0:00:09 > 0:00:12especially involving the great tips. We shall be looking at how the late
0:00:12 > 0:00:18spring has affected some of our migrating birds, like this gorgeous
0:00:18 > 0:00:24one. And we should explore an old bomb site to find out about the
0:00:24 > 0:00:34fascinating wildlife there. Tonight, it is a smorgasbord of wildlife - it
0:00:34 > 0:00:57
0:00:57 > 0:01:01this beautiful RSPB reserve in Wales. You can see the estuary on
0:01:01 > 0:01:06the right of the screen and this rich mosaic of habitats leading up
0:01:06 > 0:01:12to us, somewhere down in the valley amongst the woodland. All of that
0:01:12 > 0:01:16means a great range of species, we have many bold with cameras. And
0:01:16 > 0:01:26that Thomas is lots of activity. We have lots of different families and
0:01:26 > 0:01:31habitats. We have the red stars, looking nice and healthy and also,
0:01:31 > 0:01:41the meadow pipit ins. They are in a completely different area. There we
0:01:41 > 0:01:41
0:01:41 > 0:01:44go. The mother is feeding them. Looking lovely. The big news was
0:01:44 > 0:01:49last night at the end of the programme and if you were not
0:01:49 > 0:01:54watching, it was the great tits, let's look live at their nestbox.
0:01:54 > 0:01:59The nestbox is empty, which means they all fledged. That took us by
0:01:59 > 0:02:06surprise! It all seemed to happen extremely quickly. Let's take
0:02:06 > 0:02:12another look. The parent bird, coming into the nestbox. If we go
0:02:12 > 0:02:17into this nestbox. We can see five very healthy chicks. They have been
0:02:17 > 0:02:23ready to go for quite a while, flapping wings and stretching and we
0:02:23 > 0:02:29have been predicting since the weekend... And then, one popped his
0:02:29 > 0:02:33little head out and then flew off, and two minutes later... Another
0:02:33 > 0:02:39left the nestbox and then they all quickly followed. One minute later,
0:02:39 > 0:02:45I'd goes the third one. Followed very quickly by the fourth one at
0:02:45 > 0:02:518:58pm. There he is. Flying out. This one took a couple of goes but
0:02:51 > 0:03:01eventually, off he goes. This one seems to parachute from the top of
0:03:01 > 0:03:01
0:03:01 > 0:03:05the nestbox! Nine 3pm. Nine minutes later, the last check fledged. It
0:03:05 > 0:03:10did take us by complete surprise because it is very unusual for it to
0:03:11 > 0:03:14happen that quickly, and even the parent bird pops his head back and
0:03:14 > 0:03:19is very surprised. Also very unusual for them to go at that time of
0:03:19 > 0:03:24night. Very vulnerable. We want to know where they had gone, so we sent
0:03:24 > 0:03:30the camera team out, he did not see them in the evening but he did get
0:03:30 > 0:03:34one glance at them in the morning. One of them, looking very healthy.
0:03:34 > 0:03:38They will be looked after by the parents for a few weeks after
0:03:38 > 0:03:42fledging but they are very curious birds. You can see he is already
0:03:42 > 0:03:50having a good look around and will be starting feed itself. The parent
0:03:50 > 0:03:53bird. We do not know how many the cameraman saw, he thinks he's off
0:03:53 > 0:03:58four of them out of the five, obviously very difficult to tell
0:03:58 > 0:04:02them apart. That does not necessarily mean the fifth one did
0:04:02 > 0:04:08not make it because they are extremely difficult to spot. We were
0:04:08 > 0:04:12very chuffed that we have managed to see them. They got through the night
0:04:12 > 0:04:17and they are looking good but we do think, if memory serves correctly,
0:04:17 > 0:04:22that is a first for Springwatch, watching them fledge live on the
0:04:22 > 0:04:27programme! Right at the end of the programme and if you're watching, we
0:04:27 > 0:04:31got extremely excited! It was unusual and that is what we have not
0:04:31 > 0:04:34seen before. They were going in the evening, typically it is in the
0:04:34 > 0:04:38morning to give them the day to settle down. If you were watching
0:04:38 > 0:04:43over the last couple of days, you will notice that some of the stars
0:04:43 > 0:04:47have been the jackdaws. One pair have been under relentless attack
0:04:47 > 0:04:53from another couple logo down the social order and they want their
0:04:54 > 0:04:57nesting spot. We saw this this morning. The attacks have continued.
0:04:57 > 0:05:04They have been causing quite a lot of distress for people and you can
0:05:04 > 0:05:08see why. These birds are intent on removing these youngsters. Frankly,
0:05:08 > 0:05:12the youngsters are big enough to withstand these sort of attacks,
0:05:12 > 0:05:16certainly for the moment, but they are not only intent on removing the
0:05:16 > 0:05:19youngsters because they want at nesting space and they want to build
0:05:19 > 0:05:23the nest even if they have not got rid of them. They even started to
0:05:23 > 0:05:29bring in nesting material whilst these Jack doors are still in
0:05:29 > 0:05:34there, those youngsters. Bring in some will, and they lined the nest.
0:05:34 > 0:05:42And another one, bringing in some mud. A typically use that as a
0:05:42 > 0:05:48foundation. They are so keen to get in here, and we did get caught out.
0:05:48 > 0:05:57One has been grabbed by one of the checks. It has come back. Listen to
0:05:57 > 0:06:07this! Pinned down and eventually, after some rough and tumble, it gets
0:06:07 > 0:06:08
0:06:08 > 0:06:12pushed out. And then... The parents come back. The young are hunkered
0:06:12 > 0:06:18down. They look shocked, I should imagine. And they have been hiding
0:06:19 > 0:06:26from those intruders. Eventually, the adults think, if you will not
0:06:26 > 0:06:29take this food, we shall have it ourselves, it cannot go to waste!
0:06:29 > 0:06:33Life is wild and a lot of people have been very upset about this and
0:06:33 > 0:06:40one comment is, if nestbox boxes are in such short supply, why don't we
0:06:40 > 0:06:44put up some more? They might occupy one of the newer ones? The first
0:06:44 > 0:06:47thing is, there are more nest boxes anyway but there will always be a
0:06:47 > 0:06:52shortage of nests for these birds and the other thing is, we don't
0:06:52 > 0:06:55interfere, that is not our policy. Life is wild. These things might
0:06:55 > 0:07:01look brutal and savage but these are human emotions, you cannot allow
0:07:01 > 0:07:07that sort of thing, you must be pragmatic and must be practical. I
0:07:07 > 0:07:14did get a tweet saying, would you be quite as pragmatic and dispassionate
0:07:14 > 0:07:20if a great white shark bit your leg of? ! Yes, I would! Seriously, that
0:07:20 > 0:07:27is it. Let us see if those jackdaws are still alive, and they are doing
0:07:28 > 0:07:30well. I have got high hopes. I think the birds coming in have failed to
0:07:30 > 0:07:34kill them, which they might have done if they were smaller but they
0:07:34 > 0:07:38have learned how to hide and they are fighting back and in another
0:07:38 > 0:07:43week, they might fledge and then there will be a question of whether
0:07:43 > 0:07:48those adults can hang on to that site, they might still get pushed
0:07:48 > 0:07:51out. High drama and another bird be looked at was this beautiful nest of
0:07:51 > 0:07:58dippers and we wondered if they were going to fledge. Let us look at what
0:07:59 > 0:08:03happened. We filmed this at the beautiful waterfall and those young
0:08:03 > 0:08:07birds are right of the nest. We knew that there were two of them and we
0:08:07 > 0:08:12eventually solved for work minds and they are all out, being visibly fed
0:08:12 > 0:08:19by those parents. They do that characteristic dipping, the adult
0:08:19 > 0:08:25coming in. The water droplets on them, they are very watery birds.
0:08:25 > 0:08:32All this by a river. To begin with, he has dropped it. The parent thinks
0:08:32 > 0:08:36they will have it. Nothing goes to waste! It is tougher there. But
0:08:36 > 0:08:44within just one hour, the young are starting to pack around, looking for
0:08:44 > 0:08:48food. Picking bits of leaf and twigs but all four of them are seen --
0:08:48 > 0:08:55seem to be doing well. One does not seem to be quite as bright as the
0:08:55 > 0:09:00others but they are looking very lovely. Doing some training.
0:09:00 > 0:09:05Fantastic success story. Stunning location. Beautiful.Absolutely
0:09:05 > 0:09:10gorgeous. When you look at those animals bathed in sunlight, it is
0:09:10 > 0:09:15very easy to forget the miserable spring we have had, bitterly cold
0:09:15 > 0:09:19and went on and on and that will an effect on some wildlife. Back in
0:09:19 > 0:09:27April, six weeks ago, we were getting worried so I went down to
0:09:27 > 0:09:32Dorset to find out more about the spring migration. Every year in
0:09:32 > 0:09:39early spring, hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of migrating birds
0:09:39 > 0:09:46streak across the sea, fed the south coast and carry on North, pouring
0:09:46 > 0:09:52into the UK. But not this one. Here, we are in the middle of April, we
0:09:52 > 0:09:57should be at the peak of migration, and it has hardly happened. He
0:09:57 > 0:10:03spring migration is one of the UK's biggest natural events. Iconic
0:10:03 > 0:10:08summer birds wax swallows, chiffchaff, and willow warblers,
0:10:08 > 0:10:16making a monumental journey from as far away as Southern Africa to breed
0:10:16 > 0:10:19here. Sitting in one of the cyclist 's most southerly promontories, this
0:10:20 > 0:10:25bird observatory has been at the front line monitoring this migration
0:10:25 > 0:10:32for over 50 years. The head warden has never experienced a spring like
0:10:32 > 0:10:37this. It has been quite uniquely abysmal, this year. Everything has
0:10:37 > 0:10:43been set back so dramatically and one of the common migrants is the
0:10:43 > 0:10:50willow warbler and last week rent 1200 of them and this year, until
0:10:50 > 0:10:55yesterday, we had only 120. With such a cold start, in mid-April, the
0:10:55 > 0:11:01trees are still there. There is very little sign of caterpillars or other
0:11:01 > 0:11:10insects for arriving birds to feed upon. Today, the temperatures are
0:11:10 > 0:11:14definitely rising, so we might be in with a chance. Let's have a look.
0:11:14 > 0:11:20The Observatory Gardens are crisscrossed with delicate nets to
0:11:20 > 0:11:30gently catch any unsuspecting arrivals. It is like fishing for
0:11:30 > 0:11:35
0:11:35 > 0:11:39birds. Chiffchaff? I reckon so. Shall we ring it? Any bird god isn't
0:11:39 > 0:11:46very safe hands. Martin and his team have decades of experience between
0:11:46 > 0:11:54them. Each bird gets measured and ringed as part of this long-term
0:11:54 > 0:11:59study on migration. This is the bit I love best. Right, let's go.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03Chiffchaff. Some of these, if you get very favourable weather, they
0:12:03 > 0:12:09might have made tremendously long flights to get you. They might have
0:12:09 > 0:12:15left North Africa, almost flown here in one go. Across the Bay of Biscay.
0:12:15 > 0:12:23Letter sent on her way. Every 15 minutes, the nets are checked for
0:12:23 > 0:12:30any new arrivals. And is a delightful surprise. It is like
0:12:30 > 0:12:40Christmas! We have no idea. This is a nice bit. We have no idea what it
0:12:40 > 0:12:44
0:12:44 > 0:12:51is. Well! That is minute. Firecrest? Portland special.Look at
0:12:51 > 0:13:01that crime. These are what visiting bird-watchers want to see. It is
0:13:01 > 0:13:02
0:13:02 > 0:13:09minuscule! They were the joint smallest British bird. 4.7 grams.
0:13:09 > 0:13:16These are really very tiny birds. The weight of a 20p piece. That is
0:13:16 > 0:13:22less. And it has come hundreds of miles from France. Great to see one
0:13:22 > 0:13:28of those. But where are those willow warblers. Good things come to those
0:13:28 > 0:13:35who wait. Brilliant. Fantastic, thank you very much. The willow
0:13:35 > 0:13:40warbler. You have saved the day! This is only the second one we have
0:13:40 > 0:13:45caught this year. The 15th of April. It should be the commonest bird we
0:13:45 > 0:13:52catch. They go right down to south-west Africa for the winter.
0:13:52 > 0:13:57get a lot of those here. This bird could well be going out? From one of
0:13:57 > 0:14:01the other observatories, Bardsley Island, in North Wales, and a
0:14:01 > 0:14:09remarkable thing is we have had several nextday recoveries so the
0:14:09 > 0:14:17ones that we ring at Portland, the warden of their -- over their house
0:14:17 > 0:14:23find that wasn't he catch have been ringed here the day before. We could
0:14:23 > 0:14:27have a camera on his nest! If he does well. Let him on his way? It is
0:14:27 > 0:14:32a sure sign that the migration is finally underway, albeit well behind
0:14:32 > 0:14:39schedule. The willow warblers are not arriving in droves, as expected.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42But they will do. Just not today. So far, he has made all the right
0:14:42 > 0:14:48decisions, staying on the other side of the Channel, waiting until it
0:14:48 > 0:14:57warms up. But he is on the move. Who knows what the future will hold? On
0:14:57 > 0:15:04his way... Did numbers pick up in Portland
0:15:04 > 0:15:10Bill? They carried on counting until the end of the season, and they
0:15:10 > 0:15:19counted 473, which means that embers are down 75% on last year. That is
0:15:19 > 0:15:22quite significant. At Portland, but very often there, if it is good
0:15:22 > 0:15:29weather, the birds fly over, so there could have been bad weather,
0:15:29 > 0:15:33and they only got a few. This is a graph that we have been given. The
0:15:33 > 0:15:39red line shows the normal arrival. They arrive slightly earlier
0:15:39 > 0:15:44normally. This year, the blue line is their arrival. Within the space
0:15:44 > 0:15:50of a few days, the abundance is the same as normal. They just arrived
0:15:50 > 0:15:58later. What is odd is that they dropped off a little bit. A lot of
0:15:58 > 0:16:03them missed it, but did they miss us here? They arrived, and I will
0:16:03 > 0:16:13introduce you to our new nest today. It is the willow warblers. Let's
0:16:13 > 0:16:18
0:16:18 > 0:16:24have a look live. Very well hidden. that hatched last week. Look at
0:16:24 > 0:16:30them, I love the hairstyle! It is like two ears sticking out. They
0:16:30 > 0:16:36look asleep. They have got downy puffs on the top of their head,
0:16:36 > 0:16:41which indicate they are quite young. And the flanges, the targets for the
0:16:41 > 0:16:48adults to put the food into. They are looking healthy, though they are
0:16:48 > 0:16:54on the ground. What about them, what is the bird all about? It is about
0:16:54 > 0:16:59the size of a polluted. A bit smaller and slimmer. They have a
0:16:59 > 0:17:04characteristic song. They are sub-Saharan migrants, so for the
0:17:04 > 0:17:12winter, they go back to the sub Sahar in Africa. They come back here
0:17:12 > 0:17:22to breed. They are insectivores. They are ground nesters, as we have
0:17:22 > 0:17:22
0:17:22 > 0:17:31seen. They make a domed nest. Both adults coming in. Feeding the
0:17:31 > 0:17:38youngsters. It has got damselfly. It looks enormous. The wind will be so
0:17:38 > 0:17:45dry, he needs a beer to wash it down! He thinks, I will share it
0:17:45 > 0:17:51out, he eventually gets it down. It is a lovely bird, but it looks
0:17:51 > 0:17:57really like a chiffchaff. How do you tell the difference? Initially, they
0:17:57 > 0:18:04look similar. For a great number of years, ornithologists thought they
0:18:04 > 0:18:12were the same. It was Gilbert White in the 1700 that separated them.
0:18:12 > 0:18:22Let's take a look, because there are differences. Look at the legs.
0:18:22 > 0:18:22
0:18:22 > 0:18:28Chiffchaff have dark legs and a small eye. Willow warblers have pink
0:18:28 > 0:18:32legs and a much brighter eye stripe. They are more washed with yellow.
0:18:32 > 0:18:42You do to get a good few of them to see that, at that is one other
0:18:42 > 0:18:42
0:18:42 > 0:18:46thing. The character of a bird in all of its forms. Chiffchaff
0:18:46 > 0:18:52struggle their tale from side to side, not up and down, but from side
0:18:52 > 0:18:56to side. If you are trying to spot one and you see their tale going
0:18:56 > 0:19:02from side to side, it is a chiffchaff. You get a quick glimpse
0:19:02 > 0:19:06and you do not have a clue. But if you manage to hear this song, it is
0:19:06 > 0:19:16easier to tell them apart, because it is very different. Let's have a
0:19:16 > 0:19:31
0:19:31 > 0:19:41down the scale. That is a willow warbler. What does a chiffchaff
0:19:41 > 0:19:41
0:19:41 > 0:24:59Apology for the loss of subtitles for 318 seconds
0:24:59 > 0:25:04the sound of youngsters until mid-June. But the blow -- the barn
0:25:04 > 0:25:11plays host to more than just owls. Many mammals venture around the
0:25:11 > 0:25:17building. A pair of rabbits graze the grass. Usually, they live in
0:25:17 > 0:25:25groups. But this pair of youngsters appear to be living away from the
0:25:25 > 0:25:32safety of a warrant. Barn living could sue them. It offers protection
0:25:33 > 0:25:40and warmth. But to try and discover more about their habits, our remote
0:25:40 > 0:25:47camera is moved to a more rabbit friendly height. So, what more will
0:25:47 > 0:25:53this camera reveal about loan rabbits of the barn? I am worried
0:25:54 > 0:26:00about them. Surely they are sociable, they should be in a group.
0:26:00 > 0:26:03I think they have been kicked out of the group by a dominant female. That
0:26:03 > 0:26:11might be a sub dominant female with her youngster, and they are in
0:26:11 > 0:26:16danger. Are they social outcasts? think so. They have not got lots of
0:26:16 > 0:26:24others to warn them of danger. I am worried. You could not have painted
0:26:24 > 0:26:29a bleak picture! Although they all three weeks late, those are now
0:26:29 > 0:26:34takes are in a good place to be, because the summer is improving, the
0:26:34 > 0:26:40adults will find more food. Over the winter, there was a higher than
0:26:40 > 0:26:45normal mortality. But it is about the abundance of food. Although they
0:26:45 > 0:26:50will not hatch in time for us, they will make it. We will keep an eye on
0:26:50 > 0:26:58the camera. Let's see what is happening with the cameras on the
0:26:58 > 0:27:08other birds. Let's go to the pickets. The nest is well hidden on
0:27:08 > 0:27:12
0:27:12 > 0:27:17the ground. The youngsters have been sweat. To stay cool under heat, they
0:27:17 > 0:27:23have to gape and lose any heat through their mouths. They have
0:27:23 > 0:27:28closed them now. They are getting rid of the down. They are on the
0:27:28 > 0:27:32ground, so there is a good chance they will fledge early. They can
0:27:32 > 0:27:40fledge after ten or 12 days. They will not fly until much longer after
0:27:40 > 0:27:49that. I have already stuck my neck out. I thought the eggs were about
0:27:49 > 0:27:56to hatch. They are. Let's go live to the nest. We have been watching it
0:27:56 > 0:28:03carefully. They have not actually hatched, but they have crazed. We
0:28:03 > 0:28:12have not seen a hole in them, there is a mosaic on the surface. Again,
0:28:12 > 0:28:20they are just about to hatch out. 50p? More than that! Let's go to the
0:28:20 > 0:28:26stonechat. A bit of movement there. Beneath the feather. They are
0:28:26 > 0:28:32hunkered down all the time. We have seen the adult come in and feed, but
0:28:32 > 0:28:42they are not there now. They have not flattened the nest out, because
0:28:42 > 0:28:49they do not have the younger there. Perhaps as they grow, we might get a
0:28:49 > 0:28:54better view. All quiet, but they look OK. Let's have a look at the
0:28:54 > 0:29:04March camera. A couple of swans. It always makes a pretty picture. It
0:29:04 > 0:29:10always gives us gorgeous shots. We featured the heaven yesterday. The
0:29:10 > 0:29:13heaven is a superb hunter and it would go for some of the other
0:29:13 > 0:29:23ground nesting birds we have been featuring. They face a lot of
0:29:23 > 0:29:24
0:29:24 > 0:29:28threats. In fact, some of the birds that we featured earlier on last
0:29:28 > 0:29:35week did get predated on by a weasel. The weasel did not just take
0:29:35 > 0:29:39one, it took the whole lot. It is important to remember the weasel has
0:29:39 > 0:29:49a family of its own, it has to feed its young, and that is the circle of
0:29:49 > 0:29:58
0:29:58 > 0:30:04life. We think the weasel comes out, it notices the cameraman is there
0:30:04 > 0:30:09and disappears, probably smells him. Once to go out hunting but does not
0:30:09 > 0:30:18want to be out in the open for too long. Naughtiness in animal form!
0:30:18 > 0:30:24The most wonderful creatures. Small enough to go down a my soul. They
0:30:24 > 0:30:33were very tiny. You have a good picture! Thank you for reminding me.
0:30:33 > 0:30:37Look at this wonderful picture! This has come from Ronald Corp, yesterday
0:30:37 > 0:30:44we were talking about how you can protect your box. From woodpeckers,
0:30:44 > 0:30:47were putting this plate on. But this will not work with a weasel.
0:30:47 > 0:30:53Balancing out predator and prey and people think weasels are ground
0:30:53 > 0:30:58predators but studies looking at birds has found that they are
0:30:58 > 0:31:04principally predators up trees, and when they hear those birds, the MTV
0:31:04 > 0:31:10nestbox, just as we saw them finish off those Daleks. -- they empty. In
0:31:10 > 0:31:15the compost heap behind us this morning, our cameraman finds some
0:31:15 > 0:31:20grass snakes emerging. The compost heap is obviously decomposing and
0:31:20 > 0:31:24generating heat so it is perfect for reptiles but that is not the only
0:31:24 > 0:31:29reason they would have come here. They are likely females and they
0:31:29 > 0:31:35have come here to lay eggs. It is at time of year and they will lay them
0:31:35 > 0:31:42deep into the compost, up to 30 eggs in -- and they have a leathery,
0:31:42 > 0:31:48softshell, which will hatch at the end of August. In perfect condition.
0:31:48 > 0:31:58So glossy and shiny. Shiny as a brand-new Cadillac. Look at that. I
0:31:58 > 0:31:58
0:31:58 > 0:32:05love them. One of my favourite animals. They are like little
0:32:05 > 0:32:10pencils. Springwatch has not always been a celebration of the UK 's
0:32:10 > 0:32:14wildlife, wherever it is found, we sent cameraman Richard Taylor Jones
0:32:14 > 0:32:24defined wildlife inspiration in a location which on face value could
0:32:24 > 0:32:46
0:32:46 > 0:32:56appear rather less of it. -- to Orford Ness. The most eastern edge
0:32:56 > 0:32:59
0:32:59 > 0:33:06of Suffolk. Nature owns this place. But it was not always so. Here, in
0:33:06 > 0:33:12this isolated world, our nation once investigated the secrets of British
0:33:12 > 0:33:22engineering and design. And, for me, that is what this landscape is all
0:33:22 > 0:33:28
0:33:28 > 0:33:38about. Design. But the design of what? Yellow Sun is a clue.
0:33:38 > 0:33:43
0:33:43 > 0:33:53Codename. For bombs that were born here. Nuclear bombs. Tested,
0:33:53 > 0:33:54
0:33:54 > 0:34:04stressed. Pushed and pounded. Designing the end of the world. Now,
0:34:04 > 0:34:05
0:34:05 > 0:34:13they have gone. The buildings fade into the land. Replaced in nature.
0:34:13 > 0:34:23And it's accidental designs of evolution. The barn owl. Its wings
0:34:23 > 0:34:33beat silently. Special feathers make no noise. Helping it here its prey.
0:34:33 > 0:34:38
0:34:38 > 0:34:48Detected by a carefree convex face. Following signed to accurate years.
0:34:48 > 0:34:53
0:34:53 > 0:34:59Secrecy means surprise. And success for this feathered bomb from above.
0:34:59 > 0:35:07In the reedbeds, there is a rare glimpse of a secret sentinel of what
0:35:07 > 0:35:15really worlds. -- watery. The chinese water deer. They have an
0:35:15 > 0:35:24unusual look. Tasks for fighting. No antlers. Just long enough to be
0:35:24 > 0:35:34dangerous but sharp -- short enough not to get in the way. And oddly
0:35:34 > 0:35:38
0:35:38 > 0:35:46designed Oriental secret. Living in this very British place. Orford Ness
0:35:46 > 0:35:52was not only designing the literary secrets, but finding them also.
0:35:52 > 0:36:01Radio masts reached to the heavens. A reminder of a secret listening
0:36:01 > 0:36:06station of the Cold War. Known as Cobra missed. The old masts are long
0:36:06 > 0:36:16defunct, the listening belongs to the long years of the hairs. They
0:36:16 > 0:36:37
0:36:37 > 0:36:44have made the shingle here they are shines against the concrete. The
0:36:44 > 0:36:54golden hair of Orford Ness. A single, showy creature that stands
0:36:54 > 0:36:55
0:36:55 > 0:37:03out from the crowd. A genetic oddity. In an odd place. From the
0:37:03 > 0:37:08long years of the hair, to the long legs of the avocet. Helping it
0:37:08 > 0:37:18weighed shallow pools and using its uniquely sculpted will to sweep back
0:37:18 > 0:37:27and forth on the hunt for food. As does the spindle. -- spoonbill. Ed
0:37:27 > 0:37:37dairy different design. A very different design. So many new and
0:37:37 > 0:37:42
0:37:42 > 0:37:46different lives in a landscape that plotted to take life away. Just as
0:37:46 > 0:37:56nature is rising here, so the buildings of Orford Ness are falling
0:37:56 > 0:38:06down. The passing of days and nights rasping and grasping their time
0:38:06 > 0:38:11
0:38:11 > 0:38:17away. Leaving a question for the nation. Renovate this unique British
0:38:17 > 0:38:27design symbol or forget it? Alive continued ruination, a redesigned by
0:38:27 > 0:38:28
0:38:28 > 0:38:38nature. It is a big question facing many unusual places in our nation.
0:38:38 > 0:38:41
0:38:41 > 0:38:47An idea to explore, even if you have never been here. Beautiful film.
0:38:47 > 0:38:54Stunning. Interesting animals but let us go live to our water rails
0:38:54 > 0:38:56because we think that Martin might have got it right. The female, who
0:38:56 > 0:39:03we presume is on the list because she has been doing most of the
0:39:03 > 0:39:06incubation, has been seen picking up some eggshell. At the moment she is
0:39:06 > 0:39:12fidgeting with nest material, I think, and she has just a little
0:39:12 > 0:39:19bit? That is a little bit of eggshell. It is.This happened just
0:39:19 > 0:39:24a few moments ago. We saw this. Eggshell. On the side of the nest,
0:39:24 > 0:39:31look at that. They are hatching. The thing is, with many species like
0:39:31 > 0:39:34this, as soon as they hatch, they leave the nest, instantaneously, but
0:39:34 > 0:39:42with water rails, and we think, and they are not terribly well-known,
0:39:42 > 0:39:46but they will stay in that nest for up to 24 or 48 hours, which might
0:39:46 > 0:39:52give us a unique opportunity to see them. And we have been so looking
0:39:52 > 0:39:55forward to this because they are very sweet, frothy chicks.
0:39:55 > 0:40:01because they were so shy and retiring that no nest has ever been
0:40:01 > 0:40:05filmed like this before. Let's go back to Orford Ness because the
0:40:05 > 0:40:09great thing we did see was chinese water deer and we do not often get
0:40:09 > 0:40:15the opportunity to show you those. Let's take another look. As the name
0:40:15 > 0:40:22suggests, they are from China, they east gate into the countryside in
0:40:22 > 0:40:27the 1920s. Did you know there are about 10,000 of them here? I thought
0:40:28 > 0:40:35there were far fewer? Far more than in China. What you shall notice are
0:40:35 > 0:40:38those canine teeth, those tasks. Males have bigger ones than females
0:40:38 > 0:40:42and they have a muscle that country or those back in when they feed and
0:40:42 > 0:40:52then push them back about when they use them for fighting. Articulated
0:40:52 > 0:40:56fangs! Really smart. Very small, knee-high. One of those animals that
0:40:56 > 0:41:00when you see them on television, you imagine them being large but I
0:41:00 > 0:41:10thought it was a youngster and they are about the size of my poodle.
0:41:10 > 0:41:15Amazing we have so many. Let's look at another bird life. The redstarts.
0:41:15 > 0:41:21They are sleeping at the moment. There are eight chicks in there,
0:41:21 > 0:41:27this is a big brood and they are owing to need a lot of feeding. And
0:41:27 > 0:41:30both parents have been feeding them very well. Nest watchers have been
0:41:30 > 0:41:35looking at these and they have noticed the female coming in, she
0:41:35 > 0:41:40didn't have much of her big, but the mail, without blackhead, comes in
0:41:40 > 0:41:47with a lot of food. They have noticed that this is typical of this
0:41:47 > 0:41:50redstart pair. And they think it is because the female stays close and
0:41:50 > 0:41:55bring back smaller amounts and the mail has time to explore,
0:41:55 > 0:42:00particularly while the female was sitting on the eggs, so he has the
0:42:00 > 0:42:08knowledge of where the good feeding spots are. And the female obviously
0:42:08 > 0:42:10needs to stay close unless -- in case the weather changes. In the
0:42:11 > 0:42:16female tends to clear the nest and that is quite typical with
0:42:16 > 0:42:19songbirds. We have noticed that the cars we have cameras and we have
0:42:19 > 0:42:23been able to notice those differences because it is easy to
0:42:24 > 0:42:30tell the difference between male and female in redstarts. The males are
0:42:30 > 0:42:34beautiful but very often they get preoccupied by how beautiful they
0:42:34 > 0:42:39are. But there is greater beauty in the way that they work together and
0:42:39 > 0:42:46we have been seeing that here. In this woodland ecosystem. Seeing just
0:42:46 > 0:42:51how productive it is, all of those birds bringing back beaks full of
0:42:51 > 0:42:56insects for their young. A great mixture of species and without
0:42:56 > 0:42:59these, or type that productivity of all of these trees supporting
0:42:59 > 0:43:04caterpillars, supporting insects, we would not be supporting all of those
0:43:04 > 0:43:09groups of birds. One thing you notice is they sometimes come with
0:43:09 > 0:43:14so much in amounts, you wonder how they manage to feed one caterpillar
0:43:14 > 0:43:24to one cheque without dropping the lot? IMs -- I am pleased you ask
0:43:24 > 0:43:24
0:43:24 > 0:43:30that. Would you call that? I shall get my pen out. This looks like a
0:43:30 > 0:43:39red Nostra 's Warren. It reminds me of the time that Salvador Dali went
0:43:39 > 0:43:43to the liver in France in 1955 and he drew a rhinoceros horn. But it
0:43:43 > 0:43:52was the same composition as per year and he went to complete this, in the
0:43:52 > 0:43:57zoo in Paris. What relevance is that? That was a cultural interlude,
0:43:57 > 0:44:07thank you very much! This is a birds time, anchored here and pointed at
0:44:07 > 0:44:11the front. The top mandible is here. -- Tong. It has been flexed by this
0:44:11 > 0:44:18stock, shaped by these barbs at the back and the Tong has more barbs on
0:44:18 > 0:44:22it. The bird can hold the food in a smart. This is how they can pick up
0:44:22 > 0:44:26one thing after another without dropping the first thing. When it
0:44:26 > 0:44:32needs to deposit them in the mouth of its chicks, it really lowers its
0:44:32 > 0:44:37time using this stock and then it is able, using its top mandible, to
0:44:37 > 0:44:42deposit the food into the mouth of the young. On eBay, not as valuable
0:44:42 > 0:44:47as Salvador Dali! Nest watchers have been watching them feed and they
0:44:47 > 0:44:51notice quite comic moments, like this one. Sometimes the birds come
0:44:51 > 0:44:57in with such huge things to feed their chicks with, you wonder if
0:44:57 > 0:45:02they will ever get them down. Look at this. The redstarts coming in
0:45:02 > 0:45:12with a massive caterpillar. Eventually managing to shove it into
0:45:12 > 0:45:12
0:45:12 > 0:45:18the big of one of those chicks. is a mouthful. It is a measure of
0:45:18 > 0:45:21the productivity of the woodland. We have been watching the nest and our
0:45:21 > 0:45:31story developers watch them around the clock, but human error creeps
0:45:31 > 0:45:32
0:45:32 > 0:45:37in. But not when you have got one of these. This is a computer, produced
0:45:37 > 0:45:42by a charitable foundation, keen to get computer into schools. They are
0:45:42 > 0:45:46not expensive, the price of a Chinese takeaway. Andrew Robinson
0:45:46 > 0:45:52has set a nest box up out here which is linked to a weather station and
0:45:52 > 0:45:59one of these computers. It is measuring the wind speed, the
0:45:59 > 0:46:04temperature, and every time a bird comes in and out. It knows the
0:46:04 > 0:46:10difference between the two. This means we can count the number of
0:46:10 > 0:46:15visits relative to the weather. What we see here, when the temperature is
0:46:15 > 0:46:19relatively low, there is a peak of activity first thing in the morning.
0:46:19 > 0:46:27They must go out and feed so they can satisfy the hunger of their
0:46:27 > 0:46:32checks overnight. Through the day, when the temperatures are low, not
0:46:32 > 0:46:39much foraging, but in the evening, they have to forage again. When the
0:46:39 > 0:46:46temperature increased, insects will be active throughout the day, so we
0:46:46 > 0:46:50see a levelling down. Constant foraging activity. There are other
0:46:50 > 0:46:57parameters involved, the age of the checks, the number, but this is an
0:46:57 > 0:47:02interesting project. Pretty soon, young ornithologists, kids in
0:47:02 > 0:47:07school, could have these and manage -- measure parameters so we can
0:47:07 > 0:47:11learn more and more about these birds. We always need to learn about
0:47:11 > 0:47:17what animals eat, and they need to eat to survive, otherwise they will
0:47:17 > 0:47:27starve. But one animal 's death is often another's survival, as Martin
0:47:27 > 0:47:31is finding out. What a gorgeous evening, beautiful.
0:47:31 > 0:47:39I wonder if this has ever happened to you. You have found the dead body
0:47:39 > 0:47:43of a mouse or blurred in the evening and in the morning it has gone. What
0:47:43 > 0:47:50has happened, it is still there, but it has been buried. Something has
0:47:50 > 0:48:00buried it. With the help of microworld, we will solve that Mr
0:48:00 > 0:48:02
0:48:02 > 0:48:12Ray. We saw this start in 2011. Peer it is, it is a warbler. You can see
0:48:12 > 0:48:17beetles around it. It had just died. They are not feeding on it. They are
0:48:17 > 0:48:24doing something more interesting. I have got one of those beetles in my
0:48:24 > 0:48:31hand. This is a sexton beetle. They are incredibly tough. Very strong.
0:48:31 > 0:48:39They have got clubbed and ten I. Let's get a closer look at the face
0:48:39 > 0:48:44of this beetle. There it is, they are obviously coloured, orange and
0:48:44 > 0:48:50black. It is the face that is interesting. They have got huge
0:48:50 > 0:48:58antenna, they can smell a bit animal from up to a mile off. The cabbie
0:48:58 > 0:49:02Jules, they need them, very strong. When they find a mouse or dead bird,
0:49:02 > 0:49:10they try to bury it, and they will cut their way through routes,
0:49:10 > 0:49:14anything that is in their way, to open up the soil, they will even
0:49:14 > 0:49:24sometimes nip off any wings or things sticking out. Why are they
0:49:24 > 0:49:29burying the animal? Look at this. We have filmed this last night. Here
0:49:29 > 0:49:36are the Beatles, it is a dead mouse. We did not kill it! They are shaving
0:49:36 > 0:49:42off the further. They are starting to take the fur of the mouse. The
0:49:42 > 0:49:48beetles will fly in from all over the place. This is a tremendous
0:49:48 > 0:49:54prize, worth fighting for. They will have a scrap. In the end, it is a
0:49:54 > 0:50:01family affair, a male and a female will work together to try to start
0:50:01 > 0:50:08varying the animal. This is speeded up, this was filmed here last night.
0:50:08 > 0:50:15It is starting to go underground. Once they have got it underground,
0:50:15 > 0:50:23and they do it remarkably quickly, the female will lay eggs on it, and
0:50:23 > 0:50:27they smear it with a chemical that stops it kitsch of fine. As the
0:50:27 > 0:50:37ex-developed, the male and female will start to feed the developing
0:50:37 > 0:50:37
0:50:37 > 0:50:44laugher. Those are the sexton beetle is, a fascinating world. Last year,
0:50:44 > 0:50:49we visited a wonderful lady, Kate McRae. She has transformed her
0:50:49 > 0:50:55garden in Staffordshire. It is a nature reserve in miniature. It is
0:50:55 > 0:51:03her very own mini Springwatch. We have learned from her, she started
0:51:03 > 0:51:09us off on our mammals. Last year, she did wonderful things, and we
0:51:09 > 0:51:14could not resist going back up there to find out what she was up to.
0:51:14 > 0:51:19Over the last three years, Kate McRae has been filming the wildlife
0:51:19 > 0:51:25in her garden with ingenious home-made spy cameras. Last year,
0:51:25 > 0:51:32she created a mouse sized burro, and this year, to catch even more
0:51:32 > 0:51:40revealing footage, she has revamped it. I have created a new space, this
0:51:40 > 0:51:48time with lights, and within a week, the wood mice were back in. But now,
0:51:48 > 0:51:51I can see them in full colour. The colour images tell me lots more and
0:51:51 > 0:51:58give me much more pleasure, because I can see the characters much more
0:51:58 > 0:52:06clearly. With birds, it is very hard to recognise individuals, but with
0:52:06 > 0:52:12mammals, it is easy. I have got hedgehogs visiting now. He has got a
0:52:12 > 0:52:18slightly smaller eye. When I watch the footage back, I can see how many
0:52:18 > 0:52:22times he is visiting each night. He is incredibly greedy, the fact that
0:52:22 > 0:52:27he visits some nights four or five times and on occasions has been
0:52:27 > 0:52:37feeding for 40 minutes at a time, and he clears the ball, so I will
0:52:37 > 0:52:42
0:52:42 > 0:52:52field next to my garden to three years. Rural foxes here are very
0:52:52 > 0:52:57wary. That is why they survive. Despite my hardest efforts, I have
0:52:57 > 0:53:04not yet found a den until this year. I was really lucky to locate one of
0:53:04 > 0:53:09my Dixons' dens and get a camera in their and filmed the Cubs when they
0:53:09 > 0:53:14first emerged, and the colour was just coming through and their
0:53:14 > 0:53:20muscles were just starting to appear. Their eyes were still blue,
0:53:20 > 0:53:23they were starting to explore their local area. They are so beautiful,
0:53:23 > 0:53:28so gorgeous, and to be able to capture footage of them when they
0:53:28 > 0:53:38are so tiny, in a way I could never capture on my wired cameras, that
0:53:38 > 0:53:46was really special this year. hedgehogs, mice, voles, they are
0:53:46 > 0:53:54already the guests. But this year, there have been some new visitors.
0:53:54 > 0:54:01And not one that everybody would welcome. I was absolutely amazed at
0:54:01 > 0:54:06the reaction I had when people first saw my footage of rats visiting. A
0:54:06 > 0:54:11lot of the reaction was, what are you going to do about it, how are
0:54:11 > 0:54:16you going to get rid of them? I was surprised, I am not going to get rid
0:54:16 > 0:54:21of them! They have had a bad press, what with the plague and black
0:54:22 > 0:54:27death, people just think of them as Birmingham carrying disease --
0:54:27 > 0:54:32vermin carrying disease. But when you see them in a natural
0:54:32 > 0:54:35environment, shiny coats, great whiskers, in a balanced ecosystem,
0:54:35 > 0:54:41they are no more dangerous or horrible than any other creature
0:54:41 > 0:54:48that is living here. They are fantastic. We should not be worried
0:54:48 > 0:54:53about having them in an environment like this at all. On the bird
0:54:53 > 0:54:58feeders, when the rats are feeding, the birds sit to the side, and they
0:54:58 > 0:55:04ignore each other. The only time I have seen the rat react was when he
0:55:04 > 0:55:08was feeding on the feeder and a magpie appeared. For a little while,
0:55:08 > 0:55:15it sat on the edge, but then the rat chased it off. That is the first
0:55:15 > 0:55:22time I have seen it. Magpies will be predatory towards young rats, they
0:55:22 > 0:55:26would take a young rat, given half the chance. The rats are great. They
0:55:26 > 0:55:30are fitting in with the other animals. They are almost the
0:55:30 > 0:55:37cleaners, they come when the light fades, they clear up everything
0:55:37 > 0:55:41afterwards, the debris left over from the birds. My interest and
0:55:41 > 0:55:47enthusiasm and passion for this is constantly increasing, the more I
0:55:47 > 0:55:55do, the more interested I become. I will never, ever get bored of doing
0:55:55 > 0:56:03this, I can guarantee that. We love her, she is so
0:56:03 > 0:56:07enthusiastic, and what she has done is fabulous. If you see the hedgehog
0:56:07 > 0:56:12camera next year, you will know where the idea comes from! She has
0:56:12 > 0:56:18gone big, but you can do it in your garden by using a nest box and
0:56:18 > 0:56:27putting one camera in. It will give you such rich rewards. There are
0:56:27 > 0:56:34lots of ideas in our brochure that you can download from the Internet.
0:56:34 > 0:56:41Hats off to Kate from me for her attitude towards rats. Everything
0:56:42 > 0:56:48has got a job to do. Look at this. She is busy and constantly
0:56:48 > 0:56:54fidgeting. She is turning round, reaching beneath herself. She has
0:56:54 > 0:57:03fluffed herself up. We have not seen her sitting in this position before.
0:57:03 > 0:57:13She is brooding something. You both only 50p! I got it right! You said
0:57:13 > 0:57:16
0:57:16 > 0:57:21that last week as well. Spread your bets! How excited will you be? One
0:57:21 > 0:57:29little frigid, please! It would be an amazing thing, because very few
0:57:29 > 0:57:35people get a chance to see this. have never seen it at all. Keep your
0:57:35 > 0:57:40eye on the live cameras. We have got cliffhangers galore, let's remind
0:57:40 > 0:57:44ourselves, we still have the jackdaws, let's go live to them.
0:57:44 > 0:57:54There is a parent in there. Let's hope that they are going to be all
0:57:54 > 0:57:55
0:57:55 > 0:58:01right. The youngsters look OK for tonight. Let's go back again. No!
0:58:01 > 0:58:07will have to wait until tomorrow. Tomorrow, we will take a look at a
0:58:07 > 0:58:13fabulous red kite. And also, another Springwatch first, longtailed tips,