:00:18. > :00:21.We're live on this beautiful sunny and warm evening in Wales! Bringing
:00:21. > :00:26.you a show which is absolutely packed with wildlife that we find
:00:26. > :00:33.on this beautiful reserve. $:/STARTFEED., we have got a
:00:33. > :00:43.Springwatch first, incredible underwater footage of gannet, the
:00:43. > :00:44.
:00:44. > :00:48.gold medalists of seabird diving world. A truly awesome bird.
:00:48. > :00:58.Sinister goings on at the jackdaw nest, someone is inaccident on may
:00:58. > :01:18.
:01:18. > :01:22.help. I lied! It's absolutely pouring
:01:22. > :01:26.with rain, I'm terribly sorry, we failed to get complete control of
:01:26. > :01:32.the weather. Nevertheless, welcome to programme 2 of Springwatch for
:01:32. > :01:36.our 2013 series. We are here at the beautiful, although it is we had,
:01:36. > :01:42.reserve in Wales. This is in fabulous part of the country. It is
:01:42. > :01:47.nestled down here in the estuary. In amongst all those fields, that
:01:47. > :01:51.greenery and all of those woods are 700 hectares of one of the best-
:01:51. > :01:55.managed nature reserves I have had the privilege of visiting. I have
:01:56. > :01:59.to say. We have bugged it, all the birds are under close scrutiny and
:01:59. > :02:04.we are unravelling the secrets of their family lives. Tonight you
:02:04. > :02:08.need to be of a tough disposition. Some of those secrets, some of
:02:08. > :02:18.those stories are tumultuous. I have got a serious question for
:02:18. > :02:26.
:02:26. > :02:29.It is a damp spring and we will talk about the effects of the late
:02:29. > :02:34.spring we have been having and see how it affects all our animals.
:02:34. > :02:41.First we have had a lot going on on our real stars of the show, the
:02:41. > :02:47.nest birds, the nesting birds. Let us introduce you, we did yesterday
:02:47. > :02:51.to the jackdaws. They have two chicks. Little faces peeking out.
:02:51. > :02:56.Let's remind you on Springwatch it is nature that writes the script.
:02:56. > :03:00.Already it is getting dramatic. Yesterday this is what we saw, two
:03:00. > :03:05.intruding jackdaws coming into the nestbox. That is the adult chasing
:03:05. > :03:12.them off. Well they didn't stop, this morning, just in the early
:03:12. > :03:17.hours of this morning 14-times they came back. There are the chicks
:03:17. > :03:22.inside, in comes the intruder, it starts to get very aggressive. That
:03:22. > :03:26.adult is pecking the chicks, it is stamping on them. We were wondering
:03:26. > :03:35.yesterday if they were just being inquisitive, clearly they are not.
:03:35. > :03:41.That is aggression. The parent comes back chases them off. Now
:03:41. > :03:45.we're all wondering if the chicks are OK. They don't look very good.
:03:45. > :03:50.I should think they are completely shell shocked by what's happened.
:03:50. > :03:56.The other parent comes back with some food goes in, one of them is
:03:56. > :04:00.straight up, obviously OK, begging for food. The other one, is it OK,
:04:00. > :04:04.it doesn't look good, yes, thank goodness for that. It lifts its
:04:04. > :04:08.head up. That is not good. That is definitely something to be
:04:08. > :04:11.concerned about. It is if you are the parents of those jackdaws, what
:04:11. > :04:14.about the pair of jackdaws coming in because they haven't got a
:04:14. > :04:18.nesting space. That is what is happening here. They are very
:04:18. > :04:21.hierarchical, socially, it is likely the two birds are coming in
:04:21. > :04:24.and taking the youngsters have failed to get a nest this year
:04:24. > :04:29.because they are low down the social order. Their only chance of
:04:29. > :04:32.being able to breed next year is to nab a nest site now. That is why
:04:32. > :04:35.they are going in there. It is not unusual for jackdaws to kill the
:04:35. > :04:40.young of others and take them out and claim that nest site. What
:04:40. > :04:44.these young have got going in their favour is their size. They are
:04:44. > :04:49.about half grown so they are quite robust, this means they can
:04:49. > :04:53.withstand a certain degree of pecking. Also the adults have
:04:53. > :04:57.invested a lot of time and energy in their care. They will fight to
:04:57. > :05:01.keep them alive vigorously. If there are any chicks in any nest to
:05:01. > :05:09.what stand these sorts of attacks, these ones have the right profile
:05:09. > :05:13.to do so. It is a nest to keep an eye on. Let's have a look.
:05:13. > :05:17.Fortunately they are covered with that rain. That's interesting,
:05:17. > :05:21.because the adult is brooding them. That is probably because they are a
:05:21. > :05:25.little bit delicate after that attack and cold. It is cold. It has
:05:25. > :05:29.been cold here again all day, compared to the normal temperatures
:05:29. > :05:33.at this time of year. That is why they are brooding. Fingers crossed
:05:33. > :05:40.for those chicks. Slightly worried about them. Let's move on to a quiz.
:05:40. > :05:49.We have a little quiz for you. Can you see those, very small, what are
:05:49. > :05:59.they? Let me turn one around for you, what has made them? If you
:05:59. > :06:00.
:06:00. > :06:09.know that get in contact with us on the website.
:06:09. > :06:14.Or hashtag spring swach. We will re -- #Springwatch, we will reveal all
:06:14. > :06:22.later. We were asking yesterday would the egg and chick hatch out
:06:23. > :06:28.from the Baz standards. This is a bit of -- buzzards. Terribly
:06:28. > :06:31.important, it is terribly wet. Important that the female buzzard
:06:31. > :06:35.should sit there and protect the chick and the egg. We didn't think
:06:35. > :06:40.it was going to. We prerecorded it, let's have a look at what happened
:06:40. > :06:47.earlier today. Sure enough there is the chick, the other egg hasn't
:06:47. > :06:50.hatched out. That means it is not sad, but that does mean it will be
:06:50. > :07:00.an easier job for the parents to feed their chick. Just have a
:07:00. > :07:01.
:07:01. > :07:05.listen now? ( that is -- that is jackdaws in the background. The
:07:05. > :07:12.parent looks nervous, there was always that persistent danger from
:07:12. > :07:19.the crows. Here she is being fed a shrew. That surprises me. A lot of
:07:19. > :07:23.birds avoid them. They have distasteful glands, a lot of things
:07:23. > :07:28.avoid shrews. The old buzzard has such a broad and Catholic diet it
:07:28. > :07:32.will eat all sorts of things. pertinent we have a small mammal
:07:32. > :07:42.there, if you were watching the recent watching, you will know that
:07:42. > :07:44.
:07:44. > :07:47.we have a rodentorium, we pinched it from one of the viewers, it is a
:07:47. > :07:54.hollow log, on one end at the pointed cameras into the log. We
:07:54. > :07:57.set it up close to the production village. Let's club live to the
:07:57. > :08:03.interior. You can see inside there there is masses of bait. When it
:08:03. > :08:09.comes to baiting animals we are not cheap skates ob Springwatch. There
:08:09. > :08:13.is a bountiful supply of food. We are hoping it will attract rodents.
:08:13. > :08:18.What has it had so far, not much at this time of day. During the night
:08:18. > :08:23.we saw these animals, wood mice, feasting on the supply of seeds and
:08:23. > :08:27.nuts that we put in there. Not only wood mice, we have had a common
:08:27. > :08:33.shrew, same species with the buzzards. As it goes up to the stop
:08:33. > :08:38.here, it breathes out, and you can see a little puff of shrew breath!
:08:38. > :08:42.When was the last time you saw a little puff of shrew breath live on
:08:42. > :08:52.TV. Fantastic. Then the shrew went off with a nut which was odd, these
:08:52. > :08:55.
:08:55. > :09:00.are in sect ivous animals. Stick with it, it will be on the red
:09:00. > :09:10.button. It won't just be wood mice and shrew, if you watched during
:09:10. > :09:10.
:09:10. > :09:13.winter watch we got a pine marten. We hope to get a stoat or weasel.
:09:13. > :09:18.Also on the website there is all sorts of information about the
:09:18. > :09:22.summer of wildlife. Which we launched last night. The summer of
:09:22. > :09:26.wildlife, there is lots of there is a huge range of information to help
:09:26. > :09:30.you get out there and enjoy our lovely wildlife. We keep pushing
:09:30. > :09:35.you to go outside and enjoy the wildlife. I'm going to take my own
:09:35. > :09:40.advice and I'm going to go outside and go to a brand-new area, perhaps
:09:40. > :09:46.a surprising area, and look for a bit of extra wildlife. Will you
:09:46. > :09:52.excuse me! Pud your hood up you will get wet. See you later.
:09:52. > :09:55.The lovely Yolo Williams have been out and about further on from
:09:55. > :10:00.Martin. He's gone to a special island on the east coast of
:10:00. > :10:10.Scotland to experience and find out more about the success of one of
:10:10. > :10:22.
:10:22. > :10:32.UK's true wildlife spectacles. This is vast rock, at this time of the
:10:32. > :10:44.
:10:44. > :10:50.year the island this is possibly one of the UK's best wildlife spots.
:10:50. > :10:55.The rock turns white as the gannets return from the winter. They arrive
:10:55. > :10:59.with one thing in mind. It is the breeding season and each and every
:10:59. > :11:09.bird on the island will have returned to exactly the same path
:11:09. > :11:13.
:11:13. > :11:21.and the same partner. Gannets mate for life and they are remarkably
:11:21. > :11:27.long lived. A pair can be together for almost 35 years and amongst
:11:27. > :11:32.gannets divorce is incredibly rare, they are faithful birds. Although
:11:32. > :11:34.they may have been together for decades, couples perform an
:11:34. > :11:38.elaborate greeting every single time they meet.
:11:38. > :11:45.There is courtship, pair bonding. They will fence like this with
:11:45. > :11:55.their break, they will wagle their -- breaks. They will waggle their
:11:55. > :11:57.
:11:57. > :12:01.heads. With so many birds crammed so closely together, the odd
:12:01. > :12:11.squabble is inevitable. Each pair will have the own little territory
:12:11. > :12:14.
:12:15. > :12:20.and a nest in that, they are all about the next patch, they are
:12:20. > :12:24.vicious birds defending their own patch. The sheer numbers here are
:12:24. > :12:34.remarkable. At the peak of the season, when the eggs hatch, more
:12:34. > :12:35.
:12:35. > :12:39.than 150,000 birds are jam packed on to this tiny island. With so
:12:39. > :12:44.many birds you can smell the rock before you see it.
:12:44. > :12:48.You never forget a visit to the gannet colony, you can close your
:12:48. > :12:53.eyes because the sound and smell is unique. Although it doesn't look it
:12:53. > :12:56.on a day like today, this year's long cold winter has been punishing
:12:56. > :13:01.for many of the UK's seabirds, looking at the numbers there. It
:13:01. > :13:05.seems the gannets are doing well. To find out why this might be the
:13:05. > :13:15.case I'm meeting a man who has a unique insight into the lives of
:13:15. > :13:17.
:13:17. > :13:24.these birds. Brian Nelson spent three years living on Bask Rock.
:13:25. > :13:30.Some of my best memories were on there, the noise is deafening and
:13:30. > :13:34.intoxicating. Brian is now 81 and he's still considered the world
:13:34. > :13:39.expert. I was supposed to be studying blackbirds in Oxford. I
:13:39. > :13:47.found it so boring and when I tried to find out about gannets I found
:13:47. > :13:51.that they had never been studied. Here was Britain's possibly most
:13:51. > :13:54.dramatic seabird in the whole of Britain, but the basic biology was
:13:55. > :14:01.a closed book. I decided that was what I wanted to study, this was
:14:01. > :14:05.the best decision I ever made. the help of his wife June, Brian's
:14:05. > :14:10.research on the rock forms the basis of everything we know about
:14:10. > :14:18.gannets. You can't get to grips with ecology and life history with
:14:18. > :14:23.odd visits. You have to know subject intimately. Would you spend
:14:23. > :14:27.most of your working day just studying gannets? Absolutely. We
:14:27. > :14:32.worked the whole of the day and writinging up stuff into the night,
:14:32. > :14:35.it was non-stop. Brian's years of dedicated
:14:35. > :14:40.observation leave him with little doubt about what makes these birds
:14:40. > :14:45.so resilient. Gannets of all British seabirds
:14:45. > :14:50.have a unique feeding niche, they are the only British seabird that
:14:50. > :14:54.can travel hundreds of miles from base and dive deeply. No other
:14:54. > :15:01.British seabird can do that. They have access to a huge food supply,
:15:01. > :15:05.which is, you know, unique. From what Brian says it sounds like
:15:05. > :15:10.I should take a closer look at the gannet as hunting strategy. Most of
:15:10. > :15:14.their feeding is done far out at sea. To find out why their hunting
:15:14. > :15:24.technique is so effective, I'm going to have to get into the water
:15:24. > :15:27.
:15:27. > :15:32.with them. The glamour of TV, it is absolutely pouring. What a
:15:32. > :15:36.wonderful film, I was talking to Yola a little bit earlier on, I'm
:15:36. > :15:44.so jealous he got out to the rock. He will be with us later on, if you
:15:44. > :15:49.have questions for him send them in to the website and he will try to
:15:49. > :15:53.ask them. Here we are. In the farmyard, complete with proper cows.
:15:53. > :15:56.What sort of a place would this be for wildlife, why would we come
:15:56. > :16:00.here. Actually it is a great place for wildlife, because there is all
:16:00. > :16:06.sorts of shelter everywhere, it is not too manicured this farmyard.
:16:06. > :16:10.There is lots of possibilitys of getting food. Let's have -- pockets
:16:10. > :16:20.of getting food. Let's have a look and see what we might find in our
:16:20. > :16:52.
:16:52. > :16:55.See there's loads of wildlife, it is lovely. Now, when we first
:16:55. > :16:59.arrived there was something superspecial here, because I don't
:16:59. > :17:04.know if you can see, there is a sort of Little Rock face there,
:17:04. > :17:09.just over there. And when we appeared here, when we went past it
:17:09. > :17:14.there was all this cheaping and tweeting, there was a very unusual
:17:14. > :17:17.nest there. Let's have a look at what we recorded. Here is the nest,
:17:17. > :17:25.just in the rock face, look at that beautiful bird. That is a grey
:17:25. > :17:32.wagtail. There is also a yellow wagtail, I always want to call them
:17:32. > :17:37.that. There were five chicks in this nest. Constantly wagging, that
:17:37. > :17:42.lovely lemon yellow. This is a bird you would find by running water and
:17:42. > :17:46.stream, they are feeding on insects off running water and stream. What
:17:46. > :17:50.on earth are they doing here by the farmyard. I think it is because
:17:50. > :17:53.there is lots and lots of insect life and they fed on that. As you
:17:53. > :17:57.see they are actually fledgling, this happened over the weekend.
:17:57. > :18:05.There is a youngster there, trying to get the first meal for itself.
:18:05. > :18:09.It gives up. It has to wait for mum. You can see they are bobbing
:18:09. > :18:16.already, they are never stop wagging their tails these wagtails.
:18:16. > :18:21.They think it may be, to be honest nobody knows why they wag their
:18:22. > :18:26.tails. They think it might be to break up its body shape against
:18:26. > :18:33.running water, camouflage, nobody is sure. One more nest here. Watch
:18:33. > :18:36.out for the dung pile, lots of places for insects. There is a
:18:37. > :18:43.second nest that hasn't fledged. They haven't hatched Van Outen.
:18:43. > :18:46.There is a post and gate down there, I don't know if you can see. Let's
:18:46. > :18:56.go life to that nest, creeping in. I don't know if you can see it
:18:56. > :18:57.
:18:57. > :19:01.there. There is a mother Mallard up there. Poor thing, ducks, water, we
:19:01. > :19:05.don't know how many eggs she is sitting on, we haven't disturbed
:19:05. > :19:09.her. She's sitting nice and tight to protect the eggs. We filmed her
:19:09. > :19:17.earlier on, let's have a look at mum. Mum does all the incubation.
:19:17. > :19:20.There she is sitting on the eggs. Look at that beautiful sizzling
:19:21. > :19:26.speculumthere. When she leaves the they, the mother covers all the
:19:26. > :19:32.eggs up with lovely warm down. She often plucks those feathers off her
:19:32. > :19:37.very own chest. There she is. We will keep a very careful eye on
:19:37. > :19:42.that nest there. The only problem for her is that, yes, this is quite
:19:42. > :19:47.a nice place to be, but there are a lot of potential threats to her and
:19:47. > :19:51.her chicks. There are lots and lots of corvets,
:19:51. > :19:56.those crow, it is like a scene from the Birds here. There are rats here,
:19:56. > :20:03.they would have the eggs and the chicks. That naughty jackdaw,
:20:03. > :20:09.highly intelligent, always on the lookout. There are, here we are,
:20:09. > :20:12.this we filmed this fox just a couple of days ago.
:20:12. > :20:15.That Mallard mum will have to be very careful. Touch wood so far
:20:15. > :20:20.everything is fine. There is one final thing. What she has to do,
:20:20. > :20:24.she has to talk those ducklings when they hatch out, across here,
:20:24. > :20:28.and all the way down there just underneath the trees, that is where
:20:28. > :20:32.the river is. She has to get them down to the water. Hopefully she
:20:32. > :20:37.will be able to do it. We will keep a very careful eye on that. Now it
:20:37. > :20:47.is time to peer into the mysterious life of another animal, making the
:20:47. > :20:49.
:20:49. > :20:54.way down to the water this time to breed.
:20:54. > :20:58.This is the story of an extraordinary journey made by a
:20:58. > :21:06.daring heroine. A female common toad. Her mission
:21:06. > :21:10.is to ensure the survival of her kind. But the route ahead will be
:21:10. > :21:16.fraught with danger. It is early spring, and in the wood
:21:16. > :21:21.life is returning after months of winter.
:21:21. > :21:31.This female toad has spent the last six months hidden away. Surviving
:21:31. > :21:36.
:21:36. > :21:42.on her stored fat reserves. But now, her long hibernation is over.
:21:43. > :21:50.Her sensitive skin detects moisture and the rising temperatures to
:21:50. > :21:59.Bambi seven degrees. -- balmy seven degrees. The time
:21:59. > :22:09.has come. She must start the journey tonight. Under cover of
:22:09. > :22:12.
:22:12. > :22:16.darkness she makes her move. Goided by a memory of -- guided by a
:22:16. > :22:25.memory of where her old life started, she sets off in search of
:22:25. > :22:30.water. To a toad the forest floor is
:22:30. > :22:37.extreme obstacle course, unlike frogs toads can't hop. The going is
:22:37. > :22:43.tough. But she won't let anything stand in her way. And despite not
:22:43. > :22:49.eating for six months there is no time to stop and feed. She isn't
:22:49. > :22:58.alone in the woods, tonight thousands of other toads are also
:22:58. > :23:06.making this annual migration.. This hasn't gone unnoticed. Although the
:23:06. > :23:11.toads use the cover of darkness, nocternal hunters are on the prowl.
:23:11. > :23:21.Our female will march the egive lent of a marathon in her quest to
:23:21. > :23:23.
:23:23. > :23:27.reach water. But her pace is slow. She must reach the pond before dawn.
:23:27. > :23:37.Finally she reaches the end of the woods, but now she faces her most
:23:37. > :23:38.
:23:38. > :23:43.dangerous obstacle. It's thought that around 10,000
:23:43. > :23:53.toads get squashed on the UK's roads every year during their
:23:53. > :24:02.
:24:02. > :24:09.migration. But help is at hand. And our toad is one of the lucky ones.
:24:09. > :24:19.Across the country around 1400 toad patrollers man over 400 crossings.
:24:19. > :24:29.
:24:29. > :24:36.Keeping at least some toads out of danger. Thanks to their help she's
:24:36. > :24:46.now making excellent progress. From smelling the air she knows her pond
:24:46. > :24:50.
:24:50. > :24:57.is close. And her pace quickens. But just ahead an ambush. Male
:24:57. > :25:05.toads. Smaller and lazier than females. They are trying to hitch a
:25:05. > :25:11.ride. Special nuptual pads on his toes help him hang on to her. Male
:25:11. > :25:16.toads can outnumber females by 3-1. By grabbing a female now he isn't
:25:16. > :25:22.just getting a free ride. He's trying to make sure he is in a
:25:22. > :25:32.position to breed, but our female must now battle on carrying an
:25:32. > :25:50.
:25:50. > :26:00.extra load of half her body weight. They have made it, finally she can
:26:00. > :26:03.
:26:03. > :26:07.do what she has come here for. She lays a string of up to 5,000 eggs
:26:07. > :26:17.which the male fertilises. A huge amount, but only one in 400 of
:26:17. > :26:22.
:26:22. > :26:25.these will make it through to adulthood. She is exhausted but she
:26:25. > :26:28.has beaten the odds and left her own legacy.
:26:28. > :26:34.I have always admired a female toad, they are determined, they are fit,
:26:34. > :26:38.they are strong, they are dominant, strong characteristics, I like that.
:26:38. > :26:42.You have modelled yourself on female toads. Luckily not your
:26:42. > :26:47.complexion. Let's have a look at how this late spring has affected
:26:47. > :26:52.toads. It has affected them. According to Frog Life, one of our
:26:52. > :26:55.conservation partners most of them have spawned about five weeks late
:26:55. > :27:00.this year. They usually begin at the beginning of March, some of
:27:01. > :27:05.them did start to move about that time, then they stopped, and then
:27:05. > :27:09.there was a peak around a couple of days in mid-April. How is that
:27:09. > :27:12.affecting the toads, there is positives and negatives.
:27:12. > :27:15.Interestingly enough once they did start to migrate the clocks had
:27:15. > :27:21.changed, which meant they were crossing the roads later in the
:27:21. > :27:26.dark, after the rush hour. So perhaps less squashed toads on the
:27:26. > :27:30.roads. But, the negative is possibly, we don't know yet, but we
:27:30. > :27:34.are those female toads are carrying their eggs. It is 20% of their body
:27:34. > :27:39.weight and they don't eat until they spawn. So if spawning is too
:27:39. > :27:43.late they give up and they reabsorb the eggs. This is something that
:27:43. > :27:46.happened last spring as well. So if it did happen to a lot of toads
:27:46. > :27:52.this spring, it could be a problem for the population. It could be a
:27:52. > :27:56.problem. 10% of our toads that live near roads get run over. The toads
:27:56. > :28:00.there normally only live there for three or four years. Away from
:28:00. > :28:07.major roads a toad can live for 40 years. It wouldn't be a problem.
:28:07. > :28:09.With an increase of the traffic it could impact on urban and suburban
:28:09. > :28:13.toads. We introduced you yesterday to a
:28:14. > :28:17.nest I never thought I would see on Springwatch. An extraordinarily
:28:17. > :28:22.rare bird, a shy and skulking species, the water rail. We found
:28:22. > :28:31.it here on the mire. An area we have moved to explore this year.
:28:31. > :28:34.Here is the female. We pre -- presume it is sat on the reeds.
:28:34. > :28:39.Look how it is close to the water. It has been pouring with rain over
:28:39. > :28:43.the last couple of days. The water level will go up, marginally at the
:28:43. > :28:47.moment. What the birds do to cope with it is constantly add to the
:28:47. > :28:51.nest. If the water comes up, as this bird is doing here, they will
:28:51. > :28:57.build that platform up so they can raise it right above the surface of
:28:57. > :29:02.the water. Let's go live now to see just how wet our water wail is.
:29:02. > :29:07.There presumably she is. You saw her blinking there, you can see her
:29:07. > :29:11.eyelid was closed, she is dosing. Water droplets on the back, nice
:29:12. > :29:15.and waterproof of course. Incubating the eggs. We think there
:29:15. > :29:21.are perhaps seven eggs in that nest. But of course it is difficult when
:29:21. > :29:31.you get a view like this to appreciate exactly what the bird's
:29:31. > :29:34.
:29:34. > :29:41.anatomy is like. Luckily we have had pictures sent in to our flikr
:29:41. > :29:45.group. This is from eet, and this one is from another viewer, there
:29:45. > :29:50.you can see and appreciate how these birds are members of the rail
:29:50. > :29:56.family, and closely related to things like moor hens and coots and
:29:56. > :30:02.things like that. If we get a chick you will be down there to get
:30:02. > :30:08.photographs. If those eggs, the magnificent
:30:08. > :30:14.seven I will be ecstatic. Close to the water rail is another
:30:14. > :30:20.little bird, an unassuming brown bird, a dunnock. There it is. And
:30:20. > :30:30.it was in the reeds there. Actually not in the reeds, it was in the
:30:30. > :30:30.
:30:31. > :30:38.shrubry. It has five chicks. All five were doing well and both
:30:38. > :30:41.parents were feeding them regularly. Until this happened. There are the
:30:41. > :30:47.chicks begging for food because they know something is coming
:30:47. > :30:51.towards the neck, it is a hungry weasel. It takes the first chick,
:30:51. > :30:56.it struggling I'm afraid, comes back, one by one it takes the
:30:56. > :31:00.chicks out of the nest. This whole thing took one minute seven seconds.
:31:00. > :31:05.Now it is easy to look at the weasel and paint it as the bad guy,
:31:05. > :31:08.but remember this is spring, so many animals are fighting for
:31:09. > :31:12.survival, it is likely that weasel has its own nest with its own
:31:13. > :31:19.little babies in that it has to feed. Unfortunately it is feeding
:31:19. > :31:24.them on our dunnock chicks. But of course that dunnock will probably
:31:25. > :31:31.mate again. This is wildlife, this is what happens. The weasel looks
:31:31. > :31:36.around a bit. But what happens next is a little bit sad because the
:31:36. > :31:40.parent comes back. What does it see, it sees an empty nest, I'm afraid.
:31:40. > :31:44.I know, a lot of people out there will be thinking that weasel should
:31:45. > :31:48.go straight to hell. Because somebody got murdered. But that is
:31:48. > :31:53.how it happens. That is the story of life. The weasel might have had
:31:53. > :31:55.a hungry nest. It won't have wasted those chicks, it would have killed
:31:55. > :31:59.them and stashed them and it will return to them. You have to think
:31:59. > :32:04.of it as going to a supermarket and finding it full of food. You don't
:32:04. > :32:07.go one can of beans and go home, you take five cans of beans with
:32:07. > :32:10.you. It is cruel and harsh in one way. But it is the cycle of life.
:32:10. > :32:15.That is what it is all about in spring time.
:32:15. > :32:19.Of course there are other nests down on the mire there which are
:32:19. > :32:23.equally vulnerable. Let's take a look at the reed bunting, we go
:32:23. > :32:29.live to that nest. Lightning strikes not once but twice
:32:29. > :32:33.sometimes. And these birds, the reed buntings have an astonishing
:32:33. > :32:37.failure rate. Sometimes between 50- 80% of their nests fail before they
:32:37. > :32:42.fledge. That is due to weasels and stoats and crows and grass snakes
:32:42. > :32:47.and all sorts of things like that. But they do have strategies which
:32:47. > :32:50.allow them to escape that predator, we will tell you a bit more about
:32:50. > :32:54.that tomorrow, fingers crossed they are still there. Hopefully the
:32:54. > :32:58.weasel doesn't find that nest as well. Fortunately some birds build
:32:58. > :33:06.their nests away from predator, it does mean their nests can look
:33:06. > :33:11.precarious. I visited one such nest nearby at the weekend. In and
:33:11. > :33:15.around the reserve there are so many habitats great for wildlife,
:33:15. > :33:21.this one is one of my favourites, you can hear it before you can see
:33:21. > :33:24.it. It is absolutely beautiful. It is the waterfall on the river.
:33:25. > :33:30.There is loads of different animals all around the river, but there is
:33:30. > :33:39.one particular bird that we spotted on a nest just by the waterfall. If
:33:40. > :33:45.we are lucky we might see it flit across. The bird I'm looking for is
:33:45. > :33:48.the dipper. Are you filming Lindsay. And
:33:48. > :33:52.wildlife cameraman Lindsay, has been keeping an eye on one
:33:52. > :33:58.particular family. The nest is right in the moss is it? Just
:33:58. > :34:03.behind this outcrop here. You will see them come up. There he is.
:34:03. > :34:09.him on the edge of the rock. You can hear the chick now screaming.
:34:09. > :34:13.He has a mouth full of food for the chicks. There he goes. Do you know
:34:13. > :34:16.how old the chicks are? They were here when we got here two weeks ago.
:34:16. > :34:20.They were young, they are roughly two weeks old. Probably another
:34:20. > :34:28.week to go before they fledge? should start to see them hanging
:34:28. > :34:32.out the nest, we will know exactly how old they are getting.
:34:32. > :34:36.What are they feeding on mainly here? They have been coming back
:34:36. > :34:41.with all sorts. Mainly in a rfr like this you would find stone
:34:41. > :34:48.flies under the rocks, that is what they will feed on. They have been
:34:48. > :34:54.coming back with dragonfly lava, and other lava, -- lavra, and other
:34:54. > :34:59.lavra, this is teeming with life. Do you know how many chicks there
:34:59. > :35:02.are? Four or five, it won't be any more than that. They are so well
:35:02. > :35:05.hidden, it is difficult to see them before they come out? It is perfect,
:35:05. > :35:09.unless the birds were there you would have no idea the nest was on
:35:09. > :35:14.the far side. Doesn't it look lovely sat on the water with food
:35:15. > :35:18.in its mouth waiting. They usually have two broods, do you know if
:35:18. > :35:23.this is the first or second? This is probably the first. These are a
:35:23. > :35:27.lot later than they usually would be. Everything is put back with
:35:27. > :35:30.this spring. I'm pretty sure it is their first. They are known to be
:35:30. > :35:33.early breeders, sometimes as early as February, like so many birds
:35:33. > :35:36.they are really late? These things have been hit. When we arrived the
:35:36. > :35:44.river was a lot higher than it is now, I think they have been lucky
:35:44. > :35:48.to last as long as they have done. I love a dipper me. Because some
:35:48. > :35:51.how whenever you see a dipper you are in a beautiful place, some
:35:51. > :35:55.quiet little stream or something like that, dippers will have to
:35:55. > :35:59.keep a careful eye on that nest. Obviously nesting right beside a
:35:59. > :36:03.raging torrent like that is a bit dodgy. They are adapted for it.
:36:03. > :36:07.When they pledge they will know what to do. Here is one fascinating
:36:07. > :36:14.bit of information. Dippers are very, very faithful to their nest
:36:14. > :36:17.sites. And one nest site has been used by dippers for 123 years. That
:36:17. > :36:23.is faithful isn't it. That site we have just seen could have been used
:36:23. > :36:32.for decades by those birds. Right, remember that quiz, let us now
:36:32. > :36:36.remind ourselves. I asked you what these were. OK? Now I will just
:36:36. > :36:42.have a look, some of the answers. Here we go, I like this one very
:36:42. > :36:46.much. This is coming from John on Facebook, he said they look like
:36:46. > :36:53.his wife Gloria's sausage rolls and considerably more palatable too!
:36:53. > :36:59.John you are on borrowed time. But many of you, Becky, Eric, Lou and
:36:59. > :37:08.Batman, they all got it right, 98% of you got it absolutely right.
:37:08. > :37:17.These are caddicefly lavra cases. The fly lives inside, it is soft
:37:17. > :37:22.the body of the caddicefly, it needs to protect itself by making
:37:22. > :37:32.the case. How do they do that. Let's go to microworld. We are in
:37:32. > :37:44.
:37:44. > :37:48.the production village again to find out how they do it. We have
:37:48. > :37:54.minature habitats, we have a pond, a bog and the forest here. We
:37:54. > :38:03.filmed inside here, we actually filmed the flies. Let's have a look
:38:03. > :38:10.at what we found. They are the strangest creatures, the soft
:38:10. > :38:15.insect is inside the larva, it has created this protective shield. In
:38:15. > :38:19.the UK we have 180 different species of this fly, often you can
:38:19. > :38:24.identify the difference type of fly by the materials that they use to
:38:24. > :38:33.build that protective case. Strange-looking creatures. Very,
:38:33. > :38:39.very familiar. Fishermen know them very well, they call them sej flies.
:38:39. > :38:43.-- sedge flies. We are steaming up, that's TV. How do they produce the
:38:43. > :38:48.protective cases. Let's have a look. They actually create a little bit
:38:49. > :38:55.of sticky silk, which they attach to the little piece, each
:38:55. > :38:59.individual piece and then stick it to one another. It is beautifully
:38:59. > :39:03.constructed, look at that. It is like a little bit of crazy paving.
:39:03. > :39:06.They are fatastically good at building them. It is wonderful how
:39:06. > :39:10.they cement them together. Beautiful little animal. They are
:39:11. > :39:20.very, very good, a terribly important part of river ecology,
:39:20. > :39:26.the dipper we saw, they eat them too. What does the adult look like?
:39:26. > :39:31.That is an adult caddice fly, immense antenna it has got. We will
:39:31. > :39:41.come back to microworld. Now let us leave the small and go to the huge
:39:41. > :39:47.
:39:47. > :39:51.and dramatic. Back to those gannets. I have been finding out more about
:39:51. > :39:55.life of one of the UK's most impressive seabirds, the gannet.
:39:55. > :40:01.Their success may be down to their unique hunting style, and today we
:40:01. > :40:08.are going to try to capture that in action.
:40:08. > :40:13.Back to the rock, and you think with nearly 60,000 pairs of gannet
:40:13. > :40:16.on there, it would be the easiest thing in the world to film this
:40:16. > :40:25.spectacular fishing technique they have. Actually it is quite
:40:25. > :40:33.difficult. So fingers crossed. That maximise our chances I haven't
:40:33. > :40:39.come empty handed. Mackerel are one of the gannet's favourite foods.
:40:39. > :40:43.The fish soon get their attention. See the birds circling, we have
:40:43. > :40:48.hundreds of birds overhead. They will do this when they come over a
:40:48. > :40:53.shoal of fish. This can happen miles off shore. With their
:40:53. > :40:57.streamline shape and a wing-span of nearly six feet, they are perfectly
:40:57. > :41:01.adapted for life on the wind. When food is scarce they have been known
:41:01. > :41:04.to travel over 1,000 miles in search of fish. The birds here
:41:05. > :41:08.today haven't had to travel that far. They still have a healthy
:41:08. > :41:12.appetite. Unlike other seabirds they can eat
:41:12. > :41:17.the fish whole under water. The big advantage of that is when they come
:41:17. > :41:24.up they are not going to be mobbed by other gannets and the bigger
:41:24. > :41:28.gulls. But it is the spectacular plunge
:41:28. > :41:34.dive that is the gannet's trade mark. That is what I want to find
:41:34. > :41:39.out more about. I have come prepared with a team of experienced
:41:39. > :41:44.divers and high-tech kit. What we will try to do with the camera is
:41:44. > :41:48.get slow motion pictures of the gannet as it hits the water and
:41:48. > :41:57.goes after the fish. If we can get that and slow it right down that
:41:57. > :42:07.should be superb. The water is currently a bracing
:42:07. > :42:15.
:42:15. > :42:25.seven degrees! But if this works it will be worth it. All of a sudden
:42:25. > :42:28.
:42:28. > :42:32.the sea is full of gannets. I can feel the impact when they hit the
:42:32. > :42:41.water, it is one of the most incredible wildlife experiences I
:42:41. > :42:46.have ever had. It really is. They are big birds, big, big birds.
:42:46. > :42:52.It is fascinating to witness, but each dive lasts just seconds. To
:42:52. > :43:02.see what's really going on we need to slow it down. The results are
:43:02. > :43:37.
:43:37. > :43:45.Now I'm really beginning to understand what makes gannets so
:43:45. > :43:55.special. They hit the water like missiles at speed of over 13 miles
:43:55. > :43:57.
:43:57. > :44:02.an hour. The impact on their bodies must be extraordinary, but gannets
:44:02. > :44:12.are built to dive. An air bag in their chest inflates to cushion the
:44:12. > :44:19.impact. As they enter the water their wings fold back like arrows,
:44:19. > :44:22.making them super streamlined. But beneath the surface wings turn into
:44:23. > :44:26.flippers, allowing them to dive deeper than most other birds and to
:44:26. > :44:36.catch their prey. Seeing them in action like this it
:44:36. > :44:41.
:44:41. > :44:46.is no surprise to me that gannets are doing so well. Wow, to be up on
:44:46. > :44:56.the boat watching gannets dive into the water is something, to be down
:44:56. > :45:02.
:45:02. > :45:09.here with them really is an experience of a lifetime. Wow is
:45:09. > :45:13.the word for it. That was amazing, you're here with us. I'm so jealous,
:45:13. > :45:16.that must have been a fantastic experience? If I had a wild life
:45:16. > :45:20.bucket list diving with plunging gannets would be up there with the
:45:21. > :45:25.best. You are a lucky boy. We asked for questions, we have a pertenent
:45:25. > :45:30.one about the gannets, what top speed can gannets reach when they
:45:30. > :45:37.are diving? They can dive from about 30ms up. That is 100-foot.
:45:37. > :45:42.They can reach speeds of 100kms an hour. 60 miles an hour. That is an
:45:42. > :45:47.incredible impact when they hit that water. I have a gannet skull
:45:47. > :45:55.here, they are streamlined. There is a smooth joint between the beak
:45:55. > :45:59.and the skull. Birds have nostrils out of the beak, and gannets'
:45:59. > :46:02.nostrils goes in so the rushing water doesn't damage the eyes or
:46:02. > :46:08.the brain. We have some film showing them coming into the water.
:46:08. > :46:12.Here they come, look at that. They have air sacks behind the skin of
:46:12. > :46:19.the face and the chest too. They have these incredibly strong necks.
:46:19. > :46:25.All of that acts as a buffer for this amazing impact that they have.
:46:25. > :46:31.Were you not worried under the water that one might hit your head,
:46:31. > :46:36.that would hurt at that speed. did think I would leave the water
:46:36. > :46:40.with a gannet stuck in my skull. But I didn't. They have binocular
:46:40. > :46:45.vision when they look down, they can see fish from a great height.
:46:45. > :46:51.They knew where I was and the fish of. Once they get underwater their
:46:52. > :46:59.vision isn't good, it is like ours'. You don't need good vision if you
:46:59. > :47:04.get the fish. Is that why three went after the fish? Squabble, we
:47:04. > :47:08.were throwing in fish. They will go over 100 miles to look for food. We
:47:08. > :47:13.are throwing in food right under the rock. They gathered in masses,
:47:13. > :47:22.they came down, they squabble on the surface and under underwater.
:47:22. > :47:27.There is a debate as to whether gannets swallow the fish whole
:47:27. > :47:30.underwater, or not. We saw one swallow one whole. You have been
:47:30. > :47:35.filming throughout the spring, what can we look forward to over the
:47:35. > :47:37.next few days and weeks? I will be looking at hen harriers, a
:47:38. > :47:43.beautiful male here. Another stunning bird of prey is the kite,
:47:43. > :47:49.I will be in Oxfordshire. Look at that. Talon-grappling pair. Also up
:47:49. > :47:52.in Aberdeen looking at bottlnoseed dolphin, up there they grow to four
:47:52. > :47:58.metres long. We will look forward to all of that. Thank you very much
:47:58. > :48:01.for coming in. Chris you must have been to the
:48:01. > :48:11.rock some time? I have, it is a global spectacular. I have come
:48:11. > :48:15.down now on a very dingy evening to the edge of this bank. In amongst
:48:15. > :48:18.the trees is our great tits nest. We go live there. One of the birds
:48:19. > :48:25.is in there brooding them. Just like the jackdaw, this doesn't
:48:25. > :48:29.surprise me at all, it is a cool evening. He has five chicks
:48:29. > :48:33.underneath him. They have been busy all day. Doing what? They have been
:48:33. > :48:37.in and out, despite the rain. One of the little chicks decided to go
:48:37. > :48:40.for a squirm around the nest. This paid dividends because it was out
:48:40. > :48:48.and therefore perhaps more noticable than the others so when
:48:48. > :48:51.the adult did come in, after it sort of leered at a camera, it got
:48:51. > :48:57.a catterpillar for the trouble. There we are. Look at that,
:48:57. > :49:02.fantastic. The other thing we saw today was our great tits were
:49:02. > :49:07.testing to me which of their young wanted the catterpillar the most.
:49:07. > :49:11.Look at the way it is putting it in and out, in and out and finally
:49:11. > :49:16.depositing it. Something is going on there. The nuances of which we
:49:16. > :49:19.probably don't yet fully understand. Behind me, if you look down and
:49:19. > :49:23.across the murky, grassy field here, you can see some barns. Last year
:49:23. > :49:29.and the year before, if you were watching Springwatch, these were a
:49:29. > :49:32.hive of activity. They were filled with babey barn owls like this. And
:49:32. > :49:36.we all enjoy some groovy times watching these bird. They were
:49:36. > :49:42.great characters. But what's going on over there at the moment? Well I
:49:42. > :49:46.can tell you that everything is much later. Just like the bluebells,
:49:46. > :49:51.the toads, everything else, our barn owls have only just started
:49:51. > :49:55.laying their eggs. They are, this is the male, presumably bringing in
:49:55. > :49:58.food to the female. When we last looked there was just one egg in
:49:58. > :50:02.there. What this means is that throughout the course of our
:50:02. > :50:06.programme this year we are not going to rig them, because
:50:06. > :50:14.basically we just get shots of a foe male barn owl sat there
:50:14. > :50:18.incubating the eggs. Does that mean we will get chicks this series?
:50:18. > :50:22.might at the end of the series. won't rig a camera until the eggs
:50:22. > :50:24.hatch. Even if they hatched right on time it would be at the end of
:50:25. > :50:28.the certificatesy. It could be good news for the barn owls, just
:50:28. > :50:33.because it is cold and late. It doesn't matter, plenty of voles in
:50:33. > :50:41.the summer. It is not unusual to see baby barn owls late in the year,
:50:41. > :50:45.even up to Christmas. Right by the barn owls and the barn we saw baby
:50:45. > :50:55.rabbits. There they are. I know you probably don't like fluffy little
:50:55. > :50:57.
:50:57. > :51:05.rabbits, but you have to admit that is quite sweet. These are wonderful
:51:05. > :51:10.animals, we understatement the social life and biology of rabbits.
:51:10. > :51:15.They get up to all sorts of fascinating things underground, as
:51:15. > :51:20.I found out in my burrowers series later on in the year. Could it be
:51:20. > :51:24.fodder for the barn owls, a bit big? Unlikely. There is another
:51:24. > :51:29.bird we can go live to our buzzard now, these are very fond of eating
:51:29. > :51:34.rabbits. It has got very dark underneath the trees. I think in a
:51:34. > :51:37.contest to find the world's most miserable, sodden buzzard, this is
:51:37. > :51:43.a contender. But it is also a buzzard that is doing a great job.
:51:43. > :51:47.I can tell you that tomorrow it is meant to be sunny here! Great news
:51:47. > :51:52.for us. But perhaps great news for that really stoic female buzzard as
:51:52. > :52:01.well. I think the film we showed yesterday that definitely deserved
:52:01. > :52:04.thes could ar for wildlife drama was the update on our Ospreys.
:52:04. > :52:14.Monty the Osprey and his love nest. The drama continues tonight, it is
:52:14. > :52:16.
:52:16. > :52:22.a bit of a love tangle. At this Wildlife Trust reserve, up
:52:22. > :52:26.the road from us, the male Osprey, Monty, is alone. His long-term
:52:27. > :52:30.partner, Norah didn't return from Africa this year and is feared dead.
:52:30. > :52:35.Monty did attract another female who stuck around for a few days,
:52:35. > :52:41.taking advantage of Monty's fishing skills to feed up after her long
:52:41. > :52:47.journey. But she soon disappeared. Had she just used Monty to provide
:52:47. > :52:50.some convenient meals before heading off to find another male?
:52:50. > :52:58.Now Monty has been left alone again and the breeding season is in full
:52:58. > :53:03.swing. But he's not single for long, a new female arrives in the estuary.
:53:03. > :53:10.She's a Scottish bird and was ringed back in 2010 near Loch Ness.
:53:10. > :53:16.As a three-year-old this would be her first breeding season. Monty
:53:16. > :53:23.works hard to impress this new female. He provides ten fish within
:53:23. > :53:27.24 hours. But she still shows no signs of allowing him to mate. Is
:53:27. > :53:32.she unimpressed, or perhaps as a breeding novice she is just too
:53:32. > :53:39.young and inexperienced to understand his courtship, she seems
:53:39. > :53:49.to be easily confused. She could just be pulling his leg!
:53:49. > :53:52.
:53:52. > :53:59.Fortunately Monty appears to be a patient and tolerant partner.
:53:59. > :54:09.Eventually she settles on the nest and looks quite at home. But who is
:54:09. > :54:10.
:54:10. > :54:15.this? Flying in like a rocket. Serin, she is back and she means
:54:15. > :54:20.business. After looking around and realising that monthy is quite a
:54:20. > :54:25.catch afterall, she has decided to fight for her man. Serin soon sees
:54:25. > :54:31.her off, and takes her place back on the nest. Monty seems confused,
:54:31. > :54:37.he just wants to breed. And all this hunting to provide fish for a
:54:37. > :54:40.succession of females must be exhausting. Now Serin and Monty are
:54:40. > :54:45.running late and need to get on with courtship and breeding if they
:54:45. > :54:52.are to produce chicks this year. Just as the situation seems to have
:54:52. > :54:58.settled downed there's yet another intruder. The very next day a
:54:58. > :55:05.massive female turns up, she has a leg ring, blue 12 that shows she's
:55:05. > :55:10.from Rutland and was ringed in 2010. This is also her first breeding
:55:10. > :55:15.season. She circles over head and Monty now tries to see her off.
:55:15. > :55:23.There is an almighty chase that goes on for an exhausting seven
:55:23. > :55:29.hours. But all the while Serin is hungry, she relies on Monty to
:55:29. > :55:34.bring her food, but he's busy engaged in aerial combat. Monty
:55:34. > :55:38.continues to chase off her for a couple of days, defending his nest
:55:38. > :55:42.from this intruder, but this big girl is persistent and she wants
:55:42. > :55:47.him and his nest. Monty has a difficult decision to make. Does he
:55:47. > :55:53.carry on defending Serin or accept this third mate. In the end the
:55:53. > :55:58.decision is made for him. Serin appears to have thrown in the towel,
:55:58. > :56:08.who can blame her for conceding defeat. This is one of the biggest
:56:08. > :56:08.
:56:08. > :56:16.Ospreys known. Finally monthy accepts her. It is an unusual way
:56:16. > :56:20.to would a girl -- woo a girl, but ultimately successful. She settles
:56:20. > :56:30.in for the long haul, after all the mate swapping shenanigans, have
:56:30. > :56:37.
:56:37. > :56:41.they left it too late to have young this year? What a to do! Three
:56:41. > :56:44.ladies all after Monty. Have they left it too late Chris? It is a
:56:44. > :56:47.long process isn't it. Incubating and rearing their young and
:56:47. > :56:52.building up strength to get back to west Africa. It will be touch and
:56:52. > :56:56.go. It will be a great story that's for sure. It has provided a lot of
:56:56. > :57:03.drama already. A quick look at some glorious
:57:03. > :57:08.photographs. Look at that. That's very pretty. Andy sent that in.
:57:08. > :57:18.That is gorgeous, on a British bluebell. I have got great tit
:57:18. > :57:18.
:57:18. > :57:25.versus meadow pippet from Kathleen. I have got this one, Barbie Lindsay
:57:25. > :57:33.it is a rove beatle on dand lion. Like the abstract nature of that.
:57:33. > :57:38.Look at that, bee fly. This one is a duty, a kestrel over car. This
:57:38. > :57:42.was hovering right above his van. This ties in very well. Tomorrow
:57:42. > :57:45.comes a film about a bird I have obsessed about since I was a
:57:45. > :57:48.teenager, the kestrel, we will investigate their decline,
:57:48. > :57:52.launching a survey and find out what we can do to help their
:57:52. > :57:55.numbers. We have cling hangers galore, what
:57:55. > :58:00.will happen in the jackdaw nest. Remember we have got those
:58:00. > :58:05.intruders, the chicks are all right now, but will they be all right
:58:05. > :58:10.tomorrow? Now our Mallard, she is sitting on those eggs. Look at the
:58:10. > :58:19.glom. When will they hatch out? Will they make it to the river. We
:58:19. > :58:23.are back at 7.30, not 8.00, after Springwatch we have Springwatch
:58:23. > :58:28.Unsprung and we have more photos and listening to your observations,
:58:28. > :58:31.and we are back at 3.00 for Springwatch in the afternoon. And