Episodes

The Water Vole
68
May 21, 2026

The Water Vole

This Water Vole is part of a series commissioned by University of Derby’s Nature Connectedness Research Group for The River Derwent. The water vole is under serious threat from habitat loss and predation by the American mink. Found along our waterways, it is similar-looking to the brown rat, but with a blunt nose, small ears and furry tail. (find out more from The Wildlife Trusts ) With many thanks to artist, photographer and author, Christine Gregory , such a font of knowledge on Water Voles as...
The Bee-fly
67
March 20, 2026

The Bee-fly

The bee-flies are out and about in the UK doing their crazy, cool hovering displays and they're great mimickers of bumble bees. But, don't be fooled, wait until you hear about what they do with their babies... If you head outside on a warm spring day, you might be lucky enough to spot one of these tiny, fluffy, flying narwhales or hear its high-pitched hum before you see it. With many thanks to Dr Erica McAlister for being such a natural Bee-fly (she was also our maggot, her other love). She is ...
The Red Squirrel
66
Oct. 30, 2025

The Red Squirrel

Red squirrels are our native species and have lived in the UK for around 10,000 years. They are facing a population decline, primarily due to competition from the invasive grey squirrel. With thanks to David Mills who really does make a charming red squirrel. Some of the experts in Messages from the Wild suit their animal down to the ground and David is one of them. If we could imagine what a red squirrel might sound like, this, to me is it. Visit The British Wildlife Centre and support their co...
The Buff Tailed Bumblebee
65
June 16, 2025

The Buff Tailed Bumblebee

Bumblebees are at their peak right now and this Buff Tailed is fairly easy to spot. Keep a look out. This one comes from the collection I made for The Lost Gardens of Heligan , called Voices from the Lost Gardens . Jimmy Docherty really makes me laugh and he knows his stuff too - farmer, entomologist, television presenter and I would add comedian. Visit Jimmy’s Farm and support the Rare Breeds Survival Trust . Producer, Presenter annabel@annabelross.com Illustrations by Annabazyl www.fiverr.com/...
The Leatherback Turtle
59
June 10, 2025

The Leatherback Turtle

It’s World Ocean Week , an important yearly event for the future of all marine life. Ocean animals need our attention. They need to be heard. Please spread their messages far and wide. This series, Voices from the Ocean, was commissioned by Gallifrey Foundation in collaboration with Mission Blue , with special thanks to Antoinette Vermilye for her unending support. And many thanks to marine conservation biologist, author, science communicator, ocean advocate Christine Figgener , for embodying Th...
The Silky Shark
61
June 10, 2025

The Silky Shark

It’s World Ocean Week , an important yearly event for the future of all marine life. Ocean animals need our attention. They need to be heard. Please spread their messages far and wide. This series, Voices from the Ocean, was commissioned by Gallifrey Foundation in collaboration with Mission Blue , with special thanks to Antoinette Vermilye for her unending support. And many thanks to Iris Ziegler , for embodying The Silky Shark so beautifully. presenter/producer: annabel@messagesfromthewild.com
The White Spotted Wedgefish
64
June 10, 2025

The White Spotted Wedgefish

It’s World Ocean Week , an important yearly event for the future of all marine life. Ocean animals need our attention. They need to be heard. Please spread their messages far and wide. This series, Voices from the Ocean, was commissioned by Gallifrey Foundation in collaboration with Mission Blue , with special thanks to Antoinette Vermilye for her unending support. And many thanks to Marine Biologist, Melissa Cristina Marquez , for embodying The White Spotted Wedgefish so beautifully. presenter/...
The Staghorn Coral
63
June 10, 2025

The Staghorn Coral

It’s World Ocean Week , an important yearly event for the future of all marine life. Ocean animals need our attention. They need to be heard. Please spread their messages far and wide. This series, Voices from the Ocean, was commissioned by Gallifrey Foundation in collaboration with Mission Blue , with special thanks to Antoinette Vermilye for her unending support. And many thanks to Marine Biologist, Casuarina McKinney-Lambert , for embodying The Staghorn Coral so beautifully. presenter/produce...
The Sperm Whale
62
June 10, 2025

The Sperm Whale

It’s World Ocean Week , an important yearly event for the future of all marine life. Ocean animals need our attention. They need to be heard. Please spread their messages far and wide. This series, Voices from the Ocean, was commissioned by Gallifrey Foundation in collaboration with Mission Blue , with special thanks to Antoinette Vermilye for her unending support. And many thanks to the Founder and President of OceanCare, Sigrid Lueber , for embodying The Sperm Whale so beautifully. presenter/p...
The Phytoplankton
60
June 10, 2025

The Phytoplankton

It’s World Ocean Week , an important yearly event for the future of all marine life. Ocean animals need our attention. They need to be heard. Please spread their messages far and wide. This series, Voices from the Ocean, was commissioned by Gallifrey Foundation in collaboration with Mission Blue , with special thanks to Antoinette Vermilye for her unending support. And many thanks to Marine Biologist, Lewis Stagnetto , for embodying The Phytoplankton so beautifully. presenter/producer: annabel@m...
The Goliath Grouper
58
June 10, 2025

The Goliath Grouper

It’s World Ocean Week , an important yearly event for the future of all marine life. Ocean animals need our attention. They need to be heard. Please spread their messages far and wide. This series, Voices from the Ocean, was commissioned by Gallifrey Foundation in collaboration with Mission Blue , with special thanks to Antoinette Vermilye for her unending support. And many thanks to marine biologist, oceanographer, explorer, author, Dr Sylvia Earle for embodying The Goliath Grouper so beautiful...
The Copepod
57
June 10, 2025

The Copepod

It’s World Ocean Week , an important yearly event for the future of all marine life. Ocean animals need our attention. They need to be heard. Please spread their messages far and wide. This series, Voices from the Ocean, was commissioned by Gallifrey Foundation in collaboration with Mission Blue , with special thanks to Antoinette Vermilye for her unending support. And many thanks to Marine Biologist, Howard Dryden , for embodying The Copepod so beautifully. presenter/producer: annabel@messagesf...
The Coelacanth
56
June 10, 2025

The Coelacanth

It’s World Ocean Week , an important yearly event for the future of all marine life. Ocean animals need our attention. They need to be heard. Please spread their messages far and wide. This series, Voices from the Ocean, was commissioned by Gallifrey Foundation in collaboration with Mission Blue , with special thanks to Antoinette Vermilye for her unending support. And many thanks to Marine Scientist, Sheena Talma for embodying this Coelacanth so beautifully. presenter/producer: annabel@messages...
The Bittern
55
May 13, 2025

The Bittern

The Bittern is part of a series commissioned by Future Places Centre at Lancaster University in collaboration with Leighton Moss RSPB . With many thanks to Jarrod Sneyd, RSPB Leighton Moss, for embodying this Bittern. "For me, they just bring joy, particularly when the atmospherics are right. You can be in Leighton Moss, or nearby in Silverdale, for example, where there's been five or six booming male Bitterns, and the sound echoes and reverberates. If you were to try and write it down and captu...
The European Eel
54
May 13, 2025

The European Eel

The European Eel is part of a series commissioned by Future Places Centre at Lancaster University in collaboration with Leighton Moss RSPB . With many thanks to Kath Smith, RSPB Leighton Moss, for embodying this European Eel. "Eels are just fantastic. They've been around for hundreds of years but, we still don't really know much about them. It's only in the last few years we've realised that they spawn and die, and that's only through observation. And the fact that they have that incredible migr...
The Reed Warbler
53
May 13, 2025

The Reed Warbler

The Reed Warbler is part of a series commissioned by Future Places Centre at Lancaster University in collaboration with Leighton Moss RSPB . With many thanks to Beth Fox, RSPB Leighton Moss, for embodying this Reed Warbler. "For these little birds, the reed bed can be a challenging place to raise chicks, there are quite a lot of predators. But they're dedicated parents. I think it's lovely that the male and the female raise their chicks together. It's such a joint effort. And obviously I admire ...
The Caddis Fly
52
May 13, 2025

The Caddis Fly

The Caddis Fly is part of a series commissioned by Future Places Centre at Lancaster University in collaboration with Leighton Moss RSPB . With many thanks to Kath Smith, RSPB Leighton Moss for embodying this Caddis Fly. "I've spent years river dipping and pond dipping, and you come across these creatures that still get me so excited, and because they're so amazing, I want to pass that on to other people as well, especially when you're pond dipping with kids. And you want to get them to say it's...
The Marsh Harrier
51
May 13, 2025

The Marsh Harrier

The Marsh Harrier is part of a series commissioned by Future Places Centre at Lancaster University in collaboration with Leighton Moss RSPB . With many thanks to Joseph Klein, RSPB Leighton Moss, for embodying this Marsh Harrier. "I really enjoy just watching them over the nature reserve. I think Marsh Harriers have a kind of slow pace to them. They fly super slowly and just drop down into the reed bed and look so chilled and in control. And unless you come to a reserve or a place where there ar...
The Mole
50
Feb. 14, 2025

The Mole

Always smaller than we think but incredibly strong and so vital to the health of our soils. These little creatures need a lot more respect than we give them. It's their lawn, not ours. With many thanks to Sam Corfield, author, horticulturist and wildlife expert @the_hairy_horticulturist This one comes from the collection I made for The Lost Gardens of Heligan. Producer, Presenter: annabel@annabelross.com Illustrations by Annabazyl www.fiverr.com/annabazyl
The Cinnabar Moth
49
Jan. 28, 2025

The Cinnabar Moth

This Cinnabar Moth is part of an installation, Voices from the Meadow , commissioned by Wakehurst (wild sister of Kew Gardens) for their Meadowland exhibition last year. It has a slightly different feel to the usual recordings with Alice Boyd , composer and sound designer, providing the beautiful music and field sounds. These interviews with meadow animals were heard coming out of the giant Gramophone designed by sculptor, Donnacha Cahill . Many thanks to Eva Owen for making it happen and Steve ...
The Scissor Bee
48
Jan. 28, 2025

The Scissor Bee

This Scissor Bee is part of an installation, Voices from the Meadow , commissioned by Wakehurst (wild sister of Kew Gardens) for their Meadowland exhibition last year. It has a slightly different feel to the usual recordings with Alice Boyd , composer and sound designer, providing the beautiful music and field sounds. These interviews with meadow animals were heard coming out of the giant Gramophone designed by sculptor, Donnacha Cahill . Many thanks to Eva Owen for making it happen and Janine G...
The Meadow Grasshopper
47
Jan. 28, 2025

The Meadow Grasshopper

This Grasshopper is part of an installation, Voices from the Meadow , commissioned by Wakehurst (wild sister of Kew Gardens) for their Meadowland exhibition last year. It has a slightly different feel to the usual recordings with Alice Boyd , composer and sound designer, providing the beautiful music and field sounds. These interviews with meadow animals were heard coming out of the giant Gramophone designed by sculptor, Donnacha Cahill . Many thanks to Eva Owen for making it happen and Francis ...
The Dipper
46
Nov. 5, 2024

The Dipper

This Dipper is part of a series commissioned by University of Derby’s Nature Connectedness Research Group for The River Derwent. With many thanks to Mark Cocker , author and naturalist. " I think it’s a fantastic quiet bit of politics because the central challenge of our entire species and our civilisation is to understand our dependence on the rest of life and this project allows those organisms, as close as possible, to speak for themselves about the issues that affect not only them but more c...
The Mayfly
45
Nov. 5, 2024

The Mayfly

This Mayfly is part of a series commissioned by University of Derby’s Nature Connectedness Research Group for The River Derwent. With many thanks to Charles Foster , author and academic. Producer, Presenter annabel@annabelross.com Illustrations by Annabazyl www.fiverr.com/annabazyl