Shows / Tweet of the Day
Tweet of the Day
Discover birds through their songs and calls. Each Tweet of the Day begins with a call or song, followed by a story of fascinating ornithology inspired by the sound.
Episodes
- Tweet of the Day
Alison Steadman - The Twelve Tweets of Christmas 4 of 12
During this season of goodwill our thoughts turn to crackling fires, being with the family and for many a song or a carol to bring merriment to the colder…
- Tweet of the Day
Alison Steadman - The Twelve Tweets of Christmas 3 of 12
During this season of goodwill our thoughts turn to crackling fires, being with the family and for many a song or a carol to bring merriment to the colder…
- Tweet of the Day
Alison Steadman - The Twelve Tweets of Christmas 2 of 12
During this season of goodwill our thoughts turn to crackling fires, being with the family and, for many, a song or a carol to bring merriment to the colder…
- Tweet of the Day
Alison Steadman - The Twelve Tweets of Christmas 1 of 12
During this season of goodwill our thoughts turn to crackling fires, being with the family and, for many, a song or a carol to bring merriment to the colder…
- Tweet of the Day
Fyfe Dangerfield on the Pied Butcherbird
Having recorded a number of bird calls in Australia, back home musician Fyfe Dangerfield manipulates their speed and pitch to experiment in music and melody…
- Tweet of the Day
Fyfe Dangerfield on the Woodchat Shrike
Childhood holidays in France, sitting in the back of the car were for musician Fyfe Dangerfield a great opportunity to view rare birds, such as the woodchat…
- Tweet of the Day
Fyfe Dangerfield on the Bluethroat
For musician Fyfe Dangerfield seeing a rare bird on his travels is as exciting as seeing a celebrity on the street, and the bluethroat he saw in India is on…
- Tweet of the Day
Fyfe Dangerfield on the Grey Heron
Musician Fyfe Dangerfield loves being in places which feel removed from modern life where the prehistoric looking grey heron can be a great leveller.Producer…
- Tweet of the Day
Fyfe Dangerfield on the Golden Oriole
As a child, musician Fyfe Dangerfield learnt bird calls from a sound tape borrowed from the library, meaning he was able to hear before seeing a golden oriole…
- Tweet of the Day
Mark Cocker on the Short-eared Owl
Despite having a call like an asthmatic dog, for birdwatcher and naturalist Mark Cocker, the flight of a wintering short-eared owl is one of the most beautiful…
- Tweet of the Day
Tara Robinson on the Cuckoo
The simple call of the cuckoo in spring has inspired theatre director Tara Robinson to create a play all about bird migration.Producer Andrew Dawes Photograph…
- Tweet of the Day
Tara Robinson on the Treecreeper
While in Spain, theatre director Tara Robinson recalls seeing a treecreeper close on a tree while she and her partner were relaxing by the poolside.Producer…
- Tweet of the Day
Sue Perkins on the Great Horned Owl
Comedian Sue Perkins recalls attending the Staffordshire Country Show where she came face to face with a great horned owl possessing a powerful grip.Producer…
- Tweet of the Day
Greta Scacchi on the Goldfinch
Actress Greta Scacchi compares the birds she once knew in Australia with those who now visit her London home, especially the goldfinch which makes her very…
- Tweet of the Day
Michael Morpurgo on the Greater Flamingo
On a visit to the Camargue National Park in France, author Michael Morpurgo found getting close to beautiful and elegant flamingos, and hearing their call…
- Tweet of the Day
Michael Morpurgo on the Dipper
Author Michael Morpurgo doesn't go out looking for birds, but when out walking along a river he loves to glimpse a dipper and would love to get up closer to…
- Tweet of the Day
Michael Morpurgo on the Oystercatcher
Children's Author and playwright Michael Morpurgo enjoys talking to oystercatchers on his annual visit to the Isles of Scilly.Producer: Tom Bonnett Photograph…
- Tweet of the Day
Michael Morpurgo on the Buzzard
Children's author Michael Morpurgo recounts how his daily walk in the Devon countryside is often enlivened by the call of buzzards overhead for this Tweet of…
- Tweet of the Day
Michael Morpurgo on the Magpie
Children's author and poet Michael Morpurgo discusses the cackling magpie in this Tweet of the Day, a bird that seemingly never dies.Producer: Tom Bonnett…
- Tweet of the Day
Fyfe Dangerfield on the Gannet
Musician Fyfe Dangerfield describes being enthralled by the rapid, bombing dive of a gannet fishing out at sea and the magic of unexpectedly seeing one up…
- Tweet of the Day
Fyfe Dangerfield on the Pigeon
Musician Fyfe Dangerfield enjoys how his young son's interest in some of our more common birds helps stop him from overlooking everyday avian beauty.Producer…
- Tweet of the Day
Fyfe Dangerfield on the Black-throated Diver
The jewel-like patterns of the black-throated diver have musician Fyfe Dangerfield in awe as he heads to Highlands in search of space to write.Producer: Mark…
- Tweet of the Day
Fyfe Dangerfield on the Bee-Eater
Musician Fyfe Dangerfield imagines his perfect outfit, a technicolour dreamcoat resplendent in the shimmering hues of the bee-eater.Producer: Mark Ward…
Tweet of the DayFyfe Dangerfield on the Guillemot
Musician Fyfe Dangerfield tells the story of an inspirational trip to the 'birdland' of the Farne Islands where a seabird inspired the name for the band that…
- Tweet of the Day
Dermot O'Leary on the Dunnock
The dunnock is a newly-appreciated bird in the O'Leary household and as Dermot potters around the garden he admires the work ethic and understated beauty of…
- Tweet of the Day
Dermot O'Leary on Swifts and Swallows
Presenter Dermot O'Leary relishes the effortless soaring of swifts and remembers the joy of the independence of his first car and the feeling of taking country…
- Tweet of the Day
Dermot O'Leary on the Greater Black-backed Gull
Presenter Dermot O'Leary hails the greater black-backed gull as an 'Alsatian of the skies' as he marvels at their hardy survival skills and effortless…
- Tweet of the Day
Dermot O'Leary on the Coal Tit
Since his early teens, presenter Dermot O'Leary has into birdlife and from his kitchen in Central London he loves gazing into the garden and watching the…
- Tweet of the Day
Dermot O'Leary on the Sea Eagle
Presenter Dermot O'Leary goes in search of sea eagles in the Highlands. He's enlisted wildlife cameraman Gordon Buchanan to help him track them down but with…
- Tweet of the Day
Gary Moore on the Skylark
Wildlife sound recordist Gary Moore hears a skylark at the site of the Battle of the Somme and imagines soldiers over a century ago finding comfort in that…
- Tweet of the Day
Gary Moore on the Stone Curlew
Braving dark countryside, sound recordist Gary Moore goes in search of the rarely-heard sound of the stone curlew and finds himself laying in wet grass swaying…
- Tweet of the Day
Gary Moore on the Woodlark
When wildlife sound recordist Gary Moore put on his headphones to capture the sound of a woodlark his recording revealed some unusual behaviour that was…
- Tweet of the Day
Gary Moore on the Manx Shearwater
Wildlife sound recordist Gary Moore tells how he became a launching pad for migrating Manx Shearwater when he took a trip to the island of Skomer off the coast…
- Tweet of the Day
Gary Moore on the Golden Pheasant
Gary Moore describes the elation of tracking down the notoriously elusive golden pheasant and finding it basking in sunshine as it poses for a mate.Producer…
- Tweet of the Day
Paul Evans on the Carrion Crow
On the eve of Halloween, the silence of a graveyard is broken by the raucous calls of an inky black Crow "Throwing her voice as if coughing up a bone" as…
- Tweet of the Day
Paul Evans on the Raven
Writer Paul Evans encounters a pair of ravens and reflects on their dark associations and their playful and ominous voices. Producer: Sarah Blunt Photo…
- Tweet of the Day
Paul Evans on the Merlin
Merlin's are "ariel sprites" says writer Paul Evans, but they also kill skylarks in a rather gruesome manner as we hear in this specially commissioned dark…
- Tweet of the Day
Paul Evans on the Barn Owl
In a house on the marsh which has been abandoned for forty years, Paul Evans disturbs a Barn owl and the ghosts of a tragic past as he recalls in this…
- Tweet of the Day
Jeremy Deller on the Mexican Free-tailed Bat
It's Halloween and Tweet of the Day has descended into the darkness - artist Jeremy Deller describes the stench and force of a flight of Mexican free-tailed…
- Tweet of the Day
Samuel West on the Turtle Dove
Actor and birdwatcher Samuel West laments on the lost call of the once very common summer visitor, the turtle dove.Tweet of the Day has captivated the Radio 4…
- Tweet of the Day
Samuel West on the Eider
Actor Samuel West is especially fond of ducks, especially the eider duck, which for Samuel sound like a coven of Frankie Howerds gossiping around the village…
- Tweet of the Day
Samuel West on the Long-tailed Tit
Keen Birdwatcher and actor Samuel West recalls the chattering calls of the long tailed tit, the first bird he ever identified by sound.Producer: Tom Bonnett…
- Tweet of the Day
Samuel West on the Bullfinch
Actor and birdwatcher Samuel West discusses the stocky almost brutish looking bullfinch and it's rather wheezy complex high pitched song.Producer: Tom Bonnett…
- Tweet of the Day
Samuel West on the Dipper
Actor and keen birdwatcher Samuel West on hearing first the call of a dipper above the water of a fast flowing river.Producer: Tom Bonnett Photo: Keith…
- Tweet of the Day
Joe Acheson on the Corncrake
Musician Joe Acheson of Hidden Orchestra describes how the scraping noise of a corncrake sounded like a ceaseless alarm as it carried over the island of…
- Tweet of the Day
Joe Acheson on the Starling
Musician Joe Acheson describes recording the sounds of starlings at the Lizard in Cornwall to use in his work as Hidden Orchestra.Producer: Tom Bonnett
- Tweet of the Day
YOLOBirder on the Peregrine Falcon
Birdwatching's irreverent Tweeter YOLOBirder tells how a kindly hotel owner took him to see peregrine falcons and got him hooked on watching these magnificent…
- Tweet of the Day
YOLOBirder on the Waxwing
Birdwatching's irreverent commentator YOLOBirder on his love of the hipster-goatee beard and slick back quiff of the brightly-coloured waxwing, a bird so…
- Tweet of the Day
YOLOBirder on the Redwing
Birdwatching's irreverent Tweeter YOLOBirder remembers rescuing redwings when snow hit the North East, standing with a bird in each hand. Producer: Andrew…
- Tweet of the Day
Robert Martin on the Cerulean Paradise-flycatcher
Rob Martin of BirdLife International shares an encounter in Indonesia with one of the rarest birds in the world: the Cerulean Paradise-flycatcher, which he…
- Tweet of the Day
Sue Patterson on the Great Spotted Woodpecker
Sue Patterson from BirdLife International has a story of introducing the great spotted woodpecker to the next generation of birders, revealing the key to…
- Tweet of the Day
Rosa Gleave on the Goldcrest
Rosa Gleave from BirdLife International, reveals how she recognises the song of the goldcrest and why that has inspired a change in her life.Producer: Eliza…
- Tweet of the Day
Bruce Winney on the Red Kite
Bruce Winney from BirdLife International remembers seeing red kites overhead whilst driving in Harrogate, after years of absence from the skies.Producer: Eliza…
- Tweet of the Day
Stuart Butchart on the Bronze-winged Jacana
BirdLife International's chief scientist Dr Stuart Butchart reveals the bronze-winged jacana. He shares what he found out whilst spending three years studying…
- Tweet of the Day
Stephen Moss on the Great Crested Grebe
In a recollection about his encounters with birds, writer and wildlife programme-maker Stephen Moss recalls his first encounter with what he describes as 'the…
- Tweet of the Day
Stephen Moss on the Coot
In a recollection about his encounters with birds, writer and wildlife programme-maker Stephen Moss explains how a chance encounter with a coot when he was…
- Tweet of the Day
Stephen Moss on the Bittern
In the third of five recollections about his encounters with birds, writer and wildlife programme-maker Stephen Moss recalls the first time he saw a Bittern -…
- Tweet of the Day
Stephen Moss on the Cetti's Warbler
In the second of five recollections about his encounters with birds, writer and wildlife programme-maker Stephen Moss recalls going in search of a bird that 50…
- Tweet of the Day
Stephen Moss on the Song Thrush
Writer and wildlife programme-maker Stephen Moss explains why the sound of the song thrush evokes such powerful memories of his grandfather. Producer: Sarah…
- Tweet of the Day
Melissa Harrison on the House Sparrow
Nature writer Melissa Harrison presents the case for why we should love the humble and rather noisy 'spadger', better known as the house sparrow, though she…