Episode 2 Autumnwatch

Welcome to Autumnwatch, coming to you live with a Fiesta of fantastic

fauna. From our Bonny base here in the

Highlands, we are bringing you the very best of autumn wildlife from

around the country. We're following the animals all

around us here 24 hours day. Hello and welcome to Autumnwatch

2012, it is our second programme, we are up here at the Ages Field

Centreer in the Highlands of Scotland. If you were watching last

night we had a fantastic show. We had live pine marten and live

beaver. We can't make any promises about what we can bring you live

tonight, I can promise you a great show. It will be a great show, he

specially for Hallowe'en, we will be lifting the lid on an amazing

arachnid. My colleague, Martin Hughes -- Reading The Game game

will be trailing animals. We will meet arguably the most buet

of them all, the -- beautiful of them all, the Scottish wildcat. It

is difficult to see where we are in the dark, some context in the

daylight. This is our studio, but if we pull back and pan round, it

is nestled in all of these low rolling hills, covered with great

range of different vegetation types. Here next to the plantation, this

is our pine marten area, and there, in the centre, you can see our

mammal stunt. We have some bird feeders, rigged up with lots of

live cameras. We have lots of live action there. It is back over there,

panning round again, it is here that some of the real stars of our

show have made their home. These animals are, of course, the beavers.

This is the Hugh down the loch, the studio there in the distance. It is

at this end the beavers have built their lodge. You can see it in the

centre. Let's see if any of the stars are performing live for us.

Beavers? Not there at the moment, hopefully they will make an

appearance during the show. They have certainly been entertaining us.

In the morning we have got great footage. This is Boris, he's the

adult male. This is the first time we have seen him. He is making the

most of the last of his day, which is obviously throughout the night,

he's off to bed soon. He's eating as much as he can. They have to eat

20% of their body weight a day. That is an enormous amount, and

obviously, he has to eat a lot of it before the winter. He sired a

lot of the kits. He's not a very attentive father, he leaves all

that to the mother, to Lily. He's absolutely gorgeous. He looks like

a gentle character, doesn't he. does, you have been sending a few

questions about beavers, this is a first one. The question is do the

beefers have natural predators in the Scottish high -- beavers have

natural predators in the Scottish Highlands? Not at the moment, they

would have had bear, wolf and lynx, but at the moment, none at all.

Last night, while we were on air, or just before, we saw this. Very

curious, something moving around in the water, to begin with we all

thought it was a beaver. Then it came up and it was something much

more carnivorous, as an otter, a beautiful view of an otter. We

weren't expecting that at all. You never what turns up on the cameras.

Then, later, after the programme last night, we picked the otter up

again. Look at this, something curious was going on, he or she was

very, very interested in the ground just underneath one of the beaver's

dams. It looked like the otter was taking advantage of one of the

beaver's constructions. It was digging around in the mud and

undergrowth. It looks to me like it was probably hunting for something.

But what on earth would an otter have been hunting for? What was it

looking for, Chris? It could have been small fish, there is no doubt

about that. It could equally have been something else. When we were

out the other day. We were checking one of the pits here used for soil

sampling, when we lifted the lid on it and looked down inside, a number

of an fibbians had gone in there, looking for some place to hibernate,

frog, newts and a toad. Another thing that is interesting is they

will eat toads, a lot won't, because they have the toxic glands

behind their head. Not the otter, he will munch them up and love them.

Great to see the otter, and many of you have been enjoying that on-line.

We have had some complaint, I'm afraid. We have, we have had a lot

of complaints from people who are short of sleep, because they have

been enjoying the on-line stuff and the red button stuff, so much, they

find it addictive. They can't switch it off, because there is so

much action going on during the nigh. If you would like to join the

tired brigade, then watch the website on bbc .co.uk /Autumnwatch.

The Isle of Rum is no country for old men, and not for stags, like

Cassius, if you watched last night, he was having a rocky time on the

wrong side of the river. The question is, could he cross this,

and oust his arch rival, Amadeus MoT start. Ladies and gentlemen, it

is time to -- Mozart, ladies and gentlemen, it's time to rut. On the

Scottish Isle of Rum, the pressure is building.

Every day more red deer stags are drawn to the glens, to do battle

for the right to mate. So matter, Mozart has proved to be the

dominant -- so far, MoT standard has proved to be the dominant stag.

With so many others looking for a chance to attack, can Mozart stand

his ground? On an outcrop, just above Mozart, a

new stag is watching. This is Lucius, an 11-year-old, in his

prime. He has already got a small group of female, but Lucius wants

more. Mozart, on the right, decides to size him up. First meeting, and

they are both cautious. Full on fighting is extremely dangerous, it

is a last resort. But Lucius, behind on the higher ground, keeps

challenging Mozart, again and again. Looking for any sign of weakness.

Mozartled hold his ground, but he needs to step up a gear. If he

doesn't stamp his authority, others doesn't stamp his authority, others

will take advantage. And now, attacks come from all sides. Across

the river, an older stag, Cassius prepares to mount a challenge. Only

yesterday, Mozart easily sent him packing, but what a difference a

day makes. Cassius seems brimming with new-found confidence. In a

neat manoeuvre, he steals one of Mozart's behinds. -- hinds.

Mozart's empire is starting to crumble. And Lucius makes another

move. And this time it is no contest. Lucius is too strong.

Mozart's rut is over. But he's young, his time will come. Lucius

introduces himself to this newly inherited hare recommend.

Experience is -- hare yum, experience is important for a stag.

Not only do they need to be able to fight, but they need to know how to

behave around the hinds. It pays to have a gentle side. By tasting the

scent, Lucius can tell if any of the hinds are in season. The signs

are good. Mozart can now just watch. Lucius is in charge. And gets

precisely what all the tacks fight so hard for. Several hinds are now

in season. Brutal battle break out all along the glen. These two stags

are evenly matched, and neither After eight exshousing minutes,

there is a result. -- exhausting minutes. There is a result. Fights

like this are a huge drain on a stag's reserves. While they are

ruting, stag's don't have time to eat. The reserve they have built up

over the summer, are running out. Even for Lucius, a clock is ticking.

Although he has claimed top spot, every fight will drain his powers.

Waiting in the wings are other stags. Like wiley old Cassius. So

far they have been conserving their energy, soon, inevitably, one of

them will mount a challenge. Will it be strong enough to topple

Lucius. The challenges on the new Monarch of the Glen, will be

immense. I just can't believe how hard those

stags have to work to get their Scottish oats, they really do work

hard. What I do want to know is why have the females so blinged up,

they have so many tags on them? Very interesting, that is because

they are studying them. And they have been studying them for an

incredible 59 years up on Rum. years! It is the longest-running

mammal study in the world. They must have learned a lot in that

time? If they are looking at those hinds they might be far away, they

have to have the tags, they double them up because they rub them off.

The study has gone going on -- been going on for 59 years, but it turns

out that the hinds, the female are all gathered up in saiarkle by the

stags. The stags think he has the females there, they don't wander

very much at all, until they come into oestrus, they are only in that

for one day, when that happens they wander off, sometimes a lot of

metres, and to another stag, and they mate, and then back to the old

stag. Are you suggesting they are promiscuous? Not promiscuous, but

slightly naughty. They have a choice? They make a choice. We have

a choice of what live cameras we look at it. Just before the

programme we had an action on our Mamet malstump. We have been seeing

a lot of animals in there. We have had the predictable ones like this

one. Lovely animal, field vole. I used

to do a little bit of research with them at university. Of all the

little man mals, they bite the most! Very interesting what they

were doing there. That one was taking the food out. It wasn't

eating the food there. They do a lot of the business of cacheing

them. One of my motorbikes wasn't running very well, and when he

opened up the cash receiptor, it was full of nuts put there by a

friendly mice. It was packed, I know lots of people will find that.

Wait for it, we have an Autumnwatch first, we have an unpredictable

animal in the mammal stump. What is it? Is it a giant mouse? No it is a

weasel. What is it doing there. It certainly hasn't come in to eat the

nuts and fruit, but the mice and voles who have come in to the eat

the nuts and fruit. It is like the sparrowhawk of the mammal world, it

is taking full advantage. It is very rare to get a view like that.

Weasels are so I will Luisive. Many of our -- eLuis I have. Many of our

mammal -- elusive, many of our mammals are. It is good if you know

the tracks and signs. Most of us only visit parks and woodlands in

the day. The problem is, a lot of British wildlife is nocturnal. How

can we tell what is going on in these woods when we are tucked up

in beds. Luckily for us there are clues everywhere. Straight away, I

found one of the most obvious ones, an animal trail. I wonder if there

are deer about. Let's try toe find deer footprints. This is like --

try to find deer foot prints. This is like a motorway here, can't find

any of the slots. Where are they? There, look like some footprints or

slots. Is it deer. It shows how difficult it is, it isn't. Look at

that, it is domestic animal, it is sheep. So what you want is a number

of different clues, put them all together, and then you will get the

right answer. I was completely wrong. Keep your eyes peeled for

animal poo as well. Sometimes skat, excrement, is

difficult to identify. But this one is easy. Have a look at this, this

is badger. What they do, kindly, is dig a little pit, first of all, and

poo in the middle of T it is called a badger latrine. Some poo has

characteristic smells. It is not nasty, often the smell of the poo

is diagnostic too. Otter poo smells of vie lets, pine marten is sweet.

This badger poo smell as bit woody, really. Clearly, if this was dog

poo, it would be offensive. This is perfect, a badger set over

there, and badger runs. Look at this, incredibly lucky, badger

footprint beside this mole hill. Now I can paint a complete picture

of what the badger is doing at night. Come over here. The badger

has been trotting along here, sniffing side-to-side, probably

last night. He has come up to this mole hill and put his paws either

side, stop, maybe the mole hill was moving a little bit. Could he get

the mole? No. He has had a little dig here or there, maybe an

earthworm, sniff, sniff, moved on. With so many badger signs, I'm

going to stake out this area with wildlife cameraman, Lindsay. He has

brought his kit to spot and film the badger. I have my own camera to

record what has happened. Gone mad on the zoom! It is

difficult operating the camera with one hand. We have got a slight

problem, though. The moon is coming out. If it really comes up that

will be a problem. They prefer it pitch black. You never know.

can't tell you how exciting it is waiting. The badger is out. He's

just snuffling around. Checking that all is well. There's nothing

like being out on a cold night watching badgers. It never gets

dull. You are right, it never gets dull. I have to applaud you, Sir,

for getting down on your hands and knees and doing the decent thing.

It is important to know the difference between all of those

smells. I think people will think that is a bit quirky and a bit

strange, maybe on Twitter a few comments. But you are wrong, you

have to know the smell of the stuff. You're right, it smelled fine.

on the ground, not all over your dog and the rug, though. That's bad.

I did stay down there, Chris, with Lindsay, I did. I was there for

more than 20 minutes. But I have to confess, Lindsay is one of the real

hard men, he was down there far, far longer, man nights after me. He

filmed some rather unusual things. Look at this. What do you think

this is? I thought it was a beatle. It is a common slew going up a tree.

That is unusual, isn't it. I have never read of slews in tree. There

are tree slews in other parts of the worlder but not related to

these types of slew. There are accounts of common slews climbing

three metres up a tree. These animals are insectivores, they find

it in the lower grass. That slew is going up the tree and is finding

food up there. Something larger coming down the tree is rather

bigger. A pine marten, if you look at the back leg, the hind limbs, it

has flexible ankles, just like the squirrel. Not as agile as a

squirrel, no points for that one! It is the flexible joints on the

limbs that allows it to climb so well, and the long claws. We filmed

something up the road from here, something spectacular. Look at this.

Arguably my favourite bird. A tiny minute, it is a Merlin. It was just

up the road. Chris I would expect to see Merlin up on the moor. It is

being mobbed here. Jackdaw. They go to the coast in the winter, they

are a small bird specialist. They move all around the coast. I see

them down in the south in the winter time. A female Merlin like

that, what a sight. These are exciting times for ornithology. We

have new techniques to find out exactly what birds are up to. In

the past we would ring them, and they would fly off, sometimes we

would recover the ring but never know what they were doing it in the

meantime. Now we have gadgets to put on birds and they fly off, and

we know exactly where they have been all the time. Take a look at

this, it is amazing. Chris from the British Trust for

Ornithology, is visiting a colony of swifts in Devon, to apply some

extraordinary technology to these birds. Swifts rely on areas of good

weather in summer, they need a lot of insects to feed on. Although the

weather is nice now, it has been a terrible struggle. The swifts have

struggled and some nests failed completely. It is good to find some

activity, and we can tag the adults. Chris is using fine, soft netting,

which stops the birds from being hurt with the net. They don't

associate hurt with the net. We have to make sure they come back.

As they prepare to fit a geolocator tag, they have a rare opportunity

to see the incredible bird close up. The head has a couple of

adaptations, which makes it an incredible predator of insects.

They have binocular vision, they have the ridge over it, which has

an aerodynamic shape on the head, and widens the eyes. It has a wide

mouth by allows large prey items. It has been shown equisite control

over the precise shape of the win and exactly the angle the feathers

are sitting at of the it gives them amazing manoeuvrability. It is a

machine for taking flying insects. As swifts are highly-tuned aerial

hunters, it is vital this tag doesn't interfere with the flight.

This is the tag we are putting on, it weighs 0.6 of a gram, it is less

than 0.2% of their body weight, has no effect on them. Once fitted, it

records daily flight levels. And researchers can work out exactly

where in the world this bird is. The information is stored on the

tag, it is not transmitted. This means they have to retrieve the tag

next year, when the swift returns to this nest site. This data will

add to the amazing results gathered over the two years the project has

been running. By putting geolocator on the birds, we are hoping to

revolutionise our understanding. Initial results shows we have been

able to do. That it has changed the understanding of the whole cycle of

the swift. Chris, what are the Khans of them being able to catch

exactly this same bird? Very high. Swifts are long lived, they go on

for 35, 40 year. The females will return to the same nest hole year

after year. On account of that, there is every chance that if they

go back next yeeark having fitted one of these tiny geolocator, on to

the birds, they will be able to recapture the female and snip it

off. These things weigh 1.3 grams. That is tiny. They tie them on with

cord, and the swift carries them for a year. A couple of years ago

they first fitted them, in a short space of time we have learned an

amazing amount. This is just incredible. The swift actually had

its geolocator fitted up here in England. It immediately flew off in

August, off to Spain, and then down to the west coast of Africa, taking

the same route as the Ospreys. It then moves all the way across here

to Uganda. And it stays here, all the way through, August until

December. Then it goes on a little Christmas holiday. All the way

across the coast of Mozambique, where it feeds up and returns over

to here, just before it starts to think about coming back to the UK.

And then it flies across the sea, to Liberia, and it spend as few

days here. That is well out of the way. You think it could come this

way, it is going there for a reason. The reason they think the swifts

might be going to Liberia, is to feast upon aerial ter mights. They

can put term mights, they can put on a lot of weight quickly to go

over the is a hareia, and back to the UK to breed in May. -- the

Sahara, and back to the UK to breed in May. Do they all do that or just

that one swift? We don't know that. They will take different routes. We

will learn more quickly with the tag, we will learn a lot about

different species, which in the past we would have had no hope. The

real message is that it is not just about looking after birds in this

country. It is about looking after them in Uganda, in Mozambique, and

Liberia, and all the places inbetween. Conservation is a global

issue, not just a UK one, for this species. It never seizes to amaze

me what an incredible -- ceases so amaze me, that they might have done

five million kilometres, three million miles, that is a lot of

flying, isn't it? Inconceivable. The swifts can make a screaming

noise, which led to the nickname "devil bird", I which I think is a

great fact because tonight is Hallowe'en. I'm sure a lot of

people have been out and very active. But have our beavers been

active tonight? I don't think we have seen them live yet on the

programme. They have been certainly very active last night.

Let's have a look. We have seen a lot of the kits. This is this

year's kits. Nor and Timber. There is a third one, which is probably

one of last year's kits, which will be either Isla be or Arron. They

are pretty self-sufficient at this stage, they are about six months.

They will have moved on to bigger trees at this age. Initially they

will start on saplings and aquatic plant. Very busy throughout the

night, just like their dad. They have to eat 20% of their body

weight. You can see them there, he's having a good old nibble and

knaw. They are very sweet. They are, let's have a look at the family

tree. I want to say we have two fully adult beavers up here, Boris

and Lily, over the past few years they have bred a lot of kit. These

are the five we have here. There were seven all together. The

Godfather figure we mentioned earlier. These animals here have

all been remove. This is not a reintroduction project, it is a

demonstration project. Trying to learn what beavers do the

environment. They have been trapped alive and moved away to somewhere

else. That is the family tree. is who is left, Nor and Timber,

this year's young, and last year's young, and one from two years ago,

they are all living together as a family on the Loch. We took a look

at the lodge yesterday, we have a lot of questions about that. It is

a difficult thing to get your head round. This is it from the outside,

it is pretty big. It is difficult to get a sense of scale. That is

the inside where we have the camera. And what you see inside is their

chamber, they have to swim underneath to get to that. It's

made of wood and mud and, I mean, it is an incredible thing they have

made there? It is, there are two types of lodges, a brook lodge in

the middle of the river, and a bank lodge, which is joined to it. The

curious thing is they pile it up in a great big mound and then they

excavate the chambers around it. They don't shape it around the

chamber, and they will excavate more. The purpose for the lodge is

to keep them warm in the winter, and in Canada it can be 1 degree

sent grait grade in the lodge when it is minus 20 out. It protect them

from predators and it is safe to have young and store food. We don't

know how many chambers are in that? Three? I would imagine, looking at

the size of it. They have very lodges around the loch, they use

that as the main one. When the female gets pregnant she pushes

them out to the other two. They have to keep building them. They

look scrappy but serving good purpose. If you were watching last

night, Yolla went to the Outer Hebrides to pursue his interest in

the Golden Eagle, he didn't just want to see one, he wanted to see

them hunting. Let's see if he succeeded. I'm on the wind swept

island in the Hebrides, where the team and I are on a really

difficult mission. We are trying to film a golden eagle family hunting.

Something that's never been done before. I have had some great views

so far, but still not seen a kill. For the past couple of days, our

quest has had a bit of a setback. The weather really has taken a turn

for the worst here now. It is what they call, this persistent light

rain and visibility is poor, the hills are all covered now. It is

bad for you, it will be bad for the eagles as well. All they will do in

this is hunker down. They will not hunt at all. Just about half an

hour again the rain stopped and passed over. All of a sudden the

male has moved, and the youngster, the youngsters using this bank here,

the winds change round. We have only maybe an hour-and-a-half until

it gets dark. Because they probably didn't feed yesterday, because they

definitely haven't fed all day today, they will probably be very

hungry. The next hour-and-a-half, and maybe tomorrow morning might be

our best chance of finding them hunting. She's calling constantly,

and has been for the past day-and- a-half. That is a begging call. The

adults, bless them, are doing their best, they are hunting back and

forth. They haven't caught anything yet. Unfortunately I didn't see

them catch anything for the rest of that day. So they must have gone to

roost pretty hungry. Let's hope things improve tomorrow.

The next morning, our eagle family is up and about early. Matt Wilson

our eagle spotter takes me to a known roost, where they may well

have spent the previous night. feels more like eagle territory

when you have to climb a bit. have picked just about the perfect

spot, haven't they. The wind and rain will come from that direction

over there. Look at all the down on it. It is all over the shop. That's

a treasured one. That is off the back of the nape. That's where the

name the golden eagle comes from. That is awesome. I tell you what

else is here. A big old pellet, that couldn't be anything other

than a golden eagle. It is packed full of rabbit. Look at the size of

it, I have pretty big hands, lock at the size of it. Is this likely

to be off this year's chick, do you think, or it might be an old one?

It could be from any of the birds. Look how light. It is a nice life

being a golden eagle, knowing you are the apex predator, there is

nothing to compete with you. It is amazing, it is their world. I feel

like I'm really getting to know these birds. But we are running out

of time to film a hunt. So we decide to split up and stake out

two different places, where the eagles are most likely to hunt. I

sneak up on 1,000 barnacle beasts that have just arrived back from

the Arctic. While Matt and Jessie take check out a rabbit Warren.

They are up on the far shore there. I'm wondering what has brought them

up. Is it an eagle. I can't see one, but you can hear them, you can hear

the noise now This is like a fast food chain for

the eagles. I will stay here, if anything will draw them in, 1,000

geese should do that. In the end, the eagle heads for the

rabbits. The male is keeping a watchful eye over the Warren. When

all of a sudden he sees his chance. Here's the rabbit, peeping out of

the burrow, completely oblivious to the danger behind it, but the

rabbit sees him just at the last moment. We have to take a look. The

male swoops low down, hugging the ground and staying out of view. So

nearly got it. It is amazing to see this huge eagle manoeuvre like that.

I admit he didn't get a kill, but it was so close. I think that's our

mission accomplished. It just goes to show, that these

birds of prey don't always get at all, that our eagle family are

hunting successfully, and are in a good position to face the winter

months ahead. I feel so lucky, over the past few days I have managed to

get the closest I have ever been to these magnificent birds. Do you

know what struck me, it is the fact that it has been the eagle's choice

to allow me a glimpse into their private lives. If they wanted they

could have opened their wings and been ten miles away in no time at

awe. But they have tolerated me, they have put up with me, and it

has been a magical experience. I'm one very, very happy naturalist.

That's what we want, a happy naturalist. Well done, you might

not have seen it successfully hunt, you did see it hunt. That is a

first for Autumnwatch, we have never filmed a golden eagle hunt

any more. I want to know why is it so difficult to see? They are a big

bird, they don't need to feed very often. As you saw, not for a couple

of days. They range over vast distance, being in the right place

at the right time is a really tough call. I think he did really well.

Let's see that one more time. This eagle so nearly catches the rabbit,

watch this, as it comes over the brow up there, you can see the

rabbit's tail as it turns and bolts for the hole. The eagle's feet are

right down, it could have been only a centre metre away with the

leading talon. It could have touched it, unless it could wrap

the others around the bunny it wouldn't have got it. It was really

close, one lucky rabbit. What fascinates me is the way the eagle

did that. They drop right down and came in very low like a fighter jet,

across the ground. That is very often the way that they do it. They

will hug ground, they will use the topography, the rock or hill, they

will come round like an ambush. Have you seen them hunt? I have, I

was in Rum looking at the red deer, we are going up there, it was a

passion one coming down a lot of tree, and the other came hammering

from the side. That one of flying to flush and the other one was

trying to knock out. Co-operative hunting. They are very adaptable.

They will, they are very clever predators. That golden eagle very

nearly got a rabbi. One of its favourite prey items would be a

pine marten. If it was lucky enough to see it in the open. Imagine

getting that on the live cameras, a golden eagle swoops in for a pine

marten. Let's see if we have pine marten action going on in the live

cameras. We haven't there, but we have had plenty, haven't we?

certainly have, take a look at this. Here are beautiful pictures of one

of the nation's most beautiful mammals. It is coming in across the

top of that dry stone wall. They are in their winter coat at the

moment. For a long time that was this creature's downfall. Because

all the way through the Middle Ages, that coat of very highly valued.

They were hunted for their fur. We have a long, thick bushy tail, good

for balance much and the long legs. This is fascinating. We have now

two together. I always thought that an animal like a pine marten would

be solitary, and wouldn't tolerate other pine martps near it at all.

Very unusual. It is unusual. They both look like females. Typically

they will fight same-sexs will fight. If a female goes into

another one's territory. The female will fight it. We have a food

source, and as a consequence of that, animals are coming in, and

all of those normal territorial rules are breaking down, because

they are desperate to get to the strawberry jam! How about mother

and daughter. They were two females. They seemed to have bushy tail, and

most seemed to have a thinner brush there. We have seen those two, and

we have seen another pine marten now. Look at this. This one was

seen just yesterday. There it is. Look at the chest markings, see if

you can see Spike. What have we got up to, three now. Three individuals,

we do think there are plenty more. Check the pattern on the chest.

Take a look at this. This is equally extraordinary, here is one

of our pine marten we recorded earlier, up on the log. Loving the

strawberry jam. It is looking over its shoulderk because another

animal has come in, e-- shoulder, because another animal has come in

to explore the bathe. It is a relative of the pine -- bait, a

relative of the pine marten. You might think they will be worried

about the animals. It is a badger, they have a ferocious bite, they

are not interested in the pine martens. They will take small

animals and birds opportunistically, but nothing as big as the pine

marten. The pine marten gives it some pays space. It did eventually

move off. There was no aggression between the animals. It would have

been different if there was a fox, it would have been a different

story if a fox had turned up. seems there is a lot of tolerance

on the feeding table at the moment. I like to see that. Pine martens

are the second-rarest carnivores in the UK. The rarest is the Scottish

wildcat. I'm unlikely to see it, not only are they very rail strikes

they are extremely elusive. But here at the Field Centre, there is

a captive breeding programme. I met up with John to find out more.

we are in the depths of a food, well away from human habitation.

These are the pens, we have a family of three, mum, dad and the

kitten. They have successfully bred, and the kitten will go back into

the wild? The kitten will be released back into the wild at 18

months old. It is important to keep them wild, but you have to manage

them a bit. You have to feed them. So, John, what's on the menu today,

chicken? It's one of my life, Lucy's chickens, it died. This is

good practice for them, to have a whole animal, when they go to the

wild. I tie it on to here. Nice and firmly. The look they give you is

not a domestic moggy look, you can see the wildness of the eyes.

you love the eyes. Fan nas particular. John, when you get this

close, you can see -- fantastic. John, when you get this close you

can see the fantastic features? There is the ring-tipped tails,

there can be six rings is about right for an adult, getting fainter

as it goes up. What would they favour in the wild? Small mammals,

bank voles, field vole, mice, rats, nesting birds, some other birds,

like all cats they will stalk their prey. Their main threat in the past

has been habitat loss, that is still a problem, persecution, and

now, one of their problems is interbreeding with the domestic

cats. The really serious problem is genetic pollution, because so many

people have domestic cats nowadays. Certainly, if you were a wildcat,

and you came across a domestic pussy, you know, that won very

attractive, thank you very much. How do you know these are pure bred,

or don't you? We have never had them DNA tested, but they have all

the characteristics of pure bred wild cats. She is coming in. This

is the kitten. Coming in to inspect the chicken now. Here comes the

male as well. Is this normal behaviour?

Absolutely, very cautious approach, and then claws. So basically she's

trying to find out if it is dead? Here comes dad, do you see that,

almost lynx-like walk. And those eyes, and the whiskers, look at

those wonderful whiskers. Here he comes now. He will very likely push

the kitten off. He's obviously going to try to pull it away.

not pleased about that, he thought he could take it away to his den.

Look at that club-shaped tail. Isn't it wonderful. He's got it

off! Will they share it, or is he quite greedy? He will take it off

and he will feed from it first. When he has had his fill the other

two will fight over the rest of it. He's not a very generous tom, he

doesn't share it. He's gone into the den. The female is saying, what

about me, I know that feeling. Amazing animal. Gorgeous. They

don't look to me like a domestic pussy cat. Those faces look so

fierce. The evil look in the eye. They look so magnificent. Chris

there is a huge debate about the genetic, obviously it is important,

it is a difficult one. It is very involved. The bigger question, why

should we care? Why should we want to have, beautiful though they are,

wildcats in the wild again. We have only got the 400 as we have said.

There are two reasons for it, one, it is our fault, we led to the

great crash in their populations, through persecution. In a way our

conscience should say we should put them back. They are very much a

part of the Highland fauna now. They appeared all down the UK, to

the south-east of England. If a creature is living in a community

like that, if it has evolved to live there, it is playing a

functional role F you take it out, that community and ecosystem isn't

as functional, and won't be as sustainable. If we really want to

preserve habitats for the future, we need all species to live there.

In this part of Scotland, that is the wildcat of that is why we

should have them back. A bit more geography, the artist has produced

this lovely map. Here we are, let's go around the camera. This is the

studio here, here is a view of it outside that you can see. You can

see it lit up on the righthand side there. Here, is the beaver, the

other end of the lodge, let's take a look at that camera now. They are

about, I don't know, 150ms up the lodge there. Of course, as I have

already mentioned the other side of the loch, we have the pine martens

and the bird feeder, there has been a lot of activity there. That is

not a camera we can cut to live, there is no action going on at this

time of night when it is dark. There has been a lot of action in

the day. It has been a bird of a bird bonanza. Look at that, we have

finches, and tits, there is a lot of action from the woodpecker. And,

like all bird feeders, it is not just birds. What else would you

expect. A squirrel. As we said yesterday, it is not greys we have

up here, it is red squirrels. Off he goes, takes his nut. Putting it

in the box, and then, jumy, let's have a nut and enjoy that.

You can't help but enjoy that. Gorgeous creature. Talking of

squirrel, we have had great footage from Kate McKray, who has a mini-

Springwatch in her garden, she put up a nestbox for squirrels and she

got this footage, take a look. There is a squirrel going into the

nestbox, there is a camera inside the nestbox that she has rigged up.

And there we have the squirrel making himself a nice little nest.

That locks like fresh leaves it has taken in there. Not old dead leaves.

They look like they might be fresh loaves it is using to make its nest.

Very curious. Well done, Kate, nice footage. We were having a squirrel

fest, Anthony has sent in a question of Facebook, or comment,

he says he lives in Buckinghamshire, and sometimes there is a squirrel

that makes a kind of barking sound, it can go on for 20 minutes at a

time. What is the sound it is making. Let's have a look at the

squirrel doing exactly that. I have frequently heard that, many of you

have. It sometimes sounds almost like a jay. You can mistake it for

a bird. Maybe that's just me. It is just a squirrel being very

aggressive. Marking out its territory. Saying Phil, I'm here,

nobody else, clear off. Barking mad. In an unfriendly fashion.

If you saw our film about grey squirrels yesterday, you know we

still don't know everything about all the creatures we have in our

country. We have lots to learn. Particularly about the mammal, we

spend more time looking at the birds and mapping them, even

butterflies and dragon flies. The mammal society is putting together

a new mammal at last. They neat our help. If you see any when they are

out, and report them. How do you do that. Go to our website. From

mammals to spider, Laura on Facebook has said, is it just me,

or is there massive amount of spiders this autumn. The answer to

that a truly amazing tale. This is the story of an epic

adventure. Our hero, a male house spider. In autumn, he faces the

most important and dangerous journey of his life. His mission is

to seek out a female spider. But to reach her, he may have to risk his

own life. For the past year, he's lived on

his web. It's an architectural wonder. On tip toe, feathery hair

on his feet, stop him sinking through. But a flat-footed fly,

quickly becomes entangled. He pick up vibration, with sensitive hairs

on his body and strikes. Venom, injected through needle-like

fannings, quickly fangs quickly subdue his prey. Powerful enzymes

put down his prey. This is the last supper, autumn has arrived, and the

urge to mate has become overwhelming. When the time is

right, he leaves the safety of his web. Now he must venture into an

unknown land, where a female house spider waits. Out in the open, our

spider is now exposed to predators. A lucky escape. Inside the house,

he's confronted by a weird landscape, a world away from his

humble shed. A giant wooden mountain appears to be an

insurmountable obstacle. It's a long way up. But the varnished wood

holds just enough tiny crevices for our hero to grip on to. And soon,

he finds an easier route. Our hero is making excellent progress. But

just like us, spiders need to drink. He's drawn towards the bathroom.

And into danger. The water's surface tension does keep him

afloat, but he will drawn if he's stuck here for too long. Our slick-

sided baths and sinks are death traps to spiders. But a flannel can

provide a lifeline. The hairs on his body and his waxy exsoskeleton,

do repel water and a good grooming helps him dry off. In the spare

room, a complex web has been spun by a female house spider. As soon

as our male touches the web, receptor on the body sense the

female's fare moans, but he must be careful. She may mistake him for

food. He begins a courtship dance, drumming his pelps and bobbing, the

female listens to the vibration, she's satisfied with her suitor,

and allows him to approach. He uses his pelps to transfer his sperm.

And after mating, he take up residence in her web. The danger

isn't over. A rival male approaches. The female stores sperm through the

autumn and only fertilises through spring. Our male will have to fight

to ensure he's the father of her offspring. Each male could deliver

a toxic bite, this could be a battle to the death. The rival is

chased off. Our male is victorious. He returns to his mate. Now his

mission is complete, his life is over. He won't survive the winter.

But he has ensured that a new generation of adventurers will

appear next year. That is a fabulous film. It goes to

show, not only red stags have to work hard to get a female, but the

spiders do too. It is tough. It is a tough life. It is tough being a

male, more than you would imagine. Some animal. This is a great time

of year to look for spiders' webs. It is brilliant here. The dew on

the webs is astonishing. We found a spraiing web, inside the beaver

lodge is a web. A crane fly, very unlucky, flies into the web, and

down from the top comes from what appears to be a garden spider. A

big female, she needs that to produce her eggs before she finshes

her Deepcuties this summer and leaves them to emerge this year.

And the beaver stays asleep. Now we have a spider and a crane fly. What

next will die in the beavers' lodge. If you are interested in creepy

crawlies, the Lancashire wildlife Trust are running Wild About

Spiders this Saturday. You can find details of that and lots of things

to do on the website. Look at the "things to do" page. You can also

catch up on what has happened to the Springwatch stars on the

website. Things like the king fisher, the barn owl, the Ospreys.

Yesterday, very briefly, we asked for your help to try to identify

case of this very worrying ash dibac disease. We need your help as

soon as possible, we are running out of time because the leaves are

falling off the ash tree. How do you identify and report it. You can

download this to help identify it, and link through to reporting it.

We need your help. Let's check out the live cameras, any action on any

of them. I don't think so. It is very cold tonight, and there is a

full moon? There is a massive full moon out there. Maybe that's why.

lot of animals don't come out on a full moon. Pine martens are

nocturnal this time of year, maybe it has put them off. That isn't an

excuse. Do you know what a grouch pine

martens are called? It is called a richness. Let's -- a group of pine

martens are called? It is called a richness. We have had lots of

richness this show, we will bring you lots of other richness tomorrow.

Lots of action with the stag, they will be battling out. Lucius and

Cassius will be out on the glen, having a little bit of a fight.

There will be a glorious spectacle. Look at that, the knot, we will be

visiting the knot. And ravaged by the English, and patient work by

the Scots is rebuilding the Caledonian forest with all its

fantastic wildlife. We will be back tomorrow, with not too many tricks