Cork - On the Wild Side Natural World


Cork - On the Wild Side

Similar Content

Browse content similar to Cork - On the Wild Side. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!

Transcript


LineFromTo

A magnificent 200-year-old cork oak,

0:00:130:00:17

able to thrive on the poorest Mediterranean soils.

0:00:170:00:21

Thousands of years ago, people learnt to harvest their spongy bark

0:00:220:00:25

for a uniquely versatile material - cork.

0:00:250:00:29

They also began to graze the land between the trees

0:00:320:00:35

and to grow a few other crops.

0:00:350:00:36

Forests of these cork oaks survive to this day in a few parts of Europe

0:00:440:00:48

and with them an astonishing variety of plant and animal life.

0:00:480:00:54

Cork woodland is especially rich in bird life

0:01:060:01:10

with more than 100 different species breeding here in southern Portugal.

0:01:100:01:15

They include some of Europe's rarest birds,

0:01:260:01:28

which still find sanctuary amongst these remarkable trees.

0:01:280:01:32

The bark of the cork oaks is stripped away every nine years.

0:01:400:01:45

It's sold for many different uses, from floor tiles to fishing floats.

0:01:480:01:54

But the greatest revenue comes from the billions of stoppers

0:01:540:01:58

we use each year to close our wine and champagne bottles.

0:01:580:02:01

It's because of the high value of cork bark

0:02:010:02:04

that this ancient landscape, with its rural culture and its wildlife,

0:02:040:02:08

have been protected until today.

0:02:080:02:10

But its future is by no means certain.

0:02:100:02:14

If metal screw-caps and plastic were to completely replace natural cork

0:02:140:02:20

to stop our wine bottles, then a drastic change could be on the way,

0:02:200:02:23

because landowners would have to replace their oak woodlands

0:02:230:02:27

with other, more conventional crops.

0:02:270:02:30

So what is it about these forests

0:02:340:02:36

that make them so valuable to both people and wildlife?

0:02:360:02:41

The Alentejo region of southern Portugal

0:02:480:02:50

stretches from Lisbon in the west,

0:02:500:02:52

to the hills of the Spanish border in the east.

0:02:520:02:56

It's about 10,000 square miles, or the size of Wales,

0:02:560:02:59

and it's the world's most important cork-growing area.

0:02:590:03:03

These woodlands of evergreen cork oaks and their close relative,

0:03:030:03:07

the Holm oak, are known in Portugal as Montados.

0:03:070:03:11

Although the Montado is so good for wildlife, it's by no means a wilderness,

0:03:110:03:15

but rather a natural ecosystem of woodland and pasture

0:03:150:03:19

which has been sympathetically adapted for farming

0:03:190:03:22

in this sustainable way for more than 1,000 years.

0:03:220:03:25

Typically, the pastures under the trees are grazed,

0:03:280:03:31

although where there are patches of better quality soil,

0:03:310:03:34

landowners have traditionally grown citrus, vines and olives.

0:03:340:03:38

This has created a rich mosaic of habitats,

0:03:380:03:41

which is as beneficial for wildlife as it is for the farmers.

0:03:410:03:46

Nevertheless, to make a living based mainly on cork,

0:03:460:03:50

each family needs well over 1,000 acres,

0:03:500:03:54

where the oaks can thrive despite the dry, poorer quality soils.

0:03:540:04:00

Francisco Garrett is a farmer whose family have managed

0:04:000:04:04

a large area of forest in a traditional way for many generations.

0:04:040:04:08

Apart from an intimate knowledge of his own cork oak woodland,

0:04:200:04:24

Francisco has a passion for the future survival

0:04:240:04:27

of the Portuguese Montado, including its spectacular wildlife.

0:04:270:04:31

Well, this is a very pleasant thing,

0:04:340:04:38

just wandering in the Montado on a beautiful day,

0:04:380:04:43

spring day like this, sun is shining,

0:04:430:04:46

and hearing the birds and seeing the birds of prey

0:04:460:04:52

that have just come in for nesting.

0:04:520:04:55

I don't think there is anything better that one can enjoy

0:04:550:05:00

than live in the country here and see all this growing

0:05:000:05:04

and I just hope that it can be kept like this.

0:05:040:05:08

We have been for four or five generations living on cork

0:05:100:05:17

and I hope that future generations can continue to live on it.

0:05:170:05:21

Although the ancient Greeks and Romans knew about the value of cork bark,

0:05:290:05:33

it only began to be harvested commercially in Portugal about 300 years ago.

0:05:330:05:38

It's still done by teams of men using hand axes

0:05:380:05:41

and no viable mechanical method has yet been invented

0:05:410:05:44

to do the job as effectively.

0:05:440:05:47

The important thing is to know the amount of force that you have to input this

0:05:500:05:55

so that it doesn't damage the living part of the bark.

0:05:550:06:00

These axes are manufactured locally in several towns where they make it

0:06:000:06:06

and you have some bigger ones and some smaller ones.

0:06:060:06:12

It's a very nice thing and special for Portugal.

0:06:120:06:17

The stripping is done in midsummer

0:06:250:06:27

when the bark comes away from the living tissue, the cambium, more easily.

0:06:270:06:32

The smell of just-peeled cork oak and the colour of it, it's fantastic.

0:06:340:06:41

The skills needed for harvesting cork are often handed down from father to son.

0:06:430:06:48

You have to be really skilful to go up in the trees

0:06:490:06:54

and work with an axe and up in the air.

0:06:540:06:57

Very important on this, it is sustainable

0:07:000:07:05

because every nine years you peel it and you don't destroy the tree.

0:07:050:07:10

The more you peel it, the better the cork is.

0:07:100:07:13

What an extraordinary tree!

0:07:150:07:18

Cork oaks are the only trees in the world from which you could strip

0:07:180:07:22

an entire piece of bark like this without killing it.

0:07:220:07:25

Every tree this size yields sufficient bark

0:07:250:07:28

to produce 4,000 corks and this harvest provides employment

0:07:280:07:33

for at least 60,000 Portuguese workers.

0:07:330:07:35

Each tree is daubed with a number to record the year of the harvest.

0:07:440:07:49

This will remain visible as the bark thickens from the inside,

0:07:490:07:52

reminding owners that these trees can next be harvested in 2016.

0:07:520:07:58

During the hottest part of the day,

0:08:120:08:14

the cork harvesters are not the only ones to welcome a break.

0:08:140:08:17

A pair of booted eagles has nested nearby and the male

0:08:170:08:20

has been patiently waiting for the human activity to quieten down

0:08:200:08:24

before delivering food to his mate.

0:08:240:08:26

If cork and Holm oaks grow side by side, booted eagles will always

0:08:370:08:41

choose the cork oak for their nest site in preference to the Holm oak.

0:08:410:08:45

Maybe the gnarly bark holds the sticks better.

0:08:450:08:47

Who knows?

0:08:470:08:50

They're called booted eagles because of their heavily feathered legs,

0:08:520:08:56

and both adults build the nest, often lining the shallow cup with oak leaves.

0:08:560:09:01

Successful nests are re-used in future years and although two eggs are generally laid,

0:09:010:09:05

typically only one chick fledges because siblicide is common.

0:09:050:09:09

The attentive male will catch numerous birds and small mammal prey

0:09:110:09:15

in between the harvesting activity.

0:09:150:09:17

During August the annual cork harvest draws to a close

0:09:250:09:28

and activity in the parched Montado

0:09:280:09:31

gradually slows down as autumn approaches.

0:09:310:09:35

By late October the stripped cork trees are now deep red

0:09:350:09:39

as they begin to re-grow their bark.

0:09:390:09:42

The oaks now provide another abundant harvest

0:09:510:09:55

and the large acorns have their own nutritious value,

0:09:550:09:59

particularly for pigs!

0:09:590:10:01

One of the most important species that goes together

0:10:030:10:08

with the Montado and the cork oak is the Alentejo black pig

0:10:080:10:13

and that is used for the... the smoked ham.

0:10:130:10:19

The acorns give the ham its unique nutty flavour

0:10:210:10:24

and the pigs gorge on them from November until February.

0:10:240:10:28

The meat of this pig is very valued and it's one of the yearly revenues

0:10:310:10:36

of the Montado because the cork only happens every nine years.

0:10:360:10:41

In undisturbed areas of rough grassland,

0:10:420:10:45

surface runways reveal a smaller, secretive mammal hunting for acorns.

0:10:450:10:50

This is Cabrera's vole, a species unique to Spain and Portugal,

0:10:550:10:59

which favours the cork forests.

0:10:590:11:01

It will return to its usual diet of grass and sedges

0:11:010:11:04

when the acorns are finished.

0:11:040:11:06

Even though winter doesn't get very cold in this part of Portugal,

0:11:130:11:16

the cork oaks still shut down their growth from November onwards.

0:11:160:11:20

The winter months allow Francisco more time

0:11:230:11:26

to give his many thousands of cork oaks the attention that they need

0:11:260:11:30

to remain healthy and so continue to produce high quality bark and acorns.

0:11:300:11:35

These trees, they have been pruned several times, so once you do it

0:11:480:11:52

you have to continue doing it because when man interferes in nature,

0:11:520:11:57

once he has, he has to continue doing it, to balance the tree,

0:11:570:12:01

that it has the same leaf area as the root area

0:12:010:12:06

and adequate to the age of the tree.

0:12:060:12:11

The more important part of pruning is in the young trees

0:12:150:12:19

so that you have a straight bark,

0:12:190:12:22

at least two, three metres high, without any branches,

0:12:220:12:27

so you can have a nice piece of cork for the stoppers.

0:12:270:12:30

By the end of the year, cork bark from the surrounding woodlands

0:12:400:12:44

has virtually filled the storage yards.

0:12:440:12:47

This natural, sustainable product now provides a good living

0:12:470:12:51

for those working in the factories.

0:12:510:12:53

Winter also brings visitors from abroad to the Montado.

0:12:590:13:03

Up to 60,000 European cranes

0:13:060:13:08

migrate each year from Scandinavia to take part in the acorn bonanza.

0:13:080:13:14

Their trumpeting calls are one of the most evocative sounds

0:13:140:13:17

of the Montado winter.

0:13:170:13:20

The cranes don't like to swallow the acorns whole,

0:13:340:13:38

so skilfully de-husk them first.

0:13:380:13:40

As a winter destination for nearly 30 other species of migrant birds from Northern Europe,

0:13:440:13:49

the Portuguese Montado are becoming increasingly significant.

0:13:490:13:54

Millions of robins, chaffinches and thrushes from Britain alone

0:13:540:13:59

spend each winter in the warmer sanctuary of the cork forests.

0:13:590:14:03

However, it's only in the last 20 years that the rich diversity

0:14:030:14:06

of plant and animal life has been seriously studied here.

0:14:060:14:09

Tiago Marques and Ana Rainho are bat specialists.

0:14:130:14:17

Caves and old mine-workings

0:14:230:14:25

are traditionally used by Alentejo's bats for winter hibernation.

0:14:250:14:30

Ana and Tiago are surveying their populations before the bats disperse to breed.

0:14:300:14:35

These are greater mouse-eared bats,

0:14:400:14:42

just one of 26 species found in this region of Portugal.

0:14:420:14:46

Even here, some, like Mehely's horseshoe bat, are extremely rare,

0:14:500:14:55

but today the scientists are concentrating on

0:14:550:14:58

a relatively abundant cork woodland specialist.

0:14:580:15:02

This species or this bat is called the bent-wing bat

0:15:020:15:06

because despite his small body size

0:15:060:15:09

he has these large and very narrow wings,

0:15:090:15:13

and to keep them forward they just bend the tip of the wing.

0:15:130:15:18

You can see it now open, it bends it.

0:15:180:15:21

So that's why it's called like that.

0:15:210:15:24

Their long wings are perfect for rapid flight between the oak trees in search of insects.

0:15:280:15:33

And thanks to the minimal use of pesticides

0:15:330:15:36

there's no shortage of them in the Montado,

0:15:360:15:39

both for bats and for insect-eating birds,

0:15:390:15:41

like the lesser spotted woodpecker.

0:15:410:15:44

By early March, birds like hoopoe, warblers and nightingale

0:15:470:15:52

have already begun their spring courtship,

0:15:520:15:55

based on the promise of plentiful food supplies to feed their young.

0:15:550:16:00

Woodchat shrikes and endangered rollers

0:16:020:16:05

have returned from Africa to breed.

0:16:050:16:07

Petticoat narcissi are the first floral beacons of spring,

0:16:090:16:14

triggering a rampage of wild flowers,

0:16:140:16:17

an increasingly rare sight in the rest of agricultural Europe.

0:16:170:16:21

Mediterranean catchfly forms pink saucers around the cork oak trunks.

0:16:410:16:46

The evergreen, umbrella-like canopy provides welcome shade for these light-sensitive flowers.

0:16:460:16:52

Unlike so much of Europe, there's hardly any chemical run-off

0:16:560:17:00

from the surrounding land, so spring rains

0:17:000:17:02

replenish the streams and ponds with beautifully clean water,

0:17:020:17:06

which is good news for the pollution-sensitive animals like amphibians.

0:17:060:17:11

These are male marsh frogs,

0:17:110:17:13

trying to attract females and establish a territory.

0:17:130:17:18

In the slower moving rivers and pools throughout Alentejo

0:17:320:17:35

stripe-necked terrapins are abundant.

0:17:350:17:39

Like all reptiles, terrapins are cold-blooded

0:17:390:17:43

and need to absorb heat by basking on suitable rocks.

0:17:430:17:47

Throughout early spring barn swallows use the mud

0:17:520:17:55

they collect from the margins of the pond

0:17:550:17:57

to construct and repair their nests.

0:17:570:18:00

Marsh frogs are not the only noisy amphibian here.

0:18:020:18:05

Stripeless tree frogs are also common.

0:18:050:18:09

They reserve their mating chorus until nightfall.

0:18:090:18:13

FROGS CALL

0:18:150:18:18

During the night a male Iberian midwife toad

0:18:330:18:37

has kept a chain of eggs moist in the pool.

0:18:370:18:40

Wrapped around his hind legs, they shackle the toad for six weeks until hatching.

0:18:400:18:47

Before dawn, he'll find a damp, cool shelter to prevent the eggs from drying out.

0:18:470:18:51

Fire salamanders hunt for invertebrate prey throughout the night.

0:18:560:19:01

With its striking yellow and red markings,

0:19:010:19:05

this is a rare sub-species found only here.

0:19:050:19:09

It will also hide up during the day.

0:19:090:19:12

As too will the spadefoot toad.

0:19:120:19:15

Using its shovel-like rear feet and corkscrew body movement,

0:19:180:19:21

the toad buries itself in the soft soil of the cork forests

0:19:210:19:25

before the end of the night.

0:19:250:19:26

In Britain, you seldom hear nightingales singing after dawn.

0:19:390:19:44

NIGHTINGALE SINGS

0:19:440:19:45

But in this very undisturbed area

0:19:450:19:48

these normally secretive birds will often continue throughout the day.

0:19:480:19:53

The relative peace and quiet

0:20:030:20:05

also encourages many of Europe's rarest birds to breed here,

0:20:050:20:09

such as the black-shouldered kite.

0:20:090:20:11

This male is quartering one of the Montado's

0:20:150:20:17

more open, grassy areas for small rodent prey.

0:20:170:20:21

It's now mid-March and a female, ready for breeding,

0:20:230:20:27

watches the performance with a critical eye.

0:20:270:20:31

These beautiful birds can hover over their prey in a similar way to a kestrel.

0:20:310:20:35

It's an ability that differentiates them from their common relatives,

0:20:350:20:39

the red and the black kite.

0:20:390:20:41

The female sees that her prospective partner

0:20:530:20:56

is at last returning with a courtship gift.

0:20:560:20:59

She will join him on his post for a handover ceremony.

0:21:050:21:08

And then fly off with her engagement present

0:21:120:21:16

to the chosen nest site in an old olive tree.

0:21:160:21:19

She's unlikely to be disturbed here - the farmer who would have harvested the olives is long gone.

0:21:270:21:33

So too the cork-oak woodland that once surrounded the abandoned farmstead,

0:21:330:21:37

probably cleared during the 1980s

0:21:370:21:40

when EU subsidies encouraged a switch to more intensive crops, like maize.

0:21:400:21:45

At the same time wine drinking was becoming more and more popular,

0:21:450:21:48

with a corresponding increase in demand for cork bark.

0:21:480:21:52

The producers of cork stoppers could hardly keep pace

0:21:540:21:57

and in some factories standards of quality and cleanliness fell.

0:21:570:22:01

As a result, complaints of tainted or "corked'" wine rose

0:22:030:22:07

and opened the way for new plastic or metal alternatives,

0:22:070:22:11

marketed as cleaner and more modern than cork stoppers like these.

0:22:110:22:16

By early 2000, the cork industry had lost almost a quarter of its market to this new competition

0:22:160:22:22

and some landowners, fearing the worst, continued to replace their cork oaks with cereal crops.

0:22:220:22:29

But on these dry, impoverished soils

0:22:290:22:32

many such projects were doomed to failure.

0:22:320:22:36

Once felled, cork woodland is very difficult to restore.

0:22:390:22:43

A complex ecosystem such as the Montado takes time,

0:22:430:22:47

knowledge and patience to recreate, as Francisco knows well.

0:22:470:22:52

There's a Portuguese proverb that says...

0:22:550:22:58

HE SPEAKS PORTUGUESE

0:22:580:23:01

In English this means these vineyards of mine,

0:23:030:23:07

olive groves of my parents and Montados of my ancestors

0:23:070:23:12

and that shows the time it takes to have a Montado established.

0:23:120:23:18

Carefully controlled plantations like this

0:23:180:23:20

are how modern farmers try to recreate their cork woodlands,

0:23:200:23:25

but there was a simpler way in the past.

0:23:250:23:27

One of the good memories I have from my childhood

0:23:270:23:32

is that walking in the Montado, with my grandfather,

0:23:320:23:37

he would just look for an acorn, he would pick it up

0:23:370:23:43

and with the heel of his boot,

0:23:430:23:45

just do like this, put it back like this,

0:23:450:23:50

and after pick up a piece of... with thorns like this

0:23:500:23:54

and just put it on top of the acorn just to protect it.

0:23:540:23:59

He would choose a place where there were no cork trees

0:23:590:24:04

and hopefully next year we would have a nice sprouting

0:24:040:24:09

young cork tree in that place.

0:24:090:24:12

Look - here's a beautiful acorn that has germinated.

0:24:130:24:18

You see? Hopefully this acorn in 20, 30 years' time

0:24:180:24:25

will be giving some cork.

0:24:250:24:27

I won't be here to harvest it but I hope my sons, you know,

0:24:290:24:34

or my grandsons will be here for it.

0:24:340:24:37

Let's hope it's here.

0:24:370:24:40

Francisco's long-term view of the Montado

0:24:400:24:43

includes a passion for its wildlife,

0:24:430:24:45

so he leaves about 10% of his woodland un-grazed.

0:24:450:24:49

Natural regeneration encourages a mixed understorey of flowers

0:24:490:24:53

and shrubs, including the evergreen arbutus or strawberry tree.

0:24:530:24:58

A special thing about the Arbutus unedo, is that its leaves

0:24:580:25:03

is the food for a very specific caterpillar of the pasha butterfly.

0:25:030:25:11

They only feed on these leaves, so by keeping these we help nature.

0:25:110:25:17

By understanding wildlife and sympathetically managing his Montado,

0:25:180:25:22

Francisco helps secure the increasingly rare pasha butterfly.

0:25:220:25:26

Walking through here, that I do in weekends,

0:25:300:25:34

one of the things I've found is a nest of a nightjar.

0:25:340:25:38

They are quite frequent here and they are very difficult to find

0:25:380:25:43

because they mix with nature so, so well.

0:25:430:25:47

Red-necked nightjars are masters of camouflage.

0:25:500:25:54

Only a glinting eye reveals her sitting on her nest in the leaf litter.

0:25:540:25:59

She will sit out the daylight hours on her clutch of eggs with hardly a movement,

0:26:020:26:06

trying to avoid the attention of the many species of snakes found here.

0:26:060:26:12

Being good climbers, ladder snakes can also be a threat to tree-nesting birds.

0:26:120:26:17

Growing up to a metre in length,

0:26:170:26:20

they're one of the largest species in Europe.

0:26:200:26:24

Grass snakes are common in the Montado

0:26:260:26:28

and when basking in the open need to stay alert to danger themselves,

0:26:280:26:32

particularly when it's most likely to come from above.

0:26:320:26:35

This is a female short-toed or serpent eagle,

0:26:410:26:44

and she's expecting some food from her mate.

0:26:440:26:47

It's characteristic for him to arrive with a half-swallowed ladder snake,

0:26:470:26:51

which she is then obliged to pull from his throat.

0:26:510:26:55

The male provides all the food for both his mate and the chick

0:27:010:27:05

during its first two weeks of life.

0:27:050:27:08

It's April and the cork oaks are flowering once again.

0:27:140:27:18

There can't be many places where the continued survival

0:27:180:27:21

of one species of tree helps to feed so many mouths!

0:27:210:27:25

This attentive mother is a woodchat shrike,

0:27:250:27:28

who with that hooked bill,

0:27:280:27:30

can dispatch anything from beetles and grasshoppers

0:27:300:27:33

to small lizards and the young of other birds to feed her own brood.

0:27:330:27:36

That variety of prey is largely thanks to the patchwork of habitats in the Montado

0:27:390:27:45

and it's the mixture of woodland and pasture

0:27:450:27:48

which also enables the iconic azure-winged magpie

0:27:480:27:51

to raise its offspring in such healthy numbers.

0:27:510:27:54

Gaggles of these handsome birds

0:27:560:27:58

are often seen diligently searching for insects.

0:27:580:28:01

It would be easy to assume that this pair are the nestlings' parents.

0:28:010:28:06

However, they're just as likely to be siblings from one of last year's broods,

0:28:060:28:10

who, instead of breeding themselves, have forfeited their first year

0:28:100:28:14

to help attend to their new relatives.

0:28:140:28:16

Minimal use of insecticides and herbicides,

0:28:300:28:33

together with "habitat friendly" traditional management,

0:28:330:28:37

means that countless insects are always available on the menu.

0:28:370:28:42

Another vital part of this management system is water conservation.

0:28:470:28:51

Farmers will often channel their precious spring water

0:28:540:28:57

into traditional stone troughs

0:28:570:28:59

and the surrounding damp vegetation of such places

0:28:590:29:03

is favoured by Europe's largest amphibian, the sharp-ribbed salamander.

0:29:030:29:08

The temporary supply of water in the troughs coincides perfectly with the salamander's spawning season.

0:29:120:29:18

They will often clamber in to lay their eggs amongst the algae on the bottom.

0:29:180:29:23

Local farmers have an ancient superstition

0:29:290:29:33

that a salamander in a water trough will soon drink it dry!

0:29:330:29:37

Of course, this is only a myth.

0:29:370:29:39

Or is it?

0:29:410:29:42

It's easy to dismiss an old legend - much harder, though,

0:29:490:29:52

to replace an ancient system

0:29:520:29:55

that gives haven to even the rarest of Alentejo's breeding birds,

0:29:550:30:01

such as the black stork.

0:30:010:30:03

The more remote areas of cork-producing woodland, near the Spanish border,

0:30:030:30:07

provide a vital European sanctuary for these impressive, enigmatic birds.

0:30:070:30:13

It's now May and this male, having just returned from Africa,

0:30:150:30:19

is looking for a female to pair with.

0:30:190:30:22

She's below, checking out the oak trees for a potential nest site,

0:30:220:30:26

so he must attract her attention.

0:30:260:30:28

He does this by circling overhead

0:30:310:30:33

with his long, red legs dangling towards her but the climax occurs

0:30:330:30:38

when he throws his head back to utter a special call.

0:30:380:30:41

HE WHISTLES

0:30:410:30:44

If suitably impressed, the female joins him

0:30:520:30:55

in a graceful aerial ballet, which if you are lucky enough to witness it,

0:30:550:31:00

is one of the loveliest sights on the Montado.

0:31:000:31:04

Black storks are extremely rare and now highly protected in Portugal.

0:31:310:31:37

Because they prefer to nest in mature cork oaks,

0:31:370:31:40

they're symbolic of the intimate link between conserving wildlife

0:31:400:31:44

and a healthy, successful cork industry.

0:31:440:31:46

The future of the Montado and its wildlife

0:31:480:31:51

is largely determined by economics.

0:31:510:31:53

Cork growers must be able to sell their crop

0:31:530:31:55

to the factories for a worthwhile price.

0:31:550:31:58

Faced with intense competition from alternative closures,

0:31:580:32:01

the manufacturers have modernised and cleaned up their production methods,

0:32:010:32:05

to rid cork of any charge that it may sometimes spoil a bottle of wine.

0:32:050:32:09

Nowadays the sheets of raw cork

0:32:090:32:11

are immersed twice in sealed vats of boiling water,

0:32:110:32:15

killing off any moulds or bacteria

0:32:150:32:18

and making it more flexible to work with.

0:32:180:32:20

In today's spotlessly clean, state-of-the-art factories,

0:32:260:32:29

the stoppers are individually scanned for imperfections.

0:32:290:32:33

They're sterilised, polished and graded,

0:32:390:32:42

and samples from every batch are scrupulously checked

0:32:420:32:45

in the company's labs for the chemical trichloroanisol or TCA,

0:32:450:32:50

which can cause an off-taste in a bottle of wine.

0:32:500:32:53

TCA is produced by micro-organisms in the soil, on trees

0:32:530:32:57

and even on a brand-new wine bottle, but rarely now in cork factories!

0:32:570:33:03

Since 2006, the Portuguese cork industry seem to have conquered TCA contamination.

0:33:030:33:10

For the moment, with the cork industry fighting back in this way,

0:33:100:33:14

the Montado and its wildlife have gained some respite.

0:33:140:33:17

Even very shy animals are able to live successfully here,

0:33:210:33:25

particularly in the more remote, thinly populated areas.

0:33:250:33:29

This shepherd might walk 20 kilometres in a day

0:33:350:33:37

without meeting another soul or seeing any other grazers

0:33:370:33:41

except perhaps for some quite special local deer.

0:33:410:33:45

These might look like ordinary red deer,

0:33:470:33:49

but they're a distinct sub-species, found only in Portugal and Spain.

0:33:490:33:54

While they're grazing, the scene looks tranquil, idyllic even.

0:33:540:33:59

However, when the deer feel the urge to drink, their behaviour changes dramatically.

0:33:590:34:03

Now they're tense and nervous, more reminiscent of African antelope

0:34:090:34:14

at a waterhole on the lookout for lions.

0:34:140:34:16

A local red fox is obviously no danger to them

0:34:180:34:21

but they're still instinctively alert.

0:34:210:34:24

Is there a predator still existing in Portugal

0:34:270:34:31

which could invoke such extreme caution?

0:34:310:34:34

The answer is yes.

0:34:410:34:43

The most endangered big cat in the world, the Iberian lynx -

0:34:430:34:48

certainly capable of killing a deer calf

0:34:480:34:51

or even an injured or weak adult.

0:34:510:34:53

Having been persecuted for years, a pair of these mesmerising cats

0:34:530:34:58

has recently been spotted in the Alentejo region,

0:34:580:35:01

and conservation biologists are desperately hoping that they'll breed successfully.

0:35:010:35:06

There's certainly enough prey here for lynx to kill or scavenge,

0:35:100:35:14

although any dead animal such as a deer

0:35:140:35:16

will soon be spotted by other sharp-eyed scavengers on patrol.

0:35:160:35:20

Always the opportunist, a red fox is first to the carcass, but it won't have long to feed at leisure.

0:35:240:35:30

A black vulture has already seen the meal.

0:35:300:35:35

And a Griffon vulture is also swooping in.

0:35:350:35:39

This might be the last chance for the vixen to get at her meal,

0:35:490:35:52

although she's been of service to the vultures by opening up the tough skin.

0:35:520:35:57

As vultures cruise the skies

0:36:050:36:06

they're always on the lookout for feeding activity,

0:36:060:36:09

so it's not long before they start arriving in greater numbers.

0:36:090:36:14

There's a loose feeding hierarchy around a carcass,

0:36:200:36:24

but as more vultures arrive, the situation becomes noisy and chaotic,

0:36:240:36:28

perhaps more typical of the African savanna than rural Portugal!

0:36:280:36:32

BIRDS SCREECH

0:36:320:36:36

After a feeding frenzy lasting several hours,

0:36:390:36:42

almost a hundred vultures have stripped the carcase bare.

0:36:420:36:45

And many are so satiated that for the moment,

0:36:470:36:51

only sleep and digestion seem an option.

0:36:510:36:54

It's early June and around some old, abandoned buildings on their land,

0:37:040:37:09

Francisco and his wife Teresa

0:37:090:37:11

have come to check on the current residents.

0:37:110:37:14

The barn swallows have been here since March but there's a much larger bird

0:37:190:37:23

that comes to nest in the church almost every year.

0:37:230:37:26

HE SPEAKS IN PORTUGUESE

0:37:260:37:28

In a small window hole,

0:37:320:37:34

barn owl chicks about seven weeks old are close to fledging.

0:37:340:37:38

They nest sometimes here and they also do it on the other side.

0:37:390:37:44

But this year they want to have a better view of, of the lake.

0:37:440:37:49

Barn owls, along with five other owl species, breed very successfully in the Montado.

0:37:510:37:56

It's a sure indication of the plentiful rodent prey,

0:37:560:37:59

including Cabrera's vole, that can be found here.

0:37:590:38:02

A declining population in the countryside does, at least,

0:38:100:38:14

have a bonus for the local swallows.

0:38:140:38:16

The abandoned priest's house has provided some perfect nest sites.

0:38:160:38:22

Each young swallow eats about 150,000 insects before leaving the nest.

0:38:220:38:28

Insects are so abundant in the Montado

0:38:280:38:31

that a pair of Portuguese swallows regularly rears three broods each season,

0:38:310:38:35

rather than the two more typical in Britain.

0:38:350:38:38

The spring flowers have long withered.

0:38:470:38:50

But throughout May and until mid June, the summer flowers provide a new tapestry of colour.

0:38:530:38:59

Stunning though they are,

0:39:330:39:35

it's not this astonishing display of wild flowers

0:39:350:39:38

which will save the Montado.

0:39:380:39:40

It's more to do with visionary farmers, like Francisco,

0:39:400:39:43

who are prepared to experiment with new ways of improving the production

0:39:430:39:47

and the quality of cork bark for the factories.

0:39:470:39:51

The main reason why I plant lupins in the Montado

0:39:560:40:01

is because I am of the opinion

0:40:010:40:03

that we can't have bare soil in the Montado.

0:40:030:40:07

Lupins is a legume, it fixes nitrogen in the soil

0:40:070:40:14

and it also covers the soil in winter, avoiding erosion.

0:40:140:40:19

And you can graze them when it's dried, with the sheep or cattle.

0:40:190:40:26

It's very good for the soil, below the cork oak.

0:40:260:40:31

Ground cover like this also helps retain moisture

0:40:310:40:35

and keep the shallow tree roots cooler during the height of summer

0:40:350:40:39

when temperatures can often reach 40 degrees Centigrade or more.

0:40:390:40:42

Lupins are imported flowers and don't attract bees in the same way as native flowers like lavender.

0:40:440:40:51

With wild flowers so plentiful,

0:40:580:41:00

most cork farmers allow bee-keepers to manage hives on their land.

0:41:000:41:04

For this they get a small rent and a share, perhaps,

0:41:130:41:16

of the plentiful crop of delicious, aromatic honey.

0:41:160:41:20

But the bee-keepers here do have an enemy,

0:41:250:41:28

albeit one of the most attractive ones imaginable.

0:41:280:41:31

Bee-eaters, who, as their name implies, feed on bees.

0:41:320:41:37

The light, sandy soil might not be ideal for growing crops

0:41:400:41:44

but exposed banks are perfect for excavating nest burrows.

0:41:440:41:49

Throughout Alentejo, colonies of bee-eaters

0:41:490:41:53

provide an iridescent spectacle of energy and colour.

0:41:530:41:58

Bee-eaters are not the only creatures here

0:42:160:42:19

with an appetite for the bees.

0:42:190:42:21

The eyed or ocellated lizard catches them too,

0:42:210:42:24

although on this occasion, he's got a wasp.

0:42:240:42:27

These handsome but declining lizards thrive in the Portuguese Montado.

0:42:320:42:36

They're Europe's largest species, growing up to a metre long

0:42:360:42:40

and capable of eating small rodents.

0:42:400:42:42

However, despite their size,

0:42:440:42:46

they're certainly not immune from danger themselves.

0:42:460:42:50

Throughout June, a black stork with young to feed

0:42:530:42:56

would have no hesitation in trying to grab one.

0:42:560:42:59

Hunting over a large area, the diet of black storks is varied,

0:43:020:43:06

including other lizards, many amphibians

0:43:060:43:09

and even small fish when available.

0:43:090:43:11

With a nest full of very hungry four-week-old chicks,

0:43:210:43:24

the adult storks will have to maintain a steady supply of food

0:43:240:43:28

if the chicks are to fledge in July.

0:43:280:43:30

These birds are very sensitive, but if undisturbed,

0:43:460:43:50

most black stork pairs successfully rear

0:43:500:43:53

three to four chicks every year.

0:43:530:43:55

Our black-shouldered kite parents, however,

0:44:070:44:09

with their nest in the old olive tree,

0:44:090:44:12

have chicks which are already close to flying,

0:44:120:44:15

if their vigorous wing exercises are anything to go by.

0:44:150:44:18

Although the parents are still catching and bringing in rodents for their young

0:44:260:44:30

they'll also encourage the chicks to leave the nest

0:44:300:44:34

as soon as possible now.

0:44:340:44:36

There's such a lot of clambering about going on

0:44:520:44:54

that by the time the mother kite returns again with food,

0:44:540:44:57

she could easily assume her chicks have already flown.

0:44:570:45:00

At least until one of them drops abruptly in for lunch!

0:45:060:45:10

By July, right across this vast, parched, shimmering area of Portugal,

0:45:240:45:30

hundreds of plant species have already flowered and set seed.

0:45:300:45:34

Thousands of birds and other animals

0:45:340:45:36

have successfully reared their young.

0:45:360:45:38

It's a success that depends on farmers managing their Montados

0:45:450:45:49

in the time-honoured, traditional way,

0:45:490:45:52

but also with an eye to the future.

0:45:520:45:55

When the cork harvest comes around once more,

0:45:550:45:57

it becomes a crucial test of the farmers' skills

0:45:570:46:00

and their continuing livelihood, as Francisco knows well.

0:46:000:46:04

We live on cork so when we've got to the time of harvesting it

0:46:060:46:11

and sending it to the factory, we've been able to raise it.

0:46:110:46:15

There were no shortcomings during those nine years

0:46:150:46:19

and all the 40 years before it.

0:46:190:46:22

And this is an achievement, it's a reward, and what keeps you living.

0:46:220:46:28

Most of this high-quality cork will be turned into wine stoppers,

0:46:280:46:32

essential for the economy of the Montados.

0:46:320:46:35

As a bonus the cork oaks themselves will absorb

0:46:350:46:37

millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year.

0:46:370:46:42

Billions of high-quality corks

0:46:460:46:48

are still used by wine bottlers all over the world.

0:46:480:46:51

They're a low-energy, bio-degradable product

0:46:510:46:54

that ticks every green credential,

0:46:540:46:56

yet are still under threat of replacement

0:46:560:46:58

by synthetic plastic stoppers and metal screw-caps.

0:46:580:47:01

So might the future of the cork forests and their wildlife

0:47:030:47:06

be up to us consumers, and if so, what can we do about it?

0:47:060:47:12

One thing that we should do

0:47:120:47:14

is when we go to the supermarkets and choose a wine,

0:47:140:47:19

I would try and know if the bottle is using a cork stopper

0:47:190:47:24

and of real cork because if it is,

0:47:240:47:26

I know for sure that this will be contributing for the sustainability

0:47:260:47:32

of a vast Mediterranean area where you have a large number of species.

0:47:320:47:39

The future of so much wildlife seems dependant on such seemingly trivial choices.

0:47:390:47:45

Of course we can make choices and you can make a choice of

0:47:450:47:49

preserving a habitat that is unique in the Mediterranean area or not -

0:47:490:47:55

choose something that's nature-friendly or not.

0:47:550:48:00

Download Subtitles

SRT

ASS