Celebrating 20 Years of the Urban Birder with David Lindo

He's one of the most recognisable names in birding and he's spent 20 years making the case that you don't need to travel to wild, remote places to find birds worth watching. You just need to look up.Born and raised in Wembley, North London, David Lindo taught himself to bird as a child with no mentor and no one around him who shared the interest. That self-taught curiosity became a mission: get people living in urban areas connected to nature through birds, wherever they are in the world.Along the way he's been named one of the seven most influential people in wildlife by BBC Wildlife Magazine, written books from The Urban Birder to Tales from Concrete Jungles, and birded in over 400 cities across the globe.In this episode, recorded to mark the 20th anniversary of The Urban Birder brand, David joins Chris to talk about how a chance BBC Springwatch screen test in 2006 turned a marketing idea into a life's mission, why he thinks the biggest barrier to birding is the myth that you need expertise first, his own experience with depression and a more recent vestibular migraine diagnosis, and why nature, even just outside your window, has the power to change how you feel.Episode Takeaways:How The Urban Birder was born the night before a BBC Springwatch screen test in 2006Why David believes the biggest stumbling block for new birders is thinking they need knowledge before they startBirding, burnout, and his 2024 vestibular migraine diagnosisBirding in 400+ cities and why the ones with nothing written about them online excite him mostEpisode Timestamps:03:16 — Urban Birder Origins06:30 — Springwatch Breakthrough09:33 — Urban Birding Goes Global10:33 — Changing Views on City Birding15:00 — Getting People Started21:57 — Doorstep Birding Surprises25:27 — Birding and Mental Health27:28 — Health Crash and Recovery29:28 — Nature as Therapy30:12 — 400 Cities of Birding32:49 — Why Urban Birding Works35:09 — New Birders New Voices42:43 — Books and What’s NextImportant Links & Resources:Follow My Birding Life on InstagramSubscribe to My Birding Life on YouTubeThe Urban BirderFollow David on Instagram