Welcome to The BirdGuides Podcast
7/15/202636 min
Welcome to the very first episode of The BirdGuides Podcast! Join your regular hosts Josh Jones, David Campbell and Ian Lycett as they introduce the show, share their birdwatching backgrounds and discuss the future of the ultimate audio hub for birdwatchers. Whether you are a casual patch birder in the UK or a big global lister, this episode sets the stage for our upcoming birding adventures.
What you'll learn in this episode
- Meet the team: get to know the birding histories and local patches of Josh, David and Ian.
- The podcast vision: what to expect from future episodes.
- Global vs local: discussions on everything between British twitching and exploring the world’s birds.
- Latest news and sightings: from Wood Sandpiper and Common Quail influxes to Britain’s first Western Reef Heron
Episode timestamps
00:00 – welcome to the The BirdGuides Podcast
02:25 – meet David Campbell and Ian Lycett: formative birding moments and their local patches
11:20 – recent trips to Western Sahara, Finland and Sri Lanka and autumn birding plans
17:20 – meet Josh Jones: birding from a young age and a previous twitching life
24:50 – break
25:00 – looking back at spring and summer 2026, from Wood Sandpiper influxes to mega rarities
28:55 – the summer 2026 Common Quail influx including a close encounter for Josh
32:35 – Britain’s first Western Reef Heron in Wales stuns twitchers
Links
- Get in touch by emailing podcast@birdguides.com
- Stay updated with the latest news at www.birdguides.com/podcast
- Contact Josh, David or Ian directly via the BirdGuides Team page
Enjoyed our debut episode? Please subscribe or follow on your favourite podcast app and leave us a 5-star review to help other birders discover the show. Tell us your own 'spark bird' story and about your local patch on our socials!
How to say connected
- 📱 Download the BirdGuides app: Real-time bird news in the palm of your hand. Get the BirdGuides app for iOS on the App Store / Android on Google Play.
- 💻 Visit the website: For sightings, breaking news and other birding content, visit www.birdguides.com/podcast.
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The BirdGuides Podcast is brought to you by Warners Group Publications.
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsDavid Campbell· Host0:00
The Bird Guides Podcast.
Josh Jones· Host0:01
[bird singing] [upbeat music] Welcome to the Bird Guides Podcast with me, Josh Jones, and I'm joined by my colleagues David Campbell. Hello, David.
David Campbell· Host0:38
Hi there.
Josh Jones· Host0:39
And Ian. How you doing, Ian?
Ian Lycett· Host0:40
Josh, I'm all right, thanks. Yeah.
Josh Jones· Host0:42
Thanks for tuning in to the inaugural Bird Guides Podcast. In this episode and those to come, we'll be discussing birds and birding in Britain, Ireland, and beyond. We'll be covering the latest breaking rarities, as well as movements, influxes, falls, general migration stories, ornithological discoveries, splits and lumps in the world of listing, patch birding, and indeed pretty much anything that's going on in the world of birding at the moment. First and foremost, how are you guys? How have you been? Are you enjoying a relaxed midsummer break from the birding, or are your bins still going around everywhere with you? How about you, David?
David Campbell· Host1:19
Yeah, it's definitely winding down now, isn't it? But I feel like we're already into autumn. I had my first green sandpiper the other day. It never sleeps, does it, birding?
Ian Lycett· Host1:27
There's always something on the go.
David Campbell· Host1:28
Yeah.
Ian Lycett· Host1:29
Found myself