Episode 3 Springwatch

Tonight, we've got a plethora of raptors!

We have got golden eagles, we have got sparrowhawks, peregrine

Falklands and even a direful cum. Hello and welcome to Springwatch. We

are coming to you live from the RSPB Minsmere in Suffolk, and this is day

three. Although we have not been enjoying the weather so much, I have

got to be honest, this has been the coldest place in the UK this week I

think. We have certainly been enjoying the wildlife. As usual,

live cameras all over the reserve, most of them on nesting birds active

during the day but there is one that is more active at night, and it is

this one. This is our little owl nest, there are three chicks in

there, I think the adult is brooding though. They are 13 days old now.

I'm not sure we are going to see them completely fledge, because they

fledge in 45 weeks, but we will see them semi-fledging, branching out

and exploring their surroundings -- four to five weeks. They have really

grown over this week. They are having a tough time, on Tuesday

night it was wet, windy, and it was not good conditions for the owls to

hunt in. However, they did bring back quite a good meal. This is a

bluetit, and the chicks are thoroughly enjoying it. Last night

was a bit better, still cold and windy but it wasn't wet, which meant

that the Czechs had a bit of a feast. 67 feeds, an increase of over

1000%. You can see they are eating worms, they had a lot of worms last

night. It is interesting because rain means feast or famine, or in

this instance, famine and then feast. The first night they hardly

got anything because was raining, the rain then brought the worms up,

which meant they had a worm Ananta last night. Chris, they had a

bluetit there, how did they catch a bluetit in the middle of the night?

They might have caught that in the day, in the morning in fact. Little

owls will hunt in the light hours of the evening and again in the early

morning, they are more diurnal than most of our owls, though most out of

the summertime in daytime too. When we woke up this morning we were

hoping that the weather might have improved, but no. It hadn't. It has

been like that all over the country, apart from Scotland and West Wales

basking in the sun. Our birds simply have to get it out. You have got to

remember this may be the only chance for some of these animals to

reproduce. It is their one and only chance, so they will not give up on

this at all. They will sit there and do the very best they can to hatch

out those extra stop in other parts of the country, they are going to

fare even better weather weather has been better, they will not have so

many challenges as the poor creatures here in Minsmere, Suffolk,

where the weather has been miserable. There have been some

challenges here, some of them I fear have been terminal. We were looking

at a pair of swallows that had put them at cup on one of the rafters,

and they were both incubating -- put their mud cup. Then at 4pm

yesterday, a swallow disappeared just when our male sparrowhawk

arrived at his plucking post with a bird taken by a female, she pops

back down, and look at what she has got in her talons, it is a swallow,

and the nest was empty. We continued monitoring that nest, I have to say,

throughout the rest of the evening. One bird did come back, we cannot

say whether it was one of a pair, it is likely, but knowing the patient

was taking place. And again we continued to watch the nest, we can

cut to it live and see what is happening. One bird has been coming

back for short periods but there has been knowing the Bashan, so I am

afraid that nest has failed. -- no incubation. It is likely that that

swallow brought in by the sparrowhawk was one of our pair,

which is unusual. These are ambush predators. I bet it was sat on top

of the roof of the barn, it had seen the swallows going in and out and

then it nabbed them, or it was somewhere the swallow was bathing

and it triggered off the ground, something like that. But it is not

just a swallow that the sparrowhawk court, including great tits and

bluetits, and so did our little owl. It makes it a very precarious

situation for our bluetits and great tits we are following, because they

all the same word. Let's check them live. These are the great tits, and

there is the single mother in there with four chicks. All are doing

well. We have been watching them all day. It is a single mother, we know

that, working extremely hard. And who knows, maybe that's what

happened to the mail, maybe it was taken by the sparrowhawk. Let's have

a look at the great tits, there are five chicks here, no adult at the

moment but we have been monitoring that, as have a lot of you watching

it live. They are all doing well so far. Both adults are provisioning

that nest. So they are safe, for now, but who knows what will happen.

It would be interesting to mark them, if we put colourings on them

all and then watched them fledge, then watch them turn up on the

plucking post. Overstock! That may be unlikely because they are nesting

quite close to the sparrowhawk, and we think that the sparrowhawk

doesn't normally harvest birds from the area around its nest. Doesn't

eat the neighbours. Know, and the birds prosper there because they are

being protected by the sparrowhawk. Keep watching. That is a dangerous

game to play, nesting next to the sparrowhawk. Last night I was down

in the woods, and although the conditions are not very good, we

managed to catch if you moths. -- catch a feud. Look at that! I love

that one. It is so cold. Sorry about this, hang on, folks. Don't let it

go. Look at that, it is a pine hawk moth. An absolute beauty. There are

lots more in here, we will let them all go later on but the best thing

is to wait until it gets properly dark so they don't get eaten by any

late-night birds. Now, we did also managed to film some we got last

night. Look at this gorgeousness, scorched wing. You can see why it is

called that. Each of the little scales on the boing makes up the

lines. Beautifully camouflaged. This one here is a white point, not to be

confused with a white speck, which is almost exactly the same, only two

millimetres bigger, but don't they look alien when you look" mark the

diamondback. These come in from France, blown across the Channel.

There are over 140 of them blown in here last night. Great names. I love

those descriptive names. My favourite is a sagacious Hebrew

character. Isn't there one called mouse poo? I could believe any name.

You could make one up randomly and there is a very good chance it

exists! We will be carrying on trapping the moths or the way

through Springwatch, particularly tomorrow because it is moths night.

Great thing to do with the kids. Lots of live camera today at

Minsmere, one of our favourites, the sparrowhawk. This is the female, she

is integrating fired eggs. Looking much happier this evening, much

drier than she was and that this time of year she is entirely

dependent on the male to provide her with food. She consider all day,

because her off when he arrives at the plucking post. Fortunately for

us we have identified this, and each time he comes in gives us an

opportunity to see what the birds are aiding. We have seen the swallow

come in. Here there is a house Martin. Housemartins only form 0.1%

of sparrowhawk's diets. Linux are much more commonly -- Daleks are

much more -- dunnocks are much more prevalent. This we think is common

shrew which has been gutted. Now the female defecates on the plucking

post. So this is a mess. Look, all of the feathers, some guts and some

food, a right place for a predator to see and smell the remainder of

the birds. This is the purpose of the plucking post, all of the

handling, all of the processing is done about 50 metres from the nest,

so when the male takes it back, there is not a trace for predators

to detect. That means they are kept safely away from the nest. It is

fantastic to see that sparrowhawk but I am concerned it will just eat

a whole cast of characters. That is what they do, a specialist small

bird predator. The female would start hunting until the chicks get

quite an advanced stage. At this point I have to point out that I a

mistake. Hold the front page! I think you have got to stand up and

say I had made one. Last night I did, for some bizarre reason I got

it into my head, I don't know why, that there were two males

provisioning this nest and not just one, but they checked today and I

was undoubtedly wrong. So I am really sorry about that. We said

that, didn't we? He wouldn't have it! Don't forget, you can continue

watching our live cameras online, on the red button and even on your

mobile phones. We are watching all of the wildlife down here in

Minsmere. But we like to reflect wildlife as much as we can. And we

are getting some of the best sea bird colonies in the whole of the

UK. A warm welcome to a remarkably sunny and calm farms. Accomplish how

quickly the weather changes here. But the important thing is that the

boats are running. I will be enjoying these charismatic

characters, the clans of the sea, the puffin. The farmer islands are

home to the largest colony of puffin in England -- the Farne islands.

40,000 pairs live and breathe here but their success varies year on

year. Last July, powerful storms flooded the occupied boroughs and

half of the puffin 's perished. The is a real danger. And worryingly, we

have already seen a fair bit so far this week. When you consider that

puffins only lay one egg this week, there are so much invested in that

chick making it through. This year, we are keeping everything crossed in

the hope that in spring 2016 the weather is going to be much kinder

to these colourful characters and some of them are really characters.

Let me introduce you to a pair of remarkable rule breakers. Down here

and returning for the third year in succession, a pair has nested in

what I can only describe as it puffin teepee. They have foregone

the usual burrow to nest in this log pile. Now I have seen nesting

patterns from Shetland, even up to Iceland but I have never seen

anything like this, I can see the bird on the nest, and she doesn't

seem bothered at all by the fact I can see her and that she is nesting

in broad daylight. It is quite remarkable. The word must be stacked

in such a way that it offers just enough protection from predators, as

they have succeeded in being parents in this exact spot for three years

in a row. And what's more, this log pile pair was not affected by the

storms. Don't worry we will check in with

their progress from time to time. Whether in log pile or burrow, once

the puffin's ache is laid, the parents take it in turns to

incubator. Sometimes leaving to go to seed to feed happy in the

knowledge that the egg is safe -- go to see. However, on these islands

they face an added challenge. There is a pair of great black backed

gulls to specialise in eating puffins.

At the moment, these puffins look quite relaxed but believe me there

is a lot more going on than meets the eye, and that is only above the

ground. Yesterday, we were given a tantalising glimpse of the puffin's

subterranean home, thanks to our burrow cameras. Now we have had a

little bit more time to look at the footage, we have seen much more

excavating in the one burrow, and even some cheeky leg pulling and bum

shoving as the patterns change shift. Hopefully there will be and a

glade soon. We have had from on the other burrow camera as well. As far

as we could tell, it had an abandoned egg in it, and as time

passed, our hopes for it started to wane, and then there was a

hallelujah moment. We saw a puffin end of the burrow.

The seemingly abandoned egg was being incubated and it is still

being incubated right now. Have a great celebrations back at base. It

is the first time we have ever had the puffin baroque camera on

Springwatch so it it is bring what first and I am keeping my fingers

crossed we will eventually see more. But we will be watching those

cameras closely and if anything exciting develops, we will let you

know, of course. I will also introduce you to some of them main

players here. The Arctic turn and the eyed dog. Just some of the

wonderful varieties of wildlife that call this amazing Archipelago their

home. Great to see those puffins in the

borough. It is, but he has lost his hat! Get it back on, that is the

best it. The islands are a great refuge for

the nesting sea birds because they provide protection from predators

like foxes and rats. And being off the coast, they attract vagrant

birds that have been won of coast and the cameraman spotted this, a

female red-backed shrikes. They used to be a breeding is beaches in the

UK which was common in the last century -- breeding species. But

they have disappeared, but you often see vagrant in spring and autumn.

Beautiful, lovely. There have been a host of very unusual sightings

across the country this spring the possibly because of the strange

weather or the wind. We have seen a purple heron here at Minsmere, that

is a bird I have only seen in India. And also, there has been, I got a

text from Cornwall, from Sarah and John, they said they had seen a

Dalmatian pelican which has been seen in Cornwall. And one of the

most extraordinary, a lammergeier. A type of huge bird on the Welsh side

in the Severn Street, flying around. And it went down to Devon. But

extraordinary. Large numbers of people went to see those birds but

there might be a problem because it is unlikely either of them will be

admitted to the British list. Lammergeier most likely came from a

reintroduction project in the Alps so it was not count and the

Dalmatian pelican could have come from Eastern Europe. So it might not

be official. But one that certainly will be official and I would have

loved to put in my own but is this. -- block. This is one of the

Hebrides, North Uist, and a bird turned up here of some substance.

Look at that. Agreement or Canadian Gyrfalcon. And what viewers cannot

appreciate is I have reinforced my trousers -- in Greenland or

Canadian. I am stroking them so furiously in delight at this

miracle! What a bird! What a bird! Was feeding on geese. As big as

that? Look at it. It proved a fantastic addition to North Uist

because I am told that tourism was increased tenfold. The people turned

up to see it, spending money in the hotels and restaurants. Not all the

residents of North Uist were pleased to see it. Black puddings not

impressed and the oyster catchers as you can see. But local inhabitants

certainly worth and it stayed the four months, wintering there.

Because in the end people were feeding it so they could get great

photographs like that. What an astonishing bird. The Gyrfalcon.

Where has it gone now, briskly, hopefully, back to Greenland, but

was it a Gyrfalcon? We had been arguing about how to pronounce it

and I had a Twitter debate last night. I was told I had got it

wrong. I have researched this and I got in contact with my Countdown

friend Susie and this is what she said. The Oxford English dictionary

pronounces at the same as the letters enjoyable from the old

German word meaningful chat. -- meaning Irbil. It has been softened

so for the second time tonight, I have to say, Chris was very wrong in

my pronunciation. I run the up and you told me to say Gyrfalcon. And I

have done that on the way through the film. It is going to be

difficult not to say that and I have set up my own swearing job and I

have already called it a Gyrfalcon once tonight. Anybody else who makes

a mistake and does not say jrr, it is temp and is! Will remember that.

We could not let this moment pass without finding out more and we are

very lucky. We have got an expert with us here. With a Gyrfalcon.

Sorry, hang on in minutes. This is Isla. Thank you very much for

bringing her along. In the film we have just seen, I noticed that the

birds were mopping her. Does Isla get mobbed flying and exercising?

No, when she flies with me, she tries to catch and is in hunting mud

and the wild birds recognise the difference so they stay well away

from her. -- hunting mud. As they well away, they know she is not just

flying along. So the wild birds recognise her as a hunting predator.

That is fascinating and they will make that distinction and avoid her?

One detail, she has an extraordinary tooth on her peak, what is that? A

shop points like a tooth. Lord Falconer might have this and it is

used to dispatch their prey -- large falcons. It is used to finish prey

off. What extraordinary evolution. Whereabouts would you normally find

a Gyrfalcon? Europe. I told you it would be difficult, we have to get

it right, it is jrr, I was wrong and I made you wrong. Sorry about Chris.

Greenland. We have got some film of them. This one is slightly, the

surprise in thing to me when I first met Isla is how white they are.

Presumably that is, flood against the snow? They vary enormously but

it blends with the rock. Also, hot Arctic summers, the white helps to

reflect the heat. It is really called in the winter but it gets hot

in the summer. And they are hard to see against the blue sky believe it

or not. You would not think so. No, I would not, amazing. I was lucky

enough a couple of weeks ago to pit myself against this very bird in a

head-to-head confrontation with me on my motorcycle against Isla,

head-to-head. Who would win? Eat your heart out, Top Gear! Will see

that film in 30 minutes. Me head-to-head with this bird. In

the meantime, we go from the clearly sublime to the not ridiculous. As

much as we champion the superstars of the animal world, we also like

the champion the underdogs, one of whom is a minuscule creature living

out on these grasslands. This ancient meadow may be beautiful

to look at, but it's true wonder lies in a hidden Kingdom

Underground. This and is royalty. She is a Queen and could rule for

the next 25 years. Dash-macro two. She left the call me she was born to

us, and found her way into the perfect tunnel to begin a new

lineage -- she left the colony. Her colony is just a small pile of

larvae at the moment tended to by her miniature workers from third the

size of a normal ant. Despite their size, they will provide everything

she needs for the coming months. A protein rich meal like this would be

perfect fuel for the Queen to help allay more eggs. But the creature

does not take the flight to her. In a strange role reversal, it eats

what she needs and still it was it to her just like a parent bird

feeding its chick. They keep a healthy by cleaning her of parasites

and fungus, but the main part of their work is to attend the brood.

Cleaning and turning them to ensure each love develops successfully. Our

Queen's colony is growing each day but it is tiny compared to the scale

it could reach in the future -- each larvae. Other colonies contain

thousands of individuals, not far away.

Yellow metal -- yellow metal ants skilled engineers and construct

hills to fight perfect living conditions. One is in short supply

in the UK so a South facing property is highly desirable. Shaped with a

flat surface, the mound works like a solar panel to gather heat. After

the rain, the ants emerge with pellets brought up from deep

underground. Each tiny brick extending the property and making

more space for the colony to grow. Above ground, the mounds create a

rumour like landscape hundreds of years old. -- Luna. He did inside

each is a fast biomass of ants. A potential banquet for a predator

that could reach them. The Green woodpecker is perfectly built for

the challenge. It easily hammers into the ant Hill and a Tong four

times the length of it week who visit up its prey. -- of the beaks.

Should our Queen is not new colony be found, it it could be over very

quickly. Tessa Jowell Green Park smack new colony. She has chosen her

spot well and buried herself away from the reach of the woodpecker and

her colony is safe for now. Every spring, the Queen as special larvae

to the colony. These will become the larger winged ants we see on hot

summer evenings. This larvae which is being cared for may well be

another Queen. And in the future, she will be ready to fly away and

start her own yellow meadow ant colony, and she could also build

spectacular high rise accommodation and every summer send out new

Queen's to colonise parts of the British countryside.

It is fantastic, I love that, a doesn't make me stroke my trousers

but I love that. 25 years they can live. Amazing. I think it is great,

because we tend to get obsessed with the large, sexy things, and yet the

smaller overlooked creatures can be really interesting. While our

cameraman was filming those meadow ants, he came across some rather

curious behaviour between two green woodpeckers. We have been showing

you online all day, and asking you what you think. It almost looks like

dancing. Sian Powell says maybe they are sizing each other up. Another

person said it is two having a dance-off. Maybe guarding a food

source. But it is two males. So it is clearly not courtship. It is

aggression. This is heightened aggression. Now, what it says there

is sometimes they will stay like this, they will move their peak in

an ellipse, that they are jousting. Sometimes they do it with the beaks

open, they stick their tongues out and occasionally their tongues get

intertwined, so they lock their tongues together and it becomes a

tug-of-war with tongues, which has to be rarely unpleasant, and

occasionally they will fight and fight to the death as well.

Extraordinary, have you seen it? I never have. We have seen some shots

of them doing that again but I have never witnessed it. Fighting is

rare, so that would be unusual if it ever got to the point of killing

themselves. We have seen the woodpeckers hear out on the

grassland behind me. It is a favourite place to go and hunt for

ants or other invertebrates and you will see them hopping around there.

The other two spaces we have come of the lesser and the greater spotted

woodpeckers, but Greens, when it comes to foraging, they are a bird

of open country. Lovely to see it fly off like that. This Crosland is

home to another predator we introduced you to last night and

over the last few days. We have seen a lot of this gorgeous little

character. It is surprisingly difficult to see in the grassland,

but our cameraman has got some great views of it. We have seen it doing

this quite a lot, moving its kits. That is a big kit, nearly as big as

the adult, so it must be at least two months old. We are guessing. It

is moving it from the safety of one rabbit hole to another. That is

probably because either it is too dirty or there is a predator around.

Look at this. This is rather lovely to watch. Three of the kits that are

obviously active now, and they have decided to walk themselves but they

are doing it rather slowly. They are very vulnerable at this stage that

is why the mother is them. A buzzard flying over would take them. No

doubt. It is browsing they are going so slowly. But it is interesting,

quite a high survival rate for these kits. It can be up to 80%. Depending

on the food source. Although it is only 7% for adults that make it to

their second year. The fact they are being so vigilantly protected by the

mother obviously works. Females mature or very early. Meeting while

they are still in the den as it were. With that sort of strategy

they don't have to live too long because they all give birth to a

letter they probably reproduce themselves and their year

potentially. Out there living on the heathlands because there is a

bountiful source of prey. We were trying to figure out how many

rabbits were out here at Minsmere, something between three and 14

tonnes of rabbit meat. These stoats are constantly hunting. Like all

predators, they won't go for the live a difficult prey, they will

take the weaker items if they can possibly get it. And they don't tend

to catch them in open country, they will take them down in their burrows

and they will certainly go for the smaller ones. Here you can see these

stoats tearing along the small rabbits, and it will not represent

much of a threat in terms of potentially injuring this stoked. --

this stoat. As soon as they have found a mound of rabbits, they are

doomed. Look at the left of it is in that small patch of greenery. You

will see the stoat's head appear. It is having a peep. The rabbit is

undoubtedly looking at the stoat and I think the stoat knows that. It

hasn't got the element of surprise, that is a much larger rabbits so the

stoat makes a decision to leave it alone and moves away. The rabbit has

played it cool and survives. Stoat does not always get its own way with

rabbits, have a look at this. The stoat has got another young rabbit

that it has a very vigilant mother. Look at that, it chases the stoat,

trying to protect its young. The rabbit prey is dropped by the stoat

but that rabbit is not going to give up. It wants its young back. It

looks for the stoat, which is completely hunkered down at this

point. Trying to hide from that rabbit that the rabbit knows where

it is. It is not going to give up. This is a feisty mother. And it is

in attack mode. So it gives chase. And you can see the difference in

size. That rabbit is about twice the size of the stoked. The rabbit can

be up to two kilos -- of the stoat. If they get into a physical fight,

then I don't fancy the chances of the stoat, but the stoat has agility

on its side. It is a good chase, but this stoat is constantly doing this,

it has to make prey selection, and it is a constant trade-off between

risk and benefit, and in this case it could be that the risk was way

more than the benefit. Look what happens, it gets it, look at the

back legs, kicking away. It flings that stoat in the air. That is its

most powerful weapon for a rabbit, it's back legs, biting the stoat is

not going to be the option. If it gets injured, then the stoat has had

it next time around because it would be as efficient when it comes to

card afford to get injured. No wonder it is running away. I wonder

how often the rabbits killed the stoats. I would imagine it happens

on occasion, especially the females that are smaller. We have been

looking at some herons down in Somerset, they are resting in an oak

woodland. We have three nests, brooding at different times, they

are gambling on what strategy will be the best, start early, start in

the middle or start late. Yesterday they were looking straight into the

eyes of storm Katie, so how did they fare when it hit?

Storm Katie has come and gone. High winds and heavy rains have battered

the nests for several days. The adult herons are hunkered down to

detect their broods. Their nests are strong and whatever the weather the

devoted parents will not be moved. But this extended period of wet and

cold will affect their chicks. On the edge of the colony, the branch

nest is the most exposed, and home to the youngest chicks. Down in the

AB nest, the chicks are five weeks old, and better able to deal with

the cold. Even so, the parents keep them covered. Only when the rain

passes will we see how the young are faring.

Up in the canopy nest, the newly mated pair have yet to lay eggs, so

are still free to seek their own shelter.

After the rain, a first glimpse of the chicks. At the IV nest, they are

huddled together, but appeared to be growing fast. But for our pair in

the branch nest, the storm could not have come at a worse time. Newly

hatched, their three chicks are at their most vulnerable. The youngest,

in particular, looks weak. And the fourth and final egg has

mysteriously disappeared. The adults offer the tidy chicks their only

protection. During a break between showers, they dry off, using

in-built powder puffs. Special feathers that shed microscopic

keratin particles and soak up the rain. Then they get rid of the

resulting slime with a serrated, comb like claw.

High in the canopy, things are looking up. The lovebirds have

cemented their relationship and could delay in the next few days.

After the storm, they are repairing the nest. The males in charge of

gathering material. He will collect nearly 90% of the twigs and sticks

required, ferrying them in from far and wide. It's the female's job to

finish the construction. When completed, it could way 75 kilos --

Wade 75 kilos, as much as a man. -- it could way 75 kilos.

The chicks still look small and fragile. When a meal does come in,

there is a problem. It inadvertently regurgitates the food right onto the

smallest check. It's hungry siblings don't hold back.

The youngster is too frail to defend itself. And the parent does nothing

to intervene. In this cold weather it is unlikely all of these

offspring will survive. The rain continues into April. The smaller

birds are now sprucing up the spring. But our herons are still on

the edge. They are certainly not out of the woods yet.

It certainly has been a really tough spring for that Harrison Reed, and

tomorrow we will find out if any of the nests were successful but it is

not just herons nesting in that would -- for that

Egrets. It is a beautiful bird. They nesting newcomer in the UK. It has

been an amazing natural colonisation, 20 years later

possibly about 700 nesting pairs across the UK. Great to see them.

Beautiful bird, and you can see them across most of the UK now for stub

you can see them here in fact at Minsmere. They don't breed here but

it is the perfect habitat for them to feed. They favour these shallow

lagoons, and this is exactly what they do. They are predators, they

wonder about that lagoon, they stalk their prey, they move around,

looking for things like fish, crabs and their vehemence -- amphibians.

They stabbed their prey and eat it. They are often seen here, the

highest count was 55 in 2012. It is amazing because they used to be a

rarity, and now we almost take them for granted. But they are certainly

very welcomed by all of the visitors. Maybe not quite so

welcomed by the locals. The gulls are not keen on them as neighbours

and this goal is mobbing this egret. -- gull is mobbing this egret. It is

standing its ground. It is not getting into much of a flat, having

a go back, but eventually it decides to flight off. I think I would do

the same if I had is gull do anatomy. I think Martin has turned

into a little egret, because he has expanded his territory, spread his

wings and ventured out of the reserve. Listen to this. In the

dusk, when like an eyelid's soundless blink, the tuneful fork

comes crossing the shade to alight upon the window bought Upland Thorn.

Thomas Hardy, 1917. Those lines were penned about the very bird we have

come up here to try to find tonight. Where am I? Up on the heathlands

here, Heath Linde is very important part of the reserve. We have lost

sadly 40% of England was Machis since the 1950s. That it is actually

on the Heath that you find some very beautiful and fascinating and

sometimes rare animals. Our cameramen have been up here over the

last couple of days and tried to find some of these birds. Here is

one, the Dartford warbler, with its fiery are high.

11 pairs in the harsh winter of 1962 and 1963, doing better now. This is

the cough of a red deer tucked away, not moving, camouflaged, its parent

somewhere nearby which will suck all it. Just lying still. And this is a

yellow Hammer, a bird we see less of now and it has a bit of bread and no

cheese! Back to that hawk. What is that? Listen to this extraordinary

sound it makes. That is known as a chirr and it is the bird its name,

the night chirr. It can make 1900 notes per minute, 30, 40 a second

while doing that. Let's have a look. During the day, it relies on perfect

camouflage, the Nightjar. It is a nocturnal bird and it comes out in

the evening, among the leaves, you would not see that. It has got a

hugely wide-mouthed covered in Brussels and it who visit up insects

as it flies around at night. They come out at night to flitter around.

It is the male only that makes that chirr. Is it on a post and chirr and

attract female. But in this case, it does not seem interesting. The

Nightjar is a rare bird and numbers fell to 2119 81, they have recovered

a bit, 4600 now. But the RSPB need to monitor that and that is exactly

what we are doing tonight. I am here with Mel from the RSPB and we are

part of something they do twice a year, a survey to cap the number

here. There are 12 of us spread around the 350 hectares of the

heath. Not only the RSPB, we are throwing our BBC toes at it with a

special microphone and in the background, a special camera so that

hopefully during the programme we can both see and hear the Nightjars.

So we will carry on throughout the programme and if anything happens,

we shall hopefully break into the programme with what we have

discovered. You would expect to find wildlife up here on the heath but

there is a lot of wildlife in our towns and cities, as David has been

finding out. Birmingham, our second-largest city, a hectic

revitalises the conurbation. It is also one of our greenest cities and

perhaps surprisingly home to some of Britain's's most iconic animals. You

just need to know where and when to look. One of my top tits for finding

wildlife at this time of year in urban areas is to go towards the

trees, but it means getting up early. In central urban --

Birmingham, this means heading for the city's canals, the best place to

experience the Durham chorus -- one of my top pieces of advice for

finding wildlife. -- the dawn chorus. That is a rent. Classic loud

voice. And in the background, I can hear a blackbird. I love the

mornings because no matter where you live, it is just a different world.

All these voices from nowhere. Voices you may not have realised

existed. A lot of research has been done on

the songs of urban birds and it has been found that the number one, they

are singing in what earlier because of streetlights and the fact that

night is a what shorter. And also, their song has changed. Some birds

have become more high-pitched and louder. Great tits, their song has

adapted because they need to break the noise of the traffic and rural

ones do not recognise the city birds when they sing. Now for my second

piece of advice, go high. In the centre of Birmingham, the new

library provides the perfect place to spot one of the world's top

predators. I am staring at that tower which is one of the tallest

structures in Birmingham. Because there is a pair of Peregrines

nesting so we might see it fly out and give us a display flying around.

That is amazing! A very dynamic shape. Surprisingly broad winter.

For a falcon. -- wings. Peregrines have been nesting on this tower for

16 years. Up to six pairs now breed in the city. A massive increase in

the last couple of years. And a huge part of that success is down to the

fact that they have discovered urban areas. The buildings that we

construct our fantastic because they are artificial cliffs and they can

nest in comfort and they have an abundance of food, pigeons. Research

has found city life is so good, Peregrines hatched in places like

this choose to breed in other urban environments. It has what appears to

be a dead pigeon and it seems to be flying out towards the city, away

from the tower. And he has dropped it. Look at that! That is

incredible! There is such an abundance of food, there is no need

to chase after it. The thing I love about watching Peregrines is how

effortless their flight is, they drift on the wind as if they have

not got a care in the world. And like a flick of a switch, they

become this ultimate killing machine, diving at the 200 mph to

hit a pigeon and to not it's dead. And with that magnificence, that is

why the Peregrine is the King of the urban jungle -- and to hit it dead.

It is hard to top that for an urban wildlife encounter but time for my

third piece of advice, keep an eye on social media. Just North of

Birmingham, a small town within earshot were wrapped has been

monitoring the urban encroachment that has sent the internet wild. How

many DVDs think you have got? In the area, around 200, 300. How long have

these Red Deer been coming here? They used to be no mention of red

deer, it was called pit. But since then, the deer have been coming here

as trees have been planted in the community forest. Incredible to see

such a large mammal in such close books and British to humanity. -- )

a pity. The Red Deer have spilled out the Cannock Chase where a

population approaching 400 outgrowing the park. -- is

outgrowing. As they get used to humans, there will be more close

encounters like these. I am truly blown away by 16 Red Deer right next

to a building site and is next to a housing estate in an urban area, I

have never come across this before. I think the thing to remember is

just imagine that anything can turn up at any time. You might come

across a heard of deer and something else amazing so keep your eyes

peeled. Red Deer is one thing but what about those Peregrines? What a

remarkable turnaround in such a short space of time. As a teenager,

I had to go to Wales to see those and now they have returned to the

cities. This year, we think there are 72 urban Peregrines in the UK

and many have cameras fitted to the nest so we can enjoy them. This is

no which, feeding the chicks. This is Bath, more in Exeter, Manchester,

Brighton, the first in Bournemouth this year. It is a great way to

watch them and if you go to our website, you can see those cameras

and take a look. Let's take a look at a real Peregrine close-up now.

Thank you for bringing Moses. This is a male? Yes, it is a United

States coastal bird and he works top of that a lot of UK birds and

slightly larger but they've vary enormously. Massive feat, that

strikes me, huge feet. Prolonged close help to get the prey at high

speed. What about in the film when it dropped the pigeon, it could

easily have caught it? Could not be bothered because of the surplus of

prey or I have a theory about city Peregrines and I think in the heart

of the city, big skyscrapers and buildings, they do not bother going

below a certain altitude. I think they have a limit of where they want

to go unless they are desperate, they do not bother. A lot of people

in cities with mobile phones, you do not see many Peregrines looking

pigeons. Unlike sparrowhawks which you frequently get those images.

What you do get involved cities with big buildings is a strange air

current and I think Peregrines know that they operate best above a

certain height. They eat a tremendous range of prey in the

city, much of which they catch at night. We did an experiment earlier

this year with Moses in a huge studio and we were replicated street

level lighting and he would fly across the studio to take the prey

from underneath like the wild birds when the prey is going over from

underneath. When they migrate, that is the thing. Very much so. He was

prepared to fly in those conditions. He had never been exposed to the

conditions but he had a natural inclination to think, I can catch

something like this. Before cities, did they do that under moonlit

nights? They were taking advantage of that. Now in the city

environment, it is every night of the winter they can find those

birds. But the first Peregrine to sit roosting wakes up and thinks,

hold on, I did not catch much today, now! That is a clever Peregrine.

They are clever birds. We will see more of Moses later. Because Moses

is up against... Isla. The Gyrfalcon in our challenge later.

Accessibility is important with wildlife as you have two engage with

it. So those Peregrines coming back to the city is fantastic and we can

easily see them on the cameras and you can see them and watch them. But

getting out into the countryside needs that Access ability and

somebody who has taken advantage of that on Sheppey is Paralympian Steve

Brown. I grew up here and it will always

have a place in my heart where I learned and I made mistakes and I

grew up to be who I am. And although I do not live here any more, I love

to come back. Knowing that I have got this place for when I am worried

or stressed or nervous and anxious about things, it is where I can

forget about everything and where I know and I feel confident and where

I feel like time has stood still. People tend to think it is two

separate identities, wildlife Steve and training and wheelchair rugby

Steve, but they entwine. I think about my wheelchair rugby

and that side of things in the countryside. Do not underestimate

how being mindful of your surroundings and finding that

attention to detail and to the sounds of what you see in the

wildlife and nature translates into the things you do in work and it has

certainly helped me in my sport. It is so fantastic to be here in an

environment where I can drive up and down the road looking out of the

windows and seeing one of them and them. Blackbird, exactly. Where

should it be? I don't know. They are your birds. I know, I am driving, I

cannot do both! Louis is awesome, I have three nephews and he is the

eldest of the three. What do you think they might be? Is

he very big question mark spending time with Louis, watching the bird

books, the same sort of memories I have got when I was his age. Almost

reliving it, in terms of what my dad was doing with me. This one is a

comma begins with H. A blackbird. You know it is not. H for Heron. The

memories I have from my dad taking me out as a kid of the sort of

things I feel like I remember and I cherish. I can remember being told

about the kestrels on the wires, or my dad talking to me about the sound

of the skylarks. I just hope he learns and enjoys it as much as what

I did. Put a little cross next to it so you can go back and tell grand

dad what we saw. One of the things I always try to remember Louis about

is not spending all your time looking at... Don't underestimate

what you have got at eye level. If you look over there, we need to kick

off this red legged partridge. He goes home, and I know that my dad,

his grandad, will be saying wow, look at that, making him feel good

about himself. If even a little bit like I have got out of today that I

feel I have done my bit for him. I have always had a real soft spot

for birds of prey. The hen Harriers, they are so iconic, you see them

soaring, they have got prestige. They looked like they are in charge.

I think they just epitomise what I enjoy about the countryside. Looking

at the Marsh Harriers helps put things in perspective. You are

always worrying about yourself and about the next thing. Whatever the

weather, they have got to build their nests, they have got to bring

up their checks, they have got to fight for survival. Their strength,

tied in with their grace and their ability to do all of this, and their

relentlessness, and they're striving to reproduce. It makes life in

comparison so, so easy. I spend all my time either men

touring or coaching or captaining, and it is lovely to get away. There

is no better place to do it than someone like this. -- somewhere like

this. I can slow down, lived in the moment and enjoy what I'm doing, and

what's going on around me, instead of trying to rush through life all

the time. Isn't it great to see a bloke just enjoying his own patch,

and also top work from Steve, helping to re-wild the child. If we

don't get kids out into this environment they will never learn to

love it and they would be looking after tomorrow. Steve will be

joining us on Unsprung and a couple of weeks. We promised you an eagle

first to write anything so far we have delivered. We have given you a

live gyrfalcon, a live peregrine falcons, and now a live golden

eagle. Thanks for bringing Tilley in, how old is she? 16 this year.

She weighs about 4.5 kilos, not as much as you might think. How do you

think it compares to the one we're following up in Scotland? I have had

a look at the footage, and I think that is bigger than Tilly. Tilly is

only an average side, I think this bird is a bigger individual. And our

one is only five years but beautiful condition. Such a lovely gold

mantle, I was surprised was only five, I was surprised to hear she

was only five. Can we see the wingspan? She won't extend them

fully. Look at the size, absolutely gorgeous. It is two metres. Let's

have a look at the talons. These are what they use the killing, their

weapons, and the arch dreamily powerful. Between this big high-end

talent and her front talent, this is where the power is -- extremely

powerful. Probably as much crashing power as a large dog with its jaws.

They can lock their feet or so, so once they have got hold of you they

are not getting away. You have to be very respectful, but she is a big

softy, a big gentle one. I do know about the one in Scotland. What

about that peak. Huge and powerful. Perfectly evolved and designed for

stripping the beat of the bone and dismembering their prey. They can

use it for preening, multipurpose. One of the things we have seen so

much of on the cameras up in Scotland is the way that they

delicately go around the cheque. They scrunched their talons in. If

she is clumsy and she stood on the chick, it is game over for the

cheque. It is magical to see that footage in the nest, to see how

gentle they are. Also how gentle they are at feeding, the tiny bits

of food they give to the egret. Very tentative parents. Thank you for

bringing in Tilly. Let's have a look at our golden eagle up in Scotland.

This is where the nest is, in the wilds of western Scotland, a

beautiful nest. That is the female coming in, the male flies off, going

off hunting, but the male brought something into that nest, and it was

a young fox cub. You can see our female using that powerful beak to

tear tiny little bits of meat off and feed it to that cheque. The

chick is greedily taking it, accepting every little bit, until

the mother gives it a bit that still has the further on. It is a fussy

eater, no thanks -- still has the Fox fur on. She said herself, gives

it another fresh bit of meat. Then she mixed the same mistake and that

chick is having none of it. Any mother knows what it is like to have

a child that refuses to eat, it is extremely frustrating. It is backing

away, saying I'm having none of that, but if you look, you can see

the mother is dribbling quite a lot. Not sure I would take a bit of food

from a dribbling mother, but you wonder if there is a reason for the

mother to dribble like that, whether maybe it is lubricating that food.

It is interesting, what do you think, Chris? I think that is

probably a good idea, a lot of the food they are feeding them will be a

little bit dry with a further and feathers on, I don't they are

providing them with moisture, because a lot of meat is what

anyway. Tilly weighs 4.5 kilos, but the biggest female golden eagles can

go up to 6.6, and they are quite considerably larger than the male.

This is our Scottish bird here, impressive as she is. When you see

her on the nest here on her own, she is certainly pretty big. In comes

the male, and you can appreciate immediately he is quite considerably

smaller. Sometimes the females can be a third bigger in weight, about

10% difference in size, wingspan, tail length, that sort of thing, but

a third bigger in weight. And when it comes to raptors, there is quite

a lot of what we call sexual dimorphism, different sizes between

the sexes, and we see the greatest exaggeration of this in species that

eat the widest diversity of birds. So obviously eagles are bird

feeders, and the female can be a third bigger than the male, but in

species like our sparrowhawk, there mails can be 150 grams, females 300

grams, so they are twice the weight. It is because they eat a greater

diversity of bird species. They are both huge, though, aren't they,

let's face it! We have already seen how our female, the mother coming

that incredibly powerful beak to delicately feed the chick, but look

what else it does with that beak. It is preening the chick. The chick

doesn't seem too keen on that at first, but it is really important

that the mother does it. The down only works if it is not matted with

dirt, faeces, old food. It needs to trap air ticket that little cheque

warm, which is obviously imperative -- that little cheque. The Dow gets

replaced, but it needs to be fluffed up a bit. It is a bit like brushing

your hair, isn't it, Chris? More like primping up your puffer jacket

after you have pulled it out of the washing machine. Pimping it up? No,

primping, you are not putting lots of bling on it. When we saw the one

live with Lloyd, the powerful beak it is using so delicately. Some

amazing views into the nest. I could watch the Sordet. It gives us the

opportunity to learn so much about these birds which we could not do

with a lifetime of watching. You would be sat at the bottom of your

cliff with your misted up telescope peering up there for a tiny limbs of

the adult, let alone a view of the cheque. We have been putting it off

long enough I think it is time for our contest. Gyrfalcons versus

Peregrine Fulcrum versus Martin on an Enfield Bullet. The Peregrine

Fulcrum, a world record holder, and one found right here in the UK. This

is the fastest animal on the planet. But what if there was another bird,

another fork, that could give even the -- another Falcon, that could

give even the Peregrine a run for its money?

Well, this is I love. She is a two-year-old gyrfalcons. You

normally see gyrfalcons above the Arctic Circle, but they are the

largest most powerful fork in the world, and what would happen if a

gyrfalcon and a Peregrine went head-to-head?

With the help of bird expert Lloyd but we are going to pit these two

incredible falcons against each other to assess their speed, power

and manoeuvrability. How quickly will the Peregrine catch me up? All

my years of experience riding motorbikes will come together for

this supreme challenge. Now I know what it feels like to be

handed by a Peregrine. I didn't think she was going to do it and

suddenly I felt it, bang. The hit as she took it, and then he flew along

side me as if to say, yes, I'm that good. That was astonishing. One

down, the Peregrine. Right. Let's see what the gyrfalcons can do. Go,

go, go, she has gone! Fascinating. I think that she was on

me, I loan was on me even faster. She is more powerful. I could feel

the bang. -- so it turns out that the Peregrine

is actually slightly slower than the gyrfalcons in our motorbike

challenge. That might seem surprisingly but it makes complete

sense when we analyse their hunting techniques. The much larger

gyrfalcons is the king of injuries. They use their sheer power to

exhaust prey on extended chases over long distances. Whereas the smaller

Peregrine is the king of speed but only when it comes to its legendary

stupor. Here the Peregrine has sacrificed speed for stealth and

surprise, using the hedgerow as cover to stick up at me. So both

species have rather different hunting techniques, based on their

strength, size, their perseverance and even up to a point their mental

attitude. But which is the most manoeuvrable, the best at catching

their prey as it twists and turns trying to escape?

Well, to demonstrate these abilities, the birds will now

Hey, hey!

He just seems to turn so fast, so quick on the wing.

He's folding his wings right in to make those turns

The Peregrine takes up the challenge with ease.

So how will the Gyrfalcon compare?

Just flashes of this incredible bird coming at you.

It's staggering to see how manoeuvrable such a large

Do you think that she's more manoeuvrable...

More manoeuvrable than the Peregrine,

I think the Peregrines look a lot more

She's got this sort of very understated power

and speed that you don't necessarily notice straightaway.

It's a close call, but I think that can give a Peregrine a run

She's just like a bullet and you can just see those two black-looking

Presumably, Lloyd, a Gyrfalcon will take larger prey than

These guys take birds up to the size of greylag goose.

Invariably, most Peregrine hunts are over relatively quickly.

Whereas these guys in the wild, obviously, they need to keep

going because it might be the only meal they see

What these birds are capable of is simply mind-boggling.

It looks like fun but there would never be a clear winner, that was

not the point of the contest. Both birds were enormously successful but

they do different things, in different ways, implement different

places, at different times. But if he had been higher, he would have

put them through their paces, they would have done that on Top Gear.

Beautiful bird, Gyrfalcon. No! I cannot do it, how do you pronounce

it? It does not sound right! I did one earlier. 'Jrr'! 'Jrr'! Gyrfalcon

sounds right. No, you just said it! No, I was explaining to the viewers.

There has been an insect in the news a lot recently and sadly that is

because it has declined dramatically and it is bees. Numbers have dropped

of this vital pollinator because of a loss of habitat like flower

meadows and because of pesticides and it has just been proved they do

affect bees which do not do well. Not just domestically, but wild bees

like the bumblebee has had a rough time in the UK and definitely needs

conservation now and strict attention. You cannot conserve

something until you understand it so we need to learn about bees and the

problems we face and on that account, a couple of hives had been

set up the contrast rural living bees with country be hive with a

city beat hive. They have been set up by the University of Bristol and

we are monitoring the conditions around them -- one hive. Monitoring

the weather and the sunshine and the temperature and this is in Bristol,

on a roof close to the cathedral. And we are generating a lot of data

so we will look at that at some stage in the future, we know about

the sunshine and the temperature and we want to see the difference in the

behaviour patterns. If the bees change their behaviour because of

the activities of man and the urban environment. And a peak of activity

in comparison to the weather. Yes, we will do that and we need to

generate more data. You can watch the bees yourself online and you

will find the details on our website. So keep in touch with the

bees and the plenty of ways you can keep in touch with the programme.

It has never been easier to follow Springwatch wherever you are and

whatever device you use. I going to the website on your laptop, phone or

tablets, you can enjoy Springwatch life at any time of day and catch

the action with live cameras and the update, news and expert analysis.

And join in the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and the

Springwatch group. I think we have got on our night

camera now Nightjar. We have got a Nightjar. I do not believe it, we

have been waiting here. We have had tantalising sounds. Disappeared into

the woods. Fantastic. It has been very tantalising because we have

heard contact calls, they make three different types of call. We can hear

the contact call. That is what we have heard. That is just the early,

the first call before they start doing the chirr which sounds like

this... That is what we are listening out for. Is it back on

again? There it is! I never dreamt we would see one! That is fantastic!

It is on time as well because they said they do come out not before

nine o'clock so that is spot-on. And these birds come from Africa to be

here. Yes, we will carry on with the survey and that is exciting and we

will find out from the RSPB people here, 12 of them all over the heath,

and we will monitor and we will try and get the chirr before the end of

the programme. But for now, we have got them live and we will see you

later. Chris and Michaela. We will never

hear the last of it, he has got his Nightjar. He is so excited. I cannot

blame him, it is fantastic. Last night, we left you with this bird.

The egg was supposed to hatch today and it leaves it in a precarious as

Asian. Is it going to hatch? Not yet. -- precarious position. Not

yet, that does not mean it will not hatch. We are not sure about the

chances. For that egg to be left out in the cold which it was on its own

for one hour and ten minutes is not good news. This is what happened

last night for the stone curlew. It is being bothered by a rabbit. It is

soaking wet from the rain and a rabbit goes away and it has another

distraction. It is an alarm call. There is good reason because that

pro-the egg exists and it will take that away. -- that Crowe knows that.

Looking vigilant. It changes over. With the Mail. It takes a while to

settle down on that egg and we wondered if that was because there

was movement which would be a positive thing. It means it is still

going to hatch. We do not know that, it is a guess. Once it settles down,

it still has some nuisances. A rabbit runs over it. What do you

think of its chances to hatch? I do not know, we will find out over the

next couple of days, it would be nice to see a stone curlew because

it is a red bird and the RSPB goes to enormous lengths to protect it.

What happens at night? -- it is a rare bird. You can hear it calling

and it is listening to that call. When it hears an alarm call, it

leaves the nest. They have huge eyes and the night vision of the bird is

quite good. Often, they go after an alarm and their return quite

quickly. But occasionally, they get well and truly spooked because there

is a predator close by. Look at this. If it's about a fox, it will

leave the egg. -- if its spots a fox. The most important part is the

adult breeding bird because it has matured and is in breeding condition

and it has migrated, it cannot risk its life just to protect the egg.

That is the way. On the grassland but we have other waders and then

night is different. They have the protection of nesting on an island

so they should be safe from predators. They are roosting. The

gulls. And it is sleeping throughout the night. I guess it can afford not

to be highly strung. Overnight, but when the Sun comes out, it is in

trouble. They leave the eggs, the gulls will enter. Both species have

problems. No doubt. And the gulls have taken all of the avocet chicks,

so a lot of jeopardy. There is a lot. And there is jeopardy on that

he phoned with Martin. This is your last chance to hear the chirr, how

is it going? It is so frustrating. We have radio reports of it over

there that it is not close enough to get it for you. I think what we have

got here, we have got one bird here and we have got one in this

direction. Mel will do it more scientifically. This is genuine

science in action now. I was so hoping we could get the chirring.

No. No? Yes, you can hear it? It is distant. It is distant. You cannot

predict this. We can have one more look at that extraordinary picture

we got five minutes ago. Can we see it? There it was! I thought we might

hear chirring. But I did not think we would see one. They look like a

cross between a kestrel and a cuckoo, very agile, that one is

hunting for food. Wonderful to see. Fantastic. The Gypsy King news, I

heard today from the wildlife team that they might get a camera --

breaking news. They can get a camera on a Nightjar nest and if we get

that, we could get an intimate view of their life. Meanwhile, this

survey will continue until 11:30pm and tomorrow, I will report how many

Nightjars we think we have got on the heath.

We will see you tomorrow. You know what will happen. About now, the

bird will begin chirring. No doubt about it. But you know what it is

like when you go bird-watching and you are looking for something hard

to see and do you spot it in the distance and you get so excited. I

know, but if we get a camera on the nest, that is going to be

worthwhile. We can look at our live the nests here. First, we have got

the little owls. Once again, it is not raining but it is very cold. You

can see two of the chicks and one is poking its head behind. And what

about the tit? That poor mother! She is sat on the side of the nest, I

thought she would be on them because it is very cold. Sadly, that is all

we have got time for. Do join us tomorrow for Unsprung and we will

talk about wildlife photography. I promise not to be very critical!

Well, we also have got all this. We will also find out if any of our

heron have a successful spring. We will keep an eye on the Sparrowhawk

to see if the eggs to hatch. And some new arrivals, some fluffy

chicks. So at this time of the evening when the Nightjars begin

chirring and there is nothing Martin can do to let you listen to that, it

is time to go, but join us for Unsprung tomorrow. Do not go away

from the Web cameras. See you tomorrow. Goodbye!