Guest speakers
Hear from a range of guest speakers that have a passion for nature.
Tickets for guest speakers are available to collect from our information desk on the weekend of the festival. We recommend arriving early to secure your tickets.
Saturday 18 October
Pond House
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Join professional wildlife photographer and Fujifilm ambassador Alan Hewitt for his talk as he runs through the best tips and tricks for setting up your camera for wildlife photography.
Examples used will be Fujifilm orientated technology, including set-up used by Alan for his wildlife photography.
Lecture theatre
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Alasdair McKee of the RSPB and Cumbria Wildlife Trust will talk about how Ospreys have returned from extinction in England in the last twenty five years. He will also be updating us on how the regular pair at Foulshaw Moss in Cumbria are faring. This entertaining talk will introduce you to these charismatic raptors and tell the story of a remarkable conservation comeback in Cumbria and beyond. He will also explain where the shopping bag comes in!
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Ben will share some of his favourite and most successful images and will talk about the techniques and thought processes involved in capturing them. He will share his experience gained through over 20 years working as a professional wildlife photographer, and tell the stories behind some of his most memorable images. Subject matter ranges from birds in his back garden to the frozen wilderness of Antarctica.
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What can nature teach us about our own lives? Charlie Bingham is a UK based author. After completing a degree in archaeology at the University of York, Charlie began to reconnect with nature in her mid 20’s. She found that birds especially seemed to have the ability to help her through difficult times and made it her life’s mission to share her love and passion with a wide audience. Through her debut book,The Life Affirming Magic of Birds, she communicates the lessons she has learnt on her journey reconnecting with nature and encourages people to notice nature, particularly in urban areas where there is magic waiting to be found. In this talk, Charlie will tell you about some of the lessons she has learnt, and discuss how nature has the power to teach us so much about ourselves, if we only stop and notice it.
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Wildlife photography is more than pointing a lens at an animal, it’s about anticipating behaviour, making split-second decisions, and crafting images that tell stories. In this talk, I will take the audience behind the scenes of some of my favourite wildlife images, sharing not only how the photos were taken, but why I took them the way I did.
Education centre
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Discover how the simple act of changing a lens can transform your birdwatching and photography experience.
From ultra‑wide perspectives that place birds in the landscapes that define them, to ultra close‑ups revealing every detail. We explore how different lens focal lengths shape the way we see and help to tell the stories of the birds we love.
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Join Lancashire Badger Group to learn more about a badgers life, with a focus on the European badger. We’ll discuss why they have black and white colouration, their family structure, diet, general lifestyle and the threats they face.
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A look at some of the endemic and very special waders of New Zealand, with facts and mishaps galore as usual.
Sunday 19 October
Pond House
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Join professional wildlife photographer and Fujifilm ambassador Alan Hewitt for his talk as he runs through the best tips and tricks for setting up your camera for wildlife photography.
Examples used will be Fujifilm orientated technology, including set-up used by Alan for his wildlife photography.
Lecture theatre
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A life-size oil painting of a grey-whiskered Victorian gentleman clutching field glasses hangs above the fireplace in the main meeting room at RSPB headquarters at Sandy. His name is W H Hudson (1841-1922), a one-time celebrated author and naturalist. Conor’s talk explains how he was drawn in to investigating the life and character of Hudson and his contemporaries. Working from Hudson’s letters, most of which ended up in American collections, he brings to life the untold story of Hudson’s conservation mission, and his role as the only man in the room when a group of activists met to create what we know today as the RSPB.
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Join WWT Martin Mere’s Centre Manager, Nick Brooks, as he covers his birding trip across Argentina.
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A lion the size of a grain of rice? A plant that eats animals? A parasite upon a parasite upon a parasite? It’s easy to overlook the invertebrates, plants and fungi in favour of the bigger things. But with a bit of curiosity and nosiness, these tiny worlds come alive. Join Lucy Lapwing for an exploration of the smaller lives around us, delving into complex life histories, astounding structures and beautifully bizarre behaviour.
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Join Matt Phelps as he covers the history of the knepp project and an overview of the wildlife successes that have happened to date, with a particular focus on birds. Matt is an avid birder and all-round naturalist. He studied countryside management and ecology at agricultural college and, prior to becoming the Lead Ecologist at Knepp in 2024, has worked for the National Trust, Sussex Wildlife Trust and various private estates, managing landscapes for wildlife, enthusing others about the natural world and advocating for rewilding and the return of lost and declining species.
Education centre
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Discover how the simple act of changing a lens can transform your birdwatching and photography experience.
From ultra‑wide perspectives that place birds in the landscapes that define them, to ultra close‑ups revealing every detail. We explore how different lens focal lengths shape the way we see and help to tell the stories of the birds we love.
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Ian will cover the range of threats to badgers, from organised crime to road traffic incidents and how Lancashire Badger Group, working with partners, strives to protect this iconic animal.
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A look at some of the endemic and very special waders of New Zealand, with facts and mishaps galore as usual.
