Episode 2 Autumnwatch


Episode 2

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A The deer are in rut and we will be showing you more of them later. And

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I am about to set sail to try to find one of the UK's most elusive

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birds. So all aboard - it's Autumnwatch!

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Yes, hello and welcome to Autumnwatch 2013. It is our second

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programme from the wonderful RSPB Leighton Moss reserve in the

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north-west. It is a fabulous reserve. 23 square kilometres, a

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great mix of habitats. Here we are looking don on it from the limestone

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crags. Our theme this year is migration. We have seen plentiest

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plenty of it. These oyster-catchers are wheeling in the sky and plenty

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of others already. The thing that strikes me about migration, it is

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still mysterious and it is very interesting, but it just looks

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great. All those swirling birds. You can just enjoy the moment. We have

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cameras all over the reserve and around Morecambe Bay and look into

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the lives of elusive animals. We have already seen some really

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interesting behaviour. We showed you some last night from the otters here

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and in case something else happens with them, we have put up a live

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otter cam and you can see... Oh look, we have a Herron on the otter

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cam. And what is interesting is that bird is feeding in darkness. This is

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an infrared cam RSPCA it is pitch black and the bird, it picked up

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some food and then wetted it before it swallowed it. How can it fish in

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the dark? There is a question. Because I have never seen them

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feeding in the dark. Maybe their eyes are adapted to see in low

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light, a bit like owls. You would be able to explore that by looking at

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the eye to see which type of cells are there. When it was picking up

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the food, it was doing it with accuracy. So it can see well. Later,

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maybe we will get you an otter. Now as we have said, the deer are not

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rutting, but they have certainly been swimming. This may take you by

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surprise, but they're actually very good swimmers and this beautiful

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stag has been in for a bathe and what do they do when they get wet?

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They shake themselves dry! It is a fantastic shot. We have not only

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been watching the deer in the night, but using another type of camera, a

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thermal camera to look at these animals at night. This is filmed in

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pitch black. This is our larger stag, we are calling our 14-pointer,

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on account of the points on his antler. He has a bit of a limp. He

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attending his haar recommend -- what recommend -- harem of hinds. We have

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been seeing that there is no rut. Would that suggest that maybe the

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rut's already happened? Well, historically they do rut earlier

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than this period here at Leighton Moss and it has been an unusual

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season there has been a massive amount of acorns. Where I am there

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is masses of acorn. This has spread the deer out and we think there was

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less conflict in this area. But there are plenty of other males out

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there. We have seen these couple of young males active out in the fields

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and they do spend the day on the Moss among the reeds. At night, they

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come into the open. These two are not rutting. This is a couple of

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young animals learning what antlers are about. They are locking together

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with those individual prongs. I think we are probably postruting and

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that animal has already serviced the hinds and so they will produce more

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deer next year. We will keep an eye opt one with the limp. Yes. They're

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elusive, because they're well dispersed across the reserve. We

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have dispersed Martin to another part of the reserve. But you know

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that boat he went in, I didn't realise it was that one. I made a

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bit of a hole. Shame! Thank you very much. Well we have bunged the hole.

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If you were to come here to Leyton Moss to the reserve you would find

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the whole place is covered in tracks, paths and walk ways through

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the actual reserve. If you want to get to the beating heart of this

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reserve, I think you have got to come out like we are on a boat. We

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are right out in the reed beds now. It is quite dark. We will come back.

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We are going to try an experiment. But first let's look what it looks

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like during the day. Here I am actually out in the lake,

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right out in the dyke. And the main dyke that I'm rowing on, trying to

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row on! Goes out behind me and goes all the way to the sea. That is the

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main drainage dyke. There is dykes on either side that are draining the

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fields. Here are all the reeds and in them will be flocks of starlings

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at night. The bearded tits will be there. And if we were really lucky,

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this is fresh water, it is full of fish and that of course is why the

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otters are here too. The abundance of fish attracts herons. Cormorants

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come here to feast. Egrets also visit in the hope of an easy meal.

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In the shallows water fowl make use of the rich fertile mud, full of

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weeds and animals. And all under the watchful eyes of marsh harriers,

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eager to pounce on unsuspecting prey. This watery world is alive

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with activity. It is fascinating to see Leighton Moss, I'm out in the

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middle of the reserve on a stormy evening. Very nice. I could sit here

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and soak it up. Right. Well it is all quiet now. We

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can have a little audio adventure. We are going to try to talk to a

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bird, a very shy bird that is the out we hope here in the rushes. It

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is the water rail. This bird was a star of Springwatch, a beautiful

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bird, a real reed specialist. When we saw it it had a nest and chicks

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under it as well. Beautiful chicks. I have lost the picture, I can't see

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it! Any way that was a water rail. There are water rail around us here.

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We know they're in the reserve. With the help of Gary, we have got a

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special microphone that can listen for the sound of them. But we have

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got to make them call back us to and that is what I'm going to try to do

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and play the sound of the water rail and see if they call back. But why

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would a water rail call to us? They're very territorial. They're

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territorial when they're nesting, but now they call. It is called

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charming. It is a nice like grunt, grunt, piglet squeal grunt! So we

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have got to listen for piglet squeals. I'm going to use this to

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play the sound. Are you ready, Gary? Give it a try. Here we go. Nothing.

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Come on. SOUND OF WATER RAIL. Is it behind us? I will try it once

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again just quickly. Drat did that sound pig-like to you?

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Keep listening, let us know if we can. We know they're out there and

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there are resident water rails here, but there are migratory ones that

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come from as far as Russia. Their wings are tiny, but they change gear

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and they can fly in. So we are here, we are trying to find birds that

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have arrived. We got it. I can't believe it. We got it. OK, we will

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carry on trying. That was one for real! I never dreamt we would. We

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are listening for birds that have arrived and we have been out to find

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a bird that is about to make a dramatic departure. I've come to a

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small island off the South West coast of Wales. I'm hoping to

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witness one of the most spectacular vents, the -- events, the mass

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fledgling of a amazing bird. A third of the Manx Shearwater population

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come here to breed. The adults have left. But what about the chicks? It

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may be hard to believe, but there could be as many as 200,000 Manx

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Shearwater chicks at this very moment. They're underground in the

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burrows. The reason they say out of day, is because of the large gulls

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patrolling the skies. To find out more, I'm meeting with my old friend

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Tim, who has dedicated his life to studying these birds. It is like

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Swiss cheese. Tim tracked several adult shear waters to pat Goan ya --

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Patagonia. A journey of 7,000 thousand miles. How old is this one?

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I think he is about 65 days. He or she is just starting to lose the

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remains of the down. His parents will have stopped feeding this bird

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and abandoned it and hopefully he has enough fat reserves to make the

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flight to South America. Many birds follow their parents, but this one

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will have to navigate to the far side of the globe alone. After the

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chick has been ringed and weighed, Tim carefully returns it to its

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burrow. It is late afternoon and the island is quiet. It is amazing to

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think just beneath my feed -- feet are thousands of hungry chicks

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waiting for the right conditions to leave. These chicks fledge over

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several nights. According to Tim, tonight is the night when it comes

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to a head. There is very little moon. So it will be very dark. They

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need this darkness to get off the island safely. Because they require

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the darkness, we won't be using torches, but using night vision.

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Timis taking -- Timis taking me to one of the highest points of island.

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It looked like I timed my visit to perfection. They are coming out.

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Look at that! Minute by minute, more and more emerged from underground.

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Since the adults left, the youngsters have been burning off

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their fat and developing their wing muscles. They are ready for their

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maiden flight. They need to get as high as possible to give them the

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best chance of making it off the island. A lot of birds climb up the

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rocks. You have actually got one on your head. I have never seen

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somebody look quite so foolish! Clearly ACS not as a threat but as

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an extension of the rock face. -- clearly they see us . First time I

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have ever been a climbing frame, it is a unique experience. Stop

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squabbling. Go on, up you go. Be gentle. With this modern camera

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technology it is easy to forget that neither we nor the shearwaters can't

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see anything at all but they are making their presence felt. This one

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has got very sharp claws. That is better. You have got more hair than

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I have. They are quite argumentative. The whole purpose of

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this is for these birds to gain height, to try to get the best

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possible vantage point for launching themselves off. They have to clear

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the vegetation, the rock, the breakers, to get out to the open sea

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before first light. If they can do that they have got a chance for

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survival. It is a huge transition for them, isn't it? It is. They will

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come back to breed in five years time, most of them, the ones that

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survive. For the next hour the procession of ego shearwaters stream

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over our bodies and take the plunge. -- eager. It may be a surreal

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experience for me but it is a crucial moment in the lives of these

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young birds. This might look quite comical but

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these are remarkable birds, leaving their burrows for the first time,

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launching themselves off out into the open ocean, they have no map,

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nobody to guide them, yet they will make it all the way down to southern

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Argentina. There goes one now. It is an amazing journey, for a remarkable

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word. Bird. That is a really harsh launch into

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independence. Imagine they were teenagers, left at home on their

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own, no food, not even a forwarding address and they are expected to get

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out in the middle of the night and throughout thousands of miles

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without any parental guidance. That is what happened to me, I

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bought myself a microwave. They are out there now, somewhere in the

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Atlantic, in the dark, in the sea. Can you imagine there's little birds

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out there? It is still a bit of a mystery where they go.

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It is thought they follow their parents and go to Brazil and

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Argentina. It is also thought they do not stop to feed, they go all

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that way on their reserve of fact. Incredible. That is like not eating

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all the way to shop for the microwave. Last night we launched

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our MigrationWatch in conjunction with the RSPB and ask you to look

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out for three types of birds, Red Wings, bramblings and waxwings full.

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We have had reports from the strangest of places. We have got one

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on an oil platform. And somebody else works here. This is the album

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break and he has been spotting redwings. -- Alba oil rig. We have

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got a map here. We have got the oil rigs out here, 130 miles into the

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North Sea. They are like our early warning system. A ramp the coast we

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have got our bird observatory 's -- around the coast. At spurn head, 92

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hoop this once. -- Cooper is ones. -- Hooper swans. Each one of these

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dots represent a different species. The yellow one is the waxwing. One

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of the spotted off the coast of Scotland. Another in the East

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Midlands, and the black ones, these are bramblings. These have moved

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inland already. They have moved away from the coast. Lastly, the

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redwings. They are all the way down into the West Country. They have

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found one in Ireland as well. Keep your spotting is coming in. --

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sightings. By the end of the week we would like

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to see a lot more reports. You know the storm has slowed a lot

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of them up? Does that mean in a few days time we will get masses of them

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and it will be a real article? We are thinking towards the end of the

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week. -- a real spectacle. The smaller birds will just wait. Then

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all of a sudden you get a full of them. They appear to drop out of the

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sky. That can be very exciting if conditions persist. The great week

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for bird-watchers. It is not just birds which migrate. Many other

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animals do including fish. For some fish the north-west is a hotspot. A

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couple of days ago one of our cameramen went to film on the River

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Kent. He was filming this lovely scenic shot when suddenly he spotted

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this. If you look closely, there is a salmon. They are migrating

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upstream. They have come from the North Atlantic, they have gone

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through the Irish Sea, into the river through Morecambe Bay. They

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have huge obstacles to cross. Just like the Manx shearwater they do

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that River migration without eating. Amazing. Why would you do all of

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that? You have got to have a good reason. They have gone there to

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breed. This is what it is all about, they go all the way up to the

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shallows. Here they form what is called a read. They are using the

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tales to move the pedals so they create a shallow depression --

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pebbles. The females deposit the eggs and the males fertilise them.

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There is plenty of water flowing through to keep the eggs well

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oxygenated and they lay lots of egg. -- eggs. One of the things we

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have spotted on the river is this. Whether they take salmon eggs I am

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not entirely sure, I wouldn't put it past them. One bird that takes

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salmon fry, developing fish, is this, designed, a lovely bird, a

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female. It appears beneath the surface looking out for its prey. It

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will dive down and catch fish. It has got is rated edge to its peak so

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it doesn't the grip. -- a so rated edge to its beak. Sometimes they

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make it back, but sometimes they get a second chance and breed again.

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Once they have hatched they stay in the river for two years, it go

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through a transformation. At that point they need to go from the

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freshwater, back to the sea water so they migrate back again. They do

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that through Morecambe Bay. Morecambe Bay is a remarkable place

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for wildlife, not just the salmon, but the wading birds as well. A

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couple of days ago I took my binoculars down there to really

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enjoyed the spectacle. -- enjoyed. Morecambe Bay is a magnet for wading

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birds from all over the world. Local ornithologist Pete Marsh is on hand

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to help me identify a few of the more common species. Oyster catchers

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are fairly easy, black and white, red eye, read beak. -- red. You may

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get one from the Faroe Islands, Iceland, North Scotland, and maybe

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one from the local river valleys. They will all get together in one

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flock at winter. The large tidal range at Morecambe exposes a vast

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mud off a. -- buffet. The grey and white birds, the big spectacle is

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when they get together. About 5500. 5500 birds in the sky doing their

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beautiful bird ballet. A beautiful spectacle but not one of

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nature 's most magnificent migratory machines. In the winter time they

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all move south. But where do ours come from? They start their summer

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in northern Canada, but when they start to move their go across to

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Greenland, some will stop in Iceland, and then they come down to

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the north-west covering this great distance. If I get read of a shred

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of this line, another group come from here, they pass through the UK,

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but they go down to Spain and Africa, and some of these go all the

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way down to South Africa. Even these are not the champions. The North

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American ones will come from the top of Canada, all the way down to the

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Caribbean, down to Argentina, and in the spring they go back up here to

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Delaware Bay before going back again. One of these make this

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journey in six days and six nights, 5000 miles, nonstop, in six days and

:27:10.:27:17.

six nights. One of these birds is 20 years old, it has been doing this

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journey, 16,500 miles every year, it has been doing it for 20 years, it

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has gone to the moon and halfway back. Unbelievable, they must be so

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fit. These little grey birds you were disparaging of. I love the way

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they flash. I love the murmuration. Mark has been on a slightly less

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epic journey. He has risked life and limb. Maybe just a pair of white

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socks. It is pretty epic out here. We were trying to see whether we

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could get the water rails to call back to us. We had about five. It

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does work. Gary has pointed out this isn't just for fun, the RSPB to

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monitor them like this during the summer, they are to be is to know

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whether it would work monitoring them in autumn as well. We will

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report back to them. We will try it one more time. Let's go for the

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piglike sound. Have I rewound it the wrong way? I

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have got the pause button on. This is live television X commission Mark

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Bash! Well we have been waiting we have

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heard a whole lot of different sounds, things like this. You

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probably heard that cute. -- coot. We have heard this. Coot We have

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heard this sound and a lot of you have been hearing this. A Tawney

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owl. Now this sound. A harsh sound. We heard that over there. Very

:29:58.:30:02.

harsh. And believe it or not, we have heard this. Red deer. But a

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sound we haven't heard is much more subtle. It's this. Kind of a

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Wittering sound. What do you think might be out here making that sound?

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Well we have got pictures of what made that sound. Yes that is an

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otter. This is a young otter. We filmed this. It is obviously

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slightly worried about something. Here comes the other otter and it

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slaps it in the face. We think that is the first time that behaviour has

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been seen. It is a kind of aggression. It is an adult on the

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left and a youngster, probably related on the right. It is UK

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Wittering -- it is Wittering all the time. The adult is feeding and it is

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huffing. You can hear it huffing. Remarkable close up pictures. The

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youngster still do that wickering. We think they must be related,

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because otters can be very aggressive to one another. This one

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is nervous. It wants to move in and feed. Extraordinary sound. And now

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it moves off. To the right. And then watch what happens on the left. Here

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is the adult still feeding. Here is something. More wickering. And

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another otter. That is three otters. Again it doesn't attack it. It runs

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away and now the two youngsters start to play here. Now the otters

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are just over there. They're not very far away tr me. That is where

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the otter camp is. That tail-slapping, we think that has

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never been seen before. No one has seen that. We will continue to get

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as many picture as we can. Chris, ever seen that before? I have never

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seen that and I have never heard it. Listening to the vocalisations that

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the otterses were making was extraordinary. This is a radio

:32:31.:32:34.

tracking device attached to a collar. When I was a teenager I

:32:35.:32:39.

would have given anything for one of these, my first snog, my ticket to

:32:40.:32:46.

the first Clash gig. These let you know where an animal is. This is

:32:47.:32:53.

state of the art and this gives us a fix on the animal wearing it in real

:32:54.:32:57.

time. So you can sit there with your tablet in the dry looking where the

:32:58.:33:04.

animal is. What better animal then for - therefore than to put this on

:33:05.:33:10.

the urban fox. We need to learn more about it so we can learn to live

:33:11.:33:18.

with it. Dr Dawn Scott from Brighton University is doing just that. To

:33:19.:33:23.

understand how the 21st Century fox is adapting to her urban

:33:24.:33:29.

environment, Dawn Scott is heading into the inner city part of

:33:30.:33:33.

Brighton. It is a great area for them. There is loads of takeaways

:33:34.:33:38.

and places they can get food. They coming and eating what people have

:33:39.:33:43.

left behind. I am sure there is food there in the middle of the night. To

:33:44.:33:49.

get a more complete picture of what is happening, Dawn's colleague is in

:33:50.:33:56.

the more open outskirts of Hove. This is quite a suburban area. There

:33:57.:34:03.

are nice big houses and quite a lot of space. The plan is to catch and

:34:04.:34:07.

collar two fox families to find out how they're adapting to these

:34:08.:34:13.

contrasting environments. They have already set up the traps. So the

:34:14.:34:19.

foxes get used to them. Now, to bait them. Can I come into your house. We

:34:20.:34:25.

will set this. It is about 6 o'clock at night and we will check it in six

:34:26.:34:29.

hours and then again in six hours. So we are Ute at -- out at midnight

:34:30.:34:36.

and again at 6 in the morning. It seems spin, but we know -- it seems

:34:37.:34:41.

simple, but we know how cunning foxes can be. Time to check the

:34:42.:34:49.

traps. We have a fox. We have a fox. Fantastic. Let's get the blanket and

:34:50.:34:55.

get it covered. It looks like a large adult male. So hopefully it is

:34:56.:35:00.

the dominant male of the area. You're a big lad. I think he is

:35:01.:35:07.

going to be a hefty fox. By collaring this large male, Dawn

:35:08.:35:12.

hopes to establish his range, his feeding habits and how he interacts

:35:13.:35:17.

with other foxes. Behaviour that is impossible to see first hand. She

:35:18.:35:22.

hopes this will help her understand how urban foxes and humans can

:35:23.:35:29.

coexist. This is one of the new detection collars. This will be a

:35:30.:35:32.

red band. The red is to tr inner city foxes. If we get a female, we

:35:33.:35:38.

will do red and another colour. This is the inner city red fox.

:35:39.:35:46.

This is the fist time this state of the art tracking technology has been

:35:47.:35:51.

used on any British animal. So this one in a male it going to be

:35:52.:36:06.

called silver. Once his matterment -- measurements have been taken,

:36:07.:36:10.

Silver is put back in the holding cage and given an anti-sedative. In

:36:11.:36:16.

this built up environment, Dawn is cautious. We want to make sure that

:36:17.:36:21.

he is not drowsy. We don't want him make up and run into a road or run

:36:22.:36:26.

into a wall and get injured. He has to be fully awake before we let him

:36:27.:36:31.

go. What we will be able to do is find out where he goes and when

:36:32.:36:36.

using the GPS in the collar and the detection system we will be able to

:36:37.:36:40.

find out which gardens he goes into and how long he spends in there. 40

:36:41.:36:45.

minutes later and it is time to let T silver -- to let Silver go. They

:36:46.:36:53.

aim to collar another seven foxes. We are going to follow the lives of

:36:54.:36:58.

the animals through winter and into spring to allow us to present a more

:36:59.:37:04.

detailed picture of urban foxes than we have ever been able to before.

:37:05.:37:11.

Fantastic. I'm so excited about this project. For a couple of reasons.

:37:12.:37:16.

First the technology, which is Astoningly -- astonishingly good and

:37:17.:37:21.

we are going to put the collars can on some more fox and follow them all

:37:22.:37:26.

the way through Autumnwatch and through Winter Watch and into

:37:27.:37:31.

Springwatch and so we should get to know them all. The more we learn,

:37:32.:37:35.

the better we will be able to live with these animals. Now the theme

:37:36.:37:46.

this searry -- searies is -- see Rhys is migration. You have sent in

:37:47.:37:55.

some picture. Here are some waders. Would make a good jigsaw. Give it to

:37:56.:38:02.

your grandmother at Christmas, you won't here from her until August.

:38:03.:38:11.

This is migrating godwins. And Paul sent this of pink-footed geese.

:38:12.:38:17.

Thank you for all those. Keep sending them in and go to the

:38:18.:38:21.

web-site if you want to know about things to do. Put your post code in

:38:22.:38:27.

and it will give you ideas, including places to go to see

:38:28.:38:33.

migrating birds. Now, I have often said all birds are equal, but some

:38:34.:38:38.

are more equal than others. Some are just a bit more special. Martin has

:38:39.:38:43.

been missing out on one of these special birds that is a specialist

:38:44.:38:48.

of these reed beds, so I took him out the other morning to make his

:38:49.:38:50.

dreams come true. I like this environment. You call

:38:51.:39:03.

them rushes or reeds. I call them reeds, at this time of year the

:39:04.:39:08.

seeds are very important for one very special species, the bearded

:39:09.:39:15.

reedling. Or bearded tit. Called the bearded tit, but they're not a

:39:16.:39:20.

member of the tit family. They're a member of the parrot bill. Might we

:39:21.:39:25.

see one? This is one of the best places to see them and today I feel

:39:26.:39:30.

confident. They're so good. Brace yourself. Is it what I think it

:39:31.:39:34.

might be. You're going to get very excited. Oh no clam Look at that! A

:39:35.:39:44.

male. They are so xatic. How can people say British burpeds are

:39:45.:39:52.

Dowdy. Look at that. It looks like a lady whose Mascara has run. Why are

:39:53.:40:01.

they picking up bits of grit. At this time of year, they're switching

:40:02.:40:08.

their diet from insects to feeding on seeds. To aid the process,

:40:09.:40:13.

they're taking grit into their guess ard to -- gizzard to help grinned up

:40:14.:40:24.

the -- grind up the seeds. They're quite vocal and they can be more an

:40:25.:40:32.

may wanted. They are not -- and more animated. Sometimes if there is a

:40:33.:40:36.

sufficient number of birds and they have had a good breeding season,

:40:37.:40:42.

they go through an eare uptive -- eruptive of movement. They fly all

:40:43.:40:47.

looking for more reeds, a portion of group and sometimes they will go

:40:48.:40:53.

great distances. They are partial migrants. We heard a funny, was that

:40:54.:40:59.

the pinging sound? The zinging, pinging call. Many times you can't

:41:00.:41:05.

see them, all you hear is this ping, ping call. I need that to keep in

:41:06.:41:09.

contact with each other. They can't see each other. It is a contact call

:41:10.:41:15.

and they do cantally -- continually. If you hear ping, ping. It is less

:41:16.:41:24.

electronic than that. More of a zing, zing sound. That sounds more

:41:25.:41:28.

electronic. But I know what you mean, mate. I had an inkling we

:41:29.:41:34.

might see a bearded tit today. So I wear this shirt and this top.

:41:35.:41:38.

Because it was the closest colours I could get. I was going to put some

:41:39.:41:43.

black down there as well. You have gone a bit droopy. It passed me by.

:41:44.:41:51.

I should have paid attention. I feel a fool now. I have come as like a

:41:52.:42:01.

water rail. A bit water railish. I'm bearded reedling. I have got the

:42:02.:42:10.

wrong gear on? What do you think? 7.9. It maybe the excitement of

:42:11.:42:14.

seeing it for the first time. But the beauty and the shading of the

:42:15.:42:21.

colours with the grey nape. We must finish there. You have wrapped that

:42:22.:42:25.

up beautifully. Thank you for my early morning treat. Oh, it was

:42:26.:42:35.

good. Where is he? Martin? Have you survived? How was Das Boot. You have

:42:36.:42:55.

got it. I never dreamt they would call back. I said I was talking

:42:56.:43:02.

about life tick. What is a life tick. It is when you see for the

:43:03.:43:05.

first time in your life a particular bird. That is a live tick. What I do

:43:06.:43:10.

it get my bird book. Here it is. This what is I have done. Here is

:43:11.:43:17.

the bearded tit and I have given it a tick. In the autumn of my years, I

:43:18.:43:22.

will think back to the golden days when I was birding and met you. I

:43:23.:43:27.

don't want to be a prophet of doom, but this could be the autumn of your

:43:28.:43:34.

years. Stop! I came themed as a bird. I will give you one guess.

:43:35.:43:47.

Megan skshgs a. -- Meganza. A lot of birds had rippings on their legs. I

:43:48.:43:51.

that has enabled us to identify individuals. This the work of John

:43:52.:43:56.

Wilson. This is a female. And this is a young male. Purple over blue.

:43:57.:44:02.

And they are a pair. They mate for life. Here they are. The young

:44:03.:44:08.

female and the young male. Love's young dream. They will remain

:44:09.:44:11.

together. This is the oldest beard tit on the reserve. She is four. She

:44:12.:44:17.

was ringed in 2009. And she actually had a partner in the first year of

:44:18.:44:23.

her life, a male. And he died. But this is her new partner. Was that a

:44:24.:44:30.

Sparrow hawk, mate? This is her new partner and they have been together

:44:31.:44:33.

for three years now and they have probably. Probably this will be the

:44:34.:44:40.

last year. Not because of the Sparrow hawk. They're in the autumn

:44:41.:44:43.

of their years. We know all the individual tits and their life

:44:44.:44:54.

history. You have been quite interested. -- Intrepid. You went to

:44:55.:45:08.

getting windswept on the beach with something rather blubbery. I have

:45:09.:45:17.

come to the north side of Morecambe Bay to Walney Island on a wild and

:45:18.:45:21.

windy day to see a rather unusual group of visitors. This group of

:45:22.:45:28.

seals has been growing steadily over the past few years. It is thought

:45:29.:45:31.

they originated from a breeding colony on the Isle of Man 66 miles

:45:32.:45:38.

away. Each individual seal can be identified by markings. In the last

:45:39.:45:43.

two years scientists have been trying to work out just what they

:45:44.:45:50.

are doing here. This is very curious, what is happening on this

:45:51.:45:56.

beach. These seals, grey seals, you can tell that because it was a

:45:57.:46:00.

straight line between the top of their head and the end of their

:46:01.:46:05.

nose. This time of year, we would expect them to be breeding, there

:46:06.:46:09.

would be pups on this beach. But there are no pups at all. What there

:46:10.:46:16.

are are some great big old balls, but many more youngsters. -- bulls.

:46:17.:46:28.

This is a sign of a teenage get-together. The youngsters have

:46:29.:46:34.

come to this beach to learn how to be grey seals, the males are

:46:35.:46:40.

squabbling, play fighting, and there is a bit of flirtation going on

:46:41.:46:43.

between the young males and the young females. And the big old

:46:44.:46:53.

bulls, I think they are too old to breed, they have come here to relax

:46:54.:46:57.

and keep a fatherly eye on the youngsters. The Latin name for the

:46:58.:47:19.

grey seal mains hook nosed sea pig. Mail grey seals don't get the chance

:47:20.:47:22.

to breed until they are ten years old. This playground sparring will

:47:23.:47:26.

give these youngsters the skills they need for later in life when

:47:27.:47:32.

they will fight for real, to then the chance to make. Thereafter to

:47:33.:47:44.

teenage lads, and that big old bull giving them some tips on etiquette.

:47:45.:47:57.

It is delightful to see the youngsters frolicking around in the

:47:58.:48:04.

surf. Is there anything more relaxed and relaxing than a sleepy grey

:48:05.:48:08.

seal? A blubbery seal. It was all very

:48:09.:48:28.

dental while I was there but after I left the cameramen stared it got a

:48:29.:48:35.

bit rougher -- very gentle. There is a female, she starts it. Look at

:48:36.:48:36.

that. She knows she started that. Look at

:48:37.:48:56.

her. Just a notch and a look. -- nonchalant. The reason they are

:48:57.:49:03.

fighting is they are thinking about mating with that female. The female

:49:04.:49:08.

comes ashore to do two things, also to give birth. At this time of

:49:09.:49:13.

year, 45% of the worlds population of grey seals give birth to 41,000

:49:14.:49:19.

pups around the UK. They come clad in this remarkable whitecoat --

:49:20.:49:27.

white coat. You might wonder why they are not camouflaged? We think

:49:28.:49:34.

it is so the males who get so charged up when they are fighting

:49:35.:49:38.

one another to fight with females, don't wrestle with the Cubs, so they

:49:39.:49:42.

stick out like sore thumbs. Other than that it could be they were

:49:43.:49:53.

further north giving birth on ice where they would have been

:49:54.:49:55.

camouflaged. We have got this picture of a grey seal pup born

:49:56.:50:10.

today. Excuse me! Some wildlife in the studio! Why do grey seals breed

:50:11.:50:16.

at this time of year? You would have thought spring would be better? When

:50:17.:50:21.

they come ashore they do not feed, they do not return to the sea. They

:50:22.:50:26.

are fasting. In order to take on enough weight they have to do that

:50:27.:50:31.

in the summer when there are food is interval -- when their food is

:50:32.:50:37.

plentiful. It is tough for the pups, but it suits the adults. So I have a

:50:38.:50:43.

quick look around the live camera. -- shall we have. The heroine is

:50:44.:50:49.

still there. It is difficult to realise it is so dark. How did it

:50:50.:51:00.

know that was there. We may see a lot of before the end of the show.

:51:01.:51:05.

We can only bring you the best of British wildlife because we have got

:51:06.:51:09.

fantastic wildlife cameramen who are passionate about their subjects. One

:51:10.:51:13.

of the best in the business is Jon Aitchison. He has filmed all over

:51:14.:51:20.

the world for programmes you have no doubt seen, Frozen Planet. Ask him

:51:21.:51:25.

where the best place to film wildlife and he says it is at home

:51:26.:51:28.

on the West Coast of Scotland, at the beginning of autumn.

:51:29.:51:43.

I have lived here a long time now. I love it here so much, for the

:51:44.:51:53.

inspiration. The fact the seasons change so visibly, almost

:51:54.:51:55.

day-to-day, especially in the autumn. It gives me some sort of

:51:56.:52:00.

anchor in the year, I know where I am.

:52:01.:52:04.

Sometimes the autumn can be so pure and still, we get these incredible

:52:05.:52:16.

mornings when the sea is calm, the sun rises, everything is perfect. It

:52:17.:52:21.

is like a little reminder of what the summer is like before the winter

:52:22.:52:22.

comes. The first of the leaves are changing

:52:23.:52:32.

colour already. The last of the butterflies soaking up a bit of

:52:33.:52:37.

warmth from the rocks. In the tree the Robins are starting to sink

:52:38.:52:44.

their autumn song, they are territorial, the only birds that

:52:45.:52:54.

sing in the autumn. There is a constant sense of movement, you can

:52:55.:52:58.

see in the sky clouds are moving, the wind is moving, the is changing.

:52:59.:53:08.

-- the temperature is changing. The autumn is properly established when

:53:09.:53:13.

the swallows start to gather on the wire like this. The young swallows

:53:14.:53:19.

stay in family groups when they leave the nest. It is a nice high

:53:20.:53:25.

place where the adults can find them easily, the adults are flying all

:53:26.:53:30.

the time searching for food. The young birds see them coming, and

:53:31.:53:37.

start calling. The young swallows, they have got to feed up, got to be

:53:38.:53:42.

ready for that gigantic, risky, unknown journey across the Sahara

:53:43.:53:49.

anti-South Africa. -- down to South Africa. They have got to practice

:53:50.:53:52.

flying and the adults encouraged them, they view them off the wires.

:53:53.:54:04.

-- lure. There are just some mornings when the birds line-up like

:54:05.:54:09.

this, there is just a sense that the journey might start any minute.

:54:10.:54:22.

Here is the group of swallows, the adults calling to the young birds,

:54:23.:54:32.

and they go into the upper space, the space where they are just little

:54:33.:54:40.

dots from the ground. And they are going out over the sea, that is them

:54:41.:54:47.

leaving Scotland and heading south. It is migration beginning.

:54:48.:55:08.

It is such a time of change. When the wind starts to switch around, a

:55:09.:55:17.

northerly wind sends the swallows north and brings the geese. You

:55:18.:55:20.

never know when they will come. I love it when the geese come. I

:55:21.:55:45.

hear them before I see them, usually. The sound of the mornings

:55:46.:55:53.

when the geese go over the house, it is a wonderful time.

:55:54.:56:01.

They are from the Arctic, they nest in Greenland. They only stop in

:56:02.:56:08.

Iceland, the only place on the weight varies. -- there is. -- on

:56:09.:56:15.

the way that never is. They followed the young birds on this evil is not

:56:16.:56:22.

the first land they see after Iceland is here. -- and the first

:56:23.:56:29.

land they see. We are just lucky in Britain that we

:56:30.:56:41.

get these two lots of migrants. We share them with Greenland for the

:56:42.:56:45.

geese, and we share the swallows with the Africans. It is a global

:56:46.:56:54.

thing. It is absolutely beautiful to see

:56:55.:56:57.

wildlife through the eyes of a cameraman who is passionate about

:56:58.:57:00.

the area he is filming. Take a look at this.

:57:01.:57:04.

We spotted this two-day, here, at Leighton Moss. It is a hummingbird

:57:05.:57:09.

hawk moth, and migrant from further south in Europe, that reads as it

:57:10.:57:17.

moves up to the north of Europe -- that breeds. Stunning. Sadly, we are

:57:18.:57:27.

coming to the end of our programme. We have been quite good. Getting

:57:28.:57:34.

those water rails, very good! What have we got tomorrow? I am going

:57:35.:57:40.

down to Brighton to meet the team researching these urban foxes to see

:57:41.:57:46.

just how good the high-tech collars. I meet a man doing remarkable

:57:47.:57:50.

research to try to help our beleaguered freshwater eels. And

:57:51.:57:55.

cameraman Jon Aitchison continues to bring is the beauty of wildlife in

:57:56.:58:01.

Scotland. That is it from Autumnwatch but if you want more

:58:02.:58:05.

stick around. Switch over to the Red Button or you can go online and you

:58:06.:58:08.

can seem it bacon with Autumnwatch extra. -- Nick Baker. We will be

:58:09.:58:15.

back from the beautiful Leighton Moss tomorrow. No doubt you will be

:58:16.:58:20.

interested. We have major into that now. -- Intrepid. We have made you

:58:21.:58:27.

into that. See you tomorrow. Goodbye.

:58:28.:58:31.

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