Episode 13 Springwatch Unsprung

APPLAUSE What can I say? What can I say? Hey,

that's enough, you are too kind. Hello and welcome to Springwatch

Unsprung, coming from a very sad it RSPB Minsmere and the sun has put a

smile on the faces of this fine Suffolk audience who have come in

this evening, forsaking it to come into the studio and enjoy the

programme. What do we get up to admin snare? We bug the place with

about 30 live cameras which allows to view the intimate lives of the

species that live here and all of the dramas that unfold. Let's look

at some of the live cameras, going to our great tits. You will know if

you were watching that there were five in a nest and now you can see

their four because one of them fledged this morning and at any

stage now, the others could pop out. Keep your eyes on our live webcam as

well. Now the sparrowhawk has been teasing us in week one. She has sat

on five eggs but yesterday evening, we had the enormous privilege of

listening to them cheap ink from inside their shells. -- chirping

from inside. I was in ornithological nirvana for a little while. And

lastly, let's go live to the stickleback camera. Last year, we

were following the antics of Stoinis Sy and this year, we have Stephen

Fry, one of the small fish. This is the stickleback nest and we will be

keeping a close eye on them throughout the programme. But let me

move on to introduce tonight's guest. There's a rumour going around

that our first one is only here because we share a taste in dogs.

That is merely a fluffy rumour. It is not down to poodles, it is down

to the fact that in the 1990s, she was moving on up to record sales

that totalled 10 million but then things got even better because she

penned an anthem, which is not easy to do, and anthem that was used for

the 2012 Olympics and even the theme tune for Oprah Winfrey. She has done

herself proud, Heather Small! APPLAUSE

Thank you very much. Our next guest, I'm pleased to introduce, he has

supplied blogs for the Natural History Museum, photographs for BBC

Wildlife magazine and even footage for Autumnwatch. He is a constant

writer and I have to say these things are pretty impressive and

even more when you know that he is just 17. It is Billy Stockwell.

APPLAUSE At Unsprung, we are always very keen

to work great young naturalists and we will hear more from Billy later.

Lindsey Chapman at the ready, what is happening? It's been a very busy

day online, lots of interest last night around a particular clip on

Springwatch, about these strange creatures. Have a look at this. It

was remarkable, wasn't it? These are lampreys, a primitive form of fish

that have been around pretty much unchanged for 500 million years.

This extraordinary footage is of them building their red, an area of

gravel where they lay their eggs. They have amazing mouthparts which

they use and yet the notion, spending time in the sea, sucking

the blood of other fish but in the springtime they use them for moving

stones, amazing. But very weird to look at and lots of people got in

touch, with different comments. Mike said they were intriguing. Elaine

said they were nightmare beast but she loved it. And we also had one

from Pat who says the footage was impressive, so much action in rivers

that we rarely get to see. Case in point, we know a lot about

terrestrial ecology but I bet there are lots of good naturalists that

could tell you things about butterflies, mammals and birds but

how much would know about the habits of fish? Just because they are in

the water, they are normally out of sight and out of mind but we are

trying to rectify that without films and without Stephen Fry. Interesting

and brilliant footage and I've got some great pictures because I found

these, a series of pictures. This is the first one, a barn owl and a

kestrel, the bar now has been outstanding early in the morning,

catching a vole, and then the kestrel came out of nowhere and

latched onto the role, and dragged the bar now about. Does this happen

much? A kestrel is smaller than a barn owl. It does happen and this is

what we call kleptoparasitism, one animal stealing from another. I have

seen kestrels pinching from barn owls before because barn owls fly

more slowly and are not as nimble as kestrels so they can swoop in

underneath and catch the vole and get a free meal, makes sense. I've

never seen it, I've only ever seen photos. Interesting. Let's get on to

the quiz. The quiz this week is all about poo, you will be delighted to

hear, and it has been set by the RSPB Minsmere young wardens. Here

they are. We are the RSPB Minsmere young

wardens and this is our quiz for you. It has a twist on the end. It

is very smelly. It has fur in it so we know it is a predator. Who's scat

is that? APPLAUSE We like poo with a twist on the!

Diagnostic, that's why. Get in touch with your answers using #springwatch

and they will be back at the end with an answer. I've done something

special tonight, a tribute to the first guest, come up with a feature

based around one of her most famous songs. Let's give this a go. Search

for the heroine... Search for the heroine inside yourself! -- heron.

It's brilliant, let's have a look at these wonderful ones, this is my

first picture by Jimmy Reid, I thought that was pretty beautiful.

Pretty good, I love the reflection and the sprinkle of water at high

speed against the black background, I'm giving that points. Is it a 7.8?

Because on the right-hand side, I would have raised those that all

white spots, to be honest. We also got sent this picture of a heron by

Emily Jones, I thought that was cool. I like that, a primitive edge,

a bit like an old etching, and I like the texture on the paper. You

were talking with Alison Steadman about the difference between

spotting a plastic heron and a real one but we got sent this, have a

look. Which one of those is the plastic one? On the left, real one

on the right. You are, of course, correct! LAUGHTER

she said sorry about the chairs. Thanks, Lindsey, let's move on to

Heather. APPLAUSE Let's start off with Proud which was

an amazing... Did you ever imagine it would be so big for so long and

used in Sony giveaways? Not really, you write your music for yourself,

first and foremost, something you feel strongly about and if others

feel the same way, then that is an added bonus. What inspired you? The

day you wrote it, what did you get up in your mind to do that? You been

in a successful bad and when you do something other than that, people

try to throw you curve balls, said things like, "Why would you leave a

successful band to do something else?" But you have to challenge

yourself and measure success in your own way and that is what Proud was

about. Measuring success in your own way because there's lots of things

that happen that people know nothing about that make you happy and proud

but people don't know. I thought outward success does not mean that

is the only kind of success. Absolutely, could not agree more.

That hits the philosophy on the head. Let's hear a clip now.

# What have you done today to make you feel proud?

# It's never too late to try # What have you done today to make

you feel proud? . # APPLAUSE

It has inspired lots of people to take the extra step, to go the extra

mile and we have tried to do the same. We have, we have been sent

some wonderful pictures, this first one is from Tame Valley Wetlands who

has been working in a woodland in North Warwickshire so well done.

Chantal Feeney found a snail on the window and moved it onto the leaf.

Julie has been doing a beach clean, achingly Portugal and Iceland flags

for yesterday's match out of rubbish. This next one is a

countryside clean from Sarah Thompson who does not have a beach

so they clean the stream which is ace and Suzzie Green has been in

touch, making an insect hotel with her nine-year-old. People doing

brilliant things. Superb. Heather, you grew up in the city and you were

ten years old before you went into the countryside. That must have had

quite an impact? It did, I went to Beaconsfield and when I did, there

was no Waitrose! It was definitely the countryside. I've found out that

I was deeply allergic to the countryside because I'm asthmatic. I

had a brilliant day running around the fields with my friends, the

first time I had ever seen a haystack, I tried to move it and did

not realise it was so heavy. But I got back onto the coach and I was

not at all well. That was my first introduction. Did you identify what

it was? I'm allergic to a host of things! Unfortunately. At that time,

it was cut grass and the straw and The Hague. But now you live in the

city again and you've got a good excuse to get out and about because

you and I are the proud possessor is of the most important things in

life, poodles. Tell me about Nina. Nina was named after Nina Simone,

the very fine thing. She is eight months now, she is my toy poodle and

she is a little minx but she is a beautiful. Because I have been

allergic to so many things, and animals, I did my homework and found

out it had to be a bichon frise or a toy poodle. I am at 51, a proud

owner of a pet for the first time and I'm absolutely enjoying it. And

it is a poodle! Top work you have joined the club. Do you know who

else was in the club? No. Winston Churchill had to doors, Livingston,

the explorer and Elvis Presley. Even though they are small, they are not

a handbag, they are very intelligent and clever. They are... More, more.

They are quick as. But you are into exotic animals as well, lines,

tigers, what I call Pichot animals. When you are growing up on a council

estate, if you think of wildlife, you think of the grand and I did

like lions, their mane and everything, it reminded me of them

being very proud looking, and mothers with their clubs, the way

they fight that they're young and after them. I had an empathy with

that, and pumas, they just look beautiful. So black and false! I

can't argue with any of this but the only problem I have with these

animals is that they are not here, they are over there. But we still

use the three Lions on the flight. We are trying to support that and we

will be doing our best tomorrow afternoon. Mixed hopes! I'm going to

offer you some UK species which I would say rival the species you have

been talking about. What about the golden eagle? You are right because

I like eagles and I like the fact that they are asked and agile and

their wingspan, you can't argue with it. -- they are fast. Slightly

smaller but perhaps even more dashing, the Sparrow walk. Look at

the eyes. It looks intelligent. And is doing a fine job. This is the

female and her five eggs. I worked that out with the eggs. Sometimes

the males will integrate but not in this species! This is what we had

yesterday, this is amazing. CHEEPING.

I could tell you about the signs of that but the romance of a bird

chirping inside an egg to communicate to the others and its

mother... I can understand that, I sang to my child while he was being

incubated out the best way to familiarise yourself stop did he

come out musical? Not at all! LAUGHTER

Everyone who comes onto Unsprung faces a challenge. We send them out

onto the reserve with a selection of artist's materials and give them ten

minutes to produce a representation of something they find, landscape,

sense of or whatever. Now, you are racing but are you an artist?

Definitely, definitely not! I know that you can be cruel so I am

waiting for your words. -- you are a singer. I'm not cruel, I'm

pragmatic. Bordering on cruel! This is Helen's offering... Helen?!

Heather, sorry. APPLAUSE Sympathy vote, there! You did not

stray any further than the balcony, I see. But nevertheless, I quite

like it. The landscape was too much for me to in O it, I could not do it

justice. I like the freestyle, the Impressionist technique you have

been involved with. It reminds me of a loose Chagall, so where am I going

to put that on the board? It's getting pretty cluttered but I think

it is definitely better... Thank you. I'm going in here. I'm going in

here. APPLAUSE That wasn't too cruel, was it? No,

but I think I might have got the sympathy vote. Not really, I don't

do sympathy. If you had evident website, we've got a section of

music for you to look at, live stuff, videos and play list, click

on the music tab and there is so much to see. Now it can be difficult

for some people do get out and see wildlife and a few years ago, Lizzie

Guntrip fan she could not get out at all and she needed another way to

connect with nature. As she began to feel better, she set up a campaign

for others in a similar situation. I met Lizzie and found out more about

what she has been up to. In 2011, I was diagnosed with an

illness called M E. Essentially, it affects the parts of the body that

should make the body function normally. It was a really

debilitating illness and for a couple of years, I was pretty much

stuck at home. When I couldn't get out at all, watching nature through

the TV, through Springwatch anchor live cameras, was a really valuable

way for me to see and experience wildlife in a way I couldn't in

person. I wrote a blog which I put online and people responded really

well to it. What did it mean to you when you realised there were people

out there who felt similarly to you? It was so cool and really important

to me. I think my illness had taken away a lot of who I was, but with

accessible nature and connecting with other people, it was away from

the to still be the social, engaged and interested person that I was

before the illness. When you talk about Accessible Nature, what do you

mean? The reserve helps people in all different ways. The reserve

covers all different people. I think it is estimated that less than --

that less than 8% of disabled people use a wheelchair, said disability is

often invisible. All of these people need design features to be able to

get outside. Well, this isn't bad. This is called

Headley hide, it is supposed to encourage children and people who

may not have been interested in wildlife before to come here and

enjoy this amazing scene. So it is wildlife for everybody because

although you are in the middle of a city, it is right at your

fingertips. It is a fantastic urban oasis. Last year, we launched our

hashtag called hashtagwildlifefrommightwindow,

which is connecting with wildlife on a daily basis. Did you expect the

response you got from it? I didn't, I knew it meant a lot to me, but I

didn't realise it meant so much to other people. To have someone say it

has given them a new lease of life is amazing and if we can get

Accessible Nature, whether that is inclusive design features at

reserves or taking a moment out of your day to watch what you see

through the window, if we can get that to be as important as going too

wild and beautiful places, that is fantastic. Amazing. While we are

here, we should really try and check out some of that nature. You have

got a heron on me so far, so I need to pick one up.

APPLAUSE. I am delighted to say Lizzie is here

tonight. We had a brilliant day at the London wetland Centre. It has

really helped you reconnect, hasn't it? Yes, I love the wetlands Centre,

it is so that the people with wheelchairs and with invisible

illnesses. We think what you are doing is fantastic. It is so good,

we are going to present you with one of our Unsprung Hero awards.

CHEERING .

It is all about making wildlife accessible and you have done a

brilliant job, so we salute you, Lizzie.

APPLAUSE. One school that are using their very

best assets to help wildlife in their own backyard is this cool, St

Francis primary school in Birmingham. They bought a paddling

pool because they had some ducklings hatch in their quad. Isn't that

amazing? When they were ready, they released them back into the wild.

Superb. Let's move back over to Billy. Billy, thank you very much

for coming in. You and I share a passion for trying to glamorise a

bird that too many people, I think, take as a familiar thing in their

garden, the blue to it. Tell me about your passion for blue tips. I

do most of my wildlife watching in and around my own patch, and blue

tips are so accessible, they are everywhere -- blue titss. They see

them but they don't really appreciate them and when you get a

close-up picture, their colours are just amazing. I think if this were a

rare bird on the other side of the world, people would flock to see

them, but we watch them and don't give them a second look. You have

been photographing them to highlight their beauty, more than anything

else. Yes, they quite often take up residence in my bird boxes and last

year, I converted one of my boxes to have a glass back. They weren't

harmed in any way or disturbed, but it allowed me to put my nose on the

glass and watch the eggs hatch, to watch them feed their young. And my

nose was literally centimetres away from the chicks. There is nothing

finer, is there, than getting that close to wildlife personally? We do

what we can on Springwatch to instigate an interest but the best

way to satisfy it is doing it yourself, of course. The other thing

is you have some Trail cams, which we use all the time, and you have

been using these on your patch. Yes, in a woodland adjacent to my patch

and also, at school, we have two badger sets on our campus and I

quite like the idea of when the school bell rings, and pupils and

teachers go home, it is overrun by this badger family. So I have been

trying to capture that over the last few months. It may put Ofsted off.

This is another thing I like about your approach, you are not

anti-technology. I read a blog today where somebody said we should never

travel with our mobile phones, but for me, it is a really useful tool.

I think technology gets a lot of blame for disconnecting people,

especially younger generations, from wildlife, but I think if you use it

in the right way, it can connect you, because you can social media,

you can write your own blog, take photos on your phone. This is a

photograph you took of a parasitic wasp in the act of parasitising a

caterpillar, it is a really good photo. You can immediately then

paste it onto your blog. Also, not everyone has the money to buy a

professional camera, but everyone has a phone and it is so easy with

smartphones to get a good image and share them. You have been using the

images at your school to encourage others to get into wildlife and,

again, using technology with your little codes. I have a few images up

around the biology department about different UK species, with

information pages next to them, with the QR code, so pupils can use that

code to go directly to my blog and see footage of the featured species.

So you do blogging, photography and you share that and encourage others.

Lastly, come on to your music, your current project is to compose a

natural symphony on the piano. Yes, I have been out and about recording

sounds on my phone and with recording devices, putting together

an album on the piano and hoping to expand it to cello and violin. What,

playing yourself? No, friends. I was going to save. I can't do

everything. You are doing a pretty good job. This is a clip of

something you have composed already. MUSIC.

Heather? Very atmospheric. He is a very talented young man. You haven't

seen his artwork yet. Maybe we should. Thank you both. It is time

to see your artwork now, come on, brandish it. What have you done? It

is a foxglove. He came in with his own paint. I didn't have my own

paint. It is a foxglove. APPLAUSE.

And it has been visited by a couple of insects, the Hawks, or something.

If you say so. You just lost a pointer that. This is good, Billy,

to be honest. It is very good. It is stylised, it has elements of

accuracy. I like the splatter effect. I saw the splatter effect in

real life, it was awesome. On the top! I am going joint first.

APPLAUSE. Really, really good. Billy, I don't

know what to say, good work. And you have been doing great stuff in your

school to do with wild boar, lots of schools are getting involved, and if

you head to the website, we have a little blog about loads of things

going on and there are also some facts from Brett Westwood about

plans, just two minute the Tees. We kind of forget the plants, which we

mustn't do, fundamental to the ecosystem. Something else that is

really good is my pick of the day. It is very good today. I am trying

to be your nine, which you gave a picture in the first week. I showed

you this picture yesterday. Seven point out. I have been over scoring

days. I haven't thought about the fade factor, like when you hear a

track and you think it is the best thing you have ever had and the next

day, it is OK. You see the Sistine Chapel and you think it is amazing

and you go outside and think back on it and you realise that one of the

fingers is slightly fatter than the others and you think, Michelangelo,

nice try, but no cigar. Here is today's picture. This is the whole

team picking this one. Oh, yes. Oh, yes. OK, now that is a superb

photograph, there is no question. If there is one little thing I would

pick on bulk-macro hold on. I love the head and the beautiful rippling

on the water is absolutely superb. I wish there wasn't a piece of yellow.

Look at the reflection. You could get rid of the yellow on the side so

easily. What was the last one, 7.8? I think it is better than 7.8. I am

going to go to 8.1. Well, I am going to keep trying. It is just that

little bit of yellow. That far away from being nine something. You have

all been trying with the quiz. Anybody in the audience got any

guesses? Badger. Nice one. We have seen the picture there. Josie says

is it a tawny owl? Stoat? Let's find out what it is.

This is the poo of a red fox. So nice try with badger, but lots of

people getting it right. Linda, Stewart, lots of people and

especially for you, I have some fresh. Sometimes it is difficult to

get it right if you can just see it. It helps if you can smell it. I will

ask you to have a little whiff of that. Oh, wow. I can smell it from

here. You will never forget it, will you? Superb. Sadly, that is all we

have time for this evening, we have to wrap up the show, so can I

personally thank our two guests for coming in, Heather Small and Billy

Stockwell, they have been absolutely fantastic. Do stay with us for the

8pm show because I can promise you an absolute cracker. I don't want to

give it away, but the sparrowhawk stood up this morning from the eggs

and we spotted a small crack. It could happen tonight. See you later.

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