Episode 10

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:00:18. > :00:23.and it's live. We are coming to you with the usual cocktail of

:00:23. > :00:32.ornithological enlightenment, a cascade of drama. For instance, will

:00:32. > :00:37.outwork willow warblers... They've actually fledged. We will be

:00:37. > :00:47.discovering the truth behind our outcast rabbits. We will be

:00:47. > :01:12.

:01:13. > :01:16.uncovering the secret lives of our you live from Ynys-hir in Wales. Do

:01:17. > :01:21.you think it was the ornithological enlightenment I couldn't grasp? It

:01:21. > :01:25.could have been. For the last week or so it has been very sunny and

:01:25. > :01:29.nice here. But the weather has changed. When we got up this

:01:29. > :01:34.morning, the clouds had darkened, a mist was rolling in over this

:01:34. > :01:40.beautiful reserve. Only about two and a half minutes ago rain was

:01:40. > :01:44.falling on our heads, so I think it's set to turn. Soulful of doom

:01:44. > :01:49.and gloom! It's been an interesting day for the weather, but has it been

:01:50. > :01:59.an interesting day for our fledgeling chicks? Of course it has!

:02:00. > :02:06.

:02:06. > :02:09.Would you like to say willow That's because our chicks fledged.

:02:09. > :02:19.It was quite an interesting sledging. Have a look at this. This

:02:19. > :02:20.

:02:21. > :02:28.is the adult coming in and feeding the chicks. Then one pops out. It

:02:28. > :02:36.loses its nerve and quickly gets backing. Over an hour later, at

:02:36. > :02:40.852, two brave it. One gets back in but one is very bold and flies off.

:02:40. > :02:50.At nine o'clock, another one leaves. Four little chicks left. Two minutes

:02:50. > :02:59.later, one pops back in, so now there are five chicks in the nest.

:02:59. > :03:09.At 9:08am, another one pops back in. It squeezes in. The final feed for

:03:09. > :03:19.one of them. It flies off. But will it fly back? No, it looks like he's

:03:19. > :03:20.

:03:20. > :03:25.the leader. After a few false starts, all of them fledge. The

:03:25. > :03:34.adults will carry on feeding them for a couple of weeks. Once they've

:03:34. > :03:39.stretch their wings a bit, they will try and find a high spot to be out

:03:39. > :03:42.of danger and into safety. They'll be wanting to get quite high in the

:03:43. > :03:49.bushes, to stay out of the reach of ground predators. You will know that

:03:49. > :03:53.one of our central dramas was around the jackdaw nest. We've got one nest

:03:53. > :03:56.with two youngsters in it. Let's go to it now. We've been really worried

:03:57. > :04:00.about these, they've been persistently attacked by a couple of

:04:00. > :04:04.intruders. But they are sleeping safely in their nestbox for the time

:04:04. > :04:08.being. In truth, I think they are now big enough to repel those

:04:08. > :04:14.intruder attacks, it's just a question of when they will fledge.

:04:14. > :04:20.But we were also looking at the second jackdaw nest. There was only

:04:20. > :04:24.one chick in this nest. Let's go to it now. There's a parent outside.

:04:24. > :04:33.Perfect timing! There it is having a nice speed. It's a much bigger

:04:33. > :04:37.chick. Initially, we thought that this bird had escaped any sort of

:04:37. > :04:44.attack from intruders. So it had, to begin with. But then the worst

:04:44. > :04:52.happened. Have a look at this. There are the adults outside, but these

:04:52. > :04:56.are intruders. In they came and had a right old go at the poor chick.

:04:56. > :05:01.Mum or dad comes in and immediately defends the chick and get the

:05:01. > :05:08.intruder into a grass, a vice like grip. You can see the Talon of the

:05:08. > :05:16.parent. If you've ever had a crow on your arm, I can tell you they really

:05:16. > :05:26.can... It's like Reservoir jackdaws in there! We noticed a curious

:05:26. > :05:28.

:05:28. > :05:33.thing. They've been taking out the nesting material from this nest. The

:05:34. > :05:43.parents come back and see them off, but they are not deterred. Now they

:05:44. > :05:44.

:05:44. > :05:48.are taking the twigs out. They are taking it away to another nest very

:05:48. > :05:58.nearby. You can just see it in the background. They've been filling

:05:58. > :06:00.

:06:00. > :06:05.material but no eggs, no chicks. think that's what it's all been

:06:05. > :06:08.about, the acquisition of a good nesting site. This pair of got no

:06:08. > :06:12.intention of reading, they are just building up that nest. Their

:06:13. > :06:16.intention is to use it next year. They will guard this throughout the

:06:16. > :06:20.rest of the season, disappear through the winter, but they will be

:06:21. > :06:26.back early next year to claim their space. I've been watching that

:06:26. > :06:32.single chick. I reckon it's ready to go. It's gone up to the nest hole

:06:32. > :06:36.box plenty of times and looked out. It is strong and flapping. Both

:06:37. > :06:46.parents looking after one chick. We will be keeping an eye on all of our

:06:47. > :06:51.

:06:51. > :06:56.lives, as throughout the programme. if you go to our website.

:06:56. > :07:01.Yesterday, we introduced due to a pair of gulls living on a rooftop in

:07:01. > :07:08.Bristol City centre. They'd built a nest but the female had rejected the

:07:08. > :07:14.male's advances. So did he eventually managed to impress her

:07:14. > :07:16.enough, or were all his effort is a nest but the female had rejected the

:07:16. > :07:26.male's advances. So did he eventually managed to impress her

:07:26. > :07:35.

:07:35. > :07:45.across the city, gulls settling down to raise a family. This tower block

:07:45. > :07:55.is home to a particular pair of herring goals. So far, the male's

:07:55. > :07:56.

:07:56. > :08:03.advances have been shunned. He needs to prove that he will be a good

:08:03. > :08:11.provider for their future family. A few days later, the male returns

:08:11. > :08:21.from a foraging trip. The female is eager to see what he's brought back.

:08:21. > :08:37.

:08:37. > :08:44.preludes to mating. And it finally has the desired effect. By mid

:08:44. > :08:52.April, it is a scene playing out all over the city. Buildings like our

:08:52. > :08:58.herring goal's tower block our prime nesting locations. In the opposite

:08:58. > :09:07.corner to the herring gulls, another pair have arrived. They have

:09:07. > :09:17.characteristic yellow legs and dark backs. Gulls are very territorial

:09:17. > :09:27.about their nest sites. The only way to successfully share this space is

:09:27. > :09:29.

:09:29. > :09:33.to get to know the neighbours. The males parallel walk to establish the

:09:33. > :09:39.boundaries between their own patches. These two pairs probably

:09:39. > :09:48.know each other from previous years. So after the posturing is over, they

:09:48. > :09:53.settled down in their own corners of the roof. The lesser black backed

:09:53. > :09:58.nest has survived the winter intact, so it just need a few finishing

:09:58. > :10:06.touches. And it's not long before the male also starts wooing his

:10:06. > :10:16.partner with food. By the end of April there is a welcome arrival in

:10:16. > :10:20.

:10:20. > :10:24.the herring gull nest. Two beautiful X. If all goes to plan they will

:10:24. > :10:31.hatch in four weeks. But the eggs must be kept at just the right

:10:31. > :10:37.temperature on the exposed roof. Too cold and they want to develop. Too

:10:37. > :10:47.hot and they will cook. The male will do some of the brooding, but

:10:47. > :11:00.

:11:00. > :11:06.it's the female who puts in the longest shift. Across the city,

:11:06. > :11:12.gulls are going about their daily routines. In the docks, the morning

:11:12. > :11:22.communal bath is under way. Gulls are meticulously clean birds,

:11:22. > :11:32.bathing frequently to keep their feathers in perfect condition. It is

:11:32. > :11:33.

:11:33. > :11:38.the perfect antidote to a long stint sitting on the nest. Back on the

:11:38. > :11:44.roof, the herring gull pair are having to deal with every spring

:11:44. > :11:54.extreme. In the midday sun the female is finding it hot work.

:11:54. > :11:55.

:11:55. > :12:05.Whilst the male has retreated to the shade. Then a spring storm arrives

:12:05. > :12:08.

:12:08. > :12:17.and temperatures plummet. There is no shelter up here and the eggs need

:12:17. > :12:27.to be protected day and night. It's going to be a long and uncomfortable

:12:27. > :12:29.

:12:29. > :12:33.wait. It's really good to see those gulls doing so well. Some species,

:12:33. > :12:38.such as lesser black backed, are amber listed. It's not just in

:12:38. > :12:44.Bristol. They are also increasing in Birmingham, Manchester and London.

:12:44. > :12:51.Calling out above the rooftops as well. That lovely, piercing call. It

:12:51. > :12:57.really bring something of the seaside into the city. Do you know

:12:57. > :13:04.what it reminds me of? It reminds me of a gulls night out in Bristol I

:13:04. > :13:09.once had. I was going to a barn dance. Now we can have a look at our

:13:09. > :13:13.life on camera. Just behind the gate are two rabbits. You may remember

:13:13. > :13:21.last week that we saw those two rabbits before. We were wondering

:13:21. > :13:27.whether they were outcasts. Social outcasts. Let's take a look at them.

:13:27. > :13:34.That's what we speculated, because we only really saw these two. Well,

:13:35. > :13:41.it appears we were totally wrong because since then, on our webcams,

:13:41. > :13:45.we've seen plenty of rabbits around the barn. There are some adults and

:13:45. > :13:51.young rabbits as well. There's some interesting research from Diana

:13:51. > :13:57.Bell, who was looking at the ratio of male to female kids. When they

:13:57. > :14:03.first come out of the warrant it is fairly equal. But very soon the male

:14:03. > :14:08.numbers drop off. It's thought the male rabbits are bolder, they go

:14:08. > :14:13.away from the Warren and they are much easier prey, so they get

:14:13. > :14:17.predated. The females are the dominant force in the Warren

:14:17. > :14:27.anyway. They are the ones that rule the roost. You've heard of Usain

:14:27. > :14:36.

:14:36. > :14:42.Bolt, have you heard of bunny bolt? This is one speedy rabbit! What

:14:42. > :14:46.speed do you think that is? 40mph? Is that your final answer? Yes.We

:14:46. > :14:55.tried to work it out. Look at this. We sent one of our team out to the

:14:55. > :15:02.see how far the rabbit was running. It was 13. 9 meters. We timed the

:15:02. > :15:08.rabbit, 1. 77 seconds. If you do GCSE maths that means it was going

:15:08. > :15:18.at 28 kilometers an hour or 17. 7 miles per hour. You were totally

:15:18. > :15:22.

:15:22. > :15:29.wrong. I would have been totally wrong if I had not known that. Usain

:15:29. > :15:34.Bolt has topped 27mph. Foxes can speed along at about 42mph. They

:15:34. > :15:39.will always get their bunny. It's not just the rabbits down by the

:15:39. > :15:43.barn. The barn is famed for its barn owls. We have kept an eye on them.

:15:43. > :15:48.We haven't got cameras on their nest. They have been active. They

:15:48. > :15:53.have laid a clutch of eggs in there. They laid them three weeks late this

:15:53. > :16:00.year, that we are not able to watch the young. Here is one of our owls

:16:00. > :16:06.with what looks to be a shrew in it is mouth. Plenty of small mammals.

:16:06. > :16:15.We have been watching those small mammals. Let us go live to the

:16:15. > :16:19.interior of our Rodriguez. Never have you seen so much bait laid for

:16:19. > :16:24.small animals. Let us look at what has been going on. Here is the

:16:24. > :16:33.Exeteror. It's a log with a camera. It's dark inside. Look at this.

:16:33. > :16:40.Strutting down the Broadway of our midnight log is a pygmy shrew.

:16:41. > :16:50.tiny. It has a different nose structure. That is what tells me

:16:50. > :16:56.it's a pygmy shrew not a common shrew. This bruiser came in. Too

:16:56. > :17:00.much of a temptation. The grey squirrels came in and starting

:17:00. > :17:07.eating all the bait. I will be surprised if there is none left by

:17:07. > :17:11.the morning. Can't believe his luck! Let us check out our little wren. I

:17:11. > :17:17.think this nest is adorable. It's a real shame that the adult isn't

:17:17. > :17:22.there. It's a real picture. It peaks its head out of that nest.

:17:22. > :17:28.Difficult to see into as it's a domed nest. It has a cover over it.

:17:28. > :17:32.The most I have seen is four youngsters. They have sometimes six

:17:32. > :17:37.or seven eggs. There could be a couple more. Poke their heads out.

:17:37. > :17:44.Have a few days to go. It will be a couple more days before they go at

:17:44. > :17:49.least. If we look at our marsh cam live and see if anything is on that.

:17:49. > :17:57.Predictably we have swans. No cygnets. They don't appear to have

:17:57. > :18:01.bred. Why that is, I'm not sure. In previous years they have done. They

:18:01. > :18:08.could be just having a year off. Who could blame them? I must say. Let us

:18:08. > :18:16.look at our woodpecker live? There we are. The female has come in to

:18:16. > :18:21.feed the chicks. Calling as it flew away, having an argument. We will

:18:21. > :18:26.look Attwood peckers later. Back to our marsh, not only does it provide

:18:26. > :18:30.us with pretty pictures, it's an important habitat here at Ynys-hir.

:18:30. > :18:40.It has a host of animals that rely on it. We thought we would take a

:18:40. > :18:44.

:18:44. > :18:49.closer look at this special timeless. Yet, this is a man-made

:18:49. > :18:56.habitat, created by raising the water level 13 years ago. At the

:18:56. > :19:04.start of the millennium. The marsh is now home to a wonderful variety

:19:04. > :19:14.of life a thriving watery ecosystem. During the spring everything is

:19:14. > :19:16.

:19:16. > :19:19.breathing here. All this new life requires suss sten nans. It's here

:19:19. > :19:29.in abundance for those who know where to look. The water birds find

:19:29. > :19:31.

:19:31. > :19:37.much of their food under the surface. The coots are taking

:19:37. > :19:47.advantage of the insect larvae which is a rich food source for their

:19:47. > :19:52.

:19:52. > :19:57.young. A moorhen plucks tag poles from beneath the water. -- tadpoles.

:19:57. > :20:07.Freshwater like this provides a nursery for developing amphibians

:20:07. > :20:09.

:20:09. > :20:13.like tadpoles and insects. Many species, include including midges

:20:13. > :20:18.straddle both worlds, developing below the surface until they emerge

:20:18. > :20:28.and take to the wing. Then they make an easy meal for migrants like

:20:28. > :20:50.

:20:50. > :20:57.require heavily on aqat ya -- aquatic plants for food -- aquatic.

:20:57. > :21:07.An otter, from the nearby river, swims into the marsh. Otters will

:21:07. > :21:09.

:21:09. > :21:19.hunt water fowl, particular particularly the young. They are not

:21:19. > :21:39.

:21:39. > :21:49.the only predators that hunt eels in birds take their broods back into

:21:49. > :21:59.

:21:59. > :22:06.the shelter of the reeds, where they has just begun. Now, this could end

:22:06. > :22:12.really badly. I'm not just looking at the marsh, I'm in the marsh. I

:22:12. > :22:20.have been doing pond dipping. It smells delicious down here! In that

:22:20. > :22:25.film... Whoops we saw those wild fowl eating tadpoles. What sort were

:22:25. > :22:30.they eating? Believe it or not, you can tell the difference. We have

:22:30. > :22:36.been filming them in micro world. The frog tadpoles have a golden

:22:36. > :22:42.sheen on them. Here they are, gleaming. You can see the legs

:22:42. > :22:49.starting to develop. Toad tadpoles look completely different. They are

:22:49. > :22:53.much darker, they haven't got that golden sheen. Adult toads are toxic.

:22:53. > :22:59.The tadpoles also have toxins in them as well. Even the eggs have

:22:59. > :23:03.toxins in them. Now you can tell the difference between tadpoles. We have

:23:03. > :23:09.been watching the magical process taking place, the change from a

:23:09. > :23:15.tadpole into an adult frog or toad. Here it comes. Here's the tadpole.

:23:15. > :23:20.The most obvious thing that you notice, always used to do this as a

:23:20. > :23:24.kid, is that the legs and arms start to appear. That son the outside. The

:23:24. > :23:31.things happening inside are more fascinating. The cartilage of the

:23:31. > :23:35.tadpole is turning into the bone of the frog. The long intestines of the

:23:35. > :23:45.vegetarian tadpole are turning into the short intestine of the adult

:23:45. > :23:50.frog. The entire underer water apparatus are turning into air

:23:50. > :23:55.breathing lungs. An astonishing transformation. You can watch it at

:23:55. > :24:02.home. There are lots of other things you can do in a delicious pond like

:24:02. > :24:12.this. There is lot of suggestions in the summer of wildlife booklet. You

:24:12. > :24:19.

:24:19. > :24:25.without falling over. Down on the marsh we have, of course, I'm

:24:25. > :24:29.syncing in, we have ducks, particularly mallard. We have been

:24:29. > :24:35.filming the Mall lard. Let us go live to our mallard in the farmyard.

:24:35. > :24:39.Here she is sitting there. There she is. Now, I'm convinced that those

:24:39. > :24:44.eggs, I don't know how much she has under there, are going to hatch out.

:24:44. > :24:49.We will see them doing the long march from the farmyard down to the

:24:49. > :24:56.river, which is 400 meters away from where she is. She has been a little

:24:56. > :25:00.tiny bit edgy today. Hopefully, they may hatch out before, oops, before

:25:01. > :25:05.we leave Springwatch. So, colour. Let us think about those ducks? The

:25:05. > :25:09.duck colour is very striking. The female is a sort of brown colour,

:25:09. > :25:16.but the male is much more striking. Here is the female. The male in

:25:16. > :25:23.front. Look at the dramatic difference. They is so dressy. Now,

:25:23. > :25:27.how does nature manage to come up with such amaze amazing colours, and

:25:27. > :25:37.why does nature come up with them? Chris has been investigating. Here

:25:37. > :25:47.

:25:47. > :25:52.biggest showoffs in the animal kingdom, they dazzle us with all the

:25:52. > :26:00.colours of the rainbow, but a bird's colour obviously didn't evolve to

:26:00. > :26:06.delight our eyes. It's part of an evolutionary master plan. So what

:26:06. > :26:13.creates these colours? Well, it's all down to the play of light. You

:26:13. > :26:20.see feathers are made of a protein similar to what we find in our hair

:26:20. > :26:25.and nails. They absorb some wave lengths of light but reflect others.

:26:25. > :26:30.It's the reflected light which reaches our eyes. When no light is

:26:30. > :26:36.reflected we see black. When all wave lengths are reflected, we see

:26:36. > :26:42.white. The breast feathers of the a robin contain pigments that absorb

:26:42. > :26:48.every wave length of light, except red. There are two main pigments

:26:48. > :26:56.involved. The birds acquire them from eating plant material. They

:26:56. > :27:00.create the orange and yellows seen in birds like goldfinches. Then

:27:00. > :27:06.colours from blacks to browns to pale yellows. Combinations of these

:27:06. > :27:11.act like an artists mixing palette to produce a range of other hugs as

:27:11. > :27:17.well. Mel anyone strengthens feathers explaining the black wing

:27:17. > :27:22.tips of birds like gannets where extra durability is very important.

:27:22. > :27:27.There are some colour that is we see that are not produced by pigments.

:27:27. > :27:32.We call these structural colours. They are generated as a result of

:27:32. > :27:38.the form of the feather itself. For instance, the dazzling blue of the

:27:38. > :27:44.kingfisher is one such structural colour. Created as a result of tiny

:27:44. > :27:51.air pockets trapped in the kertin that scatter blue wave lengths on

:27:51. > :27:58.impact. When it's layered, patterns are generated randomly then we see

:27:58. > :28:03.the shimmer, typical of star lings and magpies. So now the key question

:28:03. > :28:09.- why are birds coloured in the first place? The most spectacular

:28:09. > :28:14.birds are often exhibitionists, males looking to get noticed. The

:28:14. > :28:19.kaleidoscope of colour, decorating a male pheasants, is a visual show of

:28:19. > :28:24.health to the females. Being bold and bright makes a bird an obvious

:28:24. > :28:27.target. A fit and healthy male can be this showy and escape the

:28:27. > :28:33.attentions of predators. Females want to the mate with the fittest

:28:33. > :28:39.male around. The fittest are the showiest. Over millennia, female

:28:39. > :28:44.choice has driven these males to become even more ornate. More often

:28:44. > :28:49.than not, female birds look completely different. This is an

:28:49. > :28:58.example of sexual die mother fillsism the females often look drab

:28:58. > :29:05.and for a very good reason. They need to keep a low profile whilst

:29:05. > :29:14.incubating their eggs. Birds like this are coloured for a cam flag.

:29:15. > :29:17.Rarely, the roles are reversed. In red neck, the females are the

:29:18. > :29:24.showier, they fight for the attention of the male, who are dull

:29:24. > :29:34.in comparison. They are responsible for incubating the eggs and rearing

:29:34. > :29:41.

:29:41. > :29:46.the offspring. In many other species the sexes often look identical. In

:29:46. > :29:50.monotonous species, the females are looking for parental skills and

:29:50. > :29:56.family support from the males, rather than just flamboyance.

:29:56. > :30:01.here, the males haven't been selected to look any different. But

:30:01. > :30:07.perhaps the biggest surprise of all is what the birds see themselves.

:30:07. > :30:12.Their world is even more vibrant than ours. Many birds, like

:30:12. > :30:16.starlings, see more colours than us. They can see into the ultraviolet

:30:16. > :30:21.range. When they rotate their feathers, they reflect different

:30:21. > :30:25.wavelengths depending on the angle, making them iridescence. So although

:30:25. > :30:35.these birds look spectacular to us, they may look even more spectacular

:30:35. > :30:39.

:30:39. > :30:49.to each other. What about you, do you like a colourful bird? Yes!I

:30:49. > :30:49.

:30:49. > :30:55.prefer mine black and white. Really? But the starling is a perfect

:30:55. > :31:00.example of a bird many others take for granted. If you look at it

:31:00. > :31:04.closely, it's very beautiful. Stunning things. They are fantastic.

:31:04. > :31:09.Talking of colourful birds, let's have a look again at our

:31:09. > :31:15.woodpeckers. The chick was just poking his little head out.

:31:15. > :31:21.Yesterday, we were talking about the fact that our nest watchers have

:31:21. > :31:24.been very diligently watching that nest and have noticed there are four

:31:24. > :31:28.different chicks. They were telling me that they've noticed it because

:31:28. > :31:37.the red feathers on their head a very different. And they really are.

:31:37. > :31:42.Take a look. Here comes the parent. One pokes its head out. You can see

:31:42. > :31:49.the red feathers. That is chick 1-macro. You see how different

:31:50. > :31:57.chicks two is. It only has a few red feathers. That's chicks free. Check

:31:57. > :32:01.four is rather splendidly bred. You can see they are all individuals.

:32:01. > :32:07.You can tell. I thought the differences would be really subtle

:32:07. > :32:11.but they are not, they are quite obvious. All credit to our nest

:32:11. > :32:17.reporters. What's happening with our stonechats? These birds are not up

:32:17. > :32:20.in the woods, they are down the other side by the marsh. Let's see

:32:20. > :32:26.what they've been up to. They've got two Young in the nest. These young

:32:26. > :32:30.are about 12 or 13 days old now. The female disappeared for a day

:32:30. > :32:36.yesterday, but she's now back beating them, 20 of insects. The

:32:36. > :32:40.male is coming in to. They can hang around in the nest for up to 17 days

:32:40. > :32:44.if they don't get disturbed. These birds at the moment don't look as

:32:44. > :32:49.though they are going anywhere, when they are getting so much attention

:32:49. > :32:56.from both parents. A little bit of stretching there, but I think that's

:32:57. > :33:01.more eager to get the food than anything else. The stonechat is an

:33:01. > :33:11.onomatopoeic name. It sounds like the call that the bird makes. Let's

:33:11. > :33:29.

:33:29. > :33:39.get two stones and bang them together, you can replicate that

:33:39. > :33:40.

:33:40. > :33:48.sound. I don't think that sounds like it at all. Two 10p is. Listen.

:33:48. > :33:58.That sounds far more like it. to agree with you. But they are not

:33:58. > :34:03.

:34:03. > :34:12.called 10p chats, are they? They are called stonechat! Let's hear again.

:34:12. > :34:20.All right then. 10p chat from now on. Let's go live to them now. They

:34:20. > :34:24.are being fed right now by the male. If he just backs off, you will

:34:24. > :34:31.see... They are still quite small. They've been growing very slowly.

:34:31. > :34:36.Compared to the speed of the willow warblers. The stonechats have been

:34:36. > :34:40.very slow in their development. Which is surprisingly cos there are

:34:40. > :34:44.only two of them. It doesn't seem like our stonechats are going to

:34:44. > :34:48.fledge in the next couple of days, but I reckon our redstarts will. You

:34:48. > :34:57.can't believe how much these chicks have grown. This is what they looked

:34:57. > :35:03.like on Thursday. What a difference a few days make. This is them today.

:35:03. > :35:08.They look like completely different chicks. Look at that wing flapping!

:35:08. > :35:18.These birds are really ready to go. You can even see the red on their

:35:18. > :35:19.

:35:20. > :35:29.tail. Unlike the stonechats they are very well named. Let's see if they

:35:30. > :35:30.

:35:30. > :35:38.are going to the entrance of the squashed. One hasn't gone already,

:35:38. > :35:44.has it? There's the parent coming back in. There are eight chicks in

:35:44. > :35:48.there, which is quite remarkable. They bred at exactly the right time.

:35:48. > :35:51.They bread when the weather got a bit warmer, so there was plenty of

:35:51. > :36:00.food available. When you've got eight hungry mouths to feed, that's

:36:00. > :36:04.a jolly good job. Let's take a look of what they've been feeding on. In

:36:04. > :36:09.comes the female and then the male takes over. We've noticed that the

:36:09. > :36:15.male and female don't like to be in the nestbox together. They've been

:36:15. > :36:22.feeding mainly on caterpillars. A few winged insects as well. It's

:36:22. > :36:26.amazing that because they hatched at the right time, all eight chicks

:36:26. > :36:30.have survived. If they had hatched when it had been a bit colder, it

:36:30. > :36:33.would have been unlikely to still have eight little mouths to feed.

:36:33. > :36:37.Our diligent nest watchers have been keeping an account of how many times

:36:37. > :36:43.the adults have been visiting each nest. We have a bar chart which

:36:43. > :36:50.shows the number of visits per hour per chick. If you look down here,

:36:50. > :36:55.where are our redstarts? That amazing. Eight chicks in there and

:36:55. > :36:59.that's per chick. 40 visits an hour. The woodpecker is at the bottom.

:37:00. > :37:04.We've had to guess the number of chicks in there. On average, we are

:37:04. > :37:08.looking at about three or four visits per chick per hour. The other

:37:08. > :37:12.thing they've been looking at its this. The type of prey that has been

:37:12. > :37:17.brought in. They've separated it into two easy categories,

:37:17. > :37:22.Caterpillar and flying insects. The vast majority of the food for the

:37:22. > :37:26.redstarts, nearly 75% of it, is caterpillars. Compared to the willow

:37:26. > :37:30.warbler, when it is even more of that. This is because the willow

:37:30. > :37:34.warblers are taking caterpillars of the trees. Not taking as much in the

:37:34. > :37:40.air or on the ground. The great spotted woodpecker, a lot more

:37:40. > :37:45.caterpillars. It is very simple science. You can be doing this by

:37:45. > :37:48.looking out of your window at your nestbox. This science can sometimes

:37:48. > :37:52.be really valuable, and it's important that we amateurs keep it

:37:52. > :37:57.up. When I was a kid I used to go out looking for birds nest at the

:37:57. > :38:00.time, counting the nest, making little maps, filling in the nest

:38:00. > :38:10.record cards. Sadly, not so many people are doing it these days, but

:38:10. > :38:15.

:38:15. > :38:19.looking for birds nest with my best mate, Joe. To be honest, we weren't

:38:19. > :38:24.very good at it. That's not surprising because finding birds

:38:25. > :38:28.nests requires some really skilful, subtle field craft. We are going to

:38:28. > :38:34.try and find some nests today. To do that, although I know the basics, we

:38:34. > :38:41.are going to need some help. I'm in Norfolk, at the British trust for

:38:41. > :38:45.ornithologist reserve. They have devised a code of conduct to follow

:38:45. > :38:50.when -- making sure the birds are not disturbed when searching for

:38:50. > :38:55.nests. David Leach is on hand to show me how to safely explore the

:38:55. > :39:00.secretive world of nesting birds. Looking for birds nests, it's got a

:39:00. > :39:03.bit of a bad reputation in some peoples minds. I think that's

:39:03. > :39:07.right. There's certainly a stigma attached to egg collecting being the

:39:07. > :39:11.reason people go near nests. There's also a real concern about birds

:39:11. > :39:15.deserting if they nest is approached. Actually, that's if we

:39:15. > :39:19.are trying to dispel. The whole focus of the birds is to reduce

:39:19. > :39:25.those chicks at the end of the nesting cycle. Unless there is an

:39:25. > :39:31.incredibly powerful reason, which is the fear that she herself will be

:39:31. > :39:37.predated, the female is not going to desert that nest. Shall we go

:39:37. > :39:41.nesting? Let's go nesting!When you are looking for nests, you have to

:39:41. > :39:46.spend time just watching. Lots of time. Look in places where birds are

:39:46. > :39:50.likely to be nesting. There is a thick cover of dense vegetation. If

:39:50. > :39:58.the female is sitting tight on eggs, she won't be easy to spot. So you

:39:58. > :40:01.can use your ears, too. I've just heard the really distinctive contact

:40:01. > :40:04.call of the chiffchaff. That suggests there is a female

:40:04. > :40:10.incubating at the moment. She make that call when she comes off the

:40:10. > :40:15.eggs. She makes it quite incessantly. Tweet, tweet, tweet.

:40:15. > :40:21.That literally tells you she's got eggs. Tells us the species, the

:40:21. > :40:24.stage of the nest and hopefully will tell us where that nest is. It's

:40:24. > :40:27.basically one of the only species where you might be able to find the

:40:27. > :40:37.nest without ever actually seeing the bird at all. Shall we have a

:40:37. > :40:38.

:40:38. > :40:45.quick look? We are looking in the tangle around here. This is exactly

:40:45. > :40:50.the sort of... Did you see her then? She shot off the nest. If you are

:40:50. > :40:58.standing where I am now... You can just see where she came out from.

:40:58. > :41:02.You can see straight into the nest. Can you see how many eggs are there?

:41:03. > :41:08.At least four from here. They usually have five to seven.

:41:08. > :41:12.never have found that in a million years! Having come to the eggs, it's

:41:12. > :41:19.important that we move away and allow the female back to brood and

:41:19. > :41:23.keep them warm. So we found the nest by tuning into the behaviour of the

:41:23. > :41:27.bird. It's given us a fascinating glimpse into a hidden world. There

:41:27. > :41:31.are many questions we need to answer about nests. How many are

:41:31. > :41:34.abandoned, how many predated, laying dates dash and these are questions

:41:34. > :41:40.that can only be answered by reawakening the ancient art of nest

:41:40. > :41:44.binding. Those first skills are known as cold searching and watching

:41:44. > :41:50.back. The next technique Dave wants to show me is tapping off. That is a

:41:50. > :41:55.bit more hands-on. What you are trying to do is simulate the

:41:55. > :42:00.movement of a large animal, say a deer or something like that. So you

:42:00. > :42:04.are not working it to frighten her off the nest, it's much more gentle.

:42:04. > :42:09.Exactly. You are mimicking the approach. You are listening for the

:42:09. > :42:13.little flick of wings. She won't fly out of the bush but she maybe will

:42:13. > :42:23.flake off a foot away from the nest, so she can watch what's going on.

:42:23. > :42:24.

:42:24. > :42:34.May I have a practice? Like that? And then listen. Then you just move

:42:34. > :43:00.

:43:00. > :43:05.I didn't see what it was. fact... Look. There is nesting

:43:06. > :43:12.there. That is undisputedly a dunnock's nest. Touch the eggs very

:43:12. > :43:18.softly. They are warm. I didn't quite do it right. She wasn't meant

:43:18. > :43:21.to fly off, but we did find the nest. It's not an exact science, it

:43:21. > :43:26.can't be perfect always. Nest binding is a delightful way to spend

:43:27. > :43:30.a few hours. To me, this kind of field craft is more like an art

:43:30. > :43:35.form. But it's really important because it only by monitoring and

:43:35. > :43:45.collecting data on nests that we can get a true picture of the health of

:43:45. > :43:47.

:43:47. > :43:51.our nation 's birds. I'm down here in the marshy area, about a mile

:43:51. > :43:56.away from the main production area. This would be a perfect place to do

:43:56. > :44:01.a bit of bird nesting. The whole reason for doing that bird nesting

:44:01. > :44:06.is to gather information. The British trust for ornithology, who

:44:06. > :44:11.are driving the initiative, told me today that they've only got around

:44:11. > :44:15.650 nest recorders in the whole of the UK. That, folks, isn't enough,

:44:15. > :44:25.so they really need your help, particularly with garden birds as

:44:25. > :44:28.

:44:28. > :44:33.well. If you feel like helping, go will link you through and teach you,

:44:33. > :44:38.show you how to go out bird nesting without disturbing the birds

:44:38. > :44:44.themselves. We've been doing it here, of course, on all of our

:44:44. > :44:49.nests. These are the recording cards you get. That's our water rail one,

:44:49. > :44:59.we've got buzzards and so on. We'll be sending all of these off to the

:44:59. > :45:05.

:45:06. > :45:11.question. From Debbie: I saw two bees feeding on a rhododendron bush

:45:11. > :45:15.one had yellow patches on its legs the other had bright orange, were

:45:15. > :45:22.they two different species of bee? They weren't. We can show you what

:45:22. > :45:26.is going on. Look at the pouches on their legs, white one, yellow one,

:45:26. > :45:30.even another one comes up it has pink. Those bees are gathering

:45:30. > :45:33.pollen from different plants. That accounts for the different colour.

:45:33. > :45:38.They are all the same species. They They are all the same species. They

:45:38. > :45:42.are all in the nest. This has so much of that pollen it can't quite

:45:42. > :45:46.squeeze into the nest itself. That is what is going on with those

:45:46. > :45:52.different colours. They have special cones on their legs to catch that

:45:52. > :45:56.pollen from the plants they visit. We have been watching the nest very,

:45:56. > :46:02.very carefully overnight. The bees have done a curious thing. Here is

:46:02. > :46:11.the nest, speeded up. As darkness fell the bees sealed up the holes

:46:11. > :46:16.around the nest. The outer lining of the nest, they seal it up

:46:16. > :46:21.completely. Morning time, they open it back up. What they are doing

:46:21. > :46:27.clearly is keeping it nice and warm in there overnight. In the morning,

:46:27. > :46:31.they are opening it back up. It's, clearly, a sort of, air conditioning

:46:31. > :46:36.system to keep the nest nice and warm. We can go live to the nest and

:46:36. > :46:41.have a look. Here is the nest. I'm always looking for the Queen. She is

:46:41. > :46:49.much, much bigger than those workers. The Queen controls

:46:49. > :46:55.everything by produce producing fer moans. They stop development of

:46:55. > :47:01.Queens and eggs. They have a profound effect on the whole colony.

:47:01. > :47:05.What she will do she will stop producing it and new queens will be

:47:05. > :47:10.produced. You might remember, you might have heard according to

:47:10. > :47:16.physics bees should not be able to fly. That was based on research by

:47:16. > :47:21.German scientists in the 1930s. It wasn't until 2009 when a scientists

:47:21. > :47:25.in Oxford thought he had solved the whole conundrum. We have been

:47:25. > :47:31.filming them with our high-speed camera. We can show you what is

:47:31. > :47:35.going on. Here are the bees in ultra slow motion flying off. Yes, the

:47:35. > :47:41.wings are very, very small. They are not very good at aero dynamically at

:47:41. > :47:48.all. Look at the size of the body? It's absolutely massive. It's packed

:47:48. > :47:53.with muscle. Of course, they are using very high energy, high-octane

:47:53. > :47:59.fuel, nectar. What is happening, those bees are overcoming the

:47:59. > :48:04.problem of their little wings by having enormously powerful muscular.

:48:04. > :48:10.Like having a formula 1 car with tiny little wheels. Brilliant. We

:48:10. > :48:20.have restreeld with our high-speed cameras. Now back to Chris and

:48:20. > :48:26.Michaela. Nice to see an insect on our cameras rather than a midge.

:48:26. > :48:31.had one in my eye, now I can't see. Besides that. I had them up my nose

:48:31. > :48:37.and ears, you don't want to know where we have had them? The bees is

:48:37. > :48:43.a live camera we introduced you to yesterday. We introduced you to the

:48:43. > :48:48.songthrush. Let us look at it live. They are four chicks, two to three

:48:48. > :48:53.days old. You can see it perfectly little nest in the slubery. What has

:48:53. > :48:58.it been doing over the last 24-hours? Well, what you expect, a

:48:58. > :49:03.lot of feeding. We presume this is the female. The male comes in with

:49:03. > :49:09.food, she gets off. If you listen closely, you can hear a little bit

:49:09. > :49:14.of calling. I presume that is the male. It's pretty difficult to tell

:49:14. > :49:19.the two the apart. A lot of feeding going on there. They have a long way

:49:19. > :49:24.to go those chicks. They are only a couple of days old. Delightful

:49:24. > :49:33.birds. They are not the only spotted thrush that we have here at this

:49:33. > :49:39.time of year. Look at this, we spotted a mistle. This is larger

:49:39. > :49:44.than the songthrush. If you have a large garden you will find them.

:49:44. > :49:48.They feed in different places on slightly different things as well. I

:49:48. > :49:58.suppose many people might think they are quite similar. We have a simple

:49:58. > :49:58.

:49:58. > :50:08.ID guide to separate them. Here are the two: Mistral tlush is larger

:50:08. > :50:24.

:50:24. > :50:31.with more separated spots on its feathers. The song is the best way

:50:31. > :50:37.of separating them. They will sing in springtime, in the most

:50:37. > :50:44.horrendous weather. The song thrush will wait until later year. Do you

:50:44. > :50:50.know another name for them? Marvis. In Shakespeare's time, apparently!

:50:50. > :50:54.Let us catch up with our urban gulls. We left the female looking

:50:54. > :51:04.soggy and braving the elements sitting on her eggs on the nest, but

:51:04. > :51:13.

:51:13. > :51:20.gull family have been waiting four weeks for their two eggs to hatch.

:51:20. > :51:29.On the exposed rooftop they have experienced all weathers, from

:51:29. > :51:39.sweltering sunshine to rain and even hale. They proved to be dedicated

:51:39. > :51:49.

:51:49. > :51:53.parents. They simply hunker down agitated. The male wants to incubate

:51:53. > :52:03.the eggs, but the female just won't budge. Perhaps, she knows something

:52:03. > :52:09.

:52:09. > :52:19.reveals tiny cracks appearing in the eggs. She can hear the chicks

:52:19. > :52:28.

:52:28. > :52:38.so they patiently continues to wait. Then, the rain clouds roll in. Not

:52:38. > :52:49.

:52:49. > :52:54.of movement. Unlike other chicks, which hatch naked and helpless, the

:52:54. > :53:04.young gulls have a covering of camouflage down and their eyes are

:53:04. > :53:10.

:53:11. > :53:16.wide open. They immediately start to appetites, setting their parents a

:53:16. > :53:24.new challenge. Fortunately, the city below offers a steady supply of

:53:24. > :53:34.leftovers. Although, one hungry chick doesn't quite know how to

:53:34. > :53:40.

:53:40. > :53:50.the safety of the nest and their mother's warmth to sleep and digest

:53:50. > :54:04.

:54:04. > :54:14.weather can turn bad, it can also improve. Now, the chicks decide to

:54:14. > :54:17.

:54:17. > :54:27.continue to grow, the adults must bring in the most constant stream of

:54:27. > :54:36.

:54:36. > :54:41.their parents beak which stimulates them to recourage Tate a meal. Gulls

:54:41. > :54:51.enjoy a wide diet and will eat insects, fish, and even small

:54:51. > :54:53.

:54:53. > :54:58.mammals. But are chicks favourite food -- our chicks' favourite food

:54:58. > :55:02.seems to be worms. Until now the herring gull chicks haven't had a

:55:02. > :55:08.care in the world, but this may not last because they are no longer

:55:08. > :55:12.alone in the nursery. On the other side their neighbours, the lesser

:55:12. > :55:16.black backed gulls also now have mouths to feed. They have hatched

:55:16. > :55:26.three eggs which look very similar to the herring gull chicks and are

:55:26. > :55:26.

:55:26. > :55:32.just as demanding. For now, both pairs seem occupied with keeping

:55:33. > :55:37.their families fed. In the coming days, the herring gull chicks will

:55:37. > :55:46.grow in confidence and begin to move further from the nest. They will be

:55:46. > :55:50.in danger of straying into black backed territory. These protect

:55:50. > :56:00.protected -- protective parents will not tolerate trespasser, however

:56:00. > :56:07.

:56:07. > :56:12.secret lives up above the city, above shops, garages, all that urban

:56:12. > :56:19.mess, just up there all of that sun folding. Fantastic. Good strategy

:56:19. > :56:23.that is why they are doing so well. No ground predators. No foxes. They

:56:23. > :56:31.have the peregrines to worry about when they fledge. This has been sent

:56:31. > :56:36.in from Tony and this is a Black-headed gull. If you can see it

:56:36. > :56:45.has a black-headed gull chick and a moorhen chick. What is going on

:56:45. > :56:48.there? Tom Clare sent us film of it as well. Here is the same

:56:48. > :56:54.black-headed gull feeding both of its chicks and the moorhen. What

:56:54. > :57:00.happened here is that the gull invaded a moorhen nest with one egg

:57:00. > :57:04.in it. The gull laid its eggs and incubated them and they hatched out.

:57:04. > :57:09.It is thinking that that moorhen chick is one of its own chicks that

:57:09. > :57:12.is why it looked after it. It fedded it for 10 days. It would have been

:57:12. > :57:20.fascinating to find out what happened in the end. Sadly, one of

:57:20. > :57:27.the chicks and the moorhen were predated. That is a shame. We will

:57:27. > :57:33.do more gulls tomorrow. We will have an update on our urban gulls.

:57:33. > :57:37.we go around our live cameras. Excuse my attire. The blackbirds.

:57:37. > :57:42.They look like they are ready to go, don't they? Lovely. Beautiful. That

:57:42. > :57:47.is all we have time for, isn't it, I think? Are our redstarts going to

:57:47. > :57:52.go? Are they going to go, that is the cliff-hanger tonight. I thought

:57:52. > :58:00.they would go today. Look like autumn leaves ready to fly out of

:58:00. > :58:06.the nest. Do join us tomorrow we will look at the island of Lundy and

:58:07. > :58:13.all of the life online and on sea. And the habitat creation done here

:58:13. > :58:20.at Ynys-hir to attract new species of birds like this nightjar. You can

:58:20. > :58:25.find us on the red button or online you can go there for Springwatch

:58:25. > :58:30.extra right now. We are on tomorrow at 7. 15pm for an extra special long