:00:08. > :00:15.Autumn has well and truly arrived. Plenty of squirrels out and about,
:00:16. > :00:25.gnawing and storing. And the raptors are calling and soaring. And my
:00:26. > :00:26.foxes are pawing. We are here to celebrate the most colourful time of
:00:27. > :00:55.year. Welcome to Autumnwatch. Hello and welcome to Autumnwatch
:00:56. > :00:59.2017! It is our second evening from the National Trust Sherborne park
:01:00. > :01:02.estate in Gloucestershire and we are alive and we have a mission to bring
:01:03. > :01:07.you the very best of British wildlife at this time of year.
:01:08. > :01:12.Without delay, hesitation, stopping to pay ?200, passing go, let's take
:01:13. > :01:16.a look at our thermal camera which is out on the estate at the moment.
:01:17. > :01:26.There is something there, what do you reckon? You can see here is. It
:01:27. > :01:36.is a field mouse! British wildlife! We bring you a mouse. It is sweet.
:01:37. > :01:41.Look! Very good. Very sweet. Moments ago, we were looking at this, as
:01:42. > :01:48.ever, the wildlife let us down slightly, this is a deer, it looks
:01:49. > :01:56.like a fallow deer. But it is behind the gate! Yes, it is, a fallow deer.
:01:57. > :02:01.There she is. Yes. We will be coming back to those later in the
:02:02. > :02:06.programme. OK. Last night, rather to our surprise, most of the action
:02:07. > :02:13.took place down on the Sherborne brook. Let's go live to the brook.
:02:14. > :02:20.There it is. Absolutely... Absolutely nothing! There should be
:02:21. > :02:24.back there, don't worry but there was one! We just missed it. But lots
:02:25. > :02:31.and lots has been going on down there. We filmed this just last
:02:32. > :02:35.night. This was a real shock. An otter, I think the best one we have
:02:36. > :02:40.seen since we came to Sherborne. They were very elusive in the
:02:41. > :02:45.spring. They were. It was pouring its way over the bottom am looking
:02:46. > :02:51.for fish. That fallen branches are kind of highway for mice and
:02:52. > :02:56.rodents. The stars of the show! There was a bat and boom! The tawny
:02:57. > :03:02.owl comes in and tries to nail the mouse. We think the mouse got away
:03:03. > :03:09.but the tawny owl is getting its eye in. It goes off and it is keeping
:03:10. > :03:13.watch on the log and boom, a rat! It manages to escape and swims away to
:03:14. > :03:18.live another day. But the tawny owl is not finished. He has a sit down,
:03:19. > :03:22.thinking, "I've got this nailed now, there are lots of things walking up
:03:23. > :03:27.and down and I'm going to wait to ambush them again". Somewhere in the
:03:28. > :03:38.background now, another rat, coming across. Will it come? LAUGHTER
:03:39. > :03:44.Yes! And a rat got away again, it let go. Good effort, though. But
:03:45. > :03:48.that really amazes me because it is really noisy down there, I was
:03:49. > :03:53.there, there is a weir and everything but owls hunt would
:03:54. > :03:56.sound? It's very noisy, it has got abusing its eyesight, seeing the
:03:57. > :04:00.animals and recognising it is a highway, and it is that in the tree,
:04:01. > :04:06.using its eyes but not it is. I'm surprised it is trying to take adult
:04:07. > :04:11.rats, average weight, 230 grams, a tawny owl's average weight is about
:04:12. > :04:14.470 grams, so it's of its own body weight and big rats can be up to
:04:15. > :04:17.600. They are robust and have a fierce bite but as we know, the
:04:18. > :04:21.tawny owl is a formidable predator. We saw them a couple of years ago
:04:22. > :04:24.taking wood pigeons and magpies so adult rats, most owls and things
:04:25. > :04:30.like kestrel and barn owls would not take on an adult like that but we
:04:31. > :04:34.got. A big meal. Ricardo Fuller tawny owls! That was all in
:04:35. > :04:42.black-and-white but at Waterwatch we are about colour, so let's see some
:04:43. > :04:47.colourful animals in the river. That's beautiful! A brown trout,
:04:48. > :04:52.youngster, all those gorgeous colours, red spots down its flanks.
:04:53. > :04:59.How big do you think it is? You said yesterday they vary in size. A
:05:00. > :05:05.couple of metres? How do you know that? About the size of a great
:05:06. > :05:12.white! Will have do lower some rulers into the water. Isn't it a
:05:13. > :05:17.beautiful fish? Lovely animals. Is or colour? Yes, please. Rustic
:05:18. > :05:20.orange and electric blue, the Kingfisher, and depending on the
:05:21. > :05:25.size of the drought we just saw, the Kingfisher could be fishing for that
:05:26. > :05:30.very trout because they do gophers more drought. Minnows, sticklebacks.
:05:31. > :05:35.Great to see it down. -- they do go for small crowd. Now you can sure
:05:36. > :05:41.few ornithological knowledge, was it a male or female Kingfisher? I don't
:05:42. > :05:45.know, I didn't see it close up, was it a male? It was a female, they
:05:46. > :05:50.wear lipstick, the bottom of their bill is red. I was not paying
:05:51. > :05:55.attention to the bill. You would know it otherwise! Some of the
:05:56. > :05:58.wildlife we have at Sherborne and we are live here but not just here
:05:59. > :06:03.because Gillian is in Bournemouth and we saw her yesterday and she was
:06:04. > :06:07.in this fabulous garden where they have regular fox visitors. But she
:06:08. > :06:13.is not just sitting back enjoying the spectacle. No, she is the boxes
:06:14. > :06:17.to the test. Yes, I am in a suburb of Bournemouth
:06:18. > :06:23.because this garden has become a for urban foxes. That is because the
:06:24. > :06:28.owners have been feeding foxes for decades and they come here every
:06:29. > :06:35.single night without fail. Let's get a really good look at this. They are
:06:36. > :06:41.out here right now. I know they look really tame but these are wild
:06:42. > :06:46.animals. If I reached to open the door, they would be off like a shot
:06:47. > :06:50.and isn't that how it should be? Wild animals driving in amongst our
:06:51. > :06:54.homes and Gardens. While we have been here, we have been treated to
:06:55. > :06:59.this kind of sight a lot, seen about six individuals, and go in the last
:07:00. > :07:06.few days but more recently, I was treated to a really close encounter.
:07:07. > :07:12.For most of us, seeing foxes is a fleeting glimpse down the lane. But
:07:13. > :07:17.check this out! This is what happens when you spend 16 years being really
:07:18. > :07:21.dedicated and leaving food out for these animals, like Sandy has. We
:07:22. > :07:26.have been watching them for the last few weeks. It is amazing how
:07:27. > :07:34.different each individual is. This one is really bold. It comes right
:07:35. > :07:39.up close. It is really quite used to seeing people in here and movement.
:07:40. > :07:40.Often, the TV is on and there are people in here talking at the lights
:07:41. > :07:55.are on and this is what it does. It is really, really amazing
:07:56. > :07:57.opportunity to watch individual foxes learn about their
:07:58. > :08:04.characteristics and what makes them so successful in our cities and
:08:05. > :08:09.suburbs. Now that fox we saw there is the one
:08:10. > :08:13.that the owners called Teardrop. We think he is a male, he is a
:08:14. > :08:17.subadult, born this spring and he is one of the foxes that really engage
:08:18. > :08:22.with a scientific experiment we set up with the help of Dr Dawn Scott at
:08:23. > :08:25.the University of Brighton. What we set out to do was to test the
:08:26. > :08:33.problem-solving skills, the intelligence of urban foxes. Here is
:08:34. > :08:38.what we saw on last night's show. This is the single string
:08:39. > :08:42.experiment. It is phase one of the experiment and that is a fox called
:08:43. > :08:49.Blondie, who grabs hold of the cube, startled herself but then comes back
:08:50. > :08:56.and grabbed the reward. The other one, Teardrop, here, with those dark
:08:57. > :09:02.patches on its muzzle, and like Blondie, Teardrop pulled the string
:09:03. > :09:06.and gets the reward. So this was just the first two Knights of the
:09:07. > :09:12.experiment. Both foxes figured it out but Teardrop is the one that
:09:13. > :09:18.really ran with it. Once Teardrop figured out the single
:09:19. > :09:23.string experiment, he came back and each time we reset the experiment
:09:24. > :09:28.and baited it again, he would come back and he really started to have
:09:29. > :09:33.some fun with this and started pulling so he broke the Fox Box
:09:34. > :09:41.experiment. There he is, getting his reward. This is clearly one clever
:09:42. > :09:47.Fox. In just two Knights, he got the experiment right in six out of seven
:09:48. > :09:56.attempts. So what happened when we decided to take it to the next
:09:57. > :10:01.level? We moved from one string to a two string experiment, still with
:10:02. > :10:05.just one roared, of course, -- one reward, a piece of chicken but given
:10:06. > :10:13.the choice, would Teardrop pull on the right string? Let's see what
:10:14. > :10:22.happens. Now, here we are. The food is on the bottom of the two strings.
:10:23. > :10:28.And here comes Teardrop. But he goes for the first string he sees, Paul
:10:29. > :10:35.that it and there is no food, no reward. He is confused. -- pulls it.
:10:36. > :10:42.This is not how it has been. But he keeps looking. Second try, again, he
:10:43. > :10:48.just goes to the first string he sees and again, same result, no
:10:49. > :10:54.food. It was not until hours later that he finally went to the right
:10:55. > :11:00.string and pulled his reward. And there he goes, snatching it out.
:11:01. > :11:08.Now, clearly, Teardrop looks like he struggled with that and we did sort
:11:09. > :11:12.of worry, and we outfoxed the Fox? Perhaps he just needed a bit more
:11:13. > :11:15.time so that is what we gave him and we will find out what happened later
:11:16. > :11:21.in the show. Back to you, Martin and Michaela.
:11:22. > :11:25.I could watch that all night long. I'm thinking I'm going to go back
:11:26. > :11:33.and test my foxes. We are on to the start of something, Fox Mastermind
:11:34. > :11:39.Uk. You could make that. Probably not in Perspex but nothing else.
:11:40. > :11:43.Would it be successful? I think so but it is a very smart box. We were
:11:44. > :11:47.catching up on some of the bird that had not quite fledged when we left
:11:48. > :11:50.in Springwatch, the barn owls and the kestrels and they'll
:11:51. > :11:54.successfully fledged but what about the other raptors that we were
:11:55. > :11:58.watching? The bothered and the kite? Let's take a look. We have a single
:11:59. > :12:02.buzzard in the nest that was being very well cared for by its parents
:12:03. > :12:06.and eating an enormous range of food. Here, it is enjoying an
:12:07. > :12:09.earthworm. Well, it's got stuck around his head but it is serving
:12:10. > :12:13.its purpose. The kites were fantastic, extraordinary views into
:12:14. > :12:17.the nest of the individuals and by the time we left them, they were
:12:18. > :12:21.branching, they had left the nest and were practising their wing
:12:22. > :12:24.flapping. The naturalists at the National Trust continue to watch
:12:25. > :12:27.them and I'm pleased that -- to say that the kites fledged soon
:12:28. > :12:33.afterwards and the bothered as well. What happened to them? Within the --
:12:34. > :12:36.within about 70 days, the kites would have been independent, finding
:12:37. > :12:42.food for themselves and at that stage, they can travel great
:12:43. > :12:46.distances. One went 1020 kilometres to Iceland. When it comes to
:12:47. > :12:50.breeding age, two or three, they come back and most of them come back
:12:51. > :12:54.and read within 22 kilometres of where they were hatched, and similar
:12:55. > :12:57.for the bothered. At the moment, the buzzard has probably drifted off a
:12:58. > :13:01.long way but it will probably come back to breed within 12 kilometres
:13:02. > :13:05.of the estate. It would be great to come back in three years and see
:13:06. > :13:12.them nesting! That is how they should increase the numbers. Those
:13:13. > :13:14.were the raptors at Sherborne but I have to say my favourite nest was at
:13:15. > :13:19.Salisbury Cathedral, the peregrine nest. We had two adults that nested
:13:20. > :13:24.at the top of Salisbury Cathedral and they had a chick but when it was
:13:25. > :13:29.19 days old, a foster chick was introduced into the nest by the
:13:30. > :13:34.RSPB. It was found often. It was amazing because it was very quickly
:13:35. > :13:40.accepted by both parents who provided a range of food and both
:13:41. > :13:50.chicks thrived. They were given names, after rivers, one was called
:13:51. > :13:54.Dean Andy Frost one was called T20. This is the update. When we left
:13:55. > :13:59.them, they were just a few weeks away from fledging. You can see
:14:00. > :14:03.Wylie is the one in the front, full feathers and Dean is the one at the
:14:04. > :14:07.back with a bit of down. After we left them, the cameras stayed on and
:14:08. > :14:12.there was plenty of wing flapping and there was a view attempted
:14:13. > :14:16.efforts at fledging. -- a few attempted. You can see that Wylie is
:14:17. > :14:20.the one doing more of the flying but this is Dean, look at this, a
:14:21. > :14:27.valiant effort, did not quite make it that time. As expected, Wylie was
:14:28. > :14:33.the first at 46 days old, on the 28th of June. Followed a few days
:14:34. > :14:38.later by Dean on the 2nd of July at 44 days old. Both of them stayed
:14:39. > :14:43.around the cathedral, exactly what we would expect and both were still
:14:44. > :14:48.being fed by the parents and that would go on for at least another
:14:49. > :14:50.couple of months. It was a really heart-warming story and it is even
:14:51. > :14:55.more heart-warming to know that both of them successfully fledged. We
:14:56. > :15:00.were given fantastic privilege to views of them. It was amazing but
:15:01. > :15:03.where are they now? Slightly different with peregrines than it is
:15:04. > :15:06.with Stoke and foxes where the females stay and the males
:15:07. > :15:12.disappear. With peregrines, as we noticed a couple of years ago, it is
:15:13. > :15:14.the males that tend to stay, as we noticed in Bath a couple of years
:15:15. > :15:18.ago. They were both males but whether they are still on territory,
:15:19. > :15:22.we don't know, we have not had any reports of the coloured rings but we
:15:23. > :15:24.know where the female is because she was the first-ever adult peregrine
:15:25. > :15:29.fitted with a satellite tracking device in the UK and we put it on in
:15:30. > :15:32.the summer. This is going to be great news, giving us new science
:15:33. > :15:36.and better informing conservation but it means we also know exactly
:15:37. > :15:41.where she goes. She was active in the summer here, Salisbury Cathedral
:15:42. > :15:48.in the centre, quite a small range of about 36 square compass, not
:15:49. > :15:53.travelling far to find food for youngsters but this is where she is
:15:54. > :15:56.active now, a massive increase in range, up to 197 square kilometres,
:15:57. > :16:02.all the way to Stonehenge at the top and covering a much broader area and
:16:03. > :16:08.probably catching a much greater range of food with all the wildlife
:16:09. > :16:10.and waders in the area at the moment. We will follow her
:16:11. > :16:16.throughout the winter and bring you an update. Fantastic to get the
:16:17. > :16:21.data, really interesting but what is even more fantastic, of all the
:16:22. > :16:25.raptors that we had an Springwatch, kestrels, barn owls, buzzards, red
:16:26. > :16:30.kite and peregrine falcons, all of them successfully fledged. That's
:16:31. > :16:36.remarkable. We like a bit of good news!
:16:37. > :16:41.Yesterday, we talked about how the changing climate brought rare birds
:16:42. > :16:47.on to our shores to breed. It is not just birds, we have attracted some
:16:48. > :17:00.stunning insects as well. It's the end of September, and in
:17:01. > :17:08.London's Richmond Park, change is in the air. As verdant green gives way
:17:09. > :17:09.to rustic red, and some residents are making their Mark in this
:17:10. > :17:20.ancient royal park. But while a cacophony of noise and
:17:21. > :17:29.announces the brash presence of ringnecked parakeets, strange scars
:17:30. > :17:30.on Waterside branches are a far more subtle clue to a far more recent
:17:31. > :17:51.coloniser. The Willow Emerald damselfly. Last
:17:52. > :17:58.night's residue from the dew adds a jewel-like quality to her body. But
:17:59. > :17:59.after drying off, a flick of this female's wings launches her into the
:18:00. > :18:17.air. Resting nearby is another Willow
:18:18. > :18:20.Emerald. At first glance, it's indistinguishable from the female.
:18:21. > :18:31.But upon closer inspection, a pair of prominent pincer, gives the game
:18:32. > :18:36.away. It is a male. There is no time to waste for either sex, for the
:18:37. > :18:42.damselflies, the short days autumn are the time to breed. Like tiny
:18:43. > :18:47.helicopters, the damselflies dance in the autumnal sun. Males vying for
:18:48. > :18:54.a female, and the chance to reproduce. The sky is full of
:18:55. > :18:58.courting couples. But to mate successfully, the male needs to get
:18:59. > :19:04.a good grip. The female, held tightly around the
:19:05. > :19:12.back of the head with the male's class was, brings her abdomen up to
:19:13. > :19:16.mate with him. He mustn't let go. Other males won't hesitate to knock
:19:17. > :19:27.him off. Like other damselflies, the pairs's
:19:28. > :19:31.contorted bodies create a contorted ring. But unlike other species, the
:19:32. > :19:38.Willow Emeralds won't lay their eggs in water. Instead, they choose a
:19:39. > :19:49.more unusual and much drier location - the trees.
:19:50. > :19:54.The female uses a specially designed over positive to pierce the bark,
:19:55. > :20:00.Lei Li two! In a tiny hole below the surface.
:20:01. > :20:09.Now that he knows this pairing has been a success, the male wastes no
:20:10. > :20:16.time in heading off to search for another damsel. Leaving this female
:20:17. > :20:23.to continue to carefully deposit the next generation. This egg laying
:20:24. > :20:31.behaviour is unique in the damselfly world.
:20:32. > :20:35.The eggs will over winter in the butt, insulated and away from most
:20:36. > :20:42.predators, ensuring a high survival rate. Come spring, the eggs will
:20:43. > :20:47.hatch, and the nymphs will drop directly into the water nursery
:20:48. > :20:55.below. First recording in any numbers in
:20:56. > :20:59.2009, these enchant in creatures and the tell-tale scars they leave are
:21:00. > :21:06.likely to become an ever more familiar sight as the climate warms,
:21:07. > :21:10.and our Summers stretch out. The dazzling dance of the damselflies is
:21:11. > :21:16.an autumn spectacle that is here to stay.
:21:17. > :21:23.They're absolutely enchanting. When you look at them in close up like
:21:24. > :21:26.that, they are really beautiful. There are at least 56 different
:21:27. > :21:32.species of dragonfly and damselfly in the UK. They are difficult to
:21:33. > :21:36.tell apart. It is not easy to tell a damselfly from a dragonfly, so there
:21:37. > :21:42.is a handy online guide that you can check out on the website. A good
:21:43. > :21:46.news story with the damselflies come to the UK. But you will know there
:21:47. > :21:51.is bad news in the insect world, a group of German entomologist
:21:52. > :21:58.amateurs started measuring the biomass of large flying insects, the
:21:59. > :22:04.biomass being their body weight. We can represent that, therefore, as
:22:05. > :22:10.the baseline in their study. They continue to record this all the way
:22:11. > :22:15.up until last year. This is what they found. There has been a decline
:22:16. > :22:23.in large flying insect biomass in Germany of 75%. There are no studies
:22:24. > :22:27.that have been conducted in the UK, which run in parallel to this, but
:22:28. > :22:32.given that it is Germany and the man management is the same as in the UK,
:22:33. > :22:36.we can imagine a similar situation is happening here. You may think
:22:37. > :22:40.climate is responsible, changes in the climate, but critical analysis
:22:41. > :22:45.of this data reveals climate is not to blame. It might be habitat
:22:46. > :22:52.fragmentation, loss of habitat. That could be playing a role, but
:22:53. > :22:55.whatever, this is justifiably being described as an ecological
:22:56. > :23:00.catastrophe, with far-reaching consequences. If you lose all these
:23:01. > :23:05.insects, it has a massive impact further up the food chain. We have
:23:06. > :23:10.already seen that. Great partridges, for instance, we have monitored
:23:11. > :23:15.these birds for some time. Between 1970 and 2014, they have enjoyed a
:23:16. > :23:21.92% decline. Spotted flycatchers, a different sort of bird, but in that
:23:22. > :23:27.period, again, they have declined by 86%. These are just a couple of
:23:28. > :23:32.species dependent on these insects. Of course, everyone is grabbing for
:23:33. > :23:37.a smoking gun, and one of the success suspect culprits are
:23:38. > :23:45.in June this year, a particular group of pesticides was proven to
:23:46. > :23:51.have harmful effects on both honeybees and wild bees. An entirely
:23:52. > :23:55.separate, another controversial chemical, it has been shown to be
:23:56. > :23:59.harmful to insects. One thing is click on what we need is more
:24:00. > :24:04.rigorous, robust science to be conducted very, very quickly, so we
:24:05. > :24:09.can understand this, and it can inform our decision-making. It
:24:10. > :24:14.really very, very urgent. It's shocking news, isn't it. As you say,
:24:15. > :24:20.we need more data. That takes time and a change of policy will also
:24:21. > :24:25.take time. What can we do? There is something we can do and it is very
:24:26. > :24:30.simple, it is this - plant wild flowers. In spring but, we talked
:24:31. > :24:38.about plant pots for pollinators, and encouraging people to plant wild
:24:39. > :24:43.flowers. If you managed to plant a wild flower meadow, even better. It
:24:44. > :24:48.is so important to have flowers throughout the year. Autumn, it is
:24:49. > :24:56.important to not over manicure them, then we'd stuff out. Ivy is
:24:57. > :25:01.important, let it grow. It is vital as a late nectar source for
:25:02. > :25:07.pollinators. Lots of information on our website about that. As you said,
:25:08. > :25:12.it is a catastrophe, isn't it. An absolute catastrophe. Do you know,
:25:13. > :25:17.Chris, I think humans, as a species, are good at reacting when we are in
:25:18. > :25:21.complete and utter crisis mode. This is a crisis mode, so we need to
:25:22. > :25:27.react. Let's move from despair to desire, Martin...
:25:28. > :25:27.What sort of desire, Chris? Autumnwatch wouldn't be Autumnwatch
:25:28. > :25:42.if we didn't have rotting dear. We have been lucky enough over the
:25:43. > :25:46.years to record the deer at it. A most spectacular sight, red deer,
:25:47. > :25:50.they are willing to offer all, to lose their lives for the chance to
:25:51. > :25:57.mate with the female. Look at that. Here is a sika deer, it not natural,
:25:58. > :26:04.from China, they have been in the wild for 160 years. And look at
:26:05. > :26:09.this, the fallow, a beautiful deer, often in parks with those great big
:26:10. > :26:14.antlers, trying to entice the females.
:26:15. > :26:24.The thing is, when we have managed to fill those deer rutting, we have
:26:25. > :26:31.done it in a park, not like here in Sherborne. They are fully wild deer.
:26:32. > :26:35.They are here, but you have to look closely. If you come with me, let's
:26:36. > :26:41.have a look. You can see, hear, it is what they call a browse line.
:26:42. > :26:46.Deer have gone along here and nipped off bits of the hedge. You get a
:26:47. > :26:52.gap, which is not obvious. Here is something I have found. Look at
:26:53. > :26:56.that. That Bramble on the end has been nipped off by a deer. They love
:26:57. > :27:01.a juicy bit of Bramble. You can see that at home if you go out into the
:27:02. > :27:07.woods. We know for sure there are some deer here, but what types of
:27:08. > :27:12.deer, what deer are here? I met up with the estate's deer
:27:13. > :27:14.manager, Bill win. He has worked here for 23 years, and if anyone can
:27:15. > :27:26.help us find the Amat, Bill can. We assume the position, and settle
:27:27. > :27:30.down. Bill has gone off, because he knows the woods so well, he is
:27:31. > :27:36.trying to gently push deer in my direction. I don't know if it's
:27:37. > :27:37.going to work. But I've got to be really quiet, and sit absolutely
:27:38. > :28:17.still. Bill, I did manage to film
:28:18. > :28:24.something. I saw something belt across there. Back in the wood, I
:28:25. > :28:36.saw another one over at nearly 100 acre field. Two! Plus, a fallow.
:28:37. > :28:42.I've seen a Brown flash. That sums it up. Thanks very much indeed,
:28:43. > :28:48.anyway. You are welcome. 6-0. You'll saw six, I saw none.
:28:49. > :28:52.There are much more obvious signs of deer if you know where to look. Bill
:28:53. > :29:01.took me to have a look. This looks like, to the uninitiated,
:29:02. > :29:09.a muddy area, but there is more to it than that. This is a fallow but
:29:10. > :29:14.scrape, made during the rut to Mark his territory, and to let all the
:29:15. > :29:19.local females know he is around. And he will be your innate into it, he
:29:20. > :29:25.will do all this fraying of the branches all around his scrape. I
:29:26. > :29:33.can see down here, I suppose the size of the slot box. That of the
:29:34. > :29:42.beast. That is quite deep. And there is a nice smell, a pungent smell. I
:29:43. > :29:47.am afraid that is the smell of rutty but. He has glands on his head and
:29:48. > :29:53.his feet. This is both for other bucks, that are intimidated by this.
:29:54. > :30:01.But also saying he is a big and attractive guide to the females.
:30:02. > :30:09."Come and join me." That is it! Despite all of Bill Mac's help, I
:30:10. > :30:13.didn't see a single deer. So I set the wild camera team a challenge,
:30:14. > :30:19.could they go out in Sherborne and film the deer and tell us what
:30:20. > :30:25.species are really here. This is a little much Jack, a
:30:26. > :30:30.Marmite dear, some people don't like them. They are not a natural
:30:31. > :30:34.speeches, they are invasive. But they are spreading across the
:30:35. > :30:41.country. That is one. This is a roe deer, with that lovely white button
:30:42. > :30:45.and the moustache you can see. Two species, and the next one is
:30:46. > :30:50.fantastic, just what you might expect to see, really hard to see,
:30:51. > :30:54.hidden in the woods, you can tell with the great antlers, this is a
:30:55. > :30:57.fallow deer, a magnificent buck stopped I have never seen antlers as
:30:58. > :31:01.big as that, they looked like polished walnut, absolutely
:31:02. > :31:08.gorgeous. He is not just hanging about in the woods, there is a
:31:09. > :31:10.female there as well. You can hear that belching call, here is the
:31:11. > :31:23.female. Watch carefully. There it is. That is a fallow dear
:31:24. > :31:28.meeting! Hats off to the camera team to mount -- for managing to film
:31:29. > :31:32.that. Hand-macro mating is very quick, a single trust. Let's peer
:31:33. > :31:39.into the darkness and see if we can see any deer with our live camera.
:31:40. > :31:44.Oh, no! A moment ago, we saw this and there is a deer. It looks like a
:31:45. > :31:47.fallow to me, they are surprisingly big, fallow deer, and they have an
:31:48. > :31:53.astonishing ability for such a big animal to just melt into the
:31:54. > :31:57.undergrowth, quite extraordinary. Lovely. Great to see. We have at
:31:58. > :32:04.last seen a couple, there are three species here. Have you seen any deer
:32:05. > :32:08.at all since we have been here? I have, Martin, Michaela and I saw
:32:09. > :32:12.some driving in in the car this morning! Isn't it just the way, as
:32:13. > :32:16.they say. Do you know what? It made us feel really good because we know
:32:17. > :32:21.increasingly that nature can make us feel good. People have started going
:32:22. > :32:24.out into the woods, and in days of yore, this would have been a hippie
:32:25. > :32:28.action but now we think there is some good science behind it. One of
:32:29. > :32:33.the things we know physiologically is that our eyes are especially
:32:34. > :32:39.adapted to see well in the green and green yellow part of the spectrum.
:32:40. > :32:42.We can see more colour in that part of the colour spectrum that is
:32:43. > :32:47.visible to us than in any other part -- part which indicates we have been
:32:48. > :32:51.involved to be in that environment, not the built environment which we
:32:52. > :32:55.find so much more stressful. But we all know, Chris, I know if I feel
:32:56. > :32:59.stressed during the day and I'm behind my laptop although, as soon
:33:00. > :33:03.as I go and walk my dog, Rio, either in the mountain, which I love, or
:33:04. > :33:07.the beach, I instantly feel better, the stress comes off your shoulders
:33:08. > :33:10.and you are the same? Yes, I go out every morning with a scratch and it
:33:11. > :33:15.undeniably makes me feel better. But this is not just about feeling, this
:33:16. > :33:18.is not just a subjective thing any longer, scientists have investigated
:33:19. > :33:22.this and they have seen that the saliva recall is, the measuring
:33:23. > :33:25.stress, goes down and also our heart rate and blood pressure goes down
:33:26. > :33:30.and the amount of natural killer cells in our body goes up, natural
:33:31. > :33:34.killer cells are those which attack things like viral infections and
:33:35. > :33:38.tumours. It is even thought that we imbibe and take in from the
:33:39. > :33:40.atmosphere, the wooded atmosphere, certain chemicals that promote the
:33:41. > :33:46.development of these cells in our body. Science is beginning to prove
:33:47. > :33:52.that natural therapy definitely works. Look at you and I, we spend a
:33:53. > :33:56.lot of time outdoors and we are completely rounded, grounded,
:33:57. > :34:00.healthy individuals! It does not always work! On a serious note,
:34:01. > :34:05.though, we know connecting with the outdoors can have a profound effect
:34:06. > :34:10.on us. For lyrical poet Marchant Barron, who suffers from cerebral
:34:11. > :34:15.palsy, connecting with wildlife and the outdoors gives him a voice. With
:34:16. > :34:19.the help of his friends and support team and the staff at Westonbirt
:34:20. > :34:26.Arboretum, he tells us in his own words how nature inspires him.
:34:27. > :34:31.When I'm with trees, I feel they know me.
:34:32. > :34:40.Just being with a tree sparks my poetry.
:34:41. > :35:00.Their stillness ripens my words. Trees are my sanctuary. Take Army,
:35:01. > :35:09.like a hand on my shoulder. -- they calm me. Whatever is happening in my
:35:10. > :35:16.life, this sense of alwaysness comforts me. For him, poetry is his
:35:17. > :35:21.voice, it is where you get a true insight into what he thinks and how
:35:22. > :35:26.he sees the world. I think it is the piece that he finds in trees, the
:35:27. > :35:32.quiet, just a place where he can get away from the world for a bit and
:35:33. > :35:37.just really connect with nature. They seem to make him feel very calm
:35:38. > :35:48.and still. They are almost listening to him and watching him. I have
:35:49. > :35:52.always written poetry in my head. My dream was to have my words floating
:35:53. > :35:57.in the autumn trees like a piece of art. When my poems are put within
:35:58. > :36:02.the tree, there's a direct connection with that tree, a
:36:03. > :36:09.conversation. In a book, this may be lost. The Arboretum is a library of
:36:10. > :36:20.trees, holding people's fractured stories. When I saw the horse
:36:21. > :36:26.chestnut, I fell in love. This old, playful tree has spread its roots
:36:27. > :36:30.and looks as if it is wondering. It made me think, even when we are
:36:31. > :36:33.tethered, we are free, which is true for us all.
:36:34. > :36:38.We can be tethered, yet we are free in our minds.
:36:39. > :36:45.The dipping of branches into and out of the earth creates adventitious
:36:46. > :36:52.roots. It made me laugh to hear how this horse chestnut's roots were
:36:53. > :36:54.indeed adventurers. I saw how this tree pushes on through the soil to
:36:55. > :36:59.fill the earth with its joyful shape so this tree became tangled foot and
:37:00. > :37:13.will always be an adventurer. The tethered wonder reaches out, as
:37:14. > :37:22.muscled trunks stretch in the morning light. Entangled with
:37:23. > :37:34.languorous limbs, a shadow spill. Sinew to hands got spiked, crusted
:37:35. > :37:44.fruit. Blood burst. Polished leather strong and the grounds of Amber, an
:37:45. > :37:51.bar, honeyed gold, a tumble full. -- Amber, always. Remember battles? The
:37:52. > :38:03.miss then clip, click, split of conkers, playful.
:38:04. > :38:13.This ring of six yews creates a shelter belt. EV sheltered and
:38:14. > :38:20.enclosed in Evergreen. I wanted this poem to be about sanctuary and how
:38:21. > :38:26.sanctuary is not always light. In darkness, we find the light. I
:38:27. > :38:36.believe that the trees know our darkness. Dealing with darkness is
:38:37. > :38:45.about being and waiting. Hallowed. Wait, don't rush through the
:38:46. > :38:55.darkness. Watch the yews paint evergreen on this cloistered eclipse
:38:56. > :39:05.of sky. Outside, seeds pirouette. Here, colours cool. Winds harsh
:39:06. > :39:13.within the wooded henge. Gather your shadows in this route flock to
:39:14. > :39:16.resting place. -- root-locked resting place. Leave them to pale in
:39:17. > :39:26.the moonlight. Ahead, the path awakes with maples.
:39:27. > :39:38.It makes me feel the most complete I can be. I know myself more.
:39:39. > :39:52.But for me, this project is all about the trees and having people
:39:53. > :40:14.Fantastic. Great to see Marchant Barron's ambition realised, with the
:40:15. > :40:18.poetry at Westonbirt but you have to admire people who can take a broad
:40:19. > :40:22.experience, personalise it, distil it and put it into some beautiful
:40:23. > :40:27.form which is instantly communicable to everyone else. That is what
:40:28. > :40:30.poetry is about and he mastered it, absolutely superb. Let's go back to
:40:31. > :40:37.Bournemouth now to see how Gillian is getting on with her foxes.
:40:38. > :40:45.Well, I'm feeling very close to nature as well because right now, we
:40:46. > :40:50.have got our star, Teardrop, who has been feeding. We have been watching
:40:51. > :40:55.it all this time feeding out there. He's just dashed off but it has just
:40:56. > :40:59.been lovely to be able to observe, to watch all this behaviour. There
:41:00. > :41:02.was a vixen in here. They had a little play, chasing each other
:41:03. > :41:08.around and it is just wonderful but it is not just foxes that come to
:41:09. > :41:15.this garden. A few days ago, I was treated to another encounter with a
:41:16. > :41:19.more surprising urban resident. As if it was not enough to have
:41:20. > :41:29.foxes in your garden, there's a badger that is just on the scene! I
:41:30. > :41:34.can't believe how close it came. It is incredible to see them all
:41:35. > :41:37.together like this. They are very tolerant of each other. Foxes and
:41:38. > :41:43.badgers have a kind of unsteady truce. They are known to share the
:41:44. > :41:47.same boroughs and they share a lot of traits they are both omnivores,
:41:48. > :41:51.they are quite experimental with their food. So that means they are
:41:52. > :41:57.both quite successful and take advantage of places like this. While
:41:58. > :42:01.the foxes are very curious, they will investigate different parts of
:42:02. > :42:06.the garden, the badgers have a set run and they know where the food is
:42:07. > :42:11.and they make a beeline for it. And then they just settle in and chow
:42:12. > :42:18.down. Foxes have been able to move into towns and cities and suburbs
:42:19. > :42:24.but this is not usual. These badgers are here because a relic of woodland
:42:25. > :42:28.just outside, at the back of this garden, and it means there is a
:42:29. > :42:34.habitat for them to retreat to but because Sandy has put in years of
:42:35. > :42:41.dedication and love feeding these animals, this is the sort of treat
:42:42. > :42:48.that she has in her garden. What a treat it is. I really have to
:42:49. > :42:51.say a massive thank you to Sandy and Bruce Haslam for letting us take
:42:52. > :42:56.over their home and providing this place where we can see foxes and
:42:57. > :43:00.badgers in the same place. It is not just a treat. It has actually been
:43:01. > :43:05.really useful to see how these really different animals have
:43:06. > :43:08.reacted to our Fox Box experiment and, well, the foxes took to it
:43:09. > :43:19.pretty well but how did the badgers react?
:43:20. > :43:27.Well, that is what the badger thought of the Fox Box experiment!
:43:28. > :43:30.It is just as well, to be honest because badgers are like these
:43:31. > :43:34.little bulldozers, little tanks and they would have just completely
:43:35. > :43:39.destroyed the experiment. If you remember, we were trying to get to
:43:40. > :43:45.see if Teardrop would get through phase two of the experiment. Just to
:43:46. > :43:49.remind you, phase two was taking the experiment on from one string, onto
:43:50. > :43:56.two springs but still with just one reward. -- two strings. Not sweet, a
:43:57. > :44:00.piece of chicken, of course, but we were going to keep moving the reward
:44:01. > :44:05.back and forth to make sure Teardrop did not start to favour one string
:44:06. > :44:11.over the other. And if you remember, Teardrop really struggled with this.
:44:12. > :44:19.So given a bit more time, let's see how he got on.
:44:20. > :44:22.So you can see that the food is on the top but Teardrop goes to the
:44:23. > :44:28.string that he found the food on the last time and pulls it back and gets
:44:29. > :44:36.no reward. We reset and he comes back. This time, we see something
:44:37. > :44:44.new. He pulls a little bit but then he stops and he looks, he really
:44:45. > :44:48.looks and sniffs and it is like he is really trying to work out, he can
:44:49. > :44:52.see the little morsel committees trying to work out where the food
:44:53. > :44:57.is, he decides it is on the right-hand side and he gives it an
:44:58. > :45:00.almighty tug and get the food. We keep resetting the experiment at
:45:01. > :45:06.each time he tries, the more he does it, he gets better and better. And
:45:07. > :45:16.again, he goes back and checks which one has it and pulls the string and
:45:17. > :45:22.again, gets the reward. And it is worth it, he's got it. So this was
:45:23. > :45:27.run over six nights and he just got better and better, to the point
:45:28. > :45:33.where the last three nights, he got this right 100% of the time. Now by
:45:34. > :45:41.all accounts, it looks like Teardrop was learning so we took this to Dawn
:45:42. > :45:45.Scott and what was interesting was that she was not surprised at all
:45:46. > :45:50.because dogs can do this and of course, foxes are closely related to
:45:51. > :45:55.dogs. So we decided we had to up the ante again and we took the
:45:56. > :46:08.experiment on to phase three which involved crossing the strings like
:46:09. > :46:10.that. Leaving just one reward again. Would Teardrop figure out which
:46:11. > :46:17.string connected to the reward and pull the right string? This is
:46:18. > :46:21.something that dogs cannot do. So, Martin and Michaela, what do you
:46:22. > :46:26.think? Is Teardrop smarter than the average dog?
:46:27. > :46:38.Tricky. Definitely, yes. My dog could easily beat the fox. Mine
:46:39. > :46:41.could definitely not. We will find out, anyway. Gillian will join us on
:46:42. > :46:46.Thursday to give us the results of that final experiment. How amazing
:46:47. > :46:51.is that garden gnome, but only do they have foxes, but badgers as
:46:52. > :46:57.well. That is something Dawn Scott was interested in in the spring,
:46:58. > :47:01.when she asked for your help with a scheme she was launching called
:47:02. > :47:06.Spring tails. She wanted clips of interactions with different mammals
:47:07. > :47:12.in the garden. What was the top mammal? Who beat who when it came to
:47:13. > :47:21.food? Amazing, actually. 700 people sent in. Brilliant. It is brilliant.
:47:22. > :47:27.Thank you to everyone that sent some in. 600 were analysed. Let's look at
:47:28. > :47:32.some of them. This is from Chris down, this is cats and a fox. Keep
:47:33. > :47:39.an eye on the cat in the foreground, and look to the right of them. It
:47:40. > :47:44.was a fox. It came in and the cats saw that fox. I think that's quite
:47:45. > :47:53.surprising. I think they are ganging up. They were. Ganging up in a cruel
:47:54. > :48:00.manner. The next one is Badger versus hedgehog. He is a hedgehog
:48:01. > :48:05.and a badger badgers are often accused of eating hedgehogs. But
:48:06. > :48:09.hedgehogs are digging in! It is like a rugby scrum! I love that, that is
:48:10. > :48:14.brilliant. Do you think the Badger got up and the hedgehog was stuck to
:48:15. > :48:19.his side?! What about hedgehogs versus hedgehog
:48:20. > :48:24.'s? We had a lot of clips sent in with this. This particular clip
:48:25. > :48:37.starts off slow, give it a chance, it was viewed by 5.5 million people
:48:38. > :48:41.on Facebook. Doctor Dawn... He just face plants in the food! As well as
:48:42. > :48:49.the common animals you might expect to find in a garden, some people
:48:50. > :48:54.said in an usual clips. This is an otter. There is some food near the
:48:55. > :49:01.middle. The fox comes creeping in behind. We'll be otter comeback was
:49:02. > :49:07.not what will happen if it does? That fox is seen off! When the fox
:49:08. > :49:12.is coming, will he hope that the otter has disappeared? Yes. The
:49:13. > :49:22.otter has gone, or has he? No, he hasn't! He may be coming, but he is
:49:23. > :49:26.a bit of a wuss. A lot of people would think the fox comes out on top
:49:27. > :49:30.in these interactions, but it doesn't. Otters are tough animals
:49:31. > :49:36.when you get up close to them. It is no surprise. Do you want the
:49:37. > :49:42.results? Cats win over foxes. Badger holds the ground over cats. Badgers
:49:43. > :49:50.eat foxes. Who is the top drum? Badgers. -- top trump. Thank you for
:49:51. > :49:55.sending that in. We love it when you get involved. We are challenging you
:49:56. > :50:00.further, because yesterday, we asked you to send in clips of clever
:50:01. > :50:05.animals in your garden. Send those in and we will show them tomorrow.
:50:06. > :50:10.We want things like brainy bats. That would be good. What else could
:50:11. > :50:18.we have? Smart sparrowhawks. That type of stuff! But not dogs!
:50:19. > :50:26.Watching animals is always exciting, whether they are tiny creatures or
:50:27. > :50:33.enormous animals, Lucy Cooke went north... where is my map? Here.
:50:34. > :50:38.Right up north, this is the Isle of Arran. She got into the sea here,
:50:39. > :50:41.she saw one of the biggest animals of them all.
:50:42. > :50:48.Each summer, the world's largest aggregation of basking sharks can be
:50:49. > :50:53.seen off the Scottish coast, feeding on the plankton rich waters around
:50:54. > :51:01.the inner Hebrides. During the autumn, they migrate southwards to
:51:02. > :51:05.their wintering grounds, after reports that some may be stopping
:51:06. > :51:10.here in the Firth of Clyde, a survey was carried out last autumn, proving
:51:11. > :51:15.that a healthy number of sharks did visit last year.
:51:16. > :51:20.One year on, I am joining a research expedition to find out if the Clyde
:51:21. > :51:31.really is a migration hotspot for these ocean giants. Let's go!
:51:32. > :51:36.This is our home for the day. We are packed to the gunwales with friendly
:51:37. > :51:39.scientists and eager tourists. If there are any basking sharks out
:51:40. > :51:42.there, I hope we will spot them because we have enough eyes
:51:43. > :51:46.watching. These people have come from all over. There is someone from
:51:47. > :51:52.Norway. We have had people from Australia, America and even Thailand
:51:53. > :51:58.that have turned up. We have an incredible wildlife spectacle on our
:51:59. > :52:01.doorstop. Head guide looks sadly is in charge of monitoring the sharks,
:52:02. > :52:08.and he is building up a database of their movements. Last year, we saw
:52:09. > :52:14.over 30 shots. We catalogued 26 individuals. Hell do you identify
:52:15. > :52:20.them? We take a photograph of the basking shark. We look at the dorsal
:52:21. > :52:24.fin of the shop. This is essentially what we are looking for. We are
:52:25. > :52:29.looking for these. That is right, the basking shark dorsal fin can be
:52:30. > :52:33.up to a metre high. You have a lot of information on this fin. If you
:52:34. > :52:40.look at the surface, there is distinctive pigmentation. By
:52:41. > :52:45.triangulating these together, we can get a positive ID. You get some
:52:46. > :52:49.distinctively marked Finns. This one has a groove on the apex, hence the
:52:50. > :52:58.name, Group E. I have never seen a basking shark,
:52:59. > :53:04.and I would dearly love to see one today, what do you think our chances
:53:05. > :53:08.are? Our chances are reasonable. We are in the right place at the right
:53:09. > :53:13.time of year, it is a case of the plankton abundance being enough to
:53:14. > :53:22.fee. So we should stop talking and get back to it? Yeah. All right.
:53:23. > :53:29.A good indicator of the presence of sharks is the presence of shark
:53:30. > :53:35.food. We have got different status of pots, mainly smaller ones. At the
:53:36. > :53:40.range of under a millimetre to if you bigger ones, which are 2-3
:53:41. > :53:49.millimetres. These are the ones the sharks are after. They are tiny
:53:50. > :53:52.blobs of fat, high energy. If you consume enough, you can fuel
:53:53. > :53:57.something as large as a basking shark. Exactly.
:53:58. > :54:02.Yeah. Frustratingly, even with plankton in the area, the sharks
:54:03. > :54:05.continue to interviewed us. But that they are here at all is a minor
:54:06. > :54:10.miracle. For centuries, these beautiful animals were hunted, and
:54:11. > :54:15.the last basking shark was killed in the UK in 1994, right here in the
:54:16. > :54:19.Firth of Clyde. A hunting ban has been in place ever since. If we can
:54:20. > :54:23.prove the sharks are coming back year on year, it will show how
:54:24. > :54:28.effective that ban has been. We have been scanning the water for
:54:29. > :54:33.about five hours. I have to say I am starting to lose hope. But now the
:54:34. > :54:36.wind is coming up, and all of these waves looked like they could be
:54:37. > :54:40.Finns. The thing about basking sharks is they have been
:54:41. > :54:46.inappropriately named, because it implies they lounge around on the
:54:47. > :54:52.surface, but they only spend 10% of the time on the surface. The rest is
:54:53. > :54:56.spent much deeper, and is why they are so mysterious. I have a feeling
:54:57. > :55:05.their mysteries are going to hold for another day for me.
:55:06. > :55:10.Unfortunately, my hunch was spot on. After eight hours on the water, we
:55:11. > :55:16.headed back to shore for a debrief. The area we travelled through today
:55:17. > :55:21.are places where you have seen basking sharks before, why do you
:55:22. > :55:28.think... the guys have been working hard to work on the plankton data.
:55:29. > :55:38.Last year, we had over 6000 per cubic metre squared. Tomorrow is
:55:39. > :55:44.another day and we will be back on the water looking again, looking for
:55:45. > :55:48.Finns on the surface. It's still early days for this
:55:49. > :55:51.research project, and because the basking sharks are just passing
:55:52. > :55:58.through, they only have a really short window to gather data. So,
:55:59. > :56:03.it's easy to understand, really, how these massive animals have managed
:56:04. > :56:09.to remain so mysterious for so many years. Arles admit, I really wish
:56:10. > :56:15.I'd got to see one. But it's always good to have an excuse to come back.
:56:16. > :56:24.Have you ever seen one, Chris? I have come off the Isle of Man. I
:56:25. > :56:28.have, too. I swam with them. I spent some time out by tracing, and I
:56:29. > :56:32.spent a lot of time this year by a cafe where they do lovely green tea.
:56:33. > :56:38.You won't see a basking shark in a cafe. You can look over the water
:56:39. > :56:43.and see the Finns. Did you see one? Know, like Lucy. Why didn't Lucy C
:56:44. > :56:47.one there? It is probably because of the stormy weather. What happens is
:56:48. > :56:53.the plankton, they need it at the surface, the basking sharks. With
:56:54. > :56:58.the stormy weather, they spread over a larger area, or they can be lower.
:56:59. > :57:03.If it is 20 metres down, basking sharks are there, but you will never
:57:04. > :57:06.see them. Whilst we are on the marine environment, if you watched
:57:07. > :57:12.last night, we launched an initiative called sea bird watch. We
:57:13. > :57:21.wanted you to have us count sea birds from photographs put up. I am
:57:22. > :57:32.pleased to say, by 6p and today, 26,994 images have been processed.
:57:33. > :57:37.No less than 236 had been done by one individual. Top work! You are
:57:38. > :57:47.doing well, but you need to do better. The fate of these sorts of
:57:48. > :57:54.birds, they are adorable. Steady... They are impressive. Impressive
:57:55. > :58:00.looking at this. This is just a star. The review was of stargazing
:58:01. > :58:04.live did better armour currently, than the viewers of Autumnwatch.
:58:05. > :58:09.Please, rise to the challenge. Analyse more pictures and help these
:58:10. > :58:21.very adorable, adorable sea birds, and you will find the details on the
:58:22. > :58:26.website. Get your kids to do it. It is half term. It is a good thing to
:58:27. > :58:31.do, get them doing that. That is all we have time for. What have we got
:58:32. > :58:35.coming up tomorrow? Jullien swap 's canines for incisors, she leaves the
:58:36. > :58:38.foxes to go to Cornwall to look at Beevers.
:58:39. > :58:41.And we plunge into the depths of a puddle to find a creature that has
:58:42. > :58:48.been hanging around there since the time of the dinosaurs.
:58:49. > :58:52.Chris and I are going head to head, top gun for us. We may not be
:58:53. > :58:56.allowed to say that. We will find out the top bird, goose or Swan,
:58:57. > :59:01.tomorrow. Really looking forward to that. We hope you have enjoyed the
:59:02. > :59:04.show. We are back tomorrow night, 8pm, BBC Two. See you then. Goodbye!