight at the end of a rather windy day. There seems to be a fairly common feeling that we have been encountering a lot of blustery winds recently, both meteorologically and metaphorically. Tonight, we stoke the fire and reflect on the place of the wind in our lives, history and culture. Journal entry: “11th February, Friday. There’s a wrapping chill to the air And the scent of wet earth. Penny unsuccessfully tries to jump a large puddle. One some late winter days The way t...

This week we have been joined by a solitary stranger from the north. Probably blown south-west on last week’s northerly storm winds a wigeon has arrived. The appearance of this diminutive figure prompts us to find out a little more about this little duck and we discover his place in the legend of the Seven Whistlers and its association with the end of the world (but, perhaps, not as we know it).

As we begin to enter the depths of winter, this episode celebrates with a soundscape of winter at the moorings that tries to capture the life and energy of this season. Journal entry: “18h January, Tuesday. A rich winter moon hangs between the branches of the ash. Beneath a sky veiled in ice, sheep The colour of worn lead face the first glow of dawn. Penny picks up the scent of rabbits We walk together on crystals and silence." Episode Information Ducks on ice Winter on the can...

This has been a week of blustery winds and storms. Perfect weather for the wild choreographies of the rooks jousting on the wind. The devil has spat upon the blackberries and we (rather hurriedly) mark our first birthday – this podcast is one year old! Journal entry: “2nd October, Saturday Below a thrown scatter of rooks South-westerly gusts kick up leaves not yet ready to drop. Rains seeps into the cuffs of my coat Autumn glory.” Episode Information In this episode I refer to: John Mazlu...

These are the mornings of mist that ring with the call of geese. What is it about catching sight of the flight of geese and hearing their wind-borne calls that evokes such feelings restless longing and yearning within us? And yearning for what? We listen to the words of Wendell Berry, BB, David Whyte and Mary Oliver to find ways to capture those powerful emotions. Journal entry: “24th September, Friday A tangle of Victorian girders Russet brown; a lacy filigree of metal, rivets, and mus...