0:00:07 > 0:00:10The river valleys and wooded coombs of the south-west.
0:00:10 > 0:00:13This is just about my favourite landscape.
0:00:13 > 0:00:14Not just beautiful,
0:00:14 > 0:00:17but a precious home to some of our most threatened wildlife.
0:00:22 > 0:00:23I'm Nick Baker,
0:00:23 > 0:00:26and I'm going to be bringing you the very best that nature has to offer
0:00:26 > 0:00:28from right here in the West Country.
0:00:31 > 0:00:34I've lived and worked here as a naturalist for three decades,
0:00:34 > 0:00:37and I'm convinced the wildlife here is as compelling and beautiful
0:00:37 > 0:00:39as anywhere I've travelled.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44On my journey across this wonderful landscape,
0:00:44 > 0:00:47I'll be catching up with great wild spectacles...
0:00:51 > 0:00:54..tracking some of our rarest insects...
0:00:54 > 0:00:57and most stunning birds.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01So join me as I explore my Wild West.
0:01:16 > 0:01:18This is pretty much home to me,
0:01:18 > 0:01:21rugged, beautiful Dartmoor in Devon.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24But slicing through the familiar bleak moors
0:01:24 > 0:01:26are these delightful wooded river valleys,
0:01:26 > 0:01:29an intimate contrast to the windswept uplands.
0:01:29 > 0:01:32But they're more than just beauty spots,
0:01:32 > 0:01:35they've become home to a whole range of important birds and insects.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46On a blisteringly hot summer's day,
0:01:46 > 0:01:48I went to the Dart Valley Nature Reserve.
0:01:48 > 0:01:52This is a place I've visited countless times.
0:01:52 > 0:01:56I must know it better than just about anywhere else in Britain.
0:01:56 > 0:01:57BIRDSONG
0:02:07 > 0:02:10You can see just how clear the air is from...
0:02:10 > 0:02:12Well, take this mossy wall.
0:02:12 > 0:02:14Covered in lichens and mosses,
0:02:14 > 0:02:16it seems to have plants like this pennywort
0:02:16 > 0:02:19growing straight out of the stone.
0:02:26 > 0:02:29Now, this place is all about edges,
0:02:29 > 0:02:31where the river meets the ancient woodland,
0:02:31 > 0:02:34and where of course the woodland then abuts
0:02:34 > 0:02:38with the bracken and acidic grass, which in turn has boundaries
0:02:38 > 0:02:40with the heathland and then the open moor.
0:02:40 > 0:02:43And every time you get two habitats meeting like that
0:02:43 > 0:02:46something special happens, some kind of magic occurs.
0:02:46 > 0:02:48And that is where interesting things live.
0:02:48 > 0:02:50BIRDSONG
0:02:50 > 0:02:52And that variety of habitats
0:02:52 > 0:02:56means plenty of places for animals to exploit.
0:02:57 > 0:03:01This meadow grasshopper can hide itself in the dense bracken.
0:03:07 > 0:03:11While in complete contrast, a yellowhammer perches on a hawthorn.
0:03:11 > 0:03:13YELLOWHAMMER SINGS
0:03:16 > 0:03:19That song is part of its courtship.
0:03:19 > 0:03:21It needs to be prominent.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28But I'm after a much more elusive animal
0:03:28 > 0:03:31and this is one of its last redoubts.
0:03:31 > 0:03:35It's a butterfly - the high brown fritillary.
0:03:37 > 0:03:39This is one filmed here in July.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42There are now only a handful of breeding sites left in Devon.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45Over the years, it's seen its traditional home
0:03:45 > 0:03:47of moor and woodland edge destroyed
0:03:47 > 0:03:51and nationally, numbers are down by over 90% since the '70s.
0:03:52 > 0:03:56In fact, the high brown has seen the most rapid decline of any
0:03:56 > 0:04:00British butterfly. It's now only found in a few areas of the UK.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03But here on the Dart it's doing OK.
0:04:03 > 0:04:07Over the last three years, numbers seem to have been holding up,
0:04:07 > 0:04:09even perhaps increasing.
0:04:09 > 0:04:10We have to be cautious, though,
0:04:10 > 0:04:14because these insects are very tricky to identify.
0:04:14 > 0:04:15It's a striking insect.
0:04:15 > 0:04:20Its distinctive underwings with those high brown halos
0:04:20 > 0:04:23contrast with that lovely orange marked topside.
0:04:23 > 0:04:25Despite the good news this year,
0:04:25 > 0:04:27long-term the species is in desperate decline.
0:04:27 > 0:04:31But it's not for want of trying to save it.
0:04:31 > 0:04:35Devon Wildlife Trust are making huge efforts to recreate
0:04:35 > 0:04:39the traditional mix of wood, bracken and coppice that the insect needs.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42They're grazing ponies to keep the bracken and scrub down
0:04:42 > 0:04:45and these cattle, as well as eating the grass,
0:04:45 > 0:04:48trample back the bracken so that it doesn't take over.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57You're much more likely to see these here,
0:04:57 > 0:04:59this is the small pearl-bordered fritillary.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03They're more common and they fly a bit earlier in June.
0:05:05 > 0:05:08Or this, the dark green fritillary.
0:05:08 > 0:05:10Easily confused with the much rarer high brown,
0:05:10 > 0:05:15the green refers to a suffusion on the underside of its wings.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18All these species are here because of the habitat management.
0:05:18 > 0:05:22And it's the creation of these little paths and rides
0:05:22 > 0:05:26throughout this otherwise almost impenetrable jungle
0:05:26 > 0:05:28of bracken and gorse, that is the secret.
0:05:28 > 0:05:31It allows the butterflies access to the flowers.
0:05:31 > 0:05:33It creates a nice little micro-habitat.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36If you come down here, you really get a sense of that.
0:05:36 > 0:05:38It's a sheltered little world. It's a real hotspot.
0:05:38 > 0:05:40There are flowers here so the butterflies can nectar
0:05:40 > 0:05:44but, more importantly, and especially as far as the high brown fritillary is concerned,
0:05:44 > 0:05:47you get this, a carpet of these lovely little heart-shaped leaves.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51These are violets, dog-violets, growing out of this lovely
0:05:51 > 0:05:53crispy litter of last year's bracken.
0:05:53 > 0:05:55That's what they'll lay the eggs on
0:05:55 > 0:05:57and the caterpillars will feed on the leaves later.
0:05:57 > 0:05:59Then you stand up again
0:05:59 > 0:06:02and on this lovely steep slope you can take in the rest
0:06:02 > 0:06:03of the reserve and...
0:06:03 > 0:06:06I can just about hear the River Dart itself.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09If you're brave enough to cut your way through the jungle
0:06:09 > 0:06:12of bracken yourself, there's plenty more to see on this reserve.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22There's a handy lower path by the river
0:06:22 > 0:06:24and if you take it you'll be richly rewarded.
0:06:29 > 0:06:33This is a completely different habitat from the more open moor -
0:06:33 > 0:06:35cooler and with a dense canopy of trees.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42At the height of summer, all along the river bank,
0:06:42 > 0:06:44it's humming with life.
0:06:44 > 0:06:45INSECTS HUM
0:06:47 > 0:06:52These hoverflies taking their last pollen and nectar from an umbelifer.
0:06:53 > 0:06:57But being a fly around here is a bit of a risky proposition.
0:06:57 > 0:06:58There are killers about.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03Up in the trees, a spotted flycatcher.
0:07:03 > 0:07:05Sadly a bird in steep decline.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08But it's not just the specialists that insects have to be wary of.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11HUM OF INSECTS
0:07:13 > 0:07:16A commoner sight, it's the grey wagtail.
0:07:16 > 0:07:20It's proving every bit as successful as its rarer fellow hunter.
0:07:20 > 0:07:21It has a mouthful of flies
0:07:21 > 0:07:24and is taking them back for its chicks in the nest.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30It's taking some of the thousands of flies that swarm over the river.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38The bird goes in a low, fast sweep,
0:07:38 > 0:07:41taking in fly after fly as it skims over the water.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47Quite a juggling act to get all that crammed in the beak
0:07:47 > 0:07:48and then back to the nest.
0:07:48 > 0:07:49What a great place this is.
0:07:52 > 0:07:54It's not just about the subtle little insects.
0:07:54 > 0:07:58The little flies, like the mayflies, they're associated with the water.
0:07:58 > 0:08:01You can have your eyeballs literally rocked by some of our most
0:08:01 > 0:08:04flamboyant insects and I'm talking about these guys here.
0:08:04 > 0:08:09These are beautiful demoiselles and you can sit here and watch
0:08:09 > 0:08:13almost every aspect of their life unfold right before your very eyes.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18This is a male beautiful demoiselle
0:08:18 > 0:08:20and it's looking for a mate.
0:08:24 > 0:08:26On a rock in the stream,
0:08:26 > 0:08:29the much more subtle female attracts him over.
0:08:36 > 0:08:38Further up, this female has mated
0:08:38 > 0:08:43and is laying her eggs in the water, up to 300 at a time.
0:08:43 > 0:08:45They'll hatch in ten days or so.
0:08:51 > 0:08:52She's vulnerable.
0:08:52 > 0:08:55The male flies around warding off other males who may be
0:08:55 > 0:08:59tempted to interrupt and perhaps mate themselves with this female.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08But all good things must come to an end.
0:09:10 > 0:09:13After a hard day out on the reserve, you've got to do this,
0:09:13 > 0:09:16come down to the river and dabble your tootsies in the cooling water.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19There's nothing quite like it.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22Whilst you're here, reflect on what you've seen.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25This place has to be one of my favourite places,
0:09:25 > 0:09:29not just on Dartmoor, not just in the south-west, but in the world.
0:09:29 > 0:09:33The fantastic diversity of habitat is reflected in the incredible
0:09:33 > 0:09:38diversity of life, be it insects, birds or mammals that it supports.
0:09:38 > 0:09:42Now all this abundance makes it even more tragic that one of our
0:09:42 > 0:09:47rarest animals lives here but is sadly losing the battle to survive.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51If this is to be one of the last stands for the high brown fritillary
0:09:51 > 0:09:56then all I can say is, what a tragedy and catch it while you can.
0:09:56 > 0:09:58The effort that has gone into saving them
0:09:58 > 0:10:01and all the other plants and insects here is admirable.
0:10:01 > 0:10:05Let's hope that we don't have to fight too many more losing battles.
0:10:13 > 0:10:17It's the steep-sided, heavily wooded nature of these valleys which has
0:10:17 > 0:10:23actually worked in their favour and protected them as valuable habitats.
0:10:23 > 0:10:27You see, they're as difficult to farm as they are to simply
0:10:27 > 0:10:31walk down, which means you have got these lovely
0:10:31 > 0:10:35fragments of untouched woodland which are really good at supporting
0:10:35 > 0:10:39all manner of wildlife, but especially the mosses and lichens.
0:10:47 > 0:10:51These are Millook Woods, set in deepest Cornwall.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54They may be one of the last few remnants of the so-called
0:10:54 > 0:10:57wildwood that sprung up here after the last Ice Age.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10Here there is a rich and unique ecosystem which has evolved
0:11:10 > 0:11:14largely free from chemicals, pesticides and human interference.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28So I'm standing in the ancient woodland proper.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31It basically runs up and down both banks of this rather lovely
0:11:31 > 0:11:34little stream. But because of the unique situation here,
0:11:34 > 0:11:38the land either side of the woodland has been relatively undisturbed.
0:11:38 > 0:11:41What's happening is the woodland is kind of moving outwards
0:11:41 > 0:11:44and actually colonising the entire valley.
0:11:47 > 0:11:51The woods lie right by the Atlantic on the North Cornwall coast.
0:11:51 > 0:11:55Most of the land here is owned by the Woodland Trust
0:11:55 > 0:11:59and it's all looked after by warden, Malcolm Allen.
0:11:59 > 0:12:01So we say ancient woodland quite a lot,
0:12:01 > 0:12:03but what exactly are we talking about?
0:12:03 > 0:12:06An ancient woodland by and large is a woodland that's been
0:12:06 > 0:12:09continuously wooded for at least 400 years.
0:12:09 > 0:12:15What that means is that the communities of plants and animals
0:12:15 > 0:12:19have had that undisturbed process and existence
0:12:19 > 0:12:22and it makes it, it gives it a greater opportunity
0:12:22 > 0:12:26for the species ranges to increase and to develop.
0:12:26 > 0:12:30That's why ancient woodlands are so important.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33And this place has lots of that, I assume?
0:12:33 > 0:12:35This place is teeming with it, yes.
0:12:35 > 0:12:39Everything about this wood is really special.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42You really don't have to look that hard to see what he's talking about.
0:12:42 > 0:12:46Thanks to the diversity of habitats here,
0:12:46 > 0:12:50warblers like this blackcap and this whitethroat abound.
0:12:57 > 0:13:00But the action's not just happening in the trees.
0:13:00 > 0:13:02Down under the canopy, it's rush hour too.
0:13:02 > 0:13:04You've got to watch your step,
0:13:04 > 0:13:07there's dung beetles everywhere.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12And if a dung beetle isn't your cup of tea,
0:13:12 > 0:13:15check out the brambles that lie in the pathways here
0:13:15 > 0:13:17and you might be lucky enough to see one of these fellows,
0:13:17 > 0:13:19a longhorn beetle.
0:13:22 > 0:13:25And it's the trees that really make a woodland.
0:13:25 > 0:13:27Oh, look at this.
0:13:27 > 0:13:31These ones are host to some very special hangers-on.
0:13:31 > 0:13:34Fantastic like landscape or patchwork
0:13:34 > 0:13:36of different things going on here.
0:13:36 > 0:13:38A range of species, all of them
0:13:38 > 0:13:40so nationally and internationally important,
0:13:40 > 0:13:44it's almost like a miniaturised sort of tropical rainforest.
0:13:44 > 0:13:46So your eyes have lit up.
0:13:46 > 0:13:48This is one of the things we're talking about that ancient
0:13:48 > 0:13:50woodland's been important for, isn't it?
0:13:50 > 0:13:53Absolutely, you know, these sort of lower plants,
0:13:53 > 0:13:56they don't colonise. They don't spread very quickly.
0:13:56 > 0:13:58Birds have wings, insects have wings,
0:13:58 > 0:14:01they can get up and fly distances.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04This is a very slow process,
0:14:04 > 0:14:06but the valley is like this.
0:14:06 > 0:14:08That's that continuity.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11You know, the clear air, the nice airflow,
0:14:11 > 0:14:14the lack of disturbance, the lack of felling, and this is
0:14:14 > 0:14:17the sort of thing that you get on so many trees around here.
0:14:17 > 0:14:19So every one of these splodges of colour
0:14:19 > 0:14:23kind of represents a completely different species? Yeah, it does.
0:14:23 > 0:14:26With some species, you know...
0:14:26 > 0:14:29We have got mosses and lichens. Mosses and lichens...
0:14:29 > 0:14:31This is a very spectacular lichen, this one.
0:14:31 > 0:14:35Yes, that's Lobaria pulmonaria... That's the lungwort?
0:14:35 > 0:14:38That's right. That's because it looks a little bit,
0:14:38 > 0:14:42with a little bit of imagination, like the linings of someone's lungs.
0:14:42 > 0:14:44A notable species.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47Then Degelia atlantica
0:14:47 > 0:14:49here with this sort of fan-shaped
0:14:49 > 0:14:51sort of shape to it.
0:14:51 > 0:14:53Absolutely gorgeous.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56If you're not into lichens - and how couldn't you be? -
0:14:56 > 0:14:59but if you're not into this sort of thing, just standing back
0:14:59 > 0:15:01and looking at every single branch here,
0:15:01 > 0:15:04it really is a beautiful palette of silver and green, isn't it?
0:15:04 > 0:15:06It really adds to the atmosphere. Yeah.
0:15:07 > 0:15:11Millook is one of the best woodlands for lichen in the country.
0:15:11 > 0:15:15But the arrival in the west of the tree disease, ash dieback,
0:15:15 > 0:15:17could put all this under threat.
0:15:17 > 0:15:20Ash dieback was first discovered in Britain four years ago
0:15:20 > 0:15:25and it has the potential to wipe out the country's 80 million ash trees.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28Nobody knows how to stop it.
0:15:28 > 0:15:31The nearest woodland infected with the disease is in Somerset,
0:15:31 > 0:15:34but that's close enough to make Malcolm worried.
0:15:36 > 0:15:37If it lands in here,
0:15:37 > 0:15:42and it starts killing off some of these ash trees that we have
0:15:42 > 0:15:45got that are smothered in some of these valuable lichens,
0:15:45 > 0:15:50then, you know, it's not just the loss of a high proportion
0:15:50 > 0:15:53of our ash trees that we're facing,
0:15:53 > 0:15:59but it's almost the collateral extinctions that may go with that.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02There's not much that Malcolm can do
0:16:02 > 0:16:04but hope that ash dieback doesn't land here.
0:16:04 > 0:16:08And, for now at least, this woodland is in perfect health.
0:16:10 > 0:16:12But Millook isn't all about trees.
0:16:12 > 0:16:17If you venture in a little deeper, you happen upon a little oasis.
0:16:17 > 0:16:21In the heart of the wood is this wildflower meadow.
0:16:21 > 0:16:26These wonderfully wet pastures are full of plant life
0:16:26 > 0:16:29and the grassland here is fantastic in its own right
0:16:29 > 0:16:32but where the grassland meets the woodland you've got all these
0:16:32 > 0:16:36wonderful little sheltered hot sunny spots as well, which makes it
0:16:36 > 0:16:38perfect for insect life.
0:16:39 > 0:16:43Perfect unless that is you happen to be tangled
0:16:43 > 0:16:45up in the web of an orb spider.
0:16:48 > 0:16:50Look at this.
0:16:50 > 0:16:53I don't fancy his chances very much.
0:16:53 > 0:16:56This grasshopper should really watch where it's going.
0:16:56 > 0:16:59It's walking right into a nursery web spider.
0:16:59 > 0:17:00Oh, kicked away.
0:17:00 > 0:17:02Fortunately, she's on maternity leave
0:17:02 > 0:17:05and she's using her fangs to hang on to that egg sac.
0:17:08 > 0:17:10This place is famous for butterflies.
0:17:10 > 0:17:12Here a comma is taking minerals from the mud.
0:17:20 > 0:17:22I'm just having a little bit of a moment here.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25I have a real fondness
0:17:25 > 0:17:27for this little piebald black and white butterfly
0:17:27 > 0:17:29that's flying around us here.
0:17:29 > 0:17:31It is a marbled white.
0:17:31 > 0:17:35They love these kind of unimproved pastures and this is exactly...
0:17:35 > 0:17:37This is the height of summer for me.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40This is what this butterfly says and they're beautiful
0:17:40 > 0:17:42and, of course, they're not a white butterfly.
0:17:42 > 0:17:44Even though they look white in colouration,
0:17:44 > 0:17:47they're not closely related to that family of butterflies.
0:17:47 > 0:17:49They're actually one of the brown butterflies.
0:17:49 > 0:17:51Just a very beautiful one.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00From the wildflower meadows to the woodland itself,
0:18:00 > 0:18:04Millook is as rich and varied as the avid naturalist could hope for.
0:18:19 > 0:18:21Hopefully it'll escape disease
0:18:21 > 0:18:23and endure as a precious haven for wildlife.
0:18:25 > 0:18:28And a very welcome escape from the modern world.
0:18:44 > 0:18:48Now, of course, all these places rely on an awful lot of hard
0:18:48 > 0:18:53conservation work, particularly keeping scrub and bracken down.
0:18:53 > 0:18:56Now, most of this work is done during the winter time,
0:18:56 > 0:19:00mainly to avoid disturbing sensitive wildlife species.
0:19:00 > 0:19:02It doesn't look like much now but it's in springtime
0:19:02 > 0:19:05when all this effort pays dividends.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16Marsland Nature Reserve in North Devon.
0:19:16 > 0:19:21Over 500 acres, the largest run by the Devon Wildlife Trust
0:19:21 > 0:19:23and, I reckon, one of the best.
0:19:24 > 0:19:27This bridge marks the border of Devon and Cornwall.
0:19:27 > 0:19:30Stand in the middle and you're straddling both counties.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33This place isn't just a geographical landmark.
0:19:35 > 0:19:37Now, the management of this fantastic reserve is
0:19:37 > 0:19:41largely for some of my favourite animals, the butterflies.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44Now, they've taken a real hammering in recent decades,
0:19:44 > 0:19:46modern agricultural practice
0:19:46 > 0:19:49and habitat loss being the main culprits.
0:19:49 > 0:19:53But here at least, most species seem to be bucking the trend.
0:19:55 > 0:19:59This is one of the target species, the small pearl-bordered fritillary.
0:19:59 > 0:20:02The pearl border refers to the markings on the wings.
0:20:02 > 0:20:07A beautiful insect that's suffered a 20% decline in the last ten years.
0:20:10 > 0:20:13This is the very similar pearl-bordered fritillary,
0:20:13 > 0:20:15quite difficult to tell them apart.
0:20:15 > 0:20:17It's seen an even more dramatic decline.
0:20:17 > 0:20:1942% in a decade.
0:20:21 > 0:20:23But here they both appear to be doing well.
0:20:23 > 0:20:25This pearl-bordered is feeding on the bugle
0:20:25 > 0:20:29they encourage to grow here and they are breeding.
0:20:29 > 0:20:31These are pearl-bordered caterpillars
0:20:31 > 0:20:34and they're feeding on their larval food plant, dog-violet.
0:20:34 > 0:20:36For the species to survive, both bugle
0:20:36 > 0:20:38and violets need to be plentiful.
0:20:40 > 0:20:44These rare shots were taken by the local warden, Gary Pilkington.
0:20:44 > 0:20:47They show a female small pearl-bordered being fought over
0:20:47 > 0:20:50by a group of males.
0:20:50 > 0:20:54Eventually, one wins out and mates.
0:20:56 > 0:21:00Now go back 100 or so years and our woodlands would have been
0:21:00 > 0:21:03continuously harvested for various woodland products.
0:21:03 > 0:21:05The process of coppicing, cutting down trees
0:21:05 > 0:21:08and then harvesting the regrowth was widespread.
0:21:08 > 0:21:10Now what this does is it creates this wonderful
0:21:10 > 0:21:15patchwork of various stages of plant regeneration
0:21:15 > 0:21:18and that means you get everything from bare soil, flower rich
0:21:18 > 0:21:22clearings, all the way through to the mature trees themselves.
0:21:22 > 0:21:25That's exactly what many of our butterflies thrive on.
0:21:25 > 0:21:26CHAINSAW WHIRS
0:21:26 > 0:21:28With no commercial woodcutting any more,
0:21:28 > 0:21:32in winter the trust clears the scrub and cuts down the trees.
0:21:32 > 0:21:35They also keep the bracken at differing heights,
0:21:35 > 0:21:37creating different levels of shade for flowers
0:21:37 > 0:21:40like the vital bugle and violets.
0:21:40 > 0:21:43The idea is to always have some part of the reserve in perfect
0:21:43 > 0:21:45condition for breeding butterflies.
0:21:47 > 0:21:50The pearl-bordered like a kind of more open environment.
0:21:50 > 0:21:53Bare earth for the bracken litter and violet plants.
0:21:53 > 0:21:56The small pearl-bordered are happier on the lusher green sward
0:21:56 > 0:21:57in the valley.
0:21:57 > 0:22:01It's a lot of work to keep both habitats in tiptop condition.
0:22:01 > 0:22:04If you'd come here in the late '80s, you would've probably found
0:22:04 > 0:22:07a handful of small pearl-bordered and pearl-bordered fritillaries.
0:22:07 > 0:22:09This year, last year, years before,
0:22:09 > 0:22:13we've been recording numbers in the high 200s of both species.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16I guess the big question is, it's nice to see butterflies,
0:22:16 > 0:22:19but why is it important to see these butterflies?
0:22:19 > 0:22:22We need to stress it's not just about a couple of butterfly species.
0:22:22 > 0:22:26They are very good indicators of the wider wildlife that
0:22:26 > 0:22:29exist in this place. They are also very easy to count, as well.
0:22:29 > 0:22:31They make for good monitors, if you like,
0:22:31 > 0:22:33of the health check of this place.
0:22:36 > 0:22:40Great to hear these beautiful insects are doing well.
0:22:40 > 0:22:42It's not just the fritillaries.
0:22:43 > 0:22:47The walk down to the coast takes you through a rich mixture of habitats.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50This woodland edge is full of commoner butterfly species,
0:22:50 > 0:22:53such as the ringlet. The reason for its name is kind of obvious.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58It's a subtle velveteen beauty, easily overlooked.
0:23:05 > 0:23:08The reserve is also renowned for bees, hoverflies.
0:23:08 > 0:23:11This one seems to be hoovering up every last piece of pollen
0:23:11 > 0:23:12on this hogweed plant.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18This one, known by the Latin name, Rhingia campestris,
0:23:18 > 0:23:20has an unusually long proboscis,
0:23:20 > 0:23:23unfurling it to take nectar from the flag iris.
0:23:26 > 0:23:28But you do have to be careful with your natural history.
0:23:28 > 0:23:31This looks like a bee, but it won't sting.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34It is in fact a fly, a bumblebee mimic.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37And, of course, for comparison, the real thing.
0:23:39 > 0:23:40WATER TRICKLES
0:23:42 > 0:23:47On this reserve you're never far from the sight and sound of water.
0:23:47 > 0:23:50That means it's a pretty good place to be if you're a dragonfly.
0:23:50 > 0:23:53Something like 19 different species have been recorded here.
0:23:53 > 0:23:55A little bit of time spent by a pond like this
0:23:55 > 0:23:57and you should be amply rewarded.
0:23:59 > 0:24:03This is an extraordinary sight, a southern hawker dragonfly,
0:24:03 > 0:24:07freshly emerged from its nymphal case, or exuvia.
0:24:08 > 0:24:10Beauty from a rather surprising beast.
0:24:14 > 0:24:18Early in the spring, you might catch this - red damselflies mating.
0:24:20 > 0:24:22And in June, a mature member of the species
0:24:22 > 0:24:24basks in the sun at the edge of the pond.
0:24:27 > 0:24:29The purity of the air and the water
0:24:29 > 0:24:31doesn't just make it a haven for dragonflies.
0:24:31 > 0:24:35The woods are covered with rare lichens, including this one,
0:24:35 > 0:24:37the golden hair.
0:24:37 > 0:24:41Devon is one of the few counties that still has a colony.
0:24:41 > 0:24:44And there's proof of the purity of the water here with perhaps
0:24:44 > 0:24:48the jewel in the water conservation crown - two otter cubs.
0:24:48 > 0:24:51These rare images were captured by Gary the warden.
0:24:51 > 0:24:53They almost seem to be grooming one another before one
0:24:53 > 0:24:56gives its sibling a playful nip.
0:24:58 > 0:25:00What a special place this is.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03In the '50s, otters came close to extinction through
0:25:03 > 0:25:06most of their range, thanks to the overuse of pesticide.
0:25:06 > 0:25:10The West Country, however, has always been a stronghold.
0:25:12 > 0:25:16These are the woods that basically follow the path of the stream,
0:25:16 > 0:25:18all the way down to the shore here.
0:25:18 > 0:25:21If you're a bird watcher like me, these places are brilliant,
0:25:21 > 0:25:23on one hand because you know they're there
0:25:23 > 0:25:24because you can hear them,
0:25:24 > 0:25:26but they're a bit frustrating on another level
0:25:26 > 0:25:28because you can't see the things.
0:25:28 > 0:25:32Or if you do want to see them, you have to work the place really hard.
0:25:33 > 0:25:37This wren, one of our smallest birds, might be a juvenile.
0:25:37 > 0:25:41You can just make it out through the leaves but you have got to be quick.
0:25:41 > 0:25:43A great spotted woodpecker dashes quickly up the trunk
0:25:43 > 0:25:45before disappearing.
0:25:47 > 0:25:49And a glimpse of a marsh tit.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52Sadly, a bird under severe conservation threat.
0:25:59 > 0:26:03Finally, after a two-mile walk, the path emerges from the wood.
0:26:06 > 0:26:07HE CHUCKLES
0:26:07 > 0:26:11If you follow the meanders of the stream downhill,
0:26:11 > 0:26:13this is what you get at the end of it.
0:26:13 > 0:26:17The whole landscape opens up into this incredible vista
0:26:17 > 0:26:20and yet another habitat.
0:26:20 > 0:26:23We've got maritime grassland and heathland here, which is
0:26:23 > 0:26:24absolutely fantastic.
0:26:24 > 0:26:26And for someone who is interested in birds,
0:26:26 > 0:26:30with no trees to obscure the view, it's a little bit easier.
0:26:32 > 0:26:36Overhead, the sound and sight of summer, a skylark.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39Almost seeming to hover in the wind before plummeting to earth.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46And this boldly coloured cock yellowhammer who's taking
0:26:46 > 0:26:48advantage of the plentiful insect life with
0:26:48 > 0:26:50a mouthful for the newly hatched chicks.
0:26:52 > 0:26:55A grey heron is flying along the valley from land to sea
0:26:55 > 0:26:59doing in a minute what would take a walker most of the morning.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03We've almost seen a full set of habitats for wildlife today.
0:27:03 > 0:27:05We started off in the woodland.
0:27:05 > 0:27:07We worked our way through those beautiful managed glades
0:27:07 > 0:27:10and the coppiced areas, along the bank of the stream.
0:27:10 > 0:27:11We've got the pools for the dragonflies
0:27:11 > 0:27:14and then we came out here with the maritime heath and then,
0:27:14 > 0:27:17as if that isn't enough, we've also got the beach itself.
0:27:17 > 0:27:18The intertidal zone.
0:27:18 > 0:27:22Each one of those individual habitats supports its own
0:27:22 > 0:27:24unique range of wildlife species.
0:27:24 > 0:27:27Of course, let's not forget those small pearl-bordered fritillaries
0:27:27 > 0:27:30that we filmed right at the top of the valley there.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33They're also found right down to the tops of the cliffs.
0:27:33 > 0:27:35This place is fantastic.
0:28:01 > 0:28:04The sad fact is that many of the species I've seen on my tour
0:28:04 > 0:28:06face some sort of threat.
0:28:06 > 0:28:09Up on Dartmoor, those high brown fritillaries are just
0:28:09 > 0:28:14the remaining few of an insect that used to be much more widespread.
0:28:14 > 0:28:17They've enjoyed a few good summers with numbers picking up,
0:28:17 > 0:28:19but the long-term trend isn't so good.
0:28:20 > 0:28:22In Millook, that ancient woodland
0:28:22 > 0:28:26and its rare lichens now face a modern threat - ash dieback.
0:28:26 > 0:28:29But, good to say, it's not there yet.
0:28:29 > 0:28:31But let's end on a more positive note.
0:28:31 > 0:28:34Here at Marsland they are continuing to build on that success and look
0:28:34 > 0:28:38after their precious colony of pearl-bordered fritillary butterflies.
0:28:38 > 0:28:41Let's hope they and the other reserves I visited
0:28:41 > 0:28:43manage to keep up their vital work.