Madeleine Finlay
speaker
2,579 appearances
38 recordings
2 series
first heard Apr 2026
last heard today
Madeleine Finlay’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.
Trend
recordings per month · last 12 monthsRecordings per month over the last 12 months — 38 in all, peaking in Sep 2026 with 8.
Appearances
So on a beautifully sunny day, I headed to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the RSPBs, Rain and Marshes, just outside of London.
It being a Tuesday morning, I wasn't sure I'd meet anyone below the age of 60, but lo and behold... Okay, so I've found some young people.
And it wasn't just Alma and Trixie.
There were two teenage boys there to photograph the birds.
And I also met Caitlin, decked out in camo with a pair of binoculars around her neck.
Cuckoo?
That's the cuckoo.
Did you hear it?
It's a good job we bumped into you so you could tell us what it was flying past us.
And so, you know, for those young people who are not yet into birding, what would be your sell to them?
Why would you say that they should get into it?
Coming up, what is it about birding that's hooked Gen Z?
If you've seen any of the slightly unhinged videos on the RSPB's TikTok, you can be under no illusion that the charity is trying and succeeding in getting young people into birds.
Alongside social media, the RSPB also has a youth council, giving them a seat at the table on environmental issues that will impact generations to come.
I got on the line with youth council member Jess Painter, who's in her early 20s.
Avoiding screen time might be a big motivator, but smartphones have also been the way in for lots of birders.
Birding has always been a bit of a Pokemon-style gotta-catch-them-all pursuit, but social media and the Merlin app is gamifying the hobby even more.
Feeling invested in the natural world is key to reversing current trends and maybe even bringing back the dawn chorus of the past.
Searching out nature or even noticing it on the walk to work is all part of breaking the cycle of our shifting baselines.
Thanks to Robert McFarlane, Jess Painter, Alma, Trixie and Caitlin.
Showing 1341–1360 of 2,579 · page 68 of 129
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