Browse content similar to Summer. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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We are an island nation, | 0:00:12 | 0:00:15 | |
surrounded by seas and buffeted by winds. | 0:00:15 | 0:00:19 | |
With weather and seasons like nowhere else on earth. | 0:00:21 | 0:00:24 | |
Unpredictable, always changing, | 0:00:27 | 0:00:30 | |
defining the nature of our extraordinary land... | 0:00:30 | 0:00:32 | |
..and giving us The Great British Year. | 0:00:35 | 0:00:38 | |
The sun is out. The days are long. | 0:00:54 | 0:00:59 | |
Temperatures are rising. | 0:00:59 | 0:01:01 | |
The fine weather has brought us out to the beach, into gardens | 0:01:07 | 0:01:12 | |
and into the countryside. | 0:01:12 | 0:01:15 | |
BIRDSONG | 0:01:17 | 0:01:19 | |
Swallows have arrived. | 0:01:23 | 0:01:26 | |
The air is filled with the sound of buzzing bees. | 0:01:28 | 0:01:31 | |
Life seems carefree. | 0:01:34 | 0:01:36 | |
Soon the sun will reach its highest point in the year. | 0:01:47 | 0:01:51 | |
It's a critical time when every living thing must make | 0:02:02 | 0:02:05 | |
the most of the sunshine and gather its energy. | 0:02:05 | 0:02:08 | |
Over the next three months, | 0:02:20 | 0:02:21 | |
the countryside will be heading towards a glorious harvest. | 0:02:21 | 0:02:25 | |
But there are two sides to this season. | 0:02:30 | 0:02:33 | |
If the wildlife doesn't get it right, making it through | 0:02:35 | 0:02:39 | |
the dark months beyond will be a very tough challenge indeed. | 0:02:39 | 0:02:43 | |
This is when their future will be decided. | 0:02:46 | 0:02:49 | |
It's summertime. | 0:02:51 | 0:02:53 | |
After the cold of the New Year, | 0:03:09 | 0:03:12 | |
spring brought the promise of plenty and now summer must deliver. | 0:03:12 | 0:03:17 | |
At an old aerodrome in Essex, | 0:03:27 | 0:03:29 | |
this year's youngsters are growing up fast... | 0:03:29 | 0:03:32 | |
..playing and learning to fend for themselves. | 0:03:34 | 0:03:37 | |
This young red partridge bathes in the dust to rid itself of parasites. | 0:03:54 | 0:04:00 | |
Every playful jump strengthens muscles and improves agility. | 0:04:13 | 0:04:17 | |
That's going to be important over the next few months... | 0:04:17 | 0:04:20 | |
..because hunters have young, too. | 0:04:22 | 0:04:24 | |
Some are already watching from the tree above the aerodrome. | 0:04:26 | 0:04:29 | |
Young little owls. | 0:04:34 | 0:04:36 | |
Luckily for baby rabbits, they are barely bigger than a pint glass. | 0:04:40 | 0:04:45 | |
They left the nest a few weeks ago | 0:04:52 | 0:04:54 | |
and now they are the owl equivalent of teenagers. | 0:04:54 | 0:04:57 | |
But they can't rely on parents for hand-outs any more. | 0:05:01 | 0:05:04 | |
They need to learn to hunt and now, while the going is good. | 0:05:04 | 0:05:09 | |
They may look fierce | 0:05:19 | 0:05:21 | |
but they will never be powerful enough to grab a rabbit. | 0:05:21 | 0:05:24 | |
When fully grown, they might just bother the local vole population | 0:05:33 | 0:05:37 | |
but for now, these youngsters have their sights on more modest targets. | 0:05:37 | 0:05:41 | |
Every success means getting stronger, fitter and faster. | 0:06:02 | 0:06:06 | |
Small steps maybe but each one improves their chances | 0:06:14 | 0:06:17 | |
of long-term survival. | 0:06:17 | 0:06:19 | |
At the height of spring, Britain's birds were singing | 0:06:26 | 0:06:29 | |
their hearts out, trying to claim territory and woo a mate. | 0:06:29 | 0:06:33 | |
BIRDS WARBLE | 0:06:33 | 0:06:35 | |
But times have changed. | 0:06:45 | 0:06:47 | |
All their energy must now be directed | 0:06:47 | 0:06:49 | |
into caring for their young. | 0:06:49 | 0:06:51 | |
Slowly, almost unnoticed, the singers fall silent... | 0:06:54 | 0:06:58 | |
..until the sound of spring is replaced by the sound of summer. | 0:07:00 | 0:07:05 | |
INSECTS CHIRP | 0:07:05 | 0:07:08 | |
The gentle murmur of buzzing insects. | 0:07:11 | 0:07:14 | |
They have been steadily building in numbers for the last few months | 0:07:18 | 0:07:21 | |
and now it's warmer, this is the time to take to the air. | 0:07:21 | 0:07:26 | |
Flying burns 200 times as much energy as resting... | 0:07:32 | 0:07:35 | |
..so they need plenty of high-octane fuel - pollen and nectar. | 0:07:42 | 0:07:46 | |
Each flower head becomes a tiny fuel station | 0:07:56 | 0:07:58 | |
where insects wait to fill up. | 0:07:58 | 0:08:01 | |
Hoverflies have extraordinary flexible wings, | 0:08:14 | 0:08:17 | |
twisting through 45 degrees 300 times a second. | 0:08:17 | 0:08:21 | |
It gives them the agility to negotiate | 0:08:23 | 0:08:25 | |
the tightly-packed hedgerows and gardens. | 0:08:25 | 0:08:28 | |
But even they are outmanoeuvred by the biggest | 0:08:31 | 0:08:33 | |
and fastest flying insect in our land. | 0:08:33 | 0:08:36 | |
Dragonflies. | 0:08:37 | 0:08:39 | |
They are all fast, agile hunters with romantic | 0:08:49 | 0:08:53 | |
names like damsels, chasers, skimmers, darters and hawkers. | 0:08:53 | 0:08:58 | |
High summer is time to find a mate. | 0:09:02 | 0:09:05 | |
Ponds, lakes and rivers resound | 0:09:14 | 0:09:17 | |
with the clashing wings of fighting males. | 0:09:17 | 0:09:19 | |
Male damselflies clasp their partners | 0:09:26 | 0:09:29 | |
as they lay eggs to stop other males getting in on the act. | 0:09:29 | 0:09:32 | |
Emperor dragonflies, the largest of all, wait in the margins. | 0:09:42 | 0:09:47 | |
The females then head to open water to lay eggs. | 0:09:49 | 0:09:53 | |
Whilst she is focused on creating new life, her own life is in danger. | 0:10:03 | 0:10:08 | |
A hobby. | 0:10:38 | 0:10:40 | |
This is the emperor dragonfly's nemesis. | 0:10:43 | 0:10:45 | |
Hobbies are small falcons from Africa. | 0:10:49 | 0:10:51 | |
After flying several thousand miles, | 0:10:51 | 0:10:53 | |
they arrive at the height of the dragonfly season. | 0:10:53 | 0:10:56 | |
The hunting technique depends on diving to build enough speed | 0:11:02 | 0:11:05 | |
to intercept the flight path of the dragonfly. | 0:11:05 | 0:11:08 | |
They snatch them out of the air with their talons... | 0:11:14 | 0:11:17 | |
..devouring their victims while still on the wing. | 0:11:30 | 0:11:33 | |
If a dragonfly is lucky enough to spot its attacker, | 0:11:38 | 0:11:40 | |
it has a split second to take evasive action. | 0:11:40 | 0:11:43 | |
Even if it means ditching into the water. | 0:11:48 | 0:11:50 | |
For these fast-flying insects, | 0:12:03 | 0:12:06 | |
summer is a deadly mix of hunting or being hunted. | 0:12:06 | 0:12:10 | |
BELL RINGS | 0:12:18 | 0:12:20 | |
It's the 1st of July. | 0:12:20 | 0:12:22 | |
At Hagley in Worcestershire, the field of play is being | 0:12:22 | 0:12:25 | |
carefully prepared for that most eccentric of summer activities. | 0:12:25 | 0:12:30 | |
SQUEAKING | 0:12:30 | 0:12:31 | |
Passion to those that play it | 0:12:44 | 0:12:46 | |
and utterly incomprehensible to most that don't. | 0:12:46 | 0:12:50 | |
Groundsmen around the country have their work cut out | 0:13:07 | 0:13:09 | |
keeping the pitch as smooth as a billiard table. | 0:13:09 | 0:13:12 | |
Because now the grass is growing. | 0:13:19 | 0:13:22 | |
And it's not just the grass. | 0:13:30 | 0:13:33 | |
Across the land, every shrub, flower and tree | 0:13:33 | 0:13:36 | |
is busy turning sunlight into luscious, luxuriant growth. | 0:13:36 | 0:13:40 | |
In fact, plants grow ten times faster | 0:13:46 | 0:13:48 | |
in July than they do in February. | 0:13:48 | 0:13:50 | |
The greening of the land is mirrored in our seas. | 0:14:10 | 0:14:12 | |
Tiny marine plants bloom in such huge numbers | 0:14:14 | 0:14:18 | |
that the effect can be seen from space. | 0:14:18 | 0:14:20 | |
This in turn creates a blooming of animal plankton. | 0:14:24 | 0:14:27 | |
The first harvest of the summer. | 0:14:31 | 0:14:33 | |
Visitors flock to our sunlit shallow waters, eager to share the feast. | 0:14:36 | 0:14:41 | |
Basking sharks. | 0:14:44 | 0:14:47 | |
One of the largest fish in the world, | 0:14:47 | 0:14:49 | |
they can reach 12 metres in length. | 0:14:49 | 0:14:51 | |
They follow the daily vertical migration of plankton | 0:14:58 | 0:15:01 | |
up and down in the water column. | 0:15:01 | 0:15:03 | |
At this time of year, | 0:15:06 | 0:15:08 | |
they are drawn up to the surface after their prey... | 0:15:08 | 0:15:11 | |
..where we are sometimes lucky enough to catch a glimpse of them. | 0:15:16 | 0:15:20 | |
By the middle of July, | 0:15:28 | 0:15:30 | |
a whole new cast of creatures has come to feast on our summer bounty. | 0:15:30 | 0:15:34 | |
On the heathlands in Arne in south Dorset | 0:15:49 | 0:15:52 | |
is one of the most unusual and best camouflaged birds in the world. | 0:15:52 | 0:15:57 | |
A nightjar. | 0:16:03 | 0:16:05 | |
By day it sits motionless and quiet. | 0:16:08 | 0:16:11 | |
Even if you stood next to one, you would have no idea it was there. | 0:16:13 | 0:16:17 | |
But what it gets up to at night is the stuff of legend. | 0:16:19 | 0:16:23 | |
The setting sun heralds a call that sounds barely natural. | 0:16:26 | 0:16:29 | |
NIGHTJAR CHIRRS | 0:16:29 | 0:16:32 | |
For centuries it inspired tales of the supernatural. | 0:16:42 | 0:16:45 | |
In the past, seeing the culprit in the pitch black | 0:16:53 | 0:16:56 | |
would have been impossible. | 0:16:56 | 0:16:59 | |
Now, using a newly designed thermal imaging camera, | 0:16:59 | 0:17:03 | |
we are able to see the nightjar's nocturnal antics | 0:17:03 | 0:17:06 | |
for the very first time. | 0:17:06 | 0:17:08 | |
At dusk, the male stakes his claim to his patch of heathland | 0:17:11 | 0:17:14 | |
by chirring... | 0:17:14 | 0:17:16 | |
..at over 13 notes per second. NIGHTJAR CHIRRS | 0:17:20 | 0:17:24 | |
He has timed his arrival from Africa | 0:17:25 | 0:17:28 | |
to coincide perfectly with the summer boom in flying insects. | 0:17:28 | 0:17:33 | |
The heather is alive with beetles and moths. | 0:17:33 | 0:17:36 | |
This is the first time we've been able to watch them | 0:17:40 | 0:17:42 | |
hunting in the pitch dark, ambushing their prey. | 0:17:42 | 0:17:45 | |
With plenty of food and his own territory, | 0:17:49 | 0:17:53 | |
now all he needs is to attract a mate. | 0:17:53 | 0:17:56 | |
The courtship goes off with a bang. Literally. | 0:17:58 | 0:18:01 | |
HE CHIRRS AND CLICKS | 0:18:01 | 0:18:03 | |
As the male flies, he repeatedly cracks his wings together. | 0:18:08 | 0:18:12 | |
CLICKING | 0:18:12 | 0:18:14 | |
If the female is interested, she joins him in flight over the heath. | 0:18:19 | 0:18:22 | |
After travelling thousands of miles to this small patch of Dorset, | 0:18:24 | 0:18:28 | |
these two nightjars have found each other. | 0:18:28 | 0:18:31 | |
CLICKING AND CHURRING | 0:18:38 | 0:18:40 | |
The male will find a nesting site, | 0:18:43 | 0:18:45 | |
usually a patch of ground hidden in the heather. | 0:18:45 | 0:18:48 | |
There they will take turns between feeding and incubating their eggs. | 0:18:53 | 0:18:58 | |
Midsummer nights are prime hunting time | 0:19:19 | 0:19:21 | |
for Britain's best-loved mammal. | 0:19:21 | 0:19:23 | |
SNIFFING | 0:19:23 | 0:19:25 | |
A hedgehog's spines may protect it from enemies | 0:19:32 | 0:19:35 | |
but they aren't so good at protecting it from the cold. | 0:19:35 | 0:19:38 | |
That's why they like a balmy night to visit a garden full of worms. | 0:19:41 | 0:19:46 | |
But when he catches a whiff of something on the breeze... | 0:19:53 | 0:19:56 | |
..a female on heat, all thoughts of food are now gone. | 0:19:57 | 0:20:02 | |
He just can't help himself. | 0:20:13 | 0:20:16 | |
There's not much point looking for her. | 0:20:18 | 0:20:21 | |
His eyesight is hopeless. | 0:20:21 | 0:20:23 | |
He will have to sniff her out instead. | 0:20:28 | 0:20:30 | |
Success. There she is. | 0:20:43 | 0:20:46 | |
SNIFFING | 0:20:46 | 0:20:48 | |
But his challenges are only beginning. | 0:20:52 | 0:20:55 | |
Female hedgehogs don't give up their virtue easily. | 0:20:57 | 0:21:00 | |
Other males are likely to be hot on her trail, too. | 0:21:00 | 0:21:03 | |
So he is going to have to work hard and fast. | 0:21:03 | 0:21:06 | |
SNIFFING | 0:21:06 | 0:21:08 | |
The male seems to be going quite literally round in circles. | 0:21:21 | 0:21:25 | |
But that's all part of the ritual. | 0:21:26 | 0:21:28 | |
She will give him a cold and very prickly shoulder to test him out. | 0:21:28 | 0:21:32 | |
The more persistent he is, the tougher | 0:21:32 | 0:21:35 | |
and therefore better a partner he is likely to be. | 0:21:35 | 0:21:38 | |
Alas, it looks like tonight is not his lucky night. | 0:21:50 | 0:21:53 | |
If and when he does get lucky, we will certainly hear about it. | 0:22:04 | 0:22:09 | |
GRUNTING | 0:22:10 | 0:22:12 | |
For most of us, | 0:22:27 | 0:22:29 | |
the trials of our British wildlife pass us by unnoticed. | 0:22:29 | 0:22:33 | |
For us, summer is playtime. | 0:22:40 | 0:22:43 | |
Right now is the best chance for a good spell of fair weather. | 0:22:48 | 0:22:51 | |
It's the time we hold fetes, | 0:22:51 | 0:22:53 | |
fairs and festivals up and down the country. | 0:22:53 | 0:22:56 | |
Most of us have our fingers crossed that the fine weather will last. | 0:23:04 | 0:23:08 | |
..Northern Ireland definitely getting the best of the day's sunshine. | 0:23:08 | 0:23:12 | |
Highs of 22, lows of 19. So make sure... | 0:23:12 | 0:23:14 | |
Sunshine will break through and we will see some sunny spells. | 0:23:14 | 0:23:18 | |
All parts of the UK... | 0:23:18 | 0:23:20 | |
The weather forecast becomes a national obsession... | 0:23:20 | 0:23:23 | |
..because so much of what we do in the summer depends on good weather. | 0:23:24 | 0:23:28 | |
One thing you can't do in bad weather is fly a balloon... | 0:23:39 | 0:23:42 | |
..as the hundreds of pilots at the Bristol Balloon Fiesta | 0:23:43 | 0:23:46 | |
know only too well. | 0:23:46 | 0:23:48 | |
On the same day, under a footpath on the other side of the city, | 0:23:54 | 0:23:59 | |
a colony of ants has also been waiting for the right weather. | 0:23:59 | 0:24:02 | |
They are about to mate and they are going to do it in the air. | 0:24:09 | 0:24:14 | |
This is flying ant day. | 0:24:16 | 0:24:18 | |
Ants all over the city have forecast this moment. | 0:24:22 | 0:24:26 | |
It is the only time they will ever fly. | 0:24:28 | 0:24:31 | |
The latest study shows that the ants prefer to fly | 0:24:42 | 0:24:45 | |
between 4pm and 6pm in the afternoon. | 0:24:45 | 0:24:48 | |
The balloonist needs a gentle breeze and cool temperatures. | 0:24:54 | 0:24:58 | |
Taking off en masse is simply good fun. | 0:24:58 | 0:25:00 | |
For the ants, mass ascent is important | 0:25:06 | 0:25:10 | |
to overwhelm insect-eating birds in the sky above. | 0:25:10 | 0:25:13 | |
No matter what the forecast is for the August bank holiday, | 0:25:21 | 0:25:24 | |
it seems everyone hits the roads and heads for the coast. | 0:25:24 | 0:25:28 | |
Unfortunately, the warmest time of our year can also be the wettest. | 0:25:42 | 0:25:46 | |
The key ingredients for a storm are moisture and warm air. | 0:25:51 | 0:25:56 | |
In summer, on a little island surrounded by sea, we have both. | 0:25:57 | 0:26:01 | |
THUNDERCLAP | 0:26:12 | 0:26:15 | |
Whilst we struggle to keep smiling, stuck on a wet motorway... | 0:26:32 | 0:26:36 | |
..a hungry army is mobilising. | 0:26:38 | 0:26:41 | |
# The weather is frightening | 0:26:49 | 0:26:51 | |
# The thunder and lightning | 0:26:51 | 0:26:53 | |
# Seem to be having their way | 0:26:53 | 0:26:55 | |
# But as far as I'm concerned | 0:26:57 | 0:26:59 | |
# It's a lovely day... # | 0:26:59 | 0:27:02 | |
Snails hate a dry summer. | 0:27:05 | 0:27:07 | |
When it rains though, gardeners beware. | 0:27:09 | 0:27:11 | |
# As far as I'm concerned it's a lovely day | 0:27:13 | 0:27:19 | |
# And everything's OK | 0:27:19 | 0:27:23 | |
# Isn't this a lovely day to be caught in the rain? # | 0:27:26 | 0:27:30 | |
The tidy gardener suffers more than the messy one. | 0:27:33 | 0:27:36 | |
With no dead or decaying leaves lying around, | 0:27:39 | 0:27:42 | |
the snails head for our vegetables instead. | 0:27:42 | 0:27:45 | |
# I can see the sun up high | 0:27:57 | 0:28:00 | |
# Though we're caught in the storm | 0:28:00 | 0:28:02 | |
# I can see where you and I could be cosy and warm | 0:28:05 | 0:28:10 | |
# Let the rain pitter-patter | 0:28:12 | 0:28:14 | |
# Well it really doesn't matter | 0:28:14 | 0:28:17 | |
# If the skies are grey | 0:28:17 | 0:28:19 | |
# As long as I can be with you it's a lovely day. # | 0:28:21 | 0:28:25 | |
Summer rain is just what the snails need. | 0:28:30 | 0:28:33 | |
But then they have their own house to shelter in when it gets too much. | 0:28:40 | 0:28:44 | |
For many other small animals, rain can be devastating. | 0:28:50 | 0:28:53 | |
One of Britain's strangest | 0:29:05 | 0:29:07 | |
and most deadly hunters never comes out in the rain. | 0:29:07 | 0:29:10 | |
We will only spot it when the sun is shining, | 0:29:13 | 0:29:16 | |
always laying its ambush on the warmer south side of the pond. | 0:29:16 | 0:29:20 | |
Raft spiders - Europe's biggest. | 0:29:26 | 0:29:29 | |
She doesn't spin a web but uses the surface tension | 0:29:38 | 0:29:41 | |
of the water as both trap and trigger to catch her food. | 0:29:41 | 0:29:44 | |
With her front legs resting on the surface | 0:29:47 | 0:29:50 | |
and her back legs on the reeds, she waits. | 0:29:50 | 0:29:53 | |
She senses every ripple and can tell | 0:29:55 | 0:29:58 | |
when it is being created by a raindrop or by an insect prey. | 0:29:58 | 0:30:02 | |
Pond-skaters are even faster than she is. | 0:30:24 | 0:30:28 | |
But with the glut of summer insects, her chance is sure to come. | 0:30:33 | 0:30:38 | |
A fly crash-lands and is held fast by the water's surface film. | 0:30:41 | 0:30:46 | |
By detecting the direction of the ripples | 0:30:55 | 0:30:57 | |
and the intervals between them, | 0:30:57 | 0:30:59 | |
the spider can pinpoint its exact position. | 0:30:59 | 0:31:02 | |
If there is ever a summer heat wave, | 0:31:27 | 0:31:30 | |
we can cool off | 0:31:30 | 0:31:32 | |
with a paddle or a quick dip. | 0:31:32 | 0:31:35 | |
# We'll sing in the sunshine Sing in the sunshine | 0:31:37 | 0:31:40 | |
# We'll laugh every day Laugh every day | 0:31:40 | 0:31:44 | |
# We'll sing in the sunshine... # | 0:31:44 | 0:31:46 | |
For our wildlife, it isn't always that easy. | 0:31:46 | 0:31:49 | |
# Sing in the sunshine. # | 0:31:53 | 0:31:55 | |
On this heathland, there are millions of wood ants. | 0:31:57 | 0:32:00 | |
In late summer, each colony has countless young to feed | 0:32:02 | 0:32:06 | |
so hunting parties scour the ground for prey | 0:32:06 | 0:32:08 | |
or carrion to bring back to the nest. | 0:32:08 | 0:32:10 | |
They deliberately construct their nest in the open to catch the sun. | 0:32:19 | 0:32:23 | |
But today is the hottest day of the year. | 0:32:25 | 0:32:28 | |
As the sun climbs, | 0:32:30 | 0:32:33 | |
the temperatures in the nest begin to rise, too. | 0:32:33 | 0:32:35 | |
It becomes dangerously hot. | 0:32:35 | 0:32:38 | |
But the ants have a solution. | 0:32:43 | 0:32:45 | |
They open up ventilation holes in the surface of the nest, | 0:32:48 | 0:32:52 | |
allowing cool air in and warm air out. | 0:32:52 | 0:32:54 | |
The sun's effects are also felt at sea, even on the sea floor. | 0:33:21 | 0:33:25 | |
In the shallow water off Cornwall, there is a secret world. | 0:33:28 | 0:33:31 | |
Beds of hard, pink algae called maerle bask in the sun. | 0:33:35 | 0:33:39 | |
Living amongst the maerle is a sea urchin | 0:33:44 | 0:33:47 | |
with exactly the same problem as a fair-skinned sunbather. | 0:33:47 | 0:33:51 | |
It needs protection from the sun's rays. | 0:33:51 | 0:33:54 | |
So it covers-up. | 0:34:05 | 0:34:07 | |
It uses its sticky feet to pick up small pieces of the maerle | 0:34:10 | 0:34:13 | |
and carefully covers itself. | 0:34:13 | 0:34:15 | |
Within an hour or so, | 0:34:26 | 0:34:28 | |
it has constructed its very own bright pink sunscreen. | 0:34:28 | 0:34:32 | |
By mid-August, the countryside is starting to look a bit weary. | 0:34:39 | 0:34:43 | |
Most flowers have gone over and the vivid greens are starting to fade. | 0:34:43 | 0:34:49 | |
But there is time for one last burst of colour. | 0:34:49 | 0:34:52 | |
Heathlands are transformed | 0:34:58 | 0:35:00 | |
as every heather plant produces thousands of individual flowers... | 0:35:00 | 0:35:04 | |
..that combined, smother the moors with pink and purple. | 0:35:09 | 0:35:12 | |
The heather is the last plant to flower. | 0:35:30 | 0:35:33 | |
As the sun's power fades, | 0:35:37 | 0:35:39 | |
most of Britain's wild plants have started to ripen and set seed. | 0:35:39 | 0:35:45 | |
The world is turning from green to yellow. | 0:35:54 | 0:35:58 | |
Now it's our chance to harvest the sun. | 0:36:26 | 0:36:29 | |
The window of opportunity can be brief. Farmers must act quickly. | 0:36:32 | 0:36:37 | |
The patchwork quilt of our countryside changes | 0:36:52 | 0:36:54 | |
as farmers race against the elements. | 0:36:54 | 0:36:57 | |
Long experience of so many fickle British summers has taught them | 0:37:09 | 0:37:13 | |
to make hay while the sun shines... | 0:37:13 | 0:37:15 | |
..even if that means working through the night. | 0:37:17 | 0:37:20 | |
In the hedges surrounding the harvested fields, | 0:37:53 | 0:37:56 | |
the wild harvest is underway. | 0:37:56 | 0:38:00 | |
As summer starts to fade, plants divert as much energy as possible | 0:38:00 | 0:38:04 | |
into dispersing their seeds before the spring. | 0:38:04 | 0:38:07 | |
They can't move so they get help from creatures that can. | 0:38:15 | 0:38:20 | |
They encase their seeds in something that is tasty and easy to see. | 0:38:20 | 0:38:24 | |
They've timed this incentive perfectly, | 0:38:26 | 0:38:29 | |
attracting birds looking to feed up for the lean months ahead. | 0:38:29 | 0:38:31 | |
Close to the city of Nottingham | 0:38:48 | 0:38:51 | |
is a river bank lined with bushes of blackberry and elderberry. | 0:38:51 | 0:38:56 | |
The fruit are ripe... | 0:38:57 | 0:38:59 | |
but not all will end up attracting a hungry bird. | 0:38:59 | 0:39:02 | |
Gudgeon, roach and perch completely ignore them... | 0:39:16 | 0:39:20 | |
..but one fish takes notice. | 0:39:22 | 0:39:25 | |
Chub. | 0:39:28 | 0:39:30 | |
They will eat just about anything they can get in their mouths. | 0:39:30 | 0:39:33 | |
It's thanks to these plump, unfussy fish that the word "chubby" | 0:39:37 | 0:39:43 | |
has been used in this country for around 500 years. | 0:39:43 | 0:39:47 | |
The chub may not disperse the seeds | 0:39:47 | 0:39:50 | |
but we can't blame them for eating the fruit. | 0:39:50 | 0:39:53 | |
Above the surface, many of us are doing exactly the same thing. | 0:40:02 | 0:40:06 | |
Blackberry picking marks the end of summer. | 0:40:09 | 0:40:12 | |
Pick enough and you can fill the freezer with enough pies, | 0:40:12 | 0:40:15 | |
puddings and preserves to last a winter. | 0:40:15 | 0:40:18 | |
If the kids can wait that long. | 0:40:19 | 0:40:22 | |
The last harvest of the British summer | 0:40:26 | 0:40:28 | |
is for some the most anticipated. | 0:40:28 | 0:40:31 | |
The tranquillity of this Hereford orchard | 0:40:37 | 0:40:40 | |
is about to be shaken to its very core. | 0:40:40 | 0:40:44 | |
ENGINE NOISE AND LOUD RUSTLING | 0:40:44 | 0:40:46 | |
It's not a very subtle way of picking apples and pears | 0:41:00 | 0:41:04 | |
but it does the trick. | 0:41:04 | 0:41:06 | |
And fast. | 0:41:06 | 0:41:08 | |
Some may be bruised but that's fine. | 0:41:12 | 0:41:15 | |
They aren't for eating. | 0:41:15 | 0:41:17 | |
They are destined to make a drink that is celebrated in many parts. | 0:41:22 | 0:41:27 | |
A drink that we make 600 million litres of every year | 0:41:34 | 0:41:38 | |
and drink more of than any other country. | 0:41:38 | 0:41:40 | |
Cider. | 0:41:51 | 0:41:53 | |
Summer is waning, | 0:42:16 | 0:42:19 | |
heralded by a new natural wonder | 0:42:19 | 0:42:21 | |
as early morning dew collects on spiders' silken webs. | 0:42:21 | 0:42:24 | |
The most obvious webs are built by orb-weavers | 0:42:33 | 0:42:37 | |
as they feast on the last of the summer insect boom. | 0:42:37 | 0:42:40 | |
This is a pretty good time to be a spider. | 0:42:44 | 0:42:47 | |
But it's the spiders we don't notice that are about | 0:42:57 | 0:43:00 | |
to leave their spectacular mark on the British summer. | 0:43:00 | 0:43:03 | |
An acre of meadow may be home to two million tiny money spiders. | 0:43:05 | 0:43:09 | |
Before they mate, most begin to climb as high as they can. | 0:43:14 | 0:43:17 | |
With so many brothers and sisters nearby, | 0:43:29 | 0:43:31 | |
the best chance to avoid inbreeding is to put as much distance | 0:43:31 | 0:43:35 | |
as possible between themselves and their siblings. | 0:43:35 | 0:43:38 | |
Once at the top, they anchor themselves with a safety line. | 0:43:52 | 0:43:55 | |
Then they spin a second line that streams into the air. | 0:43:59 | 0:44:03 | |
If conditions are right, the second ballooning line | 0:44:16 | 0:44:19 | |
catches the wind and they lift off in countless numbers. | 0:44:19 | 0:44:23 | |
Once they cut themselves free of their safety lines... | 0:44:36 | 0:44:39 | |
..all that is left is gossamer. | 0:44:42 | 0:44:44 | |
A late summer spectacle that captures the golden light | 0:44:51 | 0:44:55 | |
and captures the imagination. | 0:44:55 | 0:44:57 | |
It's September. Boom time is over. | 0:45:27 | 0:45:31 | |
The rush to feed, to grow, has come to an end. | 0:45:31 | 0:45:34 | |
Everyone has their own idea of what signals the end of summer | 0:45:47 | 0:45:52 | |
but few things symbolise it better than the swallows leaving. | 0:45:52 | 0:45:56 | |
They are just one of many visitors that have | 0:46:10 | 0:46:12 | |
shared our spectacular summer bounty. | 0:46:12 | 0:46:15 | |
Their chicks have been fattened on the glut of insects... | 0:46:27 | 0:46:30 | |
..and on warm summer evenings, they've quenched their thirst | 0:46:41 | 0:46:45 | |
and washed in our cool, clear rivers. | 0:46:45 | 0:46:47 | |
This is a visitor that, like the hobby and the nightjar, | 0:46:57 | 0:47:01 | |
has flown thousands of miles, | 0:47:01 | 0:47:03 | |
risking its life to be a part of the British summer. | 0:47:03 | 0:47:06 | |
But as the summer sun fades, they know that it is time to go. | 0:47:15 | 0:47:20 | |
As they leave, there is a gentle shift in the country. | 0:47:40 | 0:47:44 | |
For the animals left behind, there may be less competition | 0:47:50 | 0:47:54 | |
but tough times lie ahead. | 0:47:54 | 0:47:57 | |
Nature needs to get ready. | 0:48:02 | 0:48:04 | |
Autumn is coming. | 0:48:10 | 0:48:12 | |
Wildlife film-making needs technical knowledge, | 0:48:48 | 0:48:51 | |
years of experience, a lot of specialist equipment, | 0:48:51 | 0:48:55 | |
patience and of course, a bit of luck. | 0:48:55 | 0:48:58 | |
In any wildlife series, it's the animals that are the stars. | 0:49:10 | 0:49:14 | |
But The Great British Year had an extra challenge - | 0:49:14 | 0:49:17 | |
to evoke the dynamic nature of the British landscape. | 0:49:17 | 0:49:20 | |
This is where time-lapse photography comes into its own - | 0:49:27 | 0:49:30 | |
using digital stills cameras that record image after image | 0:49:30 | 0:49:34 | |
that are then stitched together to provide a unique perspective | 0:49:34 | 0:49:37 | |
of the passage of time. | 0:49:37 | 0:49:39 | |
The crew wanted to showcase the most dramatic seasonal changes | 0:49:46 | 0:49:49 | |
and the most spectacular weather not just in one location | 0:49:49 | 0:49:52 | |
but across the whole country. | 0:49:52 | 0:49:55 | |
The problem is we simply couldn't be everywhere at once. | 0:49:55 | 0:49:58 | |
To our surprise, | 0:50:01 | 0:50:02 | |
scattered across Britain were dozens of talented enthusiasts, | 0:50:02 | 0:50:05 | |
already filming time-lapses off their own bat. | 0:50:05 | 0:50:09 | |
Lots of them. | 0:50:09 | 0:50:10 | |
Social media really revolutionised this for us, | 0:50:10 | 0:50:14 | |
because we could find this network of people in the first place. | 0:50:14 | 0:50:18 | |
When we found them, we could contact them, | 0:50:18 | 0:50:21 | |
we could find out what they're doing on a daily basis, | 0:50:21 | 0:50:23 | |
we can look at clips of what they're shooting, | 0:50:23 | 0:50:25 | |
enabling us to keep in contact with this huge network of people. | 0:50:25 | 0:50:30 | |
As word spread online, the network grew, | 0:50:30 | 0:50:32 | |
and more and more clips started coming in. | 0:50:32 | 0:50:35 | |
These guys are filming on their local patch - | 0:50:39 | 0:50:41 | |
they know it, they know the best areas to film, | 0:50:41 | 0:50:44 | |
they know where to get the best of the light. | 0:50:44 | 0:50:46 | |
It's their kit, so they're used to it. | 0:50:46 | 0:50:48 | |
There's a lot of trial and error, | 0:50:48 | 0:50:50 | |
but the results have been astonishing. | 0:50:50 | 0:50:52 | |
Stills photographer Tom Walker had barely filmed time-lapses | 0:50:56 | 0:51:00 | |
before the project started. | 0:51:00 | 0:51:01 | |
But he quickly became something of an expert | 0:51:01 | 0:51:04 | |
at capturing the worst of the British weather. | 0:51:04 | 0:51:06 | |
I've been a bit of a storm chaser, over the past few months. | 0:51:07 | 0:51:10 | |
If you're watching a storm happening, | 0:51:10 | 0:51:12 | |
then you've missed it, cos it happens so fast | 0:51:12 | 0:51:14 | |
and it comes over so quick. | 0:51:14 | 0:51:16 | |
You've got to read the landscape, | 0:51:16 | 0:51:17 | |
read where the sky is going to end up, get to the place, | 0:51:17 | 0:51:20 | |
frame it up, and hope it comes - if it comes, you've got it. | 0:51:20 | 0:51:24 | |
Meanwhile, another cameraman was busy | 0:51:26 | 0:51:29 | |
tackling the unpredictable harvest. | 0:51:29 | 0:51:31 | |
I really like doing the human-related stuff. | 0:51:32 | 0:51:35 | |
When I was doing the harvest, | 0:51:35 | 0:51:36 | |
you can see it happening in front of you. | 0:51:36 | 0:51:39 | |
And my mum will laugh at this, | 0:51:39 | 0:51:41 | |
but it's a bit like hoovering - not that I do that much of it. | 0:51:41 | 0:51:45 | |
When you Hoover a really dirty carpet | 0:51:45 | 0:51:47 | |
and you leave a white line in it, | 0:51:47 | 0:51:48 | |
it's kind of, like, a sense of achievement. | 0:51:48 | 0:51:51 | |
You've got a field that starts off with chest-high corn or something, | 0:51:51 | 0:51:56 | |
and then it all completely disappears by the end of it. | 0:51:56 | 0:51:59 | |
The night harvest stuff was quite tricky - | 0:52:07 | 0:52:09 | |
there's only so many fields they needed to harvest, | 0:52:09 | 0:52:11 | |
and if the weather's good, | 0:52:11 | 0:52:13 | |
they try and do as much as possible during the day. | 0:52:13 | 0:52:15 | |
So I had to really nail that. | 0:52:15 | 0:52:17 | |
I think it worked, in the end - or I hope it worked. | 0:52:17 | 0:52:20 | |
Up to now, we'd been using social media | 0:52:31 | 0:52:34 | |
to mobilise the time-lapse teams. | 0:52:34 | 0:52:36 | |
But as word of the project spread, | 0:52:37 | 0:52:39 | |
the wildlife-watching public also got involved. | 0:52:39 | 0:52:43 | |
It sort of grew exponentially, it just went "boom!" | 0:52:43 | 0:52:46 | |
At one point, | 0:52:46 | 0:52:47 | |
it felt like every British natural history enthusiast in the country | 0:52:47 | 0:52:51 | |
was part of our team and helping us out. | 0:52:51 | 0:52:53 | |
We had thousands of people, | 0:52:53 | 0:52:55 | |
and they are amateurs, they're experts, | 0:52:55 | 0:52:58 | |
they're bird watchers, they're artists, | 0:52:58 | 0:53:01 | |
some of them are scientists, photographers, | 0:53:01 | 0:53:03 | |
stills photographers... | 0:53:03 | 0:53:05 | |
And it's this huge network of people with their eyes on the ground | 0:53:05 | 0:53:07 | |
and they know what's going on. | 0:53:07 | 0:53:09 | |
Stories started coming in that the team hadn't even considered, | 0:53:18 | 0:53:21 | |
critically tipping us off about where and when. | 0:53:21 | 0:53:24 | |
For one episode, it was the moulting seals in Cornwall, | 0:53:26 | 0:53:29 | |
and later in the year, | 0:53:29 | 0:53:31 | |
kites following the ploughs in Oxfordshire. | 0:53:31 | 0:53:33 | |
Jack Perks got in touch | 0:53:48 | 0:53:49 | |
about his own personal wildlife passion. | 0:53:49 | 0:53:52 | |
I describe myself really as a fish twitcher. | 0:53:52 | 0:53:54 | |
Certain fish species will excite me a little bit too much. | 0:53:56 | 0:53:58 | |
I mean, I can start to ID them just by looking at their backs - | 0:53:58 | 0:54:02 | |
you get a lot of similar species, | 0:54:02 | 0:54:04 | |
and as long as I get a fairly good look, | 0:54:04 | 0:54:06 | |
I can pretty much pinpoint it | 0:54:06 | 0:54:08 | |
out of the 45 freshwater fish that we have in the UK. | 0:54:08 | 0:54:11 | |
His knowledge of local rivers | 0:54:12 | 0:54:14 | |
led us to one of the stranger stories in the series - | 0:54:14 | 0:54:17 | |
fish gorging on late summer berries. | 0:54:17 | 0:54:20 | |
It's kind of something a lot of fishermen know that, | 0:54:20 | 0:54:23 | |
in autumn, a lot of fish will wait under the bushes | 0:54:23 | 0:54:26 | |
for elderberries and blackberries to fall into the water, | 0:54:26 | 0:54:28 | |
and these fish will take them. | 0:54:28 | 0:54:31 | |
I thought, "OK, this could make a nice piece for a seasonal series." | 0:54:31 | 0:54:35 | |
On the back of some early successes, | 0:54:42 | 0:54:44 | |
the team were ready to attempt the most complex shots, | 0:54:44 | 0:54:47 | |
filmed by a small group of specialists | 0:54:47 | 0:54:49 | |
who take time-lapse photography to the highest level. | 0:54:49 | 0:54:53 | |
The favourite shots I like to do | 0:54:53 | 0:54:55 | |
are shots that haven't been done before - | 0:54:55 | 0:54:58 | |
sort of, brand-new ground, | 0:54:58 | 0:55:00 | |
and see what I can do with the camera. | 0:55:00 | 0:55:03 | |
Chad's challenge was to evoke the dramatic beauty | 0:55:07 | 0:55:09 | |
of an ancient oak tree as it changed throughout the year. | 0:55:09 | 0:55:14 | |
To achieve this, | 0:55:14 | 0:55:15 | |
he would need to visit the tree on several occasions, | 0:55:15 | 0:55:17 | |
each time ensuring the camera's movement | 0:55:17 | 0:55:20 | |
was repeated precisely. | 0:55:20 | 0:55:21 | |
We couldn't resist filming the whole operation. | 0:55:21 | 0:55:25 | |
In time-lapse, of course. | 0:55:25 | 0:55:27 | |
What you have here, basically, | 0:55:27 | 0:55:29 | |
is a crane, time-lapsing the oak tree. | 0:55:29 | 0:55:32 | |
We have a track, | 0:55:32 | 0:55:34 | |
time-lapsing us time-lapsing the oak tree. | 0:55:34 | 0:55:37 | |
And just for fun, we have here another track, | 0:55:37 | 0:55:40 | |
time-lapsing the time-lapse | 0:55:40 | 0:55:42 | |
which is time-lapsing us time-lapsing the oak tree, | 0:55:42 | 0:55:44 | |
if that makes sense! | 0:55:44 | 0:55:45 | |
Time-lapse revealed a side of Britain that we rarely see. | 0:55:59 | 0:56:03 | |
What none of the team expected to see | 0:56:29 | 0:56:31 | |
was a phenomenon usually found in the high Arctic. | 0:56:31 | 0:56:34 | |
My name's Barry Stewart. | 0:56:38 | 0:56:40 | |
I'm a joiner to trade, but my passion is really time-lapse photography. | 0:56:41 | 0:56:45 | |
I usually come here to take some star time-lapses - | 0:56:49 | 0:56:52 | |
it's a lovely building to have as a foreground. | 0:56:52 | 0:56:55 | |
So one particular night, I came out. It was a lovely, clear, starry night. | 0:56:55 | 0:56:58 | |
On the way down, I could see some faint lights in the sky. | 0:56:58 | 0:57:01 | |
I wasn't sure what it was at first. | 0:57:01 | 0:57:03 | |
I just set my camera up and took a random exposure | 0:57:03 | 0:57:05 | |
and it came out bright green. | 0:57:05 | 0:57:07 | |
So I thought, "Amazing! This is an unpredicted aurora." | 0:57:08 | 0:57:11 | |
And then, all of a sudden, it was like an explosion of colour. | 0:57:12 | 0:57:15 | |
The aurora was just dancing, really high overhead, | 0:57:15 | 0:57:17 | |
and like electric currents and pulses. | 0:57:17 | 0:57:20 | |
It was just fantastic to see. | 0:57:20 | 0:57:21 | |
It's one of the best time-lapses I've took. | 0:57:21 | 0:57:24 | |
And you do get really good auroras here. | 0:57:25 | 0:57:27 | |
You don't have to go to Norway, you can just come to Wick. | 0:57:27 | 0:57:30 | |
Whether it was time-lapse photographers | 0:57:39 | 0:57:41 | |
or naturalists on the internet, | 0:57:41 | 0:57:43 | |
the Great British public were essential | 0:57:43 | 0:57:45 | |
to the making of The Great British Year. | 0:57:45 | 0:57:48 | |
To get a free copy of this poster about British seasons, | 0:57:58 | 0:58:01 | |
call 0845 271 0017. | 0:58:01 | 0:58:05 | |
Or go to bbc.co.uk/greatbritishyear. | 0:58:05 | 0:58:09 | |
Follow the links to the Open University | 0:58:09 | 0:58:11 | |
and take part in our seasonal wildlife census. | 0:58:11 | 0:58:14 | |
Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd | 0:58:37 | 0:58:40 |