The Diaries Of Brett Westwood

THE DIARIES OF BRETT WESTWOOD (320kbs-m4a/156mb/68mins)
BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast: 18th to 22nd August 2025

When Brett Westwood began a wildlife diary aged 15, little did he think that he'd still be writing notes, nearly 40 years later about the same local patch in North Worcestershire.

In this series Brett returns, diaries in hand, to five different habitats in his local patch and compares notes from the past with the landscape and wildlife of today.

There are genuine shocks and revelations.

Wildlife Sound Recordist: Chris Watson

Producer: Sarah Blunt

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2015.

THE DIARIES OF BRETT WESTWOOD - 1. FARMLAND (320kbs-m4a/32mb/14mins)
BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast: 18th August 2025

Brett visits an area of arable and pasture land where corn buntings sang their crackly songs, grey partridges creaked in spring dusks and the pee-wit cries of lapwing were regular sounds.

But intensive farming in this area has had a huge effect on how the land is managed, resulting in the loss of hedges, use of pesticides, loss of winter stubble. All these changes have impacted on the insects, shelter and nesting sites for wildlife.

THE DIARIES OF BRETT WESTWOOD - 2. VALLEY (320kbs-m4a/31mb/14mins)
BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast: 19th August 2025

Since Brett started visiting his local patch, the landscape in the valley has changed more radically than any other area - not as a result of management, but of nature taking its course.

The valley is a sandstone dip between two horse pastures and its steep sides have deterred any cropping or grazing.

As a teenager, this is where Brett soaked in the scents of basil and thyme which carpeted the banks. Young hawthorn saplings attracted whinchats and tree pipits. Turtle doves nested here in summer.

Instead, fieldfares and redwings roost in the thorns in winter and in summer chiffchaffs and blackcaps are commoner than ever.

THE DIARIES OF BRETT WESTWOOD - 3. SEWAGE (320kbs-m4a/31mb/14mins)
BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast: 20th August 2025

When Brett was a teenager, sewage was pumped out from a farm at Whittington onto an area of about a square mile where cattle were grazed. In icy winters the fields did not freeze owing to the warmth provided by the sewage and the life breeding in it.

Unusual for the West Midlands in winter, a regular flock of up to 200 curlews were joined by a pink-footed goose, pintails, wigeon, and in winter 1976 two spotted redshanks.

The old methods of spreading sewage stopped in the 1980s and the curlew flocks have gone but Brett still visits the area, and in recent years has been rewarded with sightings of barn owls and buzzards.

THE DIARIES OF BRETT WESTWOOD - 4. WOODLAND (320kbs-m4a/31mb/14mins)
BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast: 21st August 2025

Fairy Glen is a small natural woodland in Brett's patch carpeted with bluebells in spring.

What was once oak has become a sycamore wood. However, it's now a great place to spot warblers; chaffinches and bramblings feeding on aphids in spring, and during his visit Brett watches a pair of Nuthatches bringing back food for their young to their nest hole in the trunk of a tree.

But for Brett, the attraction is the buzzards soaring over the canopy, which have returned and bred in the area since the 1990s.

There are ravens too – another bird which Brett would never have dreamed of seeing when he was a teenager on his local patch.

THE DIARIES OF BRETT WESTWOOD - 5. CANAL (320kbs-m4a/32mb/14mins)
BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast: 22nd August 2025

The River Stour has its source in the industrial Black Country and flows through Brett's local patch on its way to the Severn, about 9 miles away.

Today, although it is polluted, the river is far clearer than in years gone by, thanks to rigorous controls on pollutants. With their absence, fish have returned and damselflies such as the white-legged damsel which is sensitive to pollution, skim across the surface.

Last year Brett heard what he's convinced was the 'plop' of a water vole and saw footprints in the riverside mud for the first time in 15 years. With mink now well-established, could these water voles survive?

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker On Isles Of Scilly 50th Anniversary, 4th October 1975

First-winter male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Tresco, Scilly, September 1975 (David Hunt).

This Saturday, 4th October 2025, is the 50th anniversary of my seeing Yellow-bellied Sapsucker on Scilly. It's still the only record for the UK.

The previous Saturday 27th September 1975, myself & Pete Walton spent the day in the Heliport at Penzance failing to to get a flight to Scilly. We had taken the overnight train from Liverpool to Penzance, knowing the train would not arrive before the boat departed, but hoping some sort of miracle would aid us in our quest. It didn't! All day we watched many birders we knew board flight after flight. It was peak season & seemingly no one had failed to turn up for their flight. At this point not only was there Yellow-bellied Sapsucker on the islands, but also Scarlet Tanager & Black-and-White Warbler. A trio of American megas! The third member of our Wirral trio of birders, Paul Lewis, was already on Scilly having traveled from Fair Isle & saw all three megas! Pete & I visited Stithians Reservoir on the Sunday, but failed to see anything of interest & then caught the train back to Liverpool.

A week later the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was still present, although the other two birds had departed. My dad drove us to Penzance overnight, arriving in plenty of time to board The Scillonian. It was a pleasant journey over to the islands. At Hugh Town pier on St. Mary's there were boats waiting to take everyone over to Tresco. It's all a bit of a blur, but we were all shepherded along various paths to where the bird was. We spent what seemed like a very short time watching the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker before it was time to leave for the boat back to St. Mary's. My first visit to the Isles Of Scilly had been a memorable success. It was Pete's second visit, having spent some time on the islands the previous autumn in 1974. The journey home was uneventful. My dad had sent a postcard from Penzance which arrived a few days later!

Birdguides published an interesting article in 2013 written by Steve Whitehouse entitled "Days to Remember: twitching the Scilly sapsucker."

First-winter male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Tresco, Scilly, September 1975 (David Hunt).

Slavonian Grebe, West Kirby Marine Lake 29th September 2025

A Slavonian Grebe was found last Saturday, 27th September 2025, on West Kirby Marine Lake by local birder John Williams.

I traveled over today and found the Slavonian Grebe immediately at the north end of the lake. I watched it for ages, at first towards the far side of the lake. Later it came a lot closer to the road side of the lake & attracted not only a bunch of birders, but also many members of the public who were interested to see what we were looking at. It was diving frequently when closer & fed successfully. Once done with feeding it drifted further away to preen & rest up.

Although not a rare bird locally, more often seen out to sea along the north Wales coast, it is scarce & rare to have such prolonged, close views.

A Guide To Garden Birds

A GUIDE TO GARDEN BIRDS (320kbs-m4a/156mb/67mins)
BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast: 28th July to 1st August 2025

Here's a helpful, practical guide to help you sort your Blue Tits from your Great Tits and your Hedge Sparrows from your Tree Sparrows.

Recorded on location in the Somerset Levels, Brett Westwood and wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson are in the garden of keen birdwatcher, writer and broadcaster, Stephen Moss.

Packed with useful information and helpful tips, the series will appeal to both the complete novice, and the experienced birdwatcher who simply wants to know more about the birds in their garden.

Producer: Sarah Blunt

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2007.

A GUIDE TO GARDEN BIRDS - 1. THRUSHES (320kbs-m4a/32mb/14mins)
BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast: 28th July to 2025

For starters, they're setting out to sort out the members of the Thrush family, including Blackbird, Mistle-Thrush, Song Thrush and Robin.

A GUIDE TO GARDEN BIRDS - 2. TITMICE (320kbs-m4a/31mb/13mins)
BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast: 29th July to 2025

It's time to observe and sort out the members of the Titmice family, including Blue Tits, Great tits and Long-tailed Tits.

A GUIDE TO GARDEN BIRDS - 3. FINCHES (320kbs-m4a/31mb/13mins)
BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast: 30th July to 2025

All ears are now on members of the Finch family, including the Goldfinch, Chaffinch and Greenfinch.

A GUIDE TO GARDEN BIRDS - 4. WOODLAND VISITORS (320kbs-m4a/31mb/13mins)
BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast: 31st July to 2025

Time to listen out for feathered visitors to woodland, including the Great Spotted Woodpecker and the skulking Dunnock.

A GUIDE TO GARDEN BIRDS - 5. HOUSE GUESTS (320kbs-m4a/31mb/13mins)
BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast: 1st August to 2025

Time to listen out for feathered visitors nesting on or around our homes, like House Sparrows and House Martins.

Discovery - Tooth And Claw: Harpy Eagles

DISCOVERY - TOOTH AND CLAW: HARPY EAGLES (320kbs-m4a/61mb/26mins)
BBC World Service broadcast: 14th July 2025

Named after a beast from Greek mythology, the harpy eagle is widely considered to be the most powerful bird of prey due to its strong legs and huge talons. With a crown of feathers atop its head, and known for eating monkeys and sloths, this regal-looking raptor dominates the rainforest canopies across much of South and Central America.

Presenter Adam Hart looks into the folklore and cultural importance of these imposing birds, as well as finding out why these apex predators of the treetops are having to increasingly search for ground-dwelling prey such as armadillos. He also hears how harpy eagle researchers were the pioneers for biological applications of GPS in order to study and track these animals in the dense rainforest.

Contributors:

Dr. Helena Aguiar-Silva, biologist and associate research scientist at the National Institute for Amazonian Research and a member of Projeto Harpia Brasil.

Dr. Eduardo Alvarez founder of a non-profit organisation called EarthMatters.org, to concentrate on the study and conservation of harpy eagles and to preserve their rainforest habitat.

Presenter: Professor Adam Hart
Producer: Jonathan Blackwell

Image: Harpy eagle and nest with chick
Credit: João Marcos Rosa

Great Lives - Charles Darwin

GREAT LIVES - LORD ADAIR TURNER ON CHARLES DARWIN (320kbs-m4a/64mb/28mins)
BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast: 13th June 2025

Businessman and academic, Lord Adair Turner champions Charles Darwin.

He joins Matthew Parris to discuss the life and work of one of the biggest names in science.

With expert witness: Professor James Moore.

Producer: Isobel Eaton

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2006

Great Lives - Emily Williamson, Co-Founder Of The RSPB

GREAT LIVES - EMILY WILLIAMSON, CO-FOUNDER OF THE RSPB (320kbs-m4a/64mb/28mins)
BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 26th May 2025

For over a hundred years no one thought too much about the origins of the RSPB, but among its founders was a woman in Didsbury opposed to the use of feathers in fashionable hats. Emily Williamson was outraged by the widespread slaughter of egrets and the crested grebe. She had tried to join the all-male British Ornithological Union, and when that failed she established her own Society for the Protection of Birds.

Nominating Emily is Hannah Bourne-Taylor, author of Fledgling and Nature Needs You, which is about her own campaign for the introduction of swift bricks into all new buildings. Helping Hannah discover more about this little known life is author Tessa Boase, who discovered Emily's role; plus Beccy Speight the current head of the RSPB. Matthew Parris presents.

The producer in Bristol for BBC Studios Audio in Miles Warde.