0:00:04 > 0:00:07The British back garden -
0:00:07 > 0:00:10a familiar place we too often take for granted...
0:00:12 > 0:00:15..because underneath the peonies and petunias
0:00:15 > 0:00:17lies a wild, hidden world...
0:00:21 > 0:00:22..both strange...
0:00:24 > 0:00:26..and delightful.
0:00:28 > 0:00:31A vast cast of creatures battling for survival
0:00:31 > 0:00:33in a miniature Serengeti.
0:00:37 > 0:00:42To reveal this drama on your doorstep, we're going to follow
0:00:42 > 0:00:45five gardens in an ordinary suburban street for an entire year.
0:00:49 > 0:00:53With the help of some of Britain's top scientists and wildlife experts,
0:00:53 > 0:00:56we'll find out how many different species live here...
0:00:56 > 0:00:58- Yes, it is.- It's a cub! - Yes, it is.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01Tiny little tail.
0:01:01 > 0:01:06..and answer key questions about how these creatures survive and thrive
0:01:06 > 0:01:08through all four seasons.
0:01:11 > 0:01:15We'll find out how much birds rely on our feeders...
0:01:16 > 0:01:19..how snails navigate their way around the garden...
0:01:20 > 0:01:23..and how bees find the right flowers to pollinate.
0:01:25 > 0:01:30You may never look at your garden in the same way again.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34We're going to try and answer a fundamental question -
0:01:34 > 0:01:38just how many creatures can live in your back yard?
0:01:38 > 0:01:43Just how good is the great British garden when it comes to wildlife?
0:02:01 > 0:02:04The residents of this street are about to embark
0:02:04 > 0:02:06upon a unique experiment.
0:02:06 > 0:02:11You see, never before will a series of back gardens be so intensively
0:02:11 > 0:02:14studied over the course of an entire year.
0:02:14 > 0:02:19In truth, you know, we probably know more about the ecology of
0:02:19 > 0:02:23tropical rainforests than we do our own back yards.
0:02:23 > 0:02:26So, I'm going to be very interested to see what we find out.
0:02:27 > 0:02:31I just hope the residents know what they've let themselves in for.
0:02:38 > 0:02:40- Hello.- Hello.- Hello. - Hello, how are you, all right?
0:02:40 > 0:02:41'It's July.'
0:02:41 > 0:02:42OK, thank you.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45'Like many residents of Welwyn Garden City,
0:02:45 > 0:02:47'Jen and Bruce are keen gardeners.'
0:02:49 > 0:02:50It's quite a smart garden.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53A smarter garden than mine, I've got to tell you.
0:02:53 > 0:02:55- Thank you.- Yeah. And lots of blooms.
0:02:55 > 0:02:57- Lots of flowers. - Yeah, flowers are my department.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00- Oh, are they?- Yes. Unsurprisingly.
0:03:00 > 0:03:01Yeah.
0:03:02 > 0:03:05Each garden reflects their owners in different ways.
0:03:07 > 0:03:11Jen and Bruce's garden is filled with large grasses and flowers
0:03:11 > 0:03:13that dieback in winter.
0:03:15 > 0:03:17Just down the road,
0:03:17 > 0:03:20Karlis and Rasma have a less manicured garden
0:03:20 > 0:03:24with wilder sections, fruit trees and lots of blossom.
0:03:26 > 0:03:31The Wadley family have a low-maintenance, kid-friendly garden
0:03:31 > 0:03:33with a large lawn and fewer flowers.
0:03:36 > 0:03:39And the Williams have created a beautiful formal garden
0:03:39 > 0:03:44with ornamental trees, shrubs and a wildlife pond.
0:03:47 > 0:03:52The most individual garden on the street is a few doors down.
0:03:55 > 0:03:57It's owned by Denise Thomas,
0:03:57 > 0:04:01who likes things a little more on the wild side.
0:04:01 > 0:04:02Your garden...
0:04:02 > 0:04:04- It's wonderful, isn't it? - I think it is.
0:04:04 > 0:04:06I think it is.
0:04:06 > 0:04:08I like your garden very much.
0:04:08 > 0:04:10- Jolly good.- I'd love to be rummaging around in here.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13Well, you can rummage around as much as you like.
0:04:13 > 0:04:15I'm going to do a bit of rummaging, but we've got a great team
0:04:15 > 0:04:18of rummagers that are going to come with me to explore the life here.
0:04:18 > 0:04:20I see. Well, mind the brambles,
0:04:20 > 0:04:22cos you'll get caught up in them, you know.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25You're probably going to have the richest garden in...
0:04:25 > 0:04:26Sorry, I'll keep my voice down.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29WHISPERS: You're probably going to have the richest garden
0:04:29 > 0:04:31- in the neighbourhood...- OK. - ..through doing very little.- Yeah.
0:04:31 > 0:04:35I'm a fan of your garden, Denise, I have to say.
0:04:35 > 0:04:36I like it.
0:04:36 > 0:04:41- Would you like to do some gardening here?- No, no! I like it as it is.
0:04:41 > 0:04:42I like it as it is.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47The street is a perfect cross-section
0:04:47 > 0:04:49of British garden styles.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54How much wildlife they support is a vital question
0:04:54 > 0:04:57in an increasingly suburban nation.
0:05:00 > 0:05:04But animals in these gardens are highly seasonal, so it's going to
0:05:04 > 0:05:08take a whole year to find out how wildlife prospers
0:05:08 > 0:05:10in these five very different gardens.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26It's summer and this place is quite literally alive.
0:05:26 > 0:05:30You see, there are 16 hours of daylight, which means all of these
0:05:30 > 0:05:33plants are growing very rapidly
0:05:33 > 0:05:37and producing vast quantities of pollen and nectar.
0:05:39 > 0:05:45This energy-rich fuel feeds a huge variety of flying insects called
0:05:45 > 0:05:50pollinators, which in turn feed animals further up the food chain,
0:05:50 > 0:05:54so for all our wildlife, it's a time of abundance.
0:05:56 > 0:05:57For this season,
0:05:57 > 0:06:00we're going to focus on two gardening environments -
0:06:00 > 0:06:04this, the flower bed, to see if the pollinators enjoy these blooms
0:06:04 > 0:06:06as much as some of our gardeners do,
0:06:06 > 0:06:10and secondly, this, the lawn,
0:06:10 > 0:06:13and we aim to find out what comes to play on these lawns when
0:06:13 > 0:06:16our residents are fast asleep.
0:06:19 > 0:06:23Now, a lot of the wildlife in our gardens is small,
0:06:23 > 0:06:27things like insects, bugs and other creepy crawlies...
0:06:28 > 0:06:32..so each season, a crack team from London's Natural History Museum
0:06:32 > 0:06:34will conduct a BioBlitz -
0:06:34 > 0:06:38that's a full audit of our smallest garden residents.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44First, team leader Steph West installs large traps
0:06:44 > 0:06:45in several gardens.
0:06:47 > 0:06:49This garden is very, very wild.
0:06:49 > 0:06:52It should be absolutely teeming with insects,
0:06:52 > 0:06:54so really excited about what we might get
0:06:54 > 0:06:56in the next couple of days.
0:06:56 > 0:07:00But for flying insects, nothing beats a good, old-fashioned net.
0:07:02 > 0:07:04Techniques differ, from elegant...
0:07:06 > 0:07:08..to vigorous...
0:07:08 > 0:07:09and downright aggressive.
0:07:11 > 0:07:15But they're the best way to capture the more unusual species,
0:07:15 > 0:07:17plus, anyone can have a go.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20You want to go quite quickly with the net, quite gently to start with
0:07:20 > 0:07:22and then suddenly try and swoop on him.
0:07:23 > 0:07:29That's it. OK. So, he's still in the pot, and there we've got him.
0:07:29 > 0:07:31Can you see? OK, so this is a little picture wing fly.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34- Can you see him down there? - I can see his big, green eyes.
0:07:34 > 0:07:35That's right.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42While the rest of the BioBlitz team hunt insects,
0:07:42 > 0:07:45ecologist Dave Hodgson heads to the fruit garden.
0:07:46 > 0:07:50He's here to investigate a creature that gardeners love to hate
0:07:50 > 0:07:54and definitely don't want in their flower borders.
0:07:54 > 0:07:56- Hello, everybody.- Hello.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59Are you ready for the great snail hunt?
0:07:59 > 0:08:01- Yes.- First of all,
0:08:01 > 0:08:05I want you, in teams, to find as many snails as you possibly can
0:08:05 > 0:08:07in this garden. The second thing is
0:08:07 > 0:08:10we're going to collect them all up into these four buckets.
0:08:10 > 0:08:12- Let's go.- OK.
0:08:12 > 0:08:13We're off.
0:08:13 > 0:08:17This experiment will tell us how many different species
0:08:17 > 0:08:20and the total number of snails in this garden.
0:08:20 > 0:08:24It will also answer a more fundamental question about animals
0:08:24 > 0:08:27we normally think of as being pretty stupid.
0:08:28 > 0:08:34Are snails smart enough to find their way to and from a home patch?
0:08:35 > 0:08:38Do snails have a homing instinct?
0:08:38 > 0:08:41Size doesn't matter when you're hunting snails.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44It's quality, not quantity.
0:08:44 > 0:08:46HE CHUCKLES
0:08:46 > 0:08:50This is Cornu aspersum, the common garden snail.
0:08:50 > 0:08:52Now, it's a mollusc,
0:08:52 > 0:08:56so it's not like the insects and other arthropods in your garden,
0:08:56 > 0:09:00it's more closely related to octopuses and squids,
0:09:00 > 0:09:02limpets and bivalves.
0:09:08 > 0:09:12Up close, the humble snail is extraordinary.
0:09:15 > 0:09:19At the front end of its single giant foot are rasping mouthparts.
0:09:21 > 0:09:23It's these that tear at plant tissue.
0:09:27 > 0:09:31It has two pairs of tentacles.
0:09:31 > 0:09:33The uppermost hold the eyes...
0:09:35 > 0:09:38..whilst the lower pair deliver the other senses -
0:09:38 > 0:09:41taste, smell and touch.
0:09:45 > 0:09:47They are the enemy of many gardeners, I guess,
0:09:47 > 0:09:48simply because they eat their plants
0:09:48 > 0:09:52and they're almost indiscriminate in the plants that they eat.
0:09:54 > 0:09:55Before long,
0:09:55 > 0:09:59our families have collected a serious number of snails.
0:10:00 > 0:10:02The kids are great at this
0:10:02 > 0:10:05and I think it's partly because they are at ground level.
0:10:05 > 0:10:07Obviously, their eyesight may be slightly better
0:10:07 > 0:10:11than the older ones. You know, they're trying.
0:10:11 > 0:10:12They're trying.
0:10:13 > 0:10:15My wife is still going strong down there.
0:10:15 > 0:10:18She's always been the hard worker in the family.
0:10:20 > 0:10:25In total, 65 snails of four different species
0:10:25 > 0:10:26live in the fruit garden.
0:10:27 > 0:10:31For the next part of the experiment, they all get a snazzy paint job,
0:10:31 > 0:10:34with nontoxic paint, of course.
0:10:34 > 0:10:38The colours correspond to which of the four corners of the garden
0:10:38 > 0:10:39each snail came from.
0:10:41 > 0:10:45And they will now glow brightly under ultraviolet light.
0:11:02 > 0:11:04We've introduced a fifth colour
0:11:04 > 0:11:07to the experiment because we need a control.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10All scientists need a control for their experiment.
0:11:10 > 0:11:14The green ones have travelled all the way from Cornwall
0:11:14 > 0:11:17and they're here to find out if there's a kind of a tendency
0:11:17 > 0:11:20for all the snails to move in one direction.
0:11:20 > 0:11:22We want to see whether the home snails move slightly differently
0:11:22 > 0:11:24from a stranger snail.
0:11:26 > 0:11:32And fingers crossed, we go blue, red, orange, pink and green.
0:11:35 > 0:11:39Before long, a veritable snail disco is underway.
0:11:45 > 0:11:47There's a reason they don't move very fast -
0:11:47 > 0:11:50leaving a thick trail of slime everywhere you go
0:11:50 > 0:11:53is an astonishingly inefficient way to get around.
0:11:53 > 0:11:59But even so, they can travel up to 25 metres in 24 hours.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04The question is, do they know where they're going?
0:12:15 > 0:12:20The following night, and Dave easily spots where the snails have ended up
0:12:20 > 0:12:23thanks to their day-glo paint job.
0:12:23 > 0:12:27Interestingly, and I don't know whether I believe this at all,
0:12:27 > 0:12:30but the Cornish ones are heading due west.
0:12:31 > 0:12:35Extraordinarily, in the right direction to get home.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38After a few hours' hunting,
0:12:38 > 0:12:42Dave's found almost all of the snails and recorded their location.
0:12:43 > 0:12:45This is the blue corner, where I'm standing now,
0:12:45 > 0:12:48and almost all of the snails that I've found in this corner
0:12:48 > 0:12:50were blue snails.
0:12:50 > 0:12:52Now, the red corner,
0:12:52 > 0:12:56almost all of the red snails found their way back to the red corner.
0:12:56 > 0:13:00The orange corner is over there - most of them were orange.
0:13:00 > 0:13:05And finally pink - almost all of them were back in the pink corner.
0:13:06 > 0:13:08Now, this needs some analysis,
0:13:08 > 0:13:12but as far as I'm concerned, this is quite spectacular evidence for
0:13:12 > 0:13:13homing instinct in the garden snail.
0:13:13 > 0:13:17And it's so much better than I ever could have wished.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40Whether covered in snails or magnificently manicured,
0:13:40 > 0:13:45short grass forms the main part of many back yards.
0:13:45 > 0:13:51In our gardens, as with much of the UK, lawns are a bit of an obsession.
0:13:51 > 0:13:53I mow it every week.
0:13:56 > 0:14:00If I can get some good mown stripes in it, even better.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04So, are lawns any good for wildlife
0:14:04 > 0:14:08and would they be better if we let the grass grow a little bit longer?
0:14:10 > 0:14:14To find out, Steph has brought along a special vacuum that sucks up
0:14:14 > 0:14:16any insects living in the grass.
0:14:21 > 0:14:23First off, she samples a square
0:14:23 > 0:14:27of the modern garden's immaculately mown lawn.
0:14:28 > 0:14:32Then she samples a patch that we persuaded Bruce to leave
0:14:32 > 0:14:34a few inches longer.
0:14:39 > 0:14:44And finally, the same area of really long grass in the wild garden.
0:14:44 > 0:14:48The question is, are longer lawns better?
0:14:50 > 0:14:51In here, we've got the three samples
0:14:51 > 0:14:53that we've taken from our vacuum sampling.
0:14:53 > 0:14:59That's the short, regularly mown grasslands,
0:14:59 > 0:15:02not an awful lot of diversity going on in there.
0:15:02 > 0:15:06That's the one from the short mown lawn that's been left to grow
0:15:06 > 0:15:07a little bit longer.
0:15:07 > 0:15:10- And that one, that is absolutely full...- Rammed!
0:15:10 > 0:15:12Look at the contrast between
0:15:12 > 0:15:15your manicured lawn and your unkempt lawn here.
0:15:15 > 0:15:18So, you can see we've got a lot of, particularly in there,
0:15:18 > 0:15:20a lot of grass flowers, as well.
0:15:20 > 0:15:24And within that, as well, we've got species coming through like weevils,
0:15:24 > 0:15:27a lot more beetles, smaller wasps tucked away
0:15:27 > 0:15:29in the grass seed heads, as well.
0:15:31 > 0:15:36The wild garden's lawn contains three times as many insects overall
0:15:36 > 0:15:39and many more species.
0:15:39 > 0:15:43But even letting our lawns grow an extra few inches helps.
0:15:44 > 0:15:48If every garden in Britain had a patch of long grass,
0:15:48 > 0:15:50wildlife would get a huge boost.
0:15:55 > 0:15:58I've asked one of our entomologists, Karim Vahed,
0:15:58 > 0:16:02to take a closer look at the long grass in the wild garden
0:16:02 > 0:16:07to see if it's home to one of the UK's most charismatic insects.
0:16:09 > 0:16:11Now, what have we got here? Ah-ha!
0:16:12 > 0:16:15Now, this is nice. This is the lesser marsh grasshopper.
0:16:17 > 0:16:19Which is great to find. I wasn't expecting to find it here.
0:16:19 > 0:16:21They're often found on the coast.
0:16:21 > 0:16:24They like long, damp grass.
0:16:24 > 0:16:28So, I suppose the grass here is very lush,
0:16:28 > 0:16:30so it's obviously a great habitat for this,
0:16:30 > 0:16:33and I can see other species of grasshopper, as well.
0:16:33 > 0:16:35Oh. Where's that one gone?
0:16:40 > 0:16:43Grasshoppers and crickets are more often found in meadows
0:16:43 > 0:16:47and grassland, so it's great to find them thriving here in suburbia.
0:16:49 > 0:16:52As their names suggest, they eat grass,
0:16:52 > 0:16:55although crickets sometimes snack on small insects.
0:16:55 > 0:16:59Ah-ha. Now, this is another species.
0:16:59 > 0:17:02Ah, now, here we have one of my favourites,
0:17:02 > 0:17:04the Roesel's bush-cricket.
0:17:06 > 0:17:09People sometimes ask, what's the difference between
0:17:09 > 0:17:11a grasshopper and a cricket?
0:17:11 > 0:17:14Well, one of the most obvious differences
0:17:14 > 0:17:16between bush-crickets and grasshoppers
0:17:16 > 0:17:18is the length of the feelers or antennae.
0:17:18 > 0:17:20On this beautiful little Roesel's bush-cricket,
0:17:20 > 0:17:23you can see that the antennae are very long and threadlike.
0:17:23 > 0:17:25They're usually longer than the body.
0:17:26 > 0:17:28In this grasshopper, though... Oh, look,
0:17:28 > 0:17:31I've got another Roesel's bush-cricket on me,
0:17:31 > 0:17:32crawled up from the vegetation.
0:17:32 > 0:17:35So, you can see the beautiful, long antennae.
0:17:35 > 0:17:39Whereas in this grasshopper, you can see the antennae are shorter
0:17:39 > 0:17:41than the body, quite stubby.
0:17:49 > 0:17:51Summer's a good time of year to be a bush-cricket.
0:17:56 > 0:17:59The grass is long, the sun is warm,
0:17:59 > 0:18:02and so, naturally, their minds turn to mating.
0:18:06 > 0:18:10First, the males attract a female by rubbing their wings together.
0:18:14 > 0:18:18But after that, things start getting a bit weird.
0:18:22 > 0:18:24The male moves beneath the female
0:18:24 > 0:18:27and clings onto a hook at the end of her abdomen.
0:18:30 > 0:18:34He places a small package of sperm inside an opening
0:18:34 > 0:18:36in the female's body.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43But the sperm is packed with nutrients
0:18:43 > 0:18:46and might tempt his partner to eat it.
0:18:50 > 0:18:55So, the male cricket covers that sperm with a large blob
0:18:55 > 0:18:59of protein-rich jelly called a nuptial gift.
0:19:03 > 0:19:09And this sticky snack distracts the female long enough for the sperm
0:19:09 > 0:19:10to reach its destination.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16I suppose it takes the idea of a romantic dinner
0:19:16 > 0:19:17to a whole new level.
0:19:23 > 0:19:28Strange goings-on aren't limited to the smaller animals on our lawns.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34We've installed fixed motion-sensitive cameras
0:19:34 > 0:19:36in all of the gardens.
0:19:37 > 0:19:41The animal that shows up most is also one of the most divisive.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48For the residents, foxes are a bit of a mixed blessing.
0:19:50 > 0:19:52We do hear the foxes,
0:19:52 > 0:19:56usually in the middle of the night, and they make some very sort of
0:19:56 > 0:19:59strong, loud sort of barking, howling noises.
0:19:59 > 0:20:01It sounds quite vicious.
0:20:01 > 0:20:03FOX SCREAMS
0:20:03 > 0:20:05A few doors down,
0:20:05 > 0:20:09retired couple Bill and Jean enjoy seeing foxes in their garden -
0:20:09 > 0:20:11most of the time.
0:20:11 > 0:20:15- We don't mind them coming in at all, really, you know.- No.
0:20:17 > 0:20:19The cubs, when you see them, are lovely, though, aren't they?
0:20:19 > 0:20:22- Yeah, they hop about. - They play around in the garden
0:20:22 > 0:20:24- and you can just watch them for ages.- Yeah.
0:20:24 > 0:20:25And you come out here some days
0:20:25 > 0:20:28and they've thrown all of the plant pots around
0:20:28 > 0:20:32- the garden, and it's the babies, I should imagine...- Just playing.
0:20:32 > 0:20:35Picking it up and, yeah, running around with them.
0:20:37 > 0:20:38I don't like the smell.
0:20:40 > 0:20:42It's horrendous.
0:20:42 > 0:20:43But there you go.
0:20:45 > 0:20:49Our residents have seen foxes in every garden on the street.
0:20:51 > 0:20:55But exactly how many there are and what they get up to at night
0:20:55 > 0:20:56is still a mystery.
0:20:57 > 0:21:00By looking at markings on their faces,
0:21:00 > 0:21:04mammal expert Dawn Scott can tell individual foxes apart.
0:21:05 > 0:21:09And she's discovered that our gardens are home to a large
0:21:09 > 0:21:11and rather unusual fox family.
0:21:12 > 0:21:16So, we've seen four cubs and one adult so far.
0:21:18 > 0:21:20- This is the adult here.- Yeah.
0:21:20 > 0:21:21He's quite distinctive.
0:21:21 > 0:21:23- I'm saying he, cos we thought it was a female.- Right.
0:21:23 > 0:21:27- We thought it was a mother and cubs. - Yeah.- But actually, it's a dog fox.
0:21:27 > 0:21:30And his tail is quite distinctive, quite narrow,
0:21:30 > 0:21:33- and he's also got a little black mark on his lip.- OK.
0:21:33 > 0:21:34So I've called him Tache.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38And you can see one, two, three, four cubs.
0:21:38 > 0:21:40So that's your four. That's the four cubs.
0:21:41 > 0:21:45Dawn, what do you think has happened to the female fox here?
0:21:45 > 0:21:48I think quite recently, the female's been run over.
0:21:48 > 0:21:52And the cubs are weaned and their dad has had to step in as a single
0:21:52 > 0:21:54dad and look after those cubs at this stage.
0:21:54 > 0:21:56And is that typical of foxes, they'll do that?
0:21:56 > 0:21:59It's quite unusual, actually.
0:21:59 > 0:22:01It's been known, but it's not common.
0:22:01 > 0:22:03Make or break for those cubs, basically.
0:22:03 > 0:22:06- Yeah.- So he's playing the role of a good single parent.
0:22:10 > 0:22:13Fox cubs have a very high mortality rate,
0:22:13 > 0:22:16so it's doubly impressive that dad Tache
0:22:16 > 0:22:17has kept his young family going.
0:22:19 > 0:22:22We'll be following our foxes all year to see how they cope
0:22:22 > 0:22:25with each of the four seasons.
0:22:35 > 0:22:40At our HQ in the pond garden, the BioBlitz team are slaving over
0:22:40 > 0:22:46hot microscopes, trying to identify as many insects as they can.
0:22:46 > 0:22:47It's a tough job.
0:22:47 > 0:22:51The only way to tell some species apart are tiny variations
0:22:51 > 0:22:55in leg length, wing shape, or even genitalia.
0:22:56 > 0:23:01What's clear is that in summer, our gardens are full of pollinators,
0:23:01 > 0:23:03attracted by the huge number of flowers.
0:23:11 > 0:23:14We plant flowers because of the way that they look.
0:23:14 > 0:23:16But they're not really for us.
0:23:18 > 0:23:22No, they've co-evolved with insects and other pollinators
0:23:22 > 0:23:25for millions of years.
0:23:25 > 0:23:29The plants provide sugary nectar and in return, the insects transport
0:23:29 > 0:23:34pollen from flower to flower, fertilising them.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37It's how flowering plants have sex.
0:23:40 > 0:23:43But this doesn't happen by accident.
0:23:43 > 0:23:46Flowers use secret signals to tell pollinators where to go...
0:23:48 > 0:23:51..and these are normally invisible.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57But photographer and scientist Jolyan Troscianko
0:23:57 > 0:23:59has a special camera that can show us
0:23:59 > 0:24:02how pollinators see where to land.
0:24:05 > 0:24:08Now, Jolyan, I'm immediately taken by your gadget,
0:24:08 > 0:24:10because I'm admiring the precision. JOLYAN LAUGHS
0:24:10 > 0:24:13- Thank you.- Precision is one thing, what's the purpose?
0:24:13 > 0:24:16What this does is it allows you to see invisible light and UV light
0:24:16 > 0:24:18- simultaneously.- Right.
0:24:18 > 0:24:22There's a mirror here that reflects the ultraviolet light up into this
0:24:22 > 0:24:25camera but lets the visible light straight through into this camera.
0:24:25 > 0:24:30We can't normally see ultraviolet light, but pollinators can.
0:24:30 > 0:24:34Jolyan uses custom software to combine the normal colour image
0:24:34 > 0:24:35with the ultraviolet one...
0:24:37 > 0:24:39..to give us a bee's eye view.
0:24:41 > 0:24:45In the ultraviolet world, the foliage really absorbs
0:24:45 > 0:24:48the ultraviolet powerfully, so the petals stand out very strongly
0:24:48 > 0:24:50against the background there.
0:24:52 > 0:24:55This contrast works like landing lights,
0:24:55 > 0:24:57guiding the bees to the flowers.
0:24:59 > 0:25:01On their final approach,
0:25:01 > 0:25:05a hidden ultraviolet bull's-eye highlights the exact location
0:25:05 > 0:25:06of the nectar.
0:25:17 > 0:25:19The camera shows our borders...
0:25:20 > 0:25:23..in a whole new light.
0:25:23 > 0:25:25Well, it doesn't only look good,
0:25:25 > 0:25:27it's good at proving its purpose, as well.
0:25:33 > 0:25:37But flowers and pollinators don't always work together.
0:25:40 > 0:25:42Beneath the border in the pond garden,
0:25:42 > 0:25:45some insects are carrying out daylight robbery.
0:25:49 > 0:25:51Bumblebees cannot reach the nectar
0:25:51 > 0:25:54inside these exotic penstemon flowers.
0:25:54 > 0:25:56Their tongues are simply too short.
0:26:00 > 0:26:02So, instead, they bite a hole at the base...
0:26:05 > 0:26:09..then, using their hairy tongues, they gorge themselves on nectar,
0:26:09 > 0:26:12but without picking up any pollen.
0:26:16 > 0:26:18It's called nectar robbing.
0:26:18 > 0:26:22The bees get a free meal without fertilising the flower.
0:26:25 > 0:26:29This burglary in the border is more common than you might think.
0:26:37 > 0:26:39Dusk in the gardens.
0:26:41 > 0:26:44And in the flower borders, there's a changing of the guard.
0:26:46 > 0:26:50Day flyers retire and out come the creatures of the night.
0:26:53 > 0:26:57Many moths feed on nectar, just like bees,
0:26:57 > 0:26:59and they're important pollinators.
0:27:05 > 0:27:09Some of our most common garden plants take advantage of this.
0:27:13 > 0:27:17Evening primrose flowers unfurl only at dusk
0:27:17 > 0:27:19and stay open all night long.
0:27:27 > 0:27:30We want to find out how many different kinds of moth
0:27:30 > 0:27:31live in the gardens.
0:27:32 > 0:27:34In the modern garden,
0:27:34 > 0:27:37moth specialist Zoe Randle has brought a trap
0:27:37 > 0:27:39to help us do just that.
0:27:40 > 0:27:43Moths aren't killed by these moth traps,
0:27:43 > 0:27:46they're just attracted to the light and they spend the night
0:27:46 > 0:27:47in amongst the egg boxes.
0:27:51 > 0:27:55Before long, the bright light is luring moths from miles around.
0:28:02 > 0:28:05Moth numbers are declining in the UK,
0:28:05 > 0:28:09but there are over 30 times as many species of moth as there are
0:28:09 > 0:28:13butterfly, which means they come in an amazing array
0:28:13 > 0:28:14of shapes and sizes.
0:28:17 > 0:28:19See that one? That big one bashing around,
0:28:19 > 0:28:22- that was a large yellow underwing. - Yeah, I saw the yellow triangle.
0:28:22 > 0:28:26Yeah. He's gone into the undergrowth there.
0:28:26 > 0:28:29And then this one here's a poplar grey.
0:28:30 > 0:28:35- Oh, yeah.- And this one here is a riband wave.
0:28:46 > 0:28:49It's morning and Zoe's back to check her results.
0:28:59 > 0:29:01We got 48 species in total,
0:29:01 > 0:29:04which isn't bad at all for an urban back garden.
0:29:04 > 0:29:07There's hedgerows, there's undergrowth, there's trees
0:29:07 > 0:29:09and there's shrubs, so it's absolutely perfect.
0:29:09 > 0:29:12You know, it's a fabulous oasis for our declining moths.
0:29:17 > 0:29:21Our gardens are home to a fabulous diversity of moths,
0:29:21 > 0:29:23if you know how to find them.
0:29:24 > 0:29:28But with the season coming to an end, I want to know how much other
0:29:28 > 0:29:30wildlife we've seen so far.
0:29:31 > 0:29:32How's the team doing?
0:29:32 > 0:29:35In terms of biodiversity, range of different species of pollinators,
0:29:35 > 0:29:39- what do we think?- Yeah, so, we're getting about 20 species per garden,
0:29:39 > 0:29:43across the three types that we're focusing on.
0:29:43 > 0:29:45So that's across the flies, the wasps
0:29:45 > 0:29:48and the beetles, as well, showing different...
0:29:48 > 0:29:51- We're talking hundreds of species in this small number of gardens.- Yes.
0:29:51 > 0:29:53Yes, which is really interesting, to get that many.
0:29:53 > 0:29:55Well, I think many people will be surprised,
0:29:55 > 0:29:58they will have probably seen the bumblebees and the honeybees,
0:29:58 > 0:30:00and maybe some butterflies,
0:30:00 > 0:30:02and presumed that was their pollinator set.
0:30:02 > 0:30:05But there are hundreds of other organisms out there doing
0:30:05 > 0:30:08- essential work.- There are. Yes, absolutely.
0:30:08 > 0:30:12Along with our pollinators, we found ten species of mammal, our moths,
0:30:12 > 0:30:14snails and crickets.
0:30:16 > 0:30:20So already, this shows us the richness of the wildlife
0:30:20 > 0:30:21in our gardens.
0:30:30 > 0:30:33But as the seasons change, our gardens transform...
0:30:35 > 0:30:38..and that means our wildlife must change, too.
0:31:12 > 0:31:14The year has turned.
0:31:14 > 0:31:17The days are getting shorter, the nights are getting cooler
0:31:17 > 0:31:20and there's a real whiff of autumn in the air.
0:31:20 > 0:31:23But thankfully, throughout the summer, the pollinators were doing
0:31:23 > 0:31:29their duty, because now there's an enormous quantity of berries, nuts
0:31:29 > 0:31:31and fruit available.
0:31:31 > 0:31:35And this season, we're going to be looking at how the creatures in our
0:31:35 > 0:31:40gardens use these resources to prepare for hard times ahead.
0:31:42 > 0:31:44Our BioBlitz team is back,
0:31:44 > 0:31:48hunting for more species of insect and other creepy-crawlies.
0:31:50 > 0:31:54And our cameras are capturing how our larger animals cope
0:31:54 > 0:31:55with this critical time...
0:31:58 > 0:32:01..a time of death and decay,
0:32:01 > 0:32:04but also a time of plenty.
0:32:05 > 0:32:10At this time of year, many animals prepare for the hard winter ahead
0:32:10 > 0:32:14by eating as much as possible and storing the excess as fat.
0:32:14 > 0:32:17So, if you're out and about, you might spot some plump pigeons,
0:32:17 > 0:32:21some stout squirrels, or some very fat pheasants.
0:32:21 > 0:32:26But there is one creature that increases so much in size,
0:32:26 > 0:32:29it's as if it's appeared from nowhere.
0:32:29 > 0:32:33This is the time of the spider.
0:32:36 > 0:32:38Almost overnight,
0:32:38 > 0:32:43in mid autumn, our garden's suddenly become festooned with silk.
0:32:46 > 0:32:50But the spider season isn't always popular with our residents.
0:32:52 > 0:32:56They move in a very suspicious way, particularly inside, so,
0:32:56 > 0:32:59they scuttle round with their legs and crawl up walls,
0:32:59 > 0:33:01which is quite unnatural, really, to a human,
0:33:01 > 0:33:04so I think that's the bit that's quite scary.
0:33:05 > 0:33:08The spiders in that shed.
0:33:08 > 0:33:11Oh, I mean, sometimes they'll make ME jump when I see them.
0:33:11 > 0:33:13Cor, they are big, aren't they?
0:33:13 > 0:33:15Size of your hand, almost, like that, you know?
0:33:17 > 0:33:22Yet spiders are a vital part of any garden ecosystem.
0:33:23 > 0:33:27Entomologist Karim Vahed is scouring their favourite haunts
0:33:27 > 0:33:31to find as many different species as he possibly can.
0:33:31 > 0:33:34He thinks we should all be welcoming them with open arms.
0:33:35 > 0:33:38Spiders are definitely the gardener's friend.
0:33:38 > 0:33:40They consume a huge amount
0:33:40 > 0:33:44of potentially nuisance insects and pests.
0:33:44 > 0:33:46In fact, this spider here has recently fed
0:33:46 > 0:33:48on a nice, big, fat, juicy greenfly.
0:33:52 > 0:33:55This is a beautiful garden cross spider.
0:33:55 > 0:33:57The classic garden spider.
0:33:57 > 0:34:01We start to see them towards the end of the summer and the autumn,
0:34:01 > 0:34:03because the females have been growing
0:34:03 > 0:34:04all through the summer
0:34:04 > 0:34:07and they finally reach adulthood at this time of year.
0:34:07 > 0:34:09They spin these beautiful orb webs.
0:34:09 > 0:34:13And I'm going to see if I can tempt this spider out of its little lair.
0:34:16 > 0:34:20Spiders pounce at the slightest sign of vibration.
0:34:21 > 0:34:22There she is.
0:34:25 > 0:34:28Around 100 different species commonly live in our gardens.
0:34:31 > 0:34:36And beneath the late-season blooms lurks one of the most distinctive...
0:34:36 > 0:34:38the crab spider.
0:34:43 > 0:34:45With her venomous bite,
0:34:45 > 0:34:47this female will kill flies
0:34:47 > 0:34:50and even larger insects, like bees.
0:34:51 > 0:34:53She doesn't weave a web,
0:34:53 > 0:34:56she simply sets trip lines and then lies in wait.
0:35:16 > 0:35:21When your prey has a deadly sting, it pays to be cautious.
0:35:30 > 0:35:34But the crab spider has a secret stealth weapon.
0:35:35 > 0:35:39Incredibly, she can change colour to match the flower she's on.
0:36:09 > 0:36:12It's not just the spiders that are fattening up for winter.
0:36:15 > 0:36:18Our fox cubs are exploring our gardens more and more,
0:36:18 > 0:36:19getting ready to leave home.
0:36:24 > 0:36:26Like all teenagers, they're constantly hungry.
0:36:28 > 0:36:32Thankfully, this rabbit didn't end up as dinner.
0:36:36 > 0:36:39Our cameras also show smaller mammals all over the gardens
0:36:39 > 0:36:41hunting for food.
0:36:45 > 0:36:47We want to find out which species they are,
0:36:47 > 0:36:50so mammal expert Dawn Scott
0:36:50 > 0:36:53has filled the gardens with humane non-lethal traps.
0:37:03 > 0:37:06The wild garden is ideal small-mammal habitat.
0:37:06 > 0:37:10If the trap doors are down, it's a good sign.
0:37:10 > 0:37:12- Ooh. Doors shut.- Door down.
0:37:12 > 0:37:13- Doors shut.- We love door down.
0:37:13 > 0:37:15Do you want to keep hold of that?
0:37:20 > 0:37:21I can't smell it.
0:37:25 > 0:37:27Come on... Yay!
0:37:27 > 0:37:29- Oh, a mouse.- Ooh.
0:37:29 > 0:37:31Not the biggest wood mouse I've seen in my life.
0:37:35 > 0:37:36OK.
0:37:38 > 0:37:41So with a wood mouse you've got this really white tummy.
0:37:41 > 0:37:43In a house mouse that would be grey.
0:37:45 > 0:37:46Massive whiskers.
0:37:46 > 0:37:48Massive whiskers.
0:37:48 > 0:37:49And so sensitive, as well.
0:37:49 > 0:37:52They detect their surroundings by that and navigate.
0:37:52 > 0:37:56And they're extremely agile with that long tail for balance,
0:37:56 > 0:37:59because these things will climb right up into the trees, won't they?
0:37:59 > 0:38:01Here he comes, here he comes, here he comes.
0:38:16 > 0:38:17Along with our wood mice,
0:38:17 > 0:38:21shrews and voles are also common garden residents.
0:38:21 > 0:38:22But apparently not here.
0:38:23 > 0:38:25Perhaps there are too many cats.
0:38:38 > 0:38:40As well as the mice,
0:38:40 > 0:38:43our cameras have picked up animals our residents haven't seen here for
0:38:43 > 0:38:44many years...
0:38:46 > 0:38:49..hedgehogs - our gardens are full of them.
0:38:52 > 0:38:55Their population is in freefall across the UK,
0:38:55 > 0:38:59so as part of our species count, Dawn wants to check whether they're
0:38:59 > 0:39:00in good condition.
0:39:01 > 0:39:05To do that, she has to catch a hedgehog and weigh it.
0:39:05 > 0:39:07Easier said than done.
0:39:10 > 0:39:13If you go round the edges slowly, listening really carefully,
0:39:13 > 0:39:16you can hear little grunting noises,
0:39:16 > 0:39:20those noises that give the hedgehog its name, a little hog-like grunt.
0:39:20 > 0:39:22So, snuffling grunts.
0:39:22 > 0:39:26So, if we listen very carefully and search around the edges, we might
0:39:26 > 0:39:27come across a hedgehog.
0:39:31 > 0:39:35After a long hunt, Dawn finally spots something
0:39:35 > 0:39:37right in the middle of the lawn.
0:39:38 > 0:39:40OK. Yeah.
0:39:40 > 0:39:43Let's get the weight on it.
0:39:43 > 0:39:46This young hedgehog is well underweight and unlikely to survive
0:39:46 > 0:39:49the winter if it stays that way.
0:39:49 > 0:39:51But it's still got a fighting chance.
0:39:51 > 0:39:54You see, at this time of year it can put on weight very quickly,
0:39:54 > 0:39:57as long as it has a reliable supply of food.
0:40:02 > 0:40:03In the pond garden,
0:40:03 > 0:40:08ex-engineer Steve volunteers to lend a hand by constructing a hedgehog
0:40:08 > 0:40:10feeding station.
0:40:15 > 0:40:19And it's not long before our hog is taking full advantage.
0:40:26 > 0:40:30Hedgehogs will eat fallen fruit, as well as worms, small insects,
0:40:30 > 0:40:31slugs and snails...
0:40:34 > 0:40:38..so they're not just cute, they're a true gardener's friend.
0:40:38 > 0:40:42And hopefully our street will still be full of hedgehogs come spring.
0:40:52 > 0:40:55It's not just the animals that are stocking up for winter,
0:40:55 > 0:41:00the plants are making preparation for the hard times ahead, as well.
0:41:00 > 0:41:05And there's no more obvious and spectacular example than this,
0:41:05 > 0:41:08the leaves changing colour on the trees,
0:41:08 > 0:41:12something that we've caught in spectacular style with our cameras.
0:41:12 > 0:41:16But the reason it happens is actually quite mysterious.
0:41:22 > 0:41:25A tree's leaves are its power source,
0:41:25 > 0:41:27turning sunlight into energy.
0:41:29 > 0:41:33But large leaves make a tree far more likely to be blown over
0:41:33 > 0:41:35in winter storms.
0:41:42 > 0:41:46First the tree breaks down the green pigment, chlorophyll.
0:41:47 > 0:41:49This reveals yellows and browns.
0:41:52 > 0:41:56But some trees also manufacture a special pigment in autumn that turns
0:41:56 > 0:41:58their leaves a glorious red.
0:42:03 > 0:42:09We're not sure why they do this, but it could be a form of sunscreen,
0:42:09 > 0:42:11protecting the leaves as they decay.
0:42:25 > 0:42:29Whatever the reason, for gardeners the end result is the same...
0:42:31 > 0:42:34..lots and lots of dead leaves.
0:42:41 > 0:42:43Most end up on compost heaps.
0:42:45 > 0:42:48At this time of year they're absolutely overflowing...
0:42:50 > 0:42:53..and the pond garden has a particularly fine-looking heap.
0:42:59 > 0:43:02This is an extraordinarily rich environment.
0:43:02 > 0:43:04Not just all of the material that's here,
0:43:04 > 0:43:06but all of the life that's here.
0:43:07 > 0:43:10Having taken the side off of this particular compost heap, we can look
0:43:10 > 0:43:13at the strata of decay,
0:43:13 > 0:43:15because the material down at the bottom here has obviously been in
0:43:15 > 0:43:17here the longest
0:43:17 > 0:43:20and it's pretty much broken down into this fine soil.
0:43:20 > 0:43:23At the top, there are larger pieces here.
0:43:23 > 0:43:26Look at these leaves, nothing's started munching them yet.
0:43:26 > 0:43:29So what we've got here is a little ecosystem.
0:43:29 > 0:43:32In amongst it we've got detritivores,
0:43:32 > 0:43:35things that are breaking down the dead material.
0:43:35 > 0:43:38But then, of course, we've got the things that eat THEM.
0:43:38 > 0:43:41So it may look lifeless on the surface of things,
0:43:41 > 0:43:45but I've got to tell you that this is an extremely dynamic part
0:43:45 > 0:43:46of any garden.
0:43:50 > 0:43:54To us, these huge heaps of decaying matter are simply waste.
0:43:56 > 0:43:59But for many insects, they're food mountains.
0:44:03 > 0:44:07This dead vegetation attracts vast numbers of hungry creatures.
0:44:16 > 0:44:20We've combed every compost bin on the street
0:44:20 > 0:44:22and scoured the leaf litter, too.
0:44:24 > 0:44:27And we're starting to get a picture of the weird and wonderful creatures
0:44:27 > 0:44:28that live here.
0:44:30 > 0:44:36We've got a very high number of millipedes and centipedes.
0:44:36 > 0:44:39That's one of our flat-bodied millipedes there.
0:44:39 > 0:44:42Flat-bodied millipede. Look at that, they're fantastic.
0:44:42 > 0:44:46In terms of body shape, we can contrast...
0:44:46 > 0:44:50Look at that, that is a remarkable organism, isn't it?
0:44:50 > 0:44:53- Yeah.- It's at least six centimetres long.
0:44:53 > 0:44:56- A single species of centipede.- Yes.
0:44:56 > 0:45:00I used to find these as a kid in the garden under stones.
0:45:00 > 0:45:02If you want a truly dramatic example...
0:45:03 > 0:45:04Oh, yeah, that's much larger.
0:45:04 > 0:45:06- Yeah.- Yeah.
0:45:06 > 0:45:08I mean, that is, that's a tiger, isn't it?
0:45:08 > 0:45:12The equivalent of a Siberian tiger in the leaf litter.
0:45:12 > 0:45:14- A ferocious predator.- Yes.
0:45:14 > 0:45:16And, of course, you'd need to be a ferocious predator if you're going
0:45:16 > 0:45:18to attack things like woodlice,
0:45:18 > 0:45:20incredibly well-defended.
0:45:28 > 0:45:31Armour plating is common in the compost heap
0:45:31 > 0:45:33because it's chock-full of predators.
0:45:37 > 0:45:40This pocket-weight powerhouse is a pseudoscorpion.
0:45:43 > 0:45:45At just a few millimetres long,
0:45:45 > 0:45:50it's a perfect replica of a scorpion, minus the tail.
0:45:50 > 0:45:52And it's rarely seen, let alone filmed.
0:46:00 > 0:46:03For sheer weirdness nothing beats the harvestman.
0:46:05 > 0:46:08It hovers above the compost heap like an alien spaceship.
0:46:16 > 0:46:19But the king of the compost heap
0:46:19 > 0:46:21has to be the ground beetle.
0:46:22 > 0:46:25Armed with powerful jaws,
0:46:25 > 0:46:29this jet-black assassin is fast and ferocious.
0:46:53 > 0:46:57Altogether, we found an impressive variety of species
0:46:57 > 0:46:58in our compost heaps,
0:46:58 > 0:47:00some in huge numbers.
0:47:07 > 0:47:10But autumn leaves aren't just important for the animals in our
0:47:10 > 0:47:14compost heap, they're food for the humblest creatures, too.
0:47:17 > 0:47:19And in autumn they're at their most active.
0:47:23 > 0:47:27The Natural History Museum's curator of worms, Emma Sherlock,
0:47:27 > 0:47:31has come to the kids' garden to find out what kind of worms live here.
0:47:34 > 0:47:40Thank you very much for helping out doing a worm survey today. So...
0:47:40 > 0:47:45Emma's got an unusual trick to charm worms up out of their burrows -
0:47:45 > 0:47:48a mixture of mustard powder and water.
0:47:52 > 0:47:53Right...
0:47:57 > 0:48:02The water then goes down into their burrows and just irritates them a
0:48:02 > 0:48:04little bit. It doesn't do anything really nasty,
0:48:04 > 0:48:08just kind of slightly annoys them.
0:48:08 > 0:48:10Oh, look, there's a big one over there just come up.
0:48:14 > 0:48:16Ah, thank you. That's brilliant.
0:48:17 > 0:48:20- He's got... - Ah-ha. Brilliant, thank you.
0:48:20 > 0:48:23- This one... - That one's probably an Enchytraeid.
0:48:23 > 0:48:24Ooh. Yeah, nice.
0:48:26 > 0:48:29But, yes, we can see just from looking at these that we've got
0:48:29 > 0:48:31about four different species.
0:48:32 > 0:48:37It's a good start but to do a proper worm survey the families must leave
0:48:37 > 0:48:38no stone unturned.
0:48:38 > 0:48:40Shall we have a look? See what we can find?
0:48:40 > 0:48:43- A really big, fat one.- Yes.
0:48:43 > 0:48:44It's huge!
0:48:50 > 0:48:54Worms perform fantastic feats in our gardens.
0:48:54 > 0:48:57As they burrow through the earth they create air channels,
0:48:57 > 0:48:59improving the soil's health.
0:49:05 > 0:49:08As well as eating decaying matter,
0:49:08 > 0:49:11they use tiny stones in their stomach to
0:49:11 > 0:49:13grind up and digest the soil itself.
0:49:22 > 0:49:27And they excrete up to their own weight in nutrient rich worm cast
0:49:27 > 0:49:28every single day.
0:49:40 > 0:49:44Worms really are the gardener's best friend.
0:49:44 > 0:49:46But they don't have it easy.
0:49:47 > 0:49:50It's a really tough life being an earthworm.
0:49:50 > 0:49:53For one, we don't appreciate earthworms enough,
0:49:53 > 0:49:58but also they are right at the bottom of the food chain.
0:49:58 > 0:50:01Everything eats earthworms.
0:50:01 > 0:50:04Even other worms actually eat earthworms.
0:50:04 > 0:50:09Flat worms, leeches, even ants, things like that, eat earthworms.
0:50:09 > 0:50:13But then you go further up the food chain to birds,
0:50:13 > 0:50:16to moles, to badgers, to foxes.
0:50:16 > 0:50:21In fact, in South America there's even human tribes
0:50:21 > 0:50:22that eat earthworms.
0:50:24 > 0:50:26- Num-num-num.- Really good.
0:50:27 > 0:50:33A garden like this can contain over 170,000 worms,
0:50:33 > 0:50:37but how many different species have our families unearthed?
0:50:37 > 0:50:40I'm pretty certain we've got about nine different species,
0:50:40 > 0:50:43which is fantastic for a garden like this.
0:50:52 > 0:50:56Our BioBlitz team have done well this season.
0:50:56 > 0:50:58Thanks to our spiders, worms,
0:50:58 > 0:51:02dozens of compost-heap insects and a few extra mammals, our species list
0:51:02 > 0:51:03is going up.
0:51:09 > 0:51:15But the seasons are changing once again, and so too are our gardens.
0:51:17 > 0:51:21For our wildlife, the time of plenty is at an end.
0:51:57 > 0:51:59It's winter. And it's cold
0:51:59 > 0:52:02and the nights are long and colder still.
0:52:02 > 0:52:06So for the animals in the garden, this time of year can be deadly.
0:52:11 > 0:52:13There are slim pickings for our wildlife in this weather.
0:52:17 > 0:52:20Fewer flowers and leaves mean fewer insects.
0:52:22 > 0:52:25And that means less food for everything else higher up
0:52:25 > 0:52:26the food chain...
0:52:27 > 0:52:32..which is why at this time of year many of us lend a helping hand.
0:52:34 > 0:52:36Even when it's cold and raining,
0:52:36 > 0:52:39there's always somewhere in the garden where there's plenty of food,
0:52:39 > 0:52:40the bird feeder.
0:52:42 > 0:52:46In this season we're going to be looking at how our generosity
0:52:46 > 0:52:49positively affects our feathered friends, our birds.
0:52:54 > 0:52:57We are monitoring the feeders with our cameras to record how many
0:52:57 > 0:52:59different species visit.
0:53:00 > 0:53:03Many, such as these long-tailed tits, are pretty common.
0:53:05 > 0:53:07But you don't often see pheasants in suburbia.
0:53:16 > 0:53:21Amateur ornithologists Pat and Steve have been helping with our big bird
0:53:21 > 0:53:23count and thoroughly enjoying the show.
0:53:26 > 0:53:29The interesting thing is all the birds that you're getting in your
0:53:29 > 0:53:31garden are essentially woodland species.
0:53:31 > 0:53:33- Yes.- The tits are woodland species, your treecreeper, your nuthatch,
0:53:33 > 0:53:36too, your woodpigeon that you've mentioned.
0:53:36 > 0:53:40And this is because gardens offer a sort of... Well,
0:53:40 > 0:53:44they're a marginal habitat but they're pretty much a replica of,
0:53:44 > 0:53:45you know, a little woodland clearing.
0:53:49 > 0:53:52Many garden birds are seasonal commuters,
0:53:52 > 0:53:56living in the countryside during the summer and coming to our gardens in
0:53:56 > 0:53:57winter when food is scarce.
0:54:00 > 0:54:02It's easy to see why.
0:54:02 > 0:54:05In Britain, bird feeding is a national obsession.
0:54:09 > 0:54:13Guess how much the Brits spend on bird food every winter.
0:54:13 > 0:54:14I wouldn't like to hazard a guess.
0:54:14 > 0:54:17- No, go on. No, go on. Stick your neck out.- Come on, millions.
0:54:17 > 0:54:19Several million.
0:54:19 > 0:54:22It's in excess of £200 million every winter
0:54:22 > 0:54:25- that we spend in the UK.- Right.
0:54:25 > 0:54:29And as a nation we spend more per person than anywhere else on earth.
0:54:33 > 0:54:37Altogether, we record 38 different species of bird on our feeders
0:54:37 > 0:54:39and in our gardens.
0:54:42 > 0:54:46But we also want to find out how many times a day individual birds
0:54:46 > 0:54:48are visiting our feeders.
0:54:48 > 0:54:52In other words, how much they rely on the food that we are leaving out.
0:54:54 > 0:54:58To do this, we need to be able to tell one bird from another
0:54:58 > 0:55:00of the same species.
0:55:01 > 0:55:04This isn't possible by eye,
0:55:04 > 0:55:07but it is possible using some clever technology.
0:55:10 > 0:55:12But first we've got to catch some birds.
0:55:16 > 0:55:18Peter Delaloye and Steven Laing
0:55:18 > 0:55:21have over 60 years of experience between them.
0:55:26 > 0:55:28- Which one do you want to get out first?- Er...
0:55:29 > 0:55:32I'll take the bluetit, you have the blackbird.
0:55:33 > 0:55:37Bird-ringing schemes are run all over the country
0:55:37 > 0:55:39to research bird behaviour.
0:55:39 > 0:55:42They don't harm the birds in any way.
0:55:42 > 0:55:46But this is a highly skilled and highly regulated job,
0:55:46 > 0:55:49requiring several years of training and experience.
0:55:49 > 0:55:50133.
0:55:53 > 0:55:55We are ringing and measuring all the birds we catch.
0:55:58 > 0:56:02But we're putting special electronic tags on our bluetits.
0:56:04 > 0:56:08These use a wireless technology to record when each tagged bird
0:56:08 > 0:56:10lands on a special feeder.
0:56:11 > 0:56:15For our residents, this is a rare opportunity to get close to these
0:56:15 > 0:56:16beautiful creatures.
0:56:17 > 0:56:19They're very, very special.
0:56:21 > 0:56:25Look at that. Look at that. It is really, really beautiful.
0:56:45 > 0:56:47Oh. Happiness.
0:56:55 > 0:56:59Over a two-week period, our electronically tagged bluetits
0:56:59 > 0:57:02visit the feeders up to 12 times a day...
0:57:03 > 0:57:05..which means that feeders provide
0:57:05 > 0:57:07a large proportion of their daily food.
0:57:11 > 0:57:16But even so, with a hard winter, over half of the adult birds
0:57:16 > 0:57:18won't survive into the following year.
0:57:24 > 0:57:27One of the birds we most associate with winter is the robin.
0:57:29 > 0:57:32On our street, there's a resident in the pond garden.
0:57:34 > 0:57:37But these gardener's friends have a dark side.
0:57:40 > 0:57:43If another robin steps into its territory,
0:57:43 > 0:57:45it had better be ready for a fight.
0:57:50 > 0:57:51To see this in action,
0:57:51 > 0:57:55ornithologist Kate Risely has brought along an intruder,
0:57:55 > 0:57:58a creepily lifelike stuffed robin.
0:58:03 > 0:58:07Homeowner Steve is keen to watch this experiment for himself.
0:58:09 > 0:58:12He's in the tree behind the sheds, with the mossy trunk.
0:58:12 > 0:58:13On the apple tree.
0:58:13 > 0:58:18Our resident robin tries to show the intruder who's boss by making an
0:58:18 > 0:58:21aggressive staccato call called ticking.
0:58:23 > 0:58:26It's kind of a sign of aggression, territorial sign.
0:58:26 > 0:58:28- Oh, right. - It is a kind of alarm call.
0:58:30 > 0:58:31Would that be a warning, as well?
0:58:31 > 0:58:35Yes, saying that, "I'm here," to the other bird.
0:58:36 > 0:58:38He's a little bit het up, I would say.
0:58:41 > 0:58:46You can really see that movement he's making, very sharp, very short.
0:58:46 > 0:58:47Ducking himself
0:58:47 > 0:58:49and he's really drawing attention to himself and obviously to
0:58:49 > 0:58:52- his red breast.- Yes.- That's the bit that he's trying to show.
0:58:53 > 0:58:58We're used to seeing a robin's redbreast on Christmas cards,
0:58:58 > 0:59:01but it's actually war paint, a signal
0:59:01 > 0:59:03telling rival robins to back off.
0:59:08 > 0:59:10If the posturing doesn't work,
0:59:10 > 0:59:12they've been known to fight to the death.
0:59:15 > 0:59:20Of course, we remove our intruder long before they come to blows
0:59:20 > 0:59:24and our resident robin can go back to posing for Christmas cards.
0:59:34 > 0:59:37Winter can be quite a good time to look for birds and mammals in your
0:59:37 > 0:59:41garden. Things are tough, they're hungry, and if you're providing
0:59:41 > 0:59:44food, they'll come for it and you'll get to see them.
0:59:44 > 0:59:49But winter, well, it's not the best time of year to be an insect, is it?
0:59:49 > 0:59:52Not the best time of year to go looking for insects.
0:59:52 > 0:59:54Unless you know where they're hiding out.
0:59:57 > 1:00:01Even in this cold weather, our team are scouring the street,
1:00:01 > 1:00:03trying to answer our central question -
1:00:03 > 1:00:06how much wildlife lives in these back gardens?
1:00:09 > 1:00:12They're not finding many insects in the gardens themselves,
1:00:12 > 1:00:16but entomologist Karim Vahed is having better luck hunting
1:00:16 > 1:00:17through sheds and garages.
1:00:21 > 1:00:25So, Karim, you're having a good rummage around this, erm, well,
1:00:25 > 1:00:29pretty untidy old garage, what have you found?
1:00:29 > 1:00:32Quite a few things that in nature would hibernate in caves
1:00:32 > 1:00:37or even in hollow trees find sheds like this or garages an ideal
1:00:37 > 1:00:41substitute. So, one thing that I've found is really nice,
1:00:41 > 1:00:44- it's the herald moth, which overwinters as an adult.- Yeah.
1:00:44 > 1:00:46And in fact, just over here...
1:00:46 > 1:00:50- I can see it.- ..above your head there is a very nice herald moth.
1:00:50 > 1:00:55- Yeah.- In fact, there are about five in this garage in various places.
1:00:55 > 1:00:56Yeah.
1:00:58 > 1:01:00Most insects die off in autumn,
1:01:00 > 1:01:04leaving eggs or larvae to overwinter and then emerge again in spring.
1:01:06 > 1:01:11But the hardiest simply find a safe spot and become dormant.
1:01:12 > 1:01:15Sat motionless, they expend very little energy
1:01:15 > 1:01:18and should survive until spring without food or water.
1:01:21 > 1:01:25Many can even survive a hard frost.
1:01:25 > 1:01:28Quite a few insects can actually withstand
1:01:28 > 1:01:30temperatures below freezing.
1:01:30 > 1:01:34They actually produce an antifreeze in their blood,
1:01:34 > 1:01:38so they can actually withstand having ice around them.
1:01:38 > 1:01:39Wow. Amazing.
1:01:47 > 1:01:49With insects thin on the ground,
1:01:49 > 1:01:52our BioBlitz team are taking advantage of
1:01:52 > 1:01:56the bare trees in the fruit garden to investigate one of the strangest
1:01:56 > 1:01:57life forms on the street.
1:02:00 > 1:02:02Lichens are hybrids,
1:02:02 > 1:02:05made up of three very different kinds of organism -
1:02:05 > 1:02:09part plant, part fungus and part bacteria.
1:02:12 > 1:02:15Even today we've managed to find the three common species,
1:02:15 > 1:02:18which are these three that we've got down here.
1:02:18 > 1:02:21And a really nice range of different lichen forms.
1:02:21 > 1:02:24They're really beautiful and really fascinating species group.
1:02:24 > 1:02:28You see, the thing is, it's fair to say, isn't it, that mosses,
1:02:28 > 1:02:31liverworts, lichens, are very often overlooked,
1:02:31 > 1:02:34and yet we're talking about diversities here of 40 species
1:02:34 > 1:02:36- in a garden.- Mm-hmm.
1:02:36 > 1:02:39So these are obviously very significant in the garden community.
1:02:39 > 1:02:40Yes.
1:02:43 > 1:02:48Mosses and lichens grow wild in our gardens without us planting them.
1:02:48 > 1:02:52Under a microscope, they're stunning miniature forests.
1:02:54 > 1:02:57And they come in an astonishing number of different forms.
1:03:05 > 1:03:08So it's one pot which might have had a geranium.
1:03:08 > 1:03:10- I don't know what it's had in it. - Maybe. Don't know.
1:03:10 > 1:03:11Could be anything.
1:03:11 > 1:03:16But at this time of year, on the surface of this pot, ten species.
1:03:16 > 1:03:19Yes. Ten species of moss just in one little plant pot that we found just
1:03:19 > 1:03:21tucked inside on the patio.
1:03:21 > 1:03:24Overlooked little plant pot, but fascinating diversity.
1:03:24 > 1:03:27Ten species of moss.
1:03:27 > 1:03:30Honestly. There's so many riches in the garden, isn't there,
1:03:30 > 1:03:33if you know how to and take the trouble to look.
1:03:48 > 1:03:53Unusually for this far south there has been snow this winter.
1:03:54 > 1:03:58It makes the gardens a joy to look at but I want to find out how our
1:03:58 > 1:04:01family of foxes are coping with the cold.
1:04:06 > 1:04:11What we thought was the dad, the male, called Tache is still about.
1:04:11 > 1:04:14- That's good.- And he's still with a young female.
1:04:14 > 1:04:18And that is Tache. We can see that's very clearly Tache, that's the male.
1:04:18 > 1:04:19Indeed. Indeed.
1:04:20 > 1:04:23All the cubs from summer have now moved off
1:04:23 > 1:04:25to find their own territory.
1:04:25 > 1:04:27Apart from one,
1:04:27 > 1:04:29the young female, Smudge.
1:04:30 > 1:04:35At nine months old, she's now ready to bear cubs of her own.
1:04:35 > 1:04:36The group has split up,
1:04:36 > 1:04:40but we are seeing the dog fox following the female.
1:04:40 > 1:04:43- And this is because this is a breeding time of the year.- Yeah.
1:04:43 > 1:04:46Her posture, her position, with her head down, moving away,
1:04:46 > 1:04:48she keeps trying to get away from him.
1:04:48 > 1:04:51But what I think will happen is that another dog fox will come in
1:04:51 > 1:04:54and breed with her and actually displace Tache.
1:04:54 > 1:04:57He's getting a bit old now, I can see he's got a bit of a limp.
1:04:57 > 1:04:59He's still holding on to his territory.
1:04:59 > 1:05:00I was just thinking how handsome,
1:05:00 > 1:05:03a very handsome, mature fox, I thought.
1:05:05 > 1:05:09With food scarce, the foxes are also taking an interest in our hedgehog
1:05:09 > 1:05:11feeding station in the pond garden.
1:05:13 > 1:05:18So, that is Smudge, and you can see she really is getting into that,
1:05:18 > 1:05:19sort of, shelter for hedgehogs.
1:05:19 > 1:05:22And she's nearly completely submerged into that.
1:05:22 > 1:05:26- Look at that. - And in here is the hedgehog food.
1:05:26 > 1:05:27You can see it's going in for the food.
1:05:29 > 1:05:30That's great, isn't it?
1:05:30 > 1:05:34So, foxes, one of the reasons why they can survive in winter is
1:05:34 > 1:05:37because they are so adaptable at finding different types of food
1:05:37 > 1:05:39- that's available. - She comes out and licks her lips!
1:05:39 > 1:05:41So she's definitely getting the hedgehog food,
1:05:41 > 1:05:44there's no doubt about it. Well, she's had it all, she's off.
1:05:44 > 1:05:47That's brilliant, absolutely brilliant.
1:05:47 > 1:05:52When resident Steve noticed the foxes stealing the hedgehogs' food,
1:05:52 > 1:05:53he made a few modifications.
1:06:01 > 1:06:04And it is really interesting to see how they deal with that.
1:06:04 > 1:06:07So, this is Smudge coming in.
1:06:07 > 1:06:09She can't get in. He's put it at an angle now,
1:06:09 > 1:06:13so she can't get her head round like she did before.
1:06:13 > 1:06:16And then she tries to go from above, digging it out.
1:06:17 > 1:06:20And take off the paving slab, which is very heavy.
1:06:20 > 1:06:22She can't get in. And then she tries to go underneath.
1:06:25 > 1:06:27This just shows you what's going on in that fox's brain,
1:06:27 > 1:06:30how intelligent they are at being able to know there's food
1:06:30 > 1:06:32hidden, is quite remarkable.
1:06:32 > 1:06:36Even human babies can't do that up until the age of one.
1:06:36 > 1:06:37So it knows it's hidden
1:06:37 > 1:06:40and it's trying to solve a way to get into that.
1:06:40 > 1:06:42It's incredible behaviour.
1:06:42 > 1:06:45And then obviously she finally scent-marks it.
1:06:46 > 1:06:48And what happened? Did she ever get in?
1:06:48 > 1:06:50She didn't get in. No, absolutely flummoxed the fox.
1:06:50 > 1:06:52SHE LAUGHS
1:07:07 > 1:07:10Winter is at an end
1:07:10 > 1:07:13and the gardens begin to burst into new life.
1:07:19 > 1:07:23For our wildlife, good times are just around the corner.
1:07:43 > 1:07:46After the cold, dark winter, the weather is warming,
1:07:46 > 1:07:50the sap's rising and the trees are covered in blossom.
1:07:50 > 1:07:54Our gardens are in the throes of a radical transformation.
1:08:00 > 1:08:04Our BioBlitz team is back again in a final push to see how many
1:08:04 > 1:08:05different species we can find.
1:08:07 > 1:08:11And our fixed cameras are recording the comings and goings.
1:08:11 > 1:08:15It's a critical time of year for the wildlife in our gardens,
1:08:15 > 1:08:18when a few weeks' head start can make all the difference.
1:08:20 > 1:08:24We're going to investigate how animals wake up from their winter
1:08:24 > 1:08:27slumber and take advantage of all the fresh new growth.
1:08:27 > 1:08:31We're also going to be delving deep into our pond.
1:08:31 > 1:08:34We often say that putting a pond in your garden is the best way to
1:08:34 > 1:08:37attract wildlife and I want to find out whether that's true.
1:08:39 > 1:08:43Throughout the year the pond has changed dramatically...
1:08:44 > 1:08:46..from lush growth last summer...
1:08:47 > 1:08:49..to leaf fall in autumn...
1:08:51 > 1:08:52..freezing over in winter...
1:08:54 > 1:08:57..and finally bursting back into life in spring.
1:09:03 > 1:09:07The pond is a popular destination for our larger wildlife.
1:09:09 > 1:09:13Once again, Dawn has been monitoring the footage.
1:09:13 > 1:09:16One of my favourite videos is this one.
1:09:16 > 1:09:19And you can see how wildlife utilise the pond not just for drinking,
1:09:19 > 1:09:21but for other sources, as well.
1:09:21 > 1:09:23That's great. That's the best visitor of all.
1:09:23 > 1:09:27Unfortunately many people complain about herons coming to their garden
1:09:27 > 1:09:29pond. I suppose if they're fond of the fish they've stocked it with and
1:09:29 > 1:09:32they're losing them all to a heron, I can understand their frustration.
1:09:32 > 1:09:35Although I do always point out that there are more fish down
1:09:35 > 1:09:37the pet shop and a hungry heron should be satisfied.
1:09:37 > 1:09:39That's a great visitor to a garden.
1:09:39 > 1:09:41And can you see what it's taken?
1:09:41 > 1:09:43- It's got a frog.- Oh, has it?
1:09:43 > 1:09:44A massive big frog.
1:09:45 > 1:09:47Look at that, so it has.
1:09:47 > 1:09:49Giving it a clean.
1:09:56 > 1:09:58That's a great piece of biology in action, isn't it?
1:09:58 > 1:09:59It really is.
1:10:05 > 1:10:07It's obviously had lots of birds visit,
1:10:07 > 1:10:10but I was mainly interested in the mammals.
1:10:10 > 1:10:15Foxes, hedgehogs and squirrels use the pond all year round.
1:10:15 > 1:10:18But spring has brought a more unusual visitor.
1:10:19 > 1:10:21Now, is that the first badger we've seen?
1:10:21 > 1:10:23Yeah, that's the first badger we've seen.
1:10:23 > 1:10:25We have got footage of it in another garden.
1:10:25 > 1:10:27And it looks quite an old badger
1:10:27 > 1:10:30and it looks like it's injured, as well.
1:10:30 > 1:10:33So it might be a sort of roaming individual that's been ousted
1:10:33 > 1:10:34from its clan.
1:10:34 > 1:10:37But, yes, we can see that the badger is drinking from the pond, as well.
1:10:37 > 1:10:39So all the mammals are utilising the pond
1:10:39 > 1:10:41as well as that diversity of birds.
1:10:43 > 1:10:47Now, the pond is obviously a great resource for animals who live on
1:10:47 > 1:10:52dry land, but in spring the real action is under the water.
1:10:53 > 1:10:57In early March, our cameras pick up something extraordinary...
1:10:59 > 1:11:01..frogs, and dozens of them.
1:11:06 > 1:11:08For a few days in spring,
1:11:08 > 1:11:12huge gangs of males return to the pond where they spawned.
1:11:12 > 1:11:15And they've only got one thing on their minds.
1:11:24 > 1:11:28Mating is a pretty public affair if you're a frog.
1:11:29 > 1:11:31This male has latched onto a female
1:11:31 > 1:11:34using special sticky pads on his front feet.
1:11:35 > 1:11:39Now he must hold on tight until she starts laying eggs.
1:11:41 > 1:11:44Only then can he fertilise them with his sperm.
1:11:46 > 1:11:49And the female can keep him waiting for up to a day.
1:11:56 > 1:11:58Competition is fierce.
1:11:58 > 1:12:03In a hormone-driven frenzy, other males try to mate with pretty much
1:12:03 > 1:12:04anything that moves.
1:12:18 > 1:12:20But our male lasts the distance.
1:12:30 > 1:12:33A few weeks later, the pond is alive
1:12:33 > 1:12:35with hundreds and hundreds of tadpoles.
1:12:48 > 1:12:51There's a reason that frogs lay so many eggs.
1:12:51 > 1:12:54If you're a tadpole living in this pond,
1:12:54 > 1:12:57then beneath the surface, terror lurks.
1:13:00 > 1:13:05Pond life is every bit as cut-throat and alien as life in a deep ocean.
1:13:06 > 1:13:10This dragonfly larva is fast and deadly.
1:13:12 > 1:13:15It can live in the pond for up to three years,
1:13:15 > 1:13:18feasting on tadpoles and other pond life,
1:13:18 > 1:13:22before climbing out and emerging as an adult dragonfly.
1:13:26 > 1:13:28But newts are the dragons of the deep.
1:13:32 > 1:13:34Lithe, active hunters,
1:13:34 > 1:13:37at this time of year the tadpole-filled pond
1:13:37 > 1:13:39is their version of paradise...
1:13:40 > 1:13:43..where dinner almost swims right into your mouth.
1:13:59 > 1:14:04We're doing a full audit of the life in our pond to see just how many
1:14:04 > 1:14:05different animals live here.
1:14:07 > 1:14:08We've got plenty of tadpoles in here,
1:14:08 > 1:14:10frogs. But what about other amphibians?
1:14:10 > 1:14:15So, we have three species of newts that are native to the UK.
1:14:15 > 1:14:19In this pond we've got the smooth newt, which is our commonest newt.
1:14:19 > 1:14:23But they are absolutely stunning to look at, nevertheless.
1:14:23 > 1:14:25The male there, he's dressed up like a little dragon
1:14:25 > 1:14:28- at this time of year. - He is, yeah.- Fantastic.
1:14:28 > 1:14:32Steph, this pond, this tiny, little pond, and it is modest,
1:14:32 > 1:14:34but well-sculpted, we have to say.
1:14:34 > 1:14:36- Absolutely.- Well, it's packed full of life, isn't it?- Yeah.
1:14:41 > 1:14:44The pond provides rich pickings.
1:14:45 > 1:14:49Along with newts, we find a wealth of other creatures,
1:14:49 > 1:14:51from aquatic snails,
1:14:51 > 1:14:53to water fleas and water boatmen.
1:14:57 > 1:15:00Back on dry land the gardens are coming alive, too.
1:15:07 > 1:15:10As the weather warms, trees burst into leaf.
1:15:12 > 1:15:14The fresh new shoots are tender.
1:15:14 > 1:15:18They become a vital food source for many insects.
1:15:22 > 1:15:25We want to find out exactly how many new leaves
1:15:25 > 1:15:27a single garden produces in spring.
1:15:29 > 1:15:33Counting them manually would take remote sensing expert Mat Disney
1:15:33 > 1:15:35several days,
1:15:35 > 1:15:38so he's using a very sophisticated laser scanner to help him.
1:15:42 > 1:15:46What we end up with when this thing scans round in a full circle
1:15:46 > 1:15:49is we end up with a hemispherical picture in three dimensions
1:15:49 > 1:15:52of exactly where everything is in a garden, so every branch,
1:15:52 > 1:15:54every leaf, every twig,
1:15:54 > 1:15:55all the shrubs and so on,
1:15:55 > 1:15:58and so we can build up this really, really detailed,
1:15:58 > 1:16:00kind of millimetre-level detail picture
1:16:00 > 1:16:04in three dimensions of what is in the garden here at the moment.
1:16:10 > 1:16:14Mat normally uses this technology to study tropical rainforests.
1:16:20 > 1:16:26Here, it tells us that our garden contains over 15,000 leaves,
1:16:26 > 1:16:30covering a total area of greater than two tennis courts.
1:16:31 > 1:16:34It's a vast amount of potential food.
1:16:43 > 1:16:47One major group of garden insects takes full advantage
1:16:47 > 1:16:49of these tender, new leaves.
1:16:53 > 1:16:55Huge numbers appear in spring,
1:16:55 > 1:16:58munching their way through a vast amount of fresh growth.
1:17:01 > 1:17:03And Karim Vahed has tracked some down.
1:17:06 > 1:17:09These insects aren't at all popular with gardeners,
1:17:09 > 1:17:12but I think they have a fascinating life cycle.
1:17:12 > 1:17:13They're aphids, or greenfly.
1:17:16 > 1:17:20Our gardens are full of masses of these tiny creatures
1:17:20 > 1:17:21almost before spring has begun.
1:17:23 > 1:17:25That's because at this time of year
1:17:25 > 1:17:28they don't need to have sex to produce young.
1:17:30 > 1:17:32Aphids overwinter as eggs,
1:17:32 > 1:17:36but the individuals that hatch from those eggs actually give birth
1:17:36 > 1:17:38to live young and they do this without the need for mating.
1:17:38 > 1:17:40They do it asexually.
1:17:41 > 1:17:44The live young themselves are actually already pregnant
1:17:44 > 1:17:46with the next generation,
1:17:46 > 1:17:50so the aphids can reproduce at a phenomenal rate.
1:17:53 > 1:17:58An adult aphid can give birth like this five times a day
1:17:58 > 1:17:59seven days a week.
1:18:01 > 1:18:03In perfect conditions,
1:18:03 > 1:18:07a single aphid can produce 600 billion descendants
1:18:07 > 1:18:09in just one season.
1:18:09 > 1:18:12That's 120 tonnes of aphids.
1:18:14 > 1:18:17But, thankfully, that rarely happens.
1:18:19 > 1:18:22One of the reasons why we're not knee-deep in aphids
1:18:22 > 1:18:25is because so many other insects like to eat them.
1:18:25 > 1:18:28And we've got an example here.
1:18:29 > 1:18:34This is the larva of a ladybird,
1:18:34 > 1:18:38and the adult ladybirds eat greenfly
1:18:38 > 1:18:40and so do the larvae.
1:18:43 > 1:18:48If you're the size of an aphid, this is the stuff of nightmares.
1:18:55 > 1:18:59This ladybird larva can devour up to 100 aphids a day.
1:19:04 > 1:19:08But there is an even more brutal aphid hunter...
1:19:10 > 1:19:11..the hoverfly larva.
1:19:16 > 1:19:20It snares several aphids at a time using sticky slime...
1:19:24 > 1:19:27..and then feasts on them at its leisure.
1:19:31 > 1:19:35It can't digest the aphids' tough exoskeleton,
1:19:35 > 1:19:38so it simply sucks their internal juices dry.
1:19:46 > 1:19:50It even shows the ladybird larva who's boss.
1:20:08 > 1:20:12All over the gardens, our larger wildlife is waking up
1:20:12 > 1:20:13and is on the move.
1:20:15 > 1:20:18Dawn has been following our foxes.
1:20:18 > 1:20:19In the fruit garden,
1:20:19 > 1:20:24our cameras have picked up signs that the family is growing.
1:20:24 > 1:20:25This is Smudge.
1:20:25 > 1:20:27As she turns around, you'll be able to see her face.
1:20:27 > 1:20:31- Oh, yes, there we are.- And coming in the background is our dominant male,
1:20:31 > 1:20:32and he's Tache.
1:20:32 > 1:20:36And then as Smudge turns around, you'll be able to see here,
1:20:36 > 1:20:39there's nipples there, so it looks like she's lactating.
1:20:40 > 1:20:42Yeah, she's got young somewhere.
1:20:42 > 1:20:46But, does that mean, then, that he, who is her father,
1:20:46 > 1:20:49has fathered his own daughter's offspring?
1:20:49 > 1:20:51Foxes will breed with lots of different males,
1:20:51 > 1:20:55so it's unlikely that he's the father.
1:20:55 > 1:20:59Litters can have up to five different parents, males,
1:20:59 > 1:21:02so it's unlikely to be his cubs.
1:21:04 > 1:21:08The prospect of seeing young cubs has tempted some garden owners
1:21:08 > 1:21:12to put out food and Smudge has been loving it.
1:21:13 > 1:21:15So, over the last few weeks,
1:21:15 > 1:21:19we've seen her starting to collect food to take back to that den.
1:21:19 > 1:21:22We don't know where that den is but it must be close.
1:21:22 > 1:21:24If she's collecting food and taking food back,
1:21:24 > 1:21:25it's got to be very, very close.
1:21:27 > 1:21:29She's heading out behind the shed here,
1:21:29 > 1:21:31so if we have a look through there,
1:21:31 > 1:21:33we might be able to see where she's going.
1:21:35 > 1:21:37You can see a trail there
1:21:37 > 1:21:40and what we really need to do is to be able to get round into
1:21:40 > 1:21:42the other gardens and go exploring
1:21:42 > 1:21:44and see if we can find out where the den is.
1:21:47 > 1:21:51A tip from a helpful resident leads us to a large section of decking,
1:21:51 > 1:21:53just behind the modern garden.
1:21:59 > 1:22:02Last year and the year before, they have had cubs under a decking.
1:22:05 > 1:22:06A little peek in here.
1:22:06 > 1:22:09- WHISPERS:- We can quietly see if we can see anything
1:22:09 > 1:22:10or smell or hear anything.
1:22:14 > 1:22:17I would've thought if they're in there, you'd get a really
1:22:17 > 1:22:19- strong smell. - No, I can't smell anything,
1:22:19 > 1:22:21but we can see all the way through.
1:22:21 > 1:22:23There's another hole on the other side
1:22:23 > 1:22:25where they're scrambling under.
1:22:28 > 1:22:31The only way to be sure whether this den is active
1:22:31 > 1:22:32is with our camera traps.
1:22:36 > 1:22:39To our surprise, the footage looks promising.
1:22:40 > 1:22:44So, it looks like there is the earth where
1:22:44 > 1:22:46she's possibly coming and going.
1:22:48 > 1:22:51- Ooh.- There's an animal there.
1:22:51 > 1:22:52What's that?
1:22:52 > 1:22:54- SHE GASPS Is that a cub?- That is!
1:22:54 > 1:22:56- Is it a cub?- It's a cub.
1:22:56 > 1:22:57- Yes, it is.- It's a cub!- Yes, it is.
1:22:57 > 1:23:00Yeah, it just jumped up, a tiny little tail.
1:23:00 > 1:23:02This is so exciting!
1:23:04 > 1:23:06- It's amazing.- I mean, that was from last night.
1:23:06 > 1:23:08We put that camera up last night and there is a cub that's come out
1:23:08 > 1:23:10from that decking and jumped on the decking.
1:23:12 > 1:23:14And it's not very strong on its feet, either, is it?
1:23:14 > 1:23:16When you see it hopping up there.
1:23:20 > 1:23:21I wonder how many there are.
1:23:26 > 1:23:28We've found where Smudge's den is.
1:23:28 > 1:23:31We're within metres of those little cubs, sleeping under the den.
1:23:34 > 1:23:36Amazing. Absolutely amazing!
1:23:36 > 1:23:40Yeah. Beautiful, aren't they, foxes?
1:23:40 > 1:23:42Who needs tigers when you've got foxes?
1:23:42 > 1:23:45Seriously, they're very, very beautiful animals.
1:23:48 > 1:23:53When we first met Smudge last summer, she was just a cub herself.
1:23:53 > 1:23:56Now her young are growing up fast.
1:23:58 > 1:24:03Our foxes aren't just surviving in our back gardens, they're thriving.
1:24:10 > 1:24:12Spring is drawing to a close.
1:24:14 > 1:24:18We've followed the life in our gardens throughout all four seasons.
1:24:19 > 1:24:24Finally, we're able to say how many different creatures live here
1:24:24 > 1:24:27and whether our gardens are really any good for wildlife.
1:24:28 > 1:24:31Thanks to the tremendous hard work of our scientists,
1:24:31 > 1:24:34and particularly our team from the Natural History Museum,
1:24:34 > 1:24:36we've come up with some totals,
1:24:36 > 1:24:38the totals of the number of different species we've found during
1:24:38 > 1:24:41the course of this year in our gardens.
1:24:41 > 1:24:43Here is how it stands -
1:24:43 > 1:24:4942 species of birds, 13 species of mammal, 3 species of amphibians,
1:24:49 > 1:24:55no less than 48 species of moths, 43 species of lichen,
1:24:55 > 1:24:5844 of moss and liverwort,
1:24:58 > 1:25:04and 490 species of insects and other invertebrates,
1:25:04 > 1:25:06bringing us to a grand total
1:25:06 > 1:25:13of 683 different species living in these gardens.
1:25:13 > 1:25:14And that's fantastic.
1:25:16 > 1:25:20Our gardens are absolutely humming with life.
1:25:22 > 1:25:27In total, Britain's 23 million back gardens cover an area
1:25:27 > 1:25:31as large as the Norfolk broads, Dartmoor and the Lake District
1:25:31 > 1:25:33added together.
1:25:33 > 1:25:37They're a huge and underappreciated reservoir of wildlife.
1:25:39 > 1:25:43But what I am keen to find out is which of our gardens has attracted
1:25:43 > 1:25:45the most wildlife.
1:25:46 > 1:25:50Surprisingly, it's the slightly less manicured fruit garden.
1:25:53 > 1:25:55Steph, if I'd have been a betting man,
1:25:55 > 1:25:58I'd have had my money on the garden at the far end of the street,
1:25:58 > 1:26:01the overgrown garden, as being the most biodiverse,
1:26:01 > 1:26:04- but I'd have lost everything. - You would, I'm afraid.
1:26:04 > 1:26:07- It's actually come out with the lowest number of species.- Yeah.
1:26:07 > 1:26:10Which a lot of people will go, "OK, well, that's the wild garden,
1:26:10 > 1:26:13"it should be brimming full of wildlife."
1:26:13 > 1:26:15But actually it's this garden,
1:26:15 > 1:26:18which is a beautiful flourish of flowering plants,
1:26:18 > 1:26:20which has actually come out on top.
1:26:22 > 1:26:26There's a reason this garden supports so much wildlife.
1:26:26 > 1:26:29Trees and hedges provide shelter and somewhere to live on...
1:26:30 > 1:26:34..year-round flowers provide plenty of fuel for insects...
1:26:35 > 1:26:38..and, crucially, it's not too tidy,
1:26:38 > 1:26:41there are wilder patches -
1:26:41 > 1:26:44all easy things to apply to any garden.
1:26:45 > 1:26:49But how do Rasma and Karlis feel about their success?
1:26:50 > 1:26:52- Guess what?- Go on.
1:26:52 > 1:26:54Your garden has come top!
1:26:54 > 1:26:59More species of plant and animal living in your garden, or using it,
1:26:59 > 1:27:00than any of the others in the street.
1:27:00 > 1:27:03- Is that good?- I'd say it was absolutely brilliant!
1:27:03 > 1:27:05I expect celebrations here this evening.
1:27:05 > 1:27:07The pop of champagne corks.
1:27:07 > 1:27:09We'll do something like that to celebrate.
1:27:11 > 1:27:14The sheer number of different species in these gardens
1:27:14 > 1:27:17has surprised some of our other residents, too.
1:27:18 > 1:27:20Badgers? Here?
1:27:21 > 1:27:23How weird, how strange.
1:27:24 > 1:27:27I love having wildlife in the garden.
1:27:27 > 1:27:28The more of it there is, the better.
1:27:30 > 1:27:37It is incredible to see such a large animal living in the garden
1:27:37 > 1:27:40and thriving and bringing up families,
1:27:40 > 1:27:41you know, in a suburban area,
1:27:41 > 1:27:44so that's quite incredible that they can do that.
1:27:52 > 1:27:56This year-long experiment has shown that all of these gardens,
1:27:56 > 1:28:00whether they're neat, tidy, manicured, unkempt
1:28:00 > 1:28:02or completely overgrown,
1:28:02 > 1:28:06all support a remarkable abundance of wildlife.
1:28:07 > 1:28:10But you know what I am going to say - we could always do more,
1:28:10 > 1:28:12we could always do a little bit better.
1:28:12 > 1:28:16And that's why it's important to find out how we can help
1:28:16 > 1:28:17the wildlife that lives around us,
1:28:17 > 1:28:20because if we do, we can enjoy our gardens,
1:28:20 > 1:28:23we can relax here and take recreation
1:28:23 > 1:28:27and take pride in their appearance, but the wildlife can prosper, too.