0:00:06 > 0:00:08The wetlands of the West.
0:00:08 > 0:00:10Soggy, but beautiful.
0:00:11 > 0:00:14Sometimes threatening, perhaps, but they are home
0:00:14 > 0:00:17to some of our rarest and, I think, most precious wildlife.
0:00:20 > 0:00:23I'm Nick Baker and I'm going to be bringing you the very best
0:00:23 > 0:00:26that nature has to offer from right here in the West Country.
0:00:30 > 0:00:33I've lived and worked here as a naturalist for three decades
0:00:33 > 0:00:37and I'm convinced the wildlife here is as compelling and beautiful
0:00:37 > 0:00:38as anywhere I've travelled.
0:00:41 > 0:00:43On my journey across this wonderful landscape,
0:00:43 > 0:00:45I'll be catching up with great wild spectacles.
0:00:50 > 0:00:52Tracking some intriguing insects.
0:00:54 > 0:00:55And most stunning birds.
0:00:57 > 0:00:59Join me as I explore my Wild West.
0:01:15 > 0:01:17HUM OF DISTANT BIRDSONG
0:01:17 > 0:01:19These are the Somerset Levels -
0:01:19 > 0:01:22the heart of this beautiful county.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25Stretching from Taunton in the south to Glastonbury in the north,
0:01:25 > 0:01:27they are fast becoming a naturalist's paradise.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30But they're also important farming country.
0:01:32 > 0:01:35And this reserve at Catcott is something of a jewel in the crown -
0:01:35 > 0:01:39a wetland haven with the emphasis on the word "wet".
0:01:40 > 0:01:42Just in the shadow of Glastonbury Tor,
0:01:42 > 0:01:44it's home to thousands of waders and wildfowl,
0:01:44 > 0:01:46some of them severely threatened.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50This was once intensively managed farmland.
0:01:50 > 0:01:52Over the years it was drained and ploughed,
0:01:52 > 0:01:54making the peat shrink back.
0:01:55 > 0:01:59Somerset Wildlife Trust, who run the reserve, allow the fields here
0:01:59 > 0:02:01to flood and they carefully control the levels.
0:02:01 > 0:02:05Then they dry it off in the spring in time for the breeding season.
0:02:07 > 0:02:11BUZZ OF BIRDSONG
0:02:16 > 0:02:19Now, all you need is a couple of minutes in the hide
0:02:19 > 0:02:22or behind one of the blinds by the water's edge here
0:02:22 > 0:02:25to see just how special, how magical this place really can be.
0:02:25 > 0:02:28I don't think there's anywhere else in the South-West
0:02:28 > 0:02:32where you can see this number of birds so close.
0:02:35 > 0:02:39The birds are really utilising all the different types of habitat here
0:02:39 > 0:02:41and the different food sources.
0:02:42 > 0:02:44This teal has completely upended itself
0:02:44 > 0:02:47in the search for every last bit of nutrient.
0:02:49 > 0:02:50The drake is dabbling.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53Its bill is vibrating across the surface.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56Its tongue is sucking in water through grilles in the beak
0:02:56 > 0:02:58which filter out small plants and animals.
0:03:03 > 0:03:07These shoveler are wintering on the Levels as well, and it's using
0:03:07 > 0:03:11its large, unmistakable spatulate bill to sift through the water.
0:03:11 > 0:03:13This species is under some conservation threat,
0:03:13 > 0:03:15so places like this are vital.
0:03:19 > 0:03:23Open stretches of water like this obviously are very important
0:03:23 > 0:03:26as a feeding place, but they also provide a certain degree of security
0:03:26 > 0:03:29from ground-based predators, and while they're out there,
0:03:29 > 0:03:32they can take care of their plumage as well, which is very important.
0:03:35 > 0:03:36Like these widgeon.
0:03:36 > 0:03:39They're keeping their feathers in tiptop condition,
0:03:39 > 0:03:42and when they get close, you can get a really good view
0:03:42 > 0:03:44of the wavy patterning on the drake.
0:03:44 > 0:03:48The technical term is vermiculation, worm-like patterns.
0:03:48 > 0:03:50They're on the lake in their hundreds
0:03:50 > 0:03:53and their distinctive call rings out throughout the day.
0:03:55 > 0:03:57Lapwing too abound.
0:03:57 > 0:04:01Look at this beautiful bird with its iridescent bottle green sheen.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04You can see why its other name is the green plover.
0:04:04 > 0:04:08Once a common West Country sight, they're now a red-listed bird,
0:04:08 > 0:04:10under severe conservation threat
0:04:10 > 0:04:12with breeding numbers in massive decline.
0:04:14 > 0:04:20The dramatic floods of 2013 and '14 impacted not just on local farms,
0:04:20 > 0:04:22but also on some of the breeding birds.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27Now, all this winter rain and flooding is a bit of a double-edged sword.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30At the moment, the birds are rather enjoying it.
0:04:30 > 0:04:31It's rather good for them.
0:04:31 > 0:04:33But, if these high water tables linger on into the spring
0:04:33 > 0:04:36into the breeding season, then it limits the number of places
0:04:36 > 0:04:39that the birds can actually breed on the Levels.
0:04:39 > 0:04:41And also, significantly, all the creepy crawlies,
0:04:41 > 0:04:44all the invertebrates they feed on, in this waterlogged soil
0:04:44 > 0:04:46will have drowned, so there'll be nothing.
0:04:46 > 0:04:48Even if they do manage to get a nest off,
0:04:48 > 0:04:50there'll be nothing to feed their chicks with.
0:04:52 > 0:04:54And there's another problem - rush.
0:04:54 > 0:04:56It abounds here,
0:04:56 > 0:04:59and while it provides a bit of cover for the birds when they're nesting,
0:04:59 > 0:05:03too much favours the approaching predators, like foxes.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06And they've worked out about 10% cover is about right.
0:05:08 > 0:05:10And they must be estimating correctly,
0:05:10 > 0:05:13because the last couple of breeding seasons have seen
0:05:13 > 0:05:17an increase in numbers, with waders doing particularly well.
0:05:21 > 0:05:22WATER SPLASHES
0:05:29 > 0:05:31REEDS RUSTLE IN WIND
0:05:38 > 0:05:40It's all about water management here.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43On one side of the lake, the Trust have dug out
0:05:43 > 0:05:46and recreated traditional Levels habitats - fen.
0:05:46 > 0:05:48Once there was a lot more
0:05:48 > 0:05:50of this mix of open-water ditch and reed bed.
0:05:50 > 0:05:52Now it's relatively rare,
0:05:52 > 0:05:55as over the centuries the Fens were drained.
0:05:55 > 0:05:58Putting it back has been a huge effort by the Trust.
0:05:58 > 0:06:02We literally had to drain all the water out of the site.
0:06:02 > 0:06:04We had to remove a lot of the vegetation.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07And the reason for this is we had to actually rebuild
0:06:07 > 0:06:09and re-stabilise the whole system.
0:06:09 > 0:06:10The banks were gone.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13They were degraded. They were leaking.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16They were crumbling, so we've had to secure this for the future, really.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19And whilst we had to go to such extreme lengths, we also
0:06:19 > 0:06:23actually started to build and create islands, opened up channels.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26We levelled the land to a variety of heights,
0:06:26 > 0:06:31gradients and angles to suit a huge suite of species.
0:06:31 > 0:06:35And already, 12 months on, you can see how well this is recovering.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38We've had marsh harriers hunting here.
0:06:38 > 0:06:39We've had bittern booming,
0:06:39 > 0:06:42great white egrets, little egrets, cattle egrets.
0:06:42 > 0:06:46A huge array of duck species.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49It's just bursting into life so quickly after we finished.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53And it's not just about the birds.
0:06:53 > 0:06:57These reed heads are covered in millions of gossamer threads
0:06:57 > 0:06:58spun by small spiders.
0:06:58 > 0:07:02These beasts use these filaments to ride warm updraughts,
0:07:02 > 0:07:04behaviour called ballooning.
0:07:04 > 0:07:08It allows them to travel vast distances, even across continents.
0:07:09 > 0:07:13But here in Somerset, this one has settled on a great reed maize head.
0:07:13 > 0:07:17It drops down and climbs up repeatedly on a piece of web
0:07:17 > 0:07:18ready for the off.
0:07:21 > 0:07:26All these invertebrates are great news for this stonechat,
0:07:26 > 0:07:28and it's in luck, with a caterpillar in its beak.
0:07:28 > 0:07:30Not a bad find in December.
0:07:43 > 0:07:45The ditches on the fen are already filling up with widgeon.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48These are roosting and having a great splash around,
0:07:48 > 0:07:52but suddenly other birds feeding on the grass fly back into the water.
0:07:52 > 0:07:56The reason - the unmistakable outline of a marsh harrier,
0:07:56 > 0:07:59a beautiful, sleek killer on the prowl for small birds.
0:08:02 > 0:08:05And I'm on the prowl, back to the main lake for perhaps
0:08:05 > 0:08:08the biggest spectacle the reserve has to offer.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14Now, this is a great spot to witness what has become a little bit
0:08:14 > 0:08:17of a local phenomena, and on a good day you can witness it
0:08:17 > 0:08:19over and over again, all day long.
0:08:20 > 0:08:22Absolutely breathtaking.
0:08:26 > 0:08:30Every so often, a vast flock of lapwing takes to the skies.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33Like the now famous flocks of starlings that circle over
0:08:33 > 0:08:36the moors here, they form ever-changing shapes in the sky.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44This could be a way of avoiding or confusing predators
0:08:44 > 0:08:48or it may just be a thing they do together as a species
0:08:48 > 0:08:50for social cohesion, if you like.
0:08:50 > 0:08:52Whatever the reason, it's hypnotic.
0:09:03 > 0:09:06In essence, what you've got here is a flooded grass
0:09:06 > 0:09:09and a flooded field, and it's easy, given the amount of rain
0:09:09 > 0:09:11and flooding we've had over this last winter,
0:09:11 > 0:09:13to take this sort of scene for granted.
0:09:13 > 0:09:15But, several centuries ago,
0:09:15 > 0:09:18the whole of the Somerset Levels would have been under water
0:09:18 > 0:09:22for nearly the entire winter period, as would have most of East Anglia.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25Now, of course, thanks to the activities of human beings,
0:09:25 > 0:09:27the draining of the landscape,
0:09:27 > 0:09:29scenes like this are incredibly rare,
0:09:29 > 0:09:33and that is bad news for many of the birds we've enjoyed
0:09:33 > 0:09:34and filmed today.
0:09:36 > 0:09:40Here, farming and wildlife are in balance.
0:09:40 > 0:09:42The fields would be grazed in summer
0:09:42 > 0:09:44and then allowed to flood next winter.
0:09:44 > 0:09:48Without places like this, red-listed birds like marsh harrier
0:09:48 > 0:09:52and lapwing would face a losing battle with a much stronger enemy -
0:09:52 > 0:09:53the all-powerful hand of man.
0:09:55 > 0:09:57That same hand is helping nature here,
0:09:57 > 0:10:01simply by using abandoned peat pits to recreate fen.
0:10:01 > 0:10:03What once was just a hole in the ground,
0:10:03 > 0:10:07when it fills up with water, swiftly turn into vital habitat.
0:10:10 > 0:10:14Here at Meeth in North Devon, these disused clay quarries,
0:10:14 > 0:10:16now gathering rainwater,
0:10:16 > 0:10:21are at the heart of a 150-hectare wildlife haven.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24The reserve is new to me, but I'm told I'm in for a treat.
0:10:30 > 0:10:34Now, you'd have to wait a long time for a train here at Meeth Halt,
0:10:34 > 0:10:38because the last clay wagon rolled out of here in 1982,
0:10:38 > 0:10:42and the last passenger service was nearly 50 years ago.
0:10:42 > 0:10:43But...
0:10:43 > 0:10:47jump off the platform and you are on the Tarka Trail,
0:10:47 > 0:10:49the cycle route that goes through North Devon
0:10:49 > 0:10:52and through the very heart of this nature reserve.
0:10:54 > 0:10:55And what a place this is,
0:10:55 > 0:10:59with something like 14 species of dragonfly recorded.
0:10:59 > 0:11:02All of them need water-filled ponds and ditches.
0:11:02 > 0:11:05And that water is here because of man's activities.
0:11:06 > 0:11:10Devon Wildlife Trust took over the site in January 2013.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13And for decades, this was a clay quarry.
0:11:14 > 0:11:17The "Boys from the Whitestuff" took millions of tonnes of clay
0:11:17 > 0:11:21out of the soil to make china goods like sinks, baths, and toilet bowls,
0:11:21 > 0:11:25and they left behind this absolutely enormous hole.
0:11:25 > 0:11:27This is Meeth Quarry itself.
0:11:27 > 0:11:29There's actually two holes in the ground here,
0:11:29 > 0:11:33but this one is the largest and it is massive.
0:11:33 > 0:11:37It's literally hundreds of metres across and over 50 metres deep.
0:11:37 > 0:11:39That's over 150 feet.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45While it's definitely not safe for humans to swim on,
0:11:45 > 0:11:48these little grebe chicks have no such issues
0:11:48 > 0:11:49as they play and squabble.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54It provides everything they need, even the fish.
0:11:54 > 0:11:57Now, at this time of year, a hot day in summer,
0:11:57 > 0:12:00there's not much more than these and a few Canada geese around,
0:12:00 > 0:12:04but come the winter and this should abound in wildfowl.
0:12:05 > 0:12:08But it's not just the water that's helping the wildlife here.
0:12:08 > 0:12:10Believe it or not, this stuff,
0:12:10 > 0:12:14the clay spoil left after extraction and dumped around the quarry,
0:12:14 > 0:12:17is fast becoming an important habitat in its own right.
0:12:19 > 0:12:23So, these big, gleaming, white spoil heaps of clay may seem
0:12:23 > 0:12:25pretty inhospitable environments,
0:12:25 > 0:12:28but pretty soon the tough, grassy sedges and rushes move in,
0:12:28 > 0:12:32and once they're in place, a whole bunch of other things soon follow.
0:12:35 > 0:12:37Like the pretty little bird's foot trefoil flower.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40Now, we're used to seeing it in meadows,
0:12:40 > 0:12:42but here it's thriving in an almost lunar landscape.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45It means it provides many insects with nectar,
0:12:45 > 0:12:49and in this case this ladybird might even find the odd aphid.
0:12:51 > 0:12:55There are rarer plants here too, like this southern marsh orchid.
0:12:55 > 0:12:58Now, all in all, it's not a classically pretty place.
0:12:58 > 0:13:02It's no Sissinghurst, but to me it's just as beautiful.
0:13:08 > 0:13:11Managing a nature reserve isn't about tidying things up,
0:13:11 > 0:13:13so the Trust have left plenty of things, like thistles,
0:13:13 > 0:13:16for these hungry goldfinches to take seeds from.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19Sometimes nature needs a little bit of creative neglect.
0:13:22 > 0:13:26There are plenty of great leafy walks and rides cut for butterflies
0:13:26 > 0:13:29and I'm on my way to another vital man-made water feature.
0:13:31 > 0:13:34Over here is where the wildlife's at. This here is a pond.
0:13:34 > 0:13:38It's got a bit of history, this pond, because it's an old settling pond.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41It's where the clay water was left for the clay to settle out
0:13:41 > 0:13:43before the water was discharged into the river.
0:13:43 > 0:13:46Nowadays it's more of a playground for the insects.
0:13:49 > 0:13:52The dragonfly bench on one side gives you a clue,
0:13:52 > 0:13:54for this is a dragonfly paradise.
0:13:55 > 0:13:59This four-spotted chaser is perching by the waterside.
0:13:59 > 0:14:01The males are really aggressive and they like to perch here
0:14:01 > 0:14:03ready to chase off any other males
0:14:03 > 0:14:05or other species that invade their space.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09The pulsing abdomen is its way of breathing.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16These green-veined white butterflies on the edge of the pond
0:14:16 > 0:14:18are also taking advantage of the damp conditions.
0:14:18 > 0:14:21They're imbibing salts from the wet piece of bark,
0:14:21 > 0:14:23using their long proboscis to take nutrients.
0:14:28 > 0:14:30This dragonfly is egg laying...
0:14:30 > 0:14:34when it's rudely bumped out of the way by another individual.
0:14:34 > 0:14:35Look at that.
0:14:36 > 0:14:40Great for dragonflies, but water and butterflies don't always mix.
0:14:40 > 0:14:43These guys have come into contact with the water and drowned.
0:14:45 > 0:14:48But death for one species is food for another.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51A pond skater is feasting on this green-veined white.
0:14:52 > 0:14:54The skater can walk on water
0:14:54 > 0:14:57and this pond is a vast, watery food trap.
0:15:04 > 0:15:06Now, one of the things I really like about this reserve
0:15:06 > 0:15:07are all the rides.
0:15:07 > 0:15:10They're not just footpaths to join up
0:15:10 > 0:15:12the different experiences and habitats.
0:15:12 > 0:15:14They're worthy in their own right.
0:15:14 > 0:15:16This one's got a lovely, sort of, shady quality to it,
0:15:16 > 0:15:18perfect for woodland creatures,
0:15:18 > 0:15:21and some of the more open ones act as suntraps
0:15:21 > 0:15:23and they're brilliant for all manner of insects,
0:15:23 > 0:15:25and there's one particular insect
0:15:25 > 0:15:27that's very, very special here on the reserve.
0:15:30 > 0:15:32It's a rare one and right where you'd expect it,
0:15:32 > 0:15:34on the woodland edge.
0:15:34 > 0:15:35It's a wood white,
0:15:35 > 0:15:39a species that's been vanishing from many of its former haunts.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42In fact, it's suffered a 60% decline in recent years.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48This place is absolutely heaving with dragonflies and damselflies
0:15:48 > 0:15:51and that's all you need - a sunny day in summer,
0:15:51 > 0:15:53a pond of dragonflies and damselflies -
0:15:53 > 0:15:55and, "Bang", gone are three or four hours.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02The metallic beauty of an emerald damselfly,
0:16:02 > 0:16:04one of the larger damselflies.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07They like to perch on reeds, which is great camouflage.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10There's also a patch of this rare habitat, wet woodland,
0:16:10 > 0:16:12where tree roots are swamped by water.
0:16:12 > 0:16:16And this greater spotted woodpecker is busy.
0:16:16 > 0:16:18Now, it's not digging holes for nesting.
0:16:18 > 0:16:22It's actually pecking at the tree bark on this alder after grubs.
0:16:24 > 0:16:28Over the pond itself, an emperor dragonfly, the UK's largest,
0:16:28 > 0:16:30is aggressively patrolling its territory
0:16:30 > 0:16:33keeping away incomers but also snatching the odd insect.
0:16:36 > 0:16:39In the middle of a pond, a gathering of common blue
0:16:39 > 0:16:42and blue-tailed damselflies show us just how much life
0:16:42 > 0:16:45this pretty small area of water is supporting.
0:16:47 > 0:16:49My visit here is almost at an end.
0:16:49 > 0:16:51It pretty much takes a full day
0:16:51 > 0:16:54if you're to take in the whole reserve, but there are loads
0:16:54 > 0:16:57of short cuts if you only have a morning or an afternoon to spare.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00I'm on my way to a great viewpoint where you can really take in
0:17:00 > 0:17:02the full sweep of the reserve.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07From up here at the highest point of the reserve,
0:17:07 > 0:17:10you can really get a sense of the scale of this place.
0:17:10 > 0:17:14Now, it's already Devon Wildlife Trust's third largest reserve,
0:17:14 > 0:17:18and just beyond that line of conifer trees is Ashmoor.
0:17:18 > 0:17:23Now, if we can join those two nature reserves together, now we're talking
0:17:23 > 0:17:27landscape-scale conservation and that is where the future lies.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34It's great to report for once on a real success story.
0:17:34 > 0:17:38A place where wildlife isn't in retreat, but on the mend.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41Somewhere where man, having damaged the landscape
0:17:41 > 0:17:44in the first place, is actually putting something back.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53And that idea of landscape-scale conservation
0:17:53 > 0:17:57is really coming to fruition here on the Somerset Levels.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00With six large reserves within 20 miles,
0:18:00 > 0:18:03things here are beginning to connect up.
0:18:03 > 0:18:05That scale means that when wildlife faces a threat,
0:18:05 > 0:18:07it has somewhere to move.
0:18:08 > 0:18:10RUSH OF WINGS BEATING
0:18:10 > 0:18:12This is West Sedgemoor.
0:18:12 > 0:18:14Run by the RSPB,
0:18:14 > 0:18:18it's part of the largest inland haven for wetland birds in the UK.
0:18:24 > 0:18:27The reserve is some 700 hectares,
0:18:27 > 0:18:31all echoing to the sound of tens of thousands of birds.
0:18:36 > 0:18:40So, from this vantage point up here, you can look down on the Levels
0:18:40 > 0:18:42and you get a real sense of the beauty of the place.
0:18:42 > 0:18:46Rich patchwork of fields stitched together with dykes and ditches,
0:18:46 > 0:18:50and sprinkled liberally with hundreds, if not thousands, of wildfowl.
0:18:50 > 0:18:52But if you were to have come here in January 2014,
0:18:52 > 0:18:55it would have looked completely different.
0:18:55 > 0:18:57This whole landscape was completely under water.
0:18:58 > 0:19:02The floods were the worst here for at least 20 years, maybe longer.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05Huge amounts of rain, combined with surge tides,
0:19:05 > 0:19:08prevented the rivers from draining the land.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11That raised water levels to dangerous heights.
0:19:11 > 0:19:15Though it regularly floods here, these persisted for weeks on end,
0:19:15 > 0:19:18forcing over 250 households out of their homes.
0:19:20 > 0:19:22Now, back in January or February in 2014,
0:19:22 > 0:19:25I wouldn't be able to walk along here. I would be wading.
0:19:25 > 0:19:27The water level would have been up to chest height.
0:19:27 > 0:19:29In fact, a lot of the Levels,
0:19:29 > 0:19:31and quite a bit of the surrounding countryside,
0:19:31 > 0:19:34were so deep under water the area was inaccessible.
0:19:37 > 0:19:39The Levels are used to winter flooding.
0:19:39 > 0:19:43The silt the water deposits boosts nutrient levels in the soil.
0:19:43 > 0:19:45Now, that's good for farmers, and the water provides
0:19:45 > 0:19:48crucial habitat for the birds I've come to see.
0:19:48 > 0:19:51But the 2014 floods were simply overwhelming.
0:19:53 > 0:19:56The reserve is only open to pre-booked groups
0:19:56 > 0:19:59and has this barn-cum-hide as the main vantage point.
0:20:00 > 0:20:04And that's a clue as to how this place works.
0:20:04 > 0:20:06The RSPB are working with the farmers here
0:20:06 > 0:20:09so that both wildlife and agriculture can benefit.
0:20:10 > 0:20:14A hide like this one here gives you one of the few raised elevations
0:20:14 > 0:20:18which allows you to look down, or certainly look across,
0:20:18 > 0:20:21these pools in front of us, teeming with birds.
0:20:21 > 0:20:23And if you spend a bit of time here,
0:20:23 > 0:20:25it's not long before you get a bit of avian action.
0:20:29 > 0:20:32This is a female marsh harrier out hunting.
0:20:33 > 0:20:35It's spending a lot of time hovering over the reeds
0:20:35 > 0:20:38before spotting something and suddenly swooping down.
0:20:38 > 0:20:40Maybe after sick birds hiding in the grass.
0:20:45 > 0:20:47This time it comes up with nothing.
0:20:49 > 0:20:52These birds will take small ducks, like these teal,
0:20:52 > 0:20:56so every so often it throws thousands of them up into the sky.
0:21:01 > 0:21:04LOUD BUZZ OF BIRDSONG
0:21:04 > 0:21:06NICK LAUGHS
0:21:07 > 0:21:10Oh, it's a continuous game of cat and mouse out there,
0:21:10 > 0:21:11or, should I say, raptor and duck.
0:21:13 > 0:21:15Or raptor and corvid.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18These crows are a bit more feisty with potential predators.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21They mob the luckless harrier and it scarpers.
0:21:31 > 0:21:33This place is all about water.
0:21:33 > 0:21:35Not enough and the land dries out,
0:21:35 > 0:21:37making it of little use for wildlife.
0:21:37 > 0:21:40Too much and it becomes unfarmable.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48The RSPB works with the local drainage board
0:21:48 > 0:21:49to control water levels here.
0:21:49 > 0:21:53Warden Harry Paget Wells showed me how a few turns of the wheel
0:21:53 > 0:21:55on this sluice releases hundreds of gallons.
0:21:57 > 0:21:59The idea is to keep the reserve wet in the winter
0:21:59 > 0:22:01to favour all those feeding birds,
0:22:01 > 0:22:04but let it get drier in the summer to aid grazing.
0:22:05 > 0:22:07Come on, man, faster.
0:22:07 > 0:22:08NICK LAUGHS
0:22:08 > 0:22:11'But holding water at higher levels than the surrounding areas
0:22:11 > 0:22:13'has attracted criticism.'
0:22:14 > 0:22:17There are those that are saying that some of the water management
0:22:17 > 0:22:21you're doing here was responsible or contributed to the flooding
0:22:21 > 0:22:23and the devastation of those floods.
0:22:23 > 0:22:24Yeah.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27I mean, the Internal Drainage Board commissioned some research into that
0:22:27 > 0:22:30from some hydrologists, and basically the result that
0:22:30 > 0:22:33they came back with was that it's insignificant.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36It's such a small volume of water that we're talking about here
0:22:36 > 0:22:41compared with the massive volumes that occurred during the flooding.
0:22:41 > 0:22:44So, we are only talking about making a difference of
0:22:44 > 0:22:46less than a centimetre.
0:22:46 > 0:22:49And of course this place is pretty unique and it's very important
0:22:49 > 0:22:50for the wildlife that you're managing it for,
0:22:50 > 0:22:53but how did the wildlife cope with the flooding?
0:22:53 > 0:22:54Obviously it was too deep here.
0:22:54 > 0:22:58We're talking about a water level up here, so things like widgeon
0:22:58 > 0:23:02and teal, they moved to other areas where the floodwater was shallower.
0:23:02 > 0:23:05They're dabbling in shallow water round the edges of floods.
0:23:05 > 0:23:07That was the sort of thing that they were looking for.
0:23:07 > 0:23:10Other species actually increased in their numbers here.
0:23:10 > 0:23:13Things like pintail which can feed in slightly deeper water
0:23:13 > 0:23:16with their long necks, dabbling upturned in the water.
0:23:16 > 0:23:18So, you know, we had far more pintail here
0:23:18 > 0:23:22than we've ever had before, feeding in slightly deeper water.
0:23:26 > 0:23:30And the birds are certainly back in numbers during my visit.
0:23:32 > 0:23:35The marsh harrier's back, diving repeatedly on the reeds
0:23:35 > 0:23:37after elusive mammals and small birds.
0:23:37 > 0:23:39She's not having much luck today.
0:23:45 > 0:23:49It manages eventually to throw a few scared widgeon into the air.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57These teal are feeding on seeds floating in the water,
0:23:57 > 0:24:00they'll also take grubs from the grass on the water's edge.
0:24:08 > 0:24:11And these shoveler are using their spatulate bills to sift seeds
0:24:11 > 0:24:12and invertebrates from the water.
0:24:20 > 0:24:22You can just see on the bill of this drake
0:24:22 > 0:24:24the small combs they use to filter out the food.
0:24:28 > 0:24:30What a resplendent bird.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39Time for take-off, as yet another bird of prey comes in.
0:24:43 > 0:24:46Vast flocks of widgeon and golden plover land,
0:24:46 > 0:24:49get spooked and then take off again.
0:24:53 > 0:24:56Eventually the widgeon return to nibble on aquatic plants
0:24:56 > 0:24:57on the fringes of the lakes.
0:25:02 > 0:25:03What a place this is.
0:25:07 > 0:25:09But it's not all about the birds.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15Now, it might be difficult to appreciate,
0:25:15 > 0:25:18as I squelch my way across these fields,
0:25:18 > 0:25:21but it's the flooding here on the Levels
0:25:21 > 0:25:26that creates some of the best hay meadows you could possibly imagine.
0:25:26 > 0:25:28All the nutrients from the floodwaters create
0:25:28 > 0:25:31high productivity, many hay-cuts
0:25:31 > 0:25:35and also, of course, great fodder for the dairy and beef stock.
0:25:35 > 0:25:38And these grasslands are also pretty good for the wildlife.
0:25:41 > 0:25:44In winter, these lapwing are plucking worms and insects
0:25:44 > 0:25:45from the grass and mud.
0:25:45 > 0:25:47In spring, they'd be breeding here
0:25:47 > 0:25:50and the chicks need grassy cover to hide from predators like foxes.
0:25:52 > 0:25:55But at the moment, it's airborne predators they need to worry about.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58A hen harrier, a seriously endangered bird,
0:25:58 > 0:25:59rarer than the marsh harrier.
0:26:04 > 0:26:06A flock of lapwing take off.
0:26:06 > 0:26:09So, do you go with the rest and use up valuable energy,
0:26:09 > 0:26:12or, like this one, risk staying on the ground?
0:26:20 > 0:26:23But when a top predator like a peregrine falcon appears,
0:26:23 > 0:26:25it's a no-brainer.
0:26:25 > 0:26:26They all take to the skies.
0:26:28 > 0:26:31The falcon manages to separate off one lapwing,
0:26:31 > 0:26:32dives...
0:26:32 > 0:26:33and misses.
0:26:37 > 0:26:38Then tries again...
0:26:38 > 0:26:40and misses again.
0:26:40 > 0:26:42Before flying right over our hide.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00Danger over, the lapwing head back to the muddy grass
0:27:00 > 0:27:01to take more fuel on board.
0:27:08 > 0:27:10This place is pretty special.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13Nearly all the species of bird we've seen and filmed today
0:27:13 > 0:27:15are threatened in one way or another,
0:27:15 > 0:27:18either directly, birds such as the hen harrier,
0:27:18 > 0:27:21or indirectly, due to habitat loss, birds like the lapwings.
0:27:22 > 0:27:25But what we've got today here is a very special habitat.
0:27:25 > 0:27:30This is what happens when conservationists and farmers work together.
0:27:32 > 0:27:35And with plans to improve drainage management on the Levels
0:27:35 > 0:27:37and a new sluice at Bridgwater,
0:27:37 > 0:27:41let's hope this precious landscape and the people who live in it
0:27:41 > 0:27:44can be protected in the future from all the weather can throw at it.
0:27:50 > 0:27:52Now, there's something really exciting happening
0:27:52 > 0:27:54here on the Somerset Levels, I think.
0:27:54 > 0:27:57Yes, there's the problems of coping with climate change
0:27:57 > 0:28:00and much wetter weather, but overall the farming community
0:28:00 > 0:28:03and nature conservation seem to be working well together.
0:28:03 > 0:28:06That gives me pause for thought.
0:28:06 > 0:28:09So many of the wonderful places I've been to in this series
0:28:09 > 0:28:10are a bit out on a limb.
0:28:10 > 0:28:12Like the Isle of Portland,
0:28:12 > 0:28:15a fragile jewel with rarities like the beautiful silver-studded blue
0:28:15 > 0:28:19or the tiny patch of woodland at Millook in North Cornwall.
0:28:19 > 0:28:22A few acres of ancient wood full of rare lichens and mosses
0:28:22 > 0:28:24are surrounded by pasture.
0:28:25 > 0:28:30But here in Somerset, nature and people are reconnecting at a landscape scale.
0:28:30 > 0:28:33This place is sustainable and has some kind of a future.
0:28:33 > 0:28:35We need more places like this.