BBC Radio Podcasts from A Summer of Swallows

Ep 6: Summer of Swallows - Leaving

Listeners say a bittersweet goodbye to swallows as they leave our shore.

Fledglings are learning to fly and avoid predators, like the sparrowhawk.

The chicks have arrived and they need feeding. What's for dinner?

Swallows are building their nests and we are peering in.

From the tip of Cornwall to the coasts of Scotland, the swallows are arriving home

The swallows are on their way, an epic 8,000 mile flight from South Africa. They're off!

Introducing A Summer of Swallows! A new podcast from Today and Radio 4

In the final episode, Becky and Emily rescue pufflings in trouble on their way to the sea

The last pufflings are checked over before they leave their burrows and head out to sea

How do you draw puffins to an island they abandoned long ago? One way is to do it loudly

Writer Michael Morpurgo explains how the puffin became the last word in children's books

Becky and Emily explore the issue of plastic as they trawl beaches awash with waste

Award-winning author Adam Nicolson looks at the internal life of a bird bound in cuteness

Becky and Emily string up a giant net to catch puffins in the name of science

Stormy weather scuppers Emily and Becky's return and news arrives of a wreck in Alaska

Becky and Emily invite you to sink into the sound of the puffins' realm

Becky and Emily risk puffin attacks as they grovel underground for chicks

After a cold winter at sea, the puffins return to the Isle of May.

Emily Knight & Becky Ripley drop anchor in Scotland’s puffin paradise.

Emily Knight & Becky Ripley follow the fortunes of a Scottish puffin colony.