Episode 1 Wild on Water


Episode 1

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Welcome to Strangford Lough,

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one of Europe's most diverse natural habitats,

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and it also just happens to be one of my favourite haunts.

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It's home to an abundance of animals and plants,

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and with its outstanding views and easy access to fabulous flora

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and incredible creatures, this is simply a wonderful place to explore.

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Join me as we go Wild On Water to meet our extraordinary neighbours.

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Strangford is the largest

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sea lough in Britain or Ireland.

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It's internationally recognised for

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the diversity of animals and plants

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that live in and around its sand, rocks, grasslands and tidal waters.

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I've lived on the shores of the lough for several years now,

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so it's time I learned more about the remarkable natural life

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which this stretch of water has to offer.

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So to satisfy my curiosity

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and help me meet with our extraordinary neighbours,

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I've asked a couple of local experts to join me

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for this wildlife adventure.

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Jen Firth is the Lough Ranger

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and we're starting our Strangford safari

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from Whiterock Bay,

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close to Killinchy.

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We're on our way to the appropriately named Bird Island.

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Right in the middle of the lough,

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it's one of the most important bird-nesting sites in Ireland.

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Jen, so many birds here on Bird Island -

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what are we looking at?

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Bird Island is one of the biggest cormorant colonies

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we have here in the lough and in Northern Ireland.

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This is where most of them come to have their young.

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You'll see them all just resting up at the top there

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while the tide goes out.

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They're really distinctive, they have big long necks.

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And you'll often see them with their wings stretched out like Dracula.

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The reason they do that is because they don't have

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the same waterproofing oils that other birds have,

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so they have to actually dry them out in the wind -

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the same way we dry our hair -

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and that means when they're actually under the water or flying around,

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they'll be nice and warm and dry underneath.

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They really aren't a pretty bird,

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they're a bit like a dinosaur, reptile even.

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They are, it's one of the reasons why I love them.

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They're so unusual looking. They're quite scaly around the eyes

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and then they have this big long hooked beak

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and they just remind you of the dinosaurs, really.

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Yeah. And what stage in the season are they at now?

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We're nearly at the end of the season,

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so a lot of the young birds will be starting to lose their downy feathers

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and practising to fly, and they'll get more and more hungry

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and then start to leave the nest and search for their own food.

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And are they good mums and dads?

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Brilliant mums and dads, they only have one brood during the summer,

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so they can put all their energy into that one brood.

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And they're also monogamous, so they stick to the same partner

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and every year, they'll come back to the same spot, the same partner

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and do a little dance to each other to confirm their partnership.

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-How romantic!

-Old romantics, yep!

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And what about the seagulls too? Lots of them around.

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Yep, there's lots of seagulls.

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One of the most impressive would be the black back.

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-He's huge!

-He's massive and quite intimidating if you see them up close

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and also to the others birds,

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because these guys are actually one of the biggest predators in the air

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and they will take the small chicks off the other birds

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and that's why they nest beside other colonies.

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So they take the live chicks, not just the eggs?

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No, they take the chicks.

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Unfortunately, it's a hard world out there for the birds.

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And what sort of lifespan does the average seagull have?

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Well, some seagulls can live quite a lengthy life.

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The oldest seagulls have been found up to 30 years or more

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and the oldest cormorant was 23.

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But on average, they only live maybe 12, or a wee bit more than that

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because life out here is very difficult,

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especially in the winter, and they don't always survive that long.

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So why are you such a fan of the ugly old cormorant?

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-They're just so different!

-You don't even think he's ugly!

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No, I think he's fantastic! When you see the sun on their feathers,

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they glisten because they're black, they're brilliant divers,

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they have really unusual webbed feet that they use as propellers

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under the water, and because they look so reptilian,

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they're so different and so distinctive. And when you see them

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gliding along the glassy water in the lough, it's just beautiful.

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You're doing a really good sales pitch for them, I have to say!

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If we wanted to go onto this island

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and have a bit of a walk around, is that possible?

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Unfortunately not.

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Bird Island is a sanctuary,

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which means it's totally protected for the birds.

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I think it's better that way

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because it means the birds know they can go somewhere to be safe

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and not be disturbed. It also means that we can watch from a distance

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and see so many birds together in one place.

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Such a special thing, right on our doorstep.

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Oh, it's fantastic, I love it.

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We've come back to land to get up close and personal

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with some of the amazing creatures

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who can be found along the shoreline.

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And I'm here in search of some Coastal Guardians.

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What are the Costal Guardians, Jen?

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The Coastal Guardians are a group of local people

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who want to learn how to look after their coastline,

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so we're down here today to do some rock pooling.

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So, Jack, what have you found?

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We have found a pie crust crab,

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which can grow to an unbelievable size and can also be eaten.

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Oh, look, there he is! We've actually got two in there.

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So you can see there, Karen, the pie crust shape on the shell

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-and that's what Jack's taking about.

-Just like a Cornish pasty!

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Exactly right. And they do grow really, really big.

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That's why we eat them, because their claws are full of flesh.

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So they're very popular around here and all around the world to eat.

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Nora, what have you found, what did you like?

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Well, one of the best things is the butterfish,

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which is hard to find,

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but it's pretty fun to watch it swim around so fast.

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-Which one? Have we got one in there?

-Yes, we've got a couple in here.

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There's one absolutely gorgeous orange-coloured one.

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And the reason they get their name is because

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they're really slippery, like butter, but they're very special because

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they can survive on the coastline here

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without water for quite a long time.

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So the slimy coating all over their skin actually provides moisture

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for their gills, which helps them breathe when they're in the dry,

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and they're always mistaken for eels.

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-Oh.

-So if you find what looks like an eel,

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but has spots on its side, it's definitely a butterfish.

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OK, what else have we got?

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OK, so we've got lots of limpets, we've got some anemones,

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but I'm actually going to have a wee go myself

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-and maybe get your hands a bit dirty.

-Absolutely.

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If you want to help me move back some of this seaweed...

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and see what we can find.

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-Oh!

-Oh, look!

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Yep, we have a starfish.

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So this is a common starfish, they are absolutely common here,

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you'll probably find one nearly every time you come down to the beach.

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They get a lot bigger than this,

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but the shoreline is the perfect spot for finding baby starfish.

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They've quite rough little suckers on there, yeah?

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-Yeah, I'll just pass it over to you and we can turn him over.

-Ooh!

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So underneath here, we've got hundreds of little feet

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and they each move around individually

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and they have little suckers on the ends.

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So that's how starfish can stick to rocks,

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but it also helps them when they're feeding.

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So what they do is, they find a piece of food, like a shellfish

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or a piece of fish, anything they can find that's usually quite smelly,

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and they sit on top of it and pull the shellfish open

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with these sticky feet, and then they do something pretty gross -

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-they spit their stomach out on top of their food.

-Oh!

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So there's not much room in there,

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which means they have to digest all the food outside of their body.

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Not such a pretty starfish!

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No. And when they're finished, it turns into a big fish soup

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and they suck it all back in again, so it's not very pleasant,

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but it's the way they have to do it to survive.

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-He's terrible table manners!

-Yes.

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He's got five legs. And if we turn him over there...

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Sometimes, you'll find a starfish that doesn't have five legs,

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but it doesn't mean he was born that way -

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it's actually a really clever defence mechanism.

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So if a crab decided he wanted some starfish,

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he would come up to the starfish and attack it

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and the starfish would actually drop one of its legs,

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almost like a sacrifice, so the crab's left with the leg

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and the starfish gets away scot-free and grows back a new leg.

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How long does that take?

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It depends on the size of the starfish.

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If it's a small one, it doesn't take long - maybe a few weeks -

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but the bigger ones, it can take quite a while.

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Well, Lewis, what have you found?

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I've found a sea anemone.

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A sea anemone! Very good!

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And he's stuck to the rock, that's what they do, isn't it?

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So a sea anemone is basically an upside-down jellyfish.

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And you know when they're under the water,

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all of their red tentacles come out.

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This one's called a beadlet anemone

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and all around the outside, he's got little blue tentacles

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which he uses for fighting with other anemone.

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And I see you've got a limpet here as well...

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And these are also stuck to the rock.

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So did you know that limpets actually leave their little spot

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in the rock whenever the tide comes up?

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And when they go away,

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they leave a little trail of scent behind them

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so that they can find their way back when the tide goes out again.

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And that means they always stay in the same spot.

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So if you see a rock with a dark circle in it,

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that's called a limpet scar and that's where the limpet lives,

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so he always comes back.

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Jen, Lewis and David are loving all of this and we've got to remember,

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haven't we, that this stuff can be found on any rocky shore?

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Yep, and every rocky shore will have a different set of animals,

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so you'll never get bored.

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And you can get more interesting ideas

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for exploring your local habitats at...

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Time to go back on the water,

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and we're in search of some of the 300 seals

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who have made this lough their home.

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We're heading for Cloghy Rocks, just south of Strangford.

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But first, there's time for a short stop at an unusual local attraction.

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Jen, there's such a lot of fast running water here, what is this?

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This is a unique area in Strangford Lough

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called the Routen Wheel,

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and it's basically all the water flowing in from the sea at high tide

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going against all the ridges of rock underneath the surface.

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So you can see lots of little whirlpools

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and they all merge together in a big bubbling cauldron.

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So it can be quite violent at times

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and you wouldn't want to get caught in it without an engine,

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you'd need a good escape route.

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-And do all the local sailors know to avoid this area?

-They do, yes.

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My dad always told me when I was younger,

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"Stay away from the Routen Wheel."

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Jen, so many seals the length of the lough, who are we looking at here?

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Well, this is Cloghy Rocks,

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this is one of the best places to come and see the seals,

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and we've got a couple of greys just floating around.

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The tide is starting to come up again

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-so they're starting to head back off to sea.

-What's the difference?

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Because I know there are two different types of seal here.

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Yep. We have the grey seal and the common seal in Strangford Lough.

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There's more common seals because they like the shallow inlets,

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whereas the grey seals like the more exposed coastline.

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And you can tell the difference quite easily once you get your eye in.

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The grey seal has got a really long Roman nose

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and they're absolutely huge animals,

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whereas the common seal has a little squashed puppy dog face.

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Is there competition between the two types of seal?

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Yeah, all the animals here in the lough compete for fish.

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-They're fishing now!

-Yeah, quite a lot of them rely on fish

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as their only source of food

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so because the greys are bigger,

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they often intimidate the commons,

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but they seem to be living in harmony at the minute,

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but we're keeping an eye on the numbers.

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You're monitoring the population here,

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is one more dominant than the other?

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Yeah, well, the common seals have the biggest number here

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but, all in all, there's just below 300 seals in total.

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The common seals are breeding at the minute - they're summer breeders -

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so if you see a little group of commons, you'll often see seal pups

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dotted in amongst the adults,

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and then whenever the tide comes back up, like now,

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the adult seals go out to sea to catch fish

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and then they'll come back periodically

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to feed the pups the sticky milk that they have.

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Are they good mums and dads?

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Well, the dads aren't so good, I must admit,

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but the mums definitely tend very well to their young

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and they'll wean them for a few weeks

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and then they'll start eating their own fish,

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so the commons are quite independent.

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But the greys are born with the furry coat in the winter

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to keep them warm, so it takes them a little bit longer to be weaned.

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They're having a lot of fun out there - big splashes behind me -

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and so curious following us,

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and I heard calls too earlier, they make a very strange noise!

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Yeah, especially the greys.

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They sound a bit like a cow, mooing in the distance.

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But the greys are particularly more loud than the commons would be.

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They are great entertainment

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and we've got the luxury of seeing it from a boat today,

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but the road's just over there, anyone can come and see this!

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Definitely, because the rocks here are so close to the road,

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you can simply just park your car...

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Big splash!

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Yeah, he's making a scene.

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You can just park your car in one of the laybys or car parks,

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get your binoculars out and you can listen and look at them.

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Do they occasionally leave the lough?

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Yes. We did a project a few years ago where we tagged a couple of the seals

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and we found out that a few of the rogues go down to Dublin for the day

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or some of them go over to Scotland,

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so although we have a steady number here,

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we don't know if it's exactly the same seals,

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but as long as we keep the general numbers up, we're OK.

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-Spot of shopping or a pint, maybe?

-Yep!

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Who could blame them?!

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For the next step of my journey,

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I'm crossing over to the other side of the lough.

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I'm heading for one of the area's hidden wildlife havens -

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Killard Nature Reserve.

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Visitors come from all around the world

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to see the multitude of wild orchids that grow here every summer.

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But even though it's no longer orchid season,

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I'm told it's well worth the trip.

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My guide for today is naturalist Rory Mellon.

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Rory, this place is absolutely stunning!

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-What's so special about Killard?

-Isn't it spectacular?

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It's over 100 acres of natural nature reserve

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and it's never been farmed. It's very thin soils,

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pristine environment and just choc-a-bloc with wild herbs,

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flowering grasses, sedges,

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butterflies, bees, you name it.

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Every time of the year you come down here,

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there's something different to see, something new.

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Definitely a place to come out and enjoy and stretch your legs.

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Look, though, at all the colour and all the plants!

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-What is that blue one?

-Isn't it spectacular?

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Come on, we'll step in off the path and we'll have a look and see.

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-Oh, even more up here!

-Yeah, and it's kind of late on in the year,

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but this is pretty spectacular.

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-This is Field Scabious.

-Right.

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It's a really important nectar plant,

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and the head of it's got 50 individual flowers on it

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and you'll find the butterflies and bees

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feeding predominately on that at this time of year.

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-Ah, that's their favourite.

-It's a really good butterfly plant.

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And what's that wee yellow one?

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That's one you wouldn't expect to find this far in off the path -

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that's pineappleweed, it came in in the 1800s from Oregon

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and it doesn't compete very well.

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Give it a good rub and smell it...

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-Oh, my goodness!

-Isn't it brilliant?

-Really strong smell of pineapple!

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You'll find it where the gates are swinging backwards and forwards,

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or at the edge of the path that's well trampled.

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This is another fascinating wee plant here. It's Restharrow.

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It's called Restharrow because of its massive tangle of roots

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and when the farmer would have taken the harrow through it,

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he would have to lift it up, clean it all out and have a rest.

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Great nectar plant too, feel the texture of the leaves there...

0:17:280:17:30

-Oh, they're sticky.

-Sticky and hairy,

0:17:300:17:33

that's just to protect them from the insects.

0:17:330:17:35

-And it has that long root that you talk about.

-Yeah.

0:17:350:17:37

Kids would have use those years ago,

0:17:370:17:39

they chewed the roots as a liquorice substitute.

0:17:390:17:41

-Does it taste of liquorice?

-It tastes disgusting.

0:17:410:17:44

OK, that good. Well sold! What about this peculiar thing?

0:17:440:17:47

That's a lovely wee one. That's a yellow rattle.

0:17:470:17:50

That's a fascinating plant, it's what they call a hemiparasite,

0:17:500:17:53

so that actually takes in nutrients from the roots of the grasses

0:17:530:17:56

that are growing here and in doing that,

0:17:560:17:59

it suppresses the growth of the grass

0:17:590:18:00

and you get more species moving in to more open canopy.

0:18:000:18:03

But if you shake it against your hand,

0:18:030:18:05

-you'll see where it gets its name.

-Oh, are they seeds inside?

0:18:050:18:08

Yeah, they're seeds, they desiccate off. And in Norway,

0:18:080:18:11

they would say when it's at that stage, it's time to cut the hay.

0:18:110:18:14

So this is a good weed?

0:18:140:18:15

-Yes. A good conservation weed.

-There we go.

0:18:150:18:19

So, Karen, this is also a spectacular site for butterflies.

0:18:310:18:35

If you come down here on a warm day,

0:18:350:18:36

particularly early in the season when it's nice and still,

0:18:360:18:40

you'll see clouds and clouds of blue butterflies. Common Blues,

0:18:400:18:43

Meadow Browns, Graylings, whole swathes, all over this site normally.

0:18:430:18:48

It really is worth coming down here to take that view in.

0:18:480:18:52

You can just see all the children and all the nets already!

0:18:520:18:55

As long as they put them all back, that would be great!

0:18:550:18:57

What's the difference between a butterfly and a moth?

0:18:570:19:00

The moths are mostly night fliers,

0:19:000:19:02

butterflies are day fliers.

0:19:020:19:05

You will get some day-flying moths here as well.

0:19:050:19:07

You've seen the Burnet Six-spot Moth

0:19:070:19:09

and the Magpie Moth on the way down the path here.

0:19:090:19:11

Has it been a good season for them?

0:19:110:19:13

Brilliant season. They've had a couple of bad years,

0:19:130:19:15

maybe three really bad years - very wet.

0:19:150:19:17

This year's brilliant. It's stayed dry and very hot,

0:19:170:19:20

the plants are up in abundance

0:19:200:19:21

-and they're all doing really well.

-I've seen lots of caterpillars, too.

0:19:210:19:25

-Wee brown and yellow boys?

-Yeah!

-That's the Cinnabar Moth caterpillar,

0:19:250:19:28

they feed on the ragweed here on the site

0:19:280:19:31

and they develop into a beautiful wee moth as well. Quite spectacular.

0:19:310:19:35

Three fascinating plants here, Rory,

0:19:500:19:53

everything seems to have a story to it. What's this one?

0:19:530:19:56

That's Wild Thyme, if you want to pick a wee piece and crush it.

0:19:560:19:59

They use this in the Mediterranean a lot to wrap their cheeses.

0:19:590:20:02

So that's related to the herb we cook with?

0:20:020:20:04

That is the herb you cook with, only it's developed from that.

0:20:040:20:07

I see, and what about this one?

0:20:070:20:09

That's a lovely wee plant, that's wild carrot,

0:20:090:20:11

you wouldn't normally see carrot flowering.

0:20:110:20:13

It's the same leaf as carrot - it is just original carrot.

0:20:130:20:16

It looks no more like a carrot.

0:20:160:20:17

The commercial varieties of carrots

0:20:170:20:18

would have been bred from this, originally.

0:20:180:20:21

You'll see it starts pink and turns white,

0:20:210:20:23

and sometimes, you'll get a little scarlet centre.

0:20:230:20:26

Yes, a wee dot in the middle.

0:20:260:20:27

The ancient herbalists would have used that to treat epilepsy

0:20:270:20:30

and mental health problems, it would have been highly prized,

0:20:300:20:32

-harvested and picked out.

-They fed it to a patient?

0:20:320:20:35

-Yeah, fed it to a patient.

-I see. And what about the yellow one?

0:20:350:20:38

That's a lovely wee one, that's another favourite.

0:20:380:20:40

That's Lady's Bedstraw.

0:20:400:20:41

Smell that and see what you think.

0:20:420:20:44

Oh... Hedgerow! Honeysuckle!

0:20:460:20:48

That's honeysuckle, and it's a really strong smell on a warmer day.

0:20:480:20:52

Now, if you were very wealthy years ago,

0:20:520:20:54

you would have paid somebody to pick that for you,

0:20:540:20:56

to stuff your straw mattress,

0:20:560:20:58

so that's where it gets its name - Lady's Bed Straw.

0:20:580:21:00

And the bedrooms were all fragrant with the smell of honeysuckle.

0:21:000:21:03

Absolutely right.

0:21:030:21:04

So why is Killard such a great place for birds?

0:21:140:21:17

Oh, it's brilliant. It's because we manage it for wildlife and plants

0:21:170:21:21

and there's an abundance of insects and an abundance of food

0:21:210:21:23

for all these birds that'll come over and nest here during the summer.

0:21:230:21:27

Who are these little fellas? We're surrounded by them!

0:21:270:21:29

These are wee Sand Martins and they're feeding on the wing.

0:21:290:21:32

Adults and young there, who have raised broods of birds

0:21:320:21:35

in the sandy cliff face just below our feet.

0:21:350:21:38

And these would be some of the first birds to arrive on the site to nest.

0:21:380:21:41

They would be travelling thousands of miles

0:21:410:21:43

and they're some of the last ones to leave back home in the migration.

0:21:430:21:46

And they're breathtaking,

0:21:460:21:48

they're just soaring on the thermals there

0:21:480:21:50

and taking the insects as they're flying by.

0:21:500:21:54

Most days, you'll see there's plenty of birds there.

0:21:540:21:57

At the winter time, it just comes into its own,

0:21:570:21:59

the focus changes from the birds nesting in the grasslands

0:21:590:22:02

to what's coming in, and over winter, there's always something.

0:22:020:22:05

It's one of the best bird watching places you could come to.

0:22:050:22:08

It certainly is!

0:22:100:22:12

For the last leg of my journey,

0:22:120:22:14

I'm heading back up the lough

0:22:140:22:15

to meet Jen on the shoreline at Greyabbey.

0:22:150:22:18

We've come at low tide to explore the exposed mud flats

0:22:180:22:22

to see why Strangford Lough supports

0:22:220:22:24

such a fabulous diversity of wildlife,

0:22:240:22:27

especially the hungry birds.

0:22:270:22:29

So, Jen, what are we looking for here?

0:22:300:22:33

We're going to look under the sand to see what it is

0:22:330:22:35

all the birds come to eat.

0:22:350:22:37

-So I'm going to give you the spade...

-Good.

0:22:370:22:39

..and I want you to focus on this little worm cast here.

0:22:390:22:42

So just dig in as far as you can...

0:22:420:22:45

-and then just flip the sand over.

-OK.

0:22:450:22:49

That's perfect.

0:22:490:22:50

Brilliant, so what we're looking for is a burrow, and these little

0:22:500:22:56

worm casts are made by a worm called the lugworm,

0:22:560:22:59

and it's one of the favourite foods of the birds.

0:22:590:23:01

So if we just dig around in here...

0:23:010:23:04

What does he look like?

0:23:040:23:05

He looks like a little pink earthworm...

0:23:050:23:09

And here we go.

0:23:090:23:11

Oh, I'm glad you found him!

0:23:110:23:12

Yeah. They're quite hard to find

0:23:120:23:14

and they're quite small at this time of the year.

0:23:140:23:17

I'm going to pass that over to you.

0:23:170:23:20

OK. It's windy.

0:23:200:23:21

He's not very significant looking, but he's very, very strong

0:23:210:23:25

and as soon as you put him back in the sand, he will burrow down.

0:23:250:23:28

So he eats all of the detritus that lives in the sand and then ejects it

0:23:280:23:32

up to the surface, and that's why you get these little curly casts.

0:23:320:23:36

OK, and what else have we got in this pool?

0:23:360:23:39

OK, so we've also got some cockles.

0:23:390:23:42

Cockles are another important food source for the birds,

0:23:420:23:45

especially the Oystercatchers.

0:23:450:23:48

All the different birds have different lengths of beaks,

0:23:480:23:51

so they specialise in different animals.

0:23:510:23:53

These ones only burrow about five to ten centimetres underneath,

0:23:530:23:56

so they just eat the gooey centre in the middle,

0:23:560:23:59

-just like we would eat cockles.

-Hard work for a bird to get that.

0:23:590:24:02

Yeah, they're pretty hard, but they're all really good at getting

0:24:020:24:05

-the soft centre out of there.

-I'll bet.

0:24:050:24:07

As we've been talking about lots of birds, lots to eat,

0:24:070:24:09

lots of vegetation, too?

0:24:090:24:11

Yeah, this area is one of the most important areas for eelgrass

0:24:110:24:14

and it's one of the most protected habitats we have here.

0:24:140:24:18

Every year, in the winter,

0:24:180:24:19

we get nearly 100% of the Pale-Bellied Brent Goose population.

0:24:190:24:24

And they come here to feed on the grass, so every summer, we allow

0:24:240:24:27

the grass to grow back ready for these birds to come and feed.

0:24:270:24:31

With such a rich variety of food,

0:24:310:24:33

no wonder we get so many birds,

0:24:330:24:35

and such a great place to watch them!

0:24:350:24:37

Yeah, if you come here all year round, you'll see birds,

0:24:370:24:39

but in the winter, we get huge numbers

0:24:390:24:42

and you can see some brilliant spectacles of birds.

0:24:420:24:45

What are the most common, though, perhaps?

0:24:450:24:47

If you pull up at any of the laybys along the road here,

0:24:470:24:50

you're probably most likely to see the Oystercatcher -

0:24:500:24:53

they're the most distinctive. They're black and white, quite big birds,

0:24:530:24:56

big long red beaks, big long red feet, so you can't miss them.

0:24:560:25:01

And you'll always see them piercing their beaks into the sand.

0:25:010:25:03

Do they eat oysters?

0:25:030:25:05

They don't really eat oysters, I don't know why they got that name.

0:25:050:25:08

Maybe in the past, they ate more oysters, but now they really

0:25:080:25:11

concentrate on the cockles and the worms in the sand.

0:25:110:25:14

What else might we see commonly?

0:25:140:25:16

Quite common would be the heron,

0:25:160:25:18

the heron flies along with big open wings, a huge bird.

0:25:180:25:22

They dangle their feet, which is a really good way of telling

0:25:220:25:25

what it is and they'll stand at the edge of rock pools

0:25:250:25:28

with their heads stretched out looking for fish.

0:25:280:25:30

What might be a more unusual visitor to the lough,

0:25:330:25:37

or perhaps something that's just harder to see?

0:25:370:25:39

Some of the birds are really well camouflaged, like the curlew.

0:25:390:25:42

It's quite a big bird, it's got big long feet and a huge long curved beak

0:25:420:25:47

so once you see it, you know it's definitely a curlew.

0:25:470:25:50

-What else?

-We also get the Redshank.

0:25:500:25:52

The Redshank is also easy to tell, with a brown mottled body.

0:25:520:25:57

If you see a bird with a brown mottled body,

0:25:570:25:59

a red short beak and red legs, it's probably a Redshank.

0:25:590:26:03

What's your favourite most unusual bird?

0:26:030:26:06

My favourite would probably be the heron

0:26:060:26:09

because they're so comical with their dangly feet and their big long necks.

0:26:090:26:12

So, Jen, with such a brilliant place to watch birds,

0:26:140:26:16

how do you pick a really good set of binoculars?

0:26:160:26:18

Well, the best way to watch birds is to stay as far away from them

0:26:180:26:22

as possible, so they don't know you're there.

0:26:220:26:24

So if you get a pair with really good magnification, you'll do well.

0:26:240:26:28

This one is ten and you've also got seven here,

0:26:280:26:31

so anything between that is really good

0:26:310:26:33

and you should be able to see the birds from this distance.

0:26:330:26:35

So when you're looking at the bird

0:26:350:26:37

and you want to see it through the binoculars,

0:26:370:26:40

find it first of all and if you can get a pair of binoculars

0:26:400:26:43

that are adjustable, it means you can shape them to your face.

0:26:430:26:47

So find the bird, hold the binoculars up,

0:26:470:26:50

look through them and make sure you can only see one circle.

0:26:500:26:54

If you see two circles, it means the binoculars are too big.

0:26:540:26:58

And then you'll hopefully have a really good view of the bird.

0:26:580:27:01

How do we know what we're looking at?

0:27:040:27:07

Well, whenever I'm stuck, I just use a bird guide.

0:27:070:27:09

I keep it in the car and that means it's there when I need it,

0:27:090:27:13

but there's plenty of apps that you can use with your smartphone.

0:27:130:27:16

You can download a guide onto your phone to use it

0:27:160:27:19

just like a book, or you could take a photograph or a description

0:27:190:27:22

and feed it into the app and some experts will even come back to you

0:27:220:27:26

on your phone and tell you what it is.

0:27:260:27:27

And I also just go home and look things up on the internet

0:27:270:27:30

because then you've got the time to do it.

0:27:300:27:32

Then when you're out, you can just enjoy looking at the birds.

0:27:320:27:35

And you can also find an easy-to-use bird guide on our website at...

0:27:360:27:40

Well, it's been great fun

0:27:470:27:49

to discover more about the amazing array of natural life

0:27:490:27:53

that's right here on my doorstep.

0:27:530:27:56

Strangford Lough is just a small part of the unique landscape

0:27:560:27:59

that is Northern Ireland.

0:27:590:28:01

So I hope, like me, you're inspired to step outside

0:28:010:28:05

and get closer to our extraordinary wildlife neighbours!

0:28:050:28:09

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