0:00:02 > 0:00:04I'll be looking at some of the jewels of Wales
0:00:04 > 0:00:06and the wildlife associated with them.
0:00:07 > 0:00:10These are landscape gems.
0:00:10 > 0:00:15My pick of some of the best natural and industrial landscapes of Wales.
0:00:15 > 0:00:19I'll be meeting people who live, work
0:00:19 > 0:00:21and play in this spectacular scenery.
0:00:21 > 0:00:25I'll be finding out why they love it so much.
0:00:25 > 0:00:29It's a national treasure really, you've got everything here.
0:00:29 > 0:00:30I'll be exploring the sea.
0:00:30 > 0:00:34I will also be finding out how the Welsh landscape is being used
0:00:34 > 0:00:37today, and discovering some very surprising wildlife
0:00:37 > 0:00:40right amongst this dramatic activity.
0:00:40 > 0:00:43Wales has terrific landscape,
0:00:43 > 0:00:46and it's been enjoyed and exploited for centuries.
0:00:46 > 0:00:50It's been shaped by nature and by man.
0:00:56 > 0:00:59In this part of my journey, I'm exploring real gems
0:00:59 > 0:01:04on Wales's lowland, including a magnificent woodland.
0:01:05 > 0:01:10I'm also taking you to some real choice locations on the coast.
0:01:11 > 0:01:14And I'm venturing underwater.
0:01:16 > 0:01:20But first I'm taking you to what I think is Wales's best green lane.
0:01:20 > 0:01:25'It's found near the village of Chwilog, halfway between Cricieth
0:01:25 > 0:01:29'and Pwllheli, and it's a delightful walk on an early spring morning.'
0:01:30 > 0:01:33Just look at the shape of this tree here.
0:01:33 > 0:01:37An old oak tree and the branches, they just curl around each other.
0:01:37 > 0:01:42Reminds me of one of those trees I used to read about in fairy tales
0:01:42 > 0:01:45when I was a kid, you know, one that's changed into a witch.
0:01:45 > 0:01:49And this is Lon Goed, a famous old Welsh route.
0:01:49 > 0:01:53And it would have been at one time the main entry and exit point
0:01:53 > 0:01:58into the Llyn Peninsula. People would have come along here, they would have walked,
0:01:58 > 0:02:02they would be on horseback. And I'm quite envious of those days
0:02:02 > 0:02:06because they would have had a lot more time to just look around and listen.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09And the birdsong here is incredible,
0:02:09 > 0:02:11the whole route for miles is lined with these old oaks,
0:02:11 > 0:02:16and you've got bluebells and stitchwort growing all around you.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19It's a great place to come and enjoy wildlife.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23During the spring, the trees are alive
0:02:23 > 0:02:25with the sounds of common woodland birds.
0:02:25 > 0:02:29Male chaffinches are singing and claiming their territories.
0:02:29 > 0:02:33This great tit is chattering away, probably alarmed
0:02:33 > 0:02:36that I'm walking underneath its nest.
0:02:36 > 0:02:42But these two are not bothered at all, they're far too busy.
0:02:42 > 0:02:44There's a pair of blue tits right up
0:02:44 > 0:02:47amongst the uppermost branches of this oak tree here.
0:02:47 > 0:02:50And they're frantically looking around for food,
0:02:50 > 0:02:54they're investigating every single bud, every leaf, even tearing
0:02:54 > 0:02:58the buds apart just to get at the eggs, the larvae of these insects.
0:02:58 > 0:03:02And they're expending a phenomenal amount of energy,
0:03:02 > 0:03:05but when you think that some of these mature oak trees have got
0:03:05 > 0:03:08over 750 different species of insects growing on them,
0:03:08 > 0:03:13there must be, what, tens of thousands of eggs and larvae there.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16And those are packed full of energy, so it's well worth it,
0:03:16 > 0:03:19because the food they get, they replace all that energy and more,
0:03:19 > 0:03:21because they'll be egg laying now,
0:03:21 > 0:03:25they'll be feeding young later on.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28And they'll go along every single branch of these oaks.
0:03:30 > 0:03:35Lon Goed in English means Wood Lane, and it's a valuable piece
0:03:35 > 0:03:38of woodland nature reserve amongst farmland.
0:03:38 > 0:03:42Ancient oak woodlands are hard to come by these days,
0:03:42 > 0:03:46as most of the landscape has been developed for farming.
0:03:46 > 0:03:49But a few have survived, and quite often because the terrain was
0:03:49 > 0:03:53far too difficult to farm, or they were set aside in the past
0:03:53 > 0:03:58as woodland for the production of wood for tools and other implements.
0:03:58 > 0:04:00This one is called Coed Crafnant,
0:04:00 > 0:04:03and it's a real jewel, set in a great location
0:04:03 > 0:04:06on a hillside next to farmland near Harlech.
0:04:09 > 0:04:11'The woodland floor is full of moss-covered rocks,
0:04:11 > 0:04:13'only good enough for rough grazing
0:04:13 > 0:04:16'if you're a farmer, but the owners of the wood,
0:04:16 > 0:04:19'the North Wales Wildlife Trust, rarely allow that,
0:04:19 > 0:04:23'they prefer a rich wildlife habitat to develop.
0:04:23 > 0:04:28'And Coed Crafnant probably has one of the biggest selection
0:04:28 > 0:04:30'of nesting woodland birds in Wales.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33'And because the woodland is on a slope, the views of the birds
0:04:33 > 0:04:37'are particularly good, especially high up on the hillside.'
0:04:39 > 0:04:43There's a male wood warbler singing here to attract a mate.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47He's not long back in from Africa,
0:04:47 > 0:04:51so the first thing he does is establish his territory.
0:04:51 > 0:04:53And he's got this...
0:04:53 > 0:04:55that call now, hear it?
0:04:55 > 0:04:58"Di-di-di-di-di rrrr!" Fantastic, that tells you every time,
0:04:58 > 0:05:00no matter where you are - wood warbler.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06And we're very lucky to see this, because it usually takes place
0:05:06 > 0:05:12right up in the uppermost branches of a wood,
0:05:12 > 0:05:15but because we've climbed up, we're looking down on all this.
0:05:15 > 0:05:19And every now and again, he'll do this little song flight -
0:05:19 > 0:05:25slow wing beats, sing, going from branch to branch, like that.
0:05:29 > 0:05:33And when he sings, when he comes down, "Rrrr," like that, he puts
0:05:33 > 0:05:37so much effort into him, you can see his whole body shake.
0:05:37 > 0:05:41Fantastic little birds, lovely little birds.
0:05:43 > 0:05:48'Coed Crafnant is also an important woodland for pied flycatchers.
0:05:50 > 0:05:53'It's a migratory bird that's very special in Wales,
0:05:53 > 0:05:58'as most of the UK population of pied flycatchers migrate here.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02'The North Wales Wildlife Trust monitor the birds carefully
0:06:02 > 0:06:05'and have set up nesting boxes in the woodland
0:06:05 > 0:06:08'to supplement their natural tree hole sites.'
0:06:09 > 0:06:16Just sat here quietly, watching a pair of pied flycatchers,
0:06:16 > 0:06:19they've got a nest in a nest box on an oak tree here.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22They're hole nesters, but they will take to nest boxes.
0:06:22 > 0:06:24She's on a full clutch, I think,
0:06:24 > 0:06:27she'll have eggs in there, but she's not sitting
0:06:27 > 0:06:29comfortably at the moment.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34For a day or two now, she'll be quite jumpy,
0:06:34 > 0:06:36she'll move around a bit, she'll feed up a bit
0:06:36 > 0:06:41and then, eventually, once she sits on those eggs, she'll settle down.
0:06:44 > 0:06:48That's nice, the male's coming in now, he's coming in with food.
0:06:50 > 0:06:55He's just fed her, she's come off the nest and he's just fed her.
0:06:55 > 0:07:01The female is a fairly drab bird, brown and not quite white,
0:07:01 > 0:07:04but pale cream if you like, but the male is stunning.
0:07:04 > 0:07:08Black, and I mean sheer black, and bright white as well.
0:07:09 > 0:07:11He's a handsome, handsome bird
0:07:11 > 0:07:16and that's quite unusual in woodland birds because the canopy here
0:07:16 > 0:07:19is incredibly dense, there are leaves everywhere,
0:07:19 > 0:07:22you can't see much and most of these woodland birds rely
0:07:22 > 0:07:28on song to be heard, whereas the male pied flycatcher,
0:07:28 > 0:07:31yes, he's got a song, it's not a fantastic song.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34But he's incredibly bright bird as well,
0:07:34 > 0:07:38so he must be quite visible in amongst this canopy.
0:07:38 > 0:07:42And one of the wonderful things is that people have been ringing
0:07:42 > 0:07:45these birds for many years now and what they've found is that
0:07:45 > 0:07:49the chicks and the adults will come back often,
0:07:49 > 0:07:54not just to the same area, not just to the same wood,
0:07:54 > 0:07:56but to the same hole in the same tree.
0:07:56 > 0:08:00That's after flying all the way down to Africa and back
0:08:00 > 0:08:01and that's phenomenal.
0:08:02 > 0:08:06While oak woodlands are important for songbirds during the spring,
0:08:06 > 0:08:09it's the estuaries that are important
0:08:09 > 0:08:11for wading birds during the winter.
0:08:11 > 0:08:16The Dee estuary, sandwiched between Flint and the Wirral,
0:08:16 > 0:08:20is one of the most important feeding areas for waders, ducks and geese
0:08:20 > 0:08:24in the UK, if not Europe. It's a real gem of an estuary.
0:08:25 > 0:08:29During the winter, the population of birds reaches over 100,000
0:08:29 > 0:08:33as shorebirds from all over Europe come here to escape
0:08:33 > 0:08:38the colder continent to find guaranteed food on the mudflats.
0:08:38 > 0:08:41The mud and sea is full of a fantastic range of worms,
0:08:41 > 0:08:44molluscs, and other invertebrates.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47I've watched these birds many times from the shore,
0:08:47 > 0:08:51but I've never explored the estuary from the sea or indeed considered
0:08:51 > 0:08:55the relationship between the Dee fishing community and the wildlife.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59'Keith Marland has been fishing on the Dee for over 30 years,
0:08:59 > 0:09:03'and he mainly fishes for cockles on the mudflats, which of course
0:09:03 > 0:09:05'is one of the main food items of the birds,
0:09:05 > 0:09:08'particularly oystercatchers.'
0:09:08 > 0:09:11Is there a season now then for the cockles?
0:09:11 > 0:09:16The season as it stands is July to the end of December.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19Last year, the quota was 300 kilos per day.
0:09:19 > 0:09:23- 300 kilos a day per person?- Yeah.
0:09:23 > 0:09:28There's 50 licences with an option to have four apprentice cocklers.
0:09:28 > 0:09:30And there's enough cockles on here
0:09:30 > 0:09:35for the birds, for the people and for next year?
0:09:35 > 0:09:39Yeah, rule of thumb is a third for the birds,
0:09:39 > 0:09:43a third for the cocklers and a third for stock.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46And the boats, why do you use the boats then for cockling?
0:09:46 > 0:09:49Well, you're basically working on an island, you know,
0:09:49 > 0:09:52so you come early on in the tide,
0:09:52 > 0:09:55put the boat dry out on the top of the bank,
0:09:55 > 0:09:56and then cockle, load the boat
0:09:56 > 0:09:59and then wait for the tide to come back in.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02- So you work between tides really, you just...- Yeah.
0:10:02 > 0:10:05Should see some birds on these banks as well, should we,
0:10:05 > 0:10:08oystercatchers and a few redshank, maybe?
0:10:08 > 0:10:11I'll take you over to Little Salisbury and let's have a look.
0:10:11 > 0:10:13- See what's there. - Usually oystercatchers,
0:10:13 > 0:10:15feeding on the mussels.
0:10:21 > 0:10:23'Spending much of his time on the estuary,
0:10:23 > 0:10:26'Keith knows the favourite locations of the birds,
0:10:26 > 0:10:31'and he also wanted to show me another special wildlife attraction.
0:10:31 > 0:10:35'The Dee Estuary is one of the few places on the Welsh coast
0:10:35 > 0:10:38'that grey seals haul up on sandbanks.
0:10:38 > 0:10:40'Seals are usually very wary of people,
0:10:40 > 0:10:44'and move quickly to water if anyone ventures too close,
0:10:44 > 0:10:48'but these seals are very used to fishermen and their boats.
0:10:50 > 0:10:54'Nevertheless, we'll keep our distance to avoid any disturbance.'
0:10:54 > 0:10:56Fascinating creatures.
0:10:56 > 0:10:58They are, they are.
0:10:59 > 0:11:02Some in the water as well, see their heads bobbing up and down?
0:11:02 > 0:11:04- Oh, yeah.- Do you reckon...
0:11:04 > 0:11:07There's a lady doing some research on them and they reckon
0:11:07 > 0:11:10that some of these may well come from Pembrokeshire,
0:11:10 > 0:11:14all the way around the Welsh coast, they come here
0:11:14 > 0:11:18just to haul up, to mature, I suppose, and to feed.
0:11:18 > 0:11:20Well, as you can see,
0:11:20 > 0:11:24- they're not starving.- No, no!
0:11:24 > 0:11:27What have we got here, there's got to be 60 or 70 here?
0:11:27 > 0:11:31- In the summer, they increase.- Is it? - 400 or 500, they reckon, in the...
0:11:31 > 0:11:34- It's a good number, isn't it? - Yeah, in the summer.
0:11:34 > 0:11:36When do you get peak time then, when do you get most here?
0:11:36 > 0:11:38July and August?
0:11:38 > 0:11:43It's a coincidence, it's when there's the biggest run of salmon...
0:11:45 > 0:11:49..we seem to have a lot of... of seals.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52- They know, don't they? - Course they do.
0:11:52 > 0:11:56They know when's the best time to come, they know when's good fishing.
0:11:56 > 0:11:58They probably know you by now.
0:11:59 > 0:12:01Yeah, I should imagine, yeah.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04They are a lovely animal, but it's a pity they eat too many fish!
0:12:04 > 0:12:09- Yeah? You don't like them eating your fish?- No, no, no.
0:12:14 > 0:12:16'I confess I'm very envious of Keith,
0:12:16 > 0:12:19'he has a front seat view of the Dee's wildlife
0:12:19 > 0:12:23'pretty much on a daily basis, and it's part of the estuary's make-up.'
0:12:23 > 0:12:26Well, it's just one of those things you take for granted,
0:12:26 > 0:12:30it's a national treasure, really. You've got everything here.
0:12:38 > 0:12:39'I'm walking, early May,
0:12:39 > 0:12:42'on Malltraeth Cob on the western coast of Anglesey.
0:12:45 > 0:12:49'The cob is a mile-long embankment built during the early 1800s
0:12:49 > 0:12:52'to protect the low-lying land from flooding.'
0:12:53 > 0:12:55This is the Cefni estuary,
0:12:55 > 0:12:59one of the lesser-known estuaries of Wales,
0:12:59 > 0:13:01but still a wonderful place for birds.
0:13:01 > 0:13:06And especially in the winter for waders and wildfowl.
0:13:06 > 0:13:10But can you imagine before this Malltraeth Cob, this sea wall
0:13:10 > 0:13:14was built several centuries ago, what it would have looked like?
0:13:14 > 0:13:18At that time, the estuary would have extended halfway across Anglesey.
0:13:18 > 0:13:23A whole series of creeks and lovely wetland area,
0:13:23 > 0:13:26must have been a great place for breeding waders,
0:13:26 > 0:13:28redshank and lapwing.
0:13:28 > 0:13:32And although the land now behind the cob has been improved
0:13:32 > 0:13:34for agriculture, much of it dried out,
0:13:34 > 0:13:38it has actually created a very different habitat,
0:13:38 > 0:13:43and a habitat which in parts is just as good as the estuary itself.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49The Cefni Marsh at Malltraeth was in fact originally drained
0:13:49 > 0:13:55for coal mining and the building of the A5 turnpike road to Holyhead.
0:13:55 > 0:13:57And over the past two centuries,
0:13:57 > 0:14:01this reclaimed lowland has also been used for farming.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04Today, much of it's owned by the RSPB,
0:14:04 > 0:14:07and is one of its main wildlife reserves in Wales.
0:14:07 > 0:14:10It has a great mix of habitats.
0:14:10 > 0:14:12There are wetland pools and reeds,
0:14:12 > 0:14:15which attract waterfowl like these shovelers.
0:14:17 > 0:14:21There's farmland pasture, which attracts greylag geese,
0:14:21 > 0:14:25and it's an important nesting site for lapwings.
0:14:25 > 0:14:29There are also plenty of shrubs and hedges for butterflies.
0:14:32 > 0:14:36When the RSPB first bought this bit of land here, Malltraeth Marsh,
0:14:36 > 0:14:38one of the target birds
0:14:38 > 0:14:41was to get marsh harriers back into Wales, nesting.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44And there's a female marsh harrier flying around,
0:14:44 > 0:14:48just hunting over the reeds and up in the air and then back.
0:14:48 > 0:14:50Very leisurely, slow flight back and forth,
0:14:50 > 0:14:53trying to flush moorhens or coots or a teal,
0:14:53 > 0:14:58or if it sees a water vole, it will plunge down.
0:14:58 > 0:15:02And it's an odd bird, because in other parts of the UK,
0:15:02 > 0:15:04in England, they're now quite common.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07In East Anglia, they're nesting in corn fields,
0:15:07 > 0:15:11in Scotland, they're nesting as far north as Insh Marshes in Speyside
0:15:11 > 0:15:13and even beyond that.
0:15:13 > 0:15:16But for some reason, they haven't nested in Wales
0:15:16 > 0:15:19for the best part of 35 years now.
0:15:19 > 0:15:22And why they don't come back,
0:15:22 > 0:15:24especially when you've got an area like Malltraeth Marsh,
0:15:24 > 0:15:26which is huge, with plenty of food,
0:15:26 > 0:15:29we just don't understand, but we've got a female here now.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32All we want is a male. Will it happen?
0:15:32 > 0:15:34I don't know. I don't know.
0:15:48 > 0:15:51Amongst the low-lying farmland of Wales,
0:15:51 > 0:15:53you'll find the occasional patch of rough ground.
0:15:53 > 0:15:57These are areas that are either too wet to farm,
0:15:57 > 0:16:02or have, for one reason or another, not been drained for farming.
0:16:02 > 0:16:03This area of marshy ground
0:16:03 > 0:16:05on the Llyn Peninsula in northwest Wales
0:16:05 > 0:16:07is called Cors Geirch,
0:16:07 > 0:16:10and is another lowland jewel of mine.
0:16:11 > 0:16:13It's a national nature reserve,
0:16:13 > 0:16:18and during spring, it's full of plants and insects.
0:16:18 > 0:16:20This is a broad-bodied chaser,
0:16:20 > 0:16:24a common dragonfly of ponds and natural pools.
0:16:24 > 0:16:27The four dark brown patches on the wing bases
0:16:27 > 0:16:29instantly identifies the species.
0:16:31 > 0:16:34One of the big attractions for me,
0:16:34 > 0:16:36coming to a wetland area like this in spring,
0:16:36 > 0:16:42is to see the bogbean flowers - they're absolutely beautiful.
0:16:42 > 0:16:44And great for all kinds of insects,
0:16:44 > 0:16:47especially bees, bumble bees and honey bees, flying everywhere.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50And many people extol the virtues
0:16:50 > 0:16:52of flowers like orchids, for example,
0:16:52 > 0:16:54and quite rightly so, I suppose,
0:16:54 > 0:16:57but you look in detail at the flowers of a bogbean
0:16:57 > 0:17:01and it's every bit as intricate, every bit as beautiful.
0:17:01 > 0:17:03If not more so, I think.
0:17:04 > 0:17:09Not only is Cors Geirch alive with the sounds of insects during spring,
0:17:09 > 0:17:14it's also full of birds singing and calling on their territories.
0:17:14 > 0:17:15BIRDSONG
0:17:17 > 0:17:19When you come to a marsh or a fen like this,
0:17:19 > 0:17:22you really need to use your ears as much as your eyes,
0:17:22 > 0:17:23because a lot of the birds,
0:17:23 > 0:17:25especially some of these warblers
0:17:25 > 0:17:27that have just come back from Africa -
0:17:27 > 0:17:31your reed warblers and sedge warblers - they're skulking birds.
0:17:31 > 0:17:33They don't come out into the open.
0:17:33 > 0:17:36They'll be in the middle of all this mass of vegetation,
0:17:36 > 0:17:38singing away like mad. And if they do pop up,
0:17:38 > 0:17:41they pop up invariably for a couple of seconds,
0:17:41 > 0:17:44you get the binoculars out, and they've gone back down.
0:17:44 > 0:17:48But very lucky at the moment, because there's a sedge warbler,
0:17:48 > 0:17:51male sedge warbler, up on the edge of the alder,
0:17:51 > 0:17:55singing away like mad in this sun, showing himself.
0:17:55 > 0:17:58I've had some of the best views I've ever had of this bird.
0:17:58 > 0:18:02Lovely bird, you can see the black eye band here and dark cap as well.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05It's a lovely bird, really nice bird.
0:18:05 > 0:18:06An incredibly rambling song,
0:18:06 > 0:18:09scratchy and then a little bit tuneful,
0:18:09 > 0:18:12and then scratchy again, just goes on and on and on and on.
0:18:27 > 0:18:31Much of what's good about lowland Wales is along its coast.
0:18:31 > 0:18:33And if you measure every portion
0:18:33 > 0:18:36of every beach, bay and rugged cliff,
0:18:36 > 0:18:39including Anglesey's coast, as the Ordnance Survey have done,
0:18:39 > 0:18:43you'd total an amazing coastal length of nearly 1,700 miles.
0:18:47 > 0:18:48Just look at this.
0:18:51 > 0:18:54There's not much I can say to add to that, is there?
0:18:54 > 0:18:56Incredible.
0:18:56 > 0:18:57And we're so lucky in Wales,
0:18:57 > 0:19:02not just to have landscape like this, but the fact that these days,
0:19:02 > 0:19:05you can walk almost all the way around the Welsh coast.
0:19:05 > 0:19:09And some of those paths are well-established and well-known,
0:19:09 > 0:19:12Pembrokeshire Coast Path maybe being the best one.
0:19:12 > 0:19:15But this one was only opened a few years ago.
0:19:15 > 0:19:17This is the Ceredigion Coast Path
0:19:17 > 0:19:20and it stretches from beyond Aberystwyth in the north,
0:19:20 > 0:19:25all the way down to the south side of Cardigan down there.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28And the section I'm walking, this is Cwmtydu down here.
0:19:28 > 0:19:31I've climbed up and I'll follow the coast around,
0:19:31 > 0:19:34only for about 4½, 5 miles maybe,
0:19:34 > 0:19:38but I think this is probably the best section of all.
0:19:40 > 0:19:43I'm heading south in the direction of Llangrannog,
0:19:43 > 0:19:48with the headland of Ynys Lochtyn and Aberporth in the distance.
0:19:49 > 0:19:52The path follows a route along the cliff tops high above the sea,
0:19:52 > 0:19:56and you walk at eye level with the coastal birds.
0:20:00 > 0:20:02On the cliffs themselves,
0:20:02 > 0:20:05peregrines are nesting.
0:20:05 > 0:20:09The cliffs are also great vantage points for the peregrines
0:20:09 > 0:20:11to look out for passing prey.
0:20:11 > 0:20:13They hunt and kill birds as they fly.
0:20:13 > 0:20:15Pigeons are a favourite.
0:20:20 > 0:20:22There are also kestrels about.
0:20:24 > 0:20:26There are a few things you do in life
0:20:26 > 0:20:30where time passes and you don't really notice it.
0:20:30 > 0:20:32One is watching waves on a shore,
0:20:32 > 0:20:34another one is looking into an open fire,
0:20:34 > 0:20:38but for me, it's watching hunting kestrels.
0:20:38 > 0:20:41There's a male and a female kestrel hunting up here now.
0:20:41 > 0:20:42They're not hovering,
0:20:42 > 0:20:46they're actually using the wind just to stay up in the air.
0:20:48 > 0:20:50She's just gone down...
0:20:52 > 0:20:54No, she's come back,
0:20:54 > 0:20:59maybe with a beetle and a talon full of grass there.
0:21:01 > 0:21:05In fact, the kestrel has caught a lizard.
0:21:06 > 0:21:10Its body shape can clearly be seen hanging from the kestrel's talons.
0:21:10 > 0:21:13They don't always eat on the wing. These two are now,
0:21:13 > 0:21:16because they're catching mainly beetles, a few lizards,
0:21:16 > 0:21:19but if they catch something bigger, if they catch a vole,
0:21:19 > 0:21:23they'll land on one of these posts and feed there.
0:21:23 > 0:21:26But you can watch kestrels, I find anyway, for hours and hours
0:21:26 > 0:21:28and time will just pass.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38The Ceredigion Coastal Path also passes through pasture,
0:21:38 > 0:21:40and it's in those habitats
0:21:40 > 0:21:44that you'll find this magnificent red-legged, red-beaked crow.
0:21:44 > 0:21:46One of the really special birds
0:21:46 > 0:21:49along this section of coast is the chough.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52Very scarce, very much a western bird.
0:21:52 > 0:21:54I think Wales has something like
0:21:54 > 0:21:57two-thirds of the UK population of them.
0:21:57 > 0:21:59And there's a pair here
0:21:59 > 0:22:02feeding away on an old bank
0:22:02 > 0:22:05and that's ideal for them, because that long sickle-like beak,
0:22:05 > 0:22:08they dig up grubs, particularly ants.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11They love ant eggs, ant grubs as well.
0:22:11 > 0:22:13And this bank has been warmed by the sun,
0:22:13 > 0:22:16so it will be full of invertebrates for them.
0:22:16 > 0:22:17They don't like the sections
0:22:17 > 0:22:21that are covered in gorse and heather and bracken.
0:22:21 > 0:22:26They like these well-grazed but unimproved parts of the coast.
0:22:26 > 0:22:28And they're lovely birds to watch.
0:22:28 > 0:22:31To call them a member of the crow family isn't really fair,
0:22:31 > 0:22:33because when you look at them close up,
0:22:33 > 0:22:35you see that the feathers aren't black -
0:22:35 > 0:22:38they've got this lovely purplish-green sheen to them.
0:22:38 > 0:22:42And then when you add the bright red bill, the bright red legs,
0:22:42 > 0:22:44they're quite stunning birds.
0:22:51 > 0:22:54On a sunny spring day, there aren't many better walks in Wales
0:22:54 > 0:22:57than this stretch of coast overlooking Ceredigion Bay,
0:22:57 > 0:22:59and the variety of birds that you'll see,
0:22:59 > 0:23:02from stonechats along the path
0:23:02 > 0:23:07to nesting fulmars on the cliffs, makes it even more worthwhile.
0:23:13 > 0:23:18The Welsh coast is blessed with some impressive sand dune formations.
0:23:18 > 0:23:21On the dunes, you'll find special wildlife.
0:23:21 > 0:23:24And those at Oxwich on the Gower Peninsula in south Wales
0:23:24 > 0:23:27are a very important jewel between March and April.
0:23:29 > 0:23:31A familiar-looking plant, this one.
0:23:31 > 0:23:35I'm not a great botanist, but these are pussy willows.
0:23:35 > 0:23:38The willows are a little bit different,
0:23:38 > 0:23:41the pussy willows are more yellowy
0:23:41 > 0:23:43than the ones you see in hedgerows and woodlands.
0:23:43 > 0:23:45And it's creeping willow -
0:23:45 > 0:23:48it's a willow that lives in dunes like this,
0:23:48 > 0:23:52especially in dune slacks, and those are the wetter parts of the dune.
0:23:52 > 0:23:56And here at Oxwich, these provide valuable food,
0:23:56 > 0:23:58valuable pollen for a very rare insect.
0:24:02 > 0:24:07And this is it - it's called the vernal colletes mining bee
0:24:07 > 0:24:09and it's a real Oxwich speciality.
0:24:09 > 0:24:10It's incredibly rare.
0:24:10 > 0:24:13It's found in only three sites in the whole of the UK -
0:24:13 > 0:24:18two in south Wales and one in the northwest of England.
0:24:18 > 0:24:22And this bit of dune here might not look like much to you and me,
0:24:22 > 0:24:24but to these bees, it's ideal.
0:24:24 > 0:24:28It's south-facing and has very little vegetation on it,
0:24:28 > 0:24:30so it warms up quickly.
0:24:30 > 0:24:34And because they feed on creeping willow,
0:24:34 > 0:24:36they appear in April and May,
0:24:36 > 0:24:40not later on in the year when it's much, much warmer.
0:24:40 > 0:24:42And basically, they're a Mediterranean,
0:24:42 > 0:24:46a continental, a warm weather species.
0:24:46 > 0:24:49And this is the very edge of their range.
0:24:51 > 0:24:53Though they look similar to honey bees,
0:24:53 > 0:24:56they're a very different kind of bee,
0:24:56 > 0:24:59and they don't live in a social colony.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04Having mated on the dunes, a vernal mining bee
0:25:04 > 0:25:07will raise its own young in a burrow dug in the sand.
0:25:09 > 0:25:13It'll fill the burrow with willow pollen, and lay its eggs in it.
0:25:13 > 0:25:18When the larvae hatch, they'll have plenty of food ready for them.
0:25:28 > 0:25:32Wales has a very rich and varied sea life all along its coast.
0:25:34 > 0:25:37It has stunning wrecks,
0:25:37 > 0:25:40kelp forests,
0:25:40 > 0:25:43sandy beds,
0:25:43 > 0:25:45and dramatic rocky landscapes.
0:25:46 > 0:25:48I've dived much of the Welsh coastline,
0:25:48 > 0:25:53and I've experienced first-hand this wonderful hidden treasure of Wales.
0:26:01 > 0:26:04Today I'm diving with a team of divers
0:26:04 > 0:26:07off the northwest coast of Wales.
0:26:07 > 0:26:10RADIO: 'Stand by. This is Holyhead Coastguard.'
0:26:10 > 0:26:14We've come out just off the north coast of the Llyn Peninsula -
0:26:14 > 0:26:17this is Yr Eifl, a very well-known landmark there -
0:26:17 > 0:26:20and we'll be diving in about 11-12 metres of water.
0:26:20 > 0:26:24And the visibility at the moment at the end of spring is excellent -
0:26:24 > 0:26:26it's about 15 metres,
0:26:26 > 0:26:28which for Welsh waters is unheard of.
0:26:28 > 0:26:31I'm looking forward to seeing what's down there.
0:26:38 > 0:26:41The seabed is a flat, pebbly landscape,
0:26:41 > 0:26:43on which lurk all sorts of bottom-dwelling fish
0:26:43 > 0:26:46and other underwater creatures.
0:26:51 > 0:26:53This place is just...
0:26:53 > 0:26:59absolutely covered in dead man's fingers.
0:26:59 > 0:27:02Now, these are not solitary animals -
0:27:02 > 0:27:06they're a whole colony of creatures that have come together
0:27:06 > 0:27:08and they filter
0:27:08 > 0:27:14all the miniscule particles out of the water.
0:27:14 > 0:27:19And you can see where they get the name dead man's fingers.
0:27:19 > 0:27:21It really does look like a dead man's hand
0:27:21 > 0:27:23sticking out of the ground.
0:27:26 > 0:27:27As the seabed here is so flat,
0:27:27 > 0:27:30the dead men's fingers are good places
0:27:30 > 0:27:35for small crabs to hide, and for attaching mermaid's purses.
0:27:35 > 0:27:38It's a spotted dogfish egg.
0:27:39 > 0:27:42And hiding behind another group of dead man's fingers
0:27:42 > 0:27:44is the dogfish itself.
0:27:48 > 0:27:51One of the biggest creatures you'll see down here
0:27:51 > 0:27:53are these spider crabs.
0:27:54 > 0:27:56And the fishermen will tell you
0:27:56 > 0:28:00that in recent times, they've increased remarkably.
0:28:01 > 0:28:05And you might think this is a big one,
0:28:05 > 0:28:09but they will grow to be the best part of a metre across,
0:28:09 > 0:28:11so this one's just a baby, really!
0:28:20 > 0:28:23In the next part of my journey of the Jewels of Wales,
0:28:23 > 0:28:28I'm heading to the uplands, where I'll be discovering history...
0:28:28 > 0:28:30It looks like a crown of thorns!
0:28:30 > 0:28:31I'll be joining the Army.
0:28:33 > 0:28:35I'll be felling a forest.
0:28:35 > 0:28:38It looks like you're working a T-Rex down here!
0:28:38 > 0:28:41I'll watching the best of Welsh upland wildlife
0:28:41 > 0:28:42in some great landscapes.
0:28:49 > 0:28:52Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:52 > 0:28:55Email subtitling@bbc.co.uk