:00:00. > :00:13.As the chilly evening creeps into the Southwark Woodlands one of the
:00:14. > :00:21.most diabolical avian predators in the UK sits quietly on her nest.
:00:22. > :00:26.What a bird! Look at that. Female sparrowhawk, her eyes burning
:00:27. > :00:28.brightly. And it is live. That can only mean one thing, welcome to
:00:29. > :00:57.Springwatch. Hello and welcome to Springwatch
:00:58. > :01:02.2016. Coming to you for the third year running from the fabulous RSPB
:01:03. > :01:05.Minsmere Reserve in Suffolk. We are live tonight and for the rest of the
:01:06. > :01:10.week and for the two following weeks. So stay with us. I can
:01:11. > :01:14.promise you, I have said this before but I have never let you down, I
:01:15. > :01:19.promised a cracking series with some super stuff coming up and a superb
:01:20. > :01:25.programme tonight. ) Minsmere because it is a top spot with more
:01:26. > :01:30.than 5500 different species. The reason is the great range of
:01:31. > :01:39.habitat. The seashore, grazing marsh, open water, reed beds and 330
:01:40. > :01:44.acres of this, open acid grassland. It is an important habitat. It is on
:01:45. > :01:51.sandy soil, raised heavily white rabbits and therefore open and hot.
:01:52. > :01:54.That means we have a particular and special set of species. If you
:01:55. > :02:00.watched Top Gear Lasse Vibe they began with the Dodge Viper, very
:02:01. > :02:09.impressive. But let me tell you, I will raise you a Stone Curlew, live
:02:10. > :02:16.on the acid grassland. Look at that. You can keep the Dodge Viper! Look
:02:17. > :02:23.at that word squinting, having a little nap. -- that word. This is
:02:24. > :02:27.about 700 metres away, it is incubating one egg and we have been
:02:28. > :02:31.watching it for about a week. Let's see what has been going on. The male
:02:32. > :02:37.and the female take turns to incubate the egg. It is the female
:02:38. > :02:42.standing here are the male bird moving in after a bit of squawking.
:02:43. > :02:48.He has those coloured rings. And I can tell you that he is five years
:02:49. > :02:53.old and has already reared a couple of chicks. The egg was laid on the
:02:54. > :03:06.5th of May and set to hatch on Wednesday.
:03:07. > :03:14.I think I made a noise like that last time I was irritated by fly! I
:03:15. > :03:20.mentioned the other habitat. Another but you can see behind me is the
:03:21. > :03:28.reed beds. Another really important habitat and somewhere down there is
:03:29. > :03:33.my colleague Martin. I'm down here in the watery hideaways and the
:03:34. > :03:40.byways of Minsmere. In the reed beds. All around me is reed beds. It
:03:41. > :03:44.is a huge area, 160 hectors, once the biggest reed beds the country
:03:45. > :03:49.and it is here that some of the most spectacular denizens of Minsmere
:03:50. > :03:55.chooses to make their homes. We have been watching one of those, a reed
:03:56. > :04:01.warbler. We caught it building its nest. The male and female, work
:04:02. > :04:06.together. I have never understood how they will need to so intricately
:04:07. > :04:11.in amongst those stems using just their beaks. How long do you think
:04:12. > :04:19.it took the pair to build the nest? About a week? Actually I asked the
:04:20. > :04:23.wildlife team just before we came on air how long it took and they said
:04:24. > :04:31.to me, less than a day. They do it in less than a day! I would have
:04:32. > :04:33.thought much longer. This is the reed beds and we will investigate
:04:34. > :04:39.that. We have the grassland and another beautiful habitat, were you
:04:40. > :04:44.find my beautiful colleague Michaela Strachan. I'm in the woodland, a
:04:45. > :04:51.very sensible place to be. It is windy and a lot more sheltered than
:04:52. > :04:56.the reed beds where you are. It is another vital habitat for wildlife.
:04:57. > :05:01.21% of Minsmere is covered in secondary woodland, around 150 years
:05:02. > :05:05.old. A variety of trees, oak, sycamore, silver birch and beech
:05:06. > :05:09.trees. It provides a home for many different animals from badgers, to
:05:10. > :05:15.butterflies, woodpeckers, nesting birds and of course owls. We have
:05:16. > :05:22.our very own little owl nest in a tree nearby. It is in an oak tree
:05:23. > :05:27.which was used last year by the barn owls. The adults brooding, you can
:05:28. > :05:31.just see the chicks pigging out underneath. There are three of them
:05:32. > :05:38.and they're ten days old. You cannot see them closely so let's take a
:05:39. > :05:43.look at a close-up because they are adorable. Three little chicks. One
:05:44. > :05:48.is a bit smaller and this is the adult, very curious. Looking a bit
:05:49. > :05:52.starstruck by the camera but soon settling down. And both parents are
:05:53. > :06:00.being extremely diligent, feeding throughout the night, picking
:06:01. > :06:05.between eight and nine o'clock. All the chicks seem to be doing well.
:06:06. > :06:09.They are getting active and it will be exciting to see how they grow and
:06:10. > :06:13.develop over the next three weeks. That gives you just a taster of what
:06:14. > :06:18.we have got here at Minsmere. Just to remind you of where it is, this
:06:19. > :06:24.is the map, if you travel about two or three hours up from London, it is
:06:25. > :06:30.on the coast in Suffolk. There is Minsmere. Of course were not just
:06:31. > :06:36.focusing on what is happening in Minsmere we have camera teams
:06:37. > :06:42.filming all over the UK. From the heart of the Suffolk
:06:43. > :06:54.countryside, to the towns and cities.
:06:55. > :07:00.From rugged Scottish mountains. To the islands of the Northumberland
:07:01. > :07:09.coast. We are watching spring in all its glory, right across the UK.
:07:10. > :07:15.This year we want you to be involved as never before. You can share with
:07:16. > :07:18.us your spring sightings and there are volunteering opportunities right
:07:19. > :07:24.across the country will stab you can get involved with those and do
:07:25. > :07:35.something great for nature. We will cover some of the rarest and
:07:36. > :07:38.most iconic animals in the country. No one knows what is going to happen
:07:39. > :07:43.over the next few weeks but one thing is for sure, we're going to
:07:44. > :07:59.bring you all the action, all the drama, as it happens.
:08:00. > :08:06.Minsmere does not run itself, it takes a huge amount of effort. And
:08:07. > :08:14.an army of volunteers to try to help out. Probably for me the best way to
:08:15. > :08:17.understand exactly what goes on here is to get involved in those
:08:18. > :08:22.volunteers, get involved with the people who work here. But as exactly
:08:23. > :08:29.what I will do over the next three weeks. Tonight I find out how
:08:30. > :08:32.horses, slightly smaller than this, have transformed this landscape for
:08:33. > :08:37.the benefit of the wildlife that live here. I will show you that a
:08:38. > :08:45.bit later. Meanwhile back to Chris and Michaela Strachan. Not exactly
:08:46. > :08:53.force of the year show! Can he ride a horse? We will find out shortly.
:08:54. > :08:56.One of the joys of being a naturalist is that every spring is
:08:57. > :09:03.different. This year has been unusual, we had a very cold months
:09:04. > :09:06.of March and April and then a warm months of May and the wind has been
:09:07. > :09:14.against those migrants coming back to the UK from the south. Some are a
:09:15. > :09:19.bit late, about two weeks. The swallows have arrived at their
:09:20. > :09:26.around 10% less. But not this one, we found this swallow on a nest, and
:09:27. > :09:33.this is a live picture. Doing exactly what it should be doing,
:09:34. > :09:38.sleeping and incubating the eggs. I cannot see which that is. The tale
:09:39. > :09:46.is out of focus, probably the male bird. So we should be able to watch
:09:47. > :09:50.those eggs hatch out and followed the antics of the youngsters. The
:09:51. > :09:54.swallows may be late but some resident birds are and in fact they
:09:55. > :10:01.have nested and lay their eggs and hatched. If you look at this live
:10:02. > :10:04.picture, they have already pledged. And how extraordinary, they have
:10:05. > :10:11.pledged but there is something in there. I will give your guests. This
:10:12. > :10:21.nest is in the same barn where the swallows where and it is a renovated
:10:22. > :10:27.swallows nest. It is Tattie! I have never seen that before, R.N. Making
:10:28. > :10:36.its nest on top of a swallow nest. They do that sometimes outside my
:10:37. > :10:44.door. I Muntari to see that because they have fledged. That might be a
:10:45. > :10:49.different rent cleaning up the good feathers to move them on. That took
:10:50. > :10:55.me by surprise. I expected a completely empty nest. At the
:10:56. > :11:00.weekend the wrens did fledge. There were six of them, on Saturday the
:11:01. > :11:05.feeds were getting less and on Sunday one of them tumbled out and
:11:06. > :11:11.tried to get back in. They're all curious, trying to get enough
:11:12. > :11:16.courage to come out themselves. And this is quite comical, they form a
:11:17. > :11:21.kind of safety ladder. The others get back into the nest but finally
:11:22. > :11:23.they get the courage to fly out. And they start to explore their
:11:24. > :11:31.surroundings. They look like little balls of fluff. Down on the ground
:11:32. > :11:42.is not where I would want to be as a young bird. I just love these little
:11:43. > :11:49.tufty years. They are very cute. I think they are but I do not
:11:50. > :11:52.necessarily find attractive! Plenty of youngsters out and about and the
:11:53. > :11:56.camera teams have been following many signs of spring. Fox cubs are
:11:57. > :12:01.always delightful to see and you can see them playing there. They are
:12:02. > :12:06.born the beginning of April, probably about eight weeks old. This
:12:07. > :12:11.one is very curious. It is looking for some earthworms. That is an
:12:12. > :12:15.important part of the diet of a growing cup, they are the only pray
:12:16. > :12:18.that they can really capture on their own in the first few weeks
:12:19. > :12:23.after they have finished suckling. Studies have shown that cubs growing
:12:24. > :12:28.in an area of high rainfall where it is easy to get earthworms, they grow
:12:29. > :12:34.quicker than those growing in an area which is not so wet. Adults
:12:35. > :12:42.will also go for them sometimes. We all have our favourite, you know
:12:43. > :12:47.when you go on your playlist and click on most played, what would
:12:48. > :12:52.come up. When I was a kid you could do the same with my field guide, the
:12:53. > :12:59.most well thumbed page. The same as many, the golden eagle. Big and
:13:00. > :13:03.exciting and we always wanted to put a camera on a nest. After
:13:04. > :13:06.Winterwatch will be featured a golden eagle we thought this year we
:13:07. > :13:11.might as well give it a try. If we can get cameras on the nest we can
:13:12. > :13:19.enjoy views of them, this stunning rapture and also find out a bit more
:13:20. > :13:25.about this secretive bird. The mission started back in January.
:13:26. > :13:28.The golden eagle only nests in the most remote parts of Scotland. In
:13:29. > :13:41.some of the most inaccessible locations. We were joined by eagle
:13:42. > :13:47.expert David Anderson. What truly exciting moment. David, thank you.
:13:48. > :13:52.My first golden eagle nest. I have stood on this one years ago but
:13:53. > :13:58.never looked into one. I have got to do it. This will be the only chance,
:13:59. > :14:11.we're not going to come back because the birds will be here soon. What
:14:12. > :14:19.about that! Some bones. That is a fresh branch. They have just
:14:20. > :14:23.started. That has not fallen, but was brought in. Does it get much
:14:24. > :14:30.bigger? They will build the nest up nearly a foot. And they line it with
:14:31. > :14:37.this would rush. Some of the locals called it eagle grass. And what is
:14:38. > :14:43.the chance of getting a camera in? We have used cameras to photograph
:14:44. > :14:47.the progress of a chick last year and the birds accepted them. So I'm
:14:48. > :14:52.optimistic that we will get some good stuff. I could burst with
:14:53. > :14:57.excitement. You're lucky I'm not a 12-year-old from about 1973 or I
:14:58. > :15:03.would have burst with excitement by now. Once Dave and I backed off the
:15:04. > :15:08.team went about the careful task of rigging up the nest. And then there
:15:09. > :15:18.was nothing anyone could do but wait. And wait. But the nest stayed
:15:19. > :15:25.empty. Four months later, a couple of weeks ago, I went back to me Dave
:15:26. > :15:31.to find out what had gone wrong. What we think has happened is the
:15:32. > :15:35.chick from the year before basically is hanging around with its parents.
:15:36. > :15:38.So here we are in the centre of the territory when the chick was still
:15:39. > :15:44.roosting in the same spot as its parents. That chick should have been
:15:45. > :15:50.long gone out of the territory and we think it has disrupted nesting
:15:51. > :15:54.for this year. It is a shame because that nest would have been perfect
:15:55. > :16:00.but that it was not the only one that Dave had looked at. But we were
:16:01. > :16:05.not going to give up. Over the course of the spring he investigated
:16:06. > :16:07.a number of possible sites but for one reason or another, not one of
:16:08. > :16:20.them was suitable. Time was running out. But Dave had
:16:21. > :16:29.one more nest site to show me. I had everything crossed. It is just
:16:30. > :16:35.appear. What did you think is going on? I am sure she has got chicks, I
:16:36. > :16:42.have seen the female and bits of splash over the edge, and the male
:16:43. > :16:49.and the female coming and going. I hope this will work out. Praying for
:16:50. > :16:55.the right sized check and the right weather. I wish I could be here, but
:16:56. > :17:02.looking at that time, maybe I don't! Two days later, our team attempted
:17:03. > :17:07.the rig. I was right, the nest was a very long way up. The climb alone
:17:08. > :17:11.took over two hours with all of the equipment. But if this was
:17:12. > :17:16.successful, it would all be worth it.
:17:17. > :17:24.We vote very hard, but there is no point in that trouble and strife
:17:25. > :17:32.unless you get results. Did we? All I can say is, brace yourselves, get
:17:33. > :17:40.the defibrillators out, mop your brow, because here is what we got.
:17:41. > :17:46.Look at this. What a gorgeous bird! Are you going to rob your thighs? I
:17:47. > :17:53.might do! Have a secret one! Look at that. What a picture, apart from
:17:54. > :17:56.that bit of grass! Has she got anything in the nest? And anti-nest
:17:57. > :18:09.is largely pointless. Five days old. When we got this picture a queue
:18:10. > :18:15.days ago. She is a five-year-old female. This is her third attempt at
:18:16. > :18:22.breeding, she bred successfully twice before, which is good for a
:18:23. > :18:27.five-year-old. Look at that. It is amazing, to get such a clear
:18:28. > :18:33.picture. Stunning. That is good. You went to a lot of effort. A lot of
:18:34. > :18:35.people dead. It will deliver, and we will show you more of that check
:18:36. > :18:45.later in the programme. We will give you regular updates. He
:18:46. > :18:52.cannot wait until eight every night, there are plenty of other ways until
:18:53. > :18:55.-- that you can stay up to date. It has never been easier to follow,
:18:56. > :19:01.wherever you are, whatever device you are using. By going to the
:19:02. > :19:07.website, you can enjoy Springwatch live at any time of day. Catch the
:19:08. > :19:12.action as it happens with live webcams as well as updates, news and
:19:13. > :19:19.expert analysis. You can join in the conversation on Facebook, Twitter
:19:20. > :19:25.and the Flickr group. It is a festival. You can become
:19:26. > :19:31.part of the family, you can get involved. Martin is getting involved
:19:32. > :19:34.in a physical way, he was last seen on a feisty horse, cantering off
:19:35. > :19:41.into the distance. What could go wrong?
:19:42. > :19:46.I have left him behind. These are the object of interest here. I am
:19:47. > :19:52.trying not to look at them, they might go whizzing off. They are
:19:53. > :19:58.comic ponies. They are important to what goes on here, the conservation
:19:59. > :20:01.work. I am surprised they have let us get this close. They have a
:20:02. > :20:08.fascinating history. They are beautiful. They are completely wild,
:20:09. > :20:13.feral. Nobody is looking after them, they don't get that here. They are
:20:14. > :20:24.gorgeous. I like their hair, it reminds me of... What do you reckon?
:20:25. > :20:31.They have a fascinating history. In the First World War these animals,
:20:32. > :20:36.amongst other horses, were used to tow equipment around. The conditions
:20:37. > :20:41.were terrible, the mode, the awful water, the slurry, and the horse
:20:42. > :20:49.that everyone wanted what this one, because they were super-tough. Very
:20:50. > :20:54.strong. I am slightly distracted. They are looked after, the volunteer
:20:55. > :21:01.team come down and look after them. They get moved around the reserve to
:21:02. > :21:05.do their job. Earlier in the day, I came down just after lunch to help
:21:06. > :21:11.move them into this new position. This is a job for the volunteers.
:21:12. > :21:18.Kate, who runs the conservation volunteer team, and I and two others
:21:19. > :21:22.came down to move them around. They have to do this because they move
:21:23. > :21:27.around from one area to another to do their job. It was not that easy,
:21:28. > :21:33.you cannot tell them where to go, they decide. But eventually, we
:21:34. > :21:42.managed to move them to their new quarters. They are checked on
:21:43. > :21:46.everyday to make sure they are healthy, they look fabulous, but
:21:47. > :21:51.what is it about them that makes them so useful? It is the very same
:21:52. > :21:56.things that made them so useful in the First World War. First of all,
:21:57. > :22:09.it is the way that they eat. Look at this. They look gorgeous. They can
:22:10. > :22:18.survive in the sloppy water, their hooves and legs are incredibly
:22:19. > :22:27.tough. They can eat weeds and grasses that other horses could not
:22:28. > :22:36.get through. They thrive on this. Gorgeous. And evil hanging around.
:22:37. > :22:43.Just over the other side is an area that these Koniks have been for over
:22:44. > :22:46.a year. We will see how they have transformed the environment to the
:22:47. > :22:50.benefit of all the wildlife. It is time to leave them alone and go back
:22:51. > :22:58.to Chris and Michaela. I like an animal that works for
:22:59. > :23:03.conservation. A volunteering animal! Beautiful. You like a drama. There
:23:04. > :23:08.is a Woodland drama worthy of Shakespeare going on in these woods.
:23:09. > :23:19.What do you mean? Wherefore art thou? It is wherefore art they,
:23:20. > :23:26.because they are over there. They are tips. They are going through
:23:27. > :23:33.Hubble bubble toil and trouble. They are having a struggle for survival.
:23:34. > :23:39.This is the first nest box. It is home to blue tips. They are about a
:23:40. > :23:44.week old. Near there is the other box.
:23:45. > :23:56.If we go inside, these ones are four days old. It is interesting, both
:23:57. > :24:00.birds laid 13 eggs. We thought that would be fascinating to compare them
:24:01. > :24:04.and see how they both get on over the next few weeks. They have had a
:24:05. > :24:11.struggle for survival. Let's say what has happened so far. That begin
:24:12. > :24:16.with the blue ones. They started with 13 eggs, four of them hatched
:24:17. > :24:23.seven days ago. You can see three of them there. That's the female coming
:24:24. > :24:30.in, a single parent. She is having to work extremely hard. Six days ago
:24:31. > :24:35.nine out of the 13 eggs had hatched. This poor female is working
:24:36. > :24:40.extremely hard. I don't know what has happened here, but she is trying
:24:41. > :24:44.to feed, and the little one gets stuck and dragged out of the nest
:24:45. > :24:51.and does not get a feed. It goes to the larger checks. Unfortunately,
:24:52. > :24:58.there are only four chicks left. The poor female looks absolutely
:24:59. > :25:02.exhausted. We say we think it is a female, because it is less bright
:25:03. > :25:07.than the mail. It looks a bit shabby. That is more typical of the
:25:08. > :25:14.female at this time of year. Let's look at how the great ones have been
:25:15. > :25:20.doing. 13 eggs they started with. They started hatching four days ago.
:25:21. > :25:24.The mother is helping that one get out of the egg. It is doing
:25:25. > :25:31.something very sensible, eating the egg, which provides it with a bit of
:25:32. > :25:38.calcium. This nest has both parents attending to it. They are not doing
:25:39. > :25:42.very well. The male comes in and give the female some food, hopefully
:25:43. > :25:48.she will pass it on to the checks. That does not always happen. This is
:25:49. > :25:54.the 10th crow coming in, none of the checks are begging for the food. He
:25:55. > :26:01.decides to eat it himself. That is a concern. This is interesting, the
:26:02. > :26:08.male is struggling to get into the whole of the nest box. What does he
:26:09. > :26:12.do? He does a bit of DIY. A good impression of a woodpecker. He seems
:26:13. > :26:19.to be trying to make that whole a bit bigger. That is quite
:26:20. > :26:25.extraordinary. Out of those 13 eggs and nine that hatched, only five
:26:26. > :26:34.remain. With this weather as well, it will be really ingesting to see
:26:35. > :26:39.how those do. They are really going through a bit of a bad time.
:26:40. > :26:48.It is cold, it will rain, the caterpillars will be accessible to
:26:49. > :26:54.the cap -- the Robins but not to them. I don't think it is a case of
:26:55. > :26:57.the male having eaten all of the Caterpillar pie. They peck around
:26:58. > :27:05.the entrance like that quite commonly. Why do they do with?
:27:06. > :27:09.Marking territory? Customising it slightly, maybe. They do it
:27:10. > :27:19.throughout the breeding cycle. Those birds, they are about 55 metres
:27:20. > :27:21.apart, those nests, but 170 metres away sits there arch and a Mrs, the
:27:22. > :27:36.sparrowhawk. Let's go live. This is the female, on a nest she
:27:37. > :27:44.has made for herself. These birds feed on other small birds. Are they
:27:45. > :27:49.in peril? Have the male disappeared because it is now part of the female
:27:50. > :27:53.sparrowhawk? This is what we have been watching over the past few
:27:54. > :27:59.days. We have not only seen the female, we have watched the male as
:28:00. > :28:04.well. He has a plucking post. These are the five eggs she has got,
:28:05. > :28:11.typical markings. Every time she comes back, she called before she
:28:12. > :28:16.sits down on them. I think she is talking to the checks inside those
:28:17. > :28:20.eggs. You think they can hear? They can definitely here. In the later
:28:21. > :28:26.stages of incubation she can hear them as well, and as a consequence,
:28:27. > :28:31.I think she is talking to them. You might think it is nonsense, but I
:28:32. > :28:38.will research it, while you are in the bar! I will go to my room and
:28:39. > :28:42.research it. When I was pregnant I'd use to sing to my child so he would
:28:43. > :28:47.get used to my voice, which was unfortunate for him! He has not gone
:28:48. > :28:53.into the music business! But he recognises my voice! We have been
:28:54. > :29:00.watching the male, he has a plucking post close to the nest. It is on
:29:01. > :29:06.that blog, in he comes, calling. He is announcing to the female that he
:29:07. > :29:11.has got some prey. He is not taking it directly to the nest, because any
:29:12. > :29:14.discarded parts would attract scavengers and predators, so that is
:29:15. > :29:19.why he has the post a short distance away. She has heard him will stop
:29:20. > :29:26.she gets up, she has a stretch, and she drops down. She is considerably
:29:27. > :29:32.bigger than him. He is terrified of her. He soon gets out of the way.
:29:33. > :29:36.But he takes advantage of the fact she is off the nest to have a sneaky
:29:37. > :29:43.peek himself and to bring another stick back. This is the male, but he
:29:44. > :29:50.does not loiter. He knows that as soon as she has feasted on the food
:29:51. > :29:56.he has provided, she will come back. She watches him leave, and in she
:29:57. > :30:01.comes. She drops a piece of bark. She called again, like I said.
:30:02. > :30:09.Perhaps talking to the young in the eggs. She settles down back onto
:30:10. > :30:13.them. What about that. Incredible, to have the plucking post and the
:30:14. > :30:17.nest so close and cameras on both. And people to see the interaction.
:30:18. > :30:22.We will watch them throughout the series, we don't know when the eggs
:30:23. > :30:26.were laid, so we cannot tell you when we think they will hatch, but
:30:27. > :30:32.when they do, we are in for a treat. What happens to those birds, we will
:30:33. > :30:39.have to see. Sparrowhawk, golden Eagle, what more could you ask for?
:30:40. > :30:43.Sexy birds. Absolutely. We are not just following the fortunes of birds
:30:44. > :30:46.here, we are going to explore one of the most extraordinary colonies in
:30:47. > :30:52.the world will stop it is remote, it is rugged, where is it? It is about
:30:53. > :30:57.five hours north of here will stop it is an island off the
:30:58. > :31:06.Northumberland coast, the farm islands. We will get latest reports
:31:07. > :31:16.of whatever they see and film. It is a brilliant place to be.
:31:17. > :31:22.Welcome to the Farne Islands in Northumberland. This wonderful place
:31:23. > :31:25.will be my home for the next three weeks. Originally they were
:31:26. > :31:29.connected to the mainland but towards the end of the last ice age
:31:30. > :31:34.they became cut off and have been pretty much isolated ever since.
:31:35. > :31:41.When you get out here you see an incredible diversity of geology and
:31:42. > :31:44.of course the wildlife. It is this a decent wildlife that you see all
:31:45. > :31:59.around me that I am going to explore when I'm here. -- this incredible
:32:00. > :32:05.wildlife. This defiant string of whether in
:32:06. > :32:13.one rocks is made up of 28 isolated landmasses of different shapes and
:32:14. > :32:21.sizes. From the larger, to some tiny unmanned outcrops a few miles from
:32:22. > :32:25.the mainland. This collection of North Sea Islands has special
:32:26. > :32:31.international significance as a ghost is one of the most accessible
:32:32. > :32:38.sea bird colonies in the world. -- as it boasts.
:32:39. > :32:42.Here in the spring as the days grow longer and the temperature rises,
:32:43. > :32:49.the islands are transformed from relatively isolated lifeless
:32:50. > :32:58.outcrops, to this. A crazy cacophony of both sound and spectacle.
:32:59. > :33:04.And this spring looks like it will not disappoint. Right now hundreds
:33:05. > :33:09.of thousands of sea birds are gathering here from all over the
:33:10. > :33:24.world in order to breed. The place is positively buzzing with LaMotte,
:33:25. > :33:31.kittiwakes, razorbills, eider ducks, shacks, goals and of course the most
:33:32. > :33:37.popular sea bird in the nation, the puffin. I like puffins. Some of
:33:38. > :33:44.these birds use the will of spent the winter months in the
:33:45. > :33:54.Mediterranean put up and then others come from further afield, as far as
:33:55. > :33:56.North Africa. And the Arctic tern will of spent winter down in the
:33:57. > :34:02.Antarctic. Many travelling thousands of miles just to come here to breed.
:34:03. > :34:12.But why come all the way, one thing I can tell you is certainly is not
:34:13. > :34:16.for the Seaview. After a relatively mild winter, not to mention a very
:34:17. > :34:22.wet start to this year which saw twice the average amount of rainfall
:34:23. > :34:26.here in the Farne Islands, the moon has kicked off some hefty spring
:34:27. > :34:31.tides and the sun is finally starting to warm the land. It is not
:34:32. > :34:37.just plant life that is blooming. But the plankton as well. And when
:34:38. > :34:50.you have got plankton you have got the sand eels. And with the sand
:34:51. > :34:56.eels Comber sea birds and of them. Sand eels are top of the sea bird
:34:57. > :35:07.menu is this calorie rich food is the perfect sized meal for a hungry
:35:08. > :35:10.chick. I have been out here several times and I'm always bowled over by
:35:11. > :35:16.how fearless the birds are. When you think of it, barely a handful of
:35:17. > :35:25.Rangers live here so really the islands belong to them and not to
:35:26. > :35:30.us. It really feels wild out here. What is more I have been told it can
:35:31. > :35:36.go from glorious sunshine in the daytime to sit fog or storms with
:35:37. > :35:37.winds of up to 60 miles an hour overnight. So when I say wild, I
:35:38. > :35:55.mean wild. During the next three weeks I wanted
:35:56. > :35:57.to explore why for these special form of the year, the sea birds
:35:58. > :36:04.choose this predictably unpredictable location to be the
:36:05. > :36:09.home. We will be using dedicated nest cameras to try to capture the
:36:10. > :36:15.behaviour of some of these devoted parents.
:36:16. > :36:20.There's just so much to marvel at out here. I'm going to be following
:36:21. > :36:24.some of these characters over the next few weeks as they try to breed
:36:25. > :36:32.and to rear their young. I have no idea what is in store, with so many
:36:33. > :36:35.birds and of course you throw into the mix the unpredictable
:36:36. > :36:45.Northumberland weather, who knows what is going to happen. One thing
:36:46. > :36:49.is for sure, there will be an awful lot of things happening. And I start
:36:50. > :36:56.with the star of the show, tomorrow, the puffin.
:36:57. > :37:06.I cannot wait to see more of the Farne Islands. Here we are the other
:37:07. > :37:11.side from the ponies. This is known as the Konik field. The ponies will
:37:12. > :37:15.hear all of last year and they have transformed this landscape. We've
:37:16. > :37:20.been down over the last few days to film some of the creatures that have
:37:21. > :37:25.been feeding down here. Lapwings, probing around in the mud
:37:26. > :37:32.looking for insect larvae. A whole family of Keith, little youngsters
:37:33. > :37:43.eating the weeds. -- of peace. And this once again eating more of the
:37:44. > :37:48.weeds in the shallow water. Here is a egret fishing very successfully.
:37:49. > :37:53.And here we filmed some otters. A sure sign that this is a wonderfully
:37:54. > :38:00.rich habitat. It is a great habitat but what exact day have they done?
:38:01. > :38:06.Come with me and look at this. They have managed to eat the tops from
:38:07. > :38:11.all these rashes and reads. If they had not done that they would have
:38:12. > :38:16.grown up and it would be like it is over there, absolutely choked with
:38:17. > :38:20.the reads. That is the best thing that they have done. They've also
:38:21. > :38:30.been able to go out into the water and remember in the First World War
:38:31. > :38:38.was so desirable because they have brilliant hooves. Down here we have
:38:39. > :38:44.all kinds of delicious, look at that, full of insects, perfect and
:38:45. > :38:49.delicious food. Slightly smelly ad must admit. The kind of things that
:38:50. > :39:03.would be in their, let's have a look. Some insect larvae. A lot of
:39:04. > :39:06.little water beetles, caddis fly, perfect for ducklings and other
:39:07. > :39:14.creatures to feed on. And here the next that in the chain, young
:39:15. > :39:29.stickleback. Larger birds would be eating that. We will let them go.
:39:30. > :39:34.That is what is going on out here. And the Koniks have done this and
:39:35. > :39:40.opened it up. Let's try to get back a little bit. Lovely. That is the
:39:41. > :39:47.first time we've tried that, we did not know how deep it was. So that is
:39:48. > :39:52.the transformation that the Koniks have made. They have done that for
:39:53. > :40:04.lots of wildlife here but there is one special creature that they were
:40:05. > :40:08.brought in to try to help. That is the bittern and people come from all
:40:09. > :40:13.over the country to see the bittern. When the Koniks arrived there were
:40:14. > :40:23.just seven and that number has doubled to top it has been
:40:24. > :40:28.fantastically successful. What has he got? The RSPB are convinced that
:40:29. > :40:38.those Koniks have made the transformation amazing stuff. We've
:40:39. > :40:44.never managed to get the cameras in on a heronry. There is a huge one in
:40:45. > :40:53.Somerset near me. They're early nesters and we managed to get the
:40:54. > :40:58.cameras in way back in March. It is early March on the Somerset
:40:59. > :41:06.Levels. On a narrow ridge overlooking the flood plain is a
:41:07. > :41:18.strip of ancient woodland. It is one of the few patches of trees on an
:41:19. > :41:23.otherwise flat landscape. Winter has yet to loosen its grip. The trees
:41:24. > :41:30.are still bear. It is too early for most birds to breed, most are
:41:31. > :41:35.focused on food and survival, but one species is already preparing to
:41:36. > :41:44.procreate. One you might not expect to find in the tree tops. It is the
:41:45. > :41:48.grey heron and in a few weeks this will be the largest heron colony in
:41:49. > :41:57.the south-west of England with around 100 nests. First to arrive
:41:58. > :41:59.are the male birds, their bills are flushed orange with seasonal
:42:00. > :42:10.excitement ready to attract a female when they appear.
:42:11. > :42:21.They have good reason to breed early. This is when the freshwater
:42:22. > :42:33.comes alive. There are frogs in their hundreds. With their minds set
:42:34. > :42:37.on spawning, they make easy targets. After the meagre rations of the
:42:38. > :42:50.winter they make a plentiful, if awkward meal.
:42:51. > :42:57.Bolstered by this amphibian feast, the females arrive at the nesting
:42:58. > :43:09.site in good condition. Now they must pick a mate. By mid-March, 85
:43:10. > :43:15.nests are already in use. But all at different stages. Herons do not all
:43:16. > :43:20.breed at the same time. Each parent chooses when to start. Taking their
:43:21. > :43:25.chances against the unpredictable spring weather and food supplies. In
:43:26. > :43:30.the thick branches of an oak tree one pair already has a clutch of
:43:31. > :43:38.four eggs. Each parent takes turns to incubate the 12th are stretch. In
:43:39. > :43:45.the IV this pair started much earlier. They already have a couple
:43:46. > :43:50.of young and these chicks may stand a better chance of surviving this
:43:51. > :43:58.cold weather. Will the parents be able find enough food this early in
:43:59. > :44:02.the season? Up in the canopy this male bird is only just beginning his
:44:03. > :44:17.extravagant courtship display. Starting with a piercing yelp. To
:44:18. > :44:24.attract attention of the female. With his nest as a stage he employs
:44:25. > :44:30.a stretch display are erecting his nuptial Clunes and swelling his next
:44:31. > :44:40.to exaggerate his finer features. Soon he has an interested audience
:44:41. > :44:52.looking down from the gods. Each female is judging him on his
:44:53. > :44:59.performance. Not all are impressed. Only one is paying close attention.
:45:00. > :45:03.But high on hormones the male bird is caught between desire and
:45:04. > :45:12.aggression. He will attack the female if she gets too close, too
:45:13. > :45:21.soon. It could be four days before he allows her near him. She must be
:45:22. > :45:30.patient. The next few weeks will be crucial
:45:31. > :45:33.for each of the three nest. Wind, rain and availability of food will
:45:34. > :45:35.all play a part in determining which of these pairs has got the timing
:45:36. > :45:52.right. That was episode one of the heron
:45:53. > :45:58.diary and tomorrow will follow the nests to seek if the eggs hatch.
:45:59. > :46:04.Hingis crossed they do. The heron, the longest study in a single
:46:05. > :46:12.species in the UK, they have been monitoring heronry since 1928.
:46:13. > :46:22.I like a bird that has erectile nodule plumes. The wind is not good
:46:23. > :46:30.for that! Martin's were stuck up earlier! Those heavens, we saw in
:46:31. > :46:35.that film they gamble on when to start their nests. Inevitably,
:46:36. > :46:39.because they stagger them, there will be winners and losers,
:46:40. > :46:43.depending on the weather. They could do with a reliable weather forecast.
:46:44. > :46:47.They could really do with their very own Nick Miller!
:46:48. > :46:56.It would be a brave Haran that gambles on this week's whether in
:46:57. > :47:02.eastern England. The forecast coming up. First, a look back at Spring so
:47:03. > :47:05.far. This was a month ago, this would have been a shock for the
:47:06. > :47:13.early arriving migrant birds, but then we had heat in Highland
:47:14. > :47:16.Scotland. No heat like that in the foreseeable. A lot of rain for
:47:17. > :47:27.eastern England overnight. Turning things stormy. The rain washing the
:47:28. > :47:34.caterpillars from the trees. For the families of tits, the food might not
:47:35. > :47:38.be available. It is the strength of wind as well, and direction, both at
:47:39. > :47:43.the surface and higher up. Blowing away from the UK. In the face of
:47:44. > :47:48.birds yet to reach us from the South, the late arriving swallows,
:47:49. > :47:52.they may not make the last leg into the headwind. We will have to wait
:47:53. > :48:00.and see. West is best for dry, bright weather. For you, what you
:48:01. > :48:05.have now is what you will keep. I will leave you with a picture of the
:48:06. > :48:09.blazing sun. That is the closest you are going to get this week.
:48:10. > :48:14.Hopefully the wildlife will give us all the colour we need.
:48:15. > :48:21.Your hair will look windswept for the next few days! Sorry about the
:48:22. > :48:28.smell! You survived the horse riding. How was he? He was ready to
:48:29. > :48:37.go. It is like a racehorse in the gate. He was a good boy. Very
:48:38. > :48:39.exciting. One of our favourite animals, culture and folklore, but
:48:40. > :48:45.an essential player for the ecosystems, the badger. It is not an
:48:46. > :48:51.animal that is easy to get to know. It lives underground, presents a
:48:52. > :48:55.couple of difficulties. An enthusiast contacted us, he had
:48:56. > :48:57.found a collection of badgers very close to where he lived that allowed
:48:58. > :49:10.him to get a fantastic daylight views and film.
:49:11. > :49:21.My name is Richard Hopkins, I am a consultant radiologist. My job is
:49:22. > :49:25.image -based, I analyse MRI scans and CT scans to make a diagnosis
:49:26. > :49:35.about illnesses, cancer or other conditions. I find my job fairly
:49:36. > :49:40.stressful, so film-making is complete escapism, it is being often
:49:41. > :49:45.on my own, in beautiful surroundings, just being in the
:49:46. > :49:55.moment, filming what is in front of me. The wood is beautiful, it is a
:49:56. > :49:58.photographer's paradise. Dappled sunlight in the evening, bluebells,
:49:59. > :50:07.wild garnet, it is a lovely place to photograph. I have been interested
:50:08. > :50:11.in natural history and badgers since I was at school. Whenever I was out
:50:12. > :50:17.looking for wildlife and badgers, I always had a camera. It was about
:50:18. > :50:25.getting the perfect picture. The elusiveness of the badger is part of
:50:26. > :50:31.the appeal. They are shy, nocturnal, quite difficult to find. They are
:50:32. > :50:38.very secretive. If they are aware of you, you cannot photograph or film
:50:39. > :50:42.them. When I first started photographing the current group,
:50:43. > :50:49.they were quite cautious, they would come out late at night, they would
:50:50. > :50:56.not show any natural behaviour. After a number of visits, they would
:50:57. > :51:07.behave naturally, grooming, digging, dashing around with young cubs.
:51:08. > :51:16.Quite often they will come and surround me and by camera, but I am
:51:17. > :51:21.careful about not letting them get too close. They are wild animals,
:51:22. > :51:31.and I don't want them to completely lose the fear of humans. I first saw
:51:32. > :51:37.a cup this year in the second week of April, quite cautious. Just
:51:38. > :51:40.hanging around the skirts of the mother and disappearing back into
:51:41. > :51:47.the whole quite quickly after it came out. To look at a different,
:51:48. > :51:51.they are smaller, fluffy, they often have this behaviour when airfare
:51:52. > :51:55.stands upon end, like little hedgehogs. It is to make them look
:51:56. > :52:02.as big as possible and a bit more frightening. One of the behaviours I
:52:03. > :52:08.film quite often is lying on their back and scratching their tummies.
:52:09. > :52:23.There is a particular male that tends to do that a lot.
:52:24. > :52:29.This spring the weather has been very mixed. We have had periods of
:52:30. > :52:36.beautiful sunshine and then clouds and rain, even snow. It has been
:52:37. > :52:42.quite surprising how the badgers have behaved in the snow. I have
:52:43. > :52:46.been there and the young cubs have been soaked through, but rattled,
:52:47. > :52:50.wet, looking sorry for themselves. But they have been going around
:52:51. > :53:01.their normal behaviour, it has not affected them too badly.
:53:02. > :53:08.What I like about filming and being in the woods with them, it is an
:53:09. > :53:21.antidote to a very busy, stressful medical job. Definitely helps to
:53:22. > :53:26.recharge the batteries. What a delight. I love the
:53:27. > :53:32.scratching badger, I can scratch mine. I don't want to see you
:53:33. > :53:40.scratching your chest! It is something you can all do! Scratch my
:53:41. > :53:43.badger! You can all find your own sanctuary, somewhere where you can
:53:44. > :53:49.get away from the stresses and strains of life. I bet you have got
:53:50. > :53:53.somewhere. I enjoy myself in the garage, I get my best spanners out
:53:54. > :54:00.and I rub them with an oily rag, caressing them like that. You can
:54:01. > :54:08.understand that! We must move on! I promised you more reviews of the
:54:09. > :54:18.Eagle's nest, there is one chick that is five days old. Look at this.
:54:19. > :54:20.She has got some prey. This is a huge, powerful, aggressive predator,
:54:21. > :54:29.armed with that massive bill. Look how delicately she tears up
:54:30. > :54:38.this tiny morsel of meat and offers it to the youngster. That is
:54:39. > :54:44.amazing. Absolutely beautiful. Gorgeous. We will be watching these
:54:45. > :54:48.through the series, hope to learn a lot more about them, the prey coming
:54:49. > :54:53.in, the rate of growth, and following the adult birds and seeing
:54:54. > :54:59.how they are using the territory to find the prey and the impact the
:55:00. > :55:04.forestry is having. An amazing luck on the adult's face, it is very
:55:05. > :55:10.caring. How quickly will the chick grow? They have got to get to a big
:55:11. > :55:16.bird before they fledge, 60 days in the best, so we will change -- we
:55:17. > :55:20.will see it change rapidly. It is a long process for the Eagles. With
:55:21. > :55:26.the cold, wet weather coming, it will be all right. Let's go to the
:55:27. > :55:36.live cameras. It is getting dark. What is happening in the nest of
:55:37. > :55:41.blue tits? She is looking more and more battered, every time we look at
:55:42. > :55:50.her. What is she doing? Is she clearing out the nest? This is a
:55:51. > :55:53.female that has worked so hard. She only has four chicks left, she is
:55:54. > :55:59.trying desperately hard to keep them going. It will be interesting to see
:56:00. > :56:08.how she gets on with this weather. It is not great. There is possibly
:56:09. > :56:13.an enormous drama ring down in our other nest. We are going to be
:56:14. > :56:24.launching this tomorrow. A beautiful bird. Elegant, sublime. Classic. We
:56:25. > :56:27.will tell you more about this tomorrow, but there are a lot of
:56:28. > :56:32.other birds around. Some of them are large and Hungary. We have also been
:56:33. > :56:39.filming various birds around the reserve. Particularly the marsh
:56:40. > :56:44.harrier. So delicate. It is a bird of prey, but it is so lightweight.
:56:45. > :56:52.Look at the spindly legs and talents. Gorgeous. Floating about,
:56:53. > :56:55.looking down into the reeds for potential prey, which could be
:56:56. > :57:02.amphibians or other nest, they will even take eggs. They will drop into
:57:03. > :57:08.water rail nests and eat the eggs. Another thing we have seen is this,
:57:09. > :57:13.a turtledove. A very pleasant surprise, because this bird has
:57:14. > :57:22.declined by 91% since 1995, but let's listen. It is a lovely call.
:57:23. > :57:27.Very characteristic. Although it is disappearing from lots of our
:57:28. > :57:32.farmland, where it was once a common species. Loss of habitat, hunting
:57:33. > :57:39.and migration. Is it called per ring? It sounds like it. I saw and
:57:40. > :57:45.heard it the other day. That is all we have got time for. Join us again
:57:46. > :57:49.tomorrow at 6:30pm on BBC Two, we will be joined by Larry Lamb,
:57:50. > :57:56.formerly a baddie in EastEnders, at a man with a taste for wildlife. A
:57:57. > :58:01.passion for wildlife, of course! You can watch our live cameras online on
:58:02. > :58:07.the red button. Tomorrow, we will see the fabulous puffins. One of
:58:08. > :58:18.Britain's's favourite birds. And we will follow the futures of our three
:58:19. > :58:21.adorable little owls, they are cute. Our woodland Demon the sparrowhawk.
:58:22. > :58:25.Hopefully we will see the male. We have had a wonderful first day, we
:58:26. > :58:29.hope you will join us tomorrow, seeded them. Goodbye for now! Good
:58:30. > :58:34.night!