:00:20. > :00:24.and we are coming to you with all of the usual ingredients. We have
:00:24. > :00:32.drama, cutting edge science and world firsts. What about those
:00:32. > :00:35.little what real chicks? Absolutely stunning. We have discovered a
:00:35. > :00:40.family of foxes living on the edge and we have another Springwatch
:00:40. > :00:46.first. Unique to each of the breeding habits of a lovely little
:00:47. > :00:50.bird, the long tailed tits. Plus, we catch up with all our live cameras
:00:50. > :01:00.including our jackdaws. There is another dramatic week ahead, don't
:01:00. > :01:16.
:01:16. > :01:23.miss a moment. It is Springwatch. Hello and welcome to Springwatch. It
:01:23. > :01:28.is our final week here. It is a fabulous place here, packed with all
:01:28. > :01:33.sorts of habitat as you can see here. Nestled down in the vestry is
:01:33. > :01:37.our studio and that is where we are now. We have been sticking our noses
:01:37. > :01:42.into the private lives of all the animals here. It has been good but
:01:43. > :01:46.this week, we have saved the best until last. I would say it has been
:01:46. > :01:52.an excellent week and one of the highlights for many was the hatching
:01:52. > :01:55.of our water real chicks. This is a very shy and secretive bird, very
:01:55. > :02:02.rarely seen during the breeding season and the chicks are absolutely
:02:02. > :02:07.adorable. We managed to get any access to them with our cameras.
:02:07. > :02:14.This is what we saw the first week. A pair of birds sitting on the nest,
:02:14. > :02:19.building the nest up. Then on Thursday morning, we got our first
:02:20. > :02:27.real glimpse of six absolutely gorgeous little chicks. We were so
:02:27. > :02:32.excited. We had so many of you commenting on them. What happened
:02:32. > :02:39.after that? We were not sure how long they would stay in the nest
:02:39. > :02:46.for. The books say up to 48 hours. They kept falling out of the nest
:02:46. > :02:56.because they are very active. For 24 hours, they stayed with the parent
:02:56. > :02:58.
:02:58. > :03:04.bird. You can see them all snuggled up underneath her. This one climbs
:03:04. > :03:07.up and falls down and manages to get back inside the nest. We were lucky
:03:08. > :03:12.in that they stayed there all on Thursday but on Friday, the sun came
:03:12. > :03:20.up and they decided it was time to go. One of the adults came in and
:03:20. > :03:25.was feeding them. The adult then made their way away from the nest
:03:25. > :03:31.and you can see that those two last remaining youngsters didn't wait
:03:31. > :03:39.long until they followed their mates over the edge and into the wider and
:03:40. > :03:44.wetter world. It is dense, thick reeds and they will be out there,
:03:44. > :03:47.trying to make their way. It was not the last activity at the nest
:03:48. > :03:52.because shortly afterwards, one of the adults came back to try to
:03:52. > :03:58.integrate the last eight. We have postulated that if it did not hatch,
:03:58. > :04:04.they would throw it out of the nest. Instead of that, they seemed
:04:04. > :04:10.determined to try and hatch it. After that, they abandoned it and
:04:10. > :04:15.went out to look after the chicks. am going to read some of the
:04:15. > :04:18.comments. One says, neither are gone, the real dangers begin. It
:04:19. > :04:25.would be lovely if you could catch against them on the water. That
:04:25. > :04:30.would be amazing but we have not yet. Another one on Facebook says,
:04:30. > :04:37.where do they go and what do they do? Do they hang around the area and
:04:37. > :04:42.get fed? They are learning to feed and they can feed themselves after
:04:42. > :04:45.just five days. It is a process of trial and error. They will be
:04:45. > :04:50.picking at things that catch their eye and if they are edible, they
:04:50. > :04:56.will learn how to eat them. After five days, they can feed
:04:56. > :05:01.themselves. After 15 days, they will be left to their own devices. They
:05:01. > :05:07.cannot fly until 30 days but the parents will have moved on, thinking
:05:07. > :05:11.of having another brood. The chicks will stay in this area and mature.
:05:11. > :05:16.Some of the water reels in the north of the UK are not resident and they
:05:16. > :05:20.will move further site. We do get a large number of birds coming in from
:05:20. > :05:30.the continent, too. In terms of how many will survive, we cannot tell
:05:30. > :05:32.
:05:32. > :05:37.you. So little is known about these birds. For a moment, can you turn
:05:37. > :05:43.the camera around on the rest of the crew? They all have hair nets on and
:05:43. > :05:48.that is because we are being slaughtered. But we shall press on!
:05:48. > :05:53.Those were not the only birds to leave the nest on Friday, are
:05:53. > :05:58.grasshopper warbler as did the same thing. Here we are at the nest site.
:05:58. > :06:02.So well hidden in their and they move around like mice. There is the
:06:02. > :06:12.mum and the chicks, to begin with, or a tiny, but very quickly, they
:06:12. > :06:23.
:06:23. > :06:29.have put on weight. You can see, here they are, grown up. Here was
:06:29. > :06:33.the nest site and we actually missed the first two chicks fledging
:06:34. > :06:39.because they left before the sun came up. I think there are three
:06:39. > :06:46.left in the nest. There goes one fledgling. The parents will just
:06:46. > :06:54.stand on the edge of the nest, as if urging them to come out. There goes
:06:54. > :06:59.another. But, there are two left in there. They will not be able to
:06:59. > :07:07.fully fly, assisted flight if you like. They will hang around that
:07:07. > :07:14.site for up to four or five days before they can fly fully. Many of
:07:14. > :07:17.you saw them go on Friday on the live cameras. You can continue
:07:17. > :07:24.watching the live cameras through the night and all day tomorrow and
:07:24. > :07:30.for the rest of the week. The address is on screen. Tonight we
:07:30. > :07:40.will be launching two new cameras. One of them is not a bird, it is a
:07:40. > :07:45.small fascinating thing and the other is a speckled sensation.
:07:45. > :07:49.had a beautiful weekend here and I know it wasn't for the whole country
:07:49. > :07:54.but we got plenty of sunshine. It was quite hot and for some of our
:07:54. > :08:04.feathered friends, it was a little bit too hot and we had lots of hot
:08:04. > :08:04.
:08:04. > :08:51.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 47 seconds
:08:51. > :08:58.chicks. A lot of our wildlife enjoys On Springwatch we always give you
:08:58. > :09:03.plenty of beauty and sometimes some surprise drama. On Thursday, but was
:09:03. > :09:08.the creation of the meadow pipit. This is what happened. There they
:09:09. > :09:12.are, all in their nest. They hear something and they gathered down.
:09:12. > :09:20.There is good reason for that because incomes are grass snake.
:09:20. > :09:25.Then, the snake grabs one of the chicks by the head. The more I watch
:09:25. > :09:32.this, the more dramatic it seems to get. The chick is struggling to get
:09:32. > :09:39.free. The other chicks decide to get out of the nest, who can blame them?
:09:39. > :09:44.They all escape. This snake slithers of with one chick. Again, we got
:09:44. > :09:48.many comments from social media about this. I wonder how far the
:09:48. > :09:54.chicks will have scattered from the nest, it will properly take some
:09:54. > :09:58.time for them to regroup. Another one says if one chick is meant to
:09:58. > :10:03.satisfy the grass snake for a week, why did it return to the nest
:10:03. > :10:08.shortly afterwards. If there were more chicks in the nest, would he
:10:08. > :10:11.have eaten them as well? Certainly, when they happen a great source of
:10:11. > :10:16.food like that, they had to take advantage of it. Sometimes these
:10:16. > :10:21.snakes will only feed three or four times in the course of summer. It is
:10:22. > :10:26.so tough for them to find food. What has happened to the rest of the
:10:26. > :10:31.chicks? We had not seen them but we have seen that the parents are still
:10:31. > :10:35.returning to that area and this suggests very strongly that at least
:10:35. > :10:42.some of those chicks have scattered into the surrounding vegetation and
:10:42. > :10:46.they are still being fed by the parent. Here, there is a food chain
:10:46. > :10:51.going on. The grass snake in this case is the predator, eating the
:10:51. > :10:55.chick and it was eating the caterpillars but that doesn't mean
:10:55. > :11:01.the grass snake will not get eaten. We have been watching and we have
:11:01. > :11:05.noticed behind us, there has been a heron very active and it is the top
:11:05. > :11:11.of the food chain predator dine on the marsh. We have seen it eating
:11:11. > :11:18.all sorts of things, fish, frogs, it stalks around with patience, looking
:11:18. > :11:24.for things and then striking out very quickly. Look in the bottom
:11:24. > :11:27.left hand corner of the screen, what is that in the water? The head of a
:11:28. > :11:34.grass snake. It appears that initially, the heron does not see it
:11:34. > :11:43.and is walking in the other direction. Quite clearly, that head
:11:43. > :11:48.catches the eye. I think it knows it is there and this is their strategy,
:11:48. > :11:55.they will stop things and they will delicately approach them. What
:11:56. > :12:00.happened next? Let us see. The heron sees the snake and makes the turn.
:12:00. > :12:06.Not quite within range so it has two approach slowly but this snake is
:12:06. > :12:10.wary enough to know that he is potential prey here and it sets off
:12:10. > :12:18.at speed across the surface of the water. These grass snake are able
:12:18. > :12:25.swimmers, both below and on the surface. Look at this, grass snakes
:12:25. > :12:30.can certainly serve. Look at the speed of him! That is fantastic.
:12:30. > :12:34.Making a great escape on this occasion from the heron. The grass
:12:34. > :12:42.snake, we have seen them as prey items here. They have been in the
:12:42. > :12:48.nests of our words earlier in the year. The meadow pipit don't have it
:12:48. > :12:53.all against them, the grass snake 's get their comeuppance as well.
:12:53. > :13:00.grass snake would have been even faster if it had not eaten the
:13:00. > :13:05.chicks! The speed was amazing. A lot of you were very concerned over the
:13:05. > :13:11.weekend about our jackdaws come not surprisingly. They have been doing
:13:11. > :13:19.all right. Let us go like light to the jack. Nest. There is a parent I
:13:19. > :13:24.decide and this is interesting. The chicks are almost looking grown-up.
:13:24. > :13:30.They are very interested in the outside. They are looking to go. I
:13:31. > :13:35.don't think they will be in there for very much longer. There has been
:13:35. > :13:42.trouble over the weekend. The invaders did come in but to much
:13:42. > :13:47.less perfect. Here they are outside, the intruders, coming in.
:13:47. > :13:55.The chicks fight back. We have noticed they spend less and less
:13:55. > :14:05.time in the nest box, intruders. I think they have given it up as a bad
:14:05. > :14:15.job, I am glad to say. But they don't seem, I don't think, they are
:14:15. > :14:17.
:14:17. > :14:24.fine now. You're taking sides, that is not allowed! It is good to see
:14:24. > :14:30.those chicks because I was worried. I think they will make it. A good
:14:30. > :14:40.job because Kate McRae who we featured on Springwatch, has also
:14:40. > :14:50.
:14:50. > :14:54.had cameras on a jack. Nest and this of the nest box. One has gone, the
:14:54. > :15:01.other is cowering. The jackdaw returns and get hold of it by the
:15:01. > :15:07.beak. It pulls it out. I think that is what they have been trying to do,
:15:07. > :15:12.not kill them in the nest but drag them out so they can take over. They
:15:12. > :15:16.have gone quite close to different, but they did not fall out. We cannot
:15:16. > :15:24.identify which are which, unless they are marked. We have learned a
:15:24. > :15:32.lot, but we could learn more. going off to the hub, I will go to a
:15:32. > :15:38.brand-new camera. Buzz off! That was not rude, that was a tease! We have
:15:38. > :15:43.learned a long from the nest boxes, with the cameras, but there is only
:15:43. > :15:50.so much we can speculate when we are watching them for a short time and
:15:50. > :15:55.they are not marked. You can learn more. Last week, we introduced you
:15:55. > :16:04.to a well studied community of long tailed tips. When we caught up with
:16:04. > :16:09.them again, the court unique footage of their breeding habits.
:16:09. > :16:19.It is mid-May, and scientists from Sheffield University are monitoring
:16:19. > :16:25.
:16:25. > :16:31.a population. They have identified most of them, which has allowed them
:16:31. > :16:41.to make remarkable discoveries about their breeding strategy, which is
:16:41. > :16:48.
:16:48. > :16:53.unique among UK species and has followed since early spring. This
:16:53. > :17:00.pair has built in a bramble patch and laid their eggs on the 20th of
:17:00. > :17:10.April. At the same time, another pair was putting the finishing
:17:10. > :17:30.
:17:30. > :17:40.has 1000 chicks. They are five days old, and the female is brooding and
:17:40. > :17:43.
:17:43. > :17:50.to keep them warm. The mail is busy bringing in insects for the young.
:17:50. > :18:00.Survival rates for the long tailed tits are low. This female and her
:18:00. > :18:03.
:18:03. > :18:13.mate both lost all of their bramble now has seven slightly older
:18:13. > :18:24.
:18:24. > :18:26.these payments are supplementing the winged insects they have been
:18:26. > :18:36.feeding their chicks with caterpillars, which are more
:18:36. > :18:42.
:18:42. > :18:52.The male bird reveals something special as he comes and goes.
:18:52. > :19:06.
:19:06. > :19:11.Hovering flight. Nobody really knows It is remarkable that the Hollybush
:19:11. > :19:16.nest and the bramble best have survived so far. 72% of long tailed
:19:16. > :19:21.tits best in the River lune Valley of destroyed by other birds or
:19:21. > :19:26.mammals that take the eggs or the chicks. Parent birds may build
:19:26. > :19:31.another nest and try to breed again. But it is in the aftermath of these
:19:31. > :19:38.kinds of losses that many long tailed tits reveal a unique strategy
:19:38. > :19:44.for self forging something from apparent disaster. This one is two
:19:44. > :19:54.years old and he has decided to give up on breeding this year. Instead,
:19:54. > :19:55.
:19:55. > :20:01.he is going to help a relative nearby at the Hollybush best. He is
:20:01. > :20:11.a relative of the Hollybush mail. The bubbly a cousin or a nephew. The
:20:11. > :20:15.systems that help a bird is to help feed the chicks. Usually male ones
:20:15. > :20:22.helping feed male relatives. This remarkable behaviour has never been
:20:22. > :20:32.filmed before. It is called cooperative breeding. Now, the
:20:32. > :20:36.
:20:36. > :20:39.helper bird, the father and the mother of all feeding the chicks.
:20:39. > :20:44.Even though the male helper bird will not raise any chicks of his own
:20:44. > :20:50.this year, he is increasing the chances that his relatives' once
:20:50. > :20:56.will survive. The jeans he shares with his male relative will
:20:56. > :21:06.therefore be passed on to the next generation. With the extra help, the
:21:06. > :21:10.chicks are prospering. But they are still about five days from fledging.
:21:10. > :21:20.Up the valley, the dung of the bramble pair are on the brink of
:21:20. > :21:38.
:21:38. > :21:41.leading -- leaving the nest at 17 Unlike many other species, these
:21:41. > :21:51.fledgeling 's will stay together. Not just for a few days, but
:21:51. > :21:53.
:21:53. > :21:57.throughout the summer and into the autumn. The research has revealed
:21:57. > :22:07.secrets of the long tailed tits success. From the moment they hatch
:22:07. > :22:12.
:22:12. > :22:17.and throughout their adult lives, What a brilliant study, I am in awe
:22:18. > :22:21.of that, that is absolutely fantastic. If those helpers attend
:22:21. > :22:25.the best, there is a greater chance they will be accepted into the
:22:26. > :22:31.winter flocks of long tailed tits. That might sound inconsequential,
:22:31. > :22:39.but it is very important. Take a look at this, which was sent into us
:22:39. > :22:42.by John last winter. This shows some long tailed tits roosting. One of
:22:42. > :22:48.the things they have to do in the winter is hobbled together to stay
:22:49. > :22:53.warm. When you are a long tailed tit, you need to know your rights.
:22:53. > :22:59.When you arrive, you can push the others out the way and set up in the
:22:59. > :23:06.middle! This is important, these are tiny birds, they lose lots of heat,
:23:06. > :23:10.so being a member of the flock is a great advantage. It is a great
:23:10. > :23:14.advantage so that you can keep an eye out for predators. Staying in
:23:14. > :23:21.that flock after being accept it by feeding the chicks is a really good
:23:21. > :23:28.idea. Kids do that, they get in the middle of you in bed! They certainly
:23:28. > :23:32.do! How do birds know which other birds are their relatives? They
:23:32. > :23:39.could use smell, but they do not have a developed sense of smell.
:23:39. > :23:49.They use sound. Listen to these three recordings. This is the first
:23:49. > :23:56.
:23:56. > :24:01.one. Let's hear number two. And then, number three. OK, which one of
:24:01. > :24:07.those is the odd one out? Two of them are related, one was the odd
:24:07. > :24:12.one out. There is a slight tonal difference. To our ears, they are
:24:12. > :24:17.the same, we cannot tell them apart, unless we produce these, these are
:24:17. > :24:23.sonograms, a graphical representation. Each of those chirps
:24:23. > :24:29.leads to a peak in the sound. When you look at the sonogram, which one
:24:29. > :24:36.did you think is the odd one out? would say that one. You looked at
:24:36. > :24:40.the back of the card! I did not!You are right, these two are related,
:24:40. > :24:46.but there is a great big blob which indicates that this one is the odd
:24:46. > :24:52.one out. What is interesting, when they fledge, they stick together in
:24:52. > :24:56.family groups for quite a long time, and it is then that they learn the
:24:56. > :25:02.calls of the adults and they mimic them so they sound alike. Just as we
:25:02. > :25:06.might sound like our parents, because we hear their vocabulary,
:25:06. > :25:11.language and dialect, the same is true for long tailed tits, so they
:25:11. > :25:17.can continue to identify those which are closely related to them. That is
:25:17. > :25:21.incredible. Cracking. That information can only be gained
:25:21. > :25:26.because there is hours of study. That is something our nest watchers
:25:27. > :25:35.know about, they watch our nesting birds 24 hours a day. Martin has
:25:36. > :25:40.gone down to meet some of them. All these fans and tents are full of
:25:40. > :25:47.people making the programme live. What we are interested in is this
:25:47. > :25:55.truck, because we are going to see the nest watchers. Firstly, the
:25:55. > :26:01.output of all of our cameras go into this truck, there are 21 cameras
:26:01. > :26:06.going into this truck, with this spaghetti Junction. Let's see the
:26:07. > :26:15.output of all of those cameras. Be careful up the stairs. It is a bit
:26:15. > :26:21.dark in here. Here we go, here are the nest watchers. Hello.
:26:21. > :26:28.Traditional handshake! How long have you been up here today? We have been
:26:28. > :26:34.on since four o'clock. The shift goes from 4pm until 4am. They work
:26:34. > :26:42.hard for their cash! What have you got that you are interested in?
:26:42. > :26:49.are keeping our eye on the willow warbler. The nest has various
:26:49. > :26:58.checks, they will be fledging. Anything else? The jackdaws, we have
:26:58. > :27:05.the redstarts chicks. The one that we are interested in now is this.
:27:05. > :27:10.This is the new one. This is the bees nest camera. This is
:27:10. > :27:16.fascinating, it is inside a nest box, these are workers, and it is
:27:16. > :27:24.quite advanced, this nest. It has had to grow to that size. It did not
:27:24. > :27:29.start like that. In the beginning, it was just one day, a queen bee.
:27:29. > :27:33.Early in the year, in springtime, you see these flying around, and the
:27:33. > :27:39.first ones of the queens, because they survive the winter, and they
:27:39. > :27:49.build up their reserves, because they alone stop the nest. -- start
:27:49. > :27:49.
:27:49. > :27:53.the nest. They start off on their own, creating the nest, and they
:27:53. > :28:03.hatch out, they make a pot of honey, and they will hatch out eight
:28:03. > :28:07.workers. They will stop to help her. Let's go live to the nest. This is
:28:07. > :28:15.quite far advanced, there are lots of workers. I am looking for the
:28:15. > :28:21.Queen, because she is much eager. I cannot see her, but we have been
:28:21. > :28:26.recording this nest action, and we can see her earlier today. There she
:28:26. > :28:33.is, she is much, much bigger than they are. She rules the nest with a
:28:33. > :28:37.rod of iron, everything OK so, it is a disciplined operation. Around now,
:28:37. > :28:45.the nest will start to break down, the Queen will produce other
:28:45. > :28:49.Queens, junk Queens, and mail once, and you might be able to see
:28:49. > :28:53.squabbles breaking out, which is the beginning of the end of the nest.
:28:54. > :29:01.She is still in control, but it might break down. We have noticed
:29:01. > :29:06.how they have built the nest. This is sped up. They produce wax from
:29:06. > :29:12.special plans in their bodies, they scrape it off with their legs, and
:29:12. > :29:19.they use it to build up the nest. That is wax from the bees' own
:29:19. > :29:25.bodies. Completely different from wasps, they'd use paper, but the
:29:25. > :29:32.bees use special wax from lands in their own body. Something else, the
:29:32. > :29:36.nest needs to be kept Cork. The bees have been standing around outside.
:29:36. > :29:41.We are looking down at the entrance hole. They are not trying to take
:29:41. > :29:51.off, this is their air conditioning system. They are circulating the air
:29:51. > :30:01.
:30:01. > :30:05.within the nest. Chris has been keeping a careful eye on the Hill.
:30:05. > :30:15.There is the production village and over on the other side, Chris went
:30:15. > :30:19.
:30:19. > :30:26.up there to a specialised habitat. It is quite a hike, 120 metres up. I
:30:26. > :30:32.am not complaining. What have you! Look, dine here, that is the
:30:32. > :30:37.production village, where all the action happens. Just along here, but
:30:37. > :30:41.as the barn where the jackdaws have been having such a torrid time. If
:30:41. > :30:47.you follow dine through the woodland here, you can just see the studio
:30:48. > :30:52.peeping out of the woods and in fact, in the middle of that lake, I
:30:52. > :30:57.can see the camera on the marsh. It is a beautiful view of this arduous
:30:57. > :31:01.place. To be honest, I have not, for the view, I have come because he
:31:01. > :31:08.thinned is a completely different habitat than that dine on the nature
:31:08. > :31:14.reserve. When the sun shines down here, without the shade of the
:31:14. > :31:22.trees, this is a very dry and warm environment. That means it is good
:31:22. > :31:30.for insects, a perfect place for birds to come and raise their young.
:31:30. > :31:40.This is a place I would expect to find stonechat, meadow pipit, may be
:31:40. > :31:41.
:31:41. > :31:45.treated and cuckoo. Cuckoos are rude parasites, meaning they will lay
:31:45. > :31:50.their eggs into the nest of unsuspecting birds, which then raise
:31:50. > :31:58.the chick is that it is their own. The nest of the meadow pipit is top
:31:58. > :32:06.of the cuckoohit list. These have a nest of eggs nearby which they will
:32:07. > :32:13.defend vigorously. The cuckoos are not just appear to lay their eggs,
:32:13. > :32:19.there appear to feed and food for cuckoos is big fat, juicy moth
:32:19. > :32:24.caterpillars like this one. They feed on Fox moths, anything like
:32:24. > :32:30.that and at this time of year, when these insects are moving to find
:32:30. > :32:35.somewhere to pupate, cuckoos are on them. You can see them sometimes
:32:35. > :32:39.beating them against the branches before they swallow them. It is not
:32:39. > :32:46.just moths that are up here, there are specialist species of butterfly
:32:46. > :32:54.as well. One of them is the small Heath butterfly. These pretty little
:32:54. > :33:00.butterflies thrive in this dry heat and habitat. My next find is one I
:33:00. > :33:07.have been really hoping to see. It is a wind chat and she is on X. Look
:33:07. > :33:17.at that! Sat up on top of the Bracken, a female wind chat.
:33:17. > :33:20.
:33:20. > :33:26.Distinctive white I stripe. Not a bird that I see down in the south.
:33:26. > :33:30.They used to nest there, long gone. This is perfect habitat for them and
:33:30. > :33:35.what a beauty that is in the early morning sunshine. It is really great
:33:35. > :33:43.to see this. He plans never fail to surprise me with their amazing range
:33:43. > :33:53.of fantastic wildlife. It just goes to prove, getting up and getting out
:33:53. > :33:56.
:33:56. > :34:01.always pays dividends. Look at it! Absolutely amazing!
:34:01. > :34:07.I want a confession, you didn't look up that hill, did you? That's right,
:34:07. > :34:16.I ran up there! Once the cuckoos have laid eggs in somebody else's
:34:16. > :34:23.nest, what did they do? The females are active, they have too late a
:34:23. > :34:28.clutch of eggs, not just one egg, not just one. Their challenge is,
:34:28. > :34:34.they have too fine a nest that is exactly at the right stage because
:34:34. > :34:37.it has chicks in them, it won't hatch in time. They have to spend a
:34:37. > :34:43.lot of time sat in trees and they watch all of the other birds going
:34:43. > :34:48.about their nesting business so they can time it at the right time.
:34:48. > :34:56.a lot of sitting around, watching and waiting. It is not easy, you
:34:56. > :35:03.have to find caterpillars. Let us have a look at the woodpecker. We
:35:03. > :35:10.might be able to hear them. We cannot hear them, which is unusual.
:35:10. > :35:15.We have been hearing them quite a lot. They are being very quiet. Let
:35:15. > :35:20.us see them from earlier on. That is the barring and just behind the
:35:21. > :35:24.barring, this is the tree where the woodpeckers are nesting. An adult
:35:24. > :35:28.flies out and the other adult goes in. We do not know how many chicks
:35:28. > :35:33.are in there but the nest watchers have been diligently watching and
:35:33. > :35:38.they reckon they have spotted three individuals and they reckon that can
:35:38. > :35:44.tell the difference by the red patch on their ahead and they think each
:35:44. > :35:48.one is slightly different. They all come to that whole and wait to be
:35:48. > :35:53.fed. They seem to take it in turns to be fed but what is interesting
:35:53. > :35:58.is, there could be lots of chicks in there and few years ago, we only saw
:35:58. > :36:08.three individuals but when I came to fledge, there were six of them. We
:36:08. > :36:08.
:36:08. > :36:13.could have it in there, we never know. Look at this, these are birds
:36:13. > :36:15.that live in a completely different environment, lots of fresh air in
:36:15. > :36:22.this open spot. We have been following a nest of two youngsters.
:36:22. > :36:27.The adult is feeding them and they set up on those purchase, swoop down
:36:27. > :36:31.and bring them into the nest. There were six eggs in that nest but only
:36:31. > :36:38.to have them hatched and they were regularly attended by both parents.
:36:38. > :36:42.He can see the adult coming in and they have been feeding them lots of
:36:42. > :36:47.insects. The interesting thing is, yesterday, the female disappeared
:36:47. > :36:51.and she didn't feed all day, she completely vanished. She came back
:36:51. > :36:56.here this morning and she popped into the nest just a couple of times
:36:56. > :37:01.with food but for the rest of the time, it was the male bird that was
:37:01. > :37:08.providing all of the sustenance for this blurred. Is going on there!
:37:08. > :37:13.Very often, the female bird will start another nest and lay another
:37:13. > :37:19.clutch of eggs before these birds have even fledged. She will then
:37:19. > :37:29.leave the male bird to do all of eating while she gets onto it.
:37:29. > :37:29.
:37:29. > :37:32.is hard work, no bric-a-brac are. They can have up to four or five.
:37:32. > :37:38.The stonechat numbers have gone down in the last few years but if they
:37:38. > :37:44.can breed for times this year, those numbers will rapidly, again. Is it
:37:44. > :37:52.unusual they only have two chicks? Yes, normally they would have up to
:37:52. > :37:59.six. Let us have a look at them live. They still have the little
:37:59. > :38:09.fluffy ears. They will be lost before they fledge but these birds
:38:09. > :38:17.can stay in the nest, if they are undisturbed, they can stay for their
:38:17. > :38:24.for up to 17 days. 9/11 have a look at some of those insects in a
:38:24. > :38:30.close-up. Let us head back to Springwatch microworld. You may
:38:30. > :38:34.member but last week we had some chrysalis of painted ladies and we
:38:34. > :38:40.had a camera on them because we were hoping that the adults would emerge
:38:40. > :38:44.from the chrysalis, and they did. Have a look at this. It is speeded
:38:44. > :38:50.up slightly. Here is the adult emerging from the chrysalis. It
:38:50. > :38:56.didn't take long at all, only 30 seconds. The wings are all crumpled
:38:56. > :39:02.up and they need to be extended. The adult closes up, pumps blood out
:39:02. > :39:06.into those wings and it was pumping so hard, drops of it was pumping so
:39:06. > :39:09.hard, dropped that were falling out onto believes below. It took about
:39:09. > :39:17.30 minutes for the wings to come out fully and here they are, pumped out.
:39:17. > :39:24.Usable. It has had my part as a caterpillar but you can see there by
:39:24. > :39:31.its eyes, getting used to this new life apart but it will use for
:39:31. > :39:37.drinking nectar. What a strange looking thing! There it was as an
:39:37. > :39:43.adult, beautiful. Imagine suddenly being faced with that. Let us have a
:39:43. > :39:47.look at caterpillars because that is how the painted Lady started out.
:39:47. > :39:51.Here is a painted Adey caterpillar. They tend to feed on specific things
:39:51. > :39:56.like nettles. Other caterpillars will prefer other different
:39:56. > :40:02.vegetations. Look at the legs. All caterpillars have three pairs of
:40:02. > :40:09.legs at the front and then these funny little pods, like sticking out
:40:09. > :40:16.sucker legs. If you ever try to remove a caterpillar from a leaf,
:40:16. > :40:22.they can hang on fantastically strongly. There they are, munching
:40:22. > :40:24.their way through all the leads in our garden. That is how the
:40:24. > :40:33.caterpillar works but there is an enormous Friday, different shapes
:40:33. > :40:38.and sizes of butterflies. You can see these front legs and those
:40:39. > :40:48.suckers at the back. This looks like a porcupine! Again, the useful legs
:40:49. > :40:52.
:40:52. > :40:57.at the front. The hair is one of their defence mechanisms. All sorts
:40:57. > :41:04.of bizarre shapes and sizes. Critically important for so many of
:41:04. > :41:09.the birds here, are vital food resource. I said caterpillars come
:41:09. > :41:16.in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Look at this one, this is a
:41:16. > :41:21.fantastic insect, the caterpillar of the lobster mob. If legs at the
:41:21. > :41:27.front are extraordinarily long. You can see them munching and eating
:41:27. > :41:35.away. They are shipped into a body here which is said to resemble a
:41:35. > :41:43.lobster. You can see them eating. You can see them articulating those
:41:43. > :41:47.for lemons which are so much longer than normal caterpillars. They feed
:41:47. > :41:52.on Birch, beech and oak. They are widely distributed across the UK but
:41:52. > :41:55.I had only ever find one of these before. I saw this one a couple of
:41:55. > :41:59.days ago. They really are extraordinary. It is thought that
:41:59. > :42:03.they appear like this because they mimic ants when they first touch
:42:03. > :42:08.from the egg. They want to keep the and away from the egg shell because
:42:08. > :42:14.they eat it but there is a lot more going on with this than just wanting
:42:14. > :42:19.to look like an ant. They are spectacular caterpillars but take a
:42:19. > :42:29.look at this, this is the adult, a rather unassuming large but Brian
:42:29. > :42:30.
:42:30. > :42:38.Moffat. Here is a tiny little caterpillar. Or maybe not. Look at
:42:38. > :42:44.that! This is a death head caterpillar. This one has started to
:42:44. > :42:52.shrink. It is starting to go into its pupil form, smaller than it was
:42:52. > :42:56.a few days ago. Nigel very kindly brought these into us. Let us have a
:42:56. > :43:01.look at this caterpillar in action. Look at the size of the thing! If
:43:01. > :43:09.you saw one of those! It has this little strange tale like a Jack
:43:09. > :43:15.Russell. Not a very well Jack Russell! Here we put a coin to give
:43:15. > :43:21.you an idea of the size of it but what a fabulous creature! They have
:43:21. > :43:28.powerful jaws and they are said to give you a little bit of about and
:43:28. > :43:36.they rattle their jobs if they are threatened. I have never heard that.
:43:36. > :43:40.The caterpillar eats lead but the adult eats honey. That animal you
:43:40. > :43:44.had, very soon it will lose the skin that is covering it now. It will
:43:45. > :43:50.turn into one of the most spectacular moths of all. Here it is
:43:50. > :43:54.inside a beehive and they break into beehives to drink the honey will
:43:54. > :43:58.stop they have my parts that are specially designed to get into these
:43:58. > :44:05.honey cells. They will use this as fuel or so they can find mates and
:44:05. > :44:11.lay their eggs. They also squeak, don't they? That is supposed to stop
:44:11. > :44:18.the bees attacking them. It stops the bees moving in the hive and that
:44:18. > :44:24.is what they are trying to mimic this and it doesn't work sometimes.
:44:24. > :44:30.In the field of human conflict, never has so much blood been shared
:44:30. > :44:33.for the entertainment of so many. We are being eaten alive! Let us
:44:33. > :44:43.introduce you to some of the most beautiful animals we have in the
:44:43. > :44:58.
:44:58. > :45:06.UK. We have been following a family Beside this busy a rogue... Family
:45:06. > :45:11.on the edge. These foxes were spotted by a wildlife cameraman
:45:11. > :45:16.whilst travelling to work at 4am in the morning. He thought they must
:45:16. > :45:26.have a den nearby, so he set up a hide to see if he could film them.
:45:26. > :45:39.
:45:39. > :45:45.That evening, he got his first glint Foxes generally fall into two
:45:45. > :45:50.categories, town foxes or country foxes. But this family has the best
:45:50. > :45:56.of both. This hedgerow and the surrounding fields are home to lots
:45:56. > :46:00.of species, meaning there is plenty of wild prey for them to feast on.
:46:00. > :46:10.But over the road is a housing estate, offering tantalising treats
:46:10. > :46:37.
:46:37. > :46:47.An examination of the den area reveals that the sum foxes have a
:46:47. > :46:57.
:46:57. > :47:01.very broad diet. They have already their menu, the Cubs instinctively
:47:01. > :47:11.respond with some mouse hops. Displaying the tech week they will
:47:11. > :47:19.
:47:19. > :47:23.use as adults to catch small In the evening, it seems that the
:47:23. > :47:27.family follows a strict routine. The dominant male cub sits and waits for
:47:27. > :47:37.the mum to arrive back from the day's foraging. They wait around the
:47:37. > :47:59.
:47:59. > :48:09.den. A bit of time exploring. A bit The oldest one tries to suckle, but
:48:09. > :48:15.
:48:15. > :48:19.it is too old for this now. Mum is All of these cubs are mature enough
:48:19. > :48:29.to feed themselves now. The evening routine ends with a spot of mutual
:48:29. > :48:31.
:48:31. > :48:41.grooming. It has to be said, they all look in remarkably good
:48:41. > :48:48.
:48:48. > :48:56.condition, so the mother's strategy streetwise, these Cubs may not be.
:48:56. > :49:00.This life on the edge may ultimately be a very risky one.
:49:00. > :49:06.Beautiful animal, but you have got to feel sorry for them on that road,
:49:06. > :49:11.it is a real worry. Yes, and some do get knocked over, but they also
:49:11. > :49:18.learn how to cross the road, so let's hope that favours them.
:49:18. > :49:24.have given up hope! If you can wear that jumper, I can wear this net!
:49:24. > :49:30.Sidhu after the show! Let's take a look at a bird that we think might
:49:30. > :49:35.fledge tomorrow, the willow warbler. Look how much they have grown. They
:49:36. > :49:41.have been very fidgety in that nest. They have been getting hot and
:49:41. > :49:46.bothered, they have been panting, they are squashed. I think we will
:49:46. > :49:50.see them fledge by this time tomorrow. I will bet you this
:49:50. > :49:57.cardigan that by this time tomorrow they will have gone! Yes, great,
:49:57. > :50:02.thank you! At the top of the show we promised you a couple of new cameras
:50:02. > :50:12.on new nests, he is the first one, it is a fabulous word, known to many
:50:12. > :50:16.of you the song thrush. They do well in our cities. They feed on worms.
:50:16. > :50:24.And other soft foodstuff, as well as snails. They make their nests in
:50:24. > :50:33.bramble patches or bushes. You can see the female brooding. There may
:50:33. > :50:36.be more decks -- eggs to hatch. They are bringing in plenty of food, a
:50:36. > :50:42.wide variety, but plenty of caterpillars going into the mouths.
:50:43. > :50:48.There are three chicks. They are delightful birds, and the nest are
:50:48. > :50:58.beautiful, they have a smooth mud lining, into which a late blight
:50:58. > :50:58.
:50:58. > :51:03.blue X with delicate blackspots on. Let's go live to the nest. One of
:51:03. > :51:10.the adults eating a faecal sac. They must be thinking about brooding them
:51:10. > :51:17.as it begins to call down. A little yawn! They still have their eyes
:51:17. > :51:24.closed, they are just a couple of days old. The song thrush does not
:51:24. > :51:29.just look right, they sound great. A familiar bird, but often, when you
:51:29. > :51:32.are shopping or sitting in the park, you might not be aware that, height
:51:32. > :51:39.above your head, there is a soap opera unfolding in the world of
:51:39. > :51:49.goals. Spring arrives in the city of
:51:49. > :51:50.
:51:50. > :51:55.Bristol. Some increasingly familiar residents are returning after the
:51:55. > :52:05.long winter. Gulls. While the populations have declined along the
:52:05. > :52:08.
:52:08. > :52:14.coast, urban populations have been increasing. Over 100,000 pairs now
:52:15. > :52:21.live in the UK's towns and cities. Restore is home to a large colony.
:52:21. > :52:29.Why have they chosen to come into our world? When seen from their
:52:29. > :52:32.perspective, the city has many advantages. From above, the
:52:32. > :52:36.cityscape is a collection of man-made clifftops, safe from
:52:36. > :52:43.disturbance, and pretty much predator free. The perfect place to
:52:43. > :52:48.breed. And up here, we are going to reveal the secret and often
:52:48. > :52:54.surprising world of the urban gull. This tower block is home to a
:52:55. > :52:58.particular pair of herring gulls. They are impressive. The male one is
:52:58. > :53:07.bigger than the female, 60 centimetres tall, with a wingspan of
:53:07. > :53:14.one and a half metres. They can live for as long as 35 years. This male
:53:15. > :53:20.one is definitely in his prime. The female has a leg ring which reveals
:53:20. > :53:26.she is 11 years old. She was ringed in Chop them, so she is definitely a
:53:26. > :53:31.West Country girl. This pair have probably spent the winter on the
:53:31. > :53:39.coast. The moment they return, they must stop the serious business of
:53:39. > :53:49.courtship. -- they must start. They have to build up a strong bond if
:53:49. > :53:53.
:53:54. > :53:59.they are going to successfully raise The urban breeding season starts
:53:59. > :54:09.early. Pairs have been returning to their high-rise breeding sites since
:54:09. > :54:12.
:54:12. > :54:17.before Christmas. By early April, over 2500 pairs are back. It has
:54:17. > :54:26.been one of the coldest spring is on record. But the city can be as much
:54:26. > :54:31.as three degrees warmer than the surrounding countryside. This
:54:31. > :54:39.enables the gulls here to breed to three weeks earlier than those in
:54:40. > :54:48.rural areas. Herring gulls mate for life. They return to their partner
:54:48. > :54:58.each spring. On top of their tower block, they sit in the most
:54:58. > :55:20.
:55:21. > :55:30.prominent position to remind the delightfully placed next to one of
:55:31. > :55:39.
:55:39. > :55:42.They need to build a nest deep enough to hold the ex-securely.
:55:42. > :55:52.Winter weather has left potential nesting materials scattered across
:55:52. > :56:09.
:56:09. > :56:14.The pair worked together to build the female he is capable of
:56:14. > :56:24.supporting her and rearing a family. He will do this by offering gifts of
:56:24. > :56:42.
:56:42. > :56:47.advances are clearly being shunned. She is not impressed. He is going to
:56:47. > :56:57.have to work a lot harder, or all of his efforts so far will come to
:56:57. > :56:57.
:56:57. > :57:02.nothing. That was great, they are fantastic
:57:02. > :57:12.things, and it is happening just above our heads. More about them
:57:12. > :57:16.tomorrow. Let's show some photographs. I will go first. Is it
:57:16. > :57:25.just me, or does this Jacques Zoua parent look like it is wearing a
:57:25. > :57:33.pair of novelty slippers? Look at that, that is phenomenal. A
:57:33. > :57:40.sparrowhawk taking a swift. One of the most agile birds on the planet.
:57:40. > :57:46.That was from Roy. Lovely, beautiful. Look at that. Jamie,
:57:47. > :57:54.phenomenal, to adult ones, beautiful. This is meadow flowers by
:57:54. > :57:59.Steve. I like this one, a really plain background, I would imagine
:57:59. > :58:07.that on my roof, so I can lay back in bed and imagine I am in a meadow.
:58:08. > :58:14.Lovely! Shall we go quickly to our live jackdaw camera? There they are,
:58:14. > :58:19.snuggled down. We think they are going to fledge by tomorrow. Let's
:58:19. > :58:25.go to the willow warbler. I thought they were going to go. 50p there