Join us on a beautiful June evening for episode 36 of the Knepp Wildland Podcast. We’re joined by Knepp’s lead ecologist, Matt Phelps, deep in the scrubland to learn all about one of the jewels in Knepp’s crown…the rare and beautiful Turtle Dove.We talk about migration, how they’re doing in Europe following a recent hunting ban, what we’re learning about them at Knepp and the features they need in a landscape to successfully nest. We end this episode by touching on what the future holds for this pretty, shy bird and a moment to enjoy the soft purring song to send us on our way.
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27:11
Queen of the Flies
Buckle yourselves in for episode 35 of the Knepp Wildland Podcast with the vivacious Erica McAlister, Principle Curator for Diptera and Siphonaptera (that's flies and fleas to you) at the London Natural History Museum. Erica has made it her life’s work to make flies cool - her enthusiasm has inspired so many people to love and value flies during her career. Erica teaches us a lot of new things about flies: we talk about twerking flies, egg-bombing flies, migratory flies, cheesey flies, desiccating flies, cryofreezing flies, and most importantly…how we wouldn’t have chocolate without flies. Fly sample collections being made by Erica at Knepp Wildland through malaise trapping are providing some fascinating data through genome sequencing.This episode may leave you with more questions that answers but you will certainly have some fun facts to share with your friends, and a new respect for flies.
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40:57
The Return of the Stork
It’s episode 34 of the Knepp Wildland Podcast and we return to the White Stork Project, five years on, to hear the latest news with White Stork Project Manager, Laura Vaughan-Hirsch.We tune in to the live stork nest camera to check in on Ania and Bartek, a breeding pair bonded since 2020. We talk about this year’s nests and meet up with long-serving volunteer Silla to hear about what she does for the project and what the project means to her. We have a wander around the pen to visit some of the rehabilitated storks’ ingenious ground nests and Laura brings us up to speed on all the exciting news including the first successful return of a migrant bird and an announcement about the forthcoming inaugural Storrington White Stork and Nature Revival Festival, coming up in May 2025.
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37:31
Dam Good News for Beavers!
In episode 33 of the Knepp Wildland Podcast we meet Knepp’s brilliant new Lead Ecologist, Matt Phelps. We chat about the exciting news, released just a few hours before, of wild release licencing for beavers and how this might affect the Knepp beaver family. We discuss the abundance of Hawfinch here over the winter and speculate what opportunities are made available to them by the habitat that's emerged from the rewilding here at Knepp. As spring approaches, we talk about ongoing and upcoming surveys and how this has got Matt eager and ready to leap into the season ahead.
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30:52
Ground Control to Ranger Tom
It's episode 32 and we’re joined by Tom Burns, Knepp’s marvellous ranger and woodsman.We learn what Tom gets up to in his daily work at the Knepp Rewilding Project - everything from managing the huge team of fab volunteers to managing the public rights of way across the estate. Not to mention collecting stork nesting materials from the coppice! We spend most of our time, however, discussing Tom's main passion and that is trees - ancient and veteran ones in particular, and why Knepp is so special for these old giants.Â
Join ecologist, Penny Green, and experience some of the wildlife wonders encountered, the secrets uncovered and the remarkable people who are part of the Knepp Wildland project.
New Zealand