:00:08. > :00:12.I have experienced many things on Springwatch today. The chattering of
:00:13. > :00:17.beautiful birds, the grooming of hairs and the calming of ruffled
:00:18. > :00:22.feathers. Then I carried on walking past Michaela having her make-up
:00:23. > :00:28.done! Ha-ha! There is no making up the action on tonight's show. We
:00:29. > :00:33.have dive-bombing bats. They've got contented kits. And there is a
:00:34. > :00:36.stick-stealer in the colony. And we are on the Isles of Scilly, hunting
:00:37. > :00:44.for a totally different sort of stick. I will be on the beach
:00:45. > :01:03.combing for jellies. It can only mean one thing... It's Springwatch!
:01:04. > :01:11.Hello! Welcome to Springwatch 2017. Coming to you for the third week
:01:12. > :01:15.from the National Trust Sherborne Park Estate in Gloucestershire. I
:01:16. > :01:18.have to say, Michaela, it's particularly fine evening. I know,
:01:19. > :01:23.look at this! It's fantastic. No rain. And look at this, Chris, there
:01:24. > :01:28.happens to be a couple of bales of straw in the middle of the field for
:01:29. > :01:32.to us sit on. That's absolutely marvellous. Let's start today with a
:01:33. > :01:37.quick whip around some of our live cameras. We are going to start with
:01:38. > :01:40.the red kites. Let's look at them. We have red kites as you know, three
:01:41. > :01:44.chicks, four-and-a-half weeks old. Look at that in the sunlight!
:01:45. > :01:48.Beautiful. Our kestrels too up in the Church to
:01:49. > :01:53.youer in the village are panting due to the sunlight. Look at this, the
:01:54. > :01:56.sun is blazing through that nook in the Church and they're getting
:01:57. > :02:00.overheated. The swallows in the barn even have a shaft of light. Wonder
:02:01. > :02:04.what they're looking at. They're interested in something. Wrens in
:02:05. > :02:08.the barn close to them and built into a swallows nest, five of them
:02:09. > :02:11.in that nest. I am pleased I am not the wren at the back. I think they
:02:12. > :02:15.probably rotate t would only be fair to. That's a quick whip around. Now
:02:16. > :02:19.let's have a proper look at some nests. Let's start with one of the
:02:20. > :02:24.prettiest nests I think, it's the grey wagtail nest. Let's have a
:02:25. > :02:28.look. Look at that! It's so pretty. It's in the
:02:29. > :02:33.brickwork there by the old water wheel. All the chicks look like
:02:34. > :02:38.they're sleeping. There are five chicks in there.
:02:39. > :02:44.Seven days old. Oh, look! We might be get ago field here... That was a
:02:45. > :02:47.bit of a false attempt there. They thought it was - they thought they
:02:48. > :02:53.were getting food. They have been fed very well. Let's look at what's
:02:54. > :02:57.been going on today. They eat a lot of mayflies, that's the main prey.
:02:58. > :03:02.You can see one struggling here. Look at that beautiful reflection of
:03:03. > :03:09.the grey wagtail. Spots the mayfly. No trouble catching it. And taking
:03:10. > :03:16.it to the nest. Wagging that tail. Feeds the chicks. They've been very
:03:17. > :03:25.well fed. But mainly by the female, which is this one. Beak full of
:03:26. > :03:29.Mayflies. She's looking very tatty on the feathers. What goes in one
:03:30. > :03:36.end, has to come out. Look what she does. It's amazing, she flies some
:03:37. > :03:40.distance to make sure she gets rid of that faecal sack and hides it far
:03:41. > :03:43.away from the nest. It's great to see five chicks, seven days old. At
:03:44. > :03:46.least another seven days before they fledge but they're all looking good
:03:47. > :03:52.so far. We have another nest down here. In fact, just in the hedgerow,
:03:53. > :03:56.about 18 metres over there. We can go live to our blackbirds' nest and
:03:57. > :04:02.let's see what they're up to. Five chicks in here, as well.
:04:03. > :04:07.Look at that, Michaela. They are warm this evening.
:04:08. > :04:10.They're not there looking for food, that's them, rather like the
:04:11. > :04:18.kestrels, overheating. They've been busy bringing all sorts of food in.
:04:19. > :04:21.Lots of earthworms, even here not in a classic garden, they're feeding
:04:22. > :04:26.lots of worms. Look at that mouthful the female brought in. All those
:04:27. > :04:30.youngsters stretching up as high as they can clamouring to get food.
:04:31. > :04:38.The bird singing is not the blackbird. Curiously, this is a song
:04:39. > :04:42.thrush. Wonder if they'll grow up confused. Some birds learn the song
:04:43. > :04:47.they're going to sing in their future life from their own adults
:04:48. > :04:51.whilst still in the nest. These young blackbirds are being serenaded
:04:52. > :04:54.almost constantly by a song thrush. They may end up singing the wrong
:04:55. > :04:59.song. That's not great. I love the way they stretch. It's like a
:05:00. > :05:03.contest of who has the longest neck, I love it. In that hedge is a nest
:05:04. > :05:06.of chaffinches, as well. Let's look at them. Very close to the
:05:07. > :05:12.blackbirds. Sometimes the birds get confused when they see the other
:05:13. > :05:16.adult come by. Look at them! A fluffy head there. How many chicks
:05:17. > :05:21.in there? It looks like there are just two. We did have three. Let's
:05:22. > :05:27.have a look at what happened. They were ready to fledge. They're being
:05:28. > :05:32.very well fed. That's the female. The male, though, was hanging around
:05:33. > :05:37.with food a little bit away from the nest trying to entice them out. 11.
:05:38. > :05:42.32 one of the chicks got very brave and decided to see dad. And was
:05:43. > :05:48.rewarded with a little bit of food. We thought that was it. Great, it's
:05:49. > :05:53.fledged. But at 11. 59 it defledged! That's the chick in the middle...
:05:54. > :05:58.Defledged? Hang on, is that a proper term? It might be after tonight.
:05:59. > :06:02.This went on for the rest of the morning and the early afternoon. It
:06:03. > :06:08.was in, it was out. Out, in, shaking it all about. Then at 2. 38 it
:06:09. > :06:10.actually decided that it was time to leave the nest.
:06:11. > :06:15.The other two are still there as we saw in that live shot. Don't think
:06:16. > :06:19.it will be long before they go. A beautiful evening, maybe they'll go
:06:20. > :06:24.now. Keep eyes on the live cameras. I favour tomorrow morning at that
:06:25. > :06:30.point. That would be better. The hedgerow there is fantastic. It's
:06:31. > :06:35.not a horrid picket stump. It has branches that act as posts for the
:06:36. > :06:41.birds. At the base is lots of vegetation, home for small mammals.
:06:42. > :06:45.We caught a yellow necked mouse just over there. A suitable place for
:06:46. > :06:50.barn owls to go hunting I am sure. Let's go live to their nest now.
:06:51. > :06:56.Again it's not too far away from where we are. The adult is absent.
:06:57. > :07:01.The female has popped out, probably in the barn finding space away from
:07:02. > :07:05.her rowdy junksters sleeping off a number of voles they had last night
:07:06. > :07:10.-- youngsters. Or maybe she's hunting. We have set our cameramen a
:07:11. > :07:13.challenge. We tried it on Monday. We did actually see a glimpse of our
:07:14. > :07:18.barn owl hunting. Tonight we are going to see if we can really get it
:07:19. > :07:22.and get it in a beautiful sunlit evening. We have Pete and Mark out
:07:23. > :07:27.there. Let's go to Pete's camera first of all. Pete's going to see if
:07:28. > :07:32.he can see our barn owl hunting in this field.
:07:33. > :07:36.Loads of sheep! Then let's look at Mark's camera.
:07:37. > :07:41.Mark is in the field, as well. He can see the barn itself. We will be
:07:42. > :07:44.able to see if we see a barn owl hunting, but that's definitely our
:07:45. > :07:47.barn owl, because he will be able to see it go in and out of the barn.
:07:48. > :07:52.That's the challenge. If we manage it we will show it to you. A good
:07:53. > :07:56.chance if times are tough or they've got lots of hungry mouths to feed
:07:57. > :08:01.they'll come out in the late afternoon and early evening. It's a
:08:02. > :08:04.real treat. Generally watching nocturnal animals is difficult since
:08:05. > :08:08.we are not nocturnal ourselves. One group is tricky and that's the bats,
:08:09. > :08:12.of course. Often you can go out and see bats, you can stand by a river,
:08:13. > :08:17.stand in your garden and see them in the sky. But which species of bat
:08:18. > :08:22.are they? With an enormous amount of expertise you might be able to get
:08:23. > :08:28.90% right but not 100%. Not until now. The other night I went out with
:08:29. > :08:34.my good friend Gary to test a new device which I think is going to
:08:35. > :08:39.radically transform batting. Here in the UK we are lucky to have
:08:40. > :08:42.18 species of bat but because of their nocturnal habits watching and
:08:43. > :08:46.identifying them can sometimes leave you in the dark.
:08:47. > :08:52.There are bits of tech that can help but they can be unreliable and
:08:53. > :08:56.frustrating to use. But sound recordist Gary Moore has a new toy
:08:57. > :09:03.and we have come to test it in Sherborne village.
:09:04. > :09:07.Gary, I have this bat detector here. It's a classic one. It's going to
:09:08. > :09:11.convert the high frequency sounds of the bats into lower frequencies that
:09:12. > :09:17.we can hear. That's right? That is right, yeah. This is history. It is,
:09:18. > :09:23.hopefully it's history. I have a new little bit of kit, it's basically a
:09:24. > :09:29.tiny little device. It allows any smartphone or any tablet to be
:09:30. > :09:33.turned into a bat detector. But not only is it a bat detector... It
:09:34. > :09:38.identifies the bat for you. It identifies it. We are going to pit
:09:39. > :09:43.these two devices against each other in a test of classic versus modern.
:09:44. > :09:49.All we need now are some bats. What time is it? Nearly quarter to
:09:50. > :09:54.ten. You said half nine. I thought we would be in the pub by now!
:09:55. > :10:00.Goodness me! Thought we would at least catch last orders!
:10:01. > :10:07.Didn't see that one. Mine's identified it. What? There, look.
:10:08. > :10:10.And a picture, as well! Honest rip -- honestly, that's
:10:11. > :10:18.amazing. It has recorded it, identified it and shown you a
:10:19. > :10:21.picture of the face. Yeah. Wow. Soon enough, we are witnessing a
:10:22. > :10:37.mass exodus from the roost. Wow. Look at that What a treat!
:10:38. > :10:42.But let's face it, we knew this was a roost of lesser horseshoes, it's
:10:43. > :10:48.more like shooting bats in a barrel than a true test for the detectors.
:10:49. > :10:52.It's time to move down to the river where we know there are all kinds of
:10:53. > :10:58.bats and identifying them to species level in the pitch black will be the
:10:59. > :11:06.ultimate test. Right, here we are, Gary. This is
:11:07. > :11:10.the final showdown. OK. I am get ago bat at 44. 6 here. If I
:11:11. > :11:24.consult the little bit of paper. Hold on.
:11:25. > :11:38.44. 6. It could be a common... Could even be whiskered actually. Mine has
:11:39. > :11:42.identified it. Honestly! Look. Maybe the sopranos are hunting up here and
:11:43. > :11:47.the Commons are down there. When I was ten the only place you saw that
:11:48. > :11:53.was on Star Trek. Now it's allowing us to identify a bat to species
:11:54. > :11:59.level. In the dark. We are not even seeing the bats. Dear Santa... I
:12:00. > :12:04.have been a good boy this year and really hoping that when when you
:12:05. > :12:13.come down my chimney you bring me one of these new detectors like what
:12:14. > :12:18.Gary has! Gary, I am sold. Yeah. Do you want my bat detector, ?10? No,
:12:19. > :12:23.you can keep that. I will chuck in a bit of paper. All right, OK. Let's
:12:24. > :12:28.go to the pub. It's closed, let's go to bed. I did promise you last
:12:29. > :12:34.orders. It's worth it, it's a fab gadget.
:12:35. > :12:40.Now, it is undeniably fantastic but you don't need one of those gadgets
:12:41. > :12:45.to engage with and report bats sightings. The conservation trust
:12:46. > :12:47.would love you to join in with their surveys and you can find details of
:12:48. > :12:51.those on our website. Let's look at the bats we were looking at there.
:12:52. > :13:04.You couldn't see them too clearly in the film. The first one are common
:13:05. > :13:10.piperstills. Next one is soprano, closely related and Gary and I were
:13:11. > :13:14.separating them by sound. Lastly the lesser horseshoe bat, the ones
:13:15. > :13:19.emerging from the roost and they have a curious nose that gives them
:13:20. > :13:31.the name. That's what they look like. How do they communicate? They
:13:32. > :13:34.throw out a signal t bounces back to give the bat information on how far
:13:35. > :13:42.away the object is, what speed it's going at. That is how they locate
:13:43. > :13:45.and catch their prey. It's got to be efficient because 3,000 insects they
:13:46. > :13:52.have to catch, it's a lot. Why can't we hear it? Well, it's because it's
:13:53. > :13:59.at a high frequency, which is too high for our hearing range. This is
:14:00. > :14:05.our hearing range. 20-20,000 hertz. This is the blue whale. Most we can
:14:06. > :14:13.hear, some is too low. Bats, most is too high.
:14:14. > :14:21.Most you can't hear. Lesser horse DUP shoe, you haven't a hope. That's
:14:22. > :14:27.why we can't hear it. OK how effectively do bats use it?
:14:28. > :14:36.We're trying to convert sound into images, that's the way we perceive
:14:37. > :14:42.things. Hidden here in the picture is a gnat. I imagine you are a bat
:14:43. > :14:45.looking for this, emitting all that sound, bouncing off the trees and
:14:46. > :14:51.confusing your ability to find it, as it does visually for us. But here
:14:52. > :14:56.is a gnat out over the water. We can see that much more clearly and when
:14:57. > :15:01.the bats are using echolocation, because the water act as an acoustic
:15:02. > :15:06.mirror, reflecting their sound perfectly, it's easier to pick out
:15:07. > :15:11.anything in front of that mirror, such as these gnats. When bats are
:15:12. > :15:17.hunting over water, you can see how this one has come over the
:15:18. > :15:22.boathouse, it's raining, dimples overwater and can't see its food.
:15:23. > :15:26.They frequently hunt overwater like this, this species, and you can see
:15:27. > :15:30.it dipping down, perhaps drinking or taking insects. And then having
:15:31. > :15:36.located at the insect to have to catch it. How does the bat do that?
:15:37. > :15:40.It doesn't just make these clicks on a regular, ordered pattern. What we
:15:41. > :15:45.have here Michaela is a sonogram of up bat moving for its environment.
:15:46. > :15:50.Each one of these single clicks are navigating click. Flying along,
:15:51. > :15:55.sending out broad information about its environment. As it progresses,
:15:56. > :15:59.all of a sudden we get a rapid burst of little clicks like this. I think
:16:00. > :16:14.we can hear this as well... Let's listen. There are the clicks. Click,
:16:15. > :16:18.click, click, click. At the end, that sound, it's an increased
:16:19. > :16:22.sampling rate. What the bats are doing are moving along like this and
:16:23. > :16:25.then an increase in sampling, giving them more information about the prey
:16:26. > :16:30.they've located and it's then that they catch it. We can see them doing
:16:31. > :16:39.this. This. This is the great horseshoe bats, they've located the
:16:40. > :16:42.moths and increase their sampling and then copying them and their
:16:43. > :16:47.wings and scooping them up into their mouths. What about that? I
:16:48. > :16:53.love that. I enjoyed that, so much so I have a batty T-shirt on. I
:16:54. > :16:57.think they're great, I love going out at night with a bat detector and
:16:58. > :17:02.listening to them. Not as fancy as the one you used!
:17:03. > :17:09.Bats are not the only animals that hunt at night, so do foxes. These
:17:10. > :17:13.two little cubs are not hunting but practising hunting. Some people call
:17:14. > :17:17.it play even. They are pouncing, chasing, this is exactly what they
:17:18. > :17:22.will have to do when they are adults. Interesting fact about
:17:23. > :17:29.foxes, a recent survey said numbers have declined by 34% between
:17:30. > :17:34.1995-2015. That is a huge decline. That's because of a decline in
:17:35. > :17:40.rabbits, caused by myxomatosis, a new virus that is really affecting
:17:41. > :17:47.rabbits and shooting, as well. That is a lot, isn't it? 34%. It is
:17:48. > :17:51.significant. Urban fox numbers have steadily grown but in the rural
:17:52. > :17:56.environment, as that study has shown, foxes are declining. I don't
:17:57. > :18:02.see as many foxes out on about when I'm in the countryside as I used to
:18:03. > :18:06.when I was a kid. The BDO's data means it's empirical. Martin has
:18:07. > :18:10.been on a road trip and last week we saw him in Scotland. Gillian has
:18:11. > :18:13.joined him this week they are in the Isles of Scilly.
:18:14. > :18:17.Yes, here we are. Michaela, we've actually made it! We are on the
:18:18. > :18:23.glorious Isles of Scilly. If they are, about 145 islands down here,
:18:24. > :18:28.five inhabited by humans and many of others inhabited wonderful life
:18:29. > :18:34.wildlife. There is prior and Samsung, after which my son is
:18:35. > :18:38.named. That didn't come out quite right! Very poetic. This is an Area
:18:39. > :18:43.of Outstanding Natural Beauty, as you can see. And legend has it King
:18:44. > :18:47.Arthur lies in a tomb out there, not dead but waiting to come back, to
:18:48. > :18:54.rise up in Britain's hour of greatest need. Top that! This is the
:18:55. > :19:00.place of pirates and shipwrecks. Sailors that come across the
:19:01. > :19:04.Atlantic make first landfall here. They shelter from Atlantic storms,
:19:05. > :19:13.but this maze of islands and islets and rocky outcrops are a haven for
:19:14. > :19:23.sea birds. They are so difficult to get through, but the wildlife love
:19:24. > :19:33.it. Say you have the shacks, oyster catchers. It is a fine, fine
:19:34. > :19:40.destination for birds. A lot of birders come here because there are
:19:41. > :19:46.real rarities. Exactly where we are. This has been our tour all round the
:19:47. > :19:50.country. Don't know if you can see hang on! There's Sherborne and we
:19:51. > :19:54.went up to North Wales and then went all the way to Scotland to the
:19:55. > :19:59.Beavers and pine marten for now we are down here, right in the Scilly
:20:00. > :20:03.Isles. Let's have a closer look at where the Scilly Isles are, what
:20:04. > :20:08.they look like. Here are all the inhabited ones. You see all these
:20:09. > :20:12.tiny once dotted around full of wildlife, terribly dangerous for
:20:13. > :20:17.shipping over the years. We are here on Tresco and Gillian and I are
:20:18. > :20:26.standing almost exactly fair. When you come to Trescothick are famous
:20:27. > :20:29.for their gardens, and there is all sorts of what look like subtropical
:20:30. > :20:34.plants growing here. It is extremely beautiful. The colours. You get a
:20:35. > :20:38.lot of succulence here as well. Look at that, I've seen one of those in
:20:39. > :20:43.Mexico. Lots of exquisite... People come here just to see the beautiful
:20:44. > :20:50.plants that grow here. You get lovely insects. There is a thing
:20:51. > :20:55.called the Scilly bee. It's exotic and it's going to get more exotic.
:20:56. > :20:59.Not just plants, there's some surprisingly exotic animals here,
:21:00. > :21:03.and I've got one right here. I've got a little challenge for you. I
:21:04. > :21:13.don't know if you can see this, so we're going to just move in... And
:21:14. > :21:19.hopefully, if you have a sharp eye, you should be able to start to see
:21:20. > :21:29.it right there. There it is. That's a stick insect. They come from the
:21:30. > :21:35.Greek word meaning phantom or abolition. I think it's doing a
:21:36. > :21:40.pretty good job of that. Right now it's, apart from camouflaging, it
:21:41. > :21:45.showing its other defence mechanism. It's doing this gentle swaying. If I
:21:46. > :21:50.blow on it it might do it a bit more. It does that to not just
:21:51. > :21:56.looked like a stick but like a stick blowing gently in the breeze. I
:21:57. > :21:59.think that is so clever. Absolutely fabulous, isn't it? I've spent
:22:00. > :22:05.literally hours looking for these over here and never, ever found one.
:22:06. > :22:11.Chris Timmins, our hero, found this one looking into red minutes. I wish
:22:12. > :22:15.I could pretend I found that! In fact there four different species of
:22:16. > :22:22.stick insect. This is the prickly one, there is a smooth stick insect,
:22:23. > :22:25.a laboratory stick insect and... What's the other one? Mediterranean.
:22:26. > :22:30.It seems the smooth and prickly arrived here around 100 years ago in
:22:31. > :22:34.1909 and have been living here ever since. They reproduce,
:22:35. > :22:40.fascinatingly, by parthenogenesis. Which means the female doesn't need
:22:41. > :22:44.a mail at all. In fact, with a prickly stick insect, they've never
:22:45. > :22:49.found a male. All that happens is the female lays eggs and they are
:22:50. > :22:53.viable, they hatch out. So when they came over here, possibly with some
:22:54. > :22:56.plants from New Zealand, you only need one egg in that soil and it
:22:57. > :23:01.could have founded the entire colony over here. They are the most curious
:23:02. > :23:05.animals. It doesn't look like they are doing any harm here, they are
:23:06. > :23:10.invasive but they don't appear to be causing any trouble. So anyway, from
:23:11. > :23:14.one very exotic animal to another, because when you come back Gillian
:23:15. > :23:19.and I will let it down to the beach and we are going on and exotic
:23:20. > :23:24.beachcomber. See you later. When you were a child, did you keep
:23:25. > :23:28.stick insects in a jam jar with a loosely fitting lid and it escaped
:23:29. > :23:34.and clambered down stairs and it climbed on top of your father's
:23:35. > :23:37.Spitfire books in the kitchen? No, but I guess you did.
:23:38. > :23:43.From stick insects to barn owls. Look at this. This is important.
:23:44. > :23:48.This is a field margin, it has good old rough grass in it. Here, this is
:23:49. > :23:52.a place where mammals can live, where voles can live. This is what
:23:53. > :23:57.we like to see on farms. If you have this sort of habitat, you can
:23:58. > :24:01.sustain barn owls. We can go live now to our cameras. Let's take a
:24:02. > :24:07.look at what Pete's got. Has he found one of our hunting owls?
:24:08. > :24:12.Nothing yet. Potential prey in the foreground. If a bar now takes a
:24:13. > :24:19.sheep it will be a world first! Let's see what Mark has by the barn.
:24:20. > :24:24.Good hunting ground for these animals. They need these rough
:24:25. > :24:29.patches. If you have improved pasture, grass which has herbicide
:24:30. > :24:33.put on it, no dead leaf litter... This is what small mammals need,
:24:34. > :24:38.they need this, they need to be able to hide under this sort of stuff. If
:24:39. > :24:44.the barn owl isn't out and about, let's see if it's back in the barn,
:24:45. > :24:49.in to. It's not, so it must be around. The chicks are there,
:24:50. > :24:54.obviously. We have three chicks, very different sizes. They are all
:24:55. > :24:58.huddled together a bit. 21-day-old chick, 16-day-old chick and
:24:59. > :25:01.13-day-old chick. If we have a look at what they've been getting up to,
:25:02. > :25:09.you can see the size difference, it's quite dramatic. We've been very
:25:10. > :25:12.concerned about that little one, but maybe we shouldn't be, because let's
:25:13. > :25:19.watched the feeding. There has been a lot of food coming in. There's
:25:20. > :25:28.been shrews coming in, that goes to the little check the bank vole, or
:25:29. > :25:34.the shrew. He gets fed to one of the chicks. The bank vole gets fed to
:25:35. > :25:39.the big chick, the large cheque. The youngest one is screeching away from
:25:40. > :25:43.the -- for food, as you can hear. The more its creatures, the more
:25:44. > :25:49.likely it is to be fed by the adult. You can see it's trying to feed
:25:50. > :25:55.itself. It's trying to nibble at an old vole. Look at the big cheque,
:25:56. > :25:58.down in one! Listened to it, screeching away. What is encouraging
:25:59. > :26:05.is the mother comes in and shelters that little one and tries to feed
:26:06. > :26:10.it. It takes the food, but that big one is having none of it and pulls
:26:11. > :26:15.it away, and the little one goes hungry that time.
:26:16. > :26:21.Don't worry, though, because there's more food coming in. They've been
:26:22. > :26:32.amazing, these two adults. Just look at this, Chris, it is trying to get
:26:33. > :26:37.this prey down in one gulp. Watch the wings, watched the wings! They
:26:38. > :26:43.start flapping, it's like come on, get it down! And remarkably, it
:26:44. > :26:49.does! Just with tiny little bit sticking out. Do you know what that
:26:50. > :26:59.me of? I couldn't eat another thing! Mr creosote. Let's call him little
:27:00. > :27:03.Chris. Good for him! I'm pleased to see that that's happening. Is good.
:27:04. > :27:09.Last night we were offering some conjecture as to how many prey items
:27:10. > :27:13.they would have to bring in to keep the little one alive. We said 16,
:27:14. > :27:17.three each for the adults, we might not see those, they might even
:27:18. > :27:24.outside the barn but ten brought into the youngsters. Guess how many
:27:25. > :27:30.came in today? Eight. Nine. One off. Pretty good. Yes, and we were being
:27:31. > :27:35.generous with that as well. Four large M3? Items for the largest
:27:36. > :27:39.chick. He's in with a chance, little creosote. Let's take a look at
:27:40. > :27:44.another one of our birds of prey, we can look at them live. These are the
:27:45. > :27:49.red kites. They are in a very different part of the estate, in
:27:50. > :27:54.fact slightly out of the state in a wood. Look at them resting in the
:27:55. > :27:59.gorgeous even in light. Three chicks, for in a half weeks old and
:28:00. > :28:02.they have really grown. Let's have a look at what they've been getting up
:28:03. > :28:06.to. If you just glance at them you could think they were adults, until
:28:07. > :28:11.the adult comes in. You see the size difference and you see that the
:28:12. > :28:16.adult has got a much greyer head. We've seen it bring in these before.
:28:17. > :28:20.It's a toad. We did see quite a lot of that when the weather was wet but
:28:21. > :28:27.they've had a huge variety of food brought into them. One chick
:28:28. > :28:32.certainly seems to be that. Look what happens now, a tug-of-war
:28:33. > :28:38.between two siblings. We think that's probably a juvenile fox,
:28:39. > :28:45.maybe a fox cub scavenged. A fox cub's leg, I think. Which one do you
:28:46. > :28:49.think will win? The one on the left. Look at the third chick, it's kind
:28:50. > :28:55.of spectating, watching it siblings may complete falls out of its. The
:28:56. > :29:01.one on the right wins. Wins what, a dried old fox cub like scraped off
:29:02. > :29:05.the A40? Look at this. Still only for and a half weeks and yet they
:29:06. > :29:09.are jumping, their flapping, they are looking like they are really
:29:10. > :29:16.spreading those wings and are making an effort to get ready for fledging.
:29:17. > :29:22.A bit of a way off yet. Those wings are very important for kites, it's
:29:23. > :29:25.their wing loading that's important. They are incredibly buoyant when
:29:26. > :29:29.hunting. The reason is they have low wing loading. If you divide the
:29:30. > :29:35.weight of the bird by its wing area, which is huge, and they only have a
:29:36. > :29:40.tiny body, you get a figure of 27.4 newtons per metre squared.
:29:41. > :29:50.It means they are buoyant and extremely manoeuvrable. This one
:29:51. > :29:54.swoops down. It spotted some something in the brook there. The
:29:55. > :29:59.adults keep the kite away on this occasion. But this is typical of the
:30:00. > :30:08.hunting technique. They drift using as little energy as possible.
:30:09. > :30:11.Any winds they can find. Many birds of prey, extraordinary eyesight
:30:12. > :30:14.looking for things they can skafage but also small mammals they kill.
:30:15. > :30:19.Here this one spotted a vole. Look at this.
:30:20. > :30:22.It snatch it is without landing. If kestrels catch something, barn
:30:23. > :30:26.owls catch something, buzzards catch something, they always land. But not
:30:27. > :30:31.the kite. They never want to land. In fact, they can even eat those
:30:32. > :30:36.voles on the wing. This reminds me of a hobby eating a dragonfly. Look
:30:37. > :30:40.at that. The vole going down the throat and it drops a little bit of
:30:41. > :30:44.grass it didn't want. You see the tail, I was watching the tail going
:30:45. > :30:50.like this. A big rudder and massive span for touching that air to turn
:30:51. > :30:56.that bird. They're manoeuvrable, thanks to the wing loading, 27. 4
:30:57. > :31:00.newtons per metre square. Very precise. Maybe red kites have
:31:01. > :31:04.inspired you to get more into wildlife, there are all sorts of
:31:05. > :31:12.different things that inspire us to get involved. For many people it's
:31:13. > :31:14.another member of the family. James, a documentary cameraman, tells us
:31:15. > :31:21.how his grandad helped to inspire him.
:31:22. > :31:26.Of all of Britain's wildlife haunts, the one that I love most, a tide
:31:27. > :31:34.encircled island just off the Wirral coast.
:31:35. > :31:43.From feeding grounds and gleaming sand, and mud, a high tide refuge in
:31:44. > :31:49.the Cheshire Dee I choose. This is a poem my grandad wrote.
:31:50. > :31:53.When I read it, it lit a fire in me, he was a passionate bird-watcher and
:31:54. > :31:58.photographer and it led him to write a book about British waders. Being
:31:59. > :32:01.here I get a sense of why my grandad loved coming here because it's a
:32:02. > :32:08.serene place, it's where he developed a passion for bird
:32:09. > :32:12.photographry. My grandad says I feel an expect apesy and exhilaration
:32:13. > :32:15.that has a quality of its own. The photos that I particularly like
:32:16. > :32:22.are the ones where he is at the level of the birds.
:32:23. > :32:29.Seeing these waders just as he did all those years ago has been very
:32:30. > :32:33.special for me. The most dramatic thing about Hilbre
:32:34. > :32:39.island is the change you experience with the tides coming in and out.
:32:40. > :32:45.My grandad says in his book, no two visits are quite alike. One factor
:32:46. > :32:56.and one alone is constant, the rising tide. Before it everything
:32:57. > :33:01.must yield. Hilbre is special in May, it's when all the passing
:33:02. > :33:05.migrants come through, they're building up body weight for the long
:33:06. > :33:09.migration north. When the tide leaves the island, you feel a bit
:33:10. > :33:13.sad actually. But at high tide it feels really special because you are
:33:14. > :33:19.there and the only things you are with are the birds.
:33:20. > :33:25.Long before I could see them I could hear them.
:33:26. > :33:37.By far and away the largest numbers of birds I am seeing are everywhere,
:33:38. > :33:44.on the wing, over the high tide. They're heading off to Lapland,
:33:45. > :33:48.they're using Hilbre as a sort of resting point for the long journey
:33:49. > :33:52.ahead. They essentially feed all day on the
:33:53. > :33:56.mud flats. And so the high tide is really the only chance they get to
:33:57. > :34:11.sleep. If one of them gets alarmed, the
:34:12. > :34:13.whole flock takes off. Just quite a beautiful sight.
:34:14. > :34:21.As well as the dunlins there are other wading birds.
:34:22. > :34:33.Most of them are breeding on the mainland.
:34:34. > :34:38.They're cute birds and have a white ring around their neck. Smaer
:34:39. > :34:42.smaller than the wader -- they're smaller than the wading species. To
:34:43. > :34:47.be surrounded by wading birds when they have no idea you are there is
:34:48. > :34:55.absolutely amazing. The other great thing about the high
:34:56. > :34:59.tide at Hilbre is all these grey sales come up. I think actually the
:35:00. > :35:03.tide brings in lots of food -- seals. They come to feed off the
:35:04. > :35:10.rocks and they love the calm you get with the high tide.
:35:11. > :35:15.The island is somewhere I will definitely return to. It's a really
:35:16. > :35:18.beautiful place and more than recreating the photos, I was looking
:35:19. > :35:28.to recreate the experience my grandad talked about.
:35:29. > :35:32.So being here in Hilbre has given me a whole new dimension to my memories
:35:33. > :35:37.and my relationship in a way with my grandfather.
:35:38. > :35:42.I mean, he died when I was 14 years old. I always remember him as a
:35:43. > :35:44.grandfather, but now I feel like I kind of know him more as a person.
:35:45. > :35:55.That's really special. What an absolutely beautiful place.
:35:56. > :35:59.Amazing to be inspired by your grandad's books. Now it's time we
:36:00. > :36:03.should catch up with our stoats. It's a favourite for many of you, we
:36:04. > :36:09.have been following this family of stoats here at Sherborne. Our
:36:10. > :36:14.cameraman Mark has been filming them and filmed ones we had earlier when
:36:15. > :36:18.he got amazing predatory behaviour. This year, he has amazing intimate
:36:19. > :36:23.behaviour. These are the kits. There are five,
:36:24. > :36:27.they're about 10-12 weeks old by now. This is the third den we have
:36:28. > :36:31.seen them move to. This is mum. This is a rare moment for mum. She's
:36:32. > :36:36.actually able to relax. We haven't seen her do much of this. Most of
:36:37. > :36:41.the time she's out hunting, moving the kits around. One of the kits
:36:42. > :36:45.comes in. This is very important bonding time, all the kits are on
:36:46. > :36:54.top of her now. They're bonding. They're grooming. Playing a little
:36:55. > :36:57.bit. Absolutely delightful to watch. Gets claustrophobic for mum after a
:36:58. > :37:01.while, though. She's off probably to do hunting. You can see the kits are
:37:02. > :37:09.pretty much the same size as her now. She leaves the kits behind.
:37:10. > :37:14.They start practising what their mum is off to do, hunting. This is the
:37:15. > :37:18.same as we saw the foxes do earlier. They're doing pouncing. They're
:37:19. > :37:25.running, chasing. Of course they'll also have to learn to swim. They'll
:37:26. > :37:31.have to learn to climb. Absolutely lovely to watch and Mark's got some
:37:32. > :37:41.great footage of all of this. Have a listen now.
:37:42. > :37:52.That noise is the stoats making that noise. It's a sort of churring
:37:53. > :37:59.noise. It's a very sweet noise. Let's have another listen to it.
:38:00. > :38:04.As you would imagine, it's a very soft sweet noise, and it is a very
:38:05. > :38:11.friendly noise. It's a sort of welcoming between the kits and the
:38:12. > :38:15.mother. Other mustelids do that, pine martens, weasels. They make
:38:16. > :38:19.other noises, most are aggressive and hiss and Barking and that sort
:38:20. > :38:29.of thing. I rather like that one. That's not the proper name,
:38:30. > :38:36.churring. Chris, do you churr when you are pleased to see someone? ! I
:38:37. > :38:40.don't! I am pleased don't churr at me on live TV. People speak anyway
:38:41. > :38:45.about what's going on between us! Last night, it was my unenviable
:38:46. > :38:49.duty to bring to you figures about the decline of our butterfly species
:38:50. > :38:53.here in the wider countryside. Everyone reacted with great concern
:38:54. > :38:58.on social media today. Sometimes the truth hurts. Here is a little bit
:38:59. > :39:02.more pain. Tonight I am going to be talking about birds that have
:39:03. > :39:07.disappeared, the first astonishing statistic, brace yourselves, this is
:39:08. > :39:11.going to hurt, is that since 1970, since we were knocked out of the
:39:12. > :39:18.World Cup by that astonishing goal and that remarkable save took place
:39:19. > :39:21.in Mexico, 44 million birds have disappeared from this landscape. 44
:39:22. > :39:25.million birds, individuals. What does that look like? I stand here at
:39:26. > :39:30.this moment in time and thinking how can I conceive of 44 million birds?
:39:31. > :39:34.What volume would they take up, what noise would they make? But they've
:39:35. > :39:40.gone. Which birds are they? How do we know that? What scientists have
:39:41. > :39:43.been doing since 1970 is studying specific groups of birds they can
:39:44. > :39:49.accurately report in terms of their populations. Over here we have a
:39:50. > :39:52.very rustic graph, pleased with this, it looks fantastic. A
:39:53. > :39:57.brilliant job with this. Here is 1970. Here the white line is a base
:39:58. > :40:01.line. We are measuring the declines and increases in birds since 1970,
:40:02. > :40:03.relative to that point in time. The blue line here are the sea
:40:04. > :40:14.birds. Then the red line are the woodland
:40:15. > :40:17.bird species. As you can see, there's been a consistent decline, a
:40:18. > :40:20.little bit of a raise in recent times.
:40:21. > :40:32.What about the farmland 19 species they choose, kestrels,
:40:33. > :40:35.Larks, yellow hammers and have been monitored since 1975 here. Look at
:40:36. > :40:39.the graph. It's been a very, very steep
:40:40. > :40:46.decline. Going all the way down here until we
:40:47. > :40:53.get to a point which tells us that we have lost 51% of our farmland
:40:54. > :41:01.birds since 1975. Which species are affected? The Lynette for one.
:41:02. > :41:05.They've declined by 57%. We think a dramatic decline throughout the 07s
:41:06. > :41:09.and 80s was because of reduced breeding success. The corn bunting
:41:10. > :41:17.is another species. These have gone by 90%. A staggering 90%. The reason
:41:18. > :41:21.we suspect here is a change from spring zone to autumn and winter
:41:22. > :41:27.zone. No stubbles, no grain in the winter time, not much hope for the
:41:28. > :41:34.corn bunting. The yellow hammer, down by 55%. Again similar reasons
:41:35. > :41:38.for this one. The intensification of agriculture, the lack of winter
:41:39. > :41:42.food. These figures are all pretty grim. Is there any hope? I have to
:41:43. > :41:49.tell you there is some hope. The graph is showing an all but small
:41:50. > :41:59.increase at the moment. Why is that? It's because perhaps those stud
:42:00. > :42:04.aroundship -- stewardship schemes I mentioned are having an impact. One
:42:05. > :42:09.farmer has seen yellow hammer population go from 13 to 30. The
:42:10. > :42:13.linets are stable and so are the corn buntings. It's not just his,
:42:14. > :42:17.it's also the other birds across the estate.
:42:18. > :42:23.It proves that if farmers can take the trouble, if we can support them
:42:24. > :42:27.enough to make it worthwhile to put these schemes into practice, we can
:42:28. > :42:31.effect a recovery of these birds. If we don't do something after a
:42:32. > :42:36.catastrophic decline I feel we might lose them very, very quickly indeed.
:42:37. > :42:39.A sobering thought. Let's head back to the Isles of Scilly where Martin
:42:40. > :42:45.and Gillian have headed down to the beach.
:42:46. > :42:49.We are here on the beautiful Isles of Scilly.
:42:50. > :42:53.We are 28 miles due south-west from Land's End and it's a beautiful
:42:54. > :43:00.evening. We have the sunset happening. Martin and I are on a
:43:01. > :43:05.beach comb. An exotic beach comb. You might find all sorts of things
:43:06. > :43:10.on the beach, what we have here are live specimens of the sort of thing
:43:11. > :43:15.you might find. Some lovely jellyfish. Not
:43:16. > :43:23.everyone's favourite. What we have here is a blue jellyfish. Loads of
:43:24. > :43:29.tentacles. And a lovely one here, a juvenile compass jelly. Let's take a
:43:30. > :43:38.look at some jellyfish that might come across on the shores here, or
:43:39. > :43:45.in the waters here, as well. These blooms of moon jellies,
:43:46. > :43:53.sometimes people call them swarms, I prefer the word blooms. They're my
:43:54. > :43:59.favourite. They can be up to a metre in diameter. And 35 kilos. Famed for
:44:00. > :44:08.being the largest known species of jellyfish, two metres in diameter
:44:09. > :44:14.and 37 metres long. And these the sort of thing you might find washed
:44:15. > :44:19.up on the shores. I think they are such a fascinating group of animals.
:44:20. > :44:31.It's soothing to watch them as they swim along like that. The marine
:44:32. > :44:34.converbisation society, if you find lots of jellyfish washed up on the
:44:35. > :44:38.beach they would love to hear from you, there is a link on our website
:44:39. > :44:41.with a guide to the eight most common species, if you find them go
:44:42. > :44:43.to the website and tell us where you found them.
:44:44. > :44:46.tiny body, you get a figure of 27.4 newtons per metre squared.
:44:47. > :44:53.When you think of jellyfish, what do you think of? Stings! Not all
:44:54. > :44:58.jellyfish can sting us but it's good to be a bit careful. Why do they
:44:59. > :45:04.sting and why? They sting to protect themselves but also, of course, to
:45:05. > :45:08.feed. What happens is if a prey item comes in close range of those
:45:09. > :45:14.tentacles, what will happen if those tentacles will sting them, triggered
:45:15. > :45:20.to sting them and will gradually paralyse injecting venom into them.
:45:21. > :45:25.This is a fried egg jellyfish. Never seen one of those! It eating other
:45:26. > :45:32.jellyfish here. You can see how the tentacles are draped across the prey
:45:33. > :45:36.jellyfish, stinging them, paralysing them and dragging them towards their
:45:37. > :45:43.mouth. That's how they do it. Let's get up, let's analyse the stinging a
:45:44. > :45:46.bit more. Their stinging cells are in the tendrils that all hang down.
:45:47. > :45:51.There are literally millions of them. This is one that's massively
:45:52. > :45:58.blown up. I don't know if you can see that. There it is. Hundreds of
:45:59. > :46:02.millions of them all lined up on the tentacle. If the trigger is here
:46:03. > :46:08.attached, if you brush against them, the pressure starts to build up.
:46:09. > :46:14.When it gets to 2000 lb per square inch, this happens... I hope it
:46:15. > :46:18.works! Yes! It flies out this long thread like that and pumps in venom.
:46:19. > :46:25.Isn't that amazing, are you thrilled? He's loving it. Jellyfish
:46:26. > :46:30.have stingers but something things fight back. I don't know, you might
:46:31. > :46:37.be surprised to know there are predators like jellyfish that are a
:46:38. > :46:42.real surprise. I love this. Of Violet Sea snail. It's the sort of
:46:43. > :46:46.thing that washes up in Mao we and other tropical sounding places I
:46:47. > :46:50.can't think of right now, but this one was found right here on the
:46:51. > :46:58.Isles of Scilly. They are really curious things because the way they
:46:59. > :47:04.find that prey is making these mucus bubbles, they help them to float on
:47:05. > :47:08.the surface and when they float, they sailed the high seas and hunt
:47:09. > :47:14.down one of the most notorious jellyfish, no less than the
:47:15. > :47:22.Portuguese man a war. There are echoes, slurping down, tentacle by
:47:23. > :47:27.tentacle. Astonishing, absolutely amazing that a mollusc can be
:47:28. > :47:31.predatory like that stop you and so delicate and so beautiful, you'd
:47:32. > :47:37.just never know. If I found it on the beach I would have no idea it
:47:38. > :47:42.was munching Portuguese man-of-war! There is also human debris as well.
:47:43. > :47:49.Our distant rid of this. This is fascinating. Nikki of the wildlife
:47:50. > :47:55.trust has been collecting bits and pieces off the beaches for about 18
:47:56. > :48:05.months and she has this. Can you see that seed? It is a sea beam, you
:48:06. > :48:07.would find in Central America or the Caribbean and it has floated across
:48:08. > :48:18.the see all the way to the beaches here in Scilly But this is where it
:48:19. > :48:27.gets fascinating, look at this. That is lego. It was in a ship that sank
:48:28. > :48:33.27 years ago, and yet they are still being washed up around these shores.
:48:34. > :48:37.Ironically, this was Marine lego, meant to represent bits of seaweed
:48:38. > :48:44.and so on. They are 20 years old. But look at this, smarty tops. These
:48:45. > :48:47.have their own story to tell. This one, because of the lettering on the
:48:48. > :48:54.shape of it and the size, we know that that top was made in the 1960s.
:48:55. > :49:02.And incredibly, because of the writing, the style of writing, that
:49:03. > :49:05.one is from the 1950s. That smarty top has been bashing around in the
:49:06. > :49:14.sea for 70 years and it's still there. Quite astonishing. And by the
:49:15. > :49:18.way, if you find the tops of Smarties, you can identify them and
:49:19. > :49:23.if you have an exotic when you can sell it for five quid! LAUGHTER
:49:24. > :49:28.Amazing what you can do on the Internet! But there is actually a
:49:29. > :49:33.serious point here. They can be lots of fun finding Lego and Smartie tops
:49:34. > :49:38.that this is probably what you're more likely to find on the beaches,
:49:39. > :49:44.rubbish, plastic rubbish that doesn't disappear. And whether it's
:49:45. > :49:51.Lego or Smartie tops all rubbish, this is where it all begins, no
:49:52. > :49:56.hurdles. These are the building blocks of all the plastic products
:49:57. > :50:02.that we use. And we've got a problem because these are finding their way
:50:03. > :50:07.into the ocean. Thousands of tonnes each year get washed into the seas
:50:08. > :50:13.and washed up on our beaches. They have a very romantic name called
:50:14. > :50:19.mermaids tears but if you call them nurdles or mermaid's tears, you can
:50:20. > :50:22.help. The great nurdle hunt is a campaign that encourages anyone who
:50:23. > :50:29.finds these to report them. To find out how you can do that, go to our
:50:30. > :50:32.website. And now for a complete change of scene, let's go to the
:50:33. > :50:38.Somerset levels to catch up with that Egret family.
:50:39. > :50:51.In early March and a cold dawn rises over the unique landscape of the
:50:52. > :50:59.mystical Somerset levels. In a country garden stands in ancient oak
:51:00. > :51:06.tree, high up in its evergreen canopy, a crowded cluster of nesting
:51:07. > :51:11.grey herons and little egrets. Each pair of egrets is playing a high
:51:12. > :51:16.risk game of when to lay eggs. Laying them too early and they will
:51:17. > :51:20.be at the mercy of the weather, too late and the glut of spring food
:51:21. > :51:25.will run out. We've been following one pair of
:51:26. > :51:30.little egrets, the early birds. They took a huge gamble and laid their
:51:31. > :51:35.eggs weeks ahead of the rest of the colony. After three weeks incubating
:51:36. > :51:45.there is still no sign of chicks. Was it too early, perhaps?
:51:46. > :51:51.Next to a grey herons nest is already full of checks, and it's all
:51:52. > :51:59.hands on deck, with very hungry chicks to feed.
:52:00. > :52:05.And it's not only the little egrets and grey herons, a whole host of
:52:06. > :52:18.noisy neighbours have joined the oak tree, including a mock duck -- mob
:52:19. > :52:24.of raucous rooks. By mid April, the tree is bursting with birds.
:52:25. > :52:35.And then the crash, there are now more than 25 little egrets pairs,
:52:36. > :52:39.many still preparing their nests. Both parents get involved in the
:52:40. > :52:44.nest building and it is done with precision and care. Each nest is
:52:45. > :52:49.about 30 centimetres wide and is an intricate cradle of sticks knitted
:52:50. > :52:55.together, using nothing more than a week and claws. The colony's more
:52:56. > :52:59.experienced birds have refined this art of meat nest building. And
:53:00. > :53:04.sometimes a stick fails to live up to its name, many slipping and
:53:05. > :53:08.falling back to the ground during construction. Whilst the females
:53:09. > :53:09.continue to oversee the building work, it's the mail 's job to find
:53:10. > :53:22.suitable materials. It's a slow process, one stick at a
:53:23. > :53:30.time, and it can take several days to build their canopy crib,
:53:31. > :53:35.especially when only certain sticks will do. One crafty little egret has
:53:36. > :53:40.decided there an easier way to gather the goods. Hunt around on the
:53:41. > :53:45.ground when you can pinch a stick from a neighbouring nest?
:53:46. > :53:56.He's scared off at first, but it's not long before the adult heron
:53:57. > :53:57.leaves and opportunity knocks for this cowboy builder, and it's time
:53:58. > :54:13.to take his pick. Amongst the chaos of the building
:54:14. > :54:21.site there is movement in the nest of our early birds. After an
:54:22. > :54:26.incubation period of 25 days, and despite enduring some of the coldest
:54:27. > :54:31.weather of early spring, the eggs have finally hatched. But winter
:54:32. > :54:36.still has a claw hold on the levels, keeping these chicks warm and fed is
:54:37. > :54:41.going to be a huge challenge over the next few weeks, and with stick
:54:42. > :54:43.stealing neighbours on all sides, the early birds' nesting foundations
:54:44. > :54:52.are still on shaky ground. And tomorrow we'll find out if the
:54:53. > :55:01.gamble paid off for those early nesters. Amazing birds. They first
:55:02. > :55:07.added to breed in 1996. 21 years later, 660-740 pairs. That is an
:55:08. > :55:14.amazing colonisation, isn't it? It is. Let's take a bird similar to the
:55:15. > :55:21.little egret, this bird, the cattle egret. As I say, very similar to the
:55:22. > :55:27.little egret. A pair have been breeding in Cheshire at Burton Mia,
:55:28. > :55:33.only the second time they've nested in the UK. The first timers in 2008
:55:34. > :55:36.in Somerset. And there are others following those as well. Moving up
:55:37. > :55:41.through the continent as climate change is in effect, and this is
:55:42. > :55:44.another one, European bee eater. They typically don't nest north of
:55:45. > :55:52.Paris but in recent years an increase in these. Since 2004, seven
:55:53. > :55:57.pairs breeding. A couple on the Isle of Wight successfully. Also black
:55:58. > :56:02.winged stilts, a species that hopped across the continent since 2014 when
:56:03. > :56:06.there was an influx of those. We have nests this year. I looked on
:56:07. > :56:12.Twitter this morning on the RSPB have announced two youngsters. Not
:56:13. > :56:16.just birds, insects as well. The tree bumblebee. Some of you may have
:56:17. > :56:19.seen these in your nest box, that's when you attend to see them. 2001
:56:20. > :56:28.they first appeared in the new Forest. By 2014 they were seen north
:56:29. > :56:34.of Glasgow. What about damselflies and dragonflies? 11 species have
:56:35. > :56:38.arrived since 1995. This willow emerald, they have come from the
:56:39. > :56:42.continent and are beginning to spread further north. What about
:56:43. > :56:48.Chris Packham's predictions? Relatively soon we will have these
:56:49. > :56:52.in the country. They have been seen in East Anglia recently and this is
:56:53. > :56:56.a dead cert, I'm not sticking my neck out here. These have been
:56:57. > :57:00.recently building nests that haven't bred successfully. This will happen
:57:01. > :57:04.in the near future, I have no doubt. All to do with climate change and as
:57:05. > :57:09.birds are coming from the south it is pushing birds north. A survey by
:57:10. > :57:15.the RSPB and Durham University have predicted that European breeding
:57:16. > :57:19.species are going to be pushed 300 miles north. We are getting arrivals
:57:20. > :57:26.in the south, departures in the North, including red grouse,
:57:27. > :57:30.mountain ringlet, mountain hare. They have to keep going higher,
:57:31. > :57:34.retreating to the Scottish Highlands.
:57:35. > :57:39.We are nearly out of time so eight chance for us to go to our live
:57:40. > :57:43.website. We note 40 2 million viewers sat
:57:44. > :57:47.with your smartphones, log onto our website. You can see the live
:57:48. > :57:51.cameras. The moment we have the kites up on there. A choice of
:57:52. > :57:54.those, you can look at the barn owls, the wagtails and everything
:57:55. > :57:58.else. Take a look at this live on the website and the red button. That
:57:59. > :58:05.is all we have time for. We will be back at eight o'clock tomorrow and
:58:06. > :58:11.Unsprung at 6:30pm. Martin has gone out to the woods to meet this guy, a
:58:12. > :58:14.cutie but what is it? And we will explore the wildlife down by the
:58:15. > :58:18.riverside. And catching up with those egrets to see if they survive
:58:19. > :58:24.a rather terrible storm. That's it from us but straight after the show
:58:25. > :58:27.we are Doing a Facebook live with Lindsay from Unsprung to answer your
:58:28. > :58:30.questions. Join us straight after the show and if not we will see you
:58:31. > :58:32.tomorrow at eight o'clock on BBC Two. We will see you then, goodbye
:58:33. > :58:36.for now.