:00:09. > :00:17.We are alive in Lancashire for the autumn season's greatest spectacles
:00:18. > :00:25.- vast flocks of starlings. Stately stags strutting out of the reeds,
:00:26. > :00:27.what could be finer? We will be back with you for the next four nights
:00:28. > :00:36.bringing you the best of Autumnwatch. We have these little
:00:37. > :00:43.rarities, there are only 20 pairs of them - you are excited, and you?
:00:44. > :00:48.Fantastic. I am going to be out and about. I am going to go into the
:00:49. > :00:52.darkness and become Autumnwatch's life roving reporter. What could
:00:53. > :01:19.possibly go wrong? Welcome, it is Autumnwatch.
:01:20. > :01:24.Hello, and welcome to Autumnwatch, coming to you life from the RSPB
:01:25. > :01:28.reserve here in the north-west of England. It is a fabulous reserve.
:01:29. > :01:33.This is how I see it, you come in from school or college or work, you
:01:34. > :01:42.have had your dinner made a cup of tea, and have settled on the sofa,
:01:43. > :01:45.and we aim to offer you a great escape from these damp and dark
:01:46. > :01:51.nights and bring you the finest spectacles of autumn - a dynamic and
:01:52. > :01:57.dramatic season. It is a season of change which offers naturalists days
:01:58. > :02:01.of glory. It offers the white life time of make or break. We decided to
:02:02. > :02:08.choose a theme for our programme this year. We have chosen a familiar
:02:09. > :02:13.one, migration. We will look at why, where and when migration takes
:02:14. > :02:20.place. We will not provide the answers. I like that, it means there
:02:21. > :02:27.is more to learn. Migration holds a lot of mystery for us. This is the
:02:28. > :02:31.perfect place, Leighton Moss RSPB reserve. There are lots of migrating
:02:32. > :02:37.birds coming here. It may be a dynamic time, autumn, but it can
:02:38. > :02:43.also be unpredictable. It was quite mild last week, and then yesterday,
:02:44. > :02:48.St Jude the storm hit many parts of the UK. I think wiki skipped it here
:02:49. > :02:52.in the north-west, but it had a devastating impact in parts of the
:02:53. > :02:57.South of England. -- I think we escaped it. How did it affect our
:02:58. > :03:01.wildlife? Especially migrating birds. For many of them, it stopped
:03:02. > :03:07.migration, but for how long? That is one thing we will be looking at. We
:03:08. > :03:13.will be looking at how it has had any lasting impact. Coming up, some
:03:14. > :03:19.fantastic night-time footage of some of the creatures here on the
:03:20. > :03:23.reserve, including otters. We have got some very interesting behaviour.
:03:24. > :03:27.By using a brand-new, state-of-the-art thermal camera, we
:03:28. > :03:38.have managed to get these images of animals like red deer and Fox. That
:03:39. > :03:44.is in pitch blackness, and it is so clear. This is military grade and it
:03:45. > :03:48.is a great opportunity to use a life for the first time. We're hoping for
:03:49. > :03:51.not only great pictures, but things we have not spotted before. That
:03:52. > :03:56.would be fantastic. Let's go to the camera so we can see what it has
:03:57. > :04:03.got. That is a view over the reserve. The bird you can see
:04:04. > :04:08.slumbering in the drizzle is a swan. It looks dark, because that
:04:09. > :04:15.means it is cold. Dark means cold, white means warm. We will have to
:04:16. > :04:24.remind people it is in darkness, it is hard to believe. It is raining!
:04:25. > :04:29.Martin, have you got stuck in the mud? We are ready to go. Migration
:04:30. > :04:35.is one of the key themes on Autumnwatch. Just earlier this week,
:04:36. > :04:41.some 30,000 starlings arrived here on the reserve. We are going to go
:04:42. > :04:48.out right now and find out why they are here and what they are up to
:04:49. > :04:52.right now. See you later. He is hardly making a speedy
:04:53. > :04:56.getaway, the right thing to do on a nature reserve in the dark. But what
:04:57. > :05:03.about this place, what is it about and what lesser? Take a look. We
:05:04. > :05:06.have come to Leighton Moss RSPB reserve on the wild Lancashire
:05:07. > :05:12.coast, to be at the heart of the autumn action. It is nestled in the
:05:13. > :05:20.Silverdale area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and is near
:05:21. > :05:32.Morecambe Bay, the second largest area of mudflats in the UK. It is a
:05:33. > :05:38.magnet for hundreds and thousands of wildfowl flying in from all over the
:05:39. > :05:44.North. Some come to feed in the S jury, while others seek the safety
:05:45. > :05:51.of the reedbeds. -- some come to feed in Morecambe Bay. But it is not
:05:52. > :05:56.just the birds who are attracted here. There is plenty of other white
:05:57. > :05:58.life, too, and now is a fantastic time to see this autumn spectacle.
:05:59. > :06:18.-- plenty of other wildlife. We will be delving further into the
:06:19. > :06:24.lives of these animals as they faced the challenges of autumn and the
:06:25. > :06:28.coming winter. Leighton Moss is going to be our home for this series
:06:29. > :06:34.of Autumnwatch. This is where we are going to shelter from the rain, this
:06:35. > :06:38.fabulous barn. It is on a working farm not far from the reedbeds. We
:06:39. > :06:46.have put some Autumnwatch magic in here, it has had a make over. We
:06:47. > :06:57.have got our sofas, lots of autumn decor. It does look a bit rustic.
:06:58. > :07:06.Where are we? Here is a map of the UK. We are up in the north-east.
:07:07. > :07:12.This is the Lake District above us and this is Morecambe Bay. We are in
:07:13. > :07:16.the north-west, sorry. Morecambe Bay is 340 square kilometres of
:07:17. > :07:28.mudflats. The reserve is over here at Leighton Moss. We have 23 square
:07:29. > :07:33.calamities of RSPB reserve, ten kilometres of which are reedbeds. It
:07:34. > :07:42.has made this a Site Of Special Scientific Interest and it is not to
:07:43. > :07:47.scale, but this is where we are. This is the causeway, where Martin
:07:48. > :07:54.will be exploring the wetland area. This is the cafe, where 100,000
:07:55. > :08:05.visitors a year pop in for some cake. I have to say, the staff
:08:06. > :08:15.working in the cafe should be contenders for Great British Beg Off
:08:16. > :08:23.-- Bake Off. Have you had the cake? I have. It is not just around the
:08:24. > :08:31.reserve we have had cameras, but on Morecambe Bay in itself. It is a
:08:32. > :08:33.fabulous place for wading birds. You have got the charismatic
:08:34. > :08:41.oystercatcher and lots of migrant birds coming in as well. Why do they
:08:42. > :08:44.come? For the mud. It is full of nutrients and we are going to be
:08:45. > :08:49.taking a much closer look at that during the week. The beauty of
:08:50. > :08:54.having these roving cameras and remote cameras is that you never
:08:55. > :09:02.know what we will get. Last night we got this gem. Very interesting
:09:03. > :09:08.behaviour from some arteries. -- otters. This is a young otter
:09:09. > :09:18.minding its own business. Suddenly, it sees something and look around.
:09:19. > :09:31.It starts calling. That is much bigger otter, giving it whack around
:09:32. > :09:39.the face with its tail. It is like a dinosaur with a club on its tail,
:09:40. > :09:42.that is what this otter is doing. But we suspect that is its father,
:09:43. > :09:50.because if it was not it would be a bigger fight. This is likely this is
:09:51. > :09:59.one of his last set of cards. Just look at the whiskers! This camera is
:10:00. > :10:03.giving us interesting behaviour. So often you see otters sliding in and
:10:04. > :10:13.out of the water. Then, something else happens. We see this beautiful
:10:14. > :10:17.red deer stag on the bank. We will be looking at that more closely
:10:18. > :10:25.tomorrow. We will bring you plenty more. What about migration itself?
:10:26. > :10:28.Already, the reserve has had its numbers swollen by starlings. These
:10:29. > :10:33.birds have come in from Scandinavia as it is beginning to get cold. Here
:10:34. > :10:39.they are, lined up in their spotted winter coats. We think that
:10:40. > :10:44.thousands of these birds arrived at Leighton Moss to provide quite a
:10:45. > :10:55.spectacle. Martin has gone out to find out why they have come to the
:10:56. > :11:00.reserve, and why now? To start to answer that, I have come down here
:11:01. > :11:08.into the heart of the reserve. I am driving along this central road. We
:11:09. > :11:11.are in the heart of the reedbeds. There is about ten square
:11:12. > :11:15.kilometres, it is the biggest in the whole of the North West. This is the
:11:16. > :11:24.secret to fry the starlings come here. The reeds are just outside the
:11:25. > :11:29.car. They are tall and strong. That is why they have come down, there is
:11:30. > :11:32.a safe refuge. A few days ago, I was lucky enough to go out and watch
:11:33. > :11:56.what happened when the starlings come into these reedbeds. There is a
:11:57. > :11:59.whole language around these Murray shins -- murmurations. They are
:12:00. > :12:10.showing the other starlings, come to us. It is exciting watching them
:12:11. > :12:12.coming in in dribs and drabs and then gradually filling out. It is
:12:13. > :12:43.almost like smoke. Positively biblical. You can argue
:12:44. > :12:47.that this if you like, but surely this has to be one of our greatest
:12:48. > :13:35.British wildlife spectacles? I never, ever get tired of seeing
:13:36. > :13:58.this. When they do drop Ben, they go
:13:59. > :14:00.remarkably quickly. Once they have made the decision to rock in... Here
:14:01. > :14:33.they come! Look at that! What a fantastic site that is. You
:14:34. > :14:37.never get bored of seeing that. That raises a question - we have just
:14:38. > :14:44.said that there are ten square kilometres here of reedbeds. Let's
:14:45. > :14:51.walk amongst them. Oh, my Lord! It is very boggy. With ten square
:14:52. > :14:59.kilometres, wide of the starlings, all 30,000, pouring too one small
:15:00. > :15:06.area? If it was about ten foot wide, you could have hundreds of
:15:07. > :15:10.starlings. Why do they do it? There is safety to numbers if they stick
:15:11. > :15:17.together. What would happen if a predator came along and came amongst
:15:18. > :15:24.the starlings flop? -- starling flock. Here is a marsh harrier
:15:25. > :15:25.flying in. What will happen when it hits the flock of starlings? Here it
:15:26. > :16:07.comes in amongst them safe from aerial predators, but look
:16:08. > :16:10.at this. I am sinking in a bit! If you were a fox or a weasel or stoat,
:16:11. > :16:16.would you want to come hunting in this? You wouldn't. It is a good
:16:17. > :16:22.place for all those darlings to be. It is also a good place for
:16:23. > :16:31.different animals, something really surprising. There are enormous red
:16:32. > :16:52.deer here. There is a gigantic stab we will be following -- stag. We are
:16:53. > :16:55.not quite sure what is going on. It is only coming into season for a
:16:56. > :17:00.short period, he will have to look after them and be around them all
:17:01. > :17:06.the time. We will keep following them.
:17:07. > :17:09.We have got lights on here all around me. Let us turn the lights
:17:10. > :17:16.off and find out what it is really like in the reedbeds. And my head
:17:17. > :17:21.torch, I cannot find the switch exhibition mark it is completely
:17:22. > :17:28.dark. This is what it would be like in the starling colony. With this
:17:29. > :17:36.special camera we can look into the heart of the colony and see what is
:17:37. > :17:40.going on. Look at this. Here are all the starlings, this was
:17:41. > :17:45.a shock and surprise. We thought they all went in and settled down
:17:46. > :17:50.and went to sleep. But they are not doing that, they are moving around.
:17:51. > :17:55.The cameraman filmed this about midnight and they were still moving
:17:56. > :17:59.around. It is pitch black, they are not clearly moving around very
:18:00. > :18:04.accurately, they are bumping into each other. That camera will reveal
:18:05. > :18:09.more and more about the curious things going on at night here at
:18:10. > :18:14.Leighton Moss. Now, migration. What makes all of
:18:15. > :18:19.these words move from one part of the planet and another? It comes
:18:20. > :18:35.down to planetary astronomical physics. Could you be the son,
:18:36. > :18:39.these? -- the Sun, please? Our planet spins on an axis like this
:18:40. > :18:49.which gives us day and night. It also orbits the Sun, taking a year
:18:50. > :18:56.to do so. It doesn't do that on a vertical axis, it is off-kilter by
:18:57. > :19:02.23.5 degrees. The obliquity of the ecliptic. When the sun Acrobat Earth
:19:03. > :19:09.is in an area like this and moves round, the UK and Europe would be
:19:10. > :19:14.closer to the sun, it is not the distance, it is the incidence of the
:19:15. > :19:19.light rays passing through the atmosphere and the day length. Nice
:19:20. > :19:24.long days warming up the ground means a nice summer. When we reach
:19:25. > :19:31.this side of the Sun we are tilted away from it, shorter days, less
:19:32. > :19:35.time to warm the environment up and in the northern part of the region
:19:36. > :19:39.we have our winter. As a consequence, if animals can move
:19:40. > :19:43.they will do their very best to get out of the way and move further
:19:44. > :19:49.south where it should be warmer and easier for them to survive will stop
:19:50. > :19:53.is it break time now? Is that the end of the geography lesson?
:19:54. > :19:58.Migration is a fascinating subject and the ability of animals to travel
:19:59. > :20:05.huge distances every year never ceases to amaze. This time of year
:20:06. > :20:11.so many species are on the move. Migration.
:20:12. > :20:19.Every autumn billions of animals traverse the globe. The British
:20:20. > :20:28.Isles are the epicentre for an astonishing number of migratory
:20:29. > :20:37.species. From our smallest, to our largest. Migration has always
:20:38. > :20:46.fascinated us. 2000 years ago Aristotle noticed the sudden
:20:47. > :20:50.disappearance of birds from ancient Greece and believed they had
:20:51. > :20:56.transmuted into Robins. We believed 250 years ago when autumn came
:20:57. > :21:06.swallows hibernated at the bottom of legs. Now with advancing technology
:21:07. > :21:11.we can follow where our migrants are coming from and going. GPS, radar,
:21:12. > :21:17.with these we have trapped Arctic turns, 25,000 miles from pole to
:21:18. > :21:24.pole. We have followed ospreys on the long pilgrimage from Wales to
:21:25. > :21:31.west Africa. And we have monitored British basking sharks which turn up
:21:32. > :21:34.in the Canary Islands. Even leatherback turtles across the
:21:35. > :21:39.Atlantic can get to Britain, all the way from the Caribbean. Our
:21:40. > :21:45.incredible migrants represent written all over the world. Some
:21:46. > :21:50.follow the stars and the sun, some follow landmarks, others follow
:21:51. > :22:02.their nose, literally smelling their way home. Our understanding of
:22:03. > :22:07.migration has come a long way. The UK's unique global permission --
:22:08. > :22:17.position gives us a front row seat for the most spectacular event.
:22:18. > :22:22.All of those animals are on the move, but why are so many of them
:22:23. > :22:27.interested in coming to the UK? Look at this. This map shows isobars.
:22:28. > :22:34.They are lines across the map which indicate temperature. Isotherm is.
:22:35. > :22:44.They indicate the average temperature during January. Look up
:22:45. > :22:49.into Russia. Here it is ice cold. In Alexandria in Egypt's it is much
:22:50. > :22:53.warmer. You might expect that because of Latitude. But the lines
:22:54. > :23:00.are not straight, they wriggle around the UK. Indicating that here
:23:01. > :23:05.to the left of the UK it is higher than zero degrees throughout
:23:06. > :23:11.January. We are caught in this warm pocket. Why? It comes down to the
:23:12. > :23:16.Gulf stream which comes up through here, arches up towards Iceland and
:23:17. > :23:23.sweeps down the North Atlantic past Ireland. This maritime warmth heats
:23:24. > :23:26.up the UK and makes it a very attractive destination for migrants,
:23:27. > :23:32.the titular Lee from those coming from this direction, from the east
:23:33. > :23:38.where it is considerably colder. But the storm this week changed that,
:23:39. > :23:42.and things were far from all quiet on the Western front and we have had
:23:43. > :23:48.birds blowing in from the Americas. We have had a yellow-rumped
:23:49. > :23:55.warbler, this has turned up in Devon. We are interested in
:23:56. > :24:00.migration we can all see. We will launch what we will call our
:24:01. > :24:04.migration watch in conjunction with the RSPB and we want you to look out
:24:05. > :24:10.for three particular birds. The first is the Redwing. It is easy to
:24:11. > :24:15.identify, a member of the thrush family. You can see it's distinctive
:24:16. > :24:20.eye stripe. They will come into your garden is to feed on berries. They
:24:21. > :24:37.have a very characteristic call. It is the high-pitched sleep. -- --
:24:38. > :24:41.seep. You need to go out at night, stand on the doorstep and listen.
:24:42. > :24:53.They will move about night. It is a characteristic call. The next word
:24:54. > :25:03.is that brambling. The colouring is quite different, that was a male. It
:25:04. > :25:14.had an orange chest. The last bird is this beauty. It is the waxwing.
:25:15. > :25:20.This winter there might be a few number. Some have arrived already,
:25:21. > :25:26.mainly in the north-east. We would like you to look out for these
:25:27. > :25:40.birds. If you see any of these three species let us know on the website.
:25:41. > :25:49.Let us know if you find them. I think waxwing is my favourite. Those
:25:50. > :25:53.birds are just arriving in the UK but some of the birds that bred here
:25:54. > :25:57.in the spring have moved on including one of our stars from
:25:58. > :26:07.previous programmes, Monty, the osprey. He arrived in Wales on his
:26:08. > :26:11.own, but not for long. That was one of the many females trying to
:26:12. > :26:17.attract his attention. They were fighting over him. In the end and
:26:18. > :26:24.inexperienced first time reader caught his affections. -- breeder.
:26:25. > :26:27.They laid their eggs late and left them unattended which meant they
:26:28. > :26:34.were prone to attacks from birds like Luke Rowe there. Were they
:26:35. > :26:40.doomed? What has happened since then?
:26:41. > :26:49.Monty was up against it. Osprey normally hatch after 37 days but
:26:50. > :26:54.still nothing. On the 27th of June the 1st hatchling on a female. Two
:26:55. > :27:07.days later another. The chicks grew fast. Dad was
:27:08. > :27:21.bringing home 30 fish every week, they quickly put on weight. After
:27:22. > :27:25.five weeks the chicks were mature enough to be monitored by staff and
:27:26. > :27:41.the two girls were named. With two beautiful chicks to raise
:27:42. > :27:52.they were busier than ever. Dad kept the fish flowing. But what is so
:27:53. > :27:56.alluring about his legs? The family repelled intruders flying overhead,
:27:57. > :27:59.already on their way back to Africa. The constant reminder of how
:28:00. > :28:05.behind they were in their development. But on the whole, life
:28:06. > :28:11.was good. The fledgling 's were now feeding themselves, giving Monty a
:28:12. > :28:15.well earned rest. He was close to notching up 500 fish this season.
:28:16. > :28:24.Though he could still use a lesson in presentation. The chicks
:28:25. > :28:30.new-found independence was the mother 's cue to leave. She began
:28:31. > :28:37.her long journey to Senegal on the 31st of August. It was all down to
:28:38. > :28:43.Monty now. He kept his girls fed for a few more weeks. By now other
:28:44. > :28:48.British ospreys were already basking in the hot African Sun but as long
:28:49. > :28:57.as his daughters still needed him he resisted the urge to leave. Finally,
:28:58. > :29:03.on the 18th of September, the mother began her first ever migration to
:29:04. > :29:10.West Africa. Two days later, the second made her move. Then dad
:29:11. > :29:17.followed, 36 minutes behind. Who knows when they will be back? But
:29:18. > :29:21.for now Monty's work was done. Two eggs, two girls, hatched two days
:29:22. > :29:27.apart and now on their migration. Also two days apart. What an
:29:28. > :29:35.incredible summer for Monty, and what an amazing, handsome dad.
:29:36. > :29:43.He has got all the characteristics I like in Amman. -- in a male. Spiky
:29:44. > :29:50.haired, bulging eyes, bloke who goes fishing the whole time. When you put
:29:51. > :29:56.it like that! He is patient, attentive, he is a good father. He
:29:57. > :30:04.flies off all winter. He has gone 3000 miles, to Senegal. Hopefully.
:30:05. > :30:12.Why has he gone there? There is plenty of fish and plenty of
:30:13. > :30:18.sunshine. The Gambia cub River runs down there and there are wonderful
:30:19. > :30:25.wetlands. -- the Gambia River. We hope that Monty will come back. We
:30:26. > :30:40.have had birds moving cells, but they have stopped with us. One group
:30:41. > :30:44.which have either starlings. -- which have all the starlings. I can
:30:45. > :30:54.hear all of the sounds of the waterfowl. We have found out why the
:30:55. > :31:02.starlings come here. It is safety. Let's look at these reeds. These
:31:03. > :31:12.leaves are quite flexible. When the wind blows, all of the leaves
:31:13. > :31:32.line-up. It can bend around, but they do not break. The starlings are
:31:33. > :31:44.able to roost on the same stem. There is a hierarchy. If you are at
:31:45. > :31:56.the bottom, you will get pooed on. This is the colony. The black bits
:31:57. > :32:00.are the starlings. The best place to be as high up but in the middle. The
:32:01. > :32:09.most dominant birds will go there. They will squabble and fight. One of
:32:10. > :32:14.the other advantages about being in the middle is that you keep warm.
:32:15. > :32:24.You can see them fluffing up their feathers. A starling is six degrees
:32:25. > :32:32.warmer than we are in body cabbage. That is the perfect place, in the
:32:33. > :32:38.middle. Beautiful pictures in the heart of the roost. That is about
:32:39. > :32:45.half a kilometre away. They are fairly safe, but not always.
:32:46. > :32:50.Sometimes, predators will be on the prowl at night. We have filmed a
:32:51. > :33:01.specialist night predator. It is a barn owl. Do you see that? He has
:33:02. > :33:14.dropped a starling. The barn owl was coming in. It has learned how to
:33:15. > :33:18.take the starlings. If you have got 30,000 small packages of meat, if
:33:19. > :33:25.you can take advantage of it, you will. We know that they are
:33:26. > :33:34.successful, because the RSPB has found these remains. Tragically,
:33:35. > :33:40.those are starling skulls from inside the nest box of the barn owl.
:33:41. > :33:46.Their pellets are full of nothing but starlings. These clever barn owl
:33:47. > :33:59.'s have adapted to the starlings. -- these clever barn owls. You to full
:34:00. > :34:06.little birds. -- beautiful little birds. To appreciate the beauty of
:34:07. > :34:17.the individual bird, we need to see one close-up. It would be handy if
:34:18. > :34:22.we had one. We have! This is a bird that many people take for granted.
:34:23. > :34:27.Look at those feathers, they are beautiful. They are stunning. Those
:34:28. > :34:31.feathers have an important purpose. They malted in the autumn, so they
:34:32. > :34:42.have a fresh coat of feathers to keep them warm. -- moulted. The
:34:43. > :34:49.inner core of a starling's body only fluctuates by about four back
:34:50. > :34:53.degrees -- four degrees during the day. They also employ other means of
:34:54. > :35:04.containing body heat. Then what keeps their feet warm? May use a
:35:05. > :35:09.counter current heat exchanger. -- they use. As the warm blood is
:35:10. > :35:15.pumped down from their body and the warm blood goes back into it, it's
:35:16. > :35:22.what's the heat, so they do not lose body heat. # it exchanges the heat.
:35:23. > :35:26.They have what we call a high surface area to volume ratio. They
:35:27. > :35:41.would be prone to losing lots of heat. These are trained birds. Lloyd
:35:42. > :35:47.will be stuck around for Autumnwatch Unsprung on the red button and
:35:48. > :35:50.online after the programme. To really appreciate wildlife, you have
:35:51. > :35:59.to get out there and see it for rail. We came up with an idea which
:36:00. > :36:06.made us have a closer look at the wildlife and plants. We had a
:36:07. > :36:14.friendly but rather competitive Autumnwatch Challenge. Your
:36:15. > :36:19.challenge is to find a plant, animal or part thereof beginning with each
:36:20. > :36:24.letter of the word Autumnwatch, and hopefully take a photo or film it. I
:36:25. > :36:31.am going to sit in the cafe and sit for 45 minutes and have hot
:36:32. > :37:03.chocolate. Let's get going and let them talk. Where is the cafe? C,
:37:04. > :37:15.cake! That is a silver moth. The Latin name begins with A. What a
:37:16. > :37:26.place. This is five minutes from where we started. Look at all of
:37:27. > :37:34.these limestone pavements. Some of these are 2000 years old. They
:37:35. > :37:44.reckon some of them could be 5000 years old. That is a fantastic piece
:37:45. > :37:59.of sculpture. The scientific name starts with T. Shall I take a photo?
:38:00. > :38:14.It could really be useful if we could spell! Are there any older
:38:15. > :38:25.trees? -- alder. No, we are not going to cheat and use T for trees.
:38:26. > :38:34.There should be an award for quality of species. They will come up with
:38:35. > :38:57.lots of Latin names. But we have got Latin names, too. Look at this,
:38:58. > :39:16.hart's tongue. That is no good, it run away! The Latin name for
:39:17. > :39:26.stinging nettle is urtica. This is like the cover of that Nik Kershaw
:39:27. > :39:41.album. That is not in my collection. It was like this, only in black and
:39:42. > :39:57.white. Woodlouse, perfect for W. It is the only type of crustacean that
:39:58. > :40:16.does not need water to breed. We need A, M and two Us. Look at this
:40:17. > :40:32.day? -- look at this algae. I do not like using Latin, but, some of these
:40:33. > :41:07.are useful. This is Cal Parsley --, parsley, umbellifer. We are being
:41:08. > :41:12.beaten by two Us. Sorted! Brilliant. I never saw you as a Nik Kershaw
:41:13. > :41:16.fan. I do not know much about him. My sister had a magazine on the
:41:17. > :41:24.sideboard one day and I happened to glance at it as I was walking past.
:41:25. > :41:39.I like to give credit where it is due. We did win the challenge. ,
:41:40. > :41:42.on, -- come on, we had two ewes. This again due can do your
:41:43. > :41:54.Autumnwatch Challenge. You can use any word you like. -- this weekend,
:41:55. > :42:03.you can do the Autumnwatch Challenge. Cheat if you cannot win!
:42:04. > :42:14.Lots of you got out in the summer. Many of you joined the BBC's Summer
:42:15. > :42:21.Of Wildlife Season. 46,000 of you did the Big Butterfly Count. We had
:42:22. > :42:27.some amazing results. 46,000 people, 830,000 butterflies. We learned a
:42:28. > :42:34.lot. The small tortiseshell, a species which has been struggling,
:42:35. > :42:40.this summer it increased by 388%. Its close relative, the peacock, by
:42:41. > :42:47.3500%. It shows you what you can do if you take part. Please get
:42:48. > :42:50.involved. The storm, if you live in the South of England, has blown
:42:51. > :42:55.loads of leaves of the trees but gardeners, do not rush out and sweep
:42:56. > :42:59.them up. It would be pointless, there is more to come down and also,
:43:00. > :43:06.they feed an army of amazing invertebrates.
:43:07. > :43:13.Earthworms may be simple creatures, but they are pretty amazing. Living
:43:14. > :43:19.a largely subterranean lifestyle, they have no need of eyes or ears
:43:20. > :43:35.and rely on touch and taste to detect their world. They belong to a
:43:36. > :43:42.group which translated means, little rings. Each of their segments is
:43:43. > :43:49.encircled by muscle. These contract and relax in a concertina with,
:43:50. > :43:53.propelling the animal foreword. In this way, the earthworm can achieve
:43:54. > :44:04.top speeds. They can get up to 20 metres per hour! Earthworms are the
:44:05. > :44:06.world's recycling heroes. They are biological re-processors that
:44:07. > :44:14.transform dead plant matter into fertile humus. You can see soil
:44:15. > :44:18.being created as it moves through the earthworm's body. When it comes
:44:19. > :44:30.out the other end, the plant debris has become earth, enriched with
:44:31. > :44:38.nutrients. They have been described as the intestine is of the soil. --
:44:39. > :44:48.intestines of the soil. There is an abundance in autumn of plant
:44:49. > :44:52.material for them to recycle. They have a specially adapted prehensile
:44:53. > :45:01.head. They use this flexible appendage like a hand will stop --
:45:02. > :45:08.like a hand. They drag leads into the ground to enable them to feed in
:45:09. > :45:17.safety. By pulling the leaf at its tip the worm ensures it folds neatly
:45:18. > :45:24.as it enters the soil. Underground the worm becomes a biological
:45:25. > :45:25.piston. It forces life-giving air through the earth as it moves
:45:26. > :45:39.creating tunnels as it goes. In one acre of woodland there may be
:45:40. > :45:44.as many as 1 million worms, eating ten tonnes of leaves on the stems
:45:45. > :45:52.and dead beats each year, and turning over 40 tonnes of soil.
:45:53. > :45:56.Their industry will bury the majority of leaves that fall each
:45:57. > :46:02.autumn and they replenish the soil with vital nutrients and in short
:46:03. > :46:07.dead leaves don't go to waste. I give you the earthworm, the world 's
:46:08. > :46:16.busiest recycler. Great recyclers, but with millions
:46:17. > :46:22.of them in one a go, important in lots of food chains. The thrush,
:46:23. > :46:26.blackbirds, dragging them out of the soil, they provide food for lots of
:46:27. > :46:31.other animals. The Deer Hunter returns. That vehicle is packed with
:46:32. > :46:39.electronic equipment. The sign came up saying key battery low, I thought
:46:40. > :46:47.it was going to break down! Let's go live to our thermal camera. This is
:46:48. > :47:04.a cormorant roost, we will be looking at it later. Those are all,
:47:05. > :47:08.rents. -- Conrads -- cormorants. We have been watching another animal
:47:09. > :47:13.out and about, it is this one, the badger. As you can see, they are
:47:14. > :47:21.collecting leaflet, they are taking it down into their badger sets to
:47:22. > :47:29.use it as bedding. -- they are collecting leaf litter. Talking of
:47:30. > :47:33.badgers, I am sure it hasn't escaped your attention they remain in the
:47:34. > :47:38.news. The debate continues about badges in the countryside. Many
:47:39. > :47:44.people are still confused about what the problem actually is. What is it
:47:45. > :47:48.about their biology, history and ecology that has got them into so
:47:49. > :47:56.much trouble with humans? Martin went to Gloucestershire to see if he
:47:57. > :48:03.could get some clarity. Badges of the UK's largest member of the
:48:04. > :48:07.weasel family. They have roamed our landscape for half a million years,
:48:08. > :48:13.living underground in a large family groups, heading out into the wilds
:48:14. > :48:18.to forage. They eat everything from berries to birds eggs. These days
:48:19. > :48:26.they rely mainly on earthworms. Places like rural Gloucestershire
:48:27. > :48:32.with damp, fertile soil are ideal. From a badger macro was pointed view
:48:33. > :48:40.this patchwork of fields and trees was perfect. -- from a badger's
:48:41. > :48:43.point of view. The soil in the woods is soft enough for them to tunnel
:48:44. > :48:49.into and make their underground homes. In fact, this area and others
:48:50. > :49:00.like it in the south-west are so good there are more badgers here
:49:01. > :49:05.than anywhere else. They are secretive, nocturnal creatures, you
:49:06. > :49:12.would hardly know they were there. If you look closely their signs are
:49:13. > :49:14.everywhere. I can see here badgers famed for their cleanliness and they
:49:15. > :49:22.will drag out the bedding, take it out, let it dry out, and drag it
:49:23. > :49:28.back down and have somewhere lovely to snuggle up and sleep. They don't
:49:29. > :49:36.poo inside the set, they make a latrine. What is fascinating is you
:49:37. > :49:41.can see it is full of bits of Apple. There has been a bumper apple crop.
:49:42. > :49:46.They do eat a wide variety of things, but it is a carnival and
:49:47. > :49:54.they have got the teeth and jaws to go with that -- carnivore.
:49:55. > :50:01.It was their feisty nature and formidable armoury that first got
:50:02. > :50:07.them into trouble with humans. In the past they were considered good
:50:08. > :50:13.sport by some, an activity known as badger baiting. Patrick Bach is a
:50:14. > :50:19.journalist and author who has spent years researching our changing
:50:20. > :50:25.attitudes. Although it has been persecuted it was never classified
:50:26. > :50:34.as a beast like or dear, why is that? Digging a badger from its home
:50:35. > :50:39.was hard work so they were left alone. But whole villages went in
:50:40. > :50:43.pursuit. It was a sport for working people, they would dig them up and
:50:44. > :50:46.take them to the backyard of a pub, keep them alive for a couple of
:50:47. > :50:53.months, bring it out of its box every night and set a different dog
:50:54. > :50:58.against it and place bets on it. The verb to badger comes from our
:50:59. > :51:02.relentless pursuit of this animal. Badger baiting was still a big thing
:51:03. > :51:11.in the 60s and 70s. My grammar started watching them in the 1960s
:51:12. > :51:18.-- my grandma. Only one of those was still occupied in 1973, all the rest
:51:19. > :51:22.had been destroyed. It's ecology, its ability to fight, had got it
:51:23. > :51:29.into trouble. Following a public outcry they were given legal
:51:30. > :51:34.protection in 1973. As a result the UK became a much better place for
:51:35. > :51:40.them, and their population rose. As we farmed cows, more and more
:51:41. > :51:43.efficiently, creating short grass pasture, full of earthworms, we were
:51:44. > :51:50.inadvertently farming badges as well. -- badgers. But then they came
:51:51. > :51:58.into contact with a new threat, ovine to about Ulysses. -- bovine
:51:59. > :52:03.debate Ulysses. Although it originated in cattle in 1971 badger
:52:04. > :52:10.was discovered to be infected with it. Imagine I am a badger, this
:52:11. > :52:14.would be a perfect place to find my favourite food, earthworms. It is
:52:15. > :52:19.also where cattle like to graze. If a cow had bovine TB it might be
:52:20. > :52:26.shedding the bacteria in its done, so either, and that would go into
:52:27. > :52:31.the ground and bacteria can survive for weeks, months. They are bound to
:52:32. > :52:39.come into contact with the badger. Their close oximetry -- close
:52:40. > :52:45.proximity. Cattle found to be infected are slaughtered but once
:52:46. > :52:50.bovine TB spreads into the wildlife population it is difficult to
:52:51. > :52:55.control. An infected badger can pass the disease on to other animals, or
:52:56. > :53:02.spread the bacteria over the past year once again, reinvent timber
:53:03. > :53:10.cattle. Badgers are not the only carriers Ahmed dear -- the only
:53:11. > :53:18.characters, but they are believed to be the major wildlife carrier back
:53:19. > :53:22.to cattle. This is how badgers, by simply going about their daily
:53:23. > :53:29.lives, once more have walked into trouble with humans. I wonder if any
:53:30. > :53:34.animal has divided the British public as much as the badger does
:53:35. > :53:41.today. Wildlife enthusiast are fascinated by them, captivated by
:53:42. > :53:45.even a glimpse. But for others they are a threat to their livelihood, a
:53:46. > :53:51.carrier of disease, little more than vermin. And yet they carry on doing
:53:52. > :53:56.what they have done for tens of thousands of years, completely
:53:57. > :54:03.unaware they have stepped right into the firing line.
:54:04. > :54:10.They really are still in the firing line in Gloucestershire and Somerset
:54:11. > :54:14.at the moment. It is a very emotive issue, very complicated, but if you
:54:15. > :54:18.would like to know more about the science or see the debate from both
:54:19. > :54:22.sides of the argument, or join in the debate and letters know your
:54:23. > :54:29.opinion, go to the website. -- let us know. It is also the place to go
:54:30. > :54:36.for other things, keeping an eye on the website and the social media is
:54:37. > :54:41.a special member of the team. You are not just here for the website,
:54:42. > :54:44.you are here for something else. I am presenting Autumnwatch Unsprung.
:54:45. > :54:50.Loads of good stuff coming in already. Keep sending in your
:54:51. > :54:54.images. Fantastic bit of murmuration art, the starlings are the big thing
:54:55. > :55:06.at the moment. This is from Kenneth Barker. It looks like a bird. That
:55:07. > :55:12.is fantastic. Have you got any murmurations that look like any
:55:13. > :55:14.other creature? You are doing Autumnwatch Unsprung straight after
:55:15. > :55:20.the show on the red button and online. Lots of ideas on what to do
:55:21. > :55:22.if you get out and about. You will want to know what the weather is
:55:23. > :55:35.like. The storm has been and gone, but it
:55:36. > :55:42.was an extreme event. Symptomatic of what has been an energetic spell of
:55:43. > :55:45.weather in the atmosphere. Mutually cheaply -- the very disturbed
:55:46. > :55:51.atmosphere. Relatively mild conditions. Over the next few days
:55:52. > :55:56.not as mild as it has been. Colder air coming from the north. Enough to
:55:57. > :56:06.give some frost by night. Not particularly cold. No cold air near
:56:07. > :56:14.our shores at the moment. Expect further spells of wind and rain.
:56:15. > :56:17.Hopefully nothing coming as extreme as we have seen over the last few
:56:18. > :56:22.days. To start the rest of the week it will be blustery, not
:56:23. > :56:26.exceptionally so. Colder than it has been, some rain at times, no sign of
:56:27. > :56:29.the wind coming in from the north and east for a sustained period to
:56:30. > :56:43.aid the migration. What does this weather mean for
:56:44. > :56:47.wildlife? It might affect the migration because we will not be
:56:48. > :56:50.expecting too many birds from Scandinavia which typically at this
:56:51. > :56:55.time of the year would be flooding in. They will not fly into a strong
:56:56. > :56:59.headwind. There are other species who might take advantage, pink
:57:00. > :57:07.footed geese and Hooper Swans have been seen arriving today. They have
:57:08. > :57:11.been coming from Greenland, via Iceland, flying into the Atlantic
:57:12. > :57:17.towards the UK with some of the north-westerly winds. They will use
:57:18. > :57:22.that to carry them forward. The storm might have held it up for just
:57:23. > :57:26.about a day, but migration will probably be underway towards the end
:57:27. > :57:34.of the week from Scandinavia, maybe next week. Remember to look out for
:57:35. > :57:41.those birds. While I was out there I heard geese flying over us. They
:57:42. > :57:45.were out there. That is all we have got time for.
:57:46. > :57:49.What have we got coming up tomorrow? Urban foxes with a
:57:50. > :57:55.difference, they are carrying radio collars and they will tell us about
:57:56. > :58:04.their behaviour and ecology. I go to Brighton to find out.
:58:05. > :58:08.And we look at young Manx shearwaters starting their first
:58:09. > :58:16.migration. And what was that fight all about? We will find out what was
:58:17. > :58:22.going on. That might be it from us but Nick Baker is in the studio,
:58:23. > :58:25.give us a wave. He is not going to be on BBC Two, he will be online and
:58:26. > :58:31.on the red button doing Autumnwatch Unsprung. Press the red button now.
:58:32. > :58:36.They're one, do it! We will see you tomorrow.