:00:00. > :00:16.We have rocked up in a new location. It is absolutely fabulous. It is the
:00:17. > :00:21.RSPB's spectacular Minsmere Reserve. We are here on a mission to explore
:00:22. > :00:30.every inch of the reserve and the fabulous wildlife in it. From a
:00:31. > :00:39.bounty of beautiful birds to a melee marvellous mammals. Our new home is
:00:40. > :01:00.by the sea. Grab a deckchair because it is Springwatch.
:01:01. > :01:10.I think a deckchair and ice cream might be ambitious this evening, but
:01:11. > :01:16.welcome to Spring watch 2014. The first of our programmes coming from
:01:17. > :01:19.the Minsmere Reserve. I have had the fortune of visiting nature reserves
:01:20. > :01:24.all over the world and this is one of the finest in the world, packed
:01:25. > :01:29.with William stuff. We will be here for the next three weeks. We want to
:01:30. > :01:39.understand more about the habitat and species. And we have the place
:01:40. > :01:44.bugged. One of the key species is the avocet, emblem of the RSPB. It
:01:45. > :01:54.is pertinent to start with this bird, a great conservation success
:01:55. > :02:04.story. This is your sort of bird. A tiny bit of colour, very neat and
:02:05. > :02:08.tidy. The Audrey Hepburn of birds. We have been watching them and we
:02:09. > :02:14.have noticed interesting behaviour. Look at this. Look at this bird, it
:02:15. > :02:22.is shaking its feet to get rid of the water. It settles down on its
:02:23. > :02:29.nest. And it is wiping the marred from the feet before it tucks them
:02:30. > :02:38.underneath -- mud. Is there a reason for that? There is a good reason. It
:02:39. > :02:47.does not want to get the eggs wept. It does not want to cover them in
:02:48. > :02:54.mud. The bird might suffocate. There is a good reason for the behaviour.
:02:55. > :03:00.We are not just celebrating the start of Springwatch but the 10th
:03:01. > :03:05.anniversary. Springwatch has been on television for ten years. Certain
:03:06. > :03:13.animals define Springwatch. Ten years ago, we started with badgers
:03:14. > :03:18.and we have them back the 2014. This is one of the setts. There is
:03:19. > :03:23.nothing happening, because it is early for the badgers to come out.
:03:24. > :03:28.The quest is to find out as much as we can about the badgers here. A
:03:29. > :03:33.personal challenge is to get them live on air before we come off at
:03:34. > :03:43.9pm every night. There is a good chance. Look at what we saw at 9pm
:03:44. > :03:49.last night. The badger comes out, sniffing around. Hopefully, we can
:03:50. > :03:59.bring that forward to 8:55pm and we will have them on the programme. I
:04:00. > :04:04.think we will. Particularly if it is overcast weather. I think they might
:04:05. > :04:09.come out earlier. Another Springwatch mantra is to reveal new
:04:10. > :04:15.things about familiar species. Garden birds. 98% of us have this
:04:16. > :04:21.species in the garden every winter. It is the bluetit. We have a camera
:04:22. > :04:23.live on a nest. It has a brood of youngsters in it.
:04:24. > :04:29.It is the bluetit. We have a camera live on a nest. It has a Most have
:04:30. > :04:32.already fledged. Mind fledged 14 days ago. These are still inside the
:04:33. > :04:36.nest. already fledged. Mind fledged 14
:04:37. > :04:40.days ago. These are still Why is that? We have plenty of questions
:04:41. > :04:46.about these and other birds and we will try to uncover the reasons for
:04:47. > :04:48.that. But we can get to know Minsmere better. It's habitats and
:04:49. > :05:06.some of its most exciting species. Minsmere, on the Suffolk coast. It
:05:07. > :05:14.is a ten square kilometres haven for wildlife. This flagship RSPB reserve
:05:15. > :05:21.boasts an unprecedented array of internationally important habitats.
:05:22. > :05:32.From reed beds to woodland. He's learned to grassland. Lagoon to the
:05:33. > :05:39.beach. On the shoreline, a unique community of plants and birds. The
:05:40. > :05:47.forests are a sanctuary for visitors and for natives. There is life and
:05:48. > :06:01.death. Out on the grasslands, where one of the largest herds of red year
:06:02. > :06:10.in England greys. -- graze. There are hunters and the hunted. All in
:06:11. > :06:21.all, a staggering 5600 species make their home here. Minsmere is one of
:06:22. > :06:34.the most wildlife rich places in the UK. What better place to watch the
:06:35. > :06:41.drama of spring on fold? -- unfold.
:06:42. > :06:47.It really is a special place to spend the next three weeks. And look
:06:48. > :06:53.at this Armitage point. We can see a lot of the different habitats, the
:06:54. > :06:58.reed bed, lagoon, grasslands and woodland. From here is a great place
:06:59. > :07:07.to do some bird spotting. 329 species. How is your bird list
:07:08. > :07:16.coming on? Probably about 50, 60 species. We have improved on the
:07:17. > :07:22.cabin. Somebody has been keeping up appearances. We have been living the
:07:23. > :07:31.good life. I reckon that is a 1950s teapot, it is likely antiques road
:07:32. > :07:35.show. Where are we geographically? If you have been watching for the
:07:36. > :07:42.past three years, we were in west Wales. We have leapt across to the
:07:43. > :07:46.east coast of England, East Anglia, and to the Suffolk coast line, and
:07:47. > :07:52.Minsmere is close to Norwich and Ipswich. The series will not be all
:07:53. > :07:57.about East Anglia and we have scattered ourselves around the UK,
:07:58. > :08:03.making films we will show you later. We want it live as well. We have a
:08:04. > :08:13.reporter, the brilliant naturalist. Iolo. He will be in Scotland. He
:08:14. > :08:18.will be whether ask for the next three weeks, bringing reports from
:08:19. > :08:27.the west of Scotland. He is with us live tonight. You are in a gorgeous
:08:28. > :08:33.place. Hello, welcome to the beautiful West Coast of Scotland.
:08:34. > :08:38.Today, there has been mixed weather with rain and sunshine and no wind,
:08:39. > :08:43.which makes it perfect for the most famous Scottish beast, more famous
:08:44. > :08:55.than the Loch Ness Monster, the Scottish midge. Why have we come
:08:56. > :09:07.here? This is why. We have otters for you. We have eagles for you. We
:09:08. > :09:20.have seals for you. And we have even as, as well. There is plenty to keep
:09:21. > :09:25.you occupied. -- beavers. And we will be filming local Wildcats. And
:09:26. > :09:36.I will be learning more about this beautiful bird. Here we are from the
:09:37. > :09:41.West Coast of Scotland, we have come to the east coast of England. If you
:09:42. > :09:45.went out there, you would hit the North Sea and it is looking wild
:09:46. > :09:53.tonight. This looks like an ordinary beach. But it is very special. We
:09:54. > :09:59.can go to try to see what it looks like from the air. This area was
:10:00. > :10:05.flooded to stop the German invasion in 1940. The beach where I am
:10:06. > :10:13.standing, you can see the little zipper mark. They are tank track
:10:14. > :10:22.that were supposed to stop the panzers coming up the beach. If they
:10:23. > :10:35.had come up, they would have trashed these plants. This is CK all. -- sea
:10:36. > :10:42.kale. It is like a cabbage, you can eat it, but we are asked not to, it
:10:43. > :10:50.is very precious. The community of plants is precious, because it is
:10:51. > :10:57.delicate. It can easily be rubbed out, even by a big tide, and that
:10:58. > :11:01.would be a shame, because it would take years to recover. In some ways
:11:02. > :11:06.these plants are more precious than some of the birds nesting just over
:11:07. > :11:13.there, according to the RSPB. Nesting birds. If you were a bird,
:11:14. > :11:19.would you dream of trying to nest on that? Surely not. And making a
:11:20. > :11:27.scrape in the pebbles, that would not work? But there are birds
:11:28. > :11:34.nesting right here, now. How can they do it? There could be
:11:35. > :11:39.predators, anything could get them. They have to rely on camouflage. We
:11:40. > :11:45.have managed to film a bird nesting on this beach. We can look at the
:11:46. > :11:52.bird and see if you can see where it is. Just to show you how good the
:11:53. > :12:02.camouflage is. It is a remit plover. I cannot see it yet. -- ringed
:12:03. > :12:08.plover. It will nest for between 22 and 25 days sitting on the eggs
:12:09. > :12:15.before they hatch. Amazing camouflage. Both parents will be
:12:16. > :12:22.there. The other partner will be some way off and warn the other one
:12:23. > :12:27.if there is a predator coming in. When they are sitting on eggs, it is
:12:28. > :12:33.fairly safe. What happens when they hatch? That is a different story. A
:12:34. > :12:40.few days ago, we filmed them after hatching. Almost as soon as they
:12:41. > :12:45.hatched, the chicks leave the nest. Almost within minutes, within an
:12:46. > :12:50.hour. They do not sit in the nest being fed by their parents. The
:12:51. > :12:56.parents do not feed the chicks. Bailey them to a place where there
:12:57. > :13:04.-- they lead them to a place with a lot of food. If they stand still,
:13:05. > :13:09.the chicks, they disappear, because they looked like tiny pebbles. They
:13:10. > :13:15.are more visible when they are moving and so the best place to be
:13:16. > :13:23.is underneath mother. If she settles, they disappear into the
:13:24. > :13:29.beach once again. An extraordinary example of camouflage and the
:13:30. > :13:34.natural world. We will keep our eye on this for the
:13:35. > :13:46.next few weeks. Come with me. Keep up! At the top, look at this. That
:13:47. > :13:53.is the reserve of Minsmere. Ten square kilometres of it. The wet
:13:54. > :13:59.area, over there, that is the scrape. We will go there later in
:14:00. > :14:05.the programme to explore it, because it is teeming with birdlife. And in
:14:06. > :14:13.the woodland, there is a Michaela Strachan at large.
:14:14. > :14:18.The chicks are adorable. They look vulnerable, despite the fact it is
:14:19. > :14:22.the perfect habitat. That is the beauty of Minsmere. There are so
:14:23. > :14:29.many different habitats, from the beach, to the woodland. And all
:14:30. > :14:35.sorts of wildlife makes its home here, including the badger. They
:14:36. > :14:42.have been in the news a lot because of the debate with TB and also the
:14:43. > :14:50.connection between badgers and cattle. And the badger cull in the
:14:51. > :15:02.south-west of England. Here, there has been no culling, because it is
:15:03. > :15:09.predominantly arable farming. Look at the soil, it may be dark but it
:15:10. > :15:14.is very sandy and that is not ideal for their favourite food,
:15:15. > :15:20.earthworms. Despite that, there are quite a few sets here. We have been
:15:21. > :15:26.investigating a couple of the sets and one of them is right behind me
:15:27. > :15:31.in the woods. We want to know a lot more about badgers, we want to
:15:32. > :15:35.investigate what exactly they do eat, how they fit into the ecology,
:15:36. > :15:40.and what effect they have on other animals. First of all, I wanted to
:15:41. > :15:55.see the sets in the daytime so I went out with Penny looms to have a
:15:56. > :16:03.look. That is a good entrance, look at that. They have kicked the soil.
:16:04. > :16:07.Lots of prints. A lovely print there. You can actually see the
:16:08. > :16:14.clause. They used their claws to dig soil at. How many entrances do they
:16:15. > :16:18.have in this set? I think there are something like 14 entrances but not
:16:19. > :16:24.all of them are used at the same time. The badgers come in and out
:16:25. > :16:29.every day. Others will fill up with debris and some will disappear. Do
:16:30. > :16:33.you know how many badgers used this set? There is no telling from the
:16:34. > :16:40.number of entrances. The only way is by doing a DNA analysis to get a
:16:41. > :16:48.fingerprint for each badger. Or else, you can use cameras and count
:16:49. > :16:53.them out of the set. The beauty of Springwatch is we have cameras.
:16:54. > :16:59.There are three adults using this set, a large male with battle scars,
:17:00. > :17:09.a younger male, and one other who could be a female or a very young
:17:10. > :17:15.male. The jury is out on that one. The second set, known as the Warren,
:17:16. > :17:20.is 800 metres away. We have rigged it with cameras. We have picked up a
:17:21. > :17:29.well worn badger part, running into this next set. This is why we have
:17:30. > :17:34.this camera here, and many more! Yes. This is a good post for
:17:35. > :17:40.scratching and nibbling. Do they bring in their little gripes as
:17:41. > :17:50.well? I think so. They love to use their clause. This is a
:17:51. > :17:53.well-established set. There is this one the main entrance which splits
:17:54. > :18:00.into two channels and runs for several metres under the trees. You
:18:01. > :18:06.can see where the roof of the tunnel has collapsed, creating a shaft.
:18:07. > :18:09.Sometimes they use it as an entrance point but that looks too deep for
:18:10. > :18:20.them to make it out easily. The cameras have proved this whole to be
:18:21. > :18:26.a bit of a hazard. -- hole. Forcefully, mother was on hand to
:18:27. > :18:34.rescue her errant cup. Here we have a play area. You can see it is worn
:18:35. > :18:40.and muddy. The badgers have been running up and down here. How sweet!
:18:41. > :18:49.They have almost like an armchair here! They have sat back and had a
:18:50. > :18:53.good scratch. Because they have been around here, you can often find
:18:54. > :19:15.their hair. You can tell it is from a badger because it is ridged. We
:19:16. > :19:22.have five cups and two adults. -- cubs. We do not know whether one is
:19:23. > :19:25.a male or female. It is quite a big litter and will be quite a struggle
:19:26. > :19:29.for them to survive over the next few weeks and months to adults.
:19:30. > :19:36.Hopefully, we will find out with the cameras. Hopefully, we will see more
:19:37. > :19:42.of them. What are their chances, Chris? Their mortality is 50 or 60%
:19:43. > :19:49.but you do not have to worry about the young ones. I am sure they are
:19:50. > :19:55.going to be fine. Let's take a look at the badger sets. If you are a
:19:56. > :20:05.budding badger watch, now is the time to go before the sets are
:20:06. > :20:09.hidden. Also, there are a few about but not that many. We have had some
:20:10. > :20:17.unusual behaviour. Have a look at this, what you make of it? This is
:20:18. > :20:24.interesting because the badger is a robust animal, rather terrestrial.
:20:25. > :20:28.Look at it, it goes up the trunk of a tree. I have seen them climbing
:20:29. > :20:34.before but only on trees with branches where they can get a grip.
:20:35. > :20:36.This one goes up the tree like it is a bear. Look at the way it is
:20:37. > :20:44.hanging on! That is incredible behaviour. I wonder whether that is
:20:45. > :20:48.usual for that one badger or for the whole set. It has long clause and it
:20:49. > :20:54.was gripping round the tree like a bear does. They were not climbing
:20:55. > :21:00.for no reason, it was sniffing something, probably food. If they
:21:01. > :21:03.are able to climb trees, it's easily means they can go over fences, and
:21:04. > :21:08.there are many fences on the Minsmere Reserve which are designed
:21:09. > :21:13.to keep predators out. We will have to keep our eye on those badgers.
:21:14. > :21:16.Lots of questions about the badgers and hopefully we will give you lots
:21:17. > :21:24.of answers. Let's go from the woods of Suffolk to the West Coast of
:21:25. > :21:30.Scotland to find one of our favourite birds of prey. Thank you.
:21:31. > :21:35.Welcome back to the stunning West Coast of Scotland. Look at that, the
:21:36. > :21:40.sun is going down behind me. I am here in Argyll, and this will be our
:21:41. > :21:44.base for the next three weeks. We are going to explore the wonderful
:21:45. > :21:50.scenery and the wonderful wildlife we have all around us. Shirley, the
:21:51. > :21:58.most majestic bird in this area must be the white tailed eagle. --
:21:59. > :22:05.surely. Sadly, these birds were hunted to extinction in the UK in
:22:06. > :22:11.1918. They were reintroduced from 1975 onwards, using birds from
:22:12. > :22:16.Norway, and they been reintroduced to the east coast. The population is
:22:17. > :22:21.doing well again and it is fantastic to see these magnificent birds back
:22:22. > :22:26.in our skies. The wonderful thing is that we have one here with us with
:22:27. > :22:37.our handler, Roxanne. Thank you for coming on. Who is this? This is
:22:38. > :22:48.Moira. I have heard them described as flying vandals. How big is she?
:22:49. > :22:54.She is 730. -- seven foot. Is that to keep her calm, that mask on her?
:22:55. > :23:01.That is right. With all the people here, she would probably get quite
:23:02. > :23:07.upset. Going forward, she may be more comfortable after this. I hear
:23:08. > :23:12.they do not like Welshman as well! Look at the tell, it is not white.
:23:13. > :23:15.That is right. It is the last feather she has of the juvenile
:23:16. > :23:24.plumage from a first year. The other feathers are more white. -- the
:23:25. > :23:28.tail. All birds moult their feathers and grow new ones but this one does
:23:29. > :23:36.not grow their full white tail until they are eight or nine years old.
:23:37. > :23:40.Thank you, Roxanne. We will see more of her later on but we will hop over
:23:41. > :23:45.this wall behind me to the wonderful island of mole. We have been
:23:46. > :23:53.following the white tailed eagles for a few weeks. These birds are
:23:54. > :23:56.prone to disturbance but the cameraman is licensed and is filming
:23:57. > :24:07.them from a distance of 200 metres. -- Mull. White tailed eagles
:24:08. > :24:14.continued to flock to Mull in the 1970s. Since 2012, this pair has
:24:15. > :24:23.nested here on the edge of a conifer plantation. The male is a descendant
:24:24. > :24:32.of the original birds reintroduced to the West Coast. The female was
:24:33. > :24:43.raised in Fife on the East Coast. In 2011, she flew 144 miles from East
:24:44. > :24:47.to West and set up with the mail. -- male. This year, they have one chick
:24:48. > :24:54.who is three weeks old. The female stays near the nest to keep an eye
:24:55. > :25:00.on him so it is up to the mail to provide for the family. At the
:25:01. > :25:05.moment, he is bringing food in once. The female does most of the feeding,
:25:06. > :25:15.telling the food up into tiny pieces for the chick. There are a few
:25:16. > :25:23.scraps for herself. Dinner over, the chick does some spectacular pooping.
:25:24. > :25:32.Out of the nest so he does not dirty the nest. With the chick and the
:25:33. > :25:35.female content, the male heads off. Flying through the plantation, he
:25:36. > :25:44.comes under fire from a nearby buzzard. The buzzard feels
:25:45. > :25:51.threatened by the size. You can see the incredible size difference in
:25:52. > :25:57.the sky. The male white tailed eagle has an average wingspan of seven
:25:58. > :26:02.feet. Over the coming weeks, the male will have to bring back more
:26:03. > :26:09.and more food for the growing chick. The next day, a small fish is
:26:10. > :26:12.brought in. From a nearby tree, the female spots in trying to feed the
:26:13. > :26:30.chick. She is not happy with that. That is her job. She pushes him away
:26:31. > :26:36.and the male retreats. The chick will not fledge for another eight
:26:37. > :26:47.weeks or so. He has got to put on weight and grow proper feathers
:26:48. > :26:54.before leaving the nest. They are such majestic birds, aren't they?
:26:55. > :26:58.When you come back to us, we will see them in action. That is worth
:26:59. > :27:03.seeing. Or those seagulls have increased in number to such an
:27:04. > :27:10.extent that the young birds wonder to the end of the year, they wonder
:27:11. > :27:14.over the UK. They are on the Minsmere list. One drifted down the
:27:15. > :27:21.east coast, and it excited everyone here. From great rarities to the
:27:22. > :27:30.back garden favourites. Bluetits have been on Spring -- Springwatch
:27:31. > :27:34.for ten years. Here they were in series one, and here is W we got
:27:35. > :27:38.inside the nest. It is quite good because you can see what the birds
:27:39. > :27:41.are up to the when you contrast it to the quality of the pictures we
:27:42. > :27:46.can get you today, you can appreciate the difference. We all
:27:47. > :27:51.like to see bluetits in HD today. There is no doubt about that. That
:27:52. > :27:57.is a fantastic quality picture. You can see the difference. That nest is
:27:58. > :28:02.situated not far behind us here. Let's go to it live and see what is
:28:03. > :28:06.happening. I am sure they are not going to fledge tonight. They are
:28:07. > :28:10.tucked up inside. They are well feathered. That has been lots of
:28:11. > :28:13.activity and wing flapping today. They could go tomorrow but the
:28:14. > :28:18.weather forecast is not great so it may be the next day. We have noticed
:28:19. > :28:22.something very interesting about the chicks in the box and if you look at
:28:23. > :28:29.this, you can see that every time the adult bird comes in, the way the
:28:30. > :28:33.nest is inside means it has to go to the far right-hand corner to feed
:28:34. > :28:39.the chicks. Does that mean that only the chicks at the front are getting
:28:40. > :28:47.fed? Look, the same corner. It has been doing that all the time. That
:28:48. > :28:51.is the only place. They are all pretty healthy so we were rather
:28:52. > :28:55.curious about that. We set up an experiment for tomorrow to see how
:28:56. > :29:03.they are all being fed. Interesting. Stay with us. More bluetit science
:29:04. > :29:06.coming up. Let's leave the woodlands and heads to the grassy heathlands
:29:07. > :29:13.here. We have discovered something which is pretty similar to an
:29:14. > :29:23.African water hole. It is the red deer that we have here. There are
:29:24. > :29:26.450 animals here. The water hole is open all hours and the deer are
:29:27. > :29:30.constantly coming down and drinking. They are malting at this time of
:29:31. > :29:35.year and they like to roll in it because it makes them less itchy and
:29:36. > :29:38.get rid of parasites too. There are loads of different animals you can
:29:39. > :29:43.see around the water hole and the grassy plains are the perfect place
:29:44. > :29:49.for one of the most common animals on Minsmere. It is the rabbit. As
:29:50. > :29:53.you can see, there are a lot of them. Hundreds of rabbits. They are
:29:54. > :29:58.adorable, abundance, prolific breeders. Does that mean that the
:29:59. > :30:03.whole of Minsmere is going to be overrun by rabbits? No, it does not
:30:04. > :30:12.because they are also perfect for the four a lot of birds of prey and
:30:13. > :30:21.also this mammal. The Fox. The foxes prowling. -- is prowling, looking
:30:22. > :30:22.for a bite to eat. He is chasing the rabbit. Does he
:30:23. > :30:29.for a bite to eat. He is chasing the rabbit. get it? The others do not
:30:30. > :30:39.seem too concerned. He has fluff in his mouth. He must have come close.
:30:40. > :30:47.And yes, he finally grabs his data. They are kept under control by the
:30:48. > :30:52.predators. They do a lot of eating themselves and through grazing
:30:53. > :30:59.maintain another habitat, it is the short grassy heathlands we have. It
:31:00. > :31:08.is sandy. And we have this set of birds. The stone curlew, they are
:31:09. > :31:16.very rare, with two centres of population, including Salisbury
:31:17. > :31:21.plain and a few up here. They are crepuscular. They hunt in low light
:31:22. > :31:25.and need a big eye. In days gone by, people would catch them, put
:31:26. > :31:31.them in a box and cover it with cloth, and charge people who had
:31:32. > :31:42.jaundice to look at them because they thought it is I would suck the
:31:43. > :31:53.jaundice out of you. -- thought it would. What a weird and wonderful
:31:54. > :32:02.bird. And now, Martin. We can leave the sure and go along
:32:03. > :32:07.to hear and look across Minsmere. And the wet area, that is the
:32:08. > :32:14.scrape. We will keep coming back to this for the next three weeks. Why
:32:15. > :32:18.is it called the scrape? The top surface, the vegetation, is scraped
:32:19. > :32:27.off by the RSPB to provide bare earth. Some of the rare birds need
:32:28. > :32:32.it to actually nest. They do that regularly to keep it there. What is
:32:33. > :32:47.nesting? We have live cameras. We can look at the scrape.
:32:48. > :32:54.nesting? We have live cameras. We avocet. And the black headed gulls.
:32:55. > :33:02.The avocet was extinct in the UK for 100 years. In 1947, it reappeared
:33:03. > :33:10.here, and it was such a conservation success, it was the reason the RSPB
:33:11. > :33:17.used this bird as its symbol. We have been following them. There are
:33:18. > :33:21.45 pairs nesting on the scrape. The first thing they do when they arrive
:33:22. > :33:29.is they have a beautiful courtship behaviour. They get very excited.
:33:30. > :33:41.They put their upturned bill in the water. When they have finished
:33:42. > :33:46.copulating, the male bird puts its wing around its mate and they walk
:33:47. > :33:56.off together. They work together throughout the whole year, selecting
:33:57. > :34:02.reeds to make the nest. They will take it in turns to incubate the
:34:03. > :34:13.eggs. Very difficult to tell the difference between the two sexes.
:34:14. > :34:21.The bill, it is used by them to sweep through dirty water, looking
:34:22. > :34:34.for prey. They are looking for these. We have shrimps, damsel fly
:34:35. > :34:42.larvae. We have a seafood, or brackish water, cocktail.
:34:43. > :34:52.They are nesting on the scrape. It is a risky strategy. Look at where
:34:53. > :35:07.they are nesting. This is the avocet coming in. Just behind it, there is
:35:08. > :35:13.a colony of lack headed -- black-headed gulls. If predators
:35:14. > :35:23.come in, they go into the air and try to see it off, but unfortunately
:35:24. > :35:26.the black headed gulls sometimes eat the chicks. Now, to the less rare
:35:27. > :35:40.but equally wonderful animals. After winter, spring has arrived
:35:41. > :35:51.early in the garden. Plants and animals alike shake off the shackles
:35:52. > :35:57.of the cold months. Aid to spot -- a ladybird, a two spot, emerges. She
:35:58. > :36:05.has spent the winter in the shed and now the warmth has returned, the
:36:06. > :36:19.race is on to breed. Hungry and dehydrated, her first task is to
:36:20. > :36:24.find food. In the rose bushes, discarded aphid skins sets her on
:36:25. > :36:36.the right path. These are the clues she was looking for. Nearby, and
:36:37. > :36:38.aphid colony. This little lady has not eaten in months and she
:36:39. > :36:49.immediately gets stuck into the banquet. She will eat up to 60
:36:50. > :36:55.aphids per day, so little wonder that gardeners love them. The female
:36:56. > :37:07.is not the only one at large in the garden. Males Also on the hunt and
:37:08. > :37:14.they are not looking for food. It is love they are after. Encounters are
:37:15. > :37:23.random. There is no time for tenderness. Individuals literally
:37:24. > :37:36.bump into each other and get going. And going. And going. The female
:37:37. > :37:42.ladybirds are highly promiscuous. When the mail gets his girl, it pays
:37:43. > :37:52.to hang onto her. The pair will mate for up to eight hours.
:37:53. > :38:04.Not long after this meeting Marathon, she lays clutches of X. --
:38:05. > :38:11.mating. Over the spring she will lay many eggs. She needs her young to
:38:12. > :38:18.take advantage of the seasonal glut of prey. Depending on the weather,
:38:19. > :38:34.the eggs take up to five days to hatch. They darken as the embryo
:38:35. > :38:38.grows. Finally, they are ready. In merging headfirst, the larvae pump
:38:39. > :38:50.up their BP to free themselves from the shell. As soon as they are out,
:38:51. > :38:57.the miniature eating machine set off on their path of destruction. First,
:38:58. > :39:04.they eat the egg from which they have hatched. And from any that have
:39:05. > :39:10.not developed. They then turned their attention to their brothers
:39:11. > :39:18.and sisters. Sibling cannibalism is right and so it pays to hatch first.
:39:19. > :39:23.There is nothing like a quick entree, before the main course,
:39:24. > :39:36.which is of course juicy, honey filled aphids. The purpose of the
:39:37. > :39:52.larvae is to grow. And to grow. And grow.
:39:53. > :40:01.When it has malted three times, this little beast is ready to make the
:40:02. > :40:21.penultimate transformation -- moulted.
:40:22. > :40:32.Emerging from the final larval stage, a pupa.
:40:33. > :40:43.Soft at first, over the next hours, the outer layer hardens into a solid
:40:44. > :40:50.casing. After a few days, signs of life are visible.
:40:51. > :41:09.And what climbs out is open lesson and beautiful. -- opalescent. And a
:41:10. > :41:16.monochrome ladybird is born. Immediately after the birth, she is
:41:17. > :41:23.soft-bodied and vulnerable. Over the next few hours, she will harden and
:41:24. > :41:34.bright colours and spots will develop. By autumn, her own
:41:35. > :41:38.offspring will be adult ladybirds. They will overwinter back in the
:41:39. > :41:40.shed and emerge next spring, ready to continue the cycle all over
:41:41. > :41:51.again. It is fascinating to see such a
:41:52. > :41:55.familiar species in such detail. It reminds us not to take ladybirds for
:41:56. > :42:01.granted and we must not take that species for granted because it has
:42:02. > :42:09.declined 44% in the past ten years. That is largely due to the invasive
:42:10. > :42:12.harlequin. It looks like this. Difficult to spot because of the
:42:13. > :42:25.colour variation. You are more likely to see this type
:42:26. > :42:32.in your houses. They are voracious predators of the two-spot. They have
:42:33. > :42:38.spread dramatically over the UK. We know this because the public told us
:42:39. > :42:43.through citizen science and a ladybird survey, which is ongoing,
:42:44. > :42:49.so let us know everything you find out about ladybirds. Whether they
:42:50. > :42:55.are inside your house, outside, what species they are, if you do not
:42:56. > :43:00.know, take a photograph. And the location. Send it to the website.
:43:01. > :43:06.The details of the survey are on the BBC website.
:43:07. > :43:17.We will be talking more about ladybirds on title chloro, which
:43:18. > :43:22.starts after we go off air. The first animal I ever met was a
:43:23. > :43:27.ladybird. My mother said I was fascinated with them. I would put
:43:28. > :43:32.them on my finger and stared at them until they flew off. If you put one
:43:33. > :43:39.on your finger, they release a fluid. It is green. Reflex
:43:40. > :43:46.bleeding. It contains a chemical. If you lick it, it tastes very bitter.
:43:47. > :43:55.If there are any parents out there, if your children have not licked
:43:56. > :44:03.their fingers after they have been bled upon by ladybirds, you are
:44:04. > :44:09.doing them a disservice. Now, listen to this. The unmistakable sound of
:44:10. > :44:16.the cuckoo. It is a fabulous bird that comes to the UK each summer. It
:44:17. > :44:21.looks like a hawk. It is famed for being a harbinger of spring will
:44:22. > :44:27.stop people use to write to The Times newspaper, claiming they had
:44:28. > :44:34.heard the first cuckoo of spring. It is famous for being a nest parasite,
:44:35. > :44:40.laying eggs in another bird's nest. The host species has to rear the
:44:41. > :44:47.cuckoo. It is a lovely bird. Very much part of our culture. But it is
:44:48. > :44:52.in decline. It has gone down by 65% since the 1980s. When a bird is in
:44:53. > :44:58.critical trouble, we have to find out what the problem is. We might
:44:59. > :45:04.understand the problem when it is in the UK, but it is only here for six
:45:05. > :45:09.weeks, it spends the rest of the year in Africa, migrating back
:45:10. > :45:14.there. They have come up with gadgets, satellite tracking devices.
:45:15. > :45:18.They weigh less than five grams. A few years ago they put them on a
:45:19. > :45:28.number of cuckoos close to here in Sussex. They called one of the
:45:29. > :45:43.Martin, another Iolo , and another Chris, . The first two are dead. But
:45:44. > :45:46.Chris is still migrating. The Cuckoo stance here, goes across Europe,
:45:47. > :45:55.sometimes goes to Italy, across the Mediterranean, and then the obstacle
:45:56. > :46:02.of the Sahara desert. We discovered that the cuckoos are spending the
:46:03. > :46:05.first part of the winter down in the basin here, down in the rainforest,
:46:06. > :46:10.given habitat. What is surprising is when they make the journey back
:46:11. > :46:16.because you would expect them to take the straight journey north.
:46:17. > :46:20.This machine is so troublesome! Look at that. That is the route you would
:46:21. > :46:25.expect them to take but they do not take that route. What they actually
:46:26. > :46:28.do is when they are down here in Cameroon, they go over into this
:46:29. > :46:29.part do is when they are down here in
:46:30. > :46:38.Cameroon, they go over of west Africa, and every year, Chris the
:46:39. > :46:48.cuckoo... Did you see that? Chris the cuckoo has travelled to Ghana
:46:49. > :46:52.where he has spent a lot of time. We were thinking that we needed to
:46:53. > :46:57.understand what is happening to them in Ghana, so I went out there a
:46:58. > :47:05.month ago to meet my namesake, Chris the cuckoo. The capital of Ghana, a
:47:06. > :47:15.typically do rustling West African city. -- a typically bustling. I am
:47:16. > :47:20.keen to find out whether this iconic bird is as well known here as it is
:47:21. > :47:22.in the UK. I am showing you a photograph of the bird we are
:47:23. > :47:27.looking to, it is called the cuckoo. Have you seen one? You have never
:47:28. > :47:40.seen it. Let me play you the call of the bird. Cuckoo, cuckoo! They are
:47:41. > :47:47.out here somewhere. Maybe outside. Outside of the city. Now, if I have
:47:48. > :47:56.to find out what attracts Chris and the other cuckoos to Ghana, I have
:47:57. > :48:03.two heads north. Aside from the bizarre nature of this quest, I
:48:04. > :48:08.really want to find this birds. What really interests me is the
:48:09. > :48:14.opportunity to see where it is living in terms of its habitat. When
:48:15. > :48:19.I was a child, and I looked on the map to find out where birds went in
:48:20. > :48:24.the winter, it was that big ring of green around Africa, the tropical
:48:25. > :48:29.rainforest. But the reason no rainforest here, although there
:48:30. > :48:34.might have been 150 years ago. It has now been cleared. Of course, the
:48:35. > :48:39.cuckoos are not looking for the Forest itself, they are looking for
:48:40. > :48:48.food. Now, at the start of the rainy season, what food could these birds
:48:49. > :48:53.be homing in on and how? Their tags reveal that the cuckoos usually
:48:54. > :48:58.migrate at night and temperature recordings reveal they fly up to one
:48:59. > :49:04.mile high. From this vantage point, they seem to be able to zero in on
:49:05. > :49:09.lightning storms. The evidence suggests that these birds are
:49:10. > :49:14.actually storm chasing. But why? When they are in the UK, cuckoos are
:49:15. > :49:20.famed for eating caterpillars, especially the hairy ones which are
:49:21. > :49:24.toxic to many other birds. We might expect that when they come here they
:49:25. > :49:30.would be after caterpillars as well. If they are following the storms,
:49:31. > :49:35.this may not work in terms of the diet. You see, this animal would
:49:36. > :49:41.have to grow after the vegetation has grown after the rain. That would
:49:42. > :49:45.take some period of time so if the cuckoos are storm chasing, they need
:49:46. > :49:52.something far more immediate and I might be sacked on literally tens of
:49:53. > :49:58.kilograms of it. This is a termite and when it rains here in Africa the
:49:59. > :50:08.sexual generation of termites will emerge. The art winged insects. --
:50:09. > :50:12.they are winged insects. So, Caterpillar, I think you might be
:50:13. > :50:18.said from cuckoos in this part of the world, or at least that is my
:50:19. > :50:22.theory. But I soon find evidence that it could be the cuckoos
:50:23. > :50:29.themselves that are at risk. What have you got here? Can I have this
:50:30. > :50:38.one? This is a young civet. Do people eat these here? For food?
:50:39. > :50:47.Yes. OK, see you later. Thank you. Thank you. It is staggering, the
:50:48. > :50:52.amount of wildlife you see on the side of the road that is sold for
:50:53. > :50:59.food. Everything is on the menu here. A large birds like a cuckoo
:51:00. > :51:08.would make a good meal. -- a large bird. After six hours, I finally
:51:09. > :51:13.enter cuckoo country. I make my rendezvous with the scientist
:51:14. > :51:18.leading the study. Come on, let's talk about cuckoos. If anyone can
:51:19. > :51:29.take me to Chris the cuckoo, this is the man. So, we'll Chris find his
:51:30. > :51:33.namesake? It as a conundrum. We will find out more tomorrow. We certainly
:51:34. > :51:41.well. In the meantime, let's go straight back to Scotland with the
:51:42. > :51:46.sea eagle. Welcome back to the East Coast -- West Coast of Scotland.
:51:47. > :51:52.Images are here and the white tailed eagle is also here. These birds are
:51:53. > :51:55.consummate hunters and we thought we would put the birds to the test.
:51:56. > :52:06.This is what we got up to this afternoon. Here she is waiting on a
:52:07. > :52:10.rock. Roxanne throws a fish into the loch, and the talents come out and
:52:11. > :52:18.she grabs the fish effortlessly. That fish ways almost ?3 and she
:52:19. > :52:24.makes it look so easy. -- weighs almost ?3. It shows you how big the
:52:25. > :52:31.birdies. Look at that, magnificent. Oh, I have to say, you are
:52:32. > :52:37.brilliant. It was a real privilege to see her here. You have fed her a
:52:38. > :52:42.fish but in the wilds they feed on a variety of animals. That is right.
:52:43. > :52:46.The main part of the diet is fish and that is the speciality but they
:52:47. > :52:53.are agile and they can catch ducks and geese as well in-flight.
:52:54. > :53:02.Roxanne, thank you for coming in and bringing in the bird. Now, we are
:53:03. > :53:06.based here for three weeks in mid Argyll and we are on the banks of
:53:07. > :53:14.sea loch so that is salt water in there. In the distance you can see
:53:15. > :53:18.the famous islands of Jura. We will be wondering this whole area for the
:53:19. > :53:22.next three weeks, looking at the fantastic wildlife, so we thought we
:53:23. > :53:38.would give you a taste of what is to come. We have travelled to the wild
:53:39. > :53:47.west coast of Scotland. A place dominated by its position on the
:53:48. > :54:01.edge of the Atlantic. The climate is mild and damp. The weather is always
:54:02. > :54:04.honourable. Wooded glens, secluded lochs and rugged coastline are home
:54:05. > :54:16.to some of the UK's most spectacular wildlife. Majestic birds...
:54:17. > :54:23.Fascinating insects... And large mammals. Over the next three weeks,
:54:24. > :54:32.we are going to meet some of the inhabitants of this magical place.
:54:33. > :54:35.Isn't that fabulous? We have got so many things to show you over the
:54:36. > :54:40.next three weeks and over the last hour I have eaten a three course
:54:41. > :54:46.meal of midges! That is all from us in Scotland, we will see you
:54:47. > :54:50.tomorrow. Thank you. I have to say, I rather like the midges, but not in
:54:51. > :54:55.the abundance you have got them up there. It is perfect weather for
:54:56. > :54:58.midges in Scotland, and the weather governs the lives of all sorts of
:54:59. > :55:02.wildlife. We have had unusual weather over the last few years.
:55:03. > :55:12.Late summers and wet winters, what is going on? We needs are met you
:55:13. > :55:15.jiggle expertise. -- ecological. There is interesting weather on the
:55:16. > :55:17.way for you guys at Minsmere every next week 's top you are right, the
:55:18. > :55:18.weather has given way for you guys at Minsmere every
:55:19. > :55:26.next week 's top you are right, us a rough ride recently. The wettest
:55:27. > :55:29.winter on record, who can forget? Inland flooding last weeks or even
:55:30. > :55:33.months. In Scotland, hardly any snow to talk about. The weather has
:55:34. > :55:39.quietened down a bit since then and become kinder to wildlife. There is
:55:40. > :55:44.a big difference between the start of this year and last year. This
:55:45. > :55:48.year has been warmer than normal. The same four months last year were
:55:49. > :55:53.colder than normal. It was the coldest spring in 50 years.
:55:54. > :55:56.Migrating cuckoos came in from Africa and went to France. They
:55:57. > :56:02.said, I am not having this, it is too cold. What is to come? Over the
:56:03. > :56:06.next few days, we look to the east for our weather. Low pressure brings
:56:07. > :56:14.in bands of rain across the UK. A cool wind and plenty of cloud. Not
:56:15. > :56:17.so good for the back yard nesting birds and there will be mixed
:56:18. > :56:24.weather in Scotland with some rain at times. In Minsmere, have I got
:56:25. > :56:28.news for you rest are heavy rain is about to move in and there will be
:56:29. > :56:32.heavy rain for the next few days although not all the time. There
:56:33. > :56:37.will be dry interludes. It will not feel like spring. Better weather for
:56:38. > :56:46.the weekend but for the UK as a whole, no sign of the wet weather
:56:47. > :56:49.stopping. It is going to be unpredictable, isn't it? It does not
:56:50. > :56:55.look good but he can be wrong. Martin, that is going to affect you.
:56:56. > :57:01.I cannot wait until tomorrow. I'm going to be up to mind neck in the
:57:02. > :57:10.pouring rain. Let's take a look at the live cameras of the avocet. I am
:57:11. > :57:17.very worried about another avocet that we have been filming. This one,
:57:18. > :57:23.look. It has not nested in a sensible place, let's have a look.
:57:24. > :57:28.It is not there! It is basically surrounded by water soaked if it
:57:29. > :57:34.rains a lot tomorrow, it is not looking good for that avocet. It
:57:35. > :57:36.could be a case of rising damp. What have we got for you tomorrow? Oh,
:57:37. > :57:41.look, there it is! We can see it. have we got for you tomorrow? Oh,
:57:42. > :57:48.look, there it is! What have we got for you tomorrow? Well, here's
:57:49. > :57:53.back, he is with us, he is wild and he is wearing beads. It is Bill
:57:54. > :57:56.Oddie. He is back on Springwatch. He is going to look at the changing
:57:57. > :58:00.fortunes of our wildlife over the last ten years, since Springwatch
:58:01. > :58:05.has been on air. Tomorrow, we have one of the most phenomenal birds in
:58:06. > :58:09.the world 's coming up. If you do not watch it, it will be the biggest
:58:10. > :58:13.mistake in your life if you have the slightest interest in birds, you
:58:14. > :58:23.must watch tomorrow. You must watch from 7am on the website. You may get
:58:24. > :58:29.post-traumatic ornithological disorders! We will be back tomorrow
:58:30. > :58:31.but if you would like to revel in more Springwatch beauty, press the
:58:32. > :58:39.Red Button now. Goodbye.