How did two beetles cause a gay panic?  There's much more to a cockchafer or ‘maybug’ than meets the eye. 

Join ecologist, Connor Butler, to find out more about what these charismatic creatures can teach us about science, humanity and the fluidity of the natural world. 
Discover more:  
  
You can find out more about Connor’s work and the queer ecology walks here: https://www.connorbutler.co.uk/ 

To visit Osterley Park and House and gardens, or to find out more about its spectacular grounds, find out more here: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/london/osterley-park-and-house 
Further reading:  
This is a HUGE topic of which we’ve only scratched the surface. As part of our research and if you wanted to dig a little deeper, we read: 
Of Maybugs and Men: A History and Philosophy of the Sciences of Homosexuality by Pieter R. Adriaens and Andreas De Block 
and 
Biological Exuberance by Bruce Baghemil 
Special thanks to Laine Kaplan-Levenson from A Field Guide to Gay Animals for taking the time to speak with us while we developed the episode.  
[Ad] Wild Tales is sponsored by Cotswold Outdoor, your outside retailer and epic guides to adventure.   
Quick breathers, calming walks or heart-pounding hikes. We feel better when we get out more.   
Find quality kit and 50 years of outdoor wisdom. Plus, supporters save 15% in-store and online. Feel in your element, in the elements, at Cotswold Outdoor.   
https://www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/  
  
Production:   
Host: Rosie Holdsworth   
Producer: Marnie Woodmeade  
Sound Designer: Jesus Gomez  
  
Follow Wild Tales on your favourite podcast app or on Instagram @wildtalesnt. If you'd like to get in touch with feedback, or have a story connected to our wild world, you can contact us at [email protected] 

Wild Talk: In this bonus episode Ajay chats with wildlife legend Chris Packham about their shared love of birds. 

After 3 weeks of filming Springwatch at the Longshaw Estate, Ajay wants to hear more about the stunning cast of characters on this year's show.  
 
In particular, the black and white birds that choose to spend their summer here: the migrant pied flycatchers.  
 
Ajay meets Chris for a walk on the Springwatch set where they share their passion for birds, birding and what we must do to help wildlife. 
  
Production:  
Host: Ajay Tegala 
Producer: Marnie Woodmeade  
Sound Designer: Jesus Gomez  

Special thanks to Chris Packham for recording with us and the Springwatch TV team for being so welcoming!  
  
Discover more:  

Find out more about Chris Packham’s work and what’s coming up: https://www.chrispackham.co.uk/  

Learn more about pied flycatchers from the British Trust for Ornithology website: https://www.bto.org/learn/about-birds/birdfacts/pied-flycatcher

Follow Wild Tales on your favourite podcast app or on Instagram @wildtalesnt

If you'd like to get in touch with feedback, or have a wild tale you’re like to hear, you can contact us at [email protected]  

There’s not a lot better than getting out in nature and it’s something Linda Stuart realised 40 years ago. 

She visits Packwood House and Garden almost daily to get a nature fix, and credits it with getting her through some really challenging times. 
Join Linda as she shares her story with Heather Birkett. 
[Ad] Wild Tales is sponsored by Cotswold Outdoor, your outside retailer and epic guides to adventure.   
Quick breathers, calming walks or heart-pounding hikes. We feel better when we get out more.   
Find quality kit and 50 years of outdoor wisdom. Plus, supporters save 15% in-store and online. Feel in your element, in the elements, at Cotswold Outdoor.   
www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/    
Production 
Presenter: Heather Birkett 
Producer: Claire Hickinbotham 
Sound Designer: Jesus Gomez 
Contributors 
With thanks to Linda for sharing her story 
And to Robyn Booth for being so open about her mental health 
And to Liz Ware, Founder of Silent Space. 
Discover More 
Walking in nature for wellbeing | National Trust 
Silent Space | Peaceful time in green places 
GROW: Fill your world with plants by Robyn Booth – Collins 

It’s the 1980s and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise has burst onto the scene, scoring millions of young fans.  

Half-human, half-turtle fighters Donatello, Leonardo, Raphael and Michelangelo originated as comic book characters before spawning phenomenally popular films and cartoons.  
But “turtlemania” also inadvertently sparked a pet craze that ultimately led to an invasive species problem.  
Red-eared terrapins were a particularly popular pet. But many people didn’t realise they would grow from a matchbox-sized hatchling to a dinner-plate sized adult that lives for more than 40 years.  
   
As a result a significant number of freshwater turtles were illegally released in the late 80 and 90s. 
Rosie joins Turtle Tally UK’s Suzie Simpson to uncover the wild origin story of how invasive freshwater turtles became a familiar sight in our waterways.
 
[Ad] Wild Tales is sponsored by Cotswold Outdoor, your outside retailer and epic guides to adventure.    
 Quick breathers, calming walks or heart-pounding hikes. We feel better when we get out more.    
 Find quality kit and 50 years of outdoor wisdom. Plus, supporters save 15% in-store and online. Feel in your element, in the elements, at Cotswold Outdoor.    


Production:  
Host: Rosie Holdsworth  
Producer: Michelle Douglass  
Sound Editor: Jesus Gomez  
Contributor:  
Suzie Simpson, Turtle Tally UK 

Image: 
(c) Suzie Simpson / Turtle Tally UK

Discover More: 
Head to Turtle Tally UK citizen science project to discover more about freshwater turtles in the UK and submit your sightings 
https://www.turtletally.co.uk/ 

Find out about the National Trust’s work protecting our waterways and how you can help 
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/our-cause/nature-climate/climate-change-sustainability/protecting-coasts-and-rivers

The National Trust cares for places so people and nature can thrive. Everyone can get involved, everyone can make a difference. Nature, beauty, history. For everyone, for ever. You can donate to us at https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/donate
Follow Wild Tales nature podcast on your favourite podcast app or Youtube @nationaltrustcharity. And join us on Instagram @wildtalesnt.

If you'd like to get in touch with feedback, or have a story idea you’d love to hear, contact us at [email protected] 

On September 27th 2023, the famous Sycamore Gap tree in Northumberland was felled overnight in an act of vandalism, triggering a far-reaching wave of shock and sorrow. 

Join Heather Birkett, as she goes behind the scenes to explore the enduring impact of this beloved landmark, the aftermath of its loss, and the community’s efforts to preserve its memory.

This episode has been updated from an previous release; National Trust Podcast - Sycamore Gap |One Year on

[Ad] Wild Tales is sponsored by Cotswold Outdoor, your outside retailer and epic guides to adventure.  Quick breathers, calming walks or heart-pounding hikes. We feel better when we get out more.  Find quality kit and 50 years of outdoor wisdom. Plus, supporters save 15% in-store and online. Feel in your element, in the elements, at Cotswold Outdoor. 


Production
Host: Heather Birkett
Producer: Nikki Ruck, Katy Kelly, Pippa Tilbury-Harris
Sound Design: Nikki Ruck   

Discover more
To find out the latest information surrounding The Sycamore Gap Tree including The Trees of Hope campaign
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/sycamore-gap

Find out what’s on in Northumberland Park and The Sill: National Landscape Discovery Centre
https://www.northumberlandnationalpark.org.uk/whats-on/

Follow Wild Tales on your favourite podcast app or on Instagram @wildtalesnt. If you'd like to get in touch with feedback, or have a story connected to our wild world, you can contact us at [email protected]

When Ajay Tegala discovers that chaffinches, a small songbird, have a different accent every 30 miles, he’s intrigued. 

However, under threat from disease these birds are dying out in urban areas, and their unique urban songs may be lost for ever. But all is not lost. There's a way to find out how this disease is spreading...by recording their song.   
 
Follow Ajay and ecologist and UKYouth4Nature advocate Şeniz Mustafa as they search for this disappearing birdsong. 
To send Joe a chaffinch recording:  

• Identify a chaffinch. You can use apps like Merlin to help you make sure it’s the right bird.  
• Point your phone at the chaffinch. Be safe and don’t do anything you wouldn’t normally do!  
• Record for anywhere up to 5 minutes.  
• Send to [email protected] 
• Your recording will be added to the database! 

[Ad] Wild Tales is sponsored by Cotswold Outdoor, your outside retailer and epic guides to adventure.   
Quick breathers, calming walks or heart-pounding hikes. We feel better when we get out more.   
Find quality kit and 50 years of outdoor wisdom. Plus, supporters save 15% in-store and online. Feel in your element, in the elements, at Cotswold Outdoor.   
www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/  
  
Production:   
Hosts: Ajay Tegala and Rosie Holdsworth   
Producer: Marnie Woodmeade 
Assistant Producer: Katy Kelly
Sound Designer: Jesus Gomez 
Contributors:  
Şeniz Mustafa 
Joe Cooper  
Ian Johnson 
  
Discover more:   
Find out more about chaffinches and the British Trust for Ornithology here: https://www.bto.org/understanding-birds/birdfacts/chaffinch 

It’s the mid-1800s and pteridomania – or fern frenzy – is the new big craze.  

Across the UK, plant enthusiasts are heading into the countryside to pick all the prized specimens they can find.  

And fern fans far and wide are avidly creating collections and displays of the leafy green plants to show off.  

Uncover the truth about this Victorian phenomenon and how it influenced our love of house plants.  

But who were the pteridomaniacs? What did ferns secretly symbolise about young women and sex? And how can we learn from the conservation consequences of the craze?
 
Join Presenter and Ranger Rosie Holdsworth and Curator Clara Woolford to unfurl the curious story of Victorian fern fever. 
 
[Ad] Wild Tales is sponsored by Cotswold Outdoor, your outside retailer and epic guides to adventure.   
Quick breathers, calming walks or heart-pounding hikes. We feel better when we get out more.   
Find quality kit and 50 years of outdoor wisdom. Plus, supporters save 15% in-store and online. Feel in your element, in the elements, at Cotswold Outdoor.  
https://www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/  
Discover more:   
Visit Cragside in Northumberland for a taste of fern fever. See the fernery, rockery and glass houses designed by Lady Armstrong in the 1800s, now cared for by the National Trust.  
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/north-east/cragside
Production: 
Host: Rosie Holdsworth  
Producer: Michelle Douglass 
Sound Editor: Jesus Gomez 
 
Follow Wild Tales nature podcast on your favourite podcast app or on Instagram @wildtalesnt. If you'd like to get in touch with feedback, or have a story idea you’d love to hear, contact us at [email protected]

Beneath the waves of West Wales lies a complicated network of relationships that determines not only who’s belly rolling who, but which calf survives. 

Join Katrin Lohrengel and her team at Sea Watch to search for one of the ocean's most loved and misunderstood creatures: bottlenose dolphins. 

For the Welsh transcript of this episode please click here.

[Ad] Wild Tales is sponsored by Cotswold Outdoor, your outside retailer and epic guides to adventure.  
Quick breathers, calming walks or heart-pounding hikes. We feel better when we get out more.  
Find quality kit and 50 years of outdoor wisdom. Plus, supporters save 15% in-store and online. Feel in your element, in the elements, at Cotswold Outdoor.  
www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/ 

Production:  
Host: Rosie Holdsworth  
Producer: Marnie Woodmeade
Sound Designer: Jesus Gomez

Discover more:  
Find out more about the dolphins in Cardigan Bay: www.seawatchfoundation.org.uk/ 

Did you know , you can see dolphins from the shore at Cardigan Bay? Explore the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty’s coastal walks:  www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/wales/strumble-head-to-cardigan 

Special thanks to Katrin Lohrengel for extra fact checking work and the whole team at Sea Watch. 

Follow Wild Tales on your favourite podcast app or on Instagram @wildtalesnt. If you'd like to get in touch with feedback, or have a story connected to our wild world, you can contact us at [email protected] 

Join Ranger Rosie Holdsworth to uncover the mystery of the leaping shark.  

On a boat off Cornwall, wildlife guide Jenny spots a huge animal she’s never seen before jumping out of the water.  But what exactly has she witnessed?   

Across the world in Florida, shark-obsessed Dr Molly Kressler sets off on a mission to discover more about what is beneath the calm of the surface. More than that, she wants everyone else to be able to get to know and love creatures of the deep too.  

[Ad] Wild Tales is sponsored by Cotswold Outdoor, your outside retailer and epic guides to adventure.   
Quick breathers, calming walks or heart-pounding hikes. We feel better when we get out more.   
Find quality kit and 50 years of outdoor wisdom. Plus, supporters save 15% in-store and online. Feel in your element, in the elements, at Cotswold Outdoor.   
 
  
Production:   
Host: Rosie Holdsworth   
Producer: Marnie Woodmeade 
Sound Editor: Jesus Gomez 
Additional research: Funbi Bakare
  
Discover more:   
Find out more about thresher sharks at sharkstrust.org.uk.  
If you want to be kept up to date with Molly’s research, you can find her on X, Instagram or TikTok at @marinemollyk.  
For incredible views of the Cornish coast, why not visit Trevose Head? Jutting out into the Atlantic, you can see for miles. Shark sightings not guaranteed (but possible!)  
Special thanks to Dr Molly Kressler and Jenny from Padstow Sea Life Safaris.  
  
Follow Wild Tales on your favourite podcast app or on Instagram @wildtalesnt. If you'd like to get in touch with feedback, or have a story idea, you can contact us at [email protected] 

Seagulls have a bad reputation. But is it deserved?  

Join Ranger Rosie Holdsworth to meet the gulls in Poole Harbour known for their chip-stealing behaviour. Are these birds feathered thugs or smart survivors? We’ll discover the myths and surprising truths about one of Britain’s most controversial birds.                       
From their behaviours to their vital role in coastal ecosystems, uncover just what makes these ‘Gangster Gulls’ tick.  Plus, we take part in a citizen science survey that helps track how these much-maligned seabirds are surviving in a changing world.

[Ad] Wild Tales is sponsored by Cotswold Outdoor, your outside retailer and epic guides to adventure. 
Quick breathers, calming walks or heart-pounding hikes. We feel better when we get out more. 
Find quality kit and 50 years of outdoor wisdom. Plus, supporters save 15% in-store and online. Feel in your element, in the elements, at Cotswold Outdoor. 
www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/   

Production
Presenter: Rosie Holdsworth
Producer and sound designer: Nikki Ruck

Contributors
Mya Bambrick
Dr Viola Ross-Smith
Paul Morton
Emma Caulfield
Katy
Sophie

Discover more
Find out more about bird conservation in Poole harbourBirds of Poole Harbour

Take part in citizen science survey in your area BTO – British Trust for Ornithology

Follow us @wildtalesnt Instagram account 

If you'd like to get in touch with feedback, or have a story idea, you can contact us at [email protected]

Imagine being a fly on the wall throughout history.

Historians Helen Antrobus and James Grasby take you inside the stories of the people, places and moments that made us.

Experience the Great Stink of London. Make an entrance onto the Georgian dating scene. Find out if you'd survive a medieval battle. And unlock the secrets of Britain’s space race.
 
Our past is all around us. Be transported behind the scenes at landmarks from castles to dance halls and WWII bunkers to workhouses. You’ll meet people from all walks of life whose fascinating stories help us make sense of who we are now.

Lean in for a tale from time: introducing Back When, a new history podcast from the National Trust, launching 2 April. 
 
Follow Back When on your favourite podcast app and never miss an episode: podfollow.com/back-when