Autumnwatch Day Two Autumnwatch

It has been foggy, Bobby and study here today but we still have a

programme that is captivating and entertaining. We have superstars

arriving, incredible fight scenes, very dramatic, and exciting news

about about a fantastic carnival. Welcome to Autumnwatch.

Hello and welcome to Autumnwatch 2015. It is our second programme of

the series, looking from the wonderful Wildfowl and Wetlands

Trust reserve in Scotland. Yesterday we started with a great programme

but we have another great one tonight and the rest of the series

is pretty hot too. We have plenty of information, and coming later in the

week, the world's finest bird. Not an individual, in fact yes... The

individual bird. You saw it, Martin. I'm still quivering, I'm moist, it

was so exciting. It is licensed to kill. You two are couple of teasers.

Last night I was right in the middle of Dumfries, by Bill Weir in the

middle of town, and when I left and I rushed back, we left the cameraman

there to try to film with a thermal camera to see if there was any

wildlife and so there was. That was a bat hunting over the water. It has

been so mild that bats are not hibernating yet. You never know what

you will get with a thermal camera but there was a bigger surprise to

come, and not. When the water first comes up on its back, it is white

and cold, then it warms up. There were two otters frolicking around

right in the middle of dumb freeze. Look at that as it slinks out, a

lovely view of the face. She leaves a little message behind, she does a

poo. People are saying -- seeing them in the middle of town is now.

We can go live to the thermal camera because we have a fox. Look at

that! This is on the salt marsh not too far from where we are now. I

wouldn't mind betting that they go out there patrolling every night. We

have around 40,000 geese in the region, around 12,000 on the

reserve. Amongst them there will be natural mortality so the foxes will

probably go and search where they have been feeding all day just to

see if there was a dead one left over that they can scavenge. We saw

a fox yesterday, but this one doesn't look as small as that one.

It looks like an adult. Difficult to say. Foxes do keep exclusive ranges

but within that range we have a number of foxes, so you could have

up to seven animals maximum that will be operating in this area.

Great to see that live at the start of the show. This morning we didn't

see very much because it was rather misty and foggy. As you will know if

you were watching Autumnwatch Extra on the red button. Eventually

through that fog we saw honking barnacle geese and that is what we

have come here for. This year they have record numbers in Caerlaverock

and the surrounding areas, 14,000 of them and more arriving from Norway.

It is the sound of them as well as the sight and we are hearing them

all the time. Where are we in fact? We are based in the heart of the WW

teak Caerlaverock reserve on the edge of the Solway Firth. Dramatic

landscape of salt marshes and it is the perfect place for the barnacle

geese overwinter as well as other migrating birds as well. It is the

perfect place, but it is part of a bigger perfect place. This reserve

extends further than the boundaries of the reserve we are on here.

Scottish National Heritage and RSPB also her parts of that reserve and

they are doing a great job of preserving this area. Can you hear

them above us? There was a lot more to come tonight but first it is time

to meet one of Caerlaverock's other star species. Meet the whooper

swans. With a wingspan of nearly 2.5 metres and weighing up to 11

kilograms, this is one of the largest flying birds in the world.

It gets its name from its whooping call which is the loudest of any

bird. The birds start in Iceland, but as the temperatures plummet the

birds embark on an epic migration to the British Isles. They can fly as

high as 8000 metres at speeds of up to 55 miles an hour. En route, they

endured temperatures as low as minus macro 40 Celsius and they can cover

the entire 620 miles migration in just 12 hours. It is a journey they

have been making for 800,000 years and there unmistakable call is a

sure sign that autumn is well and truly here. What a beautiful and

elegant bird, and they arrive here in Caerlaverock in October although

this year they have been slightly delayed because they had a slightly

later breeding season in Iceland. The first family arrived in 17th of

October, more have arrived since then. This morning they counted 44

on the pond, though that number could swell to 250. When they

arrive, they arrive on the pond over there and at night you can hear them

whooping. You can certainly see them in the day. A couple of days ago I

took the opportunity to go out with one of the wardens here to greet

some of the new arrivals. Four weeks ago the first whooper swans arrived

at Caerlaverock after an arduous journey from Iceland. After one of

the longest sea crossings made by any swan species, they reinforced

their pair bonds with a courtship ritual. Several hundred more are

expected to arrive over the next few weeks, and when they do they are in

for a big welcome. The swans here at Caerlaverock are fed three times a

day and I've been given the job of doing the morning feed today.

Morning, Joe! We are going to fill this up a little bit more, aren't

we? Yes, we are topping it up with some barley. We are mostly feeding

the whooper swans so it's important you go out by yourself so we don't

disturb them too much. They are completely wild birds that we have

here. Feeding the whoopers gives us the best opportunity to get up close

to these truly magnificent birds, and all from the comfort of the

Saint Peter Scott Observatory. It is when the swans are docking in that

we get a chance to study our wild ups of it -- wild visitors. We want

to get them in close so that we can get a good look at them and read the

rings we have got on their legs so we can tell them apart individually.

It is not just the ring, is it, they have individual markings on their

beaks. There are subtle differences, but it is unique to every individual

swan. It is a bit like our fingerprints. You can see the

difference when it is close up like this. This one has freckles there.

Yes, there are subtle differences and with practice you get to spot

them. This is great, kids must love this because you can port in the

number of the swan you see. Let's see if we can find one out there.

They are reaching to the bottom of the pond to get the grain. Can you

read it? There is a yellow Z5N. If you hit go... That is great. This is

a female, age five. It will even say if they have got a mate. They are

pair and generally they will mate for life. This one is called Ali.

Are they all named? No, this is a new scheme where people can name the

whooper swans that come here. Really? Getting so close to these

wild swans is a real treat and offers a great insight into their

biology by allowing us to get to know them as individuals. I love the

fact you can name a swan and anyone can do it, you can just go online

and name them at Caerlaverock, but we are going to name this one

tonight. It is a male, he did have a partner but now he is single. At the

moment he is called ZFS but we are going to name them. I would call him

other because he is a super whooper. I would call him cattle face. The

beak always reminds me of a cattle sprout. -- kettle face. By the end

of the show we will name that swan and it will be one of the names you

have suggested. Let's have a look and see if we can see this one is

live on the pond at the moment. They have their backs to us. They are

whoopers. 34 they counted today. They are staying overnight because

of that Fox. That's why they roost on the water. Normally they come

back because they are fed during the daytime to boost their energy during

the migration, but at this time of night they are secure so they will

stay all night. They don't seem to sleep, which is bizarre. They are

active all day long. They never seem to fully settle down. They are

clearly eating. Look at that one, it is having a right go! What is it

doing? Remember, it is dark, pitch black. They are incredible birds.

That migration from Iceland to hear is amazing. We have had a question

on Twitter from Barbara Harrison who wants to know how swans get to

Caerlaverock every year. It is not an easy question to answer because

migration is not yet something we fully understand. Debate rages as to

whether birds hatch from the age with an innate sense of direction.

Some say no but then that makes it difficult to explain species such as

osprey. Species such as this one and larger animals like cranes, we know

they follow the adults. They are learning en route, they learn and

landmarks. We know that because there is less deviation in young

birds if they are associated with adult birds so learning landscape is

part of it. Those swans are arriving here across the sea, there is not

much landscape to learn between here and Iceland so how do they do it? We

think they might be able to use the stars, the moon and the sun. We know

that if swans cannot see the horizon, they will sit down on the

water. It is likely also that they are able to detect the Earth's

magnetism. It is happening in other birds too, even robins have the

ability to detect the magnetic field of the Earth. Recent research shows

they can detect that in the absence of any other cues. How do they do

it? There is the mineral theory, because there is a substance which

animals have a lot of in their brains, animals which migrate a lot.

There is also another substance called cryptochrome which occurs in

the eyes of migratory birds and we think now that migratory birds such

as this one, even the robin, have the ability to see the Earth's

magnetic field. Let's imagine it through the eyes of this swan flying

over here. It can see that mag yettic field

changing and this gives it the ability of it a precise sense of

direction. -- magnetic. We don't know exactly how we see that,

perhaps we never will. But it is a remarkable thing. The ability to see

magnetism in the environment. Now that's all very exciting stuff. The

bad news is that we are generating so much electromagnetic power out

there in the environment at the moment we may be confusing some of

the migrants. As you saw there, for the time being, the good news is the

swans can still find their way here. I guess only time will tell. It's a

fascinating subject. We are learning things about it all the time. If you

are watching last night you will know we sent Martin to the Isle of

Rum on a mission to find out what rutting deers do after dark. He had

quite a dramatic first night although he did fall asleep! What

happened the next day was truly astonishing. There were incredible

fight scenes. In fact, Ali, who has been working with the deer on Rum

for years, says it's the most dramatic day she has ever seen.

This is Smooth. Last night he lost control of his harem. Sargasso is

now the dominant stag. He will have access to any hind that

comes in, but only for as long as he can retain his possession.

This is an enemy. A stag in his prime.

He's never had a harem of his own but he is about to make a challenge.

It starts with a ritual known as a parallel walk where the stags size

each other up. 75% of fights are settled like this,

but not this time. It's the darker muddier stag. Each

of these animals can weigh well over 100 kilogrammes.

All of that force is being directed through the antlers and it's

essential they lock together properly. If they don't lock, they

could easily stab each other to death.

Did you see that? Let's rewind. Look at Sargasso's antler. It

snapped clean off. Now, surely, that's the end of the

battle? But no!

He is heaving just as hard as ever. This looks incredibly dangerous.

And yet the fight continues for five minutes.

Eventually, it is Sargasso who bows out.

An enemy 04 has overthrown Sargasso but both these stags have paid a

heavy price. But waiting in the wings is Smooth.

Just two minutes after the epic victory, Smooth comes hurtling in to

challenge. 80% of next year's calves will be

fathered by fewer than 20% of the stags so these fights are crucially

important. Smooth has done it. Victorious at

last. But again he can't rest on his laurels.

Now, incredibly, Sargasso, despite having only one antler, still

fancies his chances. Remember, he has already beaten Smooth in a

fight. He's got Smooth on his back. He

could fill him. He is up again. But surely that has

shaken Smooth. And, yes, Smooth backs off,

overthrown again. Sargasso, with one antler is top

stag again. But for how long? Yet again Enemy is back.

An antler point to close to the eye finally sends Sargasso away. His rut

this year is surely over. Enemy may have won some battles, but not the

war. Despite everything the hinds have chosen Smooth. Although he was

beaten twice in battle today, it's Smooth who gets the ultimate prize.

What a fight! It was fantastic. Just neverending. One down and the other

one stormed in taking advantage of the weakness. All's fair in love and

war as the Bard said. Are you warm enough by the way! You will start an

inferno here. Shall we have another look at when that antler came off.

It was an incredible moment. It happened over three frames. But

there is poor Sargasso Antlerless. He is not going to mate with

anything. I watched Ali go in bravely on to that green and pick up

this, Chris. The actual antler that flew off. Look at that. You can see,

they drill little holes in there to take DNA samples and have given it

to us. Look at the way it's broken off. It's torn, rather than

shattered. It has. That's interesting.

This is, may I take it? Please do, Chris. This is bone. It's not horn

at all. Horn is like hair, a fingernail, sheath, that's overburn.

Antlres are bone but it's different from say the leg bone. I have a

piece of leg bone here. You can see that even on the surface it's very

different. You see. Different types of bone,

Martin. This one is dry. Remember, it's dead. Didn't hurt when it came

off. No, no nerves. This is living bone. Inside the body, fully

vascularised. The property I can illustrate. I am looking forward. Is

this what the jacket is about? Shall I wear safety glasses like you?

Better put them on. We have an antler here mounted. Brace the end

of the table. I will demonstrate to you, this is all to do with

elasticity. The bone is altogether more flexible and more elastic. You

can see it bending there. It's bending a bit here, Chris. But

only a little bit. You can see this is very definitely flexing. That's

because this type of bone is designed to flex upon impact.

When the times of the other antler lock here and they're crashing into

one another it looks flex otherwise it would shatter.

You see the leg bone over here, this one, is very different in terms of

its structure. It's highly mineralised. There are lots more

minerals in here. This makes it altogether more brittle. If the deer

were using bone like this in the antler it would shatter. I can show

you a demonstration. I have two pieces of chocolate here,

confectionary. One I have effectively mineralised, if you

like. It's been in the freezer, it's rock solid and hard like this type

of internal bone. This one out here has not been mineralised and is to

represent the flexible antler. Imagine this is an antler crashing

into another one. It worked! It shatters. That's exactly what

would happen if the antler was like leg bone. This one, which is softer

and more flexible, more pliable. What happens when this meets another

antler. It's broken but it's broken in a tear like that.

You see, it's softer. That explains the way your antler gave way. That's

the difference between these two sorts of bones. I think, Chris,

if... As you say, they're meant to engage like that. What happened in

this case they went sideways. The whole 100 kilogrammes of the other

stag ripped the antler side. Flexed it too far. You are off on your

tractor. Drivers always have one of these in the pockets. I am wearing

the gloves because I didn't want to touch the chocolate. I am not

worried about the bone. I don't like sticky chocolate on my hands. That

was good. It was very good! It actually shattered! Tomorrow

night I will continue with my nocturrnal investigation of the

deer. The first night unfortunately I fell asleep. We find some amazing

scientific results. Now I am going off on my travels because I am now

on another nocturnal mission. I will see you later.

I am not sure what's more scary, Chris in a white coat with a frozen

chocolate bar or Martin trying to reverse the tractor. Both are quite

loud cruise. I think the thing that's been noteworthy about this

autumn has been the spectacular autumn colours. We asked you

yesterday to send in your photographs from around the country.

Lots of you did, thank you very much for that. Let's look at a couple of

them now. This is the first picture. It's

Jason Bowler and that's from Derbyshire. Absolutely beautiful.

They're so rich this year. This one is from Martin in Durham.

Look at the gorgeous red colours. This one is from glieshs and from

Andy Cosway. The reason we are glet -- Gloucestershire. -- you can still

get out and enjoy that spectacle. I just love that richness, the red,

the orange and yellow. Take some photographs of it and keep sending

them in because we love getting them. I can hear the tractor! He is

obviously safe. He has managed to reverse it out of the farm! Let's

move on. In fact, let's pause a minute and just rewind from autumn

to spring and on Springwatch we feature lots of nesting birds. In

particular, we featured a pair of nesting swifts that were nesting in

a nest box in Bristol. If you were watching Springwatch, you might have

seen this. The pair were on eggs and an intruder came in. A fight started

and went on for 17 minutes. One of the resident pair protects the eggs

and the other one continues the fight.

Fortunately, it managed to push that intruder out.

So, what happened after Springwatch? Let me tell you the drama didn't

stop there. When we left them in mid-June our

pair of swifts had three eggs. And were taking turns to incubate them.

Springwatch may have ended but home owner and swift fanatic Mark kept

his eyes glued to the nest. After 20 days, the first two eggs hatched.

But it took another five days for the third chick to emerge.

Much smaller than its siblings, it struggled to get its share of food.

Starvation was a very real possibility. A cold, wet summer only

made the situation worse. Things weren't looking good for our

brood. But swifts have an extraordinary

trick up their sleeves. The chicks can enter a state of tarpa, dropping

their metabolic rate allowing them to survive for up to ten days

without food. And their parents pushed on through the bad

conditions, often catching several thousand insects a day. Enough to

feed all three chicks. After three weeks, the youngest

chick had caught up. Our swiftlet's were soon indistinguishable from the

adults. By early August they were ready to fledge.

I get such a highly watching these birds fly round the house. They put

on a display like mini Red Arrows. This summer's success brought Mark

huge pleasure. It was the culmination of work he had begun in

2010. I started on the long process of building nest boxes. My first

designs were fairly rudimentary and hopeless, to be honest, and didn't

attract anything. Undeterred, Mark studied the swifts. Through hours of

observation and near obsessive note taking, he aimed to get inside their

minds. He honed his design and gradually his diligence paid off. At

the moment I'm on 16 nest boxes of which seven are occupied. The next

step was to fit his deluxe boxes with cameras. They revealed a rather

surprising side to these aerial acrobats. When they land, they are

hopeless. They wobble around and can barely walk. Masters of the sky and

clowns of walking. Swifts pair for life and when they have found their

dream nest box they come back to it year after year. When they come back

into the box for the very first time, the fact they have been flying

for nine months continuously, they fly straight in and go to sleep.

They might spend 12 hours coupled in the nest yawning and sleeping. I

love it as they turn into this sleek flying machine but I also know that

when they look like swiftlets they haven't got wrong with me and they

will be going to Africa again. I start to miss them almost

immediately. I think that's why I fill my winter is building new boxes

because I need something to remind me of them so I start to build boxes

for the next year. It keeps me thinking about them.

What a great bloke. I know, an enthusiast, it's great. He is

passionate and has done something positive to help which is brilliant

because they certainly need help, their numbers have dropped 42% in

the last 20 years, mainly because of the loss of nesting sites because of

modern buildings but there is something we can all do to help. You

can make or get one of these nesting boxes, details of this is on our

website. A new development is making these special boxes, Barratt homes

and Whitbread Premier Inns, and they are making a difference. Look at

that, proof. Hats off to the developers doing this, I hope others

follow their lead. Orton wouldn't be Autumnwatch without Starling

murmuration 's. We like to take a look at these every year. This was

owned a couple of years ago by Paul Bunyard at Gretna Green and what a

spectacle they provide. Look at the changing patterns it is making. It

is stunning and I enjoy them on the aesthetic level alone but I cannot

help looking at this and thinking why and how? Why do they do it?

Safety in numbers is almost certainly right because predators go

to these roosting sites, and we know that because last year we launched a

survey on behalf of the Royal Society of the biology and

University of Gloucester and they were asking us to ask you to report

sightings of murmurations. Many of you kindly did and here is a

geographical map of the murmurations. What a coverage! I

would never have thought there were that many going on in the UK. Dr

Anne Goodenough, Holly good head... Who is that? The lady in the Bond

film! Sorry, Dr Anne Goodenough wants more information. She would

like you to go back to the murmurations and look for the

presence of predators. See how they modify the behaviour of the birds.

One thing she would like us to stress is if you don't see any

predators, please send your results in. Negative data is always as

important as positive data so go to our website. Re-contribute as we

launched the scheme for the second year. Starlings are very much in

decline like swifts and we could conserve them better in the future.

That amazing one we showed at Gretna Green hasn't happened this year, I

was hoping to elope with you to Gretna Green... It would have been a

shotgun wedding! Thanks very much. Where is Martin, by the way? Last

seen reversing out of here in a tractor. What could possibly go

wrong! I'm heading for one of the most important parts of Caerlaverock

here, and that's the fields. During the day they are full of ligase, now

at night they are out and about on the salt flats. It is OK for me to

come here. If you want to see those birds during the day it is good to

use a tractor. They are so used to the coming and going of the

tractors, they are very relaxed and that's what I did a couple of days

ago. I haven't ridden a tractor for quite a few years but this is my

secret weapon. Because the geese, the barnacle geese here, they are

very used to tractors around the farm. The grass here, all of this

area has been farmed specifically to make it lovely, irresistible for the

barnacle geese. I can see them over there now. There is a soggy part

here, I will try to get through this. I have managed to get stuck.

Phew! Let's try and get back onto the geese watch. They are being

remarkably relaxed about it all. There is geese everywhere here. It

is a fantastic feeling. I'm just going to stop it now. Just what I

hoped to see, the geese are in front of me, their heads are down and they

are feeding. Hard to believe. In 1948 there were 300 only, and now

this year, a record-breaking year, with 41,000 barnacle geese. That's a

great site. -- sight. They are all munching away. I think I'm going to

leave them now. Let them have a good meal after they're basically

incredible journey. Brilliant. They are all taking off! Wow! Coming over

me! Brilliant. Now they are going to the mudflats, that's where they are

heading for. Beautiful. It is a strangely moving experience.

Here is what sounds like an obvious question, why do the geese leave

Svalbard at all? It gets bitterly cold up there, it will freeze over,

they will have nothing to eat and there is the problem of polar bears.

But there is something else, an interesting question from Beverley

on Twitter, she said, what are the geese feeding on here? That answers

the question, why do the geese come here. It is all about this stuff,

grass. This grass is perfect for the barnacle geese. They are kind of

living lawn mower, they feed flat out. They never stop. They are

constantly feeding. In fact, they can pack three times a second when

they are feeding, and pick up about a centimetre of grass every time,

and they will pick up maybe 200 pieces of grass every minute. Look

at them go. It's amazing they don't get a stiff neck but that's what

they are here for. In about one minute, that's what the barnacle

goose will pick up. It's not very nutritious, probably equivalent to

that much chocolate, so they've got to eat an enormous amount. They will

actually eat in a day that much grass. That is how much one of the

barnacle geese will eat in one day, an astonishing amount. The secret of

the success is maintaining that. They have got to eat a vast amount,

and they poo are great deal. They only managed to get about 30% of the

goodness out of the grass, 70% of it comes straight out again. When they

are feeding, they will poo about once every three minutes. They will

poo about 160 times a day, they have very busy bottoms! What happens to

keep the grass so perfect for the geese is that the staff maintain it

all the time. This is a sward stick, and they go all over the

place. It has got to be exactly the right length. This is how it works,

you drop it like that and this is perfect, they want the grass between

10 and 15 centimetres and that is precisely what the geese need. They

will make sure they have grass that is exactly the right amount for the

geese. It sounds like a joke but this is the secret of success at the

conservation right here. Back to the studio. It's so funny that he got

stuck in the mud! We know that the geese are stocking up on grass and a

lot of birds at this time of year need to feed up for the winter,

garden birds on seeds, but we were interested to know what seeds they

prefer in the autumn so we set up a pie chart. I went out this morning

to put a variety of seeds in here because we want to know if the birds

are optimally foraging, making the exact right choice of seed when they

are giving -- given it. You can see in one of the compartment I put

sunflower seeds, they have husks which means you have got to take

them off before you get to the seed inside which takes energy and time.

We wanted to see which birds come to the table and how they handle the

food. We want to see a lot of greenfinches, their favourite

weather sunflower seeds, they weren't going for the corn and the

oats. They are such bullies as well, kicking the other birds off.

But all these birds have the spectre of starvation hanging over them

throughout the course of the winter, and it is essential they make

exactly the right choices. In the next few days we will be bringing

you the results of our pie diagram, it is a pie chart, a living pie

chart. It is time now for a really exciting wildlife news story and it

is a very positive one about pine martens. Pine martens are doing well

in Scotland but about 100 years ago they were practically wiped out in

England and Wales by gamekeepers and the removal of mature woodland.

Populations in the south got as low as 40, experts considered it doomed

to local extinction. Now for the positive news, the Vincent Wildlife

Trust have reintroduced pine martens back into Wales, it is very

exciting. Iolo Williams went along with the team on one of their

releases. 5am at a secret location in Wales.

Dr Jenny from the Vincent Wildlife Trust has driven through the night

with a precious cargo. Hello, Jenny. Hello, hi. Nice to see you. Well

done. How far have you come? All the way from the north Islands. What

have we got in here? We have a male and female. Young adults. Go on

then. Come on, can I have a quick look? Yeah.

This is the young male. Oh, look at that. Has a radio collar on already.

This is a first for me, the pine marten in Wales. It's something I

have always, always wanted to see. At last, I am living the dream now.

Come on. I just can't tell you what this

means to me. Every time there was a so-called sighting of a pine marten

in Wales, in North Wales usually, I would often go up and walk and walk

and walk in the hope that one day I would come across one. I never, ever

did. To see pine martens coming back to Wales is just... Absolutely

brilliant. OK. These two, along with 18 others,

are playing a critical role in the pine martens return.

Off he goes. It's actually quite emotional, I

have to say. The first part of their release is

to get them acloom mattised in their specially built enclosured. --

acclimatiseD. They're monitored closely by remote cameras. Once

they're ready and have been given a clean bill of health the door to the

enclosures are opened. Eight of the martens have now been

fully released. But what are their chances in the new home?

Dave is the Srint sent Wildlife Trust's officer and will be

following their fortunes as closely as he can. Tonight he is on the

trail of pine marten number two released a week ago. -- Vincent. You

hear that? Yeah, yeah. It's just over the other side of the river.

Can you tell how far away? The bleeps are weak and coming in strong

and weak. She's moving. I suspect she's probably moving away from us.

But she's active by day, as well. Yeah, we are coming to dusk now so

they start waking up and going on the first forays of the night. Any

chance we can get nearer? We will. Now we will go closer, and try and

get an accurate bearing on her position. In their search for the

perfect release sight, the Trust conducted a two-year feasibility

study. Number two has moved into a valley with everything a pine marten

could need. What kind of thing were you looking for? What habitat? It's

this kind of stuff. We are looking for diversity of plants, so you can

see here that we have Heather, and some of the bilberry still has

berries at this time of year, this is easy food for them. They'll be

getting berries off these bushes and piling on the calories before

winter. They're looking for fruits and berries, mice, voles? Just

everything and anything. They'll just be opportunistic coming across

food and feeding on it. So far, David has found just one scat with

berries. As predators these pine martens will play a key role in this

forest environment. Pine martens are surprisingly quick across the ground

and even with a radio collar, number two has given us the slip.

We lost the signal completely down the bottom. So we have come all the

way up to the top of the ridge. She's probably moved up this way. We

hope we will see what Dave has picked up. See if he has found

anything. There she is. Yeah. There she is.

She's where? Yeah, looks like you see you have these gullies that run

down to the valley and she uses those to travel upwards. You have

been radio tracking for several weeks now. Are they coming back or

just dispersing? They're coming back. There is an initial period

where is rapid movement and then they track back until they find the

next pine marten and they set up territory and carve out boundaries.

It's amazing. They're back here and there is one here in front of us.

Well, no sighting of number two today. But just to know that these

creatures are back out there represents a turning point in our

conservation history. I can't tell you how exciting it is for me to

stand here knowing that somewhere down below me is a wild pine marten

in Mid Wales. Having watched wildlife for more than 50 years, and

most of it I have seen decline and disappear, and it's so heartening to

see a project that's finally putting something back. Wouldn't it be

brilliant if this was just the beginning?

Wouldn't it be brilliant if that was just the beginning. The latest news

is that all those 14 released are doing really well. It's an exciting

project. It is. Pine martens in the news but badgers too are in the

news. In September the pilot badger cull went into a third year.

Argument continues to rage over whether it's working with the NFU,

the farmers union, saying it has hit this year's targets and it's having

an effect on bovineTB. The Government is still planning to roll

out the cull in new areas next year as part of a four-year plan.

Professor Lord Cribbs President of the science association and

Government's independent author of the original culling trial has said

that the NFU is giving farmers false hope by saying the present cull is

working. He cited the data published by the animal and plant agency which

showed that there was, I am quoting, no statistically significant

association between intervention, that's the cull, and cattle bovineTB

incidents in the first year of the follow-up. The arguments continue,

as does the killing. We will keep you updated on the situation.

Martin, have you ever been on a night dive? No. You see spectacular

stuff. It's amazing. Sue Daly, a camerawoman is going to show us an

autumnal night dive off the island of Sark.

I live on Sark, which is the smallest

I am a photographer, and camerawoman and I specialise

I can get miserable at the thought the summer is ending

but the night-time in the autumn is so good that it's

Autumn is a great time for night diving, the sea's at its mildest,

it's starting to get dark much, much earlier and there's plenty

You might think it's difficult to tell the seasons under water but you

The seaweeds are a bit tatty, like the leaves

Most importantly, just the abundance of marine life

that you see, there are things that have hatched in the spring that have

Beyond my torch beam, it's absolutely pitch black but within

that beam it's like the light on a stage and the colours seem even more

The first creatures I normally encounter are lobsters.

In the daytime, you may get a little glimpse of them

But at night they're marching across the seabed looking for food.

They don't seem at all bothered by my presence.

It's as if nothing would stop them on their little journeys out

It doesn't look like any other fish I know.

It's a flat fish but it swims upright in the water

and directly head-on or tail-on they're just a very long thin line.

At night-time they waft in from the darkness, almost like beautiful

Beautiful circular pattern on its side, almost punky fringe

The most exciting things I see on a night dive are the cuttlefish.

They're very intelligent animals and you just never know what

They're stealth hunters and they're very, very fast.

They've got two specially adapted tentacles that shoot out

I have seen them eating prey almost the same size as themselves.

I am glad they don't get any larger actually,

They've got these strange eyes with a W-shaped pupil.

Might be my imagination being down there in the dark, but they're

There's a sense that you've encountered

something intelligent and also magical and other worldly, as well.

It's always thrilling seeing the cuttlefish.

The thing I love about diving is the feeling of going

I'm still, even after all of these years,

seeing things I have seen before, behaviour I have never seen before.

Night diving in the autumn extends my diving season

I want to go on a night dive. That was fabulous. It's magical. That

John Dory. What a great name. Talking of great names we asked you

to name the swan that is now... At the moment it's ZFS. These are the

names you have given us. Bradley Whooper. Swan Connery. Frodo

because it makes a long journey. The most popular one was Obi Swan.

Fantastic. Very happy when the film opens. That's all we have time for.

Do press your red button for Unsprung. We have our guests Matt

Brash and Tom Burditt and British Sea Power. What have we got

tomorrow? Well, we will be testing the food preferences of urban and

rural badgers. We have the astonishing tale of the Sexton

beetle, the burying beetle. Martin tries to stay awake for the ruting

deer mission on Rum. That's tomorrow. Don't forget the cameras

are live from 7.00am with peak times at 8.00, 1.00 and 4.00. We will be

back tomorrow at 8.00pm. With masses of wildlife. We look forward to

seeing you then. From us, the geese, the swans and everything here at

Caerlaverock, see you then. Bye. MUSIC: Boombastic

by Shaggy