CD – Tweet of the Day: A Year of Britain’s Birds Radio 4 Series

Author Biography

Bill Oddie is an author, actor, comedian, artist, musician and keen ornithologist. After finding fame in comedy team The Goodies, he pursued his interests in the world of nature and birdwatching, eventually becoming a presenter on Springwatch and Autumnwatch. An established expert in the field, he has published many books on birdwatching, including Gripping Yarns: Tales of Birds and Birding and Bill Oddie's Little Black Bird Book. Brett Westwood is a radio presenter and author, specialising in natural history. He is a regular presenter of natural history programmes on BBC Radio 4, several of which are available in Real Audio format from the BBC website. He is active in the Worcestershire Wildlife Trust and for the Worcestershire Biological Records Centre, which cover the area around his home in Stourbridge. TV presenter, photographer and conservationist Chris Packham is one of the nation's favourite naturalists. He is best known for the BAFTA-winning The Really Wild Show and fronting BBC's Springwatch and Autumnwatch. Packham is president of the British Trust for Ornithology, Hawk Conservancy Trust, the Hampshire Ornithological Society and the Bat Conservation Trust and vice-president of the RSPB and the Butterfly Conservation. In 2011, he was awarded the British Trust for Ornithology's Dilys Breese Medal for his 'outstanding work in promoting science to new audiences', and in 2016 he won the Wildscreen Panda Award for Outstanding Achievement, for his contribution to wildlife filmmaking. Packham's partner Charlotte Corney owns the Isle of Wight Zoo, and his step-daughter is studying zoology at Liverpool University. He lives in the New Forest. Sir David Attenborough is Britain's best-known natural history film-maker. His career as a naturalist and broadcaster has spanned nearly seven decades. His first job - after Cambridge University and two years in the Royal Navy - was at a London publishing house. Then in 1952 he joined the BBC as a trainee producer, and it was while working on the Zoo Quest series (1954-64) that he had his first opportunity to undertake expeditions to remote parts of the globe, to capture intimate footage of rare wildlife in its natural habitat. He was Controller of BBC 2 (1965-68), during which time he introduced colour television to Britain, then Director of Programmes for BBC Television (1969-1972). In 1973 he abandoned administration altogether to return to documentary-making and writing, and has established himself as the world's leading Natural History programme maker with several landmark BBC series, includingLife on Earth (1979), The Living Planet (1984), The Trials of Life (1990), The Private Life of Plants (1995), Life of Birds (1998),The Blue Planet (2001),Life of Mammals (2002),Planet Earth (2006) and Life in Cold Blood (2008). Sir David was knighted in 1985 and received the Order of Merit in 2005. He is a fellow of the Royal Society, and stands at the forefront of issues concerning the planet's declining species and conservation. Born in 1973. Steve Backshall was brought up on a smallholding in the home counties of England. He studied English at university before going on to study biology, eventually becoming Adventurer in Residence for National Geographic. He travels the world as presenter of BBC TV's 'Deadly' series, for which he has won two BAFTAs. He presented BBC One's Big Blue Live alongside Matt Baker and Liz Bonnin in 2015, which went on to win the BAFTA Television Award for Best Live Event. His other documentary series include Steve Backshall's Extreme Mountain Challenge, Down the Might River, and Steve Backshall and the Vertical Mile.