Autumnwatch Day One Autumnwatch

We've survived Hallowe'en and we're back!

The nights are drawing in, so we've donned our wellies

And one of the season's greatest migrations is happening here now.

That can mean only one thing. It's time for Autumnwatch.

Yes, hello and welcome to Autumnwatch 2015. Coming to you from

the wonderful Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust reserve up here at

Caerlaverock. I'm going stick my neck out and say that this is going

to be a fantastic series. I'm confident, because I already know

we've got some great new science to show you, badgers and red deer, and

later in the series we are going to show you, for your eyes only, the

world's finest bird. Not the finest species but the finest individual

bird, so put the plastic sheets over the sofa and get your rubber

underpants out, because it is so good it will produce unusual

reactions in the keen birders. Oh yes! But where is WWT Caerlaverock?

There's the UK on the edge of Western Europe. Zoom in to

south-western Scotland. Carlisle in England, and we were on the Solway

Firth. We'll be exploring all the wildlife around Caerlaverock over

the next four nights. We've been keeping an eye on how autumn has

been unfolding throughout the rest of the UK. We are going to bring you

plenty of autumn colour, drama and spectacle.

Wow, it's coming over me. I love the idea of them calve arting on the

lawn. Jolly exciting this, beats Strictly. I will tell you, Chris, I

would watch. I will definitely be hanging around for the next four

days. Our mission is to put our biological fingers firmly on the

pulse of this autumn. This one will be different from all of the others.

We want to study how it's having an influence on our wildlife right now.

So let's start with today. Today was not such a good day for some of you.

Commiserations for all of those who missed your flights. But a Quantum

of Solace descended on Caerlaverock, a mist which didn't impinge too much

on the birds who live here. But if you were out with your camera and

sought some of, that we would love to see your photos. Send them to our

Facebook site, via Twitter or our website. We very much welcome your

engagement through social media. I definitely want to see some of the

autumn colour, because it really has been stunning in some parts of the

country, so get those photos into us. We've got live cameras around

the reserve. This is a they weral camera on what we are calling the

Folly Pond. This is what we would expect to see

Folly Pond. This is what we would expect to see on that pond ould

expect to see on that pond At this time of night - roosting geese,

ducks and swans. They are certainly not sleeping. It will be interesting

to see what else we get on that pond, as there've been foxes, deer.

I hope to find a snoozing goose. We have two rodent cameras this time

round. This one is inside our studio barn. We are hoping that maybe a

couple of rodent might want to cosy up with us while we are doing the

live show and take a peek. Nothing on there at the moment, but let's

see what else we've got on our other live rodent cam. This is down a path

and into a hedge. Nothing there right now... You've got a slug.

Shall we get excited about a slug? Not yet. I think we can aim higher

at this point in time. Perhaps the end of the series. We have had some

action on that camera. This sweet little bank vole, rather adorable.

Unless you are a very discerning vole spotter it is difficult to tell

the difference between a bank or a field vole. Much bigger ears? Much

bigger but not as big as a mouse. Field vole nestle inside the fur and

the patina on that fur says that it is a bank vole, to the connoisseur.

But with the best will in the world we haven't come all of this way to

Caerlaverock to see bank voles. No, this place is packed with brilliant

wildlife. This autumn, we've come to

the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust's Caerlaverock Wetland Centre,

on the wild North Solway coast. There are few places like this

in Scotland. A sweeping landscape of mudflats,

sandbanks and salt marsh that extends

beyond the reserve itself into the At this time of year, the skies are

alive with hundreds of thousands Barnacle geese and whooper swans,

just two of the many charismatic Farming and conservation work

hand-in-hand to provide a truly unique habitat for

the many species that live here. It's the best place to witness

autumn's migration spectacle. It really is a fantastic place for

wildlife. It is one of the largest undisturbed estuaries in Europe,

which is why it is so great for migrating birds. Here at

Caerlaverock it's the perfect place to watch that migration unfold. But

Caerlaverock isn't just a reserve, it's a working farm. In fact it is

farmed for the benefit of wildlife, so they have barns and tractors and

bales of hay. We've taken over this barn, got rid of the tractors and

made it look rather cosy for us for the week. Don't eat all of the nuts

at once. I will try not to. Here is the Solway Firth at the bottom. This

is Scotland, south-western Scotland, and here's that bit of England you

can see. That means Carlisle is down here. But the bit we are really

interested this is this coastal strip that runs all the way round

here. This is the Caerlaverock national nature reserve. 25% of the

UK's salt marsh is here and it supports an astonishing number of

wildlife. In the winter 140,000 birds come here and of those several

are of international importance, the knot, the pintail and the oyster

catches. Today I saw ducks, Goldeneye here, but we are also

interested in the particular reserve that we are on. Here's Caerlaverock

reserve. As Michaela said, it is laid out like a farm. In fact it is

is very much about farming for the birds. This is the studio where we

are here. Here's the visitor centre. You can see around here there are

lots of other ponds. These are great for attracting birds not only in the

day but at night. There's one pond which is only about 30-40 metres the

other side of this barn and that's the Folly Pond. Let's take a look at

what we've got on that Folly Pond now. These are whooper swans,

resting on the pond at night, safe from predators. These are fantastic

birds, so elegant, Michaela. I thought I would like a whooper swan.

I don't like birds with complicated bits on. We are going to be

concentrating on whoopers. There are three different species of swan you

commonly here are three different species of swan you commonly find in

the UK - whoopers, Bewicks and mutes. Here at Caerlaverock they get

mutes and whoopers. Look at this. You can see that the orange beaked

one on the left is the mute swan, the resident one. The whooper is the

one with the yellow beak. That's the one we are going to be focusing on,

as those have just arrived from Iceland. They've flown 800 miles.

They are the largest flying bird in the world. They've just recently

arrived. You can see the cygnets behind, the grey birds. A couple of

years before they get their adult plumage. They are a bit delayed this

their rival arrival this year. Ayed this their rival arrival

their rival arrival this year. Ayed this their rival ayed

arrival this year. Some of them come here, some of them stay and others

move on. We'll be learning a lot about them over the next four

nights. And hopefully more might turn up as well, which will be

great. Highly likely. What about Martin? Where is he? We are at the

Caerlaverock reserve. He's our Action Man, the guy who is always

out there, down cliff, up the tree, in the mud, in the river. Tonight

we've sent him to Dumfries, about 10 miles, 16 kilometres for those of

you at the kilometre stage of life. Martin is by the weir. How are you

up there? Yes, I'm here right in the heart of Dumfries. It is rather

beautiful, misty and foggy. I'm here by the weir, which is such a feature

of the middle of the city. They've built this weir in 1705 because the

river was eating away at the banks. In fact the weir is a fantastic

place to come during the day to watch wildlife. All sorts of

creatures come here. They are attracted by the fish, the lampreys,

the eels in the water. Herons come along, and more exotic birds. I saw

20 goose anders and a dipper. Cormorants too. They come and they

are brilliant at taking advantage of any food source. And this, the grey

wagtail, one of the loveliest neatest little birds, always found

we water. That's all going on above the water. But what's really

fascinating is what's happening underneath, because this river is

teeming with salmon. Why are the salmon here? They've come from as

far away as Norway into this river, because they want to breed. They are

making their way upstream to find their breeding places. What's

incredible smell the scent of this river. The ioly and the geography

campaign so that hundreds of miles out to sea they can find this river.

We've been trying to find them on the water, using this amazing

device. It is called a fish finder and it is a little sonar device. It

sends a signal from the water back to a tablet. Let's bung it out. Give

you an idea what we've been doing. Excellent. And that will now start

to send a signal back to the tablet here. That's the bottom of the River

Nith. If you see what we've recorded before, look along the top there. It

is a bit confusing, because you can see the bottom and there is a fish.

That's a salmon. So it's full of them. In fact there are deep ponds

all the way down here. What's really intriguing is the salmon often wait

here this Dumfries for maybe 12 hours at a time before they move on

upstream. Why on earth do they do that? Fascinating bit of science.

The salmon have come from saltwater into fresh water. Very few animals

can live in both salt and fresh water. She have to completely change

their Oz Mo regulation. That means the fluid composition of their body.

When they are in saltwater, what happens is that the fluid of their

body is going out all the time. They have to drink and drink and drink.

The will drink litres of water while they are in saltwater. When they are

in fresh water it is completely the other way round. What happens is

that water goes into their bodies, difficult fuses into their bodies.

Cult fuses into their bodies. -- diffuses into their bodies. Their

bodies have to create dilute urine. After they've osmo regulated they

will go over the weir and punch their way 20 miles upstream to the

tiny little tributaries where they want a spawn.

It is incredibly difficult to see the salmon up there, and I didn't

think we would be able to do it, until I met Jim Henderson from the

Nith district fisheries board. Could he deliver?

This couldn't be more dramatic. Right in front of us, a salmon.

Absolutely. It's coming to the time of year when this tributary will

have salmon running up it and spawning every night when the

conditions are right. That salmon there is probably about 6lbs in

weight. That Fischer select did this part of the river where it will make

its nest, it is read and it is excavating the gravel, where she

will eventually lay her eggs. When we see fish roe, you would imagine

in this power of water, they would be washed away as soon as she lays

them. The eggs are sticky and they fall down into the hole and stick to

the substrate. She looks a little battered. What is that about? That

is where she has jumped a series of barriers and falls to get here, that

bomb and allows -- she is knocked and the mucus layer comes off her

skin. Will she make it back to see? Yes, there is every chance that she

will make it down to the sea and come back to spawn again. What an

amazing story. Amazing. I had never seen that

before. We missed the last act in the drama, which is when the hen

fish actually lays her eggs. It is fascinating. This is what happens.

When she has finished making that whole, there she is, the clock fish,

he courts her, and look at his face. He goes in beside her, she lays the

eggs, and that is him producing milk sperm and fertilising the egg is.

She kicks up gravel which the current carries back and buries the

eggs. Then those eggs stay underneath the gravel and they will

hatch out. We have had a question from Finley Thompson, aged nine. He

said, what happens when they have finished lame BA? Do they hang

around? Good question. The female will turn around and go straight

back over that we're and head back out to sea, and to Norway. The males

stay for a lot longer, they want to fertilise the eggs of two or three

different fish, and they generally will die in the river.

Have a look at this. This is a fantastic science. This tiny little

thing is a scale from one of the fish, Jim gave us that. You wouldn't

think a scale could tell you much about a salmon, but you would be

completely wrong. When you blow it up, does this remind you a bit of

tree rings? You would be right? Each ring, it is not one year per ring,

there are clump. We sent this scale to our friend James... Let me get it

right... We sent it, anyway, and this is what he worked out. Out at

sea, it probably spent two years in the river. And then as you go up

there, that is the sea phase. She has grown a lot there. We know from

this scale that the fish is three years old. The erosion around the

edge here, that tells you the fish has been in the river a long time.

And finally, he told us that she hasn't spawned yet. All of that

information from one tiny little scale. I love science! Back to

Chris. That is amazing that you can tell

that much from one scale. And what I like about that we're, I bet you

that every day people walk, cycle, drive past and never look down to

see how much life is there. Later in the series we will go back to the

weir in daylight, and there is some spectacular wildlife there.

One bird is absolute elite synonymous with Caerlaverock. They

are Black and Whites and noisy but they are fabulous.

Weighing 1.7 kilograms, with a wingspan of 140 centimetres,

They breed in the Arctic Circle, where they will defend

In just 45 days, these chicks will be ready to fly 2000 miles

They can cruise at 74 miles an hour, through some of the worst weather.

But their wings are protected by hydrophobic oils, and the black

feathers are filled with melanin for extra strength and resistance.

They may lose up to a fifth of their body weight, but they can do the

It is an amazing bird, and the story of it here at Caerlaverock is also

an incredible one because it is a really successful conservation

story. The entire Svalbard and population of barnacle geese spend

the winter here in Caerlaverock, which makes it extremely important.

But in the 1940s, the numbers of barnacle geese arriving here dropped

dramatically. In 1948, just 300 individuals were counted. So, Sir

Peter Scott, the founder of the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, decided

to make Caerlaverock into a reserve and manage the surrounding farmland

area to make it the perfect habitat for these overwinter geese. And lots

of other animals and birds as well. And it has been a fun nominal

success story. From 319 48, they have recently had a record number

here, 41,654. There was one in my caravan! It age or my sweet! Was it

trying to keep warm? We are not doing a very good job of staying

warm in my caravan stop had a Lake Annecy? They are very skilful, and

they are surprisingly accurate when they are counting. Autumnwatch, an

essential ingredient is a rut. Three years, we have gone up to Rum in the

Hebrides for a bit of rutting action. So we have gone on a special

mission to actually uncover something new. Only one man was fit

for the job, Martin! Rugged Rum on the West Coast

of Scotland. Just eight miles across,

it's the wettest island Now,

this wild island is the best place And in fact they've been researching

them here for over 60 years. But despite that, there's still

a yawning gap in their knowledge. A mystery. My mission is to

come here and solve that mystery. Now,

I've been here a few times before, but I don't think anyone knows these

dear quite so well as Ali Morris. So, you're studying them with

the other researchers pretty much Well,

that's the million-dollar question. I mean, I have theories about what I

think might happen at night, ranging from absolutely nothing to

it could be like pandemonium. So how

on earth am I going to discover what Now, I'm going to be here all night,

but I won't be sleeping. Up there is

a thermal imaging camera. It's a wide-angle one

which will look all the way across the greens here and try to

find out exactly what's going on. For a close-up look, I've got this,

which is So with all this technology,

I should be able to find out what's So long as it works,

and so long as I stay awake. My main focus tonight is going to be

the dominant stag currently holding On the green with him are a group of

hinds, female red deer, his harem. His job is to try to defend

his hinds against all comers. There are stags roaring

on the hilltops all around, and they will fight, sometimes to

the death, for the right to be here Ever alert,

he rarely has a moment to rest. Well, that's exactly what I'm

hoping to find out. It's all good stuff. Only he would

camp on top of the car. I think that looks quite cool. Is that not your

cup of tea? It is not my bag, camping on top of cars. I can think

of more comfortable ways to watch the annals. It is not just Martin

trying to film the deer at night, we have been out and about on the

reserve filming on our thermal camera. Let's take a look at what

the cameramen have got. This is a rodeo outside the Peter Scott Hyde.

And swans and geese. Rabbit doing what they do best. And water rail,

very difficult you can see it is a water rail because of the long legs.

And that is very hard on thermal camera to see those birds in the

Cherry. Judging by their poo, they are more hen! And we have also had

lots of foxy action. Is this a young fox? Nice thick brush, I think that

is an adult. It is obviously eating something, and I wondered whether it

could be slugs. More likely worms, they do eat them. It scared the

living daylights out of that Rabbit! It scuttled off to die

another Day. They are thermal cameras, so although we can see it,

it is pitch black out there. We do get a false perspective on those

cameras. And I think we have a badger on one of our live cameras.

We are being told it is. I am just going to go in. There is a rabbit on

top of the bank to the left, but that animal where I think is a

badger. We will be keeping an eye on it, and if it comes closer to the

camera, we will go straight through it. Foxes urbanised themselves in

the UK in the 1930s. Initially in the south of England, but these days

we get urban foxes as far north as Newcastle. But what about the

badger? They started much later. They were first seen in cities in

the 1960s, but up take was slow. So we need to know a little more about

our urban badgers, as they have increased. So I went down to

Brighton to see how some new sciences revealing exciting things

about the way they live alongside us in our cities.

This is Brighton, and ten years ago a study of urban badgers here showed

there were as many as 30 animals were square kilometre. That's one of

the largest densities of urban badgers anywhere in Europe. So we

though that they do live here, but now what we want to know is how they

live here. Yes, we know a lot about the lives of rural badgers but very

little about their townie cousins. Dr Dawn Scott at the University of

Britain wants to rectify that, so she has collared seven badgers

across various setts in the city. One of these is in the cemetery.

That's where we've headed first We are in a main sett here. And it is

right amongst the stones. This one is 1872. I wouldn't be surprised if

they were digging out a few bonus from time to time. They can

occasionally dig out skulls. Part and parcel of the process of

recycling I suppose. Who lives here? We've got Cherry, an adult female,

and five other adults. In a main sett we can have up to 30, but in

urban environments we are finding a smaller clan size. An average of

five or six. But if it weren't for the stones we could be in the

countryside. We could be in any woodland. Cherry's collar has been

trans-Mitting data for four weeks, allowing Dawn to track her every

move. Now for the exciting bit. The data. What have we got here is this

this is Cherry. You can see she's staying inside the cemetery and not

going outside. It is 200 by 100m. A very small area isn't it? It's tiny.

When I think back to the study I was doing in the 1980s of rural badgers

I remember 1.5, 1.6, one of them 1.83 square kilometres, so this is a

tiny area by comparison. Yes. Who else do you have data for? This is

Lottie, and he's in an allotment. You can see from this data she's not

really going outside of that allotment and she is using the

gardens that back on, 25 gardens and an allotment, and that's supporting

her and her sett. She doesn't like to cross the roads? No, tinge roads

are quite strong barriers for badgers. You rarely see them on the

streets. They are restricted to these tiny green spaces. Does that

mean that in urban situations they are not rubbing up against one

another, one group not against another? You don't have a patchwork

or jigsaw of badger setts against each other so. They don't need to be

territorial, so you don't see them doing the same behaviour as rural

badgers. Given that urban badgers have tiny home ranges, how are they

finding enough food to survive? To answer this question we've headed to

the other side of town to visit an established sett at the bottom of a

suburban garden. It is home to Plum, another of Dawn's collared badgers,

and she has struck lucky in her choice of urban home. There's a

pond, fruit trees, a veg patch and free handouts from the owners. We've

rigged the garden and I'm hoping we can meet her. There's one there.

There's two of them there. Yes. That's definitely Plum with the

collar. In this sett there's two adult females and at least three

cubs. She's about six or seven years old. Is she?! She looks in really

good condition. She is. She's a big badger. She's about 13 kilo Grands

Prix. Wow! She is about 13 kgs. Wow! That's heavy for a badger. It is all

those jam sandwiches. We need a badger gym. And this time of year is

their maximum weight, as they have to put on loads of weight to survive

the winter. They go into a a slight torpid state before the winter.

Compared to the rural ones it will be warmer in here in the winter

won't it, so not as harsh, and we are on the South Coast, we rarely

get snow or heavy frosts here. And the food resources will be here.

Yes, the jam sandwiches keep going all the way through Christmas. She's

a lovely looking animal though. It is not every day you get close to

Britain's large's predator. Despite the fact that they are obviously

used to human smells and all the noise, they are still quite cautious

aren't they? Yes, andshire shyer than foxes. That's why it is so

special to see them in your garden. Britain's large's can roar but it is

a very shy, timid creature. I wish it was my garden. It would be

fantastic. Imagine the cubs. Calve arting on the lawn. -- quotering on

the lawn. -- cavorting on my lawn. Truly surprising. I've been looking

at badgers from the age of 8. 8. If had asked me how much area they need

in the city, I would have said it is more than that. This is the garden

area where she is normally hanging out. That's where we were, about

there. She has one other little area she goes to. This is a playing field

on this side. We are looking at an area here of a maximum of 200 metres

by about 100m. And last year she even managed to rear three cubs,

getting all of her resource there is this area. But how about the foxes

in Brighton? We looked at them a couple of years ago. Dawn Scott was

studying them. Here is the data from one of those fox territories, in a

similar part of Brighton. Look at how much larger the area is fox uses

and the way that it spreads itself out. It has several hot spots that

it visits over here and down here. When we looked at these animals we

figured out these were places where people were deliberately putting

food out for those foxes. So the foxes will journey from one part of

their range frequently to another in order to get that food. But how and

why do they do that? The urban fox lives in a very different way.

Firstly it is much better on the roads. Of course, some of them get

run over, but a lot more badgers do. Then it is good at scavenging the

bins. It goes out on to the road, but there is another trick up its

sleeve, its agility. When we were watching the foxes in Brighton we

saw them jumping over walls, once even jumping on to the wall of a

garage. They can spread themselves over this much larger resource

because they are physically able. The badger, not being so agile, has

to restrict itself. But it is still a remarkable thing that they can use

such small areas. And it is also fantastic as towns and cities are

expanding that they can adapt to survive in an urban area. Technical

data is important but it is also really important to get a complete

picture that we get regular sightings of badgers in urban areas.

Last sum we asked tow let us know if you saw any badgers in your towns

and cities. Many of you replied, thank you. Dawn used that data as

well as data from the RSPB for a new distribution match. M the RSPB for a

new distribution match. -- map. The black ones are the new areas that

urban badgers have been seen. There are new ones in Glasgow, East Anglia

and Cornwall and Devon. But there are still lots of urban areas where

they haven't been spotted. Leicester, Nottingham, Hull.

Northern Ireland. It is just that they have not been reported are.

Please, if you do spot any badgers in your towns and cities, let us

know about it and if you are ur towns and cities, let us know about

it and if you are using Twitter, use the # #settsinthecity.

-- #settsinthecity. Here there is no woodland, and not much high ground,

but we do have badgers here. Like the geese they like this pasture, so

if there is an opportunity to live here they'll take it. We've got a

couple of cameras to see if we can capture some badger action. This is

on the side of the Folly Pond. You may think, why on earth would a

badger like to come there? Every evening they throw grain out to feed

swans. Some is spilled and the badgers come in to hoover up that

grain. Another camera is on a trail leading from one of the setts. The

ground is waterlogs so the setts are in the banks to prevent flooding. No

activity live but we've seen some badger activity. This is an animal

alongside the Folly Pond, it has probably come on the off-chance of

grain. But it is after a far more typical prey. It spots something

with its muddy nose, pulls it out and slurps it up. It is an

earthworm. For a long time, I, we, thought that badgers were earthworm

specialist feeders but that's largely been disproved. Dawn put me

straight about that an Springwatch. Look how effective they are. This

animal caught four worms they quickly. What I like is the way it

gets theled with worm out of the ground without breaking it. I know

you probably try to pull worms out of the ground... No. When you were a

kid, and you were probably pulling a bit too hard and they break in two.

The badger gets hold of the worm and waits for the worm to contract and

loosen. Only then does it pull and gets the whole worm, which it sucks

up into its mouth. It looks like a child sucking in spaghetti. Badgers,

black and white animallings, nocturnal, black and white,

difficult to firm. Barnacle geese, you would have thought they would

be's especially when they are going from their roosting ground to their

feeding ground. The other morning we got up at the crack of down to see

if we could enjoy this fantastical barn cal geese spectacle.

Martin and I have chosen to come to the edge of the mudflats and this is

where lots of them have roosted overnight. We are hoping that we

will see the spectacle of them all taking off and we'll be immersed in

it when the sun rises. That's the plan anyway.

The best thing about being up here is the view. Michaela and Martin are

somewhere out there in the dinge. They are so far away in the clammy,

damp cold that I can't see them. But I'm rather happy to be up here in

the shelter of the dry tower, equipped with hot beverage and the

potential of biscuits any minute now. I've always said they should be

out in the dinge. What could be better Michaela than been out in it.

You don't want to be stuck in a box like Chris. You want a box like

Chris. You want to with here -- you want to be here smelling it, having

them poo on you. I don't know about that bit! I was getting too

romantic. Oh, dear, it's raining. Oh, no, it's raining. Pretend it is

not happening, Michaela. It is not really raining. Oh, the geese are

getting fidgety. Fidgety geese out there. I'm sure that's not a precise

ornithological term, the fidgety geese. It is quite splendid up here

and although I've been disparaging about the weather you do get a real

sense of place, that flat expanse of the Solway Firth which is such an

important habitat. Martin, do you think maybe we chose the wrong

place? Maybe we should have been in the dry, because it is raining now.

Chris to Michaela, come in. Talk of the devil! Chris, it's glorious out

here. I don't know what you are doing in that tower being nice and

dry, because it is lovely out here. No idea, it is not that comfortable

up here either actually. Hold on just a sec. Two sugars, thanks. It

is raining here, so what we would really appreciate is if you could

send someone down with five muffins, thank you.

It is weird, because they are out there, but it is nine o'clock now. I

wonder if they are going to stay out there all day. I am a bit distracted

was about 10,000 of them are taking off! All of those Barneys have taken

off in one go, and we have a large number of geese in the air, heading

this way. Is just an amazing sound, thousands of an call geese. But the

extraordinary sound is that rumble when they alter -- all start taking

off. This is what we come here for. It really is a kaleidoscope of

words. You can definitely hear them. They are about 200 metres in

front of me. I can't see the whites of their

armies, but I can see them as individuals rather than a flock.

That was great. It is a bit like the torturers and the hare. Martin and

Michaela were out there thinking it was all going their own way, soaking

wet, they didn't get their muffins. I just completely forgot. But then

in the end, that was a good number of geese that came over. Must have

been at least 2000. Truly spectacular. That is why we have

come here. I'm still waiting for that muffin! Have you got it? And

empty wrapper! I was going to say that there weren't any, but

obviously there were! I gave them to the camera guys. It was an amazing

spectacle. I know we were not that close, Martin and dive. And it is a

real privilege to have the entire population here, but with privilege

comes responsibility, and there is no room for complacency. There is

never run for complacency in conservation. All those geese come

to this one spot, exactly here, every year. Another migrant bird

visits the UK every winter and has a different strategy. This is the

Redwing, and they come to western Scotland, from Iceland. So the

discerning birders among you will know that this is the slightly

darker bird. About 650,000 visit, others from Scandinavia, but the

interesting thing is that whilst they might come here this winter,

and they may go on to France, Spain or even Portugal, next winter, the

very same bird may go to Italy or Greece. So they are like explorers?

Throughout their lives, they don't seem to keep coming back to the same

place in the winter. Most birds do. It makes sense, once they have found

a secure place with plenty of food, they come back, but the redwing is a

rover throughout its life. You might not see redwings, but you might hear

them, particularly at night when they migrate in big numbers. Listen

out to a very high pitched sound, it is this noise.

TWEETING. Even in the middle of the city, you

can hear them. Chips! From the China Garden in Dumfries. Other chip shops

are available. And I have to tell you, driving back, we chased a

badger - carefully - all the way down the road. I thought it was good

to come writing. Redwings field fares. You have been sending us some

fabulous pictures of them that you have taken. They come from Finland

and Russia, even. They will be feeding on berries. Thank you for

these beautiful pictures. A all bigger bird than the redwing.

Natures Callander wants to know when and where you have seen them. Or

even if you hear them. All of the details are on the website. It is

also the place to go for Autumnwatch extra, because it is not just the

hour that we are on, it is an all-day, and peak times to watch are

eight o'clock, one o'clock, four o'clock where you can join the team.

That is online and o'clock where you can join the team.

That is online and on the red button. Can I apologise to James

Hunt who analysed the fish scale. From the Tweed foundation. I didn't

say his name properly. It is now time to head north and west to the

tiny island of Rum for the second installation of my night.

As the light fades, my stakeout begins.

Because Smooth is right there in front of me.

I think the darkness has made him bold.

Yes, I know, I don't want any of your hinds.

On the thermal camera, you can't see his antlers at all.

You can when he's very close, like this, but as soon as he goes a

few more metres away, it's only his behaviour that shows you that he's

the stag, because he is bellowing and roaring and chivvying the hinds.

So far at least, there has been no let-up in the action.

When a hind comes into oestrus, she may only be receptive to

the stag for six hours or less, so darkness doesn't seem to offer

The weather is not being kind to them, either.

What I've just seen is hinds and calves leaving the greens,

There's only one thing that's going on.

My contact lenses are getting glued to my eyes.

The rain has dampened everyone's spirits,

but it's a welcome opportunity for me to test out the rooftop tent.

There are two stags, it's not just Smooth, right outside the car.

I would like to try and go down, but that would probably be unwise,

Eventually, at five o'clock, I managed to descend safely, and

If I had to guess, I would say that Smooth has been displaced.

You can tell by the shape of his antlers.

Although I heard lots and lots of roaring at half past three,

I think I would have heard the clash of antlers.

Is it because it's so dangerous for the stags to fight

in the dark that they will sort it out by just roaring alone?

You blew it! You said you were going to stay up all night. I was asleep

from probably 20 minutes. You missed all the action! Unfortunately,

during that 20 minutes, it all happened. It is getting harder to

stay up now you're not 25. But tomorrow night, it really kicks

off, and we find some amazing science, and I stay awake! Are you

sure about that! It has been a great Autumnwatch so far, but autumn

itself has been undramatic, it has been mild and foggy, almost like

spring, 22 Celsius in West Wales yesterday. What on earth is going

on? One man can tell us, Nick Miller the BBC Weather Centre.

22 in Wales again today, we are breaking records. It is autumn, but

not as we know it. And it has also delivered something that we didn't

see much of in summer, high-pressure, giving us settled

weather. It started cooler in September, but warmed up in October

and November has started very warm for some. All of this is a recipe

for spectacular autumn colour, and with a lack of stormy weather, a lot

of foliage is still in place. Look at the extent of the mild air right

across Europe into Scandinavia and Iceland, too. Let's hope those who

bus ones are going to come our way. --

we have to go a long way north to find the cold air, and the birds are

enjoying easy travelling. But the wind will pick up later in the week

and the rain will come in with a low pressure, so things will get more

challenging for them. I am not offering Caerlaverock much in the

way of sunshine, I'm afraid. But the mild damp weather, the bugs and

insects like it, and I photographed this today. Cobweb weighed down the

condensed water. Autumn beauty is everywhere. It is a spectacular time

of year. Hanne marks out of ten would you give that photo? I like

it! I will give it 3.6 out of ten. Praise! That is-Chris. I don't like

the thought of rain on Wednesday and Thursday. We have been out all

around Caerlaverock. Look at this little grebe. What is in its mouth?

It is a stickleback! We made them look really big on Springwatch, but

they are tiny. Saltwater sticklebacks can live for more than

one year. That is why we can still see them. We have nearly come to the

end of Autumnwatch. We hope you will stay with us, join us for Unsprung,

we have some super guests, the centre manager here at

Caerlaverock, and we are very pleased to welcome environmental

journalist George Moncur -- Monbiot as well. Tomorrow, the action up on

Rum really kicks off. There will be fighting. And I go out looking for

geese using a tractor. It almost ends in tears. And we have some

great underwater footage as well. We will see you tomorrow at eight

o'clock. Goodbye. I wanted to spend the rest of my

life with him.