0:00:02 > 0:00:04Welcome to the Cornish coast.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38The Lizard Peninsula.
0:00:42 > 0:00:46It's a remote place, and until 50 years ago, was home to a rare bird.
0:00:46 > 0:00:50These birds are still found on the Cornish coat of arms.
0:00:50 > 0:00:55But in the words of a Monty Python sketch, "They are no more.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58"They have gone to meet their maker."
0:00:58 > 0:01:01The Cornish chough has been rendered extinct.
0:01:01 > 0:01:03It has ceased to be.
0:01:03 > 0:01:05It is not pining...or is it?
0:01:07 > 0:01:10There's been a resurrection.
0:01:10 > 0:01:12Claire Mucklow from the RSPB explains.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15- Nice to meet you.- You, too. So, they're back!
0:01:15 > 0:01:18Definitely. I've just seen one. You missed it.
0:01:18 > 0:01:20- The female just went into the cave. - So how come?
0:01:20 > 0:01:24- How's it happened? - They've been extinct in Cornwall for over 50 years,
0:01:24 > 0:01:26so they're back now and breeding.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29Possibly, they've come from Brittany,
0:01:29 > 0:01:31but it's a natural re-colonisation.
0:01:31 > 0:01:35That's the fantastic thing about this story, it's not a reintroduction,
0:01:35 > 0:01:39which has happened with kites and sea eagles in other parts of the country.
0:01:39 > 0:01:43- They've come back naturally, on their own.- Fantastic.- Amazing.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46- Any sign?- Er...just, yeah.
0:01:46 > 0:01:51- Just remember...- Where? Where? - The cave with the arch...- Yeah.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54- That dark arch.- Yeah. - There's a little slope there.
0:01:54 > 0:01:58It's just perched. Quite difficult to see at the moment.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01- Can you see?- Yes.- Just in the corner.
0:02:01 > 0:02:05- Got ya! How did they come by the name?- We don't really know.
0:02:05 > 0:02:10When they call, they make a sound which sounds like "choww", so...
0:02:10 > 0:02:13- That sort of Italian theme going on. - No...maybe.
0:02:13 > 0:02:15BIRD CALLS
0:02:15 > 0:02:18She spends a lot of time looking after her feathers,
0:02:18 > 0:02:20because she's been sitting.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23- The chicks are still quite young, so...- Well, she's an Italian woman.
0:02:23 > 0:02:26No, she's not! No, she's Cornish!
0:02:26 > 0:02:28The grass is nice and short here! Ciao!
0:02:28 > 0:02:31THEY LAUGH I think it's my dodgy impression.
0:02:31 > 0:02:32- Ciao! - THEY LAUGH
0:02:40 > 0:02:43Mike and Alex Lord, and their dog, William,
0:02:43 > 0:02:46were the first to discover the choughs in 2002
0:02:46 > 0:02:50and are now part of a loyal group called Choughwatch.
0:02:50 > 0:02:54- Hello!- Hello!- Hi. - What is Choughwatch?
0:02:54 > 0:02:58Choughwatch is protecting the birds,
0:02:58 > 0:03:00from possible egg collectors,
0:03:00 > 0:03:0324 hours a day, that's night and day,
0:03:03 > 0:03:08and we have a fantastic band of loyal, wonderful, keen bird watchers
0:03:08 > 0:03:09who will do it.
0:03:09 > 0:03:13The RSPB put different coloured rings on the new choughs,
0:03:13 > 0:03:15so they can keep track of their movements.
0:03:15 > 0:03:19It's given rise to an interesting roll call.
0:03:19 > 0:03:21First year might name them after cricketers.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24The first one out was white over green, so he became WG.
0:03:24 > 0:03:29The second was brown over lime, so he became Brian Lara, and so on.
0:03:29 > 0:03:35I regard them as my sort of grandchildren, grandchoughs, really!
0:03:35 > 0:03:37But why have they come back?
0:03:37 > 0:03:43Farmers in the 19th century used to graze their cattle on the cliff side, keeping the vegetation short.
0:03:43 > 0:03:47But then it became easier and more convenient to graze inland.
0:03:47 > 0:03:52Choughs need access to very short grass.
0:03:52 > 0:03:54They can't feed in scrub.
0:03:54 > 0:03:55So choughs are choosy.
0:03:55 > 0:03:59I suppose they are, that's a good way of putting it. They're specialists.
0:03:59 > 0:04:01So over the last 10, 20 years,
0:04:01 > 0:04:05they've been putting animals back on the cliffs - ponies, cattle,
0:04:05 > 0:04:10some sheep - just to try and get all that scrub bashed back, really.
0:04:10 > 0:04:12It's worked! They're here! SHE LAUGHS
0:04:12 > 0:04:15These aren't just any choughs, these are Cornish choughs!
0:04:15 > 0:04:18- In Cornwall!- That they are, indeed!
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