0:00:02 > 0:00:05Some people will go to any lengths.
0:00:05 > 0:00:09It's going to get very deep. It's a bit deeper than I thought.
0:00:09 > 0:00:13They will push themselves physically in the pursuit of their passion...
0:00:13 > 0:00:15You are covered in grot.
0:00:15 > 0:00:18They do it for love, not money.
0:00:18 > 0:00:22This is the bit that gives me the willies, where you tip yourself over the edge.
0:00:22 > 0:00:25They're all British amateur naturalists
0:00:25 > 0:00:29whose love of animals has taken them to extremes.
0:00:29 > 0:00:32Oooh! He's taking blood.
0:00:32 > 0:00:36Four people, four creatures, four inspiring stories.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04Once upon a time, there were two young kids,
0:01:04 > 0:01:09that decided for some unknown reason, to organise trips out to Sule Skerry.
0:01:09 > 0:01:13Sule Skerry is a desolate, fairly featureless rock,
0:01:13 > 0:01:1640 miles off the north coast of Scotland.
0:01:16 > 0:01:21For Adrian and his good friend Dave, it's a holiday paradise.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24It takes six hours by boat to get here,
0:01:24 > 0:01:28four hours to unload,
0:01:28 > 0:01:31and then...they are camping.
0:01:31 > 0:01:33For them, it's worth all this trouble...
0:01:33 > 0:01:35to study puffins.
0:01:41 > 0:01:44We first came to Sule Skerry in 1975.
0:01:44 > 0:01:50And the place was magical. We just couldn't get over the aura of it.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53I don't think we went to bed for about two-and-a-half days.
0:01:53 > 0:01:57We kept going and going until we virtually dropped, didn't we?
0:01:57 > 0:01:58That's right.
0:01:58 > 0:02:00We made full use of the options.
0:02:02 > 0:02:07Work colleagues will ask me, "what sort of accommodation have you got?"
0:02:07 > 0:02:11How many star hotel it's got, and when it's in a tent
0:02:11 > 0:02:14with a stream running under the tent because there's that much rain
0:02:14 > 0:02:17you have to dig a dyke to let the water through,
0:02:17 > 0:02:19they wonder what the hell you're doing that for.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23At 5 o'clock in the morning, Dave and Adrian's
0:02:23 > 0:02:2712-strong team of volunteers are already up and busy.
0:02:27 > 0:02:30By catching the puffins,
0:02:30 > 0:02:33the team can keep an eye on how the population is doing.
0:02:33 > 0:02:38Ringing them identifies individual birds.
0:02:38 > 0:02:40Naughty boy.
0:02:42 > 0:02:49A lot of people ask me if the the netting hurts the puffins
0:02:49 > 0:02:51but it's usually the other way round.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54Puffins make a mess of the nets.
0:02:54 > 0:02:56Puffins are not aware that they have a secret weapon.
0:02:56 > 0:02:58It's called a claw.
0:02:58 > 0:03:01They are trying to attack you all the time with the bill,
0:03:01 > 0:03:06but thing that really does the damage is the feet.
0:03:06 > 0:03:08I know, it's a rum do.
0:03:08 > 0:03:12They were thought, and still are thought, to be indicators of the sea.
0:03:12 > 0:03:14The state of the sea and the fish stocks.
0:03:14 > 0:03:19If the fish stocks are good, the sea birds tend to be good.
0:03:19 > 0:03:21This is a younger bird.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24These birds are just essentially none-breeders,
0:03:24 > 0:03:28wandering the colonies to see what their options are.
0:03:28 > 0:03:32INDISTINCT SPEECH
0:03:33 > 0:03:38Well over half the puffins ever ringed in the United Kingdom
0:03:38 > 0:03:40have been ringed on this island.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46For a long-term survival study,
0:03:46 > 0:03:50you get a good number of birds, individuals.
0:03:50 > 0:03:52It's the ideal place to do it.
0:03:59 > 0:04:01All right, mate.
0:04:07 > 0:04:11In 2007, Adrian and Dave were delighted to capture a bird
0:04:11 > 0:04:15that they had originally ringed on that first trip in 1975.
0:04:15 > 0:04:19That makes it the oldest known British puffin.
0:04:22 > 0:04:26With some of the team's tasks, the worst you have to endure
0:04:26 > 0:04:29is getting cold, wet and pecked by puffins.
0:04:29 > 0:04:32But some tasks are trickier still.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36There are thousands of puffins here
0:04:36 > 0:04:40but they nest underground, so to see how they are doing down there,
0:04:40 > 0:04:43you have to get up to your armpits in mud.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46The idea is that you mark out, in a random way,
0:04:46 > 0:04:49a circle of a given area.
0:04:51 > 0:04:55You don't view your position in advance because that would
0:04:55 > 0:04:59tend to cause you to choose a bit that was maybe convenient.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03You, in effect, almost shut your eyes and walk the paces.
0:05:05 > 0:05:08Once they've staked out their circle,
0:05:08 > 0:05:12one of them put their hand down every burrow to see what they find.
0:05:17 > 0:05:19They have a name for this.
0:05:19 > 0:05:21It's called grotting.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24It's descriptive because it leaves you covered in grot.
0:05:24 > 0:05:29The soils are sticky and they cling to your skin
0:05:29 > 0:05:31when you get in contact with them
0:05:31 > 0:05:34so when you've finished, you're grotty.
0:05:34 > 0:05:36A single adult here.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39Some have got chicks him, some have just got adults in,
0:05:39 > 0:05:41non-breeders, as they're just playing at it.
0:05:41 > 0:05:45Some, you can't get to the bottom of.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51And then from that area, you can scale it to the size of the island
0:05:51 > 0:05:55to get a first order estimate of the population.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00And how did you two come to be here together?
0:06:00 > 0:06:02He owed me some money and he wouldn't pay
0:06:02 > 0:06:04so I followed him everywhere!
0:06:04 > 0:06:08That's his answer. The proper answer is, it has to be said,
0:06:08 > 0:06:13we complement each other because we operate in slightly different manners
0:06:13 > 0:06:15and it's good to have two people doing that.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18And we sort of complemented each other at getting in there.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21It wasn't one person taking the other one along,
0:06:21 > 0:06:23we just went into it.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44- What we got in that lot? - Six with adults and nothing else,
0:06:44 > 0:06:47eight empty, and seven with chicks.
0:06:47 > 0:06:51I only found one little fish, which I reckon is unusual.
0:06:51 > 0:06:56'There definitely seems to be a problem now with the fish.
0:06:56 > 0:06:58'Certainly, in the last two years,
0:06:58 > 0:07:02'they are not doing too well, which is very worrying, really.'
0:07:02 > 0:07:04A little chick. How old do you reckon, Dave?
0:07:04 > 0:07:08- Two or three weeks. - We call them pufflings.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11Pufflings are in the front line of the fish problem.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14The sand eels they need are disappearing,
0:07:14 > 0:07:18forcing the parents to choose pike fish instead.
0:07:18 > 0:07:23It's thought the sand eels may be moving north due to global-warming.
0:07:23 > 0:07:26The nest is strewn with pike fish, look,
0:07:26 > 0:07:29which is the issue we are having now.
0:07:29 > 0:07:31There's hardly any food value in them, no fat,
0:07:31 > 0:07:33and he can't swallow them.
0:07:33 > 0:07:35They finish up being left in the nest.
0:07:35 > 0:07:39The birds are effectively starving, they are not getting enough
0:07:39 > 0:07:42of the normal fish species, which is the sand eel.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47To say I'm quite worried about the population
0:07:47 > 0:07:49is probably an underestimation.
0:07:51 > 0:07:56The long-term nature of their puffin work means they can spot changes.
0:07:56 > 0:08:02We've got so much data that it's very difficult to analyse it physically,
0:08:02 > 0:08:08so we are seeking help with computer buffs to help us to do it.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14When we finish, which can't be too far away from the horizon. I mean,
0:08:14 > 0:08:18I've got to be honest about it, we can't keep coming for ever and ever,
0:08:18 > 0:08:20the years go on,
0:08:20 > 0:08:24but I would like to think that the project that we started
0:08:24 > 0:08:26keeps going well into the future.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29And maybe we'll read about it
0:08:29 > 0:08:31when we're just about getting around on a stick.
0:08:31 > 0:08:35Dave and Adrian's work has produced a valuable picture
0:08:35 > 0:08:39of the island's puffins over the last 30 years.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42Finding the oldest British puffin is a great high.
0:08:44 > 0:08:48But worries about sand eels echo a wider concern
0:08:48 > 0:08:51about the effects of global-warming on our seabirds.
0:08:54 > 0:08:56For Adrian and Dave, the lure of puffins
0:08:56 > 0:09:00draws them inexorably back to Sule Skerry.
0:09:01 > 0:09:06For another amateur naturalist, the twists and turns of his beloved bird
0:09:06 > 0:09:10have led him a merry dance of thousands of miles.
0:09:10 > 0:09:13The peregrine falcon going full tilt,
0:09:13 > 0:09:15which is about 170 miles an hour,
0:09:15 > 0:09:18didn't see me and came past my ear about nine inches away,
0:09:18 > 0:09:21like an express train going past your ear.
0:09:21 > 0:09:26That's one of those experiences in life you can never repeat
0:09:26 > 0:09:28and it's worth it all.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31Jim Wells has been studying peregrines
0:09:31 > 0:09:34since he was 17 years old.
0:09:35 > 0:09:37Going after peregrine's takes you
0:09:37 > 0:09:41to the most dramatic and beautiful scenery in Northern Ireland,
0:09:41 > 0:09:43so even if you see nothing, in terms of birds,
0:09:43 > 0:09:45you go to some fascinating places.
0:09:45 > 0:09:50Jim knows the location of every peregrine nest in Northern Ireland.
0:09:50 > 0:09:52This is by far and away
0:09:52 > 0:09:55one of our most successful sites in Northern Ireland.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58I have been coming here, every year,
0:09:58 > 0:10:0231 years, and it has only failed once to produce young.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09Believe it or not, there's a nest with three chicks up there.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12The problem is, the mist has come down.
0:10:12 > 0:10:15Not even using this telescope can I see what is going on.
0:10:15 > 0:10:17I can't see a thing.
0:10:17 > 0:10:19It's a bit unfortunate.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22One day, I came home and the police were waiting for me
0:10:22 > 0:10:26and said that I'd been seen in Fermanagh with a rocket launcher.
0:10:26 > 0:10:29I had to explain to them, no, it was an expensive lens.
0:10:29 > 0:10:31HE SINGS
0:10:31 > 0:10:35Jim is used having to explain himself.
0:10:35 > 0:10:37He leads a double life.
0:10:37 > 0:10:39THEY SHOUT
0:10:39 > 0:10:43He's been involved in Northern Irish politics
0:10:43 > 0:10:48since he was a student, and he is now a DUP politician.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51If you want to make a politician go quiet,
0:10:51 > 0:10:53ask him what his interests are outside of politics,
0:10:53 > 0:10:56and he will stare at his toes, but I don't.
0:10:56 > 0:11:00I have this fascinating interest which is all-consuming at times.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02When I'm up the mountains, I switch off
0:11:02 > 0:11:05of all the hassle and bother of being a politician.
0:11:06 > 0:11:09Jim is not alone in his passion for peregrines.
0:11:09 > 0:11:12His accomplice, Mark, often joins him in the field.
0:11:14 > 0:11:16Mark is much younger than I am
0:11:16 > 0:11:19so it is a good combination of youth and experience, I think.
0:11:19 > 0:11:24You can see we've got a female coming in.
0:11:24 > 0:11:28- I don't like the look of this. - They're ready to go, Jim.
0:11:28 > 0:11:33- Mummy doesn't like us here. - No, she's obviously not too happy.
0:11:35 > 0:11:37Move away.
0:11:39 > 0:11:43What's kept me hooked has been the ebbs and flows of the population.
0:11:43 > 0:11:47There's always been a twist keeping me interested in the species.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51When Jim first started studying peregrines,
0:11:51 > 0:11:53they were in a terrible state.
0:11:53 > 0:11:58Pesticides like DDT had devastated the population.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01No sooner had they started to recover from this,
0:12:01 > 0:12:05than they began to be persecuted by pigeon fanciers.
0:12:05 > 0:12:08Luckily, there are some positive trends, as well.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15One of the interesting things is, over the 31 years,
0:12:15 > 0:12:17there's been a move into quarries.
0:12:17 > 0:12:21I found the first quarry-nesting pair in Northern Ireland in 1978.
0:12:21 > 0:12:25We now had 62 separate quarries occupied.
0:12:25 > 0:12:29The rock's not too bad. Maybe they are getting relatively sheltered.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32There she goes. My favourite noise.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35They are both present, no problem at all.
0:12:37 > 0:12:39This is where things get really extreme.
0:12:39 > 0:12:43Jim and Mark are going to try and ring the chicks,
0:12:43 > 0:12:47and this means abseiling over the edge of the cliff to get to them.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53The drop is 200 feet.
0:12:53 > 0:12:57But this time, it's not at all straightforward.
0:12:57 > 0:13:00It's quite badly overhung, the cliff.
0:13:01 > 0:13:06While Mark prepares, Jim takes up position at the base of the cliff.
0:13:12 > 0:13:16He's gonna have to swing himself out, come back in off the cliff
0:13:16 > 0:13:19and grab it and see if he can get a foothold.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26You need to bring the rope a bit more this way.
0:13:26 > 0:13:28That's as far as it's gonna go,
0:13:28 > 0:13:32- otherwise I'm running over three edges that'll slice the rope.- Right.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35- It's gonna be dictated by what I can stand on, then.- Yeah.
0:13:35 > 0:13:38This is the bit that gives me the willies.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41It's not the going down, it's where you tip yourself over the edge.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02He is the action man figure, the bionic man,
0:14:02 > 0:14:04who will go down some huge cliff on a rope.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09I would only attempt the very smallest of cliffs.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12I used to when I was much younger, but I'm past that stage in life.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15BIRDS SQUAWK
0:14:20 > 0:14:21Three big females, Jim.
0:14:21 > 0:14:23Right.
0:14:28 > 0:14:32It only maybe a foot wide, so it's actually, for four chicks,
0:14:32 > 0:14:37it's quite a small ledge. A small ledge for four chicks and a climber!
0:14:40 > 0:14:42This is when they draw blood.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47- This is going to be G five. - Sounds a good name for a pop group.
0:14:47 > 0:14:50There's a G4, I think, isn't there?!
0:14:50 > 0:14:52Oooh!
0:14:52 > 0:14:55- Ooh...- A little shot.
0:14:55 > 0:14:58And the other one, quick, he's taking blood.
0:14:58 > 0:15:00Argh!
0:15:00 > 0:15:04- Bother. - Hey, you're all right! Look at me!
0:15:08 > 0:15:111,200g, minus the bag.
0:15:11 > 0:15:16- 1,200g, minus the bag. And it's a female?- It's female.
0:15:16 > 0:15:18Bit by bit, we're putting the jigsaw pieces together,
0:15:18 > 0:15:22to the extent we probably know more about the peregrine falcon
0:15:22 > 0:15:25in Northern Ireland than any other single species. It's very rewarding.
0:15:29 > 0:15:34If you only knew, we are the best mates you have in this country.
0:15:34 > 0:15:37And you can treat us with such disdain!
0:15:44 > 0:15:49My friends in the Raptor Group would say that the reason I do field work
0:15:49 > 0:15:52is that I know when I stop the field work, I'll have to write this up,
0:15:52 > 0:15:57and I'm so scared about writing it up I just keep doing the field work.
0:15:57 > 0:16:00Jim's had his hands torn to bits by unappreciative chicks.
0:16:00 > 0:16:02But it's all worth it.
0:16:02 > 0:16:06Long-term research like this is really valuable
0:16:06 > 0:16:09in understanding what's going on with populations.
0:16:09 > 0:16:14His passion for this iconic falcon is easy to understand.
0:16:16 > 0:16:18But deep in the Cheshire countryside,
0:16:18 > 0:16:22another volunteer has a more surprising addiction -
0:16:22 > 0:16:25an obscure bird that few of us will ever see.
0:16:29 > 0:16:31Malcolm Calvert is 63.
0:16:31 > 0:16:35He works as a financial adviser and lives near Wilmslow, in Cheshire.
0:16:35 > 0:16:38But there's more than one Malcolm Calvert.
0:16:38 > 0:16:42The real me is the one who wears waders
0:16:42 > 0:16:46and goes in the reed beds, and very often gets very wet.
0:16:46 > 0:16:50There's nothing more exciting than finding a reed warbler nest
0:16:50 > 0:16:53and studying what's happening with the birds.
0:16:58 > 0:17:02The first recollection I have was when I was about six,
0:17:02 > 0:17:05and I was being taken to see some relatives,
0:17:05 > 0:17:07and being chastised by my mother
0:17:07 > 0:17:09for not watching properly as I crossed the road.
0:17:09 > 0:17:13I was more interested in the rooks nesting in the trees.
0:17:15 > 0:17:18When Malcolm was a schoolboy of 15,
0:17:18 > 0:17:21his passion for birds led him to Rostherne Mere,
0:17:21 > 0:17:24which he found enchanting.
0:17:24 > 0:17:26I was amazed at the beauty of the place.
0:17:26 > 0:17:30It's in a very nice setting, with trees and fields around it.
0:17:30 > 0:17:32It's a very beautiful spot.
0:17:32 > 0:17:36Little did Malcolm know then that this place
0:17:36 > 0:17:38would become his second home.
0:17:39 > 0:17:4334 years ago, he set out to study the reed warblers here,
0:17:43 > 0:17:46and he has been coming ever since.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49The lake is huge,
0:17:49 > 0:17:53but the birds are tiny and virtually impossible to see.
0:17:53 > 0:17:57To find them, he has to push his way through acres of reed beds
0:17:57 > 0:17:58up to twice his height.
0:17:58 > 0:18:01It's nothing special to look at.
0:18:01 > 0:18:04It's just a little brown bird, really.
0:18:04 > 0:18:06It's not one of the gaudy, plumaged birds.
0:18:06 > 0:18:08It's quite obscure, in some ways.
0:18:08 > 0:18:11But they do come all the way from Africa
0:18:11 > 0:18:14and they do return year by year to the reserve,
0:18:14 > 0:18:17and I always look forward, in the winter,
0:18:17 > 0:18:20to the first birds arriving back from Africa.
0:18:20 > 0:18:25Before the birds nest, I like to be able to catch the adults
0:18:25 > 0:18:27to identify who they are.
0:18:29 > 0:18:33I'm going to set a net with the hope of catching several reed warblers.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36I'll start from the far end and work back.
0:18:38 > 0:18:41They're set a bit like goal posts.
0:18:41 > 0:18:45Birds fly into it, and I'm specially trained to extract them
0:18:45 > 0:18:48with no injury to the birds.
0:18:51 > 0:18:52Very often, the first birds back
0:18:52 > 0:18:56are birds I've ringed on the reserve in previous seasons.
0:19:02 > 0:19:06This bird was ringed by me five years ago, at the same site.
0:19:06 > 0:19:09It's been to Africa and back five times.
0:19:09 > 0:19:12Reed warblers are doing well in the UK,
0:19:12 > 0:19:17but they're global travellers that could hit a hitch at any time.
0:19:17 > 0:19:19If they do, Malcolm will be here to notice.
0:19:21 > 0:19:25By the end of May, the idea is to find nests
0:19:25 > 0:19:30and to record the laying of eggs and the hatching of young,
0:19:30 > 0:19:31and to ring nestlings.
0:19:35 > 0:19:39The lake is a kilometre long and 600 metres wide.
0:19:41 > 0:19:43There are acres of reed beds.
0:19:43 > 0:19:46And Malcolm knows where each nest is.
0:19:55 > 0:19:57This is private land.
0:19:57 > 0:19:59Malcolm is here alone.
0:19:59 > 0:20:02If anything happened, it could take the emergency services
0:20:02 > 0:20:04hours to find him.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07It's going to get very deep. It's a bit deeper than I thought.
0:20:12 > 0:20:16With 2007 being the wettest summer for 400 years,
0:20:16 > 0:20:19it's a worrying time for Malcolm.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22He never knows what he will find at each nest.
0:20:22 > 0:20:27The nest is here but the younger fledge, they've already gone.
0:20:27 > 0:20:31The tell-tale signs of droppings on the reeds show that the birds
0:20:31 > 0:20:33have successfully left the nest.
0:20:36 > 0:20:38Saturday's the main day.
0:20:38 > 0:20:42I can be there for 8 to 10 hours on a Saturday.
0:20:42 > 0:20:46On a Wednesday or Tuesday, I might be down for three or four hours.
0:20:52 > 0:20:53Oh, dear.
0:20:54 > 0:20:56It's bad news.
0:20:56 > 0:20:59There's two dead young and one egg.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02They've just got soaked in the rain.
0:21:02 > 0:21:03Very recent as well.
0:21:03 > 0:21:06They were making good progress.
0:21:09 > 0:21:1263-year-old Malcolm makes this look easy,
0:21:12 > 0:21:16but the reeds grab at your legs, making it really tough.
0:21:22 > 0:21:24We have a nest of young here, which I can ring.
0:21:35 > 0:21:37Almost ready to fledge.
0:21:37 > 0:21:43Starting from 1973, I've ringed over 4,000 nesting reed warblers.
0:21:43 > 0:21:4812% of the national total have been birds at Rostherne Mere.
0:21:48 > 0:21:49It's been very rewarding.
0:21:51 > 0:21:56There have been so many highlights over the years of doing this study.
0:21:56 > 0:22:01In particular, it's always rewarding to catch birds ringed as nestlings
0:22:01 > 0:22:04when they first appear as juveniles weeks later.
0:22:04 > 0:22:10Recently, for example, I caught all four birds from a particular brood.
0:22:10 > 0:22:12And it's nice to know that all four have survived,
0:22:12 > 0:22:14and are thriving in the reed beds.
0:22:18 > 0:22:21When I've just got soaked and I've sort of looked back and thought,
0:22:21 > 0:22:23"What have I achieved today?",
0:22:23 > 0:22:29there's always the urge to go back the next day and to do better.
0:22:29 > 0:22:34Malcolm Calvert has written a book chronicling his 35 years of research
0:22:34 > 0:22:37and knows more about this species at Rostherne Mere
0:22:37 > 0:22:40than anyone who's ever lived.
0:22:40 > 0:22:44Malcolm, Adrian, Dave and Jim all go to extremes
0:22:44 > 0:22:47to study birds in their spare time.
0:22:47 > 0:22:51And each has carried out a unique long-term study.
0:22:52 > 0:22:55But you don't have to go to these lengths
0:22:55 > 0:23:00or be involved with birds for 30 years to really make a difference.
0:23:00 > 0:23:01Ah, marvellous!
0:23:01 > 0:23:05There's a barn owl just along the edge of the field over there.
0:23:05 > 0:23:07Just quartering along.
0:23:09 > 0:23:13Almost like a big flying head, you know.
0:23:13 > 0:23:15Actually, I think it's amazing.
0:23:15 > 0:23:20I never get tired of seeing birds such as barn owls.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23ALARM BEEPS
0:23:23 > 0:23:28A typical day will mean probably getting up around 5am,
0:23:28 > 0:23:31getting onto the farm for around 5.45am.
0:23:31 > 0:23:35Mark spends a couple of hours surveying a local farm for birds.
0:23:35 > 0:23:38Then he rushes back to the city
0:23:38 > 0:23:41for an eight-hour shift in a noisy factory.
0:23:41 > 0:23:47Working in the factory in the week, it's nice just to get out
0:23:47 > 0:23:51in the open air with birds singing round you. You can't beat that.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54It's very therapeutic.
0:23:54 > 0:23:58Mark's early morning jaunts are more than just a peaceful escape.
0:23:58 > 0:24:03He's part of an RSPB scheme to partner farmers with volunteers.
0:24:03 > 0:24:07Yorkshire and the East Riding is an intensive area of agriculture.
0:24:07 > 0:24:11When you're looking at vast fields of single crops,
0:24:11 > 0:24:14it can be quite depressing to survey, actually.
0:24:14 > 0:24:18Very little birdlife, very few insects, just nothing in there.
0:24:18 > 0:24:20Almost barren deserts, really.
0:24:21 > 0:24:24Farmland birds across Britain have declined
0:24:24 > 0:24:29by nearly 50% since the 1980s.
0:24:29 > 0:24:37The once-common corn bunting has plummeted by a massive 98%.
0:24:37 > 0:24:41Yorkshire and East Riding have been the worst-hit areas.
0:24:46 > 0:24:49Basically, what I'm doing is recording all the birds
0:24:49 > 0:24:51that I can hear, and trying to plot them on the map.
0:24:51 > 0:24:56That's the programme's main aim, to get as many of these species
0:24:56 > 0:24:58down on the map so the farmer can then be informed
0:24:58 > 0:25:02of what important areas there are, and which habitats he can work on.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09Jangling keys is the corn bunting.
0:25:09 > 0:25:13This is a bird I've missed in recent years, actually.
0:25:13 > 0:25:17Quite a dumpy little brown, boring bird.
0:25:17 > 0:25:22I think the old Yorkshire thing is calling them the corn blob,
0:25:22 > 0:25:25but it's the call that you actually miss.
0:25:25 > 0:25:27This jangling keys.
0:25:27 > 0:25:28Just try and listen for it now.
0:25:28 > 0:25:30SILENCE
0:25:41 > 0:25:45Not performing! I thought you might get one to order.
0:25:45 > 0:25:47I think the most rewarding part for me
0:25:47 > 0:25:50is actually seeing farmers a few years down the line
0:25:50 > 0:25:53making changes that are really helping birds.
0:25:57 > 0:26:01Mark surveyed Tamara Hall's pea farm three years ago,
0:26:01 > 0:26:05and, as a result, Tamara has made some big changes to help birds.
0:26:07 > 0:26:10Lovely. I see you've put a few nest boxes up.
0:26:10 > 0:26:14- Yes, and they were used last year, which is good.- Brilliant.
0:26:14 > 0:26:16There were loads of tree sparrows.
0:26:16 > 0:26:18Beautiful little dumpy birds.
0:26:18 > 0:26:24They almost look like the Yorkshire pensioner, with his flat cap on.
0:26:24 > 0:26:28That's what they remind me of. I love them to bits. Great to see 'em.
0:26:31 > 0:26:35Over at the bottom of this field, we've put a ten-acre scrape,
0:26:35 > 0:26:40a series of shallow connected ponds for waders and things.
0:26:40 > 0:26:44- My father nearly had a heart attack when he saw this!- I can believe that!
0:26:44 > 0:26:45Quite a mess!
0:26:45 > 0:26:48- Yeah. It looks a lot better now. - Yeah.
0:26:48 > 0:26:50We've also got the wood next to it,
0:26:50 > 0:26:53which is an 18-acre wood we planted with public access.
0:26:53 > 0:26:56The public will be able to watch the scrape from there. Hopefully.
0:26:56 > 0:26:58Very good.
0:26:58 > 0:27:01It's great to meet farmers who are like minded
0:27:01 > 0:27:03and wanting to get involved and do things.
0:27:03 > 0:27:09They'd be really sad places if these birds were extinct in a few years.
0:27:11 > 0:27:14I think my personal hope is that one day, you know,
0:27:14 > 0:27:17I might be looking at a career change, getting out of the factory
0:27:17 > 0:27:21and actually doing something to help birds.
0:27:21 > 0:27:25Compared to Adrian, Dave, Jim and Malcolm, Mark is just a fledgling.
0:27:25 > 0:27:27But he's already making a difference.
0:27:27 > 0:27:31Our volunteers hike, climb, wade
0:27:31 > 0:27:35and even give blood to help their prized birds.
0:27:35 > 0:27:36Ooh!
0:27:36 > 0:27:40Though their efforts, we've learned entirely new things about the lives,
0:27:40 > 0:27:44loves and troubles of British bird species.
0:27:44 > 0:27:47It's only by knowing what we've got and how it's doing
0:27:47 > 0:27:49that we can know when to step in and help.
0:27:49 > 0:27:52It would be an impossible task without the help
0:27:52 > 0:27:56of our British wild heroes.
0:27:56 > 0:28:01If you want to find out about getting involved with birds,
0:28:01 > 0:28:05log on to...
0:28:06 > 0:28:12Next time on Born To Be Wild, a stroll with a mission...
0:28:12 > 0:28:15This is beginning to look good.
0:28:15 > 0:28:17..grow-your-own butterflies...
0:28:17 > 0:28:21One's emerged from the chrysalis.
0:28:21 > 0:28:24..a passion for moths...
0:28:24 > 0:28:27and a close encounter.
0:28:27 > 0:28:29There she goes.
0:28:29 > 0:28:31Join our amateur naturalists
0:28:31 > 0:28:34as they keep an eye on Britain's butterflies.
0:28:49 > 0:28:52Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:52 > 0:28:56E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk