:00:09. > :00:15.This stunning bird is an avocet, and it's coming to you live from the
:00:16. > :00:22.RSPB Minsmere reserve here in Suffolk. It may be beautiful, but it
:00:23. > :00:28.is extremely vulnerable, and this spring, it's having a really tough
:00:29. > :00:31.time protecting those eggs. The scene is set, let the drama unfold.
:00:32. > :01:01.Curtain up, it's Springwatch. Hello and welcome to Springwatch.
:01:02. > :01:06.While many of you have been enjoying blue skies and sunshine, it is a
:01:07. > :01:11.very different story here on the east coast of Southwark. In fact, we
:01:12. > :01:17.have had torrential rain, horrendous wind, and quite frankly, it feels
:01:18. > :01:23.like Winterwatch, it's been so cold. I should have put on my thermals.
:01:24. > :01:29.Some people in Cornwall got sunburned. It seems impossible. It
:01:30. > :01:34.is a fantastic place to be for wildlife. We introduced you
:01:35. > :01:41.yesterday to habitats, but one of the most important has to be the
:01:42. > :01:44.scrape. But what is that? It is a series of man-made lagoon with
:01:45. > :01:54.islands on them that had been scraped of vegetation and managed
:01:55. > :02:00.for nesting birds that need their land to nest on. Especially avocets.
:02:01. > :02:07.It is important for them. 6% of the UK's breeding avocets come here to
:02:08. > :02:15.nest. We have double the number of pairs that we had last year. It is a
:02:16. > :02:20.beautiful bird. And that is it live. Just before we came on air, we went
:02:21. > :02:26.to it live and it wasn't there. Just the eggs. Two seconds to go. We have
:02:27. > :02:31.been following their fortunes. Let's see what they have been getting up
:02:32. > :02:38.to. They are very diligent parents. Here is one of them feeding. They
:02:39. > :02:42.use their upturn bill to save the water. They are beautifully
:02:43. > :02:49.camouflaged, the eggs, on the ground. The parent is settling down
:02:50. > :02:53.on the eggs. They need to turn the eggs are little each time they come.
:02:54. > :02:58.Here is the other one. They swapped over about once an hour. If you look
:02:59. > :03:05.carefully, you can see the brood patch. It is a better bit of skin.
:03:06. > :03:09.This one will lift the feathers up. You can just see it. And a one bit
:03:10. > :03:15.of skin that just settles on the eggs and keeps them warm. They had
:03:16. > :03:21.been doing well until this morning. It was hammering down. Look at the
:03:22. > :03:25.weather. They changed their behaviour because of the weather,
:03:26. > :03:29.probably. They were changing once an hour, and when it was raining, they
:03:30. > :03:38.did it once every three hours, trying to keep the eggs warm. Be
:03:39. > :03:44.scrape is so open to the elements. -- the scrape. Of all the birds we
:03:45. > :03:49.are filming, the ones on the scrape are having the toughest challenge
:03:50. > :03:55.this year. Not one avocet chick has survived so far. In fact, in the
:03:56. > :04:02.last few days, all the chicks have had a tough time. It is because of
:04:03. > :04:06.the neighbours, the gulls. They are taking complete advantage. That is
:04:07. > :04:13.one taking a black headed gull chick. It is not just the avocets.
:04:14. > :04:23.Remember two years ago, we lost most of the chicks to a particular
:04:24. > :04:30.badger. A lot of gulls have taken over. We are facing gull hell this
:04:31. > :04:37.year. I wonder how many will survive. It is proving to be quite a
:04:38. > :04:40.tough spring. It is almost inevitable - so many calories just
:04:41. > :04:46.sitting on the ground. All the birds when they nest together, will fly up
:04:47. > :04:52.into the air to attack predators. But they can't avoid those gulls.
:04:53. > :04:57.The last 24 hours have been very tough on lots of the birds here,
:04:58. > :05:13.particularly because of the weather. The stone curlews, they had a storm.
:05:14. > :05:18.They are out in the open. We think there was a warning call because
:05:19. > :05:23.there might have been a fox in the area. The parents did not return,
:05:24. > :05:29.terrifyingly, for one hour and ten minutes, allowing the egg to chill.
:05:30. > :05:33.We think the egg is probably due to Hatch tomorrow, so this is the worst
:05:34. > :05:44.possible time for it to have chilled down. Look at that, Martin. A
:05:45. > :05:48.terrible shame. The parent is being incredibly diligent, sitting in the
:05:49. > :05:53.pouring rain, looking absolutely miserable. It is absolutely sod. As
:05:54. > :05:58.I say, it is so challenging for these birds. What do you think the
:05:59. > :06:03.chances are of that egg hatching? Not that great? With my chickens,
:06:04. > :06:07.and every thing goes back to them, sometimes they do come off and they
:06:08. > :06:11.do chilled to a remarkable degree, but they seem to be able to pick it
:06:12. > :06:15.up again. It gets more and more difficult later in the egg's
:06:16. > :06:24.development. And it was chilly last night. And with the wind, not good.
:06:25. > :06:30.A lot of drama going on on the scrape. We left you yesterday with a
:06:31. > :06:38.bit of a cliffhanger in the woods. Drama down here makes Game Of
:06:39. > :06:42.Thrones look tame. At this time of year, you have to think of this
:06:43. > :06:48.woodland as a giant salad bowl. These trees can have up to 1 million
:06:49. > :06:55.leaves on them. They are soft and luscious, delicious, and they are
:06:56. > :07:00.being gobbled by millions of tiny moth caterpillars. They are being
:07:01. > :07:06.gobbled up in time by our tit families. Let's go to our bluetits
:07:07. > :07:11.down in the woods. We have been watching them intently. There were
:07:12. > :07:15.four in the nest. They are being served by a single parent, we think
:07:16. > :07:20.the female. Despite the rain today, she has worked very hard, and they
:07:21. > :07:25.are still going. She started off with 13 eggs, she has four young,
:07:26. > :07:31.she is doing well. Inside, you can see that there were five chicks
:07:32. > :07:35.nesting. They are not getting as much food as the bluetits at the
:07:36. > :07:39.moment, but that is possibly because they are smaller and they simply
:07:40. > :07:43.don't need it. All the rain today is not a great help to these birds
:07:44. > :07:47.because it washes the caterpillars off of the trees. It is great news
:07:48. > :07:53.for the blackbirds and Robbins on the ground, but it is bad news for
:07:54. > :07:58.the tits. Particularly with the great tits, they are going for
:07:59. > :08:09.spiders, which is not unusual. In the first six days of feeding, they
:08:10. > :08:13.seemed to actively choose spiders. We have here a female with the
:08:14. > :08:17.abdomen of a very large spider. It is big and she tries for some time
:08:18. > :08:22.to get the chicks to take it. Eventually, this one decides to give
:08:23. > :08:29.it a go. And, after some perseverance, it manages to get it
:08:30. > :08:35.down. What a meal, especially on a rainy day like today. Let's think
:08:36. > :08:40.about the ecology. You have the leaves, with the caterpillars
:08:41. > :08:48.munching them, the tits munching the caterpillars, but what is munching
:08:49. > :08:57.the tits? The sparrowhawk, about 170 metres away from the nest. Here is
:08:58. > :09:06.the female, live now. She is on five eggs. We don't know when they are
:09:07. > :09:19.due to Hatch. I would say within the next 7-10 days. Look at those eyes -
:09:20. > :09:27.they whose predatory nature. She is provisioning all the food. The male
:09:28. > :09:31.comes in with food. He doesn't want to attract predators. You can see
:09:32. > :09:36.clearly that that is a bluetits that he has captured and killed. This
:09:37. > :09:40.time, the male comes in, and if you look at the tail carefully, you can
:09:41. > :09:46.see those pointed, stiff feathers. That tells us that it is a tree
:09:47. > :09:51.creeper. This is where things start to get exciting. Look at the same
:09:52. > :09:58.post, but this time look carefully at the male that is bringing in the
:09:59. > :10:06.next items of prey. Here is the male with the great tit. It is a full
:10:07. > :10:13.adult male with a pale throat. He calls the female off, she rouses
:10:14. > :10:18.herself. She jumps down, and they are, she takes the food and flies
:10:19. > :10:24.off to carry on hunting, of course. She is entirely dependent on him.
:10:25. > :10:30.But look at this. This is a different male. This is a juvenile
:10:31. > :10:36.male. The chest is completely different. Look at his stripey
:10:37. > :10:42.throat. And look at the pray that it has got - a swallow. You have two
:10:43. > :10:45.different male is provisioning the same female at the same time on the
:10:46. > :10:51.same nest, because we have been watching them. Both of them are
:10:52. > :10:55.coming in, bringing pray, then they call the female off and she comes to
:10:56. > :10:59.collect will stop this has been seen before, no doubt, but we will do
:11:00. > :11:03.some more research. You can keep your eyes peeled on this because our
:11:04. > :11:11.cameras are alive on the web on the red button all the time. What about
:11:12. > :11:16.that swallow? An interesting story, cops that night because the swallow
:11:17. > :11:20.we were watching about four hours ago has disappeared a stop it hasn't
:11:21. > :11:25.been back. And this nest is about 175 metres away from the
:11:26. > :11:32.sparrowhawk's nest. So, we could be at this point in time seeing a
:11:33. > :11:38.situation where the sparrowhawk has taken the young swallow, provisioned
:11:39. > :11:41.it and given it to the female. It is unusual for birds that are
:11:42. > :11:45.incubating to be off for four hours like that. We have two different
:11:46. > :11:50.males and we have lost our swallows - that is what I call drama.
:11:51. > :11:55.Wildlife, when you think you have it sorted out, throws in a big
:11:56. > :11:59.surprise. More drama down in the Somerset levels with our heroines.
:12:00. > :12:04.We had three nests down there in the woods on the edge of the Levels.
:12:05. > :12:10.There was the first nest, which we were calling the branch nest, then
:12:11. > :12:13.we had the idea nest, then the canopy nest. These were all at
:12:14. > :12:18.different stages in the breeding cycle. They had been gambling on
:12:19. > :12:27.when to start breeding. Let's go back to the herons to see for whom
:12:28. > :12:35.the gamble is paying off. It is Good Friday and a called Dawn
:12:36. > :12:43.in this ancient woodland. -- a cold dawn. Of the herons breeding here,
:12:44. > :12:49.we have been following three. Each pair started at a different time.
:12:50. > :12:50.Each trying to get their tiny right to survive the unpredictable British
:12:51. > :13:11.weather. In the branch nest, nearly four
:13:12. > :13:14.weeks after they were late,... It seems we are having some technical
:13:15. > :13:19.difficulties with the film. We will try to sort it out, but in the
:13:20. > :13:24.meantime, let's think about another set of predators. We have been
:13:25. > :13:28.watching the rabbits. They are underestimated, but their social
:13:29. > :13:32.life is fascinating. There are plenty of them here. In fact,
:13:33. > :13:37.earlier today, I asked the researchers to figure out how many
:13:38. > :13:44.rabbits were here and how much meat was available to predators. There is
:13:45. > :13:52.around 14.4 tonnes of rabbits out there. Of course, if you have all of
:13:53. > :13:57.this prey, there must be a predator to take advantage. They are eaten by
:13:58. > :14:02.foxes and badgers, but rabbits are also eaten by Stokes. We have been
:14:03. > :14:17.lucky enough to get some fantastic views of these little creatures. --
:14:18. > :14:23.stoats. This is a female stoat. This stoat is moving its kids from one
:14:24. > :14:31.Bar road to another. Here it is, bringing one of the youngsters out.
:14:32. > :14:40.It is quite well grown. -- from one burrow. It takes it across and moves
:14:41. > :14:46.it into another burrow. She could have got a bit spooked, or it could
:14:47. > :14:54.be that the row has gotten too fetid. They drag rabbits that they
:14:55. > :14:57.have caught down into the burrow, and it begins to rot. Quite
:14:58. > :15:02.unpleasant. We saw the same thing last year in pretty much the same
:15:03. > :15:08.spot. It is not too unusual, I have to say. Absolutely fantastical stop
:15:09. > :15:13.rabbits are pretty interesting. We don't need the stoats to be killing
:15:14. > :15:17.them, they are fascinating. We have been watching intently. This mile is
:15:18. > :15:23.easy to identify because of this nick in his ear. We were able to
:15:24. > :15:31.follow him as an individual. In Rabbit Society, every -- there are
:15:32. > :15:38.dominant males and then sub dominance. This mile is marking with
:15:39. > :15:50.his scent. This one might be using his cheek to scent mark. Do you see
:15:51. > :15:57.that? He sprayed her with your rent, which is one of the things they do
:15:58. > :16:10.during the courtship process. -- you're eyeing -- you're in. She can
:16:11. > :16:13.sense from that that he is the dominant male and will allow him to
:16:14. > :16:18.break. They can produce young every 30 days and they will give birth to
:16:19. > :16:26.3-7 of them. They need to do that because they have sstoats, buzzards
:16:27. > :16:29.and all sorts after them. If they didn't do that, the strategy
:16:30. > :16:34.wouldn't work. In a few days, that is what will happen - there will be
:16:35. > :16:40.another litter bunnies out there. In the meantime, to keep them safe, all
:16:41. > :16:44.the rabbits are extremely vigilant. They have their heads in the air,
:16:45. > :16:50.looking out for predators that might possibly come in.
:16:51. > :16:56.Now over to Martin Hughes-Games. Thank you. This year I'm trying to
:16:57. > :17:04.join in the BBC's do something great for nature. I'm doing that here by
:17:05. > :17:08.featuring some of the work that the volunteers do here and we are
:17:09. > :17:15.looking at something unusual. I'm going to look at moths. Incredibly
:17:16. > :17:19.there is about 2,500 species of British moth and about a 1,000 of
:17:20. > :17:23.them have been found here at Mimsmere. When you look at them
:17:24. > :17:28.closely, they're astonishing. If you see one doing this, it is warming up
:17:29. > :17:33.its wings to get the flight muscles up to temperature before... It is
:17:34. > :17:38.off! There are movts all around us. It has not been a great year for
:17:39. > :17:45.moths, because it is cold. How do you catch moths? Here they use this.
:17:46. > :17:53.You put this moth trap among these nettles. Thank you. How does a moth
:17:54. > :17:59.trap work? Ow! You have what look like egg boxes, when the moths go
:18:00. > :18:07.in, they want somewhere to hide. You put them at the bottom of the trap.
:18:08. > :18:13.Always wanted one of these. Then you put the top on. This is a very, very
:18:14. > :18:18.powerful light. When I was a kid I put pillowcases around the outside
:18:19. > :18:22.light. This is a really power light and we will switch it on in a
:18:23. > :18:29.minute. But moths are remarkable things. Particularly when you look
:18:30. > :18:41.at them closely. This is an angle-shaved moth. It is very well
:18:42. > :18:47.camouflaged, the eye is made of tiny lenses and some moths have 27,000 of
:18:48. > :18:53.these tiny lenses. I wonder what the world looks like to them. Another
:18:54. > :18:57.feature is the colours, how do they get that colour? Partly it is due to
:18:58. > :19:06.this. Look at the wing tip. Tiny scales. Let's go closer. They look a
:19:07. > :19:12.bit like roof tiles don't they? Of course, as they grow older, they
:19:13. > :19:17.lose some of the scales. If you have ever picked up a moth, they often
:19:18. > :19:22.leave a few scales in your hand. There are moths around here. We hope
:19:23. > :19:25.to catch some. But all moths have either a weird name or an
:19:26. > :19:36.extraordinary story to tell like this one. This is called the silver
:19:37. > :19:40.V. Y. It has a Y on its wing. It doesn't come from around here. It
:19:41. > :19:49.may have flown here from North Africa. A silver Y can travel 800
:19:50. > :19:54.kilometres in a night. They lift off on a perfect evening, go into the
:19:55. > :19:59.sky, catch the wind and fly up to eight hours. Here is the incredible
:20:00. > :20:04.thing - if there a side wind, they can detect it and will fly at an
:20:05. > :20:10.angle to the wind to be blown towards the destination they want to
:20:11. > :20:16.go to. Quite unbelievable. We will come back later. Now with a bit of
:20:17. > :20:20.luck, this is a business like Frankenstein, I'm going to turn this
:20:21. > :20:27.one on. It will take a while to warm up and it is not good to look
:20:28. > :20:31.straight into the lights. As they're powerful. The weather has been
:20:32. > :20:37.giving the moths some trouble. It should warm up later. As the weather
:20:38. > :20:48.has been difficult, it has been giving Iolo problems up in the
:20:49. > :20:53.farms. -- Farnes. We promise you'd drama and we have got some. We are
:20:54. > :20:57.being battered by gale-force winds and there no boats going out to the
:20:58. > :21:05.islands. It is hard to believe that just last night we were enjoying
:21:06. > :21:12.bright blue skies. Our Springwatch base is on the mainland and when the
:21:13. > :21:18.weather hits like this we are cut off. We said it would be predictably
:21:19. > :21:22.unpredictable. That is what it is. There are some huge waves crashing
:21:23. > :21:32.over the harbour wall. It means you and I will have to wait for our
:21:33. > :21:37.puffin fix. For now, our entire crew is stuck here. Whether we like it or
:21:38. > :22:02.not. What a carry on! It takes all day, but the winds die
:22:03. > :22:07.down enough for boats to launch. We won't be allowed to film on the
:22:08. > :22:15.islands this late, but don't worry, I have a plan! I promised you a
:22:16. > :22:17.puffin fix and if we can't get to them, they're going to have to come
:22:18. > :22:36.us to. Hi, Ed. How you doing? All right.
:22:37. > :22:42.What's going on. It is tropical out here. It was stormy on the coast.
:22:43. > :22:47.Yes. How quickly it changes. I should have worn a pair of shorts.
:22:48. > :22:52.The cards are in there? Yes. Thank you very much. I'm dieing to see
:22:53. > :22:55.what is in here, the camera has been out for almost a week. Let's get
:22:56. > :23:14.this safely back to shore. Wow. There is a bird having a probe
:23:15. > :23:20.with its bill. But of course they will use the bill to hack away at
:23:21. > :23:27.some of the sides, but it is the feet that are the real digging
:23:28. > :23:30.machines. Here we go. It is like a clockwork little toy, the little
:23:31. > :23:35.feet going mad. They have got to do a bit of maintenance. They have been
:23:36. > :23:40.out at sea all winter. The burrow is not in particularly good condition.
:23:41. > :23:45.So they're making sure that this burrow, this home, is perfect for
:23:46. > :23:50.them. I tell you what, they can't half move some soil as well. They
:23:51. > :23:56.have small claws and those are the ones that are so useful to dig away
:23:57. > :24:00.the soil. Very industrious. They must be using a lot of energy to do
:24:01. > :24:05.this. It shows how important it that is they get the burrow just right
:24:06. > :24:10.for them. We are just so lucky to be seeing this. We are getting a
:24:11. > :24:18.glimpse into the very secretive world of the puffin. Amazing stuff.
:24:19. > :24:24.It is great. I love a nesting puffin. Many people's favourite
:24:25. > :24:33.animals. I think they look better in black and white. Come on, it is the
:24:34. > :24:36.colourful beak. And it is not only the view of nest. We have had
:24:37. > :24:43.something extraordinary and look at this. For the first time we are
:24:44. > :24:47.being able to bring you a camera on a Golden Eagle's nest, way up in
:24:48. > :24:54.Scotland. We are indepted to David Anderson and the Forestry Commission
:24:55. > :24:59.for allowing us to use their time and expertise. We are so privileged
:25:00. > :25:06.to get these views. It is a fabulous bird and it is a fabulous mother so
:25:07. > :25:13.far. She is five years old and reared chicks for the last two
:25:14. > :25:20.years. You see how delicately she walks around the nest and she has a
:25:21. > :25:24.precious cargo - a chick that is completely white and tiny in
:25:25. > :25:34.comparison. The mother stays with the chick practically all the time.
:25:35. > :25:38.She has chosen that nest well. It is well protected from prevailing
:25:39. > :25:42.winds. But she is so delicate all the time for such a big powerful
:25:43. > :25:51.bird. Great scenes. She won't leave it. Although it is on a steep
:25:52. > :25:57.precipice, pine martens could get in or ravens or foxes. She won't leave
:25:58. > :26:04.the chick. And something else we noticed. You will see alongside the
:26:05. > :26:13.chick and beneath the female is an unhatched egg. That is not unusual.
:26:14. > :26:17.They typically lay two eggs and employ a strategy that means they
:26:18. > :26:24.have two young, but one will hatch in advance of the other and if there
:26:25. > :26:28.is a food shortage, the older sibling becomes more aggressive and
:26:29. > :26:37.will kill the smaller one and get all of the food. It is part of their
:26:38. > :26:45.biology and the name comes from the biblical reference to the story of
:26:46. > :26:56.Cane and Abel. I remember in the old days when I was hungry, I would turn
:26:57. > :27:00.to my sister and think I fancy those beans on toast. But where is the
:27:01. > :27:05.male? We haven't seen much of him. He is out hunting most of the time.
:27:06. > :27:09.When the female pops off the nest, the male comes in. You can see the
:27:10. > :27:15.size difference. She is looking very shabby. You can see that size
:27:16. > :27:23.difference when the female comes in. She is much larger. What has he
:27:24. > :27:32.brought in? It is a meal. But it is a whole nest with live chicks in it.
:27:33. > :27:36.We think that they're crows. You can see the Golden Eagle chick is
:27:37. > :27:41.getting very excited. We said the Golden Eagle chick was small in come
:27:42. > :27:48.spar son to the adult Golden Eagle. But look at the size of the chick it
:27:49. > :27:54.is feeding on. It is tiny. But this is a good strategy to take a whole
:27:55. > :27:58.nest, because it means it has gone a ready made larder of fresh food that
:27:59. > :28:03.could last a few days. The weather up there has been rainy and so it is
:28:04. > :28:09.hard for eagles to hunt in those conditions. So this makes sense.
:28:10. > :28:16.Have you seen it before? I haven't seen it before. When you think about
:28:17. > :28:20.it, they don't want to go back and forward, if they can grab the nest
:28:21. > :28:27.and if they survive it is fresh meat. I have seen goshawks grab a
:28:28. > :28:33.whole nest and certain foreign raptors will do that. And take
:28:34. > :28:38.things out as and when they want it. Imagine being a crow chick in a nest
:28:39. > :28:44.and seeing this great big bird come and grab the whole nest and then fly
:28:45. > :28:51.off with you. It must be really scary. I suppose so. It is fantastic
:28:52. > :28:56.to get an insight into what happens in a Golden Eagle nest and it is
:28:57. > :29:04.exciting, because we don't know what else we will find. We hope we can
:29:05. > :29:09.help with the research. If you're watching yesterday, you will see
:29:10. > :29:14.that Richard Hopkins had been filming badgers and gave us some
:29:15. > :29:20.great pictures. Today another wildlife enthusiast has got in
:29:21. > :29:27.touch, Steve from Sussex. He noticed something which was seasonally
:29:28. > :29:35.unusual. Watch this. I have spent most of my life at the water's edge.
:29:36. > :29:45.I have seen a lot of things. A lot of interesting things. But this is
:29:46. > :29:50.something most peculiar. I have first spotted these fish about three
:29:51. > :29:57.years ago and actually I was a keen fisherman then. It was such a
:29:58. > :30:06.fascinating sight. There in front of me in an area the size of my front
:30:07. > :30:09.room were perhaps a thousand fish. I have searched similar rivers near by
:30:10. > :30:19.to find the same thing, but I haven't found it. These fish are
:30:20. > :30:25.thin-lipped mullet. They're known as the grey ghosts or the uncatchables,
:30:26. > :30:32.they are mysterious in a lot of ways. They don't look very
:30:33. > :30:37.attractive from above, if you can get down close, they have got the
:30:38. > :30:43.cutest faces. Elevenest they have got fins that are like little angel
:30:44. > :30:49.wings and they glide through the water. If you were to get under them
:30:50. > :30:54.and look up, it looks as if there is a load of sharks circling you. It is
:30:55. > :31:01.a spooky sight. They spend most of the winter at sea. They go to spawn
:31:02. > :31:08.around October or November. And around the new moon in February they
:31:09. > :31:18.emerge out of the murky main river. This is where the river Ouse meets
:31:19. > :31:20.the winter Bourne stream. The fresh water they need is shut off with a
:31:21. > :31:33.sues gate. When the tide goes out and the water
:31:34. > :31:47.behind the sluice gate build-up, it all comes bubbling out as beautiful,
:31:48. > :31:52.clear water. They don't just sit there like inanimate objects, they
:31:53. > :32:01.are swaying from one site to another and moving around, almost like a
:32:02. > :32:07.flock of starlings. It is like a dance or something, a fantastic
:32:08. > :32:12.thing to see. No one really knows what they are doing here in this
:32:13. > :32:17.spring water outlet. Some people say they are spawning, which they are
:32:18. > :32:22.definitely not. Some say they are feeding on something specific, which
:32:23. > :32:31.they most definitely are not, although they do take some algae
:32:32. > :32:42.occasionally. I think they are having a spa. When they first
:32:43. > :32:50.appeared, around 75% of them have up to 20% of their bodies covered in
:32:51. > :32:55.fungus. Perhaps the water is enough to kill that off. I have asked
:32:56. > :33:06.people not to fish for them or disturb them. I think the month in
:33:07. > :33:11.this water is critical to their life cycle, if not their life. There are
:33:12. > :33:19.some ugly brutes. But I have got my favourites. There are some very cute
:33:20. > :33:23.ones. This year, there is an unusual visitor, and that is a tiny one.
:33:24. > :33:27.Somehow, it has got separated from its brothers and sisters and has
:33:28. > :33:35.decided to tag along with the adults. I will call it Nemo, because
:33:36. > :33:40.it is lost, for sure. I spent hours here. I come here whenever I can,
:33:41. > :33:46.whenever the tide is right. I know they will be there, I bring my
:33:47. > :33:57.lunch, I sit there and I'd watch. It is mesmerising.
:33:58. > :34:01.A murmur ratio and of mullet enjoying a month at the spa. Mallett
:34:02. > :34:07.are just one of 400 species of fish that we have in British waters.
:34:08. > :34:12.Let's face it, fish are Rabbit underappreciated. We want to change
:34:13. > :34:24.that and turn everyone into a fish fan. Jack, who is a fish
:34:25. > :34:29.enthusiasts, is trying to establish what our top ten favourite fish are.
:34:30. > :34:40.Here is the top ten. Here is our first contender. I can feel the
:34:41. > :34:49.tension. Let's see how the bass goes down. Cordes knows, this is a tasty
:34:50. > :34:56.contender. -- cod. We also have travelled, McEnroe, Roach and, don't
:34:57. > :35:04.tell them your name, Pike. We have a shark - will it be basking in glory?
:35:05. > :35:10.Or above this stripey number not it off its perch? Paps we will get our
:35:11. > :35:20.stickleback where it belongs - at number one. I'll be voting for
:35:21. > :35:25.stickleback. -- perhaps we will get. Go to the website and cast your
:35:26. > :35:30.votes. Jack will be coming to the studio live on the 14th of June to
:35:31. > :35:41.tell you the winner. We might even do a fish eye chart with the results
:35:42. > :35:49.of our first ever Eurofishin' competition. Earlier, we should you
:35:50. > :36:00.are Karen and a bit of the Heron diary before we had a technical
:36:01. > :36:08.problem of -- our Heron. It is Good Friday, and a cold dawn in this
:36:09. > :36:14.woodland. Of the ?85 of grey herons breeding here, we have been
:36:15. > :36:21.following three. Each pair started at a different time. Each is trying
:36:22. > :36:35.to get their tiny right to survive the unpredictable British weather.
:36:36. > :36:41.In the branch nest, nearly four weeks after they were laid, two of
:36:42. > :36:47.the four eggs have hatched overnight. With temperatures just
:36:48. > :36:55.above freezing, one parent must be ever present to keep the delicate
:36:56. > :37:00.young warm. Located on the edge of the colony, it is likely that this
:37:01. > :37:05.pair are younger or less experience. While one looks after the nest for
:37:06. > :37:14.four hours at a time, the other can hunt for food. They can fly up to 30
:37:15. > :37:15.kilometres from the nest to feed. In the Somerset levels, there are
:37:16. > :37:34.plenty of options on their doorstep. Herons have a hugely varied diet,
:37:35. > :37:45.catching mammals, insects and even other birds. But they preferred to
:37:46. > :38:04.stake out favourite areas of shallow water for fish.
:38:05. > :38:08.A parent spends several hours filling its gullet before returning
:38:09. > :38:26.to the nest. Back in the branch nest, the newly
:38:27. > :38:35.hatched chicks take delivery of their first hot breakfast. A
:38:36. > :38:45.steaming, semi-digestive schmo August board to share between them.
:38:46. > :38:53.But there is a problem - it's still too lumpy for the nestlings to
:38:54. > :39:01.stomach. The parent will have to eat it again to digestive further. -- to
:39:02. > :39:05.digestive eight further. Like most new parents, they have a lot to
:39:06. > :39:12.learn. In the IB nest, the chicks have had a few weeks' head start and
:39:13. > :39:16.seem to be doing well. Their parents' decision to nest deeper in
:39:17. > :39:18.the ward and earlier on looks like it is paying off this year. --
:39:19. > :39:37.deeper in the wood. But odds are a threat, and so
:39:38. > :39:49.are other herons. Every nest is watch. -- buzzards are a threat.
:39:50. > :39:50.They are predators and would not think twice about taking an
:39:51. > :40:06.unattended chick. Up in the canopy nest, after several
:40:07. > :40:11.days of flirting, our lovebirds are finally taking the next step. The
:40:12. > :40:22.male's hormones are settling down and the patient female can make her
:40:23. > :40:26.move. The consummation is over rather quicker than their courtship,
:40:27. > :40:37.but they'll continue to pair up over the next few days. Meanwhile, back
:40:38. > :40:46.in the branch nest, there's another happy development. The third chick
:40:47. > :40:52.is finally on its way. It takes hours to break free from its eggs.
:40:53. > :41:05.Helped along as best it can by its parent.
:41:06. > :41:12.But its timing may not be good. Storm Katie is heading across the
:41:13. > :41:16.Atlantic, and this colony is directly in her path. The chick will
:41:17. > :41:39.be lucky to survive the night. I wonder what effect Storm Katie
:41:40. > :41:44.will have on those Heron checks what I will be out looking at monster
:41:45. > :41:49.night. We have our trap here. It doesn't just attract moths. We are
:41:50. > :41:54.by a stagnant pool, and there are thousands midges coming, and
:41:55. > :41:58.unforeseen side-effect of stock last night, I was lucky enough to go out
:41:59. > :42:04.with Clive Moore, the Moth man around here. He is an absolute
:42:05. > :42:12.expert. He has studied moths for 13 years, and he can identify
:42:13. > :42:16.practically any Moth in an instant. He reckons he can identify around
:42:17. > :42:26.1000 different moths. Including, this is one we got last night, a
:42:27. > :42:33.coxcomb prominent. The either have amazing names or an interesting
:42:34. > :42:39.story. Here is one of the most exciting ones that we have seen. --
:42:40. > :42:46.they either have. Look at that! Where is it? You can't see it
:42:47. > :42:51.because it is a microbe moth. -- micro-Moth. It is called a
:42:52. > :43:01.diamondback. They have only been coming in in ones and twos. 174
:43:02. > :43:05.turned up last night, and they are amazing because they have come from
:43:06. > :43:11.France. They had been blown into the North Sea and then blown towards us.
:43:12. > :43:17.We haven't been doing tremendously well, but you out there have. We had
:43:18. > :43:20.some great pictures. This is fascinating, and emperor moth, and
:43:21. > :43:32.it shows what is called climatic behaviour. The behaviour is designed
:43:33. > :43:38.to shock a predator and make it hesitate for a moment. A beautiful
:43:39. > :43:47.moth, too. This one looks like a hornet. It is called a lunar Hornet
:43:48. > :43:51.Moth. This is an elephant hawk moth. It doesn't look much like an
:43:52. > :43:58.elephant, but it gets its name from its caterpillar. This looks like an
:43:59. > :44:03.elephant's trunk. When it is threatened, it rears up and looks
:44:04. > :44:11.like a tiny snake to frighten its predator away. Just the beauty, a
:44:12. > :44:16.plume moth. Thank you very much, and keep those pictures coming in. The
:44:17. > :44:22.light is one way to attract moths, but there is another way. Come with
:44:23. > :44:27.me, this is my Keith Floyd. You can also try and attract moths because
:44:28. > :44:34.of their fascination for smells and their interest in food. They also
:44:35. > :44:42.have amazing and ten I. The antenna I are happy sense of -- are
:44:43. > :44:46.hypersensitive. They can pick up aerial hormones, and they can smell
:44:47. > :44:51.some of them from up to two kilometres away. There is even
:44:52. > :44:56.anecdotal evidence that a male moth can smell a female moth from 11
:44:57. > :45:00.mutters awakens imagine being able to smell your partner from 11
:45:01. > :45:07.kilometres away. Or some! That has put me in my of my socks! Here is
:45:08. > :45:12.another way of doing it. Because of that fantastic sense of smell that
:45:13. > :45:19.they have, you can attract them. You can make a delicious mixture. We
:45:20. > :45:24.have wine, you mustn't see that, that is advertising. We have the and
:45:25. > :45:32.some brown sugar. You mix it all up. -- you have some beer. That is
:45:33. > :45:37.irresistible. You hang it up here with the other ones. And honestly,
:45:38. > :45:46.I'm not joking, moths will come and feed on that. If you don't have a
:45:47. > :45:50.light trap, try sugaring. We'll carry on now, trying to do a bit
:45:51. > :45:54.more moth trapping tonight, and we will see what we get before the end
:45:55. > :45:57.of the programme. I will stay down here. Meanwhile, back to Chris and
:45:58. > :46:08.Michaela. You can join in with mothing, too.
:46:09. > :46:13.There are events. If you don't feel like sleeping your socks in sugar,
:46:14. > :46:15.tried to get along to a conservation event and see some jolly good moths.
:46:16. > :46:30.Details on our website. In the little owls nest there is a
:46:31. > :46:43.species. This is a tiny moth that lace lays its eggs
:46:44. > :46:53.in the faeces of the owls. Let's see if we can see one live in the nest.
:46:54. > :46:59.We can't at the moment. I have spotted a few. But look at these
:47:00. > :47:03.poor little owls. They are suffering from the cold. You can see the adult
:47:04. > :47:09.is brooding the three quite large chicks. Let's see what happened last
:47:10. > :47:13.night. It was a bad night for the owls, it was cold, raining and windy
:47:14. > :47:20.and those are not good conditions for them to hunt in. It wasn't good
:47:21. > :47:26.new force the adult and even worse news for the three chicks. It meant
:47:27. > :47:31.they went a bit hungry. They only got six feeds, compared to 35 the
:47:32. > :47:36.previous night. They ended up the three of them all huddled in that
:47:37. > :47:41.hole for warmth. They will be huddling for night and I think I
:47:42. > :47:47.might huddle. Do you mind if I do. I don't that sort of thing. It's got
:47:48. > :47:56.cold and there will be less insect activity and Martin will be lucky
:47:57. > :48:00.with his moths. Little owls depend on insects. So they will have to
:48:01. > :48:06.switch to other things and they will do that. Small mammals and
:48:07. > :48:13.occasionally birds. This is morning. After a night of fasting, one of the
:48:14. > :48:20.adults came back, there was a bit of squawking. In it comes there in its
:48:21. > :48:26.beak is a bird. If you watch as it turns it around, just there, look at
:48:27. > :48:34.the head, that is the little bandit mask of a blue tit. That is an adult
:48:35. > :48:38.blue tit. So the little owls have been resourceful and didn't find
:48:39. > :48:44.insects and they have caught a blue tit. Pretty good going. Not good
:48:45. > :48:52.news for our blue tits. These birds are suffering from the cold, the
:48:53. > :49:02.rain and now the tits in the woods are suffering from predation from
:49:03. > :49:13.the little owls. One Sparrowhawk may have taken one of the swal lows. We
:49:14. > :49:18.can go live to the swallows nest. It could be this is the male and
:49:19. > :49:25.therefore not incubating the eggs. We will have to keep our eyes peeled
:49:26. > :49:29.to see if the other bird returns. Why wouldn't the male incubate the
:49:30. > :49:34.eggs? I don't know. It may not even be the male that is related those
:49:35. > :49:40.eggs. It could be a curious individual. They do investigate each
:49:41. > :49:46.other's nests. Males will turf eggs out so they can get the female to
:49:47. > :49:51.relay another clutch. That may not be related to our swallows. You can
:49:52. > :49:59.watch online on the red button on our web-site. Those cameras are
:50:00. > :50:05.there for the Sparrowhawk and the swallow. We are keeping an eye on
:50:06. > :50:12.spring in Mimsmere, but our camera teams started at the beginning of
:50:13. > :50:18.spring and right up north in the Orkneys our cameraman Raymond got
:50:19. > :50:24.some early springtime Scottish beauty.
:50:25. > :50:39.On a sunny day you could think it was a Caribbean island. But it is
:50:40. > :50:47.the north coast of Orkney with its coast exposed to the North Sea. When
:50:48. > :50:55.the Vikings named it Sanday, they kept it simple. It means sandy
:50:56. > :51:04.islands. The sandy beaches are a perfect place to find the harbour
:51:05. > :51:11.wildlife. You will find fulmars nesting on the sand. The beaches are
:51:12. > :51:14.only pristine in the way they are, because they're protected from the
:51:15. > :51:25.worst of the winter storms by a forest. But it is only a forest that
:51:26. > :51:29.you're going to see at low tide. A massive kelp forest surrounds the
:51:30. > :51:36.island, forming a natural break water against the rough seas and the
:51:37. > :51:44.waves. The best way to see the kelp forest is to get in the water. If
:51:45. > :51:49.you're lucky enough to be there when the sun is shining and the rays
:51:50. > :51:56.there dapling through, it is a magical place. The spring and then
:51:57. > :52:05.into the summer and the new kelp is clean and sleek and the stalk seems
:52:06. > :52:11.almost black. Other creatures are among them, crabs and crustaceans
:52:12. > :52:21.and you find the Stipes festooned with red seaweed as well. The whole
:52:22. > :52:25.fasts that hold the kelp on to the rock are very strong and it takes a
:52:26. > :52:33.lot of force from the winter storms to rip that off. But that is exactly
:52:34. > :52:39.what happens and massive amount of kelp lands on the beaches and piles
:52:40. > :52:43.high, almost two metres in places. It will come ashore at any month of
:52:44. > :52:51.the year. For the bird and animals, it is most important that the kelp
:52:52. > :53:00.is on the beaches in early spring. From a distance on warm days, the
:53:01. > :53:05.kelp looks hazy. What it is is clouds and swarms of kelp flies that
:53:06. > :53:16.have descended on the rotting weed too feed and lay their eggs. The
:53:17. > :53:21.seaweed and the surrounding sand becomes a mass of maggots. This
:53:22. > :53:32.doesn't go unnoticed by all the other birds.
:53:33. > :53:42.The kelp provides migrating birds on passage through Orkney with a real
:53:43. > :53:48.food bonanza. It is a migratory feeding stop. The biggest change I
:53:49. > :53:53.have noticed this spring is the influx of a lot of new wading birds.
:53:54. > :53:59.In particular a lot of turn stones have turned up in the last part of
:54:00. > :54:11.April and also a nice number of sanderling as well. The sanderling
:54:12. > :54:20.feed on the edge of incoming waves and they get pushed up and down the
:54:21. > :54:27.beach by the tide. After one bird, they stand softer with the in coming
:54:28. > :54:43.water. They feed on kelp maggots that have come up through the sand.
:54:44. > :54:50.The Turnstules can pick the flies out of air. They don't need to work
:54:51. > :54:53.hard. Within the space of three weeks, they have almost doubled
:54:54. > :55:01.their weight and have put on around two and a half grams in fat a day,
:55:02. > :55:11.which is an incredible amount. They can then fly direct to green
:55:12. > :55:18.Greenland to their breeding grounds. One of the things I like to do at
:55:19. > :55:26.Sanday is catch up with the local otters. Sanday is good for otters,
:55:27. > :55:32.because the big kelp beds provide an environment to catch plenty of fish.
:55:33. > :55:38.And as the year progresses, more fish will come in to spawn and to
:55:39. > :55:43.hide and to hunt and the otters take advantage of that. One of the
:55:44. > :55:47.fascinating things about Sanday is how everything is connected by the
:55:48. > :55:53.kelp, either directly or indirectly. It is a wild and magical place and I
:55:54. > :56:08.know that I will come back again each spring.
:56:09. > :56:14.Stunning, marine algae provide rich pickings here and we have spotted
:56:15. > :56:24.ringed Plovers taking advantage of this and it is replenished each day
:56:25. > :56:29.with the tide. Here we have a ringed Plover looking for food. They're
:56:30. > :56:33.visual hunters and look for things and then peck them up with that
:56:34. > :56:36.short, stubby bill. Look at that with the light behind them. Do you
:56:37. > :56:41.remember those sunny days a few days ago. Just about. It has been very
:56:42. > :56:51.rainy and it has affected a lot of our birds. Here is a check on one of
:56:52. > :56:56.our live nest, the stone curlew. This bird got off the nest for an
:56:57. > :57:04.hour and ten minutes last night. It was due to hatch tomorrow. Let's
:57:05. > :57:09.keep our eyes on that live nest to see if that egg will hatch. I don't
:57:10. > :57:13.think it is chances are good. The egg will have lost a lot of
:57:14. > :57:17.temperature and it is critical at the end, as Martin said with
:57:18. > :57:21.reference to his chickens. How is Martin getting on. Is he still in
:57:22. > :57:28.the woods with some sticky stuff. What are you up to? Hello. You are
:57:29. > :57:33.still there? I'm loving my mothing and I look forward to seeing them
:57:34. > :57:43.tomorrow. I think it has been at the sugar. We will be back tomorrow on
:57:44. > :57:49.BBC Two. We have a guest, we have got Jason Sing who will do some beat
:57:50. > :57:54.boxing and at 8 o'clock we have a predator fest starting with this...
:57:55. > :58:11.Honestly. Oh, my goodness me, that is astonish. A Gey Falcon. And the
:58:12. > :58:17.Goldie Hawn of the raptor world. We will see you tomorrow at 8 o'clock.
:58:18. > :58:21.It is a Springwatch fest. We have an hour and a half show. We will show
:58:22. > :58:27.you plenty of wildlife in that hour and a half. Make sure you tune in
:58:28. > :58:30.tomorrow at 8 o'clock until 9.30 on BBC Two. We will see you then.
:58:31. > :59:00.Goodbye. Once upon a time, there was
:59:01. > :59:04.a great and glorious king. But they would
:59:05. > :59:12.all see him destroyed. MUSIC: Kings Of The Wild Frontier
:59:13. > :59:18.by Adam The Ants