Skip to content
Sign inOpen the app
Artwork for My Birding Life
My Birding Life · June 18 · 49 min

The Early Birder Catches the Worm with Jon Mason

Jon Mason has spent almost four decades as a geography teacher, an Opticron ambassador, and to a growing audience on Instagram, sharing early morning birding moments from Otmoor and beyond. In this episode, Chris sits down with John to talk about a fascination with birds that started before he could walk, why he calls himself a birder rather than a birdwatcher, and how a heart attack a decade ago changed the way he spends his time. From spider's webs at sunrise to a nightingale nobody could see, this is a conversation about noticing more, rushing less, and why the simplest birds are often the best ones. Episode Takeaways: A lifetime with birds — Jon traces his love of birds back to a highchair full of sparrows, and explains why for him birding has never been a hobby, it's just always been there. Birder, not birdwatcher — Why Jon relies on his ears as much as his eyes, and how an old LP called Bird Sounds in Close Up trained him to recognise calls as a boy. You are the lesson — Forty years of teaching geography taught John that you can't fake passion in front of students — you have to live it, out loud, on a chalk hillside with a telescope. The heart attack that changed everything — How a health scare ten years ago led Jon to step back from work, invest in time outdoors, and discover that nature does more for his blood pressure than medication. Episode Timestamps: 03:00 — A lifetime of loving birds, starting with sparrows on a highchair 07:00 — Where "The Early Birder" name comes from, and a body clock tuned to the dawn chorus 11:00 — Sharing birding in the moment on Instagram, and the firecrest that stopped a photograph 13:00 — Forty years of teaching: "you are the lesson," not the one delivering it 24:00 — Titchwell RSPB and why it has everything 33:00 — Quality over quantity: spider's webs, nightingales, and not losing the point of the day 40:00 — The heart attack, the wake-up call, and why nature is better than medication Important Links & Resources: Follow My Birding Life on Instagram Subscribe to My Birding Life on YouTube The Early Birder Follow Jon on Instagram

0:00-49:26
Play in podnod

transcript

No transcript — this publisher did not publish one.

show notes

Jon Mason has spent almost four decades as a geography teacher, an Opticron ambassador, and to a growing audience on Instagram, sharing early morning birding moments from Otmoor and beyond.

In this episode, Chris sits down with John to talk about a fascination with birds that started before he could walk, why he calls himself a birder rather than a birdwatcher, and how a heart attack a decade ago changed the way he spends his time. From spider's webs at sunrise to a nightingale nobody could see, this is a conversation about noticing more, rushing less, and why the simplest birds are often the best ones.

Episode Takeaways:

  • A lifetime with birds — Jon traces his love of birds back to a highchair full of sparrows, and explains why for him birding has never been a hobby, it's just always been there.
  • Birder, not birdwatcher — Why Jon relies on his ears as much as his eyes, and how an old LP called Bird Sounds in Close Up trained him to recognise calls as a boy.
  • You are the lesson — Forty years of teaching geography taught John that you can't fake passion in front of students — you have to live it, out loud, on a chalk hillside with a telescope.
  • The heart attack that changed everything — How a health scare ten years ago led Jon to step back from work, invest in time outdoors, and discover that nature does more for his blood pressure than medication.

Episode Timestamps:

  • 03:00 — A lifetime of loving birds, starting with sparrows on a highchair
  • 07:00 — Where "The Early Birder" name comes from, and a body clock tuned to the dawn chorus
  • 11:00 — Sharing birding in the moment on Instagram, and the firecrest that stopped a photograph
  • 13:00 — Forty years of teaching: "you are the lesson," not the one delivering it
  • 24:00 — Titchwell RSPB and why it has everything
  • 33:00 — Quality over quantity: spider's webs, nightingales, and not losing the point of the day
  • 40:00 — The heart attack, the wake-up call, and why nature is better than medication

Important Links & Resources:


links4

more episodes

All episodes