0:00:02 > 0:00:03I'm Gordon Buchanan.
0:00:05 > 0:00:09I've filmed the most amazing creatures on the planet.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12Wow. These are animals that have killed people.
0:00:13 > 0:00:18But for me some of the best wildlife is right here on our doorstep...
0:00:20 > 0:00:23..and I'd like some of our best-loved household names
0:00:23 > 0:00:25to experience it as I do.
0:00:25 > 0:00:27It's just awe-inspiring.
0:00:27 > 0:00:28- That was unbelievable.- I know.
0:00:28 > 0:00:31- Beautiful.- Oh, what an experience.
0:00:31 > 0:00:34I could spend weeks or even months
0:00:34 > 0:00:36tracking down these elusive creatures.
0:00:36 > 0:00:40This time, I have just three days.
0:00:40 > 0:00:43This could be the biggest challenge of my career.
0:00:53 > 0:00:55I'm in the south-east of England.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00This is unfamiliar territory for me,
0:01:00 > 0:01:03but it's home to a man who was studying horticulture,
0:01:03 > 0:01:06and threw it all in to do stand-up.
0:01:08 > 0:01:15Ed Byrne, Irish comedian, radio and TV show regular, and king of comedy.
0:01:15 > 0:01:17We found a cat by our bins.
0:01:17 > 0:01:19He looked hungry, so now he lives with us.
0:01:19 > 0:01:21LAUGHTER
0:01:21 > 0:01:23You wouldn't do that for a human being, would you?
0:01:23 > 0:01:25All right, mate, what are you doing by the bins?
0:01:25 > 0:01:27You all right there? What are you doing?
0:01:27 > 0:01:29You're just hungry, are you?
0:01:29 > 0:01:31Do you want to live in the house?
0:01:32 > 0:01:35He started his career on the club circuit,
0:01:35 > 0:01:38and now he performs sell-out tours all over the world.
0:01:39 > 0:01:41'But will I be able to convert him
0:01:41 > 0:01:45'to the less high-octane pursuit of wildlife watching?'
0:01:45 > 0:01:48Are you into wildlife? Where's your, kind of, sort of, interest?
0:01:48 > 0:01:51I have to admit I don't really know a great deal about wildlife.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54I sometimes just feel a bit overwhelmed
0:01:54 > 0:01:56by the amount there is to know.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59For the next three days we're going to be in Essex,
0:01:59 > 0:02:01a county to the north-east of London.
0:02:02 > 0:02:06It's one of England's largest local authorities -
0:02:06 > 0:02:101,300 square miles and home to just under 1.4 million people.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16We'll start our journey in Epping Forest where we'll be looking for
0:02:16 > 0:02:19parakeets and the elusive fallow deer.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24On our second day, I'm hoping we spot
0:02:24 > 0:02:27the spectacular bird life on Two Tree Island.
0:02:29 > 0:02:32Then we'll head back to the city where I'd like Ed to have
0:02:32 > 0:02:34a close encounter with badgers and foxes.
0:02:40 > 0:02:44Even though Essex is only 40 miles from central London,
0:02:44 > 0:02:46over 70% of the county is rural.
0:03:02 > 0:03:05Right. What's the plan, then?
0:03:05 > 0:03:09You should be showing me the map, as this is effectively your...
0:03:09 > 0:03:11- My manor?- Your homeland.
0:03:11 > 0:03:13When you look at a map like this,
0:03:13 > 0:03:15you kind of see all these built-up areas,
0:03:15 > 0:03:18all these roads, there's railway lines, there's motorways,
0:03:18 > 0:03:21and you think it's quite possibly the last place
0:03:21 > 0:03:24you'd go to find wild animals.
0:03:24 > 0:03:28- Yeah.- But there are still, kind of, lots of green spaces.
0:03:28 > 0:03:30Nature reserves.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33- So what are we hoping to see, then? - Right, in no particular order.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36- Foxes.- OK, I've seen foxes around here, yes.
0:03:36 > 0:03:38- Badgers.- I've seen badgers.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41Seen mainly dead ones, but do see the occasional live one.
0:03:41 > 0:03:46- Fallow deer.- Yeah, as I say, I used to see fallow deer more often,
0:03:46 > 0:03:48you know, just leaping across the farmland,
0:03:48 > 0:03:50and I haven't seen one in ages.
0:03:50 > 0:03:52What I hope to do with you is to try
0:03:52 > 0:03:55and get you closer to a lot of these animals
0:03:55 > 0:03:57that you may have seen before,
0:03:57 > 0:04:00but just to kind of enhance that experience.
0:04:03 > 0:04:05It's not a competition or anything.
0:04:05 > 0:04:07No, no.
0:04:07 > 0:04:08But I did win.
0:04:13 > 0:04:17So, I have just three days to find animals that are relatively common.
0:04:19 > 0:04:23There's wildlife all around us if you know where to look for it.
0:04:23 > 0:04:25But I don't have to tell Ed that.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28He's a keen walker and loves the great outdoors.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36Time to get away into the wilderness is rare,
0:04:36 > 0:04:39and sometimes you don't have quite enough of it.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43So when I do get the chance to, you know, go up into the Highlands,
0:04:43 > 0:04:45you slow down, you'll be looking at the scenery.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48And now it's like, people in front of me slowing down to look at the
0:04:48 > 0:04:50scenery, and I'm like, "Come on!
0:04:50 > 0:04:54"Get out of the way! I am in a hurry to go and enjoy the solitude
0:04:54 > 0:04:56"and majesty of the Highlands!"
0:05:01 > 0:05:06Epping Forest in south-west Essex is an area of ancient woodland.
0:05:06 > 0:05:0812 miles long by two-and-a-half miles wide.
0:05:10 > 0:05:14It's also home to a colony of rare fallow dear.
0:05:16 > 0:05:19- Lovely day for it. - I know, it's glorious.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24Fallow deer are one of six species found in the UK,
0:05:24 > 0:05:27but only red and roe deer are native.
0:05:27 > 0:05:31The Normans brought them in the 11th century.
0:05:31 > 0:05:33They were packing their swords, and bows and arrows
0:05:33 > 0:05:34but they obviously had thought,
0:05:34 > 0:05:37"Right, let's take some deer as well."
0:05:37 > 0:05:39Because we might get bored.
0:05:39 > 0:05:41'So many deer were killed on the forest roads
0:05:41 > 0:05:45'that they set up a sanctuary in 1959 to protect them.'
0:05:46 > 0:05:48It's got everything that they need right here,
0:05:48 > 0:05:52so they've got these open grasslands, they've got tree cover.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56It's perfect for them. Let's have a little look down in the woods.
0:05:59 > 0:06:03'Autumn, during the rut, is the best time to see them.'
0:06:03 > 0:06:06So this is where these males with the big antlers
0:06:06 > 0:06:09had been coming up and they've actually been
0:06:09 > 0:06:11doing a little bit of fallow deer shadow-boxing.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14They kind of come up and start fighting, fighting the bushes.
0:06:14 > 0:06:16- Knocking their antlers against it. - Yeah.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19So bearing in mind what a deer will do to a tree
0:06:19 > 0:06:21that was clearly minding its own business,
0:06:21 > 0:06:25is there any chance of them having a pop at, say, a human being?
0:06:25 > 0:06:27It's highly unlikely.
0:06:27 > 0:06:31People have been injured by deer species in this rut period
0:06:31 > 0:06:33because they are more aggressive.
0:06:33 > 0:06:35What you're saying then is it's unlikely that one
0:06:35 > 0:06:36would get attacked by a deer,
0:06:36 > 0:06:38but if you're going to be attacked by a deer,
0:06:38 > 0:06:40- it would be at this time of the year?- Yeah.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43So we're in the right place, at the right time,
0:06:43 > 0:06:45- if you want to be attacked by a deer.- Good, good.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51It might spook the deer if we headed straight towards them,
0:06:51 > 0:06:55so instead we skirt around the edges of the tree line.
0:06:55 > 0:06:59# Through autumn's golden gown we used to kick our way. #
0:06:59 > 0:07:01I don't know that one. Is that one of your own?
0:07:01 > 0:07:03# You always loved this time of year. #
0:07:03 > 0:07:05No, War Of The Worlds.
0:07:05 > 0:07:09'I think I did mention that deer are easily spooked.'
0:07:09 > 0:07:10Wow.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22Dark-coloured fallow dear were brought over from Scandinavia
0:07:22 > 0:07:23by James I.
0:07:24 > 0:07:28And these deer are their direct descendants.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39Right, see how they're all bunched up like that?
0:07:40 > 0:07:43It seems like the males are herding the females around.
0:07:43 > 0:07:45Yeah, just circling the wagons.
0:07:45 > 0:07:49What they don't want to happen is for the whole herd to disperse.
0:07:49 > 0:07:52It's about trying to keep an eye on everyone.
0:07:56 > 0:07:57When they're 15-months-old,
0:07:57 > 0:08:00the young bucks grow their first set of antlers
0:08:00 > 0:08:01to prepare them for the rut.
0:08:02 > 0:08:06Some of the antlers on the deer are massive.
0:08:06 > 0:08:08Yeah, they are huge.
0:08:08 > 0:08:12And if you think that they grow them every single year.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18When they actually reach that size the circulation gets cut off,
0:08:18 > 0:08:19and when the rut's over...
0:08:20 > 0:08:22..they just fall off.
0:08:29 > 0:08:31That's from a youngster.
0:08:31 > 0:08:34You know, a couple of years old.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37It's quite hard to find like a perfect set of antlers
0:08:37 > 0:08:38lying out in the open
0:08:38 > 0:08:42because they chew the ends off them, because they can get nutrients
0:08:42 > 0:08:44and get minerals from the antlers.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47You can see the sort of...see that.
0:08:47 > 0:08:48See, that's interesting.
0:08:48 > 0:08:49There you go.
0:08:49 > 0:08:52I didn't mean to sound like everything else you said wasn't.
0:08:52 > 0:08:53I love that kind of thing.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59The rut starts in late-September and peaks in mid-October.
0:09:01 > 0:09:05So the bucks compete to mate with as many does as they can.
0:09:07 > 0:09:11This big fellow's warning the others that this is his territory,
0:09:11 > 0:09:13so back off.
0:09:16 > 0:09:18DEER BELLOWS
0:09:18 > 0:09:19That's great.
0:09:19 > 0:09:21Two stags are having a row.
0:09:24 > 0:09:27They're really low to the ground, aren't they, when they do this.
0:09:30 > 0:09:32- See, the other... Wow, did you see that?- Wow!
0:09:35 > 0:09:38- Just knocked him straight on his...- On his arse.
0:09:40 > 0:09:42Everything that's going on in their lives at the moment
0:09:42 > 0:09:43is vitally important.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47What they want to do is have this kind of immortality
0:09:47 > 0:09:49- by passing their genes on.- Yeah.
0:09:49 > 0:09:53And they can only do that by just fighting their way to the top.
0:09:53 > 0:09:55They're doing a little bit of...
0:09:55 > 0:09:57Maybe they're just bumping up close to each other.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00It looked like some of them are trying to climb up...
0:10:00 > 0:10:02Trying to initiate coitus.
0:10:06 > 0:10:08'Now that the deer are used to us,
0:10:08 > 0:10:10'I'd like Ed to have an even closer encounter.'
0:10:12 > 0:10:15Right, actually, I'm going to stop and hunker down a little bit.
0:10:21 > 0:10:22He looks really tired.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27- He's going to be completely spent. - Right.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30And if he's managed to mate with ten females,
0:10:30 > 0:10:33and he's feeling tired, that's when, basically,
0:10:33 > 0:10:35his testosterone levels start dipping
0:10:35 > 0:10:37and he just takes himself away.
0:10:37 > 0:10:39He's given it his best shot.
0:10:40 > 0:10:42When they mate with, say, ten females,
0:10:42 > 0:10:46they do that over what kind of timeframe?
0:10:46 > 0:10:48They do that in a day, over the course of a week?
0:10:48 > 0:10:50I think ten in a day,
0:10:50 > 0:10:54yeah, for the right guy is not going to be a problem.
0:10:54 > 0:10:57- Wow, that's impressive.- Yeah.
0:10:57 > 0:11:00Do you think that they're just moving away because they can sense
0:11:00 > 0:11:03- what alpha males we both are? - Probably.
0:11:03 > 0:11:05'This is a great start.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08'Bringing Ed close to the wildlife is what this trip is all about,
0:11:08 > 0:11:11'and there's a lot more I'd like him to see.'
0:11:17 > 0:11:20'So, we head to another part of Epping Forest,
0:11:20 > 0:11:24'where I'd like to show him another animal that's not native to the UK.'
0:11:28 > 0:11:30Right, I take the slippy route.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33'You'd be more likely to find this next creature
0:11:33 > 0:11:34'in abundance across Asia.'
0:11:36 > 0:11:38Obviously these are alien invaders, technically.
0:11:39 > 0:11:43At this time of day, what are we? Just before sunset.
0:11:43 > 0:11:45They will be roosting up.
0:11:45 > 0:11:47So we might hear them if they are already in the tree,
0:11:47 > 0:11:49or we might see them flying in.
0:11:57 > 0:11:58There you go. Right there.
0:12:00 > 0:12:02'Ring-necked parakeets.
0:12:03 > 0:12:05'Quite at home in Essex.'
0:12:06 > 0:12:08Let's have a little wander round.
0:12:11 > 0:12:13There... Hang on.
0:12:13 > 0:12:15Yeah.
0:12:16 > 0:12:18There's one up there. Can you see it?
0:12:23 > 0:12:27'Ring-necked parakeets have been popular pets since Victorian times,
0:12:27 > 0:12:30'but only started breeding in the wild in 1969.'
0:12:30 > 0:12:33They're pretty. They're really lovely little birds.
0:12:34 > 0:12:37'Now there are up to 50,000 of them,
0:12:37 > 0:12:41'living mainly in the south-east of England.'
0:12:41 > 0:12:44They eat berries, apples, cherries, pears.
0:12:44 > 0:12:47If you had a nice little orchard in your garden,
0:12:47 > 0:12:51and you had 30 of these guys showing up they would kind of...
0:12:51 > 0:12:54- That would be bad news. - It would be bad news.
0:12:54 > 0:12:56They're warm-climate parrots?
0:12:56 > 0:12:58- Yeah.- But they're happy enough here.
0:13:00 > 0:13:03So the fact that it's a little bit chillier than, you know,
0:13:03 > 0:13:06where they come from originally, it doesn't matter.
0:13:06 > 0:13:09They must be kind of thinking it. They must be chatting.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12"I mean, the food's good here, but is anybody else cold?
0:13:12 > 0:13:14"I'm... Are you cold? I'm cold."
0:13:16 > 0:13:17- There we go.- There you go.
0:13:21 > 0:13:23There is actually some good myths
0:13:23 > 0:13:27about how they came to be living in this part of the world,
0:13:27 > 0:13:30but the best one is that Jimi Hendrix released two parakeets
0:13:30 > 0:13:34on Carnaby Street, which he actually did do,
0:13:34 > 0:13:36but then that gave rise to
0:13:36 > 0:13:40the 50,000 or so parakeets living in the area.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43So they're all from the exact same genetic breeding pair.
0:13:43 > 0:13:44Thanks to Jimi Hendrix.
0:13:51 > 0:13:53I feel like we're doing quite well already, though.
0:13:53 > 0:13:55You know, it's like, we're going to go see some deer.
0:13:55 > 0:13:57Let's go see some deer. There they are.
0:13:57 > 0:13:58- Deer.- You're with a pro.
0:13:58 > 0:14:01I've heard there's a place we can go see some parakeets.
0:14:01 > 0:14:03Here we go. Five minutes in - parakeets. Bosh.
0:14:06 > 0:14:08It's one of my best parakeet sightings.
0:14:10 > 0:14:12- But I haven't had that many.- Right.
0:14:12 > 0:14:17I think I want a lot, I want no less than 100,
0:14:17 > 0:14:18and I want them all together,
0:14:18 > 0:14:22and their sort of chirping and chatting to be deafening.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25I want to see them mating, I want to see them build a nest.
0:14:25 > 0:14:28I want to see them rescue a child from a river.
0:14:32 > 0:14:34I think it may be your lot this evening.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37But that doesn't mean the end, Ed.
0:14:37 > 0:14:38What next? What now?
0:14:38 > 0:14:40There's the creatures of the night.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44- It is Halloween, you know? - I know, yeah.
0:14:49 > 0:14:52Here in Essex, there's wildlife all around us,
0:14:52 > 0:14:53even in the built-up areas.
0:14:55 > 0:14:59So we're off to Harlow in the west of Essex to meet Brian Owens.
0:14:59 > 0:15:03He's had as many as 12 foxes visiting his garden at any one time.
0:15:05 > 0:15:09This does not feel like a place for spotting wildlife at all.
0:15:09 > 0:15:11Hi there. How you doing? I'm Gordon.
0:15:11 > 0:15:14- I know you are.- Nice to meet you. - And you.
0:15:15 > 0:15:18- How you doing? I'm Ed.- How are you? - Hello.
0:15:20 > 0:15:23Is this what you envisaged, Ed, when you agreed to do this?
0:15:23 > 0:15:26- That we'd be poking around somebody's back garden?- Yeah.
0:15:28 > 0:15:32'With an infrared camera, we head out to look for signs of the foxes.
0:15:35 > 0:15:39'Foxes first started colonising urban areas in the 1940s.
0:15:39 > 0:15:43'Now there are around 33,000 of them in our towns and cities
0:15:43 > 0:15:44'all over the UK.'
0:15:46 > 0:15:48That is absolutely perfect for foxes,
0:15:48 > 0:15:52because it's somewhere sort of safe and wooded, to retreat to.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55They'll have a den here, they can raise cubs.
0:15:55 > 0:15:57At the end of Brian's garden,
0:15:57 > 0:15:59that's where they can probably get
0:15:59 > 0:16:02a significant amount of their food for the night.
0:16:02 > 0:16:04'Foxes are hunters and scavengers.
0:16:04 > 0:16:06'They'll eat everything from small mammals,
0:16:06 > 0:16:08'to insects to discarded food.'
0:16:08 > 0:16:11The fox that finds a bag of chips on the street,
0:16:11 > 0:16:14it'll pick it up and run away and find somewhere, some cover,
0:16:14 > 0:16:16and they can eat it there.
0:16:16 > 0:16:18There was some rubbish just up behind the fence.
0:16:18 > 0:16:19- Oh, really?- Up that way.
0:16:19 > 0:16:22There was quite a lot of rubbish, I thought.
0:16:23 > 0:16:26What do you reckon to the foxy smell?
0:16:26 > 0:16:28Right here it's really strong,
0:16:28 > 0:16:30and it's got a kind of like, kind of a...
0:16:31 > 0:16:34..public phone box on a Saturday night type smell.
0:16:35 > 0:16:39They've got these anal glands that they scent mark,
0:16:39 > 0:16:42and it's just part of their territorial behaviour.
0:16:45 > 0:16:51At night-time, this is sort of a big fox playground.
0:16:51 > 0:16:52Right.
0:16:53 > 0:16:54So where are they, then?
0:16:55 > 0:16:58I would be astounded if they didn't show up.
0:16:58 > 0:17:02'Fox activity is generally predictable, but human activity...'
0:17:02 > 0:17:03BANGING
0:17:03 > 0:17:04'..less so.'
0:17:04 > 0:17:06BANGING CONTINUES
0:17:07 > 0:17:09It's not fireworks night,
0:17:09 > 0:17:11but there's a lot of fireworks going off,
0:17:11 > 0:17:15- and that will definitely have an impact.- It's Halloween in Harlow.
0:17:15 > 0:17:17EERIE MUSIC
0:17:19 > 0:17:22I think we should get into the garden...
0:17:22 > 0:17:24- And wait there.- ..and wait it out.
0:17:27 > 0:17:29'It's not something I do in my garden,
0:17:29 > 0:17:31'but Brian loves these foxes,
0:17:31 > 0:17:34'and really enjoys encouraging them into his garden.'
0:17:38 > 0:17:42On a typical night I probably leave
0:17:42 > 0:17:47peanuts and an assortment of raisins and sultanas...
0:17:48 > 0:17:54..with the occasional sandwiches with peanut butter.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57And some liver maybe.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00Have you got a kind of fox food budget per week?
0:18:00 > 0:18:03Oh, that's a tricky question, that one.
0:18:03 > 0:18:05It doesn't feel like the most expensive hobby in the world,
0:18:05 > 0:18:09compared to racehorses, say. You know?
0:18:09 > 0:18:12It's really, it's a passion of mine and I like to put the food out,
0:18:12 > 0:18:15and if it costs me a couple of pounds a night maybe.
0:18:15 > 0:18:19- Shall we put this food out? - Yeah.- Chuck a bit out.
0:18:19 > 0:18:24These are going to be the best fed foxes in Essex. They have to be.
0:18:24 > 0:18:28Do you have to be careful not to put too much down in case you get rats?
0:18:28 > 0:18:30There is no surplus left in the morning,
0:18:30 > 0:18:31so there's nothing left for rats
0:18:31 > 0:18:33Is this a first for you, Ed?
0:18:33 > 0:18:35Throwing out sandwiches.
0:18:35 > 0:18:39In another man's garden. At this time of night.
0:18:39 > 0:18:42- Fabulous. - Let's get our fox watch on.
0:18:42 > 0:18:44'We settle down on Brian's patio.
0:18:45 > 0:18:47'On his gate is a night-vision camera,
0:18:47 > 0:18:50'which lets him see what's going on outside his garden.'
0:18:52 > 0:18:55It's quite good because this camera is going to give us
0:18:55 > 0:18:56a little bit of pre-warning.
0:18:59 > 0:19:02A bottle of Scotch would probably make this whole thing
0:19:02 > 0:19:04feel a lot less pointless.
0:19:04 > 0:19:06It has been known.
0:19:06 > 0:19:09It certainly would help me with my optimism.
0:19:09 > 0:19:12It has a tendency to have that effect.
0:19:25 > 0:19:27'Come on, Foxy.'
0:19:32 > 0:19:34WHISPERS: OK, I can see him, look.
0:19:36 > 0:19:39Just bottom left-hand side of the door.
0:19:42 > 0:19:46The fireworks seemed to have died down a bit,
0:19:46 > 0:19:49and I wonder if he's just been sitting,
0:19:49 > 0:19:51kind of cowering in a bush somewhere.
0:19:53 > 0:19:55Come on, fox, in you come.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05The majority of the food is in the garden through the gate,
0:20:05 > 0:20:08so I'm hoping it's just that little bit of enticement
0:20:08 > 0:20:10for him to come in.
0:20:15 > 0:20:16BANGING
0:20:18 > 0:20:20Oh, you git.
0:20:22 > 0:20:23He'll be back.
0:20:23 > 0:20:26'And it isn't long before he re-emerges.'
0:20:28 > 0:20:31Just come into the garden. Come on.
0:20:39 > 0:20:40There's another one.
0:20:53 > 0:20:56Oh, look, there he comes.
0:20:57 > 0:20:59There you go... He's...
0:20:59 > 0:21:01BANGING
0:21:02 > 0:21:05Come on.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08The fox was virtually in the garden and then the biggest firework
0:21:08 > 0:21:10of the night went off and he ran away again.
0:21:11 > 0:21:15We might have picked the wrong night for fox watching.
0:21:20 > 0:21:21In you come. Come on.
0:21:21 > 0:21:24'A fox's territory can cover up to 40 acres,
0:21:24 > 0:21:28'and in urban areas that means up to 400 gardens.'
0:21:29 > 0:21:32There he comes. Look.
0:21:36 > 0:21:38He's looking at us,
0:21:38 > 0:21:41but he's quite happily munching away.
0:21:41 > 0:21:43There you go.
0:21:44 > 0:21:46He's getting bolder and bolder.
0:21:47 > 0:21:49BANGING
0:21:56 > 0:22:00I didn't anticipate the whole evening being disrupted by
0:22:00 > 0:22:03what sounds like some kind of civil war taking place.
0:22:06 > 0:22:10You've never been to Harlow on a Saturday night before?
0:22:10 > 0:22:15In the time we've given it, we've done quite well.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18I am content, if it wasn't for the fireworks going off,
0:22:18 > 0:22:20we'd probably have seen more foxes.
0:22:20 > 0:22:22ED YAWNS
0:22:22 > 0:22:24That yawn tells me it's time to go.
0:22:26 > 0:22:28It's official.
0:22:28 > 0:22:29That's been a good...
0:22:31 > 0:22:36..good first day, I reckon.
0:22:36 > 0:22:39Goodnight, foxes, wherever you are, if you're still there.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50'It's the second day of my road trip with Ed.
0:22:51 > 0:22:55'And we're off to Two Tree island in the south-east of Essex,
0:22:55 > 0:22:57'which is legendary for its birdlife.'
0:22:58 > 0:23:00It was called Two Tree Island because
0:23:00 > 0:23:03there used to be two trees there, but they both blew down,
0:23:03 > 0:23:05so it should really be called No Tree Island.
0:23:05 > 0:23:08Really, no effort has gone into the naming of that island in the first place.
0:23:09 > 0:23:12'Even if it's hard to make it out in all this fog.'
0:23:14 > 0:23:15OK.
0:23:16 > 0:23:18So, Ed, welcome to Two Tree Island.
0:23:20 > 0:23:21It's not the best conditions.
0:23:23 > 0:23:26'Like many Essex coastal sites, this area was reclaimed
0:23:26 > 0:23:28'from the sea in the 1800s.
0:23:30 > 0:23:34'Now the 640-acre island is a nature reserve.'
0:23:35 > 0:23:40It is a really great place at this time of year for migratory birds.
0:23:40 > 0:23:43What is it about this place that they like?
0:23:43 > 0:23:45Maybe they like the fact they can hide in the fog.
0:23:47 > 0:23:54Talking of hiding, we may well need a little bit of additional clothing.
0:23:54 > 0:23:56Have you worn a ghillie suit before?
0:23:56 > 0:23:58No, is that like camouflage?
0:23:58 > 0:24:00It's the ultimate in camouflage.
0:24:02 > 0:24:04We will literally disappear.
0:24:04 > 0:24:05Oh, my...
0:24:06 > 0:24:08I'm hoping it's going to burn off.
0:24:08 > 0:24:09That the sun's going to get up.
0:24:09 > 0:24:12There's a little bit. Do you think that's bluish?
0:24:12 > 0:24:14I think it will, I really do.
0:24:14 > 0:24:18- Is this your optimism kicking in?- This is my optimism kicking in.
0:24:18 > 0:24:22These mudflats are teeming with clams, shrimps and worms.
0:24:23 > 0:24:25It's the perfect diet for the local bird population.
0:24:26 > 0:24:29- I believe, is that a curlew? - It is, yeah.
0:24:30 > 0:24:32Come on.
0:24:32 > 0:24:34- Well done.- Feel my bird knowledge!
0:24:36 > 0:24:38Curlew are the largest European wading bird,
0:24:38 > 0:24:42and you can find them all round the British coastline.
0:24:42 > 0:24:44We are ahead of the game.
0:24:46 > 0:24:48- Herring gull!- No, sorry.
0:24:48 > 0:24:50It's a common gull.
0:24:50 > 0:24:51Common gull, is it?
0:24:53 > 0:24:56- At least I didn't say seagull.- Yeah.
0:24:56 > 0:24:58There's no such thing.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01You know, the reason I know there's no such thing as a seagull is
0:25:01 > 0:25:04a great comedian, Mitch Hedberg, used to have a joke that went,
0:25:04 > 0:25:07"I saw a seagull by a lake the other day, I said, 'It's OK, little brother,
0:25:07 > 0:25:09"'I won't tell nobody.'"
0:25:09 > 0:25:11It was just a nice little joke,
0:25:11 > 0:25:13and I told it to somebody and they just went,
0:25:13 > 0:25:17"Yeah, except there's not actually any such thing as a seagull."
0:25:18 > 0:25:19Still a good joke!
0:25:20 > 0:25:25- Should we get super-nerdy and put on our ghillie suits?- Oh, go on, then.
0:25:27 > 0:25:29One theory is that ghillie suits were first worn
0:25:29 > 0:25:32by gamekeepers on their lookout for poachers.
0:25:35 > 0:25:38- Watch us disappear.- Fashion alert.
0:25:45 > 0:25:47Are you into fashion?
0:25:47 > 0:25:49- Where are you, Gordon? I hear your voice.- I can see you.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52I hear your voice, but I can't see you.
0:25:52 > 0:25:56I'm not saying that as soon as we kind of gear up
0:25:56 > 0:26:01- that we're going to be surrounded by thousands of...- Women.- ..birds.
0:26:04 > 0:26:08That is a very, very good look.
0:26:10 > 0:26:13I don't know why it makes me want to do that.
0:26:25 > 0:26:30'Despite my earlier optimism, the fog isn't lifting.'
0:26:30 > 0:26:33There's something quite soothing about a fog horn, I think.
0:26:33 > 0:26:35Well, certainly when you're in the fog.
0:26:38 > 0:26:42The one bird that I really want to see is an avocet.
0:26:42 > 0:26:46- They're the emblem of the RSPB... - Yeah, black and white one.
0:26:46 > 0:26:51..logo, yeah. And as far as birds go they are, you know, unmistakable,
0:26:51 > 0:26:53they're very recognisable.
0:26:56 > 0:26:59Look, so we've got an egret. See the egret coming in?
0:26:59 > 0:27:03Egrets have been increasing in numbers in the south of England,
0:27:03 > 0:27:07and they've moved over from Europe.
0:27:07 > 0:27:10You know what, I'm sorry to interrupt you there,
0:27:10 > 0:27:13but you know what I think is over there? An avocet.
0:27:17 > 0:27:23- You are right. See the length of the avocet's legs?- Yeah.
0:27:23 > 0:27:28These wading birds spend most of their time in the shallows
0:27:28 > 0:27:30looking for little molluscs and worms.
0:27:30 > 0:27:34'Avocets use that unusual beak like tweezers,
0:27:34 > 0:27:37'to pick out individual prey.
0:27:38 > 0:27:42'But the Victorians took a liking to collecting their eggs.'
0:27:42 > 0:27:47By late 1800s, they were all wiped out.
0:27:48 > 0:27:53In the Second World War, as part of their defences of the East Coast,
0:27:53 > 0:27:57they re-flooded areas of eastern England
0:27:57 > 0:28:01to prevent the Nazi invasion,
0:28:01 > 0:28:04and in doing so they kind of re-established
0:28:04 > 0:28:06this sort of perfect avocet breeding ground.
0:28:08 > 0:28:10Their numbers have built up.
0:28:15 > 0:28:19But despite our cunning use of camouflage,
0:28:19 > 0:28:22the birdlife seems to have stopped drifting in.
0:28:22 > 0:28:25And Ed is losing focus.
0:28:32 > 0:28:33Do you know what I'm doing?
0:28:33 > 0:28:37I'm just closing my eyes so I can use my other senses.
0:28:37 > 0:28:39I am at one with the earth right now.
0:28:41 > 0:28:43'And before I lose Ed completely...'
0:28:43 > 0:28:51I'm thinking maybe the hide is a little bit higher up and we can see over those little islands.
0:28:51 > 0:28:53- That's my plan.- You're the boss.
0:29:01 > 0:29:04Really, if we'd just come here when the tide was further in,
0:29:04 > 0:29:06and the whole place wasn't covered in a blanket of fog,
0:29:06 > 0:29:10we'd have done infinitely better, wearing hi-viz jackets and walking
0:29:10 > 0:29:13around letting off firecrackers.
0:29:16 > 0:29:18'When I'm filming wildlife,
0:29:18 > 0:29:23'I always try to get as close to them as possible.'
0:29:23 > 0:29:26I know that you probably think this is the sensible thing to do,
0:29:26 > 0:29:29and it is, but actually, I'd rather lie out in the long grass,
0:29:29 > 0:29:31wearing a ghillie suit.
0:29:32 > 0:29:36I understand what you're saying. I think the idea of hides are great.
0:29:42 > 0:29:46That is...a redshank.
0:29:49 > 0:29:51Few ducks there.
0:29:53 > 0:29:55'And the birds just keep coming.'
0:29:56 > 0:30:01There's an avocet has just shown up over there.
0:30:01 > 0:30:04So this is officially the closest I've ever been
0:30:04 > 0:30:06to one of those birds.
0:30:15 > 0:30:17Coming into the hide was the best thing to do.
0:30:22 > 0:30:26'I'm really glad I was able to show Ed some bird life.
0:30:29 > 0:30:31'But if the fog doesn't lift,
0:30:31 > 0:30:34'the rest of the day is going to be a challenge.'
0:30:38 > 0:30:45'So we head north to hunt for more of the county's critters.'
0:30:45 > 0:30:48You mentioned that Essex is fabulously flat.
0:30:48 > 0:30:50Yes, you'll just have to take my word for it.
0:30:50 > 0:30:54But behind this fog will be a flat landscape.
0:30:54 > 0:30:59This part is particularly flat because this is our next location,
0:30:59 > 0:31:02we're at Stow Maries Aerodrome,
0:31:02 > 0:31:09which is the best example of a First World War aerodrome in Europe.
0:31:09 > 0:31:12Now, I'm not an expert, clearly,
0:31:12 > 0:31:15but I'd have thought a very bad place for spotting birds would be an aerodrome.
0:31:15 > 0:31:22No, not at all, because it ceased to be a military or RAF aerodrome just after the First World War,
0:31:22 > 0:31:25and it's basically been handed over to nature.
0:31:25 > 0:31:27So, welcome.
0:31:27 > 0:31:29I wish we could see a bit more of it.
0:31:29 > 0:31:31That would be nice.
0:31:41 > 0:31:45The Germans started bombing the British mainland in 1915.
0:31:45 > 0:31:47And this aerodrome was used as a base
0:31:47 > 0:31:49from which to defend the capital.
0:31:54 > 0:31:58After the war it gradually fell into disrepair,
0:31:58 > 0:32:02making it the perfect place for all sorts of wildlife.
0:32:11 > 0:32:16Sunset is the time when hares, foxes and badgers all come to life.
0:32:21 > 0:32:23And this thermal imaging camera,
0:32:23 > 0:32:25which can quite literally see in the dark,
0:32:25 > 0:32:29gives us our best chance of spotting them.
0:32:29 > 0:32:30What is it, Spock?
0:32:32 > 0:32:35- There you go.- That's a rabbit, isn't it?- That's a bunny rabbit.
0:32:35 > 0:32:39Oh, it's a bunny rabbit. Are we using technical terms, are we? OK.
0:32:39 > 0:32:43The remarkable thing about this particular bunny rabbit
0:32:43 > 0:32:48is the visibility is, what, less than 15 metres?
0:32:48 > 0:32:50But this thermal camera is seeing
0:32:50 > 0:32:53the heat that this rabbit is giving off,
0:32:53 > 0:32:54and it's cutting through all of that mist.
0:32:54 > 0:32:59It is literally just seeing a heat image.
0:32:59 > 0:33:02- Yeah, that's why the ears are brighter.- Yep.
0:33:02 > 0:33:04The eye is obviously the hottest part.
0:33:04 > 0:33:08In the mind of that rabbit it's completely invisible.
0:33:08 > 0:33:10It thinks no-one can see it.
0:33:10 > 0:33:13- Do you feel incredibly superior to the rabbit?- I feel...
0:33:13 > 0:33:16Being able to see it and it doesn't know that you can see it?
0:33:16 > 0:33:19Superior and slightly voyeuristic.
0:33:19 > 0:33:23I know things that this rabbit doesn't know.
0:33:23 > 0:33:25That rabbit hasn't even been to school.
0:33:25 > 0:33:27Things that are important to this rabbit that, you know,
0:33:27 > 0:33:30if we didn't have the mist I could scan round,
0:33:30 > 0:33:35- and I could tell you if... - If there was a fox nearby.- ..there was a fox nearby.
0:33:35 > 0:33:38Why is he just sitting there?
0:33:38 > 0:33:43It seems to me he'd either be hopping around looking for something to eat or he'd be asleep in a hole.
0:33:43 > 0:33:45It seems weird that he's sitting, at this temperature,
0:33:45 > 0:33:48he's sitting on the surface not doing anything.
0:33:48 > 0:33:53It could well be that he's spent the last two or three hours feeding up,
0:33:53 > 0:33:55so he's just digesting.
0:33:55 > 0:33:57You'll probably find if we kept on watching him,
0:33:57 > 0:34:00half an hour from now he'd start moving around.
0:34:02 > 0:34:06'Rabbits are active from dusk through till dawn.
0:34:06 > 0:34:08'The darkness gives them cover from predators.'
0:34:12 > 0:34:15You can see his ears moving the whole time.
0:34:15 > 0:34:16Probably you talking.
0:34:16 > 0:34:18Even though we're a kilometre away.
0:34:20 > 0:34:21Oi, Bugs!
0:34:22 > 0:34:24No, that's not his name.
0:34:24 > 0:34:26- ED SUCKS HIS TEETH - There you go!
0:34:26 > 0:34:27THEY LAUGH
0:34:29 > 0:34:31But do you think in the future if you're sitting watching
0:34:31 > 0:34:33a wildlife documentary will you be thinking,
0:34:33 > 0:34:35"Gosh, I wonder how long they had to sit there?"
0:34:35 > 0:34:37They sat doing that.
0:34:37 > 0:34:39I'm aware of just how long these things take, yeah.
0:34:39 > 0:34:42If there was a sort of genie's lamp and it was one wish,
0:34:42 > 0:34:48it would be that I had control over the animal kingdom.
0:34:48 > 0:34:50What happened to you as a child?
0:34:50 > 0:34:52Were you taunted by jackdaws?
0:34:52 > 0:34:55I think I've just spent the last 25 years willing
0:34:55 > 0:34:59things to happen and having that lack of control.
0:35:00 > 0:35:02'But I don't have a genie's lamp,
0:35:02 > 0:35:05'and we don't see anything else that evening.
0:35:05 > 0:35:08'So we head off to our quarters for the night,
0:35:08 > 0:35:11'the former pilots' accommodation.'
0:35:12 > 0:35:15This is better than having to put a tent up.
0:35:24 > 0:35:26It's 6.30AM.
0:35:28 > 0:35:30We drive to another part of the aerodrome...
0:35:48 > 0:35:52..and the fog still hasn't lifted.
0:35:56 > 0:36:00If you look to the right you can see some fog and a field.
0:36:01 > 0:36:04If you look to the left...
0:36:05 > 0:36:08..you also see some fog and a field.
0:36:11 > 0:36:13These aren't ideal conditions for the animal
0:36:13 > 0:36:15I was really hoping to show Ed.
0:36:17 > 0:36:22Brown hares aren't originally part of Britain's native wildlife,
0:36:22 > 0:36:27they were brought over in the Iron Age from mainland Europe.
0:36:29 > 0:36:32And if you were going to sort of move somewhere
0:36:32 > 0:36:37and if you actually bring along with you an animal that you
0:36:37 > 0:36:39rely on for food, it's kind...
0:36:39 > 0:36:42I suppose it makes it a little bit easier.
0:36:46 > 0:36:50'Hare numbers have been declining since the 1960s and now
0:36:50 > 0:36:51'they're a protected species.'
0:36:54 > 0:36:56Come on. Where are you?
0:37:01 > 0:37:04OK, there's one coming. Stay nice and still.
0:37:08 > 0:37:11It's coming straight towards us.
0:37:15 > 0:37:19As it gets lighter, they'll tend to stick closer to the rough grass
0:37:19 > 0:37:22cos it's where they feel safer.
0:37:22 > 0:37:24Mm.
0:37:24 > 0:37:26If they feel threatened,
0:37:26 > 0:37:30they're going to sprint into the long grass and take cover.
0:37:33 > 0:37:35They'll have been feeding through the night.
0:37:35 > 0:37:37They've been out sort of grazing.
0:37:37 > 0:37:40It's just that before they lay up for the day,
0:37:40 > 0:37:44they like to get a little kind of bit of the first rays of the sun.
0:37:44 > 0:37:46OK, we've got two coming towards us.
0:37:46 > 0:37:49On the left.
0:37:49 > 0:37:52Can you see?
0:37:52 > 0:37:57The stiller we are, the closer they'll come.
0:37:57 > 0:38:02'Brown hares are larger than rabbits, with longer ears and longer
0:38:02 > 0:38:06'limbs, and they're not the only game species we see.'
0:38:06 > 0:38:08There's a couple of hares and a couple of pheasant.
0:38:08 > 0:38:12There are pheasants up there as well? Oh, yeah, yeah.
0:38:14 > 0:38:17'They feed on a diet of seed, berries and insects
0:38:17 > 0:38:21'and are found all over the UK.'
0:38:21 > 0:38:26Poor pheasant. I mean, they're just made for shooting, aren't they?
0:38:26 > 0:38:28They fly in a straight line,
0:38:28 > 0:38:31they make a big noise before they take off.
0:38:33 > 0:38:37You said they don't particularly feel safe in the fog
0:38:37 > 0:38:38because they can't see?
0:38:38 > 0:38:42A prey species is always aware that there's something out there
0:38:42 > 0:38:45that could eat it. Whereas in the mind of a fox,
0:38:45 > 0:38:48they're always aware that their survival really
0:38:48 > 0:38:50kind of depends on them
0:38:50 > 0:38:53actually being able to catch the other animals.
0:38:53 > 0:38:59Life isn't more difficult for a hare than it is for a fox.
0:38:59 > 0:39:02It's that kind of nature's balance, really,
0:39:02 > 0:39:08that's kind of been evened out over millions of years of evolution,
0:39:08 > 0:39:13just to give each creature a kind of fighting chance of survival.
0:39:16 > 0:39:18Hares live out in the open.
0:39:18 > 0:39:23They rely on their speed and highly developed senses to evade predators.
0:39:26 > 0:39:30They're just naturally very cautious.
0:39:30 > 0:39:36There's not much around here that would take a fully grown hare,
0:39:36 > 0:39:38other than foxes.
0:39:43 > 0:39:49The lighter it gets, the less likely it is for them to come out.
0:39:50 > 0:39:55What do you think? You want to call it?
0:39:55 > 0:40:01We should maybe pack up here, move on to the next beast.
0:40:09 > 0:40:12I still haven't a clue what this place looks like. Really.
0:40:12 > 0:40:18It could be commanding views over Canary Wharf in the city of London.
0:40:18 > 0:40:22Well, it's supposed to be the second highest spot in Essex,
0:40:22 > 0:40:26so there should be a reasonable vista.
0:40:26 > 0:40:30But not in this right pea-souper and no mistake.
0:40:32 > 0:40:34I hope we don't get hit by a plane.
0:40:45 > 0:40:48There's an astonishing diversity of wildlife at the aerodrome and
0:40:48 > 0:40:52there are signs of it everywhere, if you know where to look.
0:40:58 > 0:41:01- The fog is clearing anyway. - Yeah, I know.
0:41:01 > 0:41:06Just looking around here at all these dilapidated buildings,
0:41:06 > 0:41:10all this kind of rough ground, that's all prime habitat,
0:41:10 > 0:41:14prime real estate, for all sorts of critters.
0:41:25 > 0:41:27There is something quite dramatic
0:41:27 > 0:41:32- and romantic about nature reclaiming a building like that.- Yeah.
0:41:32 > 0:41:36- The crumbling roof and the walls covered in ivy.- Yeah.
0:41:36 > 0:41:40And I like it. It's kind of like nature fighting back.
0:41:40 > 0:41:45If your shed's dilapidated, is it a good idea to maybe not take it down?
0:41:45 > 0:41:49- Maybe just leave it there and see what ends up roosting in it?- Yeah.
0:41:49 > 0:41:53If you could have cut like, you know, a tree down,
0:41:53 > 0:41:57don't chop it up and get rid of it, just leave it there.
0:41:57 > 0:42:00It's all good habitat for someone.
0:42:07 > 0:42:10Does it feel a bit kind of like Grand Designs that I'm going
0:42:10 > 0:42:13to sort of tell you my plans for this?
0:42:13 > 0:42:15This looks like nothing at the moment, Ed, but...
0:42:15 > 0:42:18If this is Grand Designs, does that mean halfway through the show,
0:42:18 > 0:42:20I'm pregnant?
0:42:21 > 0:42:24I'm seeing signs of life on the floor.
0:42:24 > 0:42:29This is kind of prime wildlife habitat. For something
0:42:29 > 0:42:33like a little owl, this is perfect.
0:42:33 > 0:42:35Even in its dilapidated state,
0:42:35 > 0:42:39it offers way more protection from the elements than a roost in a tree.
0:42:39 > 0:42:42Obviously, there's a lot of excrement,
0:42:42 > 0:42:45so that's a sign of nature at work.
0:42:45 > 0:42:49Does that just all look like poo to you?
0:42:49 > 0:42:51- It does.- OK.
0:42:51 > 0:42:53The white stuff is poo.
0:42:53 > 0:42:56- Right.- But the small things, these little sausagey type things...
0:42:56 > 0:42:58He's picking them up! He's picking them up!
0:42:58 > 0:43:00Everybody, he's picking them up!
0:43:00 > 0:43:06These are pellets. These are the pellets from a little owl.
0:43:06 > 0:43:10So, pellets they've regurgitated?
0:43:10 > 0:43:13They regurgitate it, so it's sort of..
0:43:13 > 0:43:17If you were to say, "That's kind of horrible, you're picking up poo."
0:43:17 > 0:43:21- I'm not, I'm picking up vomit. - Vomit. That's far more acceptable.
0:43:24 > 0:43:29'Owls can't digest things like fur and bone, so they are regurgitated.'
0:43:29 > 0:43:33The little owl would have been sitting up there and he would
0:43:33 > 0:43:35have... So kind of like a cat's fur ball.
0:43:35 > 0:43:38Yeah.
0:43:38 > 0:43:42'But I bet these buildings are home to more than just one type of owl.'
0:43:47 > 0:43:50It's got potential, definitely.
0:43:50 > 0:43:53Down here. Oh, there we go.
0:43:53 > 0:43:58Have a look at... Have a look at this beauty!
0:43:58 > 0:44:01Oh, right. So those big black ones, are they a barn owl or...?
0:44:01 > 0:44:03Exactly, yeah.
0:44:03 > 0:44:05Hang on.
0:44:05 > 0:44:09- See that? The whole skull.- That's a skull.
0:44:11 > 0:44:17So this little vole was happily minding his own business when one
0:44:17 > 0:44:22sad night, the barn owl detected his scurryings and rustlings
0:44:22 > 0:44:26and spotted him, silently hovered above him,
0:44:26 > 0:44:31swooped down and kind of swallowed him in one mouthful.
0:44:31 > 0:44:34Yeah.
0:44:34 > 0:44:37So this is animal behaviour, cos you're actually looking
0:44:37 > 0:44:42at kind of a little snapshot of how this animal hunts and what it hunts.
0:44:42 > 0:44:45There's a lot to be learned from pellets and poo.
0:44:47 > 0:44:51'I wonder if Ed would like to have a rummage.'
0:44:51 > 0:44:54You're going for the small one, I like that.
0:44:56 > 0:44:58Good things come in small packages.
0:44:58 > 0:45:04It's a bit like going through your bag on your vacuum cleaner.
0:45:04 > 0:45:07Yeah, which from time to time, you have to do.
0:45:07 > 0:45:11- There we go. That's a...- That's a... - That's a bit of bone there.
0:45:11 > 0:45:16- It's like a... It's like a femur.- Yeah.
0:45:16 > 0:45:17That's exactly what it is.
0:45:17 > 0:45:20Can you also find me some hand sanitizer?
0:45:20 > 0:45:22Yeah, I'm going to wash my hands on the grass.
0:45:22 > 0:45:24- That's what bushmen do.- Right.
0:45:31 > 0:45:34'Now that we know that the owls are here,
0:45:34 > 0:45:36'I'd really love to show him one.'
0:45:41 > 0:45:47So, we're on our way to a little owl perching post.
0:45:47 > 0:45:52- Now, a little owl is actually a type of owl?- It's a type of owl.
0:45:52 > 0:45:54It's not just a small owl.
0:45:54 > 0:45:57No, a little owl is the smallest species of owl that we
0:45:57 > 0:46:01have in the countryside in the UK and they are creatures of habit
0:46:01 > 0:46:05and there is a post on the other side of this building,
0:46:05 > 0:46:08which it actually lives in, that it comes out
0:46:08 > 0:46:11and visits with a little bit of enticement.
0:46:11 > 0:46:14- In here, I've got some live mealworms.- Oh, nice(!)
0:46:17 > 0:46:20And the reason that we're using this vehicle,
0:46:20 > 0:46:24rather than the Land Rover, is that they see it every single day.
0:46:24 > 0:46:27We just try and keep things as consistent as possible.
0:46:31 > 0:46:35- There's nothing that a little owl likes more...- Than a mealworm.
0:46:35 > 0:46:38Than a mealworm. Maybe there's other things.
0:46:38 > 0:46:42They eat moths and they eat beetles and they'll eat small rodents,
0:46:42 > 0:46:45- but this, for this little owl, it's an easy meal.- Mm-hm.
0:46:45 > 0:46:48So, it's a little bit of patience and hopefully,
0:46:48 > 0:46:50when I get out there, he's going to see me
0:46:50 > 0:46:54and know what I'm going to do and hopefully come down
0:46:54 > 0:46:57and check out the post, so we're just going to sit and wait.
0:46:57 > 0:47:01He'll definitely notice the difference. He'll notice...
0:47:01 > 0:47:03Feeder man tall today!
0:47:03 > 0:47:05There's two... Enough chat.
0:47:09 > 0:47:12'Fence posts are popular perches for little owls.
0:47:12 > 0:47:14'They make the perfect lookout.
0:47:14 > 0:47:16'For prey and for danger.'
0:47:21 > 0:47:23Was that it?
0:47:36 > 0:47:38OK.
0:47:38 > 0:47:41Let that be your last movement.
0:47:41 > 0:47:43Last movement. OK.
0:47:48 > 0:47:51'It seems like someone forgot to tell the other birds that the
0:47:51 > 0:47:52'food's not for them.'
0:47:54 > 0:47:55Robin.
0:47:55 > 0:47:57Hey!
0:47:57 > 0:47:59Bloody robin!
0:47:59 > 0:48:01They're not for you.
0:48:04 > 0:48:07When this little owl gets here, you're...for it!
0:48:12 > 0:48:14Robins don't, you know,
0:48:14 > 0:48:19follow gardeners about because they like the company of gardeners.
0:48:19 > 0:48:21It's just that activity
0:48:21 > 0:48:26and disturbance that people cause in their gardens, you know,
0:48:26 > 0:48:30encourages insects to move around and you'll find that
0:48:30 > 0:48:35robins are basically looking for food that we've flushed out.
0:48:35 > 0:48:37Oh, there we go. A nice blackbird.
0:48:37 > 0:48:40'Only the male blackbird is actually black.
0:48:40 > 0:48:45'Females are brown, often with spots and streaks.'
0:48:45 > 0:48:47They're not for you.
0:48:50 > 0:48:52- Oh!- A great tit.- Great tit.
0:48:55 > 0:49:00I feel like you couldn't have told me we were waiting for a little owl.
0:49:00 > 0:49:04I feel like you should have just said we're going to go
0:49:04 > 0:49:06and see some birds.
0:49:06 > 0:49:08- Yeah.- And then I'd have gone, "Ooh!
0:49:08 > 0:49:11"We've seen a robin and a blackbird and a great tit.
0:49:11 > 0:49:13"Three already."
0:49:13 > 0:49:19And then when the little owl arrived, I'd be like, "Check it out!
0:49:19 > 0:49:20"Little owl!"
0:49:28 > 0:49:32A little owl. Nice and easy. Nice and easy.
0:49:38 > 0:49:40That was so funny the way he just appeared on that windowsill.
0:49:40 > 0:49:44Yeah. Like - looking for me?
0:49:51 > 0:49:54I was hoping he was going to come straight on to the post.
0:49:54 > 0:49:59He'll be watching us at the moment from the tree.
0:49:59 > 0:50:03I think if we just kind of sit kind of quietly, not moving,
0:50:03 > 0:50:04he's going to come down.
0:50:04 > 0:50:07He knows that the mealworms are there.
0:50:07 > 0:50:10He's seen the other birds coming in.
0:50:14 > 0:50:16Oh, there you go.
0:50:16 > 0:50:21Nice and gentle. You beautiful... Oh, look at that.
0:50:23 > 0:50:25What a beauty!
0:50:34 > 0:50:37Oh, wow!
0:50:37 > 0:50:41It's weird the way he sits there for a bit before having a peck at them.
0:50:41 > 0:50:42Yeah.
0:50:42 > 0:50:49Just needs 30 seconds just to have a look at us, figure out whether
0:50:49 > 0:50:56we're a threat to him and then just straight into his mealworms.
0:50:56 > 0:50:58They do look clever.
0:50:58 > 0:51:02'Little owls live up to their name and at just over eight inches,
0:51:02 > 0:51:06'it's no bigger than a starling in length.'
0:51:06 > 0:51:09- Looks really serious.- Yeah.
0:51:09 > 0:51:12It's because he's got those white eyebrows.
0:51:12 > 0:51:14When a wild animal looks straight at you,
0:51:14 > 0:51:17it's sort of an engagement there.
0:51:17 > 0:51:21He just looks really intense. Almost angry.
0:51:26 > 0:51:28I'm taking your mealworms.
0:51:28 > 0:51:30What are you going to do about it?
0:51:33 > 0:51:35'The UK has five species of owls
0:51:35 > 0:51:40'and they all typically swallow their prey whole.'
0:51:43 > 0:51:48Owls are the purest carnivores or the purest predators in the world
0:51:48 > 0:51:53because they like live prey, they like to catch it themselves.
0:51:53 > 0:51:57- Right.- Or at least, eat it while it's still alive.
0:52:00 > 0:52:01OK.
0:52:01 > 0:52:04Score, one little owl.
0:52:04 > 0:52:06PHONE BUZZES
0:52:06 > 0:52:09- I suppose... Turn your phone off!- It is off.
0:52:09 > 0:52:10Why is it buzzing then?
0:52:10 > 0:52:17- It says to walk the dog. No, it's my dog's birthday.- Your dog's birthday?
0:52:17 > 0:52:19- You loser! - LAUGHTER
0:52:24 > 0:52:28I can honestly say that I don't know when my cat's birthday is.
0:52:28 > 0:52:30Cos you know why? Cos it's a cat!
0:52:33 > 0:52:37When you own a dog, people kind of say, "How old is he?"
0:52:37 > 0:52:39And I suppose it's a bit...
0:52:39 > 0:52:44But you don't say, "He'll be seven in December."
0:52:44 > 0:52:50- He's seven.- I like to treat him a bit nicer on his birthday.
0:52:50 > 0:52:53I think he probably knows it's his birthday.
0:52:53 > 0:52:55He probably gets to this time of year and thinks,
0:52:55 > 0:52:58the leaves are falling, they're kind of...
0:52:58 > 0:53:01The first chill of winter is coming along - oh, it's my birthday soon.
0:53:01 > 0:53:04That curly haired idiot I live with will be giving me
0:53:04 > 0:53:05a bit of extra food.
0:53:05 > 0:53:09Extra walkies for Stuarty. LAUGHTER
0:53:09 > 0:53:12- Stuarty's the name of my dog, by the way.- Stuarty?- Yeah.
0:53:12 > 0:53:16Not Stuart. Stuarty. So, what's your daughter's name? Rover?
0:53:16 > 0:53:18LAUGHTER
0:53:20 > 0:53:22It's also Stuart.
0:53:22 > 0:53:25ED LAUGHS
0:53:27 > 0:53:33This is the most fun I've had sitting in a car with
0:53:33 > 0:53:36a member of the same sex.
0:53:36 > 0:53:39- Shall we skedaddle?- Let's do it.
0:53:42 > 0:53:46- It's not much of a name, though, is it? Little owl.- Yeah.
0:53:46 > 0:53:50Maybe that's why he's so angry. He's got small owl complex.
0:53:50 > 0:53:53Who are you calling little owl?
0:54:03 > 0:54:06'The very last thing I'd love to show Ed are badgers.
0:54:06 > 0:54:10'So we head towards Brentwood, another urban area, to find
0:54:10 > 0:54:13'one of nature's most secretive creatures.
0:54:15 > 0:54:19'It's quite an unusual place to look for them,
0:54:19 > 0:54:23'but I hear that Delia Langstone's back garden is badger central.'
0:54:23 > 0:54:25Hello!
0:54:25 > 0:54:27How are you?
0:54:28 > 0:54:31So, you knew you had badgers in your garden,
0:54:31 > 0:54:35and then there was a knock at the door one night. That's how it was.
0:54:35 > 0:54:37Yeah, I noticed them under the bird table.
0:54:37 > 0:54:41And then one evening, they started to actually come right up
0:54:41 > 0:54:44to my house and push the door with their noses.
0:54:44 > 0:54:46- Get out!- I don't know why they did that. Yeah.
0:54:46 > 0:54:49I can only imagine someone else maybe had fed them.
0:54:49 > 0:54:52They're not tame because they don't like me.
0:54:52 > 0:54:54When they pick up something, they walk away from me.
0:54:54 > 0:54:57They'll reverse away from me. So they don't trust me.
0:54:57 > 0:55:01- They're still wild animals. - Mm.- They like dog biscuits.
0:55:01 > 0:55:04Cheap sausage rolls, I'm afraid, I give them.
0:55:04 > 0:55:07- Cos I cannot resist these. - I think that's fair enough.
0:55:07 > 0:55:10- If you give them expensive sausage rolls, that seems wrong.- Yeah.
0:55:10 > 0:55:12- Exactly. - Almost every night that they come?
0:55:12 > 0:55:15Yeah, it's very rare I don't see them.
0:55:15 > 0:55:19Do you think they would take sausage rolls from us if we went out there?
0:55:19 > 0:55:20I don't get near them.
0:55:20 > 0:55:24You could throw some, definitely, because my friends do it.
0:55:24 > 0:55:26OK, so do we have permission to go
0:55:26 > 0:55:29- and chuck some sausage rolls up your garden?- Do. Yes, do.
0:55:29 > 0:55:31That sounds ruder than I meant it to.
0:55:31 > 0:55:35Do we have permission to throw sausage rolls up your garden?
0:55:35 > 0:55:37Let's throw some sausage rolls to some badgers.
0:55:49 > 0:55:55It does feel like we're trying to feed half of Essex's wildlife.
0:55:55 > 0:55:58Trying to increase our chances.
0:56:00 > 0:56:03Right, good.
0:56:21 > 0:56:24Did you mention being able to call the badgers?
0:56:24 > 0:56:27- Do you think you could give that a whirl for us?- I'll have a go.
0:56:27 > 0:56:31- I can't guarantee anything, though.- No, no.
0:56:31 > 0:56:35- No guarantees. Wild animals. - Come on, then. Come on.
0:56:35 > 0:56:37Come on.
0:56:37 > 0:56:39Right.
0:56:39 > 0:56:42If they are out there, they will come.
0:56:42 > 0:56:46'It's been nearly an hour and there's still no sign of them.
0:56:49 > 0:56:52'But something is moving in the garden.'
0:57:04 > 0:57:07There's two.
0:57:07 > 0:57:13Two badgers. Right there, look at that.
0:57:13 > 0:57:15Right there.
0:57:20 > 0:57:27'Badgers are nocturnal and live most of their lives below ground.'
0:57:27 > 0:57:30Let's just hunker down.
0:57:34 > 0:57:36'Their staple food is worms,
0:57:36 > 0:57:39'although they'll eat pretty much anything.'
0:57:41 > 0:57:45For me to get closer to a live badger than I've ever been in my
0:57:45 > 0:57:47life, that's been a payoff, I think, yeah.
0:57:47 > 0:57:49Good.
0:57:49 > 0:57:51We can all go home now.
0:57:51 > 0:57:54Most importantly, we can all go home.
0:57:54 > 0:57:57THEY CHUCKLE
0:58:02 > 0:58:05It has been fun. I've really enjoyed myself.
0:58:05 > 0:58:08It's been great fun, I've enjoyed myself too. Thanks very much.
0:58:08 > 0:58:10Seriously.
0:58:14 > 0:58:16They were very cute.