Episode 1 Springwatch

it's been an extraordinary spring all over the UK. We'll find out how

our wildlife is coping with the coldest spring in 30 years. We'll be

watching real dramas as they unfold on the live cameras. Let us go now

on the live cameras. Let us go now to our first live camera. Let's see

the sodden buzzard. What a way to the sodden buzzard. What a way to

first programme of 2013. We are back here at unis her the fabulous RSPB

reserve in Wales. There's everything from the lakes and rivers and the

rich oak woodland. It's amongst that woodland thaw might find our cosy,

or today not so cosy, studio. It's been raining here all day. About

2pm, I thought, should I stay or should I go? I couldn't let them

down so we're all still here. appreciate that. A spring it's been-

freezing cold, poured with rain. This is a spring that's broken all

records in. Fact, in the nine years that we've been doing Springwatch we

haven't seen a spring like it. Yesterday, I road my motorbike up in

the blazing sunshine. Today, look at it now. We would like to know how

has spring been for you? What is your experience of spring? What have

you seen? We'd love to hear from you. There's no doubt this spring

has affected lots of our wildlife. We'll be looking at that later in

the programme. But we'll also be bringing you the best of British

wildlife from otters to osprey, from great tits to gannets, our teams

have been out and about all across the country following wildlife in

this most extraordinary spring. spring arrives, the countryside

comes back to life. As the days lengthen and temperatures rise, this

is the moment when everything changes. Spring is a critical time

for all of the UK's wildlife because for most it's the only chance to

raise their young. But this spring is very late. So our plants and

animals are facing an extraordinary challenge. Time is short, our

wildlife is under enormous pressure to win a mate, have a family and do

everything it takes to keep this new the most dramatic events in nature,

in the country's most spectacular wild places. For us, spring is a

time of great beauty, a time to celebrate the wealth of wildlife

around us and for every animal, spring can be a tough time of year.

We'll be following their stories as comes to wildlife. You can't deny

it. A fabulous wealth of riches. Who needs the certain getty when you

have that. -- Serengetti. We'll be out with great naturalives including

Iolo Williams. He's been meeting the gannet. At the heart of Springwatch

are our wild characters, the nesting birds which we monitor 24 hours a

day with the nest cameras. This year we have a fantastic cast. I'd say

they were A-listers. We have the crowd pleaser- have a look, let's go

to this one, I know he looks soggy. The buzzard looks soggy. He needs a

bit of make up there. Look at that hair do. Always a crowd pleaser. We

have brains above beauty, the jackdaw. We haven't had the jackdaw

on Springwatch for a while. Good to see it. An extraordinary bird.A

newcomer, who is a late arrival on Springwatch because again, we don't

normally have these, because they've normally fledged by now, the great

tits. These are bound to bring drama over the next few days and weeks in

fact. Have a first. I never thought we'd see this. We have a water rail.

Let's look at this. This is a bird that is not actually rare, but it's

incredibly difficult to see. I spent years trying to get the tick of a

water rail. It's a very skull being bird and -- skulking bird and we

might see new behaviour. You were very excited. They're so shy. The

chance of us finding a nest and looking into it, not many people

have seen, that I can tell you. nest is in a new area here which we

haven't explored before. It's a wetland area. We will look at that

in more detail later. Not only have we pushed the boundaries of the

habitats here, we have pushed the boundaries for our team of experts

on the technical side. We can film everything from the undergrowth to

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 48 seconds

It's all bugged, all under remote control. We'll be bringing I all of

the action. Aside from being the first of our Springwatch programmes,

we're very pleased to be leading the vanguard for a BBC season entitled

summer of wildlife. We're all really excited about this. It's an

opportunity for a range of programmes to tell you more about

the exciting and amazing and fascinating wildlife that is out

there. It's a chance for you to get involved. There will be more of that

later. We've expanded the Springwatch genre. We have a new

programme, Nick Baker, a truly great young naturalist has come to join us

to give us Springwatch in the afternoon. Every afternoon, there's

extra Springwatching to be done by all of you. So tune in to that on

Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays of the next three weeks. There's

more to enjoy. We're expanding. We never stop getting bigger. Speak for

yourself! Not that way. Let us go straight away to one of our live

cameras, it's the buzzards. I don't know if that's the she or the he,

but sodden wet. Been lying there, of course, critically important because

she's been protecting what's underneath. They have got to keep,

if there's a chick under there or an egg, it has to be kept warm. It

can't afford to get wet. There we can see what is underneath, a fluffy

chick. Here, it's being fed a frog. All this wet weather nice for frogs.

The question is, are there any more eggs or chicks in the nest?

Actually, gosh, I wish today had been a bit more like this. Another

frog in, poor thing. I think you can just start to see there is another

egg just underneath that chick. This is quite normal because they have --

don't hatch out at the same time. It's possible that egg might hatch

out still. We will have to wait and see. It would be great to have two

chicks. Let's meet one of our other stars of the week, the jackdaw. You

often see them roosting in huge numbers in the winter. But in the

spring, now you're more likely to see them on the farmland, which is

where we have the nest box. There's the outside of it. They're lucky,

they're sheltered by the roof and the box. Go inside, that's our live

April coo -- camera and you can see one of the chicks there. Having a

little snooze. Interesting behaviour has happened this week. Look at what

happened earlier on. The parents, I've been watching them over the

last few days, they've been very attentive. There are the two chicks,

I love it, poke their little heads out. Their huge beaks come out.

They've been coming in and out of that nest box bringing food. Those

chicks have certainly got bigger since I've been watching them over

the last few days. They're begging for their food. Very good parents

coming in. Look at this, a bit of nesting material, oh, let's shove

that down as well, which is unusual, perhaps. Maybe a bit of confusion.

There's such a powerful urge to stick something into that yellow

gaping bill, rather than add to to the nest that parent put it in the

mouth instead. This adult is going into the mouth and bringing food out

and eating it itself. Over the last 48 hours we have seen a lot of this.

They have a buckle sack that they will collect the food in. One of the

adults has come in and regurgitated. In the earlier stages the male gives

it to the female who then gives it to the young. Here, perhaps the

female is taking it out. My theory is that she's been brooding these,

after incubating the eggs. Her own condition might be quite low as a

consequence of that she's desperate to bring up her reserve. She's

effectively stealing food from the chicks. This makes sense from their

point of view. The most part is the adult breeding pair and that's her.

It pays to take candy from kids really. No, Chris, it doesn't! Every

so often I might steal a bit of my son's food. I wouldn't take it out

of his mouth. Those chicks in danger because the food has been taken out

or can they make it up? There are only two of them. Jackdaws usually

raise broods of four or five. They are both look looking healthy. It

has been raining constantly today, perhaps they've been finding it

tougher to find food. Interesting you should ask- are they in danger?

Have a look at this, which we filmed earlier. You may think they are.

Because this is thot -- not the parent. This is another jackdaw. The

chicks think it is a parent. They start begging for food. Look at the

way it's walking. It's an invader. It peaks in, then it hops in. That's

the invader's mate outside. Look how quite the chicks go. Quick look in

the mouth to see if it can get any food. Steps on it a bit. Tramples a

little bit. Bit worrying for those chicks. As I say the other partner

of the invader comes out. The adult parent comes back, chases them away,

" Get out of my home." Goes back in to see how the chicks are doing. The

invader comes back. Chicks are safe, but this has happened quite a few

times now. Why do you think that is, Chris? What is going on there?

interinject? Yes.I'm quite worried. I have personal experience of this

jackdaws coming in and raiding nests. They will do that. They will

come in. Because nest sites are a premium for them. They will come in

and even kill chicks and they'll destroy that nest and as it were

take it away from that pair that are nesting. They will guard it as their

territory until the Autumn and they will try to use it in the next year.

I'm, those chicks are quite big. They are. But as you say, nest sites

are always at a premium. If this is a subordinate pair looking for a

nest, they might try to kill those, just to throw them out to occupy

that space. Because they're in a nest box, scientists have done tests

and they see that the favoured nests are natural holes in trees. Then

they choose holes in buildings and bottom of the list is the nest box.

This is possibly already one of the lower tiers in our jackdaw society

here that have occupied this. The others are trying to get in and

throw them out. I had a doff coat at home with doves in it and jackdaws

kicked them all out. Rotters. one and a drama already. I have to

leave you. I'm going to our brand new habitat now. I will see you in a

bit. It's a couple of kilometres away. Hopefully I will get there in

time and I will speak to you later. Go on then. Run. We have had drama

and shenanigans taking place. Keep up with this over the next three

weeks or you can be watching live online on our website or viate red

button. The website is bbc.co.uk/Springwatch. Keep your

eyes on those webcam raz because you might see things that we don't see

ourselves. Last week, if you were reading the

news, you'll know this very important report was published

called state of nature. A lot of UK conservation agencies have got

together to produce this report. For me, it's the call up. It's a call

for action. What it tells us is that a considerable proportion of British

wildlife is in serious decline. 60% of all of the species that were

counted here have declined and 34% of them seriously. 13% are in danger

of extinction. It's clear that conservation needs to be working a

bit harder. That means all of us. Please give us your support.

However, amongst the report it's not all bad news. This is really

important. There were lots of things which have increased. Jackdaws have

increased, buzzards too. Also so have otters. The commoner they

become, the closer they've come to become, the closer they've come to

people. A

A spring morning in an every day market town, much like any other.

And like most town, a river runs through it P With all its familiar

urban wildlife. But more recently, this little river

in this seemingly ordinary little town, has become an extraordinary

place to watch wildlife. It was unbelievable. It was as near

to me as I am to you. Just don't expect to see a wild creature like

that in a busy town. This place has become one of the best spots to see

one of Britain's most elusive and charismatic creatures.

I thought it was a dolphin, it was like this. Leaping out the water.

An otter, in the middle of town. Here it was, in the middle of day,

town centre, incredible. This is not your average otter

watching experience. It is bold as brass.

It is a remark remarkable situation, what is usually such a timid animal.

Across the rivers of Britain, otters are like ghosts.

Incredibly shy of people, they are most active when we are not. At

night. But here, it is the complete

opposite. So why is it so fearless, boldly hunting through the mid --

middle of the day? Maybe it is because growing up in a busy town it

has got used to people. It has never had a need to fear us. But more

likely it has had to because of poor fishing. It has been firsted to hunt

both night and day, to find enough food.

If that is the case, it looks like a strategy that is working.

But with the positives of seeing otter in our town, there are

negatives. They will choose the easiest options

when it comes to food. River side properties have been poached, and

fish plucked from their ponds. Like any angler, they are drawn to

where the fishing is best. But it is little consolation for

someone who loses thousands of pound of fish.

The otter story is a remarkable one, for an animal once so rare. Hunted

for centuries, as a threat to fish stocks, and then poisoned by

pesticides flowing into our rivers, they disappeared from most of our

waterways. But 40 years ago, the tide turned.

Hunting ceased, our rivers started to get cleaner. And otter numbers

rebounded spectacularly. Recolonising every County in

England. And they have been moving in to our

towns and cities right across Britain. Though still count yourself

lucky to see one. But in this place, you would be

unlucky to miss out. This supposedly shy creature,

hunting in broad daylight, within feet of onlookers without a care in

the world. It has left many locals spellbound.

I couldn't believe it. The first time I have seen one. I thought,

wow! It is not just one otter performing to the crowds. This patch

is home to a pair, of twins. A brother and sister thought to be

two or three-year-old. And their age could be the prime catalyst for

change here. Now, fully grown, they are going to

be thinking about having families of their own.

Just not with each other. Once playmaters these siblings are

showing all the signs of drifting apart.

-- playmates. Their play fighting is becoming less playfulful adult

otters are highly territorial. Females and males will furiously

defend territories from any rival. Even if it is your sibling.

And this territory is under threat, from other otters.

There is competition on all sides. Another dog otter has turned up. And

the town's male is suddenly having to fight for his future.

Territorial battles like this are Territorial battles like this are

This time, the town's dog otter manages to escape unscathed. But it

is a sign that the future is uncertain here for the twins.

Whatever happens, for the last few months these charming animals have

illuminated the lives of so many. We are so lucky to have like, a wild

creature like that in our river. A rare gift from the natural world.

That is truly amazing to get that close to wild otter, in a town

centre! I know, incredible. It is only because they are becoming more

common and therefore more used to people, and therefore as long as

people don't December turbine them, and they behave respectfully, you

get those sorts of views, let us hope that spins out all over the

country. In that report, otters were one of the winners but so many other

creatures weren't. That is one of the reasons we are so excited, by

the BBC's Summer of Wildlife Season. This is going to be a whole raft of

programme, spread across the summer, all about British wildlivers and it

is all about exciting everyone to go out and enjoy it and see it and

learn how to look after it. So, what you going to see and how

creature, who needs to go abroad to see incredible things? This summer

is the time to get out there and The BBC's summer of wildlife brings

you a whole raft of special programmes across the BBC. This

country really does have the most incredible wildlife. It is a

nationwide celebration of our natural history.

To be able to crouch here, is beyond my dreams. The chance to get

involved. We want you to go out and about with your camera so we can see

what wild things are on your doorstep. If you want to see

wildlife go down to your local pond. Look out for hundreds of wildlife

event, and a website packed full of top tips and guides.

All the advice you need to get out and meet your extraordinary

Information, and inspiration, for a truly wild summer.

There are no excuse, if it rain, get a raincoat and your wellies on, if

it is cold put on a fleece. It is important you get out there and

enjoy all of this wildlife, it is free. There is one other thing, a

personal plea, please make sure that you get some kids out there, they

have got to ignite that little spark in their hearts which will fuel a

lifelong passion for wildlife. And perhaps this summer, if just one or

two kids get out into the Great British Countryside and meet it,

they might be the Attenboroughs of for. Wouldn't that be good? Last

year was all about the jubilee and the Olympics, this year let us make

it all about British wildlife. We can do it if we do it together.

About ten minutes ago Martin ran off to the bog. Do you think he got

there yet? I don't know. Thank you, I am in the bog or the mire. You can

see all round me, this wild looking place, completely different from

anywhere else we have looked at on Springwatch. It is better called the

raised bog, what happens is that moss grow, then it die, then another

one grows on top of it, and more and more and raised bogs can grow up to

10 metres high. But this is nutrient deficit. It is a very poor area, a

very acidic. That means thrr there are specialised creatures here,

especially plants. Behind me folks, there are carniverous plants. I love

that. They have to eat these plants, insects to supplement their diet, to

get the nutrients that are missing. But this is a great place for birds

to nest. And, come with me. Just over there, about 50 metres away,

our chief nest finder Nigel was out looking for nests and let us relive

that moment, because Nigel went out, among the reeds, he parted them, and

that is what he saw. It is a water rail.

Now water rails aren't as we have said terribly rare, but they are

incredibly difficult to see. They skulk, they hide. They are like a

small moor hen. Like a tiny moor hen. Let us see if we can go to it

live over there right now. Let's go. There it is. Again, the rail is

protecting the egg, it is on seven eggs in there. She has been really

really good, sitting very tight, and trying to protect those eggs. The

British trust for ornithology only get reports of two of these nests,

less than two peryear, so we might see things that nobody else has ever

seen. -- per year. We have been recording at the nest, let us have

one more look at what has been going on there.

In fact they look very similar, the male and female, but the male's beak

is longer, and stronger, a bit stouter than the female's, you can

see the male builds the nest and surprisingly, he can build it in a

day. It is interesting, I think that is the male. What is going on here,

is he is sort of adding to the nest. If the water rises up, and it will

do here, they will have to raise that nest higher and higher.

To keep it out of the water. If the eggs hatch out, we will see

something extraordinary, because the chicks are completely different

colour from the adults. They are black, tiny little black balls of

flush with a little white beak. I have never seen that. I would love

to. But there is another problem here. Because that nest is on the

ground, there are ground predators here, there are adder, grass snake,

maybe a stoat and there are crows flying round, so hopefully, we will

see those hatch out, but who knows. Now there is one more nest here as

well. I won't go too close because it is very close to us, over there,

just behind that bush, that is a reed bunting nest, let us go to it

live. See what we can see. You can see the nest there.

You can just see, in we go. Now there are five chicks, believe

it or not, in that little dark area. Ooh. There is the mum coming in.

Perfect. They are only three days old. This is very very interesting,

because what the adults do, is they, there is a faecal sac going out.

They are fully developed for three days. We have been recording this

nest as well. Let us look at what we have recorded here.

That is the female, the one we have seen live. She has a brown head. The

male's different. He has an obvious black head, and a black bib there.

You probably saw he was carrying insects. He is bringing them into

the nest. There we go. These birds normally

eat seeds, look at the parents there. But then, when they have

chicks, they go to a high protein diet, and they take in insects. So

they switch their behaviour completely, from seeds to insects.

Now, again, we will have to be very careful because that nest is on the

ground, and when the chicks fledge, when they leave the nest, they can't

fly for three to five days, so, why not leave the nest when you can fly?

There we go, I am going to leave here and go to, from this enormous

wide place, to somewhere very very tiny, but before I go, we are going

to start the process of trying to unravel the curious wetter we have

been having, with a special report from Springwatch from Matt Taylor.

By the start of the spring in March, weather and its impact were making

the headlines. It was a joint coldest March on record, lowest ever

Easter temperature recorded. It was colder than the three winter months

that precreeded it. Snow featured in March. Then scenes like this towards

the end of the month across northern England, southern Scotland and

Northern Ireland. 30 to 40 cms of Northern Ireland. 30 to 40 cms of

snow falling. What was going on? Well the jet stream, which is

usually in this rough position in March, separating the Arctic air

from the tropical air, that was much further south, piling in wet weather

here leaving us in the colder air and with weather patterns static,

high pressure anchored to the north and that continued to feed in cold

air from Scandinavia and Russia. Cold on land and eventually turning

cold in the seas as well. During April we only saw temperatures

around 4 Celsius around the coasts. By May that lifted to 7 to 9

degrees. But even that a good few degrees lower than it should be for

the time of year. The natural varabilities returned to a certain

degree, but an unusual season so far.

Thanks to the weather centre for that. You see our spring, this

unusual spring that we've had all comes down to the jet stream. So

what is the jet stream? Well it's a fast-moving body of air. It's

thousands of kilometres long and it's about 11 kilometres up. It's

formed when cold air from the Arctic and warm air from the south mix. It

acts like a ribbon which laces around the top of the polar jet

stream. That's fine. But it's the position of the jet stream which

will dramatically alter our weather. Here's the position we saw in March.

It's all the way down here over Spain and the Mediterranean. This

was drawing lots of cold air down from Scandinavia, from the polar

regions, across the northern part of Europe, including us. That's why we

had that very, very cold and wet spring. At the moment, the jet

stream is over southern England. It is shifting northwards. The reason

it moves around, well there are lots of things. It can be, believe it or

not, it sounds improbable, warm water in the Pacific Ocean, on the

other side of the planet. It can be sudden strat fiching heating over

the -- stratospheric heating over the poles. Where do we want the jet

stream for a nicer spring? Ideally, where we'd like it is over Scotland,

at the moment and throughout the rest of spring, we'd like it to be

nudging northwards until it gets as high as Iceland. I've seen some

weather reports which already say we're in for a cold, wet summer,

because of the position of that jet stream. I'm not sure whether there

are any career opportunities for me at the Met centre. I'm going to say

that may not be the case. Because the jet stream can move very, very

quickly if conditions change. Fingers crossed. Could it move

quickly enough by tomorrow? Probably not tomorrow. Over a period of weeks

it can shift rapidly and we will see a massive change in weather. Sonchts

a decent summer, thank you very much. No predictions, just an

explanation, that's all. How has the late spring affected the wildlife?

It's affected different animals in different ways. Look the the

hedgehogs. The report says that hedgehogs are coming out of

hibernation almost a month later than the previous two years. There's

concern that they won't have enough fat reserves because many went into

hibernation underweight. Only time will tell how those poor hedgehogs

are really going to be affected. What about badgers? They've come out

and in the cold temperatures they've found the ground too hard. More have

been seen scavenging in gardens. They're seeking out leather jacket

larvae. Bumble bees have struggled to find enough nectar as flowers

have been so late. It's slowed the colony development down. If they get

a decent summer, they should be able to catch up. If it's wet, it could

have huge implications for bumblebees. Don't want to see that.

They are one of the animals who are not doing well at the moment. A bit

of good weather would be a good thing. We're going to explore how

the late spring has affected other animals in the coming programmes

over the next three weeks, but what's coming up for this programme?

We've got some pretty good stuff. We've got the love life drama of

Monty the osprey. Let me tell you, it gets dramatic. We'll big up the

little guys with Martin in the microworld. And bluebells, I'll find

out why they're so late this year. It's not just the animals which have

risen late this spring. If you've been looking out your window and

there were trees there, you will have noticed that some of them have

only come into leaf. Look at this spring of oak. These leaves are very

lime green. They've only been open a few days. They rapidly discolour and

become a darker green because the tree cleverly, pumps them full of

things which are relatively indigestible. That means that the

small larvae that were any morebling them haven't had the opportunity to

do that yet. It seems to be these are out late. They're not the only

plants out late. That is an obvious sign of a late spring. There are so

many obvious signs. Lots of you have noticed that birds are nesting late.

That has given us a brilliant opportunity to focus on birds that

have normally fledged bit time we do Springwatch. One particular bird is

the Great Tit. Let's look at our the Great Tit. Let's look at our

inside. This is something that we've been seeing a lot of in the last few

days because I know it seems cold today, it's slightly warmer than it

was maybe three days ago. If we look at what's been happening over the

last week with our great tits, we can see that the adults are coming

in a lot. They're being very attentive. They're feeding, but one

of them has been brood brooding, during the colder days, Chris, which

means that only one parent has been in and out feeding. It's so windy in

there or it has been very windy. They started with eight chicks. Now

they're down to five. That isn't particularly unusual. You wouldn't

expect all seven or eight of them to survive. There's one unfortunately

hasn't made it. The adult takes it out of the nest box. Yeah, obviously

if you have one of the birds in there brooding, then that's one less

out there foraging. That brood is getting 50% of the food some of the

time, particularly when the weather is bad and cold and she needs to

keep them warm. Great tits are one of those animals that can adapt to

changeable springs. They do that because they can lay all of their

legs, they complete the clutch, finish laying all of them and they

can leave them. They can leave them, not incubate them for periods of up

to ten or 12 days. When they start to incubate them, they begin to

develop. So they can choose when to start sitting. This will determine

when they hatch and whether there will be enough food about for them.

Their flexibility in controlling incubation is something which is a

great advantage to the Great Tit in these changeable springs. They're

late, the oak tree's late. You went down to the woods because the

Now we although that bluebells are a sign of spring and they usually

flower late April, early May. That's what the books tell us. How come,

then, I'm sitting next to a carpet of them in the third week of May

here at Ynys-hir? Last year, they were flowering four to five weeks

earlier than now. In fact, I don't think we've ever had the chance to

film them just before Springwatch live. So, why are they so late? It's

obviously got something to do with the late spring, but for a flower

like the bluebell, what exactly does growth is triggered as the soil

warms up and days become longer in early spring. They need to flower

before the woodland canopy closes over them. Bluebells don't produce

their flowers until the air reaches a critical temperature and this

year's cold spring has delayed them. Bluebells are an important early

flower for bees, hover flies and butterflies who feed on the nectar.

Honeybees make a little hole in the top of the bell, taking the nectar

without pollinating the flower, rather sneaky. So has the fact that

bluebells have flowered so late this spring affected some insects? It's

too early to judge the wider impact, but some species like the tawny

mining bee, orange tip and brimstone butterflies pollinate and feed on

bluebell nectar in particular. If they emerge before the bluebells

were in bloom, they'll need to find other flowers to feed on. Many of

you may well still be enjoying your bluebells and if you live in the

north, you may be enjoying them well into next week. Because usually they

start flowering in the south-west and then the timing fans out across

the country. We're lucky in this country because it's thought we have

50% of the world's population, giving us these gorgeous spring

spectacles. These beautiful purple carpets have

provided inspiration for myths, legend and stories of fairies in the

woods. Bronte wrote, " There is a silent eloquence in every wild

bluebell that fills my softened heart with bliss that words could

never tell." For me, it reminds me of my

childhood. It definitely brings out an emotion that makes you feel good.

Maybe it's that strong, sweet smell or the intense colour in that

beautiful delicate flower. Maybe, though, it's because a carpet of

bluebells really is woven with fairy This is the main production village.

This is the beating heart of Springwatch. It looks empty at the

moment. But those trucks are full of the people, oh, somebody has fallen

out. Full of all the people making the programme. What wildlife could

possibly be here? Come on, let's go here.

That fell over, I don't know if it's important. Hope not! Inside this

door is microworld. Come on in. Now, what we've tried to do is shrink

down three habitats here at Ynys-hir and make them into these

package-sized bits here. What we have got is a pond. We've got like

the mere, a bog here and a bit of forest. Let's have a look and see

the sort of things that we've already been filming in here in the

pond. Look at that! That's a uponster from

the deep. It's a dragon fly larvae, incredibly carniverous. Watch out if

I was a tadpole. We have frog and toad tadpoles. We'll watch them

change. A stickle back, a bit of red on the tummy, it's nearly in

breeding condition. There's a diving beetle, another massive carnivore.

Here is another beetle, these are amazing. They can swim under water

and they can fly. There's back to that scary dragon fly larvae.

Those are all things here in this tank. And they're in your pond too.

Here's the forest. Let's look at the sort of things we might find in the

forest. You'll get an idea of scale. That is a common frog. It's only

about a centimetre long. They've been having a wonderful time in the

rain today. It better watch out when it gets bigger because the buzzards

will have it. But the most exciting bit for me right now is the bog. You

think what's exciting about that? Look at that! That is a trifid, a

carniverous plant. How does it work? How does it eat things? We've

already filmed it. Have a look at this.

There's the sundew. It needs to supplement its photo synthesis with

other nutrients. There's the dew. It's complicated because it has to

attract insects to it. Here's something creeping in.

Will it get it? Oh, yes. Now of course, not only will it attract the

insect in, it now has to be sticky and the insect sticks to it. Now

what? How is it actually going to digest it? Over time, now this is

timelapse, it's speeded up over ten hours, the sundew grows around the

animal that it's caught. Let's see that again. It's a bit big for it

that one. But you get the idea of what's going on.

So we will be following all these micro world stories, as the weeks

progress. But isn't it always the case when you get down into that

miniature world things that seem ordinary can become extraordinary.

Take snails. Common or fareden snails, hardly give them a second

thought unless they are eating my beans but nay have exotic and

thrilling sex lives. Particularly when it comes to the use of love

Under this pot lies a cluster of garden snails. No longer

hibernating, they are ready to come out of their shells and live a

little. Preferably under the cover of

It is early evening and rain showers have encouraging these molluscs so

move from their daytime hiding place.

Adult garden snails travel at dizzying speeds of 1.3 centimetres

per second. They do so, by moving forward on

their large muscular foot, a layer of mucus reduces friction and

enables the snail to tackle any surface.

Tonight, the priority is love. And at this snail party, they are

all eyeing up a potential mate. Nearby, is a close cousin, this slug

is following a pheromone trail the find a mate. With snails, it appears

to be a bit more of a random thing. Snails are hermaphrodites. They have

male and fey mail reproduct tiff organ, however they usually prefer

to mate in pair, it is a process that is one of nature's most bizarre

rituals. Courting begins with a slow dance.

Followed by a bit of tentacle touching as things get a bit more

Neither snail can hear the other. Interaction relies on their sense of

Interaction relies on their sense of As these snails reach the final

stage of their elaborate courtship, Each one attempts to fire a love

dart into the other. It is a calcium spear, up to half a centimetre long

that pierces its partner. It is a violent process but one that can

double the chances of successful reproduction.

After half an hour, the courting is over and things progress to the next

stage. For up to ten hours these snails will mate, with both

exchanging sperm. Each one will then lay up to 80 eggs in some shady

soil. Snails in the garden come in a range

of size and species. In a few week time there will be other tiny ones

the size of rain drop drops result of tonight's love match.

Other snails have another objective to satisfy tonight. Hunger.

But that is all together a different adventure.

And that is why we pay our license fee! Britain might well have talent,

but it doesn't have snail erotica. That is something to behold, isn't

it, and the whole process, takes a matter of hours. They will often be

entwined for up to six hours, and what about those love darts? Those

love darts, those extraordinary thing, you have some electron

scanning pictures of the love dart here. These tiny thing, sometimes

only up to half a centimetre long, sometimes, in the larger snails,

three centimetres long, imagine that shot into you. It is to carry a

bioactive chemical. This is drug stabbing time for snails and the

drug they require is this chemical which making sure when they pass the

sperm from one snail to another, it isn't I do jested in the gut of the

snail. If they fire these, because they are not all the same. Here is

another, what we call a gypsobellum. They come in a great range of shapes

and sizes, you can identify the species by looking at its dart. Once

they have fired them they need to penetrate to work, and if you miss,

it is a catastrophe because it takes a week to produce another one in a

special organ called, tucked inside the snail. It is amazing. And as you

say sometimes they miss. It slips over the snail doesn't it. I hate it

when it slips of the snail. I doesn't work then. As much as 99% of

the sperm which is passed is digested, that is if they don't get

the dart in. If they hit their mark, then they basically score a greater

chance of reproductive successful I am going to keep these. I have

another great photoment look at this. Here is something else that is

fascinating, it is slugs mating but one of you guys is going to have

explain what is going on there. . May I? This is a special word for

Springwatch. It is fantastic. These slugs are hermaphrodite, and these

are the penis, coming out of their heads, they intwine like this, and

sometimes they get so intwined they cannot extricate themselves, so what

they do is they bite them off, and in that way, they separate

themselves, that isn't the end of it. It is not a problem. It is not a

problem. 50% of the audience thinks it is a pretty big problem. Next

time they only use the female organs the next time. Can I say it is part

of summer of wildlife. You could see that in your garden. It is not that

exotic. Hanging on a thread of slime. Doing it in your own garden.

Can I say something sensible. Thank you to Claire for that photograph.

It is a good point. Those are two creatures, the snails and slugs that

you can find in a garden, just like this garden here, that you can take

for granted, but don't, look at them closer and they are absolutely

fascinating. Now, on Springwatch we promised you

science, think we have done, We have ticked the science box.

Love darts! We promise you drama. One of my favourite characters from

last year, one of my favourite birds is the osprey, they certainly gave

us plenty of drama during the breeding season last year. Well, it

doesn't look like things are going to change, already Monty the male is

having a bit of a dramatic time. It is early spring on the Dyfi

Estuary and the ospreys are due back at the reserve any way.

Ospreys hadn't bred in this part for centuries.

So there was a huge amount of excitement, back in 2011, when a

male named Monty paired up with a female, Nora, and they produced the

first chicks seen here for over 400 years.

Over the past two years this successful pair had six chicks.

So this year, everyone was eagerly awaiting their return.

But, by the beginning of April, there is still no sign of either of

them. Finally, on the fifth April a female

arrives but it isn't Nora. It is a new female they have named Ellen.

Ellen waits for a mate to turn up. But after two days, she moves on.

The very next morning, Monty finally lands.

He looks in great condition after his long journey from Africa. But he

is alone. It looks like he has missed his

chance of pairing up by just a few hours.

Oblivious to his missed opportunity, Monty prepares the nest, and waits

for Nora to return. He carefully builds an egg cup,

ready for laying. But in vain. Two weeks pass. The breeding season

is well under way in other nests so the pressure is on.

It doesn't look like Nora has survived her migration this year.

Is Monty destined to be alone? After another two day, a female

finally arrives. She is name named Seren, the Welsh

word for star, she looks weak, hungry and thin.

Monty wasted no time in bringing food to his potential new partner,

trying to impress her with his She is ravenous and it looks like

she doesn't want to share her meal. Monty displays over head, but Se Rex

en -- Seren only seem seems interested in the fish. She calls

for food. Monty tries to keep up with her appetite. Even if she

doesn't have a good grasp of the Over the next few days, Monty brings

in a varietity of fish. And tries to win over her with his

But while he is away from the nest, she leaves. Was she just using Monty

as a pit-stop, on her way another male? Shocker!

Monty returns, to an empty nest. He is alone again.

All is quiet on the Dyfi Estuary but it won't stay that way for long.

I tell you what it kicks off tomorrow. Handbags at dawn. It is

terrible. I feel sorry for Monty. has all the ladies chasing after him

tomorrow. We are giving it away. Questions have come in. One for you

Chris. Lucy says I heard a cuckoo above me, never heard one so close,

loud and clear, in between was a garageling, a throat clearing sound,

cuckoo with a sore throat? They produce a bubbling call, it is like

when you stick a straw into a glass of lemonade and you blow this jet of

air, and it makes this bubbling call, you need to be close to them

to hear that. So typically you hear it call, but that bubble, that is

special. Is that the female?The female produces the call. You said

it was like a sore throat! S We have been sent wonderful footage of

hedgehogs by Barry. Here they are. Once they have come out of

hibernation. Once they have come out, they go straight into mating

quickly and I think this is two males, having a serious punch up. I

think that, the one curled up is a coward. He is much bigger than the

other one. He is giving up. Let us look at live cameras. : Let us look

at the buzzard. Brooding all day, soaking wets, we have to take our

hats off to this animal. It has been a dreadful day and it has done

sterling duty keeping the chick warm and incubating the egg. Only a

couple of times we have seen it stand up, turn round and stretch its

leg, that is what it is all about. Those young buzzards are very

susceptible at this time. Let us go to the great tits. It is late in

evening. She must be reaching for a faecal sac there. Let us see what

she pulls out. I think there might be a bit of a runt there. There is

one that is not coming up to feed as much.

Gosh. Let us leave our great tit rummaging in the bottom. Wa have we

got coming up for the week? We have Iolo Williams and the gannets, the

animals plunging under the water and seizing fish. More osprey, the drama

is unfold folding down the road at the Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trus.

And will the jackdaws get kicked out of their nest? And also, will the

water rail manage to survive as the water rises round the nest? Let us

hope so. All that tomorrow. Don't forget to follow the link on the

website to find out more about summer of wildlife. Our live cams

will be on the red button, the website, and on your mobile phones.