0:00:03 > 0:00:07In Wales, most towns and cities have a park -
0:00:07 > 0:00:11an area of green space for people to escape the hustle and bustle
0:00:11 > 0:00:14of modern life, but that's not all they're good for.
0:00:15 > 0:00:20In this series, I'm going to be taking a look at four urban parks.
0:00:20 > 0:00:24Some are old family estates, others were once industrial sites,
0:00:24 > 0:00:27but all are now places for communities to enjoy.
0:00:29 > 0:00:31None are familiar to me,
0:00:31 > 0:00:35so I'm going to be enlisting the help of local people with knowledge
0:00:35 > 0:00:36to share.
0:00:36 > 0:00:39Together, I'm hoping we'll uncover their wilder side.
0:00:50 > 0:00:53Today I'm in the industrial northeast of Wales.
0:00:54 > 0:00:56The Deeside towns of Connah's Quay
0:00:56 > 0:01:02and Shotton benefit from a 160-acre green space called Wepre Park.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07Once a large estate owned over the years by several different
0:01:07 > 0:01:12families, it was purchased by the local district council in 1943.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17It's now looked after by Flintshire County Council's
0:01:17 > 0:01:18Countryside Service.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25Now, I have been to Wepre Park before
0:01:25 > 0:01:27but that was nearly 20 years ago
0:01:27 > 0:01:29and it's changed quite a bit since then
0:01:29 > 0:01:33but, luckily for me, I'm going to meet one of the friends of the park,
0:01:33 > 0:01:35Pip Perry, who's going to show me around.
0:01:35 > 0:01:39With plenty of places to explore, we head out from the visitor centre
0:01:39 > 0:01:41to see the variety of habitats
0:01:41 > 0:01:45I can return to and look for wildlife on my future visits.
0:01:46 > 0:01:48Tell you, it's a lovely woodland, Pip, isn't it?
0:01:48 > 0:01:50Yes, I think we're very lucky to have it.
0:01:50 > 0:01:54It's a bit of semi-natural ancient woodland remaining from
0:01:54 > 0:01:56what would have originally been Ewloe Forest.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59That would have been far more extensive, would it?
0:01:59 > 0:02:01Oh, yes, it stretched considerably.
0:02:02 > 0:02:05I tell you, it's a nice little stream, this. Which one is it?
0:02:05 > 0:02:07This is Wepre Brook, yes.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10Wepre Brook. I think I heard a grey wagtail.
0:02:10 > 0:02:13- Yes, and we do get dippers. - Oh, that's nice.- Yes.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16And this, Pip, has got to be one of the most famous sites in the park.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19I would say so, yes. I think people love to come
0:02:19 > 0:02:21and stand here on the bridge.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24- It is beautiful, isn't it?- It is. One little story, a local story...
0:02:24 > 0:02:27- Oh, right.- ..about the waterfall. Not that I've ever witnessed this
0:02:27 > 0:02:30but there is supposed to be a ghost of Nora the Nun
0:02:30 > 0:02:33who is supposed to stand at the top of the waterfall.
0:02:33 > 0:02:35Maybe I should keep an eye open for Nora the Nun
0:02:35 > 0:02:38- when I come back to the park. - I think you'll have to come out
0:02:38 > 0:02:39- at night.- Right, OK.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41If I see her, I'll be straight on the phone to you, Pip.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44- THEY LAUGH - Let you know.- Yes.
0:02:44 > 0:02:46And the path going on up here, where does that lead?
0:02:46 > 0:02:50- That carries on up to what we call Taylors Wood.- Right.
0:02:50 > 0:02:54This wood has the more important great crested newt ponds in
0:02:54 > 0:02:55just on the edge of the wood.
0:02:55 > 0:02:59And this whole area is really important for those newts, isn't it?
0:02:59 > 0:03:01It is, yes. It is.
0:03:05 > 0:03:07Local people call this the fairy bridge
0:03:07 > 0:03:09but I'm not really quite sure why,
0:03:09 > 0:03:12and it's hard to believe that there was a road planned
0:03:12 > 0:03:14to go right through here.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17- It's madness, isn't it? - All this peace,
0:03:17 > 0:03:19this tranquillity of this little area would have been lost.
0:03:19 > 0:03:23It's surprising how many people visited and valued the park...
0:03:23 > 0:03:26and it got removed from the planning.
0:03:26 > 0:03:30- Excellent.- Strength of local feeling, yeah.- Yes.- Wonderful.
0:03:33 > 0:03:38Pip also went on to show me Rosie Pool, a small fishing lake.
0:03:38 > 0:03:39Often it's a good place for bats?
0:03:39 > 0:03:42It's a wonderful place to bring people to learn about bats.
0:03:42 > 0:03:46And a large, open space that used to be a golf course.
0:03:46 > 0:03:49It's a nice area for people to enjoy the views
0:03:49 > 0:03:51over the industrial Deeside.
0:03:51 > 0:03:53Looking down over the estuary and everything.
0:03:53 > 0:03:54At the back of us, yes.
0:03:54 > 0:03:57So I now have a good idea of where to explore over the coming months.
0:04:01 > 0:04:06Wepre Old Hall was a Georgian house built by Edward Jones in 1788
0:04:06 > 0:04:10with money made from lead found on his land in nearby Holywell.
0:04:10 > 0:04:14The house was eventually pulled down in 1960 by the district council.
0:04:18 > 0:04:20This is where the big house would have been
0:04:20 > 0:04:22just where the visitor centre is there now,
0:04:22 > 0:04:26and they obviously planted these giant redwood trees.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29It's really thick, spongy bark because in California
0:04:29 > 0:04:33where they're originally from, you get forest fires coming through
0:04:33 > 0:04:36and the thick bark means that the fire will burn
0:04:36 > 0:04:38but it won't kill the tree,
0:04:38 > 0:04:40so it's a really good adaptation that's helped a lot of our birds.
0:04:40 > 0:04:44And what some of our small birds do in winter is they'll dig holes
0:04:44 > 0:04:47in here and they'll roost here overnight.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50And if we look around, we might be able to see some holes.
0:04:50 > 0:04:52And what you've got to look for
0:04:52 > 0:04:55is whitewash, where the birds have been overnight they'll poo
0:04:55 > 0:04:58and you see marks on the trees like here.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01There's another one over here. Let's go and have a look at this one.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04See which one's the best one, cos my intention is to come back here
0:05:04 > 0:05:08after dark with a torch, see if we can find some of the birds
0:05:08 > 0:05:09that are actually roosting in here.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12Now, this is a good one. This is even better, look.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15See - natural crevice up here, lots of them, really deep
0:05:15 > 0:05:17and I saw a hole.
0:05:17 > 0:05:19Oh, look at this one.
0:05:19 > 0:05:21This looks like the best one here. Look at this.
0:05:21 > 0:05:23It's a natural one that's been dug out a bit
0:05:23 > 0:05:25and there's lots of poo in there.
0:05:25 > 0:05:29I'm pretty confident that we should be able to find something in here.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34These giant redwoods were only part of the landscaping
0:05:34 > 0:05:36around the old hall.
0:05:37 > 0:05:42There were also walled gardens, greenhouses and ornamental features.
0:05:42 > 0:05:46Sadly, these were left to become overgrown as the estate declined
0:05:46 > 0:05:50but the council is now undertaking a project of restoration.
0:05:50 > 0:05:51Graham, Lisa, hello there.
0:05:51 > 0:05:53- Hello there. Hello, Iolo.- How are you?- Nice to meet you.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56'I'm meeting two of the volunteers - Lisa Reeves and Graham Blythe -
0:05:56 > 0:05:58'to find out more.'
0:05:58 > 0:06:02So you're part of a team now then, Lisa, that's just going to uncover
0:06:02 > 0:06:06everything and try and get it back more or less as it was, is it?
0:06:06 > 0:06:08Yeah, yeah, we're stripping back the ivy
0:06:08 > 0:06:11and...cos this would have been a rockery at one time,
0:06:11 > 0:06:13so that's how you can see the stones at the bottom.
0:06:13 > 0:06:18So it's just a case of stripping it all out and then going from there.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21- So you are unearthing history now. - That's right.
0:06:21 > 0:06:25And then wildlife-wise, do you see much as you work here?
0:06:25 > 0:06:29I think we usually get the odd robin as we're raking, you know.
0:06:29 > 0:06:33They like scratting around and we've seen signs of badgers and that, so...
0:06:33 > 0:06:35I saw a nuthatch the other day.
0:06:35 > 0:06:37And buzzards, there's quite a few buzzards flying above.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40Yeah, I've seen the buzzards. Especially in this weather,
0:06:40 > 0:06:44they love a bit of sun. Badgers, you say, any tracks?
0:06:44 > 0:06:46Because that's one of the animals I'd like to film
0:06:46 > 0:06:47while I'm here if at all possible.
0:06:47 > 0:06:51- Yeah, yeah. We found a track today down this way.- Oh, have you?- Yeah.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54- Just by... Go and have a look down here.- Just down here.
0:06:54 > 0:06:56- Just here.- Oh, wow. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
0:06:56 > 0:06:58They always leave it almost bare, don't they?
0:06:58 > 0:07:00Cos they've got such short legs
0:07:00 > 0:07:04the belly will scrape along the floor.
0:07:04 > 0:07:06You know, it looks like someone's gone there with a broom,
0:07:06 > 0:07:08so they're obviously going from A to B.
0:07:08 > 0:07:10Have you got other signs anywhere else?
0:07:10 > 0:07:13Yes, I know where there are signs. I can take you there if you like.
0:07:13 > 0:07:15OK, excellent. Brilliant.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19Oh, yeah, badger trail. It's well used too, isn't it?
0:07:19 > 0:07:21Oh, yeah, it's very well used. Yeah.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24See here? I'll tell you what I think this is,
0:07:24 > 0:07:26you can see bluebells coming up.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29I think they've been digging to try and get at the bulbs
0:07:29 > 0:07:32cos when there's not much food in late-late winter, early spring,
0:07:32 > 0:07:33they'll dig up the bulbs.
0:07:33 > 0:07:35And they'll eat worms and things like that.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38Yeah, they'll eat virtually anything. They'll eat seeds,
0:07:38 > 0:07:41they'll eat berries, they'll eat anything dead,
0:07:41 > 0:07:44they'll eat a mouse and a vole and eggs, they'll eat chicks.
0:07:44 > 0:07:48- Oh, wow.- You know, virtually anything that they can find
0:07:48 > 0:07:49they will eat.
0:07:49 > 0:07:51I think we've got more stuff down there if we go
0:07:51 > 0:07:52and have a look as well. Look.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57- Oh, I tell you what's interesting - see these here?- Oh, yeah.
0:07:57 > 0:07:59These are badger latrines.
0:07:59 > 0:08:03They're exceptionally clean animals, and what they'll do is
0:08:03 > 0:08:06they'll dig holes, sometimes not too far away from the set,
0:08:06 > 0:08:10but often as well, far away on the edge of territories
0:08:10 > 0:08:12and they use these latrines and it means that
0:08:12 > 0:08:15they're not soiling the set itself
0:08:15 > 0:08:18but also it acts as a deterrent for other badgers,
0:08:18 > 0:08:20a scent warning, if you like.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23And you can see there's some fairly fresh poo in there.
0:08:23 > 0:08:26I wouldn't mind putting a couple of cameras along this trail here
0:08:26 > 0:08:30to see how active it is and also to see what else we'll get.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33- Yeah.- You might get something else, who knows?
0:08:33 > 0:08:36I'll catch up with Lisa again later in the year
0:08:36 > 0:08:38when we'll hopefully have some footage to show her.
0:08:44 > 0:08:48As night falls, I head back to the visitor centre to see
0:08:48 > 0:08:51if any birds have decided to roost.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54There's a nice, clear sky and a chill in the air,
0:08:54 > 0:08:56so we should be in luck.
0:08:57 > 0:08:58- HE WHISPERS:- No.
0:08:58 > 0:09:02No, I thought that was a good one in the day as well.
0:09:02 > 0:09:04Let's go around the tree a little bit.
0:09:07 > 0:09:09Where are we?
0:09:09 > 0:09:11Oh, yes, yes, yes. Come here, come here, come here.
0:09:13 > 0:09:14It's a great tit.
0:09:14 > 0:09:17All I can see is a bundle of feathers.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20It's stuffed itself right in and fluffed itself out
0:09:20 > 0:09:23so it's hidden right out of the way.
0:09:23 > 0:09:28But what it's found is the perfect place to spend the night because
0:09:28 > 0:09:31in there it's going to be probably two degrees warmer
0:09:31 > 0:09:32than it is outside.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35That can mean the difference between life and death.
0:09:51 > 0:09:53It's now early spring
0:09:53 > 0:09:56and a beautiful morning to have a walk around and see
0:09:56 > 0:09:57what the birds are up to.
0:09:57 > 0:09:59They're very busy at this time of the year.
0:10:03 > 0:10:06I've come to Ewloe Forest, a part of the park
0:10:06 > 0:10:11that's one of my favourite habitats, especially in spring.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14This ancient woodland has been witness to historical battles
0:10:14 > 0:10:17between Welsh and English forces.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20Prince Llywelyn ap Gruffydd built a castle in these woods
0:10:20 > 0:10:24in around 1257 to stake the claim of the Welsh to the area.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30Today, however, it's the birds staking their claim
0:10:30 > 0:10:34to all the cracks, crevices and holes in these gnarled old trees.
0:10:36 > 0:10:40Much of the activity this morning has been blue tits and the odd
0:10:40 > 0:10:42great tit, one or two other birds as well.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45And they've been prospecting looking for nesting holes.
0:10:45 > 0:10:47One's been going in and out of a big old woodpecker hole
0:10:47 > 0:10:50over there and it's looking at it like a new homeowner,
0:10:50 > 0:10:52looking at it thinking,
0:10:52 > 0:10:54"Wow, do we really need a five-bedroom bungalow?"
0:10:54 > 0:10:55Cos it's massive.
0:10:55 > 0:10:58And others have been going into little nooks and crannies
0:10:58 > 0:11:00carrying moss, building nests.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02And then, every now and again, they'll have a break.
0:11:02 > 0:11:04The buds are emerging, the new leaves, there'll be
0:11:04 > 0:11:07invertebrates on there, whether it be caterpillars or eggs
0:11:07 > 0:11:10and you can see them going along and delicately picking these off
0:11:10 > 0:11:13as well. It's been a real hive of activity.
0:11:14 > 0:11:18Another task for today is to put out the remote cameras
0:11:18 > 0:11:21at the badger trail to see exactly what animals are using it.
0:11:23 > 0:11:26We'll leave them out periodically over the following few months.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34My next visit to the park is in May.
0:11:34 > 0:11:38It's late afternoon and I've got a little experiment I want to try.
0:11:41 > 0:11:45Right by the visitor's centre and the cafe here now.
0:11:45 > 0:11:47I was here the other day, I saw a little vole.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50Came out of one of these holes and scurried along the wall
0:11:50 > 0:11:51and then into another one.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54It was too fast. I put money on it being a bank vole
0:11:54 > 0:11:56but I'm not 100% sure, so what I'm going to do is
0:11:56 > 0:11:59I've got some seeds here and I'm going to put them
0:11:59 > 0:12:03here and there, along the wall and see if we can entice the vole out.
0:12:10 > 0:12:14'It's not long before I'm treated to a view of the vole
0:12:14 > 0:12:15'and it's a bank vole.
0:12:15 > 0:12:18'You can tell because it's got a little rounded nose,
0:12:18 > 0:12:21'small eyes and small ears.'
0:12:26 > 0:12:30'But there are others here with their eye on the seed as well.'
0:12:34 > 0:12:38The saga of the wall has just become very, very interesting.
0:12:38 > 0:12:40I saw a bit of movement behind me
0:12:40 > 0:12:42and there's a wood mouse come out to feed.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55Without catching them in a trap, I don't think I've ever been
0:12:55 > 0:12:58this close to a wood mouse before, but he obviously doesn't care.
0:12:58 > 0:13:01And wood mice are lovely things, very different to a bank vole -
0:13:01 > 0:13:05big, very obvious ears, big bulging eyes
0:13:05 > 0:13:08because they're mainly nocturnal, and a pointy nose,
0:13:08 > 0:13:12and a long, almost bare tail as well.
0:13:12 > 0:13:16I reckon there might be three or four animals here.
0:13:16 > 0:13:21At least two bank voles and one, maybe two, wood mice as well.
0:13:21 > 0:13:24I'm what...12 meters away from where hundreds of people come to eat,
0:13:24 > 0:13:25have a cup of tea?
0:13:25 > 0:13:28And you've got a little wildlife show in a wall like this.
0:13:34 > 0:13:38It's fascinating to watch these little characters.
0:13:38 > 0:13:39I could sit here all evening.
0:13:42 > 0:13:46But by 9.30, I'm heading back to the park's ancient woodland
0:13:46 > 0:13:48to an area known as Taylors Wood.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53'I'm on the hunt for great crested newts, which are nocturnal,
0:13:53 > 0:13:55'so I'm joining Tom Woodall and Sarah Slater
0:13:55 > 0:13:58'from the council's Countryside Service
0:13:58 > 0:14:01'as they carry out a survey of the park's ponds.'
0:14:01 > 0:14:03So you just shine it on the water and look for them,
0:14:03 > 0:14:07- do you, basically?- We've got...on these torches a very high beam.
0:14:07 > 0:14:10Northeast Wales is a stronghold for these large newts
0:14:10 > 0:14:14but they're in decline across Britain and are protected species.
0:14:14 > 0:14:18Tom and Sarah have a special licence to carry out their important work.
0:14:18 > 0:14:22We've got records going back now 20 years, I suppose.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25The population here is quite low but quite stable.
0:14:25 > 0:14:28The work that we do here as a countryside service
0:14:28 > 0:14:31is mainly geared around the habitat improvement,
0:14:31 > 0:14:32making the ponds healthy.
0:14:35 > 0:14:39So, this is our main pond for this area called Taylors Pond.
0:14:39 > 0:14:41- How many ponds have you got in all in the park?- 21.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44- 21?!- 21, yeah. - And newts in all of them?
0:14:44 > 0:14:47All newts, the smooth and the palmate certainly in all of them,
0:14:47 > 0:14:49but cresties are a bit hit and miss sometimes.
0:14:49 > 0:14:52What do you do? You look for movement more than anything else?
0:14:52 > 0:14:53Usually, yes.
0:14:53 > 0:14:57I suppose if you see a great crested, the males are so big.
0:14:57 > 0:14:59What are they, ten centimetres long?
0:14:59 > 0:15:01- Uh, bigger than that.- Are they? - Yeah, yeah.- It's amazing, isn't it?
0:15:01 > 0:15:04The smooth and palmates will grow to about ten centimetres.
0:15:04 > 0:15:08- Some female cresties could be as much as 18 centimetres.- Wow.
0:15:08 > 0:15:12But they're also quite long lived. They can live up to about 14 years.
0:15:12 > 0:15:14That's incredible for a newt, isn't it?
0:15:16 > 0:15:20Tonight, this particular pond only had smooth and palmate newts in.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24- Right, next pond?- Yeah.- OK.
0:15:24 > 0:15:27So we're hoping the third pond will have good numbers of the
0:15:27 > 0:15:30great crested newt, and we're in luck.
0:15:31 > 0:15:34- We've got a lovely male there. - He's very light coloured, isn't he?
0:15:34 > 0:15:37He is, yeah. There's a female.
0:15:37 > 0:15:39Female, yeah.
0:15:39 > 0:15:41- God they are big newts too, aren't they?- Yeah.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46Oh, you can see the lovely orange belly there as she came up for air.
0:15:46 > 0:15:48Oh, wow.
0:15:48 > 0:15:51And this is a busy time for them now?
0:15:51 > 0:15:54Yep. This is when the males are setting up territory
0:15:54 > 0:15:57and they'll defend that territory against other males.
0:15:57 > 0:16:00So they more or less divide the pond up.
0:16:00 > 0:16:03As he's displaying, he sort of flicks his tail and rocks and leans
0:16:03 > 0:16:04and all of that.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07Wafts pheromones towards the female as well.
0:16:07 > 0:16:09Oh, wow. A bit like aftershave.
0:16:09 > 0:16:10THEY CHUCKLE
0:16:10 > 0:16:12Never worked for me.
0:16:12 > 0:16:14It's a funny life, isn't it, being a newt?
0:16:14 > 0:16:17And what's the final total then for this pond?
0:16:17 > 0:16:21We've had six males - great cresteds, and six females,
0:16:21 > 0:16:23and 19 smooth palmates in total.
0:16:23 > 0:16:25That's pretty cool. That's pretty good numbers.
0:16:25 > 0:16:26That's good numbers for us, yeah.
0:16:32 > 0:16:36Wepre Brook flows through the whole length of the park.
0:16:36 > 0:16:39I've been meaning to take a walk along it since meeting with Pip
0:16:39 > 0:16:40on my first visit.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44There's a grey wagtail near the waterfall.
0:16:44 > 0:16:46He's probably got a nest here somewhere.
0:16:46 > 0:16:48May's the right time of year.
0:16:52 > 0:16:55But it's actually a very unassuming area of water alongside
0:16:55 > 0:16:59the boardwalk that catches my eye, a sort of puddle that I think
0:16:59 > 0:17:02was perhaps an old course of the main brook.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07This particular section of it is full of sticklebacks,
0:17:07 > 0:17:08absolutely full of them.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11Just underneath my nose now is a male
0:17:11 > 0:17:14and at this time of year they get very territorial.
0:17:14 > 0:17:16They're not quite into the full swing of it yet,
0:17:16 > 0:17:18that will be a few more weeks.
0:17:18 > 0:17:21But he's chasing everything away and, in time,
0:17:21 > 0:17:25what he's going to do is he'll build a little domed nest,
0:17:25 > 0:17:29like a tunnel, and he'll attract the female in, she'll lay her eggs
0:17:29 > 0:17:33in there and he will then guard those eggs until they hatch out.
0:17:34 > 0:17:38I've got a special underwater camera and I'm going to try and put it
0:17:38 > 0:17:40in the water to show you these close up
0:17:40 > 0:17:42cos they're such beautiful things.
0:17:42 > 0:17:44Whether it'll work or not, I'm not sure
0:17:44 > 0:17:46cos there's a lot of mud in here but I am going to give it a go.
0:17:49 > 0:17:53Oh, oh, oh. There's a female right in front of the lens now.
0:17:55 > 0:17:56There she goes.
0:17:59 > 0:18:02They're like little missiles just zooming past shot
0:18:02 > 0:18:03every now and again,
0:18:03 > 0:18:07and I'm pretty sure these are three-spined sticklebacks.
0:18:07 > 0:18:09You can get three-spined, you get five-spined.
0:18:10 > 0:18:14At the moment, this male is chasing absolutely everything away
0:18:14 > 0:18:16but there'll come a time, before long now,
0:18:16 > 0:18:21when he's in full colour that he'll be attracting a female
0:18:21 > 0:18:25but, for now, he just doesn't want anything in his territory at all,
0:18:25 > 0:18:26male or female.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36By late June and the height of summer,
0:18:36 > 0:18:38everything is very lush and green.
0:18:40 > 0:18:42Today I'm exploring the old golf course.
0:18:44 > 0:18:47Now, this might not look like the most interesting bit of ground.
0:18:47 > 0:18:50It's not exactly a hay meadow with
0:18:50 > 0:18:54thousands of orchids but it's still a really valuable wildlife
0:18:54 > 0:18:58habitat and it's nice to see places like this being left in this day
0:18:58 > 0:19:02when we're obsessed with tidiness and everywhere looking like a lawn.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05You've got a variety of grasses and buttercups and sorrel here,
0:19:05 > 0:19:09and it's actually a really good place for all kinds of wildlife.
0:19:14 > 0:19:17If you look closely, there are all sorts of tiny inhabitants
0:19:17 > 0:19:18living here.
0:19:20 > 0:19:24Both the larvae and adults of hundreds of species are eating the
0:19:24 > 0:19:28leaves of the grasses and nettles and feeding on flower nectar.
0:19:31 > 0:19:35This is an interesting little spot here, it's an old bunker.
0:19:35 > 0:19:37And the coarse grasses can't grow,
0:19:37 > 0:19:39so the flowers are much more accessible.
0:19:39 > 0:19:42You can see the white clover, you can see buttercups here as well.
0:19:42 > 0:19:44It's got a really nice little butterfly.
0:19:44 > 0:19:45Here it comes back in again.
0:19:45 > 0:19:47It's the large skipper.
0:19:47 > 0:19:49It's a small, orange one.
0:19:49 > 0:19:51It's a male, it's got a dark line across the wing.
0:19:51 > 0:19:54And he perches up waiting for the females
0:19:54 > 0:19:56to pass over and, when they do, he'll go after them
0:19:56 > 0:19:57he'll try and woo them
0:19:57 > 0:20:00so they can mate and she will then go and lay her eggs
0:20:00 > 0:20:02on some of the grasses nearby.
0:20:04 > 0:20:08It's clearly an important ecosystem for Wepre Park
0:20:08 > 0:20:11and a great place to come and look for insects when the sun is shining.
0:20:13 > 0:20:17Just as I'm leaving for the afternoon, we get a real bonus.
0:20:17 > 0:20:19Park staff have been chopping logs throughout the day
0:20:19 > 0:20:24and earlier they found an insect I haven't seen for many years,
0:20:24 > 0:20:27so I can't resist the opportunity to go and have a look.
0:20:28 > 0:20:32Lo and behold, just below my finger here is a giant...
0:20:32 > 0:20:35what they call a horntail or a wood wasp.
0:20:35 > 0:20:38And she looks fierce, this is a big insect.
0:20:38 > 0:20:43It's about, oh, probably 2.5 inches. What's that, 5-6cm long.
0:20:43 > 0:20:44But what she's got is...
0:20:44 > 0:20:49The horntail is like a spike and then she's got an ovipositor.
0:20:49 > 0:20:52She uses that to lay her eggs in the wood
0:20:52 > 0:20:56and eventually a big old larvae develops out of that
0:20:56 > 0:20:58and that will develop into another horntail.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01When I was a kid growing up in Mid Wales, we used to see them
0:21:01 > 0:21:04on these log piles all the time and they really like larch.
0:21:04 > 0:21:06And when she's egg laying like this,
0:21:06 > 0:21:09she's so focused on it you can go right up to her.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21By September, the park is starting to look autumnal.
0:21:26 > 0:21:28The morning is cool but bright
0:21:28 > 0:21:31and the trees are heavily laden with berries.
0:21:33 > 0:21:37It's a good time to spot late-flying butterflies,
0:21:37 > 0:21:40especially the intricately-shaped Comma butterfly.
0:21:40 > 0:21:44With its ragged edges and autumnal orange and brown colours,
0:21:44 > 0:21:48it can blend in with the dead leaves amongst which it hibernates.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55Now, on my first visit here, I met up with Lisa Reeves
0:21:55 > 0:21:58and we went up into the woods to look for signs of badgers.
0:21:58 > 0:22:01And if you remember, I put out some camera traps.
0:22:01 > 0:22:02Well, I've come back to meet Lisa
0:22:02 > 0:22:05to show her exactly what those camera traps filmed.
0:22:09 > 0:22:10A rabbit.
0:22:10 > 0:22:13- I bet there's lots of rabbits here. - There are, yeah, there are lots.
0:22:13 > 0:22:17I mean, we had lots and lots of rabbit shots on here.
0:22:17 > 0:22:19This is quite an interesting one, this one here.
0:22:20 > 0:22:24Badger, and it's digging around, getting at food
0:22:24 > 0:22:28and I would reckon it's probably bluebell bulbs.
0:22:28 > 0:22:30- Oh, right!- Cos you see these? These are all bluebells here
0:22:30 > 0:22:32and he's been digging around here and he moves on,
0:22:32 > 0:22:34has a bit of a shake and then walks out.
0:22:34 > 0:22:36This is a nice one.
0:22:36 > 0:22:38You see him there now?
0:22:38 > 0:22:42Squirrel digging around and a woodpecker...
0:22:42 > 0:22:44- A woodpecker. - ..on a post at the back.
0:22:44 > 0:22:46A male woodpecker.
0:22:46 > 0:22:48See the little red at the back of the head of the nape there?
0:22:48 > 0:22:50Yeah. And that's how you can tell it's male?
0:22:50 > 0:22:52Yes. Yeah, it's got the little bit of red at the back there.
0:22:52 > 0:22:55Digging away probably for grubs in that dead wood there.
0:22:55 > 0:22:57Oh, this is quite a nice one as well.
0:22:57 > 0:22:58Watch this one now.
0:22:58 > 0:23:01A badger again.
0:23:01 > 0:23:03Coming right in.
0:23:03 > 0:23:06They're really quite big, quite chunky, quite strong animals
0:23:06 > 0:23:08aren't they?
0:23:08 > 0:23:10Off he goes and he comes back around and has a good look
0:23:10 > 0:23:14because, of course, the camera is a new thing in its territory.
0:23:14 > 0:23:15- Look. - SHE LAUGHS
0:23:15 > 0:23:19Has a good old sniff and then, once he's happy, off he goes.
0:23:19 > 0:23:22And can you tell the difference between male and female
0:23:22 > 0:23:23with the face?
0:23:23 > 0:23:25The male has got a broad head.
0:23:25 > 0:23:27If you were watching badgers, you can compare them.
0:23:27 > 0:23:29You can say, "Well, that's a male, that's a female."
0:23:29 > 0:23:33When you see one just one-off like that, it's really hard.
0:23:33 > 0:23:34Really difficult but, yeah, you can.
0:23:36 > 0:23:38This is a lovely one. This is my favourite, I think, this one here.
0:23:40 > 0:23:43I said badgers were clean animals, and one of the things they do is
0:23:43 > 0:23:49they'll clean out the bedding from their earth, from the den regularly
0:23:49 > 0:23:53and then obviously they've got to get clean stuff to take back in.
0:23:53 > 0:23:54You watch this now.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57A moon-walking badger going backwards.
0:23:57 > 0:23:59See it? It's right at the bottom of the frame, but what it's doing...
0:23:59 > 0:24:01It's rolling it, yeah.
0:24:01 > 0:24:02Carrying leaves, see it?
0:24:02 > 0:24:03Big, big pile of leaves.
0:24:03 > 0:24:06Isn't that fantastic? Going backwards there.
0:24:06 > 0:24:08And what it does it sort of drags it but it's got it
0:24:08 > 0:24:11between its front paws and its neck there,
0:24:11 > 0:24:13so it's going backwards like that.
0:24:13 > 0:24:15So it is like a moon-walking badger.
0:24:20 > 0:24:22The next morning, I'm on the hunt for a group of creatures
0:24:22 > 0:24:26all of us should be familiar with in our homes and gardens.
0:24:26 > 0:24:29For some, they might be terrifying but, for me,
0:24:29 > 0:24:32I think they're incredibly fascinating.
0:24:33 > 0:24:37Joining me on this perfect autumn morning is Richard Gallon.
0:24:37 > 0:24:40He works for the local Biological Records Centre
0:24:40 > 0:24:43and is passionate about spiders.
0:24:43 > 0:24:45There's one.
0:24:45 > 0:24:48- Here, Richard, look. See it? - You've got two of them there.
0:24:48 > 0:24:51- So what you've got here is the female.- Yeah.
0:24:51 > 0:24:55You've got the male guarding and these are Metellina segmentata.
0:24:55 > 0:24:57Have they not got a common English name?
0:24:57 > 0:24:59Unfortunately not, that's the problem with spiders.
0:24:59 > 0:25:00A nice big web as well.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03Yeah, the web's are quite distinctive in Metellina.
0:25:03 > 0:25:04They've got a hole in the middle.
0:25:04 > 0:25:07You can identify a lot of spiders from the webs.
0:25:07 > 0:25:10We're lucky - the early morning dew as well.
0:25:10 > 0:25:12- That makes them stand out a bit. - That's true, yeah.
0:25:12 > 0:25:14Ah, yes, well spotted.
0:25:15 > 0:25:19Ah, that's a garden spider the Araneus diadematus.
0:25:19 > 0:25:20Oh, right.
0:25:20 > 0:25:22Oh, and she's caught something as well. Look.
0:25:22 > 0:25:26- There's a daddy-longlegs. - There's a daddy-longlegs.
0:25:26 > 0:25:29Wrapped him up for later. Still twitching.
0:25:29 > 0:25:33So that's what she'll do, she'll just wrap it up and then leave it
0:25:33 > 0:25:35there, then when she's hungry, she'll go down and feed on it?
0:25:35 > 0:25:37That's it. Almost like a larder, I suppose.
0:25:37 > 0:25:39What's she got? She's got a fly as well, has she?
0:25:39 > 0:25:41Yeah, she's eating a fly she's caught.
0:25:41 > 0:25:45She's wrapped it in silk, delivered the bite to kill the fly
0:25:45 > 0:25:49and she's now mushing it up with enzymes to dissolve it
0:25:49 > 0:25:52into a mush cos, of course, spiders can't eat solid pieces
0:25:52 > 0:25:56of food, they can only take in liquefied food.
0:25:56 > 0:26:00And what'll happen to her now, then? Will she live for a long time?
0:26:00 > 0:26:05No, essentially a year-long season for this type of spider.
0:26:05 > 0:26:09She'll fatten up on autumn flies, and then lay an egg sac
0:26:09 > 0:26:11and that'll...over winter.
0:26:11 > 0:26:13- So she's going to die now in the next...- She is.
0:26:13 > 0:26:15..probably in the next month or two?
0:26:15 > 0:26:17Maybe sooner if a bird finds her.
0:26:17 > 0:26:18Here's something interesting.
0:26:18 > 0:26:20It looks like a spider tent.
0:26:20 > 0:26:23Yeah, that's exactly what it is. She's a nursery web spider.
0:26:23 > 0:26:25Nursery web spider, I've heard of those.
0:26:25 > 0:26:28She's been carrying an egg sac around for the last few weeks,
0:26:28 > 0:26:30and now it's ready to hatch she's put it in this tent
0:26:30 > 0:26:32to protect the spiderlings.
0:26:32 > 0:26:34It's an amazing structure, really.
0:26:34 > 0:26:36So she's giving them a good start in life.
0:26:36 > 0:26:38And let me guess - she dies.
0:26:38 > 0:26:39Afraid so.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42I tell you, it's a sad tale being a spider, really.
0:26:44 > 0:26:45Oh, wow.
0:26:46 > 0:26:47Right, what's this one, then?
0:26:47 > 0:26:49This is a house spider.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52You see the tube webs that are coming out of the wall here?
0:26:52 > 0:26:54This time of year, September time, autumn,
0:26:54 > 0:26:57this is when the males are out looking for females.
0:26:57 > 0:26:59So that's why we see them all the time.
0:26:59 > 0:27:03And as we speak now, he or she is going to be either in there
0:27:03 > 0:27:04- or in there, are they? - Could well be.
0:27:04 > 0:27:06Yeah, we can give it a shot.
0:27:06 > 0:27:08We'll try and lure them out and see what we've got.
0:27:08 > 0:27:10Go on, then. How are you going to do that?
0:27:10 > 0:27:13- We're going to use a tuning fork. - I hope you've got one cos I haven't.
0:27:13 > 0:27:15As luck would have it, I've got one here.
0:27:15 > 0:27:16- HE LAUGHS - Good man.
0:27:16 > 0:27:17FORK DINGS
0:27:18 > 0:27:21Of course, the web's not sticky really, it's more of a sort of guide
0:27:21 > 0:27:25so if insects brush against it, she knows they're there.
0:27:25 > 0:27:26And she'll come out and grab them.
0:27:26 > 0:27:28From the tuning fork, she's been fooled into thinking
0:27:28 > 0:27:31- there's a piece of prey there and out she comes.- Well, well, well!
0:27:31 > 0:27:34The web can be recycled and used again by other spiders
0:27:34 > 0:27:36when she dies and moves on.
0:27:36 > 0:27:37- Oh, can it?- It can.
0:27:37 > 0:27:40Well, that is brilliant and that's the house spider.
0:27:40 > 0:27:42That's the house spider - Tegenaria.
0:27:42 > 0:27:45Tegenaria, even I knew that. In Latin.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48- Look, how impressive is that? - Oh, you're learning, Iol.
0:27:49 > 0:27:51Well, it looks like I'm going to have to add
0:27:51 > 0:27:55tuning fork to the list of things I take wildlife watching from now on.
0:28:02 > 0:28:04Who'd have thought that a park like this
0:28:04 > 0:28:08right on the edge of Deeside's industries could hold ancient
0:28:08 > 0:28:13woodland, an important population of the rare great crested newt?
0:28:13 > 0:28:16But, for me, Wepre has been more about the common species,
0:28:16 > 0:28:18being able to see spiders close up
0:28:18 > 0:28:22and watch a wood mouse come out into the wall and feed,
0:28:22 > 0:28:24and maybe that's one of the most important roles
0:28:24 > 0:28:26these urban parks have to play
0:28:26 > 0:28:30is to provide that first connection with wildlife.
0:28:30 > 0:28:33And who knows, it could well lead on to a lifelong love affair.