:00:08. > :00:16.It has been quite a week at Minsmere. Our characters have given
:00:17. > :00:22.us for city and glamour, drama and strength. More twists and more
:00:23. > :00:27.intrigued and more revelations than a soap opera on Christmas Day. It is
:00:28. > :00:56.real, it is live, it is Springwatch. What is Martin going in a small
:00:57. > :01:03.hole, somewhere in the bows of Minsmere? We will find out. Welcome
:01:04. > :01:09.to Springwatch, coming live from the RSPB Minsmere reserve, we have had a
:01:10. > :01:12.great week. It has been packed with fascinating action, we have been on
:01:13. > :01:20.the edges of our seats. Very dramatic. One of our main stories is
:01:21. > :01:25.with the bluetit nest, you could not make this up, we have a single
:01:26. > :01:30.mother, adopted chicks and different spaces and a possible break-in,
:01:31. > :01:41.tragedy. Have a look at the nest box. It is a single bluetit mother
:01:42. > :01:46.feeding great tit checks, and yesterday we saw that one got
:01:47. > :01:52.predated by a jay and you can see there is only one left. What has
:01:53. > :02:01.happened today? These are the three chicks which were left after the one
:02:02. > :02:04.was taken by the jay. This is what happened, DJ came back to have a
:02:05. > :02:10.look, it can't get in the hole -- the jay. If they keep doing this, it
:02:11. > :02:16.will not be good news, but the mother comes back to see them. You
:02:17. > :02:19.can see how big these chicks have grown, they are much bigger than
:02:20. > :02:28.their mother, but they are not ready to fledge. Maybe at the weekend. One
:02:29. > :02:32.pops out its head, the kind of thing you see before fledging, but then it
:02:33. > :02:39.becomes overly enthusiastic. He does not want to come out now, so it
:02:40. > :02:43.tries to get back in but it is very precarious, flapping those wings and
:02:44. > :02:47.it falls to the ground. It is very vulnerable on the ground. It is
:02:48. > :02:55.trying to attract the attention of its mother. Unfortunately it
:02:56. > :03:01.attracts the attention of that jay. Two left in the box this evening,
:03:02. > :03:09.and over an hour ago, the jay takes another one. So fast. It is amazing,
:03:10. > :03:16.that jay will remember that nest, it has an amazing memory. They can hide
:03:17. > :03:20.up to 5000 acorns in winter and they can remember where most of them are.
:03:21. > :03:23.If it knows where there is a nest like this full of meat at this time
:03:24. > :03:31.of year, it will remember they are there. It is object permanence,
:03:32. > :03:32.basically they learn to identify separate individual objects and
:03:33. > :03:43.remember them even when they cannot see them and this is something we
:03:44. > :03:47.learn to do when we are youngsters. The jay is a very bright bird, they
:03:48. > :03:53.did not normally feed on birds like this, but when they have got young,
:03:54. > :04:01.they do. We can go live. There is the chick. Every single one of us is
:04:02. > :04:06.rooting for that chick that is left. We are keeping our fingers crossed,
:04:07. > :04:13.we are saying, come on, little great set. We don't want you to stray from
:04:14. > :04:21.our screen, but you can keep a close eye on this bird by going to the
:04:22. > :04:38.webcam on the website. We did not know about the Jay Cutler with one
:04:39. > :04:43.of the problems the tips tips might have is with the sparrowhawk. The
:04:44. > :04:47.sparrowhawk is very keen to snatch them out of the trees, this is the
:04:48. > :04:54.female, she has been sitting on five eggs. I reckon tomorrow, Friday, but
:04:55. > :04:57.that might be optimistic. I said Saturday, but we are not seeing any
:04:58. > :05:04.signs that they are looking like hatching. In the last few days of
:05:05. > :05:07.incubation, the eggs start to communicate, the young chips are
:05:08. > :05:13.peeping and the female is often looking down curiously at them. We
:05:14. > :05:18.have not seen any of that behaviour. She has been quite static on the
:05:19. > :05:23.nest, but we discovered another secret place she likes to visit, we
:05:24. > :05:30.are calling this our sparrowhawk spa. Quite an undisturbed, I'm not
:05:31. > :05:34.surprised it is not being used at the moment, the sun is going down
:05:35. > :05:38.and it is not as warm, but in the course of the day it has been very
:05:39. > :05:44.busy. Many birds coming here to bathe, including our sparrowhawk
:05:45. > :05:50.female, it she gets involved very enthusiastically. It is a dutiful
:05:51. > :05:54.site. Not something you normally say, because they are very
:05:55. > :05:59.vulnerable, even predators like this -- beautiful site. Other small birds
:06:00. > :06:02.have come, look how attentive this blackbird is, it would like a bath
:06:03. > :06:17.but would not like to get caught out. This robin is drenched. The
:06:18. > :06:22.great tit here. The sparrowhawk spa, that could also be the perfect cafe
:06:23. > :06:26.for afternoon tea, when it next turns up. When you see the
:06:27. > :06:31.sparrowhawk at the other birds, you presume that is the top predator in
:06:32. > :06:34.the world, but maybe not. There is another character which could be a
:06:35. > :06:42.threat to the chicks and the adult, it is the tawny owl. We have seen
:06:43. > :06:47.this one a few times. It has a rabbit, it has caught a rabbit.
:06:48. > :06:52.Quite impressive prey, when you look at the size of the rabbit. It could
:06:53. > :06:59.predate the sparrowhawk adult. Very impressive. Not a fully grown
:07:00. > :07:04.rabbit, but that is a half grown rabbit and the tawny owl has got it
:07:05. > :07:10.and that is a fresh kill, as well. There was also a fox that we source
:07:11. > :07:17.netting around, this is a young fox. -- that we saw sniffing around. The
:07:18. > :07:22.male sparrowhawk brings the break at the female plucks it and it set away
:07:23. > :07:29.from the nest. And that draws predators away from where the chicks
:07:30. > :07:32.are. It is working. Working fine. Scavenging for any scraps, picking
:07:33. > :07:36.up little bones and even chewing feathers, this is what the
:07:37. > :07:42.sparrowhawk 's do and that is what the objective of the plucking post
:07:43. > :07:47.is. Perfect strategy. Yesterday we offered a unique opportunity, the
:07:48. > :07:54.chance to name a speciation of British animal, a crustacean, a
:07:55. > :08:00.small crab which has been rediscovered in the South West. In
:08:01. > :08:03.Cornwall they said if you can come up with a sensible English name,
:08:04. > :08:08.even though it does have a scientific name. If you can come up
:08:09. > :08:13.with an appropriate English name for it, they would start to use it. 3000
:08:14. > :08:23.of you came up with suggestions in the last 24 hours. We had warrior
:08:24. > :08:33.crab, Cassius crab. Chilli red crab. Because they have red legs. Yes,
:08:34. > :08:37.they do. The comeback crab. We have chosen the top three and that is
:08:38. > :08:44.what we want you to cast your vote on and you have until 830. You can
:08:45. > :08:48.do that on the internet. We have chosen our favourite age, these are
:08:49. > :08:55.the ones you have suggested and many of you suggested the same names. We
:08:56. > :09:04.are championing one of them. Mine, I really like this one. Phoenix crab.
:09:05. > :09:08.The Phoenix was a mythical creature which rose up from the flames and
:09:09. > :09:17.the fire. This little crab has risen from possible extension, from the
:09:18. > :09:21.horrible pollution. I like it. That was quite theatrical, maybe a bit
:09:22. > :09:28.over the top. I will give you another name. St Mirren 's crab, St
:09:29. > :09:32.Mirren is the patron St of Cornwall and the legend has it, the Irish
:09:33. > :09:37.heathens threw him into the sea wearing a millstone around his neck.
:09:38. > :09:44.Rather like the crab shell, and then he crawled out onto a Cornish beach,
:09:45. > :09:49.like the crab has done, he became a hermit, rather like the habit of the
:09:50. > :09:53.crab. That is my favourite of those you have chosen. That is good. I
:09:54. > :10:00.think you could have been more theatrical. Anyway, we have got
:10:01. > :10:12.those two, what about you, Martin? I like the century crab. -- century.
:10:13. > :10:15.Centuries make me think of armoured soldiers and they have those
:10:16. > :10:21.fetching skirts that they used to wear. Anyway. One of the reasons
:10:22. > :10:24.Minsmere is so fantastically successful for wildlife is because
:10:25. > :10:32.they carefully control the water level. They do that with a series of
:10:33. > :10:36.sluice is and that creates habitat, open water for things like otters
:10:37. > :10:45.and maybe bigger fish. The reed beds, of course. Look out for the
:10:46. > :10:49.bitterns. And then you have the sluice itself, they controlled the
:10:50. > :10:55.level because otherwise if it comes up too much the nests will be sunk.
:10:56. > :10:58.They do that with a series of sluices, that is great for the
:10:59. > :11:06.wildlife like the birds and the otters, but not so good for another
:11:07. > :11:15.species. And that is the eel. Eels, mystical animals, so strange. These
:11:16. > :11:22.ones are yellow eels and they go through a number of different forms
:11:23. > :11:27.in their lives. All around me here, and at home, there will be yellow
:11:28. > :11:31.eels, they live in the freshwater, they can live for a long time, the
:11:32. > :11:39.world record is said to be 155-year is. That is for a Swedish eel, but
:11:40. > :11:41.normally they live 20 years and then something magical happens, a switch
:11:42. > :11:46.is thrown and they start heading down towards the sea. Migrating out
:11:47. > :11:56.to try and spawn and reproduce. Where do they go? No one is sure but
:11:57. > :12:03.this is the adult eel, it goes out to sea and it turns into a silver
:12:04. > :12:09.eel. The silver eels, they go out for thousand miles to the Sargasso
:12:10. > :12:13.Sea, changing their shape, they become just an egg laying machine,
:12:14. > :12:19.and when they get to the Sargasso Sea they die and lay their eggs.
:12:20. > :12:24.These little forms, like plankton, they get washed by the ocean
:12:25. > :12:31.currents back to Europe and they change to these glass eels which are
:12:32. > :12:36.see-through, rather bizarre and beautiful, and eventually they turn
:12:37. > :12:43.into elvers. It is when they get back here that those elvers and the
:12:44. > :12:47.glass eels run into a massive problem, that is the pinch point,
:12:48. > :12:53.and that is to do with the sluices. If they come along here, we can have
:12:54. > :12:59.a look at this sluice. This is a sluice. You can see what is
:13:00. > :13:02.happening, that is the water level, the high water level, over the edge
:13:03. > :13:07.and down to the lower water level and that is what is keeping it at
:13:08. > :13:15.that precise level. Imagine if you are a little elver, a glass eel, how
:13:16. > :13:21.can you get up the lump of concrete? They very good at it. Look at them
:13:22. > :13:28.struggling to get up. They are not going to do it. We would do
:13:29. > :13:37.something about that. We will try. What can we do to help those eels? I
:13:38. > :13:42.will get this. Bizarre looking contraption, like an upside-down
:13:43. > :13:46.brush. If I put this in here, this will allow the eels to swim up and
:13:47. > :13:58.get purchase and come all the way up here. Here we go. Oh! Proper little
:13:59. > :14:03.bit of work. I got the wrong end in it, but you get the idea. The eels
:14:04. > :14:08.can come from this watery bit all the way to the top and they will be
:14:09. > :14:14.able to swim from here. We are putting in little ladders all around
:14:15. > :14:19.Minsmere. I will finish of this job, and I will see you later on. Cheers
:14:20. > :14:26.for now. He is never happier than when he has a hammer in his hands.
:14:27. > :14:31.It is great, he has been mucking in, helping the RSPB and volunteers to
:14:32. > :14:36.do something great for nature and today is do something great for
:14:37. > :14:42.eels. And now to a rather glamorous bird. The beautiful golden eagle. We
:14:43. > :14:46.have had very good fortune to have cameras on a golden eagle's nest in
:14:47. > :14:53.Scotland and we have had great views of the adult and the chick. The nest
:14:54. > :14:58.is 427 metres above sea level in this quiet glen. Eagles choose their
:14:59. > :15:04.nest based on the availability of nearby live prey which they required
:15:05. > :15:09.to feed their young, but the nest changes shape. When the chick was
:15:10. > :15:13.young there was a very deep cup for it to sit in, and that stopped it
:15:14. > :15:17.falling out and also protected it from wind and rain, but the adult
:15:18. > :15:25.has been constantly modifying the nest. I've highlighted part of the
:15:26. > :15:29.nest. There is a depression left. The bird is adding branches all the
:15:30. > :15:34.time and changing the structure, this is not a random thing, not just
:15:35. > :15:37.plonking them anywhere it fancies, this is deliberately placing them to
:15:38. > :15:41.change the structure of that nest because as the bird grows it is not
:15:42. > :15:46.one to be contained in a cup and it wants to be able to wander across
:15:47. > :15:47.the surface and then the adult bone will have transformed this nest into
:15:48. > :16:03.a platform -- the adult bird. Lynne So it has gone from a
:16:04. > :16:12.bassinet, baby cot, to a playpen? I have no idea what that is? It sounds
:16:13. > :16:17.like a piece of armour! It is interesting where it is, as it is
:16:18. > :16:22.north-facing. In Scotland, where it is colder, you would expect it to be
:16:23. > :16:27.south-facing to catch the sun. But the chicks are so well insulated.
:16:28. > :16:30.That this saves them from overheating. That is surprising to
:16:31. > :16:37.many. I was surprised. The weather can be
:16:38. > :16:41.very changing. And the one thing we cannot see is that the nest is
:16:42. > :16:44.protected from an overhang, so protected from the worst of wind and
:16:45. > :16:50.the rain. Let's have a look. It is three weeks
:16:51. > :16:57.old, being fed by the mother, the mother has brought in a young fox
:16:58. > :17:02.cub. Look closely, the mum is trying to tear some off but the chick is
:17:03. > :17:07.trying to feed itself. This is a real milestone for the chick. It
:17:08. > :17:13.cannot eat by itself, it can't stand up yet. It has to stand up to hold
:17:14. > :17:19.the prey down to tear the food. Now it is resting on its ankle. But look
:17:20. > :17:23.at what it is doing. It has the intestines here! This must be
:17:24. > :17:28.frustrating, Chris it is sort of sucking it in. It is really like an
:17:29. > :17:32.incredibly long bit of spaghetti. He is trying.
:17:33. > :17:36.He has it stuck on the twig it is twisting the twig. That is learning
:17:37. > :17:43.behaviour. That twisting motion is what it has to do when it tears off
:17:44. > :17:49.the meat. He is still going with the intestines! That went on for some
:17:50. > :17:52.time. We have all been there. The spaghetti never seems to end. You
:17:53. > :18:02.know what I mean? We have not all been there! The birds of prey are
:18:03. > :18:07.mod feed, their feet, in terms of catching the prey. Of the
:18:08. > :18:11.three-forward facing toes, this one is enlarged as it is used to hold
:18:12. > :18:15.the prey down like a fork when they are pulling it to pieces. Perhaps
:18:16. > :18:24.when it is on the plucking post we can zoom in to see the enlarged toe.
:18:25. > :18:30.Let's go live to our blue great tit's nest. Well, he is there, or
:18:31. > :18:36.she is there, being fed! Let's wait to see if the bluetit comes back. I
:18:37. > :18:41.think it may have had the food. It has flown off but the youngster is
:18:42. > :18:44.secure in the box. Going back to the golden eagle
:18:45. > :18:49.chick, hopefully we will see a lot more next week. Maybe it will start
:18:50. > :18:55.feeding. That will be a great milestone. We are not all lucky to
:18:56. > :19:01.see golden eagles in the wilds of Scotland but most of us can get
:19:02. > :19:12.somewhere to see wildlife, even in an urnian area. David Lindo takes on
:19:13. > :19:22.an urban tour of one of the UK's busiest cities. Newcastle upon Tyne.
:19:23. > :19:26.Built on industry and trade, now one of the UK's busiest cities. It is
:19:27. > :19:35.home to nearly half a million people. But if you know where to
:19:36. > :19:43.look, you can find wildlife in the centre of this bustling met Ron
:19:44. > :19:47.politician eve no-one the bustling centre and amongst the city's
:19:48. > :19:55.landmarks. Here, this looks incredible. And the sound, the sound
:19:56. > :20:01.is phenomenal. The kittiwake is our only true sea gull. Spending most of
:20:02. > :20:06.the year far out to sea, returning to the coastal cliffs to breed. The
:20:07. > :20:11.population plummeted by almost a half since the turn of the century.
:20:12. > :20:15.But since the 1950s, more and more are choosing to nest on the
:20:16. > :20:26.riverside buildings. They number about 800 pairs here.
:20:27. > :20:30.They are not universally popular but the council has steadfastly
:20:31. > :20:38.protected them. And one rather glamorous resident
:20:39. > :20:45.offer -- residence, offers a fantastic view into their private
:20:46. > :20:50.lives. The fourth flour of the contemporary arts centre of the
:20:51. > :20:54.Baltic Arts. I cannot get over it, it is
:20:55. > :20:59.incredible to be so close to the birds. Getting on with their daily
:21:00. > :21:03.lives... From this position you can really appreciate the beauty of the
:21:04. > :21:08.kittiwake. The way that they look so gentle. And their eyes. Look at
:21:09. > :21:14.their eyes, with the lovely red eye-ring. They really are attractive
:21:15. > :21:19.birds close-up. You would never get such an intimate
:21:20. > :21:23.view on the remote cliffs where they normally breed.
:21:24. > :21:30.I can understand why they are here now. Obviously to a gull, a building
:21:31. > :21:36.with a ledge like that, that is a great substitute for a cliff's ledge
:21:37. > :21:42.and safer than being on the coast. You don't have great big black gulls
:21:43. > :21:51.chasing you or hunting the chicks, so this is a safer environment for a
:21:52. > :21:57.kittiwake to raise its family. The kittiwakes have chosen
:21:58. > :22:03.preexisting structures. But not far away from here and the busy #346789
:22:04. > :22:13.1, a wildlife haven has been especially created.
:22:14. > :22:16.Steve Purvis, from the Durham Wildlife Trust, wants to show me
:22:17. > :22:22.this exciting project. As we work from the ground up, we
:22:23. > :22:27.are looking at the biodiversity of a wild flower meadow. So if we
:22:28. > :22:34.increase that we should be able to get more creatures in to the area
:22:35. > :22:44.and the bird life to increase as well. They have created an 16
:22:45. > :22:52.hectare oasis of wild flower and a buzzing country life in the middle
:22:53. > :22:56.of the Metropolis. The highlight here is a ribbon of forest that
:22:57. > :23:05.brings the wildlife right into the heart of the Newcastle.
:23:06. > :23:09.It's a wonderful place to unwind and there is something really rather
:23:10. > :23:16.special living here, right under the busy road. Absolutely incredible.
:23:17. > :23:23.Dippers... I reckon most people in this area would never know that
:23:24. > :23:30.these birds are here. They actually dive under water in
:23:31. > :23:38.search of their prey, which is very unusual for a song bird. Oh, look at
:23:39. > :23:42.that, that is just incredible. Dippers need crystal clear water to
:23:43. > :23:45.catch their prey. As Newcastle's waterways have been cleaned over the
:23:46. > :23:50.last 30 years, they have made a comeback.
:23:51. > :23:56.When I was a kid, imagined them to be in areas that were totally
:23:57. > :24:00.inaccessible and places that I would never get to, because I didn't have
:24:01. > :24:05.anyone to take me there. I just can't believe that I'm watching
:24:06. > :24:07.dippers right here in the middle of an urban area, under a bridge that
:24:08. > :24:23.has a busy main road! I'm amazed by how much I have seen
:24:24. > :24:28.in a single day on Tyneside. Thanks to the efforts of councils and
:24:29. > :24:32.conservationist, and the adaptability of the animals mems,
:24:33. > :24:38.what was once an industrial powerhouse is now a destination for
:24:39. > :24:42.watching wildlife. This is a fantastic spot in the
:24:43. > :24:47.middle of the city. There is life everywhere. I'm looking on and
:24:48. > :24:55.seeing bluetits here. I'm hearing so many different bird song.
:24:56. > :25:00.Black cap, wood pigeon, blackbird, chaffinch. And there is a
:25:01. > :25:05.treecreeper. It looks like a little mouse creeping up the side of that
:25:06. > :25:15.tree. I could sit here for hours... It's
:25:16. > :25:20.great isn't it to see pockets of habitat in an urban setting like
:25:21. > :25:26.that. Great to see that some animals adapt so well to city dwellings.
:25:27. > :25:31.They don't need much space, do they? Just a tiny patch of greenery, the
:25:32. > :25:36.opportunity for life to sneak in. But the kittiwakes on the Baltic,
:25:37. > :25:41.well worth it. You can stand there looking at the
:25:42. > :25:45.elements and looking at the kittiwakes.
:25:46. > :25:49.There are some animals to see near a museum, there are some to see that
:25:50. > :25:57.are difficult to get on demand. If you want to see a badger, go to the
:25:58. > :26:02.#krid, what about the stoat? For the last two weeks we have had the
:26:03. > :26:10.extraordinary opportunity to follow the life a is single female stoat, a
:26:11. > :26:14.mother with eight kits. The cameraman have learned her habitats
:26:15. > :26:19.and been able to follow her. They have seen her doing all sorts of
:26:20. > :26:23.different things. She's been out with rabbits but now predating a
:26:24. > :26:27.green woodpecker's nest seven metres up in a tree.
:26:28. > :26:34.It is interesting to see what she does here. She positions the chick,
:26:35. > :26:39.goes up, gets her baring, works out how to get the chick down the
:26:40. > :26:43.tree... Comes back, grabs it and drags it up to the top a so she can
:26:44. > :26:49.get it down to the bottom. But it is incredible. That must be quite a
:26:50. > :26:54.weight for the stoechlt It is quite a weight. This is active
:26:55. > :26:58.hunting here. This is predation in action.
:26:59. > :27:02.Bear that in mind. Now, she is taking it to her kits
:27:03. > :27:08.that are hid no-one the grassland somewhere. But she is back for the
:27:09. > :27:12.second chick. Look at this, she has a strategy,
:27:13. > :27:18.Michaela. She's going to balance the chick there. She has it in the right
:27:19. > :27:23.position. She comes out, climbs back up again but I never realised that
:27:24. > :27:27.stoats were such good climbers. I thought of them as terrestrial
:27:28. > :27:32.animals, never up trues. This is amazing.
:27:33. > :27:36.Look at the muscles in her shoulders as she drags the chick. This is a
:27:37. > :27:47.hard-working mother. She has eight kits. A lot of mouths to feed. But
:27:48. > :27:53.look at the way she is going down? I know, like a pine nut. Hanging on
:27:54. > :27:58.with the legs as she crawls. And off into the reeds there. A nest full of
:27:59. > :28:03.woodpeckers will keep the youngsters going all day. This is a very
:28:04. > :28:07.important meal for her. Now the third chick doesn't go quite
:28:08. > :28:12.as planned. She is trying to drag it out. It gets stuck. It falls down.
:28:13. > :28:16.That is one way of getting it to the bottom.
:28:17. > :28:22.She knows where it is, she is going straight down to get it.
:28:23. > :28:27.But it is not good strategy, any other predator could take it.
:28:28. > :28:31.But she knew where it was and scam perked down quickly, off through the
:28:32. > :28:36.log pile towards the kits that are hidden over there.
:28:37. > :28:43.She's straight back up to the bottom of the tree and up she goes, scam
:28:44. > :28:47.pers up! Honestly it is amazing! I would never have thoeth that a stoat
:28:48. > :28:53.could climb like that. This is now the fourth chick. She
:28:54. > :28:57.can see she is struggling but this one, decides she has it sussed. She
:28:58. > :29:03.does not need to drag it backwards, she is straight out and down the
:29:04. > :29:06.tree. This is the fourth chick. It is sangled up in the honeysuckle
:29:07. > :29:11.there. The energy involved in all of this,
:29:12. > :29:16.Chris, it is incredible. She is a supermum. No doubt about
:29:17. > :29:25.it. She's a smart stoat. Smarty! Smarty the Stoat! Look at
:29:26. > :29:29.what happens here. The adult woodpecker comes back. I'm surprised
:29:30. > :29:34.that the adult does not attack the stoat. But it doesn't.
:29:35. > :29:40.It's alarm calling. They do come in. Look the adult is
:29:41. > :29:43.still collecting food. It is going through the process of starting to
:29:44. > :29:48.regurgitate it, as if there were young. But not getting close to the
:29:49. > :29:54.stoat. Meanwhile, the stoat has been inside, there is her bloody chin,
:29:55. > :29:57.indicating she has been feasting with a well deserved meal after that
:29:58. > :30:04.hard work. Look at her wiping it on the edge of
:30:05. > :30:12.that hole. Yes. That really was truly amazing.
:30:13. > :30:17.Stoat-ally amazing! It really was. It is what happens of having a good
:30:18. > :30:23.team of cameraman out in the wildlife with the remote cameras
:30:24. > :30:27.that we have. What a female. Doing a remarkable job rearing the kits. We
:30:28. > :30:31.hope we don't lose her, that we can continue to follow her next week to
:30:32. > :30:35.see her. We have seen her catching rabbits. She has been proficient at
:30:36. > :30:42.that. But fascinating, getting a glimpse into the life of an animal
:30:43. > :30:47.you rarely see. So from a streamed animal to
:30:48. > :30:55.another, Iolo Williams up in the farms!
:30:56. > :31:02.I'm shaking it up a bit today, I'm leaving the islands. We will find
:31:03. > :31:11.out what is lurking in the waters around here. The rocky outcrops can
:31:12. > :31:16.number anything up to 28 depending on the state of the tide. As such
:31:17. > :31:24.they offer perfect purchase, not just the birds, but for our largest
:31:25. > :31:28.resident carnivore, the grey seal. I've heard they come here in good
:31:29. > :31:41.numbers, and I'm hoping we are in for a real treat today. Between
:31:42. > :31:45.three and 6000 seals reside in the Farne Islands, so spotting them is
:31:46. > :31:48.not hard. You can tell them apart from their common cousins, they have
:31:49. > :31:58.fewer spots on their bodies and they have a long Roman nose, they have a
:31:59. > :32:08.Latin name which means that knows CP, which is a bit unfair, I think.
:32:09. > :32:15.-- which means hook nose sea pig. The Farne Islands is home to one of
:32:16. > :32:21.the largest colonies of grey seals in the UK. They come here in the
:32:22. > :32:25.autumn to seek shelter from the North Sea storms and to give shelter
:32:26. > :32:35.to their pups and they hang around to spring because then they feed on
:32:36. > :32:39.their favourite food, the sand eels. They are not picky and they can
:32:40. > :32:44.munch on a variety of other fish, eating up to seven kilograms of fish
:32:45. > :32:50.every day. They achieved this by diving to depths of 300 metres for
:32:51. > :33:00.up to 30 minutes at a time. But their talents extend to above water,
:33:01. > :33:09.as well. These seals can sing. There is a great sound. In the olden days
:33:10. > :33:14.fishermen said that was the sound of the souls of fishermen who been lost
:33:15. > :33:20.at sea, incredible, very haunting sound which carries over the water.
:33:21. > :33:27.Not much is known about why grey seals sing, some say the maybe
:33:28. > :33:31.between family members, mother and pup, but others say the calls are
:33:32. > :33:40.made by males to attract females and maintain territories. Whatever the
:33:41. > :33:44.reason why, in my -- it might well have saved their bacon, due to
:33:45. > :33:54.escalating numbers, the government looked at doing a grey seal cull but
:33:55. > :34:00.the fishermen here voted against it, they said the seals were important,
:34:01. > :34:04.their vocalisations warned them off the rocks, in low visibility, and
:34:05. > :34:13.the grey seal became a fisherman's friend. An amazing sound. It would
:34:14. > :34:17.not be fair to come all this way to show you these animals loafing
:34:18. > :34:23.around on the island. We want to show you how graceful and agile they
:34:24. > :34:36.are underwater. I've been given a backstage pass to join them for this
:34:37. > :34:42.underwater show. Oh! I can't begin to tell you just how cold this is.
:34:43. > :34:48.I've got a thick wet suit but I can feel the cold straightaway. The
:34:49. > :34:57.seals have a thick layer of blubber, six centimetres thick so they are
:34:58. > :35:05.built for this. He we go. Oh! -- here we go.
:35:06. > :35:56.But the longer I'm down here, the more they begin to trust me.
:35:57. > :36:08.What an amazing experience. I must have had five seals around me, you
:36:09. > :36:14.see these cumbersome animals on bad, but underwater they are like mini
:36:15. > :36:16.torpedoes, this is their environment and we can learn a lot from the grey
:36:17. > :36:31.seal. Down here, in playful serenity of
:36:32. > :36:42.their underwater world, you really could be anywhere, and we are. That
:36:43. > :36:48.was absolutely gorgeous, but he must have been freezing. What was he
:36:49. > :36:51.thinking? Wearing a silly hat all week, the one time he should be
:36:52. > :36:57.wearing his wet suit hoodie, he goes without. Does he not realise you
:36:58. > :37:05.lose all of your heat through your head? You sound like his mother. You
:37:06. > :37:09.just want a nice warm sweater. Yes, and a nice meal at the end of the
:37:10. > :37:15.day. We will go to see if our remaining great tit is still there.
:37:16. > :37:18.I think it is relatively unlikely that it will try and French this
:37:19. > :37:26.evening, but we have to hope that if it jumps up to take any food, that
:37:27. > :37:34.the Jay has gone home for the time being -- and fledge this evening.
:37:35. > :37:39.Everyone is hoping it does well. There was another nest we were
:37:40. > :37:46.watching, it was a nest of these birds, the stone curlews,
:37:47. > :37:50.remarkable, they come from Africa, they have a big eye for hunting at
:37:51. > :38:01.night. We have seen them on our thermal cameras, taking worms. They
:38:02. > :38:08.were incubating. They have an extraordinary sound. What happens?
:38:09. > :38:11.Last week there was a terrible thunderstorm and more rain fed a one
:38:12. > :38:17.night than normally does in a month and in the course of that. The stone
:38:18. > :38:23.curlews came off the nest and we think the egg was chilled. They
:38:24. > :38:30.carried on incubating it, but staff from the RSPB went out and they took
:38:31. > :38:42.the egg, disabled happened and they can judge -- to see what happened.
:38:43. > :38:45.The other thing, if they take the egg there is a very good chance that
:38:46. > :38:48.the stone curlews will breed again and they another clutch and it makes
:38:49. > :38:53.good sense, this is good practical conservation biology, learned
:38:54. > :38:58.through understanding the ecology of the bird. Thing is crossed that they
:38:59. > :39:02.start over again and they are more successful -- fingers crossed. And
:39:03. > :39:09.now to the Woodlands, we can have a look at one of our other nests live,
:39:10. > :39:15.the Little owl chicks. Wings flapping, they are much more active
:39:16. > :39:20.than they have been. Feeding rates are down but they are being fed much
:39:21. > :39:25.bigger meals. That one is almost coming out of the nest. They
:39:26. > :39:32.squabble in this nest as any siblings would, tug-of-war. The one
:39:33. > :39:39.at the back finally wins, but this nest is full of maggots, absolutely
:39:40. > :39:45.feted. This one has bitten off more than it can chew, or not, it is
:39:46. > :39:53.trying to swallow a vole and it is properly the first time it has tried
:39:54. > :40:00.to do this, rather than taking it in little bits. Has it fallen asleep?
:40:01. > :40:05.It is seriously struggling. Not a comfortable meal. Like trying to
:40:06. > :40:13.swallow a Christian. We will see much more of that. -- like trying to
:40:14. > :40:19.swallow a cushion. Outside one of the adults is giving an alarm call,
:40:20. > :40:27.and they all rhyme to the back of the nest -- run. It is like a panic
:40:28. > :40:34.room where they can escape. It could have been a tawny owl. It could have
:40:35. > :40:44.been a stoat. We could not possibly identify it. Those chicks have been
:40:45. > :40:47.becoming more active, and that means they come to the front of the nest
:40:48. > :40:52.and we will see them in the daytime. We will see much more of this kind
:40:53. > :41:00.of behaviour next week, they will be branching, semi-fledging. It will be
:41:01. > :41:08.very good. And now another nest, this is the nest of dunnocks. It is
:41:09. > :41:18.empty at the moment. That is because they have fledged this morning. Here
:41:19. > :41:21.they are, 626, the female had not been brooding them overnight and
:41:22. > :41:26.that is a good sign they were big enough to keep themselves warm. When
:41:27. > :41:30.they stand up they are pretty well feathered, on the tops of their
:41:31. > :41:33.heads and their backs, their wings are not fully feathered and they
:41:34. > :41:37.don't fledge in the sense that they will fly out of the nest, but what
:41:38. > :41:47.we will see happening, they turn around. Rejecting the faecal sacks,
:41:48. > :41:53.for the female -- ejected. They fly out. The whole family will be there,
:41:54. > :41:58.they have a special contact call which they have. They will be
:41:59. > :42:04.calling them in and they will still be being fed, no doubt just a few
:42:05. > :42:10.metres behind. Some of you were watching this, there are many ways
:42:11. > :42:14.you can watch. It has never been easier to follow Springwatch, where
:42:15. > :42:19.ever you are and whatever device you are using, and by going to the
:42:20. > :42:25.Springwatch website you can enjoy Springwatch live at any time of day.
:42:26. > :42:30.Catch the action as it happens with live webcams and updates and news
:42:31. > :42:35.and expert analysis. You can join in the conversation on Facebook,
:42:36. > :42:41.Twitter and the Springwatch Flickr group. Many of you have been online
:42:42. > :42:51.to vote for your clap name, we gave you a choice of three and we wanted
:42:52. > :42:58.you to cast your vote -- crab. The new name for this hermit crab, there
:42:59. > :43:04.were three names, Centurion Crab, Martin liked that one, that got 16%.
:43:05. > :43:15.I was championing the name Phoenix Crab, that got 23%. Which means
:43:16. > :43:18.there was a clear winner. St Piran crab which you were championing, and
:43:19. > :43:25.I think that is an excellent name for that crab. Do you want to
:43:26. > :43:33.explain it? Patron St of Cornwall, he was cast into the sea and then he
:43:34. > :43:40.emerged from it to become a hermit, so that is ideal. Thanks for voting
:43:41. > :43:45.online. Very exciting. More good news, we like good news. Recently
:43:46. > :43:50.there was an article in the paper that said May was the first time in
:43:51. > :43:57.the UK that solar power produced more electricity than coal. That is
:43:58. > :44:01.good news. How do the solar farms affect wildlife? I went to visit one
:44:02. > :44:07.just down the road a couple of weeks ago.
:44:08. > :44:14.Anyone travelling on our motorways will have noticed a change in the
:44:15. > :44:23.view. Fast solar farms have been springing up everywhere in our
:44:24. > :44:30.countryside. -- vast. In fact solar power has increased by 50% in the
:44:31. > :44:37.past year alone. But what impact do these farms have on our wildlife?
:44:38. > :44:41.Connor has been in the solar farm business for many years. How big is
:44:42. > :44:47.this site and how much electricity does it produce? Five megawatts
:44:48. > :44:52.site, 35 acres in size, more than enough to be Jews for
:44:53. > :45:03.-- more than enough to help 4500 houses. They are not pretty, are
:45:04. > :45:09.they? Well, I think they are! LAUGHTER
:45:10. > :45:14.It takes ages to find a site like this, we have looked at a thousand
:45:15. > :45:20.sites before we got this one. You have to get one where you cannot
:45:21. > :45:29.obscure pretty viewpoints. You cannot see this from anywhere.
:45:30. > :45:38.Some locals you will not find complaining are the animals. The
:45:39. > :45:45.explosion of intensive farming in the second half of the 20th century
:45:46. > :45:53.had a devastating affect on our wildlife species. In some cases
:45:54. > :46:00.there some were pesticided into extension. But here, the modules are
:46:01. > :46:04.built on low-grade land so energy production cuts out the need for
:46:05. > :46:09.pesticides and fertilisers, while offering the farmer a viable income.
:46:10. > :46:15.This was a working farm. We leased the land and put up the modules. It
:46:16. > :46:22.will remain so for 25 to 30 years. What have you done to help the
:46:23. > :46:28.species like lapwing, skylark and bird barrow bees? We have bird boxes
:46:29. > :46:35.up. Hedgerows in. Trees in, obviously a lot of wild flower
:46:36. > :46:40.planting. That in self-has made a huge difference in terms of
:46:41. > :46:45.biodiversity. We are not cutting the grass low in order to let the lark
:46:46. > :46:51.wings and the skylarks come here and nest. We also have the fence coming
:46:52. > :46:54.around the side for security purposes and habitat gates for
:46:55. > :47:00.mammals to come in through the fence as well. What we have found here
:47:01. > :47:04.with all of our farms is that biodiversity increased ten-fold.
:47:05. > :47:09.That will get better as the years go on? We think so. These things are
:47:10. > :47:14.here for four-and-a-half years. We don't know how good it will get. But
:47:15. > :47:18.all of the evidence we have is that it is promoting and bringing back
:47:19. > :47:23.species that were not here before. That is amazing.
:47:24. > :47:27.Since the industrial revolution, technological advances have often
:47:28. > :47:31.been bad news for the natural world. Our pursuit of progress ignore the
:47:32. > :47:38.consequences for decades. But it is great to see an example of
:47:39. > :47:44.cutting-edge industry, which, if managed well, can benefit us and
:47:45. > :47:51.nature. Fantastic! I like to see a solar
:47:52. > :47:55.array, myself. If they are well organised, this have all of the
:47:56. > :48:00.flowers underneath them. That is great for insects and honey bees. We
:48:01. > :48:05.know why the honey bees have been in trouble. But a fascinating project,
:48:06. > :48:12.Bee Bristol has started. What they have done is set up a hive in the
:48:13. > :48:18.countryside and also set up one almost identical in the town... They
:48:19. > :48:25.are monitoring all sorts of activities of the bees. Here is the
:48:26. > :48:32.town one. It is Bee Bristol At Bristol and the University of
:48:33. > :48:39.Bristol School and Buy logical Sciences. Let's have a look inside
:48:40. > :48:43.the beehive. Can you see this? These are the brood combs. These are
:48:44. > :48:51.nearly all worker bees. About 3,000 of them. Somewhere amongst the mass
:48:52. > :48:55.is the one queen. She has a blue dot. I can't see her at the moment.
:48:56. > :49:02.What is happening is that the queen is moving around and will lay a
:49:03. > :49:08.single egg in a honeycomb cell and the workers come along and cap it
:49:09. > :49:14.off. The workers are females and off spring of the one queen. They cap
:49:15. > :49:19.them off and look after the larvae as they grow. That will be the new
:49:20. > :49:24.generation of workers. The worker bees live for 40 days, not long but
:49:25. > :49:28.the queen can live for five years, probably past her prime at thee
:49:29. > :49:34.years old. There is one other thing. There are one or two larger bees,
:49:35. > :49:43.they are the drones, the males. Down the bottom here, see there... Those
:49:44. > :49:47.bigger lump, Those are the big cell whereas the males hatch out. It is
:49:48. > :49:52.nearly all female there. What they have done in the project
:49:53. > :49:58.is that they have carefully, Cleverley set up a system to record
:49:59. > :50:04.the movement of the worker bees as they move in and out of the hive on
:50:05. > :50:10.the foraging expeditions, going out to get nectar and pollen, all that
:50:11. > :50:15.the hive needs. It is early days but they have come up with interesting
:50:16. > :50:20.results. Ignore this green line. But you can see something here. The
:50:21. > :50:26.country beehive... This is the time of day on the top. They have woken
:50:27. > :50:30.up and shot out. These are the numberer of workers leaving the
:50:31. > :50:37.hive. In the town bee... Much less activity. They slowly going in and
:50:38. > :50:42.out. They are a bit lazy compared to the country bees! We don't know what
:50:43. > :50:45.is going on but we think that the country bees are finding huge
:50:46. > :50:49.supplies of food. A field of rapeseed. They are coming back to
:50:50. > :50:54.the hive, telling the others where the food resource is and they are
:50:55. > :50:59.all rushing out to feed. Whereas the town bees, what is happening is that
:51:00. > :51:03.they are finding smaller supplies of food, maybe in your garden. They are
:51:04. > :51:07.not so excited and they are not all rushing out to get the food.
:51:08. > :51:12.But this is just the beginning. They are going to try to find out lots
:51:13. > :51:18.with the project. I love it. Now, you can follow this.
:51:19. > :51:22.It is live, live sciences, getting the results as they come in. There
:51:23. > :51:27.is a link to Bee Bristol on the website.
:51:28. > :51:33.Now, they normally, normally the bees are out foraging. They can't at
:51:34. > :51:39.the moment. One more thought that is about ?a pound of honey. That takes
:51:40. > :51:45.55,000 miles of bee journeys to create that. Value our honey! As
:51:46. > :51:49.they can't S get out, I'm going to give them a little bit of sugar
:51:50. > :51:53.solution as they don't have their food. Pouring it in the top here.
:51:54. > :51:59.Trying not to get it all over everything. Oops, I do! That keeps
:52:00. > :52:03.them feeding. Just in case you are worried the bees are going home
:52:04. > :52:10.tonight and will be out foraging flowers tomorrow morning. I could
:52:11. > :52:14.watch these for hours! They are fabulous, bees, we know that they
:52:15. > :52:20.are vital pollinators and that they are in decline. We want you to help
:52:21. > :52:25.us by recording your bee sightings. There are 250 different species of
:52:26. > :52:33.wild bee in the UK. 225 are solitary bees, not living in hives. We are
:52:34. > :52:39.focussing on 12 of them. Friends of the Earth have set up an app to do
:52:40. > :52:44.the great British Bee Count. This is the app. The 12 bees there. It shows
:52:45. > :52:48.you the difference. If you don't know the bee that you are looking at
:52:49. > :52:53.you can take a picture and send it in. But a simple app with lots of
:52:54. > :52:57.information on the app. Obviously all of the details are on the
:52:58. > :53:03.website. It is a great thing to get involved in. Now, pollution is a
:53:04. > :53:14.problem for bees, plastic pollution is a big problem for our seas.
:53:15. > :53:21.The great British seaside. With over 30,000 kilometres of
:53:22. > :53:26.coastline, the UK has some of the best beaches, rockpools and tidal
:53:27. > :53:30.estuaries anywhere in the world. A vast habitat, providing food and
:53:31. > :53:37.shelter to countless species and a place for us all to relax and enjoy
:53:38. > :53:44.the sunshine. Yet, our seas are facing a huge
:53:45. > :53:51.problem... The amount of marine litter washing up on the beaches has
:53:52. > :53:55.almost doubled in the last 15 years. It's the equivalent of five carrier
:53:56. > :54:01.bags of plastic rubbish for every foot of coastline on the planet.
:54:02. > :54:05.Over 5 trillion pieces of plastic now bobbing along in the sea
:54:06. > :54:15.currents, affecting over 600 different species. We need to do
:54:16. > :54:20.something - now! To savour coast line from drowning in litter... We
:54:21. > :54:26.need your help. It is a real paradox. A substance so
:54:27. > :54:30.precious to us, so available to us, so useful in everyday life, is also
:54:31. > :54:34.becoming a global scourge but we can do something about it. This weekend
:54:35. > :54:40.is the perfect time for you and us to contribute. We would like you to
:54:41. > :54:44.go out this weekend and join in a beach clean. The marine conservation
:54:45. > :54:48.society have these, there are details on the website. And no, this
:54:49. > :54:52.is not something where they are going to do it, it is something that
:54:53. > :54:57.we have to do it. Please, if you have a couple of hours this weekend,
:54:58. > :55:01.go to your local beach, pick up some rubbish and send in photographs and
:55:02. > :55:08.video of that to celebrate it next week. Tomorrow I will be joined by
:55:09. > :55:16.Martin Tory, called the Two-minute Beach Clean. We will tell you about
:55:17. > :55:22.it tomorrow. Don't forward, tonight, today, it is moth night. You can
:55:23. > :55:26.join? In all sorts of moth-related activities. Watch out for day flying
:55:27. > :55:35.moths that you can do in your garden. Look at this Cinnabar moth.
:55:36. > :55:39.If you are lucky you could see this gorgeous one, the Humming bird
:55:40. > :55:45.Hawk-most. Imagine that. Get out and join in the moth work! What I want
:55:46. > :55:51.to know is if I do the beach clean, do I wear shorts and T-shirts or
:55:52. > :55:58.fleece and long trousers or waterproof and wellies? You can't
:55:59. > :56:04.tell me, can you? You have in idea. Let's ask Nick Miller instead.
:56:05. > :56:08.If you are moth-counting it is looking good. Warm out there, cloud
:56:09. > :56:16.moving in, light winds, how they like it. Heading to the beach? Don't
:56:17. > :56:22.expect to top up the tan. There is a weather change. A weather front
:56:23. > :56:27.bringing range but not all the time. It will not abwash-out. A downward
:56:28. > :56:36.trend in temperatures but own to the average. If this sort of weather is
:56:37. > :56:43.typical for the time of year. It should not cause any problems.
:56:44. > :56:48.Airborne atrackses like the butterfly, less active but look down
:56:49. > :56:52.for the slugs and the snails. Looking for something wetter.
:56:53. > :56:56.There is also a wind change. A south-westerly, it may bring more
:56:57. > :57:00.painted lady butterflies. Maybe after overshooting bird like a
:57:01. > :57:07.bee-eater. It is a weather-change but a wildlife opportunity. Here is
:57:08. > :57:11.the forecast for you at Minsmere. Yes, increasing cloud, the
:57:12. > :57:16.Springwatch Spa will not be as busy but important, whatever the weather
:57:17. > :57:20.it is the weekend! It is not just any weekend but a Springwatch
:57:21. > :57:25.Weekend and its waiting for you! I love it. So Taking everything else
:57:26. > :57:32.and the backpack. The usual summer! Let's have a look
:57:33. > :57:37.at the live cameras. This is the bluetit nest box with the one great
:57:38. > :57:40.tit chick in it. Keep an eye on that tonight obviously and over the
:57:41. > :57:45.weekend. We are rooting for this little bird.
:57:46. > :57:49.Shall we look at the great tits? We have not featured them as much. We
:57:50. > :57:55.have been obsessed with the great tits in the bluetit nest box. But
:57:56. > :57:59.how many are there now? Five of them and they all seem to be doing well.
:58:00. > :58:06.That is all we have time for this weeks. We have had a great week of
:58:07. > :58:10.stoats, next week, a weasel, and not only a weasel but views inside the
:58:11. > :58:16.weasel's nest. We are catching up with Monty, and
:58:17. > :58:24.blue 24, our charismatic off spring from Wales. Looking forward to that.
:58:25. > :58:26.And in the farms I'm investigating Britain's favourite seabird, the
:58:27. > :58:38.puffin. And tomorrow, my guest is no other
:58:39. > :58:40.than Germaine Greer in her guise as moth wing.