:00:00. > :00:07.The following action is based on true stories.
:00:08. > :00:12.And no names have been changed to protect identities,
:00:13. > :00:25.Tonight, a kestrel-barn owl bird-off, a sibling settles in.
:00:26. > :00:55.It's the one to watch - it's Springwatch!
:00:56. > :01:02.Please expunge that from your memory! What was I thinking?!
:01:03. > :01:08.Clearly it is not my forte. Hello and welcome to the final night of
:01:09. > :01:11.Springwatch 2017, week two, coming to you from the very pretty
:01:12. > :01:17.Sherborne Park Estate. Run by the National Trust. 4,000 acres of
:01:18. > :01:21.farmland, stretching over the environment with streams, woodlands
:01:22. > :01:25.and lots of wildlife we have been enjoying over the last couple of
:01:26. > :01:32.weeks. It's a shame you don't like cheer
:01:33. > :01:37.leading, I thought I could sing the song for you,
:01:38. > :01:44.# Oh, I think that I've found myself a cheerleader... No.
:01:45. > :01:50.So, let's start tonight with the nest of the blackcaps. Here it is
:01:51. > :01:54.live. It has not been so successful. It had five chicks, sadly, we have
:01:55. > :01:59.lost three already. There are two left. They seem to have gotten stuck
:02:00. > :02:04.in the nest or fallen through. So we were worried when we saw this happen
:02:05. > :02:10.to one of the remaining two. Look... It's got its leg stuck in the same
:02:11. > :02:15.hole that one of the siblings fell through and sadly afterwards died.
:02:16. > :02:20.But they are bigger and stronger and it's managed to pull its leg out.
:02:21. > :02:24.Now this is very encouraging to see. The male bird comes in, feeds both
:02:25. > :02:31.of them and I think they're looking a lot stronger.
:02:32. > :02:36.So, I don't know, they are certainly not out of the woods yet. No. But
:02:37. > :02:42.there are less in the nest, there is more room. They seem to get back,
:02:43. > :02:47.even if they are stuck on that wretched side and more food.
:02:48. > :02:53.Yes, more food. But I am concerned as the bad weather, the wind and the
:02:54. > :02:57.rain made the nest tilt even more. You are the prophet of doom. I am
:02:58. > :03:02.fairly optimistic. I think that the pair might get out.
:03:03. > :03:08.There is another nest we have been watching on the estate. The nest of
:03:09. > :03:13.a grey wagtail. We can go to it live it is built on the mossy brickwork
:03:14. > :03:18.there on the side. You can see there the youngsters are in the nest. We
:03:19. > :03:23.know there are five. But you can't see them clearly, there are three
:03:24. > :03:27.bakes. Five eggs, all five hatched and the adults have been busy
:03:28. > :03:32.collecting insects. They have not struggled to find them in the warm,
:03:33. > :03:37.wet weather. We can see what they've been up to, bringing them in fast
:03:38. > :03:42.and furiously. Here are the chicks a little more active in the day.
:03:43. > :03:47.Here's the male. His black throat that separates him from the female.
:03:48. > :03:55.They're after anything that emerges on the water or blown on to it. Here
:03:56. > :03:59.he is with a huge mouthful of mixed insect food and of course themselve
:04:00. > :04:02.been doing well in the rain as they found that cleft in there to shelter
:04:03. > :04:06.themselves from. They are so pretty and the nest is
:04:07. > :04:11.gorgeous. I love that flash of yellow. It could be my favourite
:04:12. > :04:16.nest. It is lovely. A bit complicated for me. But it is
:04:17. > :04:22.beautiful and they are doing well. There are lots of birds around the
:04:23. > :04:27.estate that we have live cameras on, here are the prey, this is the live
:04:28. > :04:31.buzzard. There is one chick there. It is four weeks and the down is
:04:32. > :04:37.beginning to come off and the adults feathers beginning to show. Now look
:04:38. > :04:42.at that crop! This bird has been fed incredibly well! Let's look at what
:04:43. > :04:47.it's been eating in the last 24 hours. It's had a hugely varied
:04:48. > :04:53.diet. The adult comes in with prey. And you may be surprised to see what
:04:54. > :05:00.it is... It's a mole. As I say, it's had a varied diet so
:05:01. > :05:05.far, frogs, toads, worms, ducklings and now it's getting this mole. I
:05:06. > :05:12.say it is surprising as obviously you think of moles as living their
:05:13. > :05:18.lives underground, so where has it come from? It was not the only mole
:05:19. > :05:23.brought as a treat. The nest watchers have seen five moles. Here
:05:24. > :05:29.comes the other adult bringing the other one. As I say, where have they
:05:30. > :05:34.come from? We think because of the rain they've been flooded out of the
:05:35. > :05:39.tunnels. Once they are above ground they are an easier target. I'm not
:05:40. > :05:44.sure that the chick is looking too pleased with that offering.
:05:45. > :05:50.I am surprised they are eating this many moles. Not many animals do. The
:05:51. > :06:00.only other animal that eats them regularly is the tawny owl. In some
:06:01. > :06:05.studies conducted, is that the mole is very unusual. This is that they
:06:06. > :06:10.have glands in their mouths that are not tasteful. Stoats kill them,
:06:11. > :06:14.foxes kill them but not very much eats them but the buzzards are
:06:15. > :06:20.enjoying a mole feast. Although I don't know about the
:06:21. > :06:27.chick. Maybe later when he is hungry.
:06:28. > :06:32.Now, for some niche separation, you wear aubergine, I wear lime green.
:06:33. > :06:37.You know about cheerleaders, I know very little. It is when you have the
:06:38. > :06:47.same thing in the same place at the same time. There are barn owls that
:06:48. > :06:57.want to eat certain animals as the kestrels. So how do they cope? Iolo
:06:58. > :07:01.and Martin have found out. Two iconic species hunting for the
:07:02. > :07:07.same prey in the same habitat. In one corner, it's the king of the
:07:08. > :07:11.wind, the kestrel. In the other, a master of stealth, the barn owl. Two
:07:12. > :07:22.birds, three challenges but only one winner.
:07:23. > :07:29.Now, Iolo, I would have thought that the owl was a more powerful bird to
:07:30. > :07:33.see off the kestrel? It is bigger and heavier but the kestrel is
:07:34. > :07:39.faster. But the owl can turn on a six pence.
:07:40. > :07:43.But the kestrel, the eyesight it is ten times better than yours and
:07:44. > :07:49.mine. But the owl can hear in darkness, it can hunt in the dark.
:07:50. > :07:57.That sounds a challenge. Right, you get a barn owl, I'll get a kestrel.
:07:58. > :08:01.We have come to Somerset to meet up with expert animal handlers, Rose
:08:02. > :08:06.and Lloyd Buck and their magnificent birds. This little beauty is
:08:07. > :08:15.Ashleigh. A male kestrel. He is 12 years old. He weighs 170 grams. Like
:08:16. > :08:20.all falcons, pointed wing, rapid flight, and I reckon a kestrel will
:08:21. > :08:28.beet a barn owl any day. What do you think? This is Lily,
:08:29. > :08:33.she's a barn owl. She's three years old. As of this morning she weighed
:08:34. > :08:41.310 grams. She's an ultimate predator. She is alert now as she
:08:42. > :08:48.can hear... She's off! She's a barn owl, she's three years old and she
:08:49. > :08:54.is not playing ball. Any how, so Lily, versus the kestrel, the
:08:55. > :08:59.gauntlet is down! Two posts have been set up, 30 metres apart and
:09:00. > :09:04.we're going to time each bird as it flies between them, doing the test
:09:05. > :09:10.three times to get an average. Because of the different way they've
:09:11. > :09:14.been trained, the owl is flying to my arm, the kestrel will follow a
:09:15. > :09:17.lure pulled by Iolo. First up, it is Ashleigh the
:09:18. > :09:21.kestrel. I promise to start the clock watch
:09:22. > :09:27.at the correct time. If it is two minutes, I know you are
:09:28. > :09:32.cheating. I will warm up. Great, I want to see how you are
:09:33. > :09:33.going to do this. Oops! No chance! Ready? Yep.
:09:34. > :10:07.Go! 3. .38 seconds. That's impressive.
:10:08. > :10:18.1, 2, 4! Hey, pretty good. 3768. Iolo's tiring a little bit.
:10:19. > :10:25.He's only just warmed up! 2.94. Seriously impressive. So with the
:10:26. > :10:30.average speed is 3.3 seconds. That's over 30 metres. Not bad.
:10:31. > :10:42.I have to say, Iolo, seriously, I'm nervous.
:10:43. > :10:48.OK, here we go. Lily... ? Good girl! Brilliant.
:10:49. > :10:52.What was that, Iolo? 4.56. I don't think you pressed the button
:10:53. > :10:58.at the right time, mate. I pressed it early to give you a
:10:59. > :11:09.chance! Good girl. What a thrill. What time was that?
:11:10. > :11:13.4.50. Mate. 0. .06 faster than the last time.
:11:14. > :11:15.Keep trying. She'll get there. I can't whistle
:11:16. > :11:41.now! Oh, brilliant! Right.
:11:42. > :11:46.What was that, then? 4 of 65. So your average is 4.57. Which is
:11:47. > :11:54.roughly three weeks slower than a kestrel. So that is 1-0 to me, mate.
:11:55. > :11:58.So the kestrel was 3.3? Yes. That is still pretty good.
:11:59. > :12:03.I thought that the owl would be slower. So 1.7 seconds slower than
:12:04. > :12:10.the kestrel. The kestrel wins, just.
:12:11. > :12:21.Just, so it is 1-0 now. Oh, there we go... How did she come
:12:22. > :12:26.to you? The silver tongued Welshman! It even works on owls! So, not
:12:27. > :12:31.competitive at all. To be continued. But the idea for the challenge came
:12:32. > :12:40.from footage sent in by Richard hop kins. He filmed this kestrel chasing
:12:41. > :12:45.a barn owl that has prey. We know that the kestrel is faster than the
:12:46. > :12:49.barn owl. It catches up but in that instance it didn't manage to snatch
:12:50. > :12:53.the prey from the barn owl. Because of the speed it keeps chasing. We
:12:54. > :12:59.know it did manage to get that prey off the barn owl. But I think in
:13:00. > :13:03.celebration of the kestrel, let's have a look at our very own kestrel
:13:04. > :13:10.nest we have here. Let's have a look at it live. Here are the chicks.
:13:11. > :13:17.Four chicks, they are 11 to 13 days' old. They will fledge at 32 days. So
:13:18. > :13:21.they won't go anywhere fast. Before now they couldn't control their
:13:22. > :13:28.temperature. They had to be brooded all the time. Now some of the fluff
:13:29. > :13:32.is beginning to come off, so they can thermo regulate a little better,
:13:33. > :13:36.which is why the female is not there at the moment. Let's see what is
:13:37. > :13:42.going on with them. Now look at that shot. I'm concerned about the little
:13:43. > :13:47.one that you can see huddled down next to its siblings, that is
:13:48. > :13:54.definitely a lot smaller. I had not noticed it before. Here is the male
:13:55. > :14:00.bird with a vowel. That is their primary species. He doesn't hang
:14:01. > :14:05.around. The female takes over for the feeding duties but look what is
:14:06. > :14:11.happening here. Keep your eye on the runt. The small one at the front. It
:14:12. > :14:18.is trying to get food from the mum and it is not succeeding. It is
:14:19. > :14:22.being pushed out by its siblings. I can't believe how much smaller he is
:14:23. > :14:27.but it is interesting it is just apparent now. Clearly a lot weak
:14:28. > :14:32.than the other three. Despite trying he doesn't seem to get anything. We
:14:33. > :14:35.know that kestrels are brilliant at hovering in the wind but find it
:14:36. > :14:40.challenging when it comes to landing. A crash landing into the
:14:41. > :14:46.window. Not easy but look at this one. Oops! Not very elegant. More
:14:47. > :14:52.food and you can see the older chicks at this stage are managing to
:14:53. > :14:57.feed themselves. The little one gets the leftovers
:14:58. > :15:03.but you can see it is really struggling to pick any of it off.
:15:04. > :15:07.So, as I say, I'm really concern bad that little chick. It's not looking
:15:08. > :15:11.good. It's looking weak and it's clearly a lot smaller than the
:15:12. > :15:17.others. We'll have to keep our eyes on it. But that nest, as we know,
:15:18. > :15:20.it's in the church in the village down the other side of the hill in
:15:21. > :15:26.Sherborne and that's exactly where Chris is.
:15:27. > :15:32.This might be a Springwatch first. We don't normally hang out in
:15:33. > :15:36.villages. Why have I come here? It's to explore the village as a natural
:15:37. > :15:40.habitat. Schoenborn has been here since at least the Domesday book in
:15:41. > :15:45.the name comes from Clearwater in old English and it still has
:15:46. > :15:50.Clearwater. The key to its success of the wildlife resources the fact
:15:51. > :15:54.it is old. It's an old village. Lots of wildlife likes old villages. A
:15:55. > :15:59.study in Poland showed traditional old villages have somewhere between
:16:00. > :16:05.20-25 species of birds. If they have less than 10% new houses. But if
:16:06. > :16:09.whereas as much as 40-50% new housing, it drops to less than ten
:16:10. > :16:12.species and there are plenty of reasons for that. Generally, if you
:16:13. > :16:18.have old houses like this, then you have old gardens, and old gardens
:16:19. > :16:22.invariably have more structure. They have things like mature trees and
:16:23. > :16:26.bushes that you have here, and if people have a keen interest in
:16:27. > :16:32.garden then you have all of these shrubs, like here, some sort of rows
:16:33. > :16:36.here, catmint, geranium, foxgloves over here, and this diversity of
:16:37. > :16:41.structure, plus all the different species of nectar they produce, is
:16:42. > :16:46.great for insects, and you can get a tremendous diversity of insects in a
:16:47. > :16:51.garden like this. As a resource it's incredibly important. There's 1
:16:52. > :16:56.million acres of gardens in the UK, that's an area the size of Suffolk.
:16:57. > :17:00.So if we all make an effort in our gardens, thinking about the
:17:01. > :17:04.wildlife, and it can certainly improve things. There's a lot of
:17:05. > :17:08.wildlife doing better in rural gardens like this, in urban gardens,
:17:09. > :17:12.Barnett is in the wider countryside. The wider countryside can be a
:17:13. > :17:15.difficult place to live. All of these insects are here in the
:17:16. > :17:20.garden, lots of food plants for them, they are eating them. There's
:17:21. > :17:24.lots of nectar for them, so the lesson is simple. Make sure you have
:17:25. > :17:28.nectar running all the way through the season providing for insects all
:17:29. > :17:32.the way through and a great diversity of species. There's one
:17:33. > :17:35.species which is synonymous with villages like this, and housing, and
:17:36. > :17:43.that's the house sparrow. House sparrows have been having a pretty
:17:44. > :17:47.tough time. Between 1970-2014, there was a 60% decline. In the wider
:17:48. > :17:50.countryside, due to agricultural intensification, but they've also
:17:51. > :17:54.been disappearing from towns and cities as well. That's probably
:17:55. > :17:57.because there's less gardens, there's competition with wood
:17:58. > :18:03.pigeons, they come into contact with domestic cats, a negative aspect,
:18:04. > :18:06.and best pollution. Here you see in Sherborne they have another resource
:18:07. > :18:10.which is important to them, not only all of the insect food, which they
:18:11. > :18:14.need at this time of year to feed their young, but nesting spaces.
:18:15. > :18:19.They can ducking under the eaves, as you saw there. If you have a new
:18:20. > :18:23.house you can make it effectively old, by getting yourself a house
:18:24. > :18:27.sparrow box. I tried this a few years ago. I never had any house
:18:28. > :18:34.sparrows at my house. I put one up. After five years house sparrows
:18:35. > :18:39.moved in, laid eggs, they were just about to fledge, and a greater
:18:40. > :18:43.spotted woodpecker came in and took the whole lot and they haven't been
:18:44. > :18:47.back. I put up more boxes. That's which is what we should all do.
:18:48. > :18:53.Michaela, how are you with bird boxes? Are you doing your bit for
:18:54. > :18:58.house sparrows? I have put up an owl box and a bat box. Those are my new
:18:59. > :19:03.boxes. And I haven't got any takers! But you have to persevere. You have
:19:04. > :19:05.to try, and hopefully, fingers crossed, I'll eventually get
:19:06. > :19:10.something. The village in the church may have kestrels, but Salisbury has
:19:11. > :19:14.peregrines in the Cathedral and we've been having remote cameras on
:19:15. > :19:18.them and enjoying watching an adult pair and their one chick, who have
:19:19. > :19:21.been doing very well. If you were watching the show yesterday you will
:19:22. > :19:28.know we had some very exciting news, because the RSPB found three chicks
:19:29. > :19:32.in a nest, where they found the adults dead nearby. They rescued the
:19:33. > :19:35.chicks and wanted to find a surrogate nest to going. They chose
:19:36. > :19:39.our nest on Salisbury Cathedral to put one of the chicks in. They put
:19:40. > :19:43.it in yesterday and it went remarkably well. Let's look at it
:19:44. > :19:48.now. This is it come alive. It's obviously quite windy and wet there,
:19:49. > :19:54.because the female is brooding the two chicks. We've been watching them
:19:55. > :19:57.all day. It's amazing how well this little chick, this foster chick,
:19:58. > :20:04.which is the one closest to others, has been accepted. That's the
:20:05. > :20:08.original chick, you can see it has a lot more down on it, because it's
:20:09. > :20:14.slightly younger. It's 20 days old. The other chick, which looks very
:20:15. > :20:19.bedraggled, 26 days old. Let's look what happens when they were not
:20:20. > :20:22.quite so bedraggled earlier today. They are so much more fluffy, aren't
:20:23. > :20:27.they! The siblings are getting a bit use to each other. You can clearly
:20:28. > :20:34.see the difference in age there. The older one is more mobile. The mail
:20:35. > :20:39.comes in with a magpie. You can hear the screeching and bedding. The
:20:40. > :20:44.female comes in pretty quickly afterwards and that looks like it
:20:45. > :20:52.could be half a pigeon. Just have a look at what happens next. Both
:20:53. > :20:59.adults are there. Both have brought him prey. The female starts feeding
:21:00. > :21:07.her own chick and the male starts feeding the adopted chick. As I say,
:21:08. > :21:10.this is incredible, how these two parents have taken on that adopted
:21:11. > :21:16.chick, that surrogate chick, so quickly. We had so many comments
:21:17. > :21:22.about this on social media. It's a real feel-good story. Finding three
:21:23. > :21:25.chicks without any parents is obviously a very negative thing,
:21:26. > :21:29.being able to put them into this nest is a positive thing, and we are
:21:30. > :21:32.absolutely delighted that we can follow it and of course we will
:21:33. > :21:38.continue to follow it over next week. But you know, they are doing
:21:39. > :21:46.really well in urban areas. In the 1990s they reckon there were about
:21:47. > :21:51.seven pairs, 2014, 178 pairs of urban peregrines. The that's
:21:52. > :21:54.incredible, isn't it? They are not the only birds to make the most of
:21:55. > :22:04.what the city has to offer, as Gillian discovered.
:22:05. > :22:12.MUSIC Gulls have made our cities their
:22:13. > :22:19.homes, but they've only been nesting here since the 1960s. By the year
:22:20. > :22:23.2000 there was an estimated 240 colonies. Today, that figure has
:22:24. > :22:31.more than doubled, to over 500 colonies, and counting. Here in
:22:32. > :22:35.Bristol, gulls are doing so well that the council has spent millions
:22:36. > :22:43.trying to disperse them. But they keep coming. So what draws them to
:22:44. > :22:47.this urban environment? Gull researcher Peter Rock has been using
:22:48. > :22:50.cutting edge technology to find out and his new research reveals some
:22:51. > :22:58.surprising secrets about these metropolitan migrants. Peter, this
:22:59. > :23:01.is an amazing view up here. You can see little congregations of
:23:02. > :23:07.different gulls. What species are here? We have two species in
:23:08. > :23:11.Bristol, Lesser black backed gull and herring goal, the one with the
:23:12. > :23:16.silvery coloured back. I bob in some sitting on the nests already. A load
:23:17. > :23:20.of nests on the roof against the rich. Breeding season is well under
:23:21. > :23:30.way. What are their favourite nesting sites, the different shapes
:23:31. > :23:33.and structures? Lesser black backed gulls... The nesting towns, lesser
:23:34. > :23:40.black backed gulls on flat roofs and gently sloping roofs, and herring
:23:41. > :23:45.gulls on odd, difficult places, like in the house over there, tiny little
:23:46. > :23:48.space. It shows how some of their natural traits and behaviour and
:23:49. > :23:54.characteristics have translated in this very urban landscape. If you
:23:55. > :23:58.think about it from the gull's point of view this isn't an urban
:23:59. > :24:01.landscape. It is a series of islands, steep cliffs, with a huge
:24:02. > :24:07.advantage that there aren't any predators. But the most important
:24:08. > :24:12.thing is heat. Towns are heat islands. They are between four and
:24:13. > :24:16.six Celsius warmer than the surrounding countryside. It means
:24:17. > :24:19.urban gulls can start nesting before their rural counterparts. The first
:24:20. > :24:25.eggs in Bristol are about two weeks ahead of the first eggs in the
:24:26. > :24:28.Scilly Isles. How weird is that. That is surprising because the
:24:29. > :24:32.Scilly Isles are so much further south, you'd expect the gulls there
:24:33. > :24:39.to be getting on with it earlier, but they get a head start here
:24:40. > :24:42.because it's warmer. Soak our buildings and rooftops actually
:24:43. > :24:47.offer better nesting opportunities for gulls than the natural
:24:48. > :24:51.environment. In fact, Peter's research shows that the gull hatched
:24:52. > :24:56.in the city will never repatriate into a coastal colony. So are they
:24:57. > :25:01.also relying on our cities to deliver all their food requirements
:25:02. > :25:06.as well? A lot of people think that that's the sole draw that brings
:25:07. > :25:14.gulls to the city, but it is untrue. An adult gull will require about 135
:25:15. > :25:17.grams of food per day, so if its chips that would mean for a
:25:18. > :25:21.population the size of Bristol, which is about 6000 birds, that
:25:22. > :25:25.would be about a tonne of chips. How many chips can you see lying about
:25:26. > :25:29.here? Of course what they do is never turn down an opportunity for a
:25:30. > :25:33.free lunch, but actually that's not where they are getting their major
:25:34. > :25:38.supply of food from. For that, the nutritious stuff, the really good
:25:39. > :25:45.stuff, they go elsewhere. This is where the new technology comes in.
:25:46. > :25:49.Peter, working with the University of Bristol, has managed to tag four
:25:50. > :25:55.urban gulls with GPS trackers and the results might surprise you.
:25:56. > :26:00.These Bristol City gulls are actually roving up to 30 kilometres
:26:01. > :26:05.outside the city, into the countryside, to feed on the
:26:06. > :26:09.surrounding farmland. So Peter, is an urban gull expert, this is the
:26:10. > :26:13.last place I'd expect you to bring me. What exactly are they feeding
:26:14. > :26:17.on? OK, it depends on what agricultural practice is going on at
:26:18. > :26:20.any given moment, but let's for instance take silage making. They
:26:21. > :26:25.are feeding on whatever gets chopped up in the grass. So small animals,
:26:26. > :26:32.small birds, frogs, invertebrates, all sorts of things, ploughing,
:26:33. > :26:38.which honours all sorts of worms and larvae and all sorts of things. Is
:26:39. > :26:44.the food here more valuable than the our chips? Well, adult gulls will
:26:45. > :26:48.eat anything, as long as it will fit down their throat, but the important
:26:49. > :26:55.part of their lives is the breeding bit and they have to produce food
:26:56. > :26:59.for their offspring from egg sized a full-size in six weeks. So they have
:27:00. > :27:06.to have stuff which is really highly nutritious and chips don't cut it.
:27:07. > :27:11.Peter's work shows that our urban gulls are much more than the city
:27:12. > :27:15.slick as we might assume them to be. As well as taking advantage of the
:27:16. > :27:18.abundance of nesting sites, the warmer environment and the many
:27:19. > :27:22.feeding opportunities the city provides, these gulls are heavily
:27:23. > :27:27.reliant on the cycle of farming in our rural areas as well. So next
:27:28. > :27:31.time you see a gull tucking into last night's takeaway, just
:27:32. > :27:40.remember, you only are seeing a fraction of their busy and located
:27:41. > :27:44.lives. -- complicated lives. Another great piece of revealing
:27:45. > :27:49.science, what a surprise is the gulls are going into the
:27:50. > :27:52.countryside. Something with tracking devices we can prove and we can
:27:53. > :27:56.learn so much more more quickly about our wildlife given that new
:27:57. > :28:00.technology that we have access to. We've seen one or two gulls down
:28:01. > :28:04.here on the estate, but there were lots of other birds that have
:28:05. > :28:07.adapted to live in this sort of environment, in a man-made
:28:08. > :28:10.environment, not recently like the gulls but literally thousands of
:28:11. > :28:13.years ago. I'm enjoying the spectacle this evening as they are
:28:14. > :28:19.flying around in the sky. We have swifts up here, plenty of swifts
:28:20. > :28:23.overhead. These birds would have classically been nesting caves.
:28:24. > :28:28.Wagtails would have been on stream sides picking over the boulders.
:28:29. > :28:33.Jackdaws like this traditionally a Cliff bird, or a bird of woodlands
:28:34. > :28:37.nesting in hollow trees. Housemartins would weld their nests
:28:38. > :28:41.onto the sides of cliffs. They only gave up doing so in the early 1900th
:28:42. > :28:45.and now it's a rare sight. Most of them are on houses. The same as
:28:46. > :28:49.follows. This one takes a tumble in the wind, it's collecting mud. They
:28:50. > :28:54.are swooping in and out of the barn is here and rather than plastering
:28:55. > :28:57.their nest onto the underside of rows on trees they are putting them
:28:58. > :29:00.in Barnes. Where you have all these small birds you get a few small
:29:01. > :29:03.predators as well and it's fantastic to see the little owls hanging on
:29:04. > :29:12.here in Sherborne Village. I can show you one of our life nests now.
:29:13. > :29:15.In this barn over here is our live wren's nest. The Swallow has beaten
:29:16. > :29:20.me to it, it's gone in there. If I take a peek up here, you can see the
:29:21. > :29:24.wren's nest. I'm disturbing that swallow. It needs to come out so I
:29:25. > :29:31.will back off immediately and come round here. Let's see what the
:29:32. > :29:34.wrenss have been up to, they've been feeding furiously. They've got six
:29:35. > :29:39.youngsters in that nest there. The interesting thing is that the insect
:29:40. > :29:44.life is so rich here they don't have to go very far. They are probably
:29:45. > :29:46.not foraging any further than about 50 meters away from the nest and
:29:47. > :29:51.they will take anything they can find pretty close to the ground. You
:29:52. > :29:56.rarely see a wren foraging higher than two meters. In this time of
:29:57. > :29:59.year in the undergrowth after any of the insects. She's teasing those
:30:00. > :30:06.youngsters. A couple of times one has almost fallen out of the nest.
:30:07. > :30:08.They've been taking advantage of the swallow cup to give its strength, so
:30:09. > :30:12.it's unlikely to fall down. You can keep your eyes on that nest on the
:30:13. > :30:15.live cameras. One of the villagers alerted tours to a rather unusual
:30:16. > :30:18.nest the other day and one of the wall a bit further along the main
:30:19. > :30:25.street that runs through the village share. Here it is. You typically see
:30:26. > :30:28.these birds nesting in trees, or maybe an nest boxes. That's what
:30:29. > :30:34.nuthatches will do, they particularly like old woodpecker
:30:35. > :30:37.holes. But as you know they have a habit of sealing them up with mud,
:30:38. > :30:43.if it's not quite the right size. I can tell you that the size of the
:30:44. > :30:47.hole is incredibly important with nuthatches. The tighter they can
:30:48. > :30:51.make it, the greater the degree of success they have when it comes to
:30:52. > :30:55.fledging their brood and when it comes to sealing it up they
:30:56. > :30:58.sometimes face problems. Typically they use mud, of course, but what
:30:59. > :31:05.happens if it's dry and there are no puddles? How do you make a nest?
:31:06. > :31:09.Researchers in Antwerp and Norfolk have seen them using different
:31:10. > :31:13.material. Guess what it is. Dong. They will come down into farmyards
:31:14. > :31:19.like this and use animal dung to seal them up, things like cattle and
:31:20. > :31:23.recently they've been recorded picking up dog to and the young have
:31:24. > :31:34.fledged successfully. Nah moving on to another nest. We
:31:35. > :31:39.launched this morning at 10.00am. We invited you to have a sneak peak on
:31:40. > :31:47.Facebook. It is a new swallow's nest. They had five young, then
:31:48. > :31:51.predated and ended up with three, then predated by the jackdaws. We
:31:52. > :31:56.have another nest live. It is in the barn behind me. There are five
:31:57. > :32:03.chicks, they managed to hatch all of the eggs. This they are up there in
:32:04. > :32:08.the rafters. There is an adult coming in. They are doing really
:32:09. > :32:13.well foraging. There is a big rain storm coming in, pushing up large
:32:14. > :32:18.numbers of insects so that is why the swifts, the swallows and the
:32:19. > :32:21.martens are active. We have been following them throughout the course
:32:22. > :32:26.of the day. Just look at this... I would never suggest that a bird
:32:27. > :32:31.flies for the sheer joy of flying but that is a joy to watch.
:32:32. > :32:38.Aren't they absolutely stunning?! Absolutely stunning! And here they
:32:39. > :32:45.are. Dipping into the barn, feeding the
:32:46. > :32:49.youngsters. Do you know, if I could be any animal on earth for five
:32:50. > :32:54.minutes, I would be one of those swallows. Imagine being that blue,
:32:55. > :32:59.that manoeuvrable, and able to fly that fast. It would be absolutely
:33:00. > :33:05.sensational! What do you reckon Michaela? I can see you as a
:33:06. > :33:14.swallow, flying all the way to South Africa! As Chris said, the birds
:33:15. > :33:21.watching the flights on the walls but it is not just birds, there are
:33:22. > :33:25.stoats. And they have found a new den in the stone wall. These are the
:33:26. > :33:31.kits. They are about eight to ten weeks old. They are mobile, out and
:33:32. > :33:35.about, they're very active. But just as they're getting used to their new
:33:36. > :33:40.surroundings, mum comes in and decides that they are on the move
:33:41. > :33:46.again. There's a jolly good reason for this, it's because there are
:33:47. > :33:50.five kits in there, lots of food. It becomes very smelly, very dirty, so
:33:51. > :33:56.she has to clean it out every so often. That's what she's doing. Once
:33:57. > :34:02.she's moved the kits, she is back in to get the various bits of prey
:34:03. > :34:08.she's caught. This stoat has been extremely busy. She is so strong and
:34:09. > :34:15.agile. There with the rabbit. We reckon she did about 15 trips, that
:34:16. > :34:21.is almost a kilometre. A female stoat averages at 210 grams. The
:34:22. > :34:27.average person, 62 kilograms. The stoat carried the kits and the
:34:28. > :34:32.rabbits over 900 metres, the same as us carrying a male polar bare 265
:34:33. > :34:38.kilometres. I mean that is just crazy, isn't
:34:39. > :34:43.it?! It wasn't me that did the maths, I must be honest. We will
:34:44. > :34:47.follow the stoats, the camera man says he is getting absolutely
:34:48. > :34:53.incredible footage. Time for the second half of the bird of prey
:34:54. > :34:59.challenge. We have Martin with the barn owl, Iolo with the kestrel. It
:35:00. > :35:03.is 1-0 to the kestrel on the speed round. But there is lots to play
:35:04. > :35:08.for. The kestrel took the comfortable win
:35:09. > :35:15.in the challenge of speed, Ashleigh. But it is time to see if Lily, the
:35:16. > :35:20.barn owl can even up the scores. We are looking at the animals and
:35:21. > :35:24.how they use their senses and agility to bag a meal.
:35:25. > :35:29.Hunting. To me there is no question about which will be the winner. The
:35:30. > :35:35.kestrel hovering in the breeze, nothing compares to that.
:35:36. > :35:41.I agree... It's impressive. But, I think the owl can compete.
:35:42. > :35:48.Well you are in for a treat, right? Because we are going to drop down
:35:49. > :35:54.right here and get a grandstand view of our kestrel hovering up above.
:35:55. > :36:02.You'll she was it's like then to be a vowel! Fantastic. Let's go. Ouch!
:36:03. > :36:05.It's nettles! It is, right in the middle of the nettles.
:36:06. > :36:11.Oh, look at that. I know! Hovering loo like this, the
:36:12. > :36:15.bird is flying into the wind at exactly the same speed as the wind
:36:16. > :36:20.is hitting the bird. So it is actually putting a lot of effort
:36:21. > :36:24.flying into the wind. It doesn't just hang there, it has to beat its
:36:25. > :36:28.wings. Look at that. Look at the tail. It's like a big
:36:29. > :36:32.fan. It's big. If there's a lot of wind it will
:36:33. > :36:38.close a little bit. If the wind dies out it will open up again, a
:36:39. > :36:44.compensating all the time. I read somewhere that the head never
:36:45. > :36:50.moves more than six millimetres. The body could be going all over the
:36:51. > :36:54.place but the head never moves. Martin, I can see the sweat on your
:36:55. > :36:58.brow, you know you've lost. I am slightly lost for words. This
:36:59. > :37:06.is magical. Look at that. Wow! Fabulous.
:37:07. > :37:08.I got quite badly stung. Kestrels, hovering, hunting,
:37:09. > :37:13.supreme. The ultimate killing machine. Top that
:37:14. > :37:17.I will. I'm about to top that. I'm going to use this. Technology. If I
:37:18. > :37:23.press the button this will biological weapon. Let's tree it.
:37:24. > :37:36.BEEP. Can this owl find this hidden bit of food just by the beeping
:37:37. > :37:44.sound -- if I press the button with this bit of meat.
:37:45. > :37:48.Now, let's back off right back here. Right, the first one.
:37:49. > :37:52.Conclusive. That was pretty coal.
:37:53. > :38:01.That was really good. She was listening from over there.
:38:02. > :38:08.Look at that. Beautiful. Look how acrobatic it is. It has
:38:09. > :38:13.heard the bleep. And down on to there, head first. A new test, more
:38:14. > :38:20.difficult. Flying straight across here like a bullet. We will divert
:38:21. > :38:25.her with the beep and see if we can stall her.
:38:26. > :38:33.So reaction time? And also agility in the air. Let's give it a try.
:38:34. > :38:38.I rest my case! What a brilliant catch.
:38:39. > :38:42.That was good. Heading straight accost, then you saw her look and
:38:43. > :38:48.turn. That is very impressive.
:38:49. > :38:52.Very good. OK, kestrel's eyesight, awesome but
:38:53. > :38:55.you have to admit, the barn owl hearing is spectacular.
:38:56. > :39:02.You are not comparing like with like, it is visual with oral. But
:39:03. > :39:08.were our purposes, will you agree, 1-1.
:39:09. > :39:14.Gougeingly, 1-1. Right, the decider. This is the final decider. Killing
:39:15. > :39:18.power. It's all about the killing -- grudgingly, 1-1.
:39:19. > :39:30.Let's have a look at the kestrel. Look at that. Those talons can exerd
:39:31. > :39:37.7800 kilograms of pressure per metre. How cool is that? Impressive.
:39:38. > :39:43.But we can top that. There the acrobatic turn. You can see the
:39:44. > :39:48.talons, look at the length. That in human terms is the same as an 80
:39:49. > :39:52.kilogram man being hit by a 12-tonne truck.
:39:53. > :39:58.I think what we have here are two very different birds, using very
:39:59. > :40:05.different hunting techniques. The barn owl is mainly a low-light
:40:06. > :40:12.hunter, using its hearing more than its lives. The kestrel uses its
:40:13. > :40:18.wonderful eyes. So we have two very different hunter, equally good but
:40:19. > :40:24.different. And the winner, Martin, the winner, de is... Wildlife.
:40:25. > :40:33.Oh, Iolo, you are so eloquent. It's because you're Welsh! It is! It is!
:40:34. > :40:40.He is indeed Welsh, he is indeed eloquent and he is indeed right.
:40:41. > :40:45.Both of the species are perfectly evolved to fulfil their niches. They
:40:46. > :40:53.can live together eating the same food. The one thing that interrupts
:40:54. > :40:58.of course is the weather. We have seen the barn owl earlier.
:40:59. > :41:03.We have a youngster there. It's like a big face of fluff. It
:41:04. > :41:10.is. Where is the adult? Maybe she's out? We have seen the adults leaving
:41:11. > :41:15.them over the last few days for a longer time. It could be as they are
:41:16. > :41:22.getting bigger, or that she or they are hungry and she is hunting more.
:41:23. > :41:27.But how much food are they get in this weather? I have a
:41:28. > :41:32.representation here. What we found is that over 48 hours when the
:41:33. > :41:36.weather is clear they've brought in 17 items. When the weather has been
:41:37. > :41:42.poor and raining. They brought in five. How does it come pair with the
:41:43. > :41:46.kestrel? Here is the kestrel by comparison. 17 items in fair
:41:47. > :41:52.weather, matching the barn owl but look it does better in the rain. 11
:41:53. > :41:57.items. We explained that barn owls don't like hunting in the rain. The
:41:58. > :42:01.feathers get water-logged, they can't hear the prey it is not good
:42:02. > :42:07.for them. This is borne out by the results. One more piece of data from
:42:08. > :42:13.the kestrel. In the same period we found that the kestrel got three
:42:14. > :42:19.items in fair weather with no wind but when the weather was blowing, it
:42:20. > :42:24.got sixth items so hunting better in the wind. They like hunting with a
:42:25. > :42:28.little bit of wind. Then they can hover and look for prey anywhere
:42:29. > :42:36.rather than sitting on a post if there is no wind whatsoever. What
:42:37. > :42:42.about that, Michaela? And this gives me an opportunity I've been waiting
:42:43. > :42:52.to do for years, here's the barn owl forecast, and it is scorcio!
:42:53. > :42:59.Scorcio! That one has gone over my head a little bit.
:43:00. > :43:04.Scorcio! No, I like the pictures! When there is a problem for the
:43:05. > :43:11.birds, and that is the weather, yesterday we introduced you to a
:43:12. > :43:15.pair of king rushes. They build their nests in the bank of the
:43:16. > :43:20.river. If the water rises up, we have seen it before, it floods out
:43:21. > :43:26.the nest. Fortunately not a problem for our pair.
:43:27. > :43:30.Here they are. This is the female. She has caught herself a lovely big
:43:31. > :43:37.fish. But it is still alive. So what do you do with a live fish flapping
:43:38. > :43:41.around in your bake? Find the nearest branch and trash it about
:43:42. > :43:46.with obviously stuns it. It is interesting, she is getting the tail
:43:47. > :43:51.in the mouth but head first. Maybe she will pass it to another
:43:52. > :43:55.Kingfisher? This is the male. Over the last couple of days the female
:43:56. > :44:01.has not been seen. The male is going into the nest. We presume she is on
:44:02. > :44:08.eggs. So exciting. I think she is in there.
:44:09. > :44:13.Here are other fledgelings, so clearly there's been another
:44:14. > :44:18.successful Kingfisher nest. You presume that's a good place to nest
:44:19. > :44:24.but look at this... That is a stoat, swimming across the river not far
:44:25. > :44:29.from the nest! So rain, certainly isn't the only problem for these
:44:30. > :44:33.Kingfishers, we have seen it before on Springwatch, if it finds the
:44:34. > :44:38.Kingfisher nest and can get to it, it will clean it out. And we've seen
:44:39. > :44:43.them. You would have thought on the bank they would struggle but they
:44:44. > :44:53.are arborial and scramble up and get in.
:44:54. > :44:58.You see them scrambling up after the sand martens last year? Exactly.
:44:59. > :45:02.Kingfishers don't like frozen conditions. But there are many bird
:45:03. > :45:08.species that aren't doing so well. Here is one of them. It is the
:45:09. > :45:16.black-tailed Godwit. Across Europe, the species declined by about 75%.
:45:17. > :45:24.This is the limossa subspecies, that breeds in the UK. We have only 40 to
:45:25. > :45:29.60 pairs of them in East Anglia. There is an influx of visitors in
:45:30. > :45:37.the winter time, there can be as many as 40,000 of the birds here
:45:38. > :45:41.then. Be but we want to look after our own breeding preservation. I'm
:45:42. > :45:48.pleased to report on this conservation taking place.
:45:49. > :45:52.There are a partnership that have collected eggs from the nest there.
:45:53. > :45:59.From seven or eight nests. They are taking great care of them.
:46:00. > :46:03.They have taken them to the WWT Centre at well any, put them into
:46:04. > :46:08.the incubators and they've all hatched out. Here are the young
:46:09. > :46:13.black-tailed Godwit hatching from the eggs. The plan of course is to
:46:14. > :46:18.get them back into the wild. They are feeding in captivity initially,
:46:19. > :46:23.and they have taken them outside as they have gotten bigger. They are
:46:24. > :46:27.very attractive birds. A tray of water to learn how to forage in the
:46:28. > :46:32.water and on the land of course. Super things. This is a method that
:46:33. > :46:36.is used to get the birds to double clutch. They took the eggs as soon
:46:37. > :46:41.as they were laid from the adult birds. This would mean that they
:46:42. > :46:46.would relay immediately. I can tell you all of the nests that they took
:46:47. > :46:50.the eggs from relayed. They will hopefully hatch and have a chance of
:46:51. > :46:53.surviving in the wild. But the reason for them being in captivity
:46:54. > :46:56.is to increase the chances of getting through the vulnerable stage
:46:57. > :47:02.when they are small chicks like that. We will catch up with them
:47:03. > :47:05.next week when they release them. But I have to give a nod to the
:47:06. > :47:15.sponsors for the project. We like conservation support. RSPB and WWT
:47:16. > :47:24.have been doing the work. But EU life honour. HSBC and indeed the
:47:25. > :47:27.Heritage Lottery Fund. So massive thanks for clubbing together for the
:47:28. > :47:35.pioneering project. Lots involved.
:47:36. > :47:41.As Chris was showing as earlier in the village, you can find break
:47:42. > :47:46.wildlife habitats in all sorts of unlikely places. If I tell you that
:47:47. > :47:50.military areas are amazing places for wildlife, you might be
:47:51. > :47:54.surprised. Well, Porton Down in Wiltshire, which is a government
:47:55. > :47:59.military science Park, is actually called the defence science and
:48:00. > :48:05.technology laboratory, and they do extraordinary things for wildlife
:48:06. > :48:10.and biodiversity, as biologists, or actually is a botanist, Trevor
:48:11. > :48:16.Dines, discovered. My name is Trevor Dines. I grew up on new Manor Farm,
:48:17. > :48:19.just outside Winter Slough and it was really wonderful place to grow
:48:20. > :48:25.up with lots of woodland and fields and things. There was one place we
:48:26. > :48:31.were not allowed to go. Porton Down. We knew where it was, because of the
:48:32. > :48:35.huge red flags, the big fences, we were not allowed to go there at all.
:48:36. > :48:40.Ironically it's one of the best places for wild plants and the whole
:48:41. > :48:45.of Britain. It's massively exciting to get this chance to go on to
:48:46. > :48:50.Porton Down, 40 years later. Most of the chalk grassland that you see is
:48:51. > :48:54.really heavily grazed. It is farmed. It's a farmed landscape. But Porton
:48:55. > :49:00.Down is different. I don't know where to look! I'm like a kid in a
:49:01. > :49:12.sweet shop. Absolutely amazing. I'm quite emotional. Wow, look at this
:49:13. > :49:17.milkwort. I've never seen as much as this. If you look at a map of chalk
:49:18. > :49:22.milkwort in Britain, it's down here in Wiltshire. It's in Hampshire, is
:49:23. > :49:26.on the southern downs and down in Dorset. It's a very, very special
:49:27. > :49:33.plant. To see it in this quantity here is just... It's breathtaking.
:49:34. > :49:38.Botany is a feast for the eyes, but it's also a feast for the other
:49:39. > :49:47.senses as well. Walking over the grassland here, you get that smell
:49:48. > :49:50.of marjoram coming up, you get thyme, followed Burnett, juniper.
:49:51. > :49:54.It's like being in the Mediterranean. It's that rich smell
:49:55. > :49:59.you get in the heat. It's that resinous, rich smell. That's what's
:50:00. > :50:06.really special about it. -- you get salad Bernard.
:50:07. > :50:13.Meadow clary, yes! Meadow clary is a lovely planned, because it's what we
:50:14. > :50:17.call the Mediterranean species. You go down to the south of France, it's
:50:18. > :50:21.like a weed, it grows everywhere. But in Britain we just have it in a
:50:22. > :50:28.handful of sites and it struggles. It doesn't do very well. So to see
:50:29. > :50:33.such a big patch of it at Porton Down is really wonderful. The real
:50:34. > :50:38.treasures at this time of year armed in the chalk grassland, they in the
:50:39. > :50:42.woodland. -- they are not in the chop grassland. Birds Nestor kidded
:50:43. > :50:49.fascinating, you can see there are no green leaves at all -- bird's
:50:50. > :50:52.nest orchid. It's growing in this thick, dark beach woodland in a
:50:53. > :50:56.dense litter of leaves and it's the rotting leaves that are giving it
:50:57. > :51:01.its nutrient. You normally find one or two together, so to get a little
:51:02. > :51:14.group like this, it's a lovely thing to see.
:51:15. > :51:30.Wow! That's an orchid! Wow! It actually becomes quite an emotional
:51:31. > :51:32.thing for me, because you are familiar with these things through
:51:33. > :51:37.books and photographs and things, but nothing prepares you for that
:51:38. > :51:41.first sight. I want to have a moment and drink it all up. I'm completely
:51:42. > :51:48.gobsmacked. Just in this quiet little woodland. It's called Lady
:51:49. > :51:53.orchid and it looks like a little lady. You have that hooded bonnet on
:51:54. > :51:58.top of her head, her arms sticking outside and this beautiful little
:51:59. > :52:02.petticoat skirt. It only flowers for about a week or so, so you have no
:52:03. > :52:06.guarantee that it's going to be in flower when you visit. It's
:52:07. > :52:13.something really special amongst British orchids.
:52:14. > :52:19.I'm a little bit overwhelmed, to be honest. I was expecting to see that
:52:20. > :52:24.typical chalk grassland that I'm familiar with, but in fact, this is
:52:25. > :52:27.very, very different. It builds and builds and builds, and for a
:52:28. > :52:30.botanist that is wonderful because you are not just interested in the
:52:31. > :52:34.individual plans, you are interested in the community of plants, how they
:52:35. > :52:40.have come together and what they form as a habitat. That's what's
:52:41. > :52:46.really exciting and this is a unique community of plans.
:52:47. > :52:51.What a bloke, what a fantastic enthusiastic and was a place.
:52:52. > :52:55.Defence Estates, that owns the land, have fantastic places. 240,000
:52:56. > :53:03.hectares of land across the UK, that's 1% of the UK's land surface,
:53:04. > :53:07.and it includes 190 sites of special scientific interest and why is it so
:53:08. > :53:11.good? The principal reason is that there's not intensive agriculture
:53:12. > :53:14.there, much of it has never been sprayed, no pesticides, no
:53:15. > :53:19.herbicides, no mining, no drilling, and perhaps most important of all,
:53:20. > :53:23.no people on a lot of it and a few years ago I had a chance to go on to
:53:24. > :53:26.some of their land and it was absolutely fantastic. Just like
:53:27. > :53:36.Porton, which was brilliant for wild flowers. Not enough people get into
:53:37. > :53:39.flowers. You are absolutely right, which is why I'm going to inspire
:53:40. > :53:41.and did these people, because I'm going to tell you all about the
:53:42. > :53:41.great British wild flower hunt run by
:53:42. > :53:42.going to tell you all about the great British wild flower hunt run
:53:43. > :53:44.by Plantlife. They've designed this fantastic interactive guide to lots
:53:45. > :53:48.of different wild flowers and what you do, if you see one, like a
:53:49. > :53:53.meadow buttercup, you tick it and you get all sorts of information.
:53:54. > :53:56.What's even better, if you are a bit competitive, you can earn points. It
:53:57. > :53:59.gives you a score. It's a great thing to do with kids. You get
:54:00. > :54:03.something more rare, like the heliport, you have loads of
:54:04. > :54:17.information, you get three points for that. -- hellebore. There are 50
:54:18. > :54:23.flowers and it can help you to learn and expand your knowledge. Get
:54:24. > :54:26.involved. Lots of naturalists know lots of birds and butterflies, but
:54:27. > :54:29.hardly any plans. Everyone on the Springwatch set is looking out there
:54:30. > :54:34.and thinking, are we ever going to get any spring here? A man who will
:54:35. > :54:41.know the answer is Nick Miller, and the BBC weather Centre.
:54:42. > :54:46.The search for Spring goes on and you won't find it this weekend. What
:54:47. > :54:49.a week it's been. What an image, our soggy red kites, they look how we
:54:50. > :54:52.feel. We want a break in the weather. Briefly tomorrow, with a
:54:53. > :54:57.few showers rather than anything else, but over the weekend here
:54:58. > :55:01.comes another area of low pressure, bringing more range. The North and
:55:02. > :55:04.the West rather than the south and east, it's harder to hear the
:55:05. > :55:08.birdsong in the trees when it's this breezy. Not a huge amount of rain on
:55:09. > :55:12.the way for Sherborne this weekend, not so many worries for the
:55:13. > :55:16.kingfisher, the nest holding in the swollen river. Elsewhere in the UK,
:55:17. > :55:20.rivers rising so some of the kingfisher cousins may be more
:55:21. > :55:25.worried and maybe better hunting for the barn owls, not left -- the
:55:26. > :55:28.chicks not left alone so much. There will be some rain at Sherborne, not
:55:29. > :55:32.very much. There will be some sunshine, just not very much. It
:55:33. > :55:37.stays breezy. It's next week we have a weather transformation on the way.
:55:38. > :55:42.From this, to something more like this. Hang on in there, red kites!
:55:43. > :55:46.Spring is fighting back. By this time next week, it might actually
:55:47. > :55:52.feel like summer. Like summer, likes! Yes! That's good
:55:53. > :55:56.news. Remember Michael Fish, they are not always right! It's been an
:55:57. > :56:02.extraordinary few weeks but I hope lots of you have been involved in 30
:56:03. > :56:05.Days Wild, which is run by the Wildlife Trusts. It's encouraging
:56:06. > :56:09.you to do a random act of wildness every day of the month of June. You
:56:10. > :56:14.can do anything you like, from going out looking for birds, to posting
:56:15. > :56:19.wildlife wild flower seeds through letter boxes. Think of something
:56:20. > :56:24.wild and do it. It's to encourage you to connect with wildlife in your
:56:25. > :56:28.everyday life. Let's look at the life bullfinch, we have two Young in
:56:29. > :56:33.the nest. Look, they are on the brink of fledging. They fledged
:56:34. > :56:38.between 15-17 days and today was day 15. Let's see what they've been up
:56:39. > :56:44.to today. They've been doing a bit of wing flapping at times. That's
:56:45. > :56:48.interesting, what's it doing? Clicking their beaks. Here's an
:56:49. > :56:53.adult coming in, you can see wing struck a big -- wing flapping. These
:56:54. > :56:57.are one of the birds that will hop out into the bushes before they can
:56:58. > :57:02.fly. They are likely to fall onto the ground, they are in dense
:57:03. > :57:05.bramble. Keep your eyes peeled on these bullfinches, because they are
:57:06. > :57:09.likely to go soon. You can do that by visiting our website, where if
:57:10. > :57:13.you scroll down you can look at our live cameras, not just the bullfinch
:57:14. > :57:17.is but our barn owls and kestrels as well. The I have to tell you, we
:57:18. > :57:21.have had a cameraman out tonight following a barn owl that has hunted
:57:22. > :57:29.in the same area every night, and he's just seen this. Look at that!
:57:30. > :57:35.Wow. It's not an easy thing to film, is it? What's it got? It's four
:57:36. > :57:40.minutes ago, we filmed this. Taking advantage of a gap in the rain. The
:57:41. > :57:44.owl has come out. We think this could be our male, it's difficult,
:57:45. > :57:49.we can't quite see where it's gone. It's gone right down in the grass.
:57:50. > :57:54.No doubt... Most of see at hunting and catching voles to take to the
:57:55. > :57:58.nest. You can catch it on the live cameras. Sadly that's all we have
:57:59. > :58:02.time for this week but join as next week. Martin and Gillian Russ-macro
:58:03. > :58:06.to the Isles of Scilly. What else have we got coming up? We might be
:58:07. > :58:11.saying goodbye to some of the cameras. Let's look at the
:58:12. > :58:14.blackcaps, there they are. We might say goodbye to them, either on
:58:15. > :58:19.Sunday or Monday. Let's have a quick last look at the peregrine. This is
:58:20. > :58:24.our foster chick, that's doing extremely well. I know we will enjoy
:58:25. > :58:30.watching that over the weekend and next week as well. Very sadly that's
:58:31. > :58:34.all we have time for this week. Do join us again. We'll be on at 8pm
:58:35. > :58:40.every evening and there's Unsprung to morrow night at 6:30pm. I have a
:58:41. > :58:45.quick question, from RJ Mitchell. Some people called bats flying mice.
:58:46. > :58:48.Are there any real-life flying shrews?
:58:49. > :58:53.I can answer that question using this model of a Second World War
:58:54. > :58:58.aircraft. You see, this is a Spitfire but its inventor, RJ
:58:59. > :59:02.Mitchell, wanted to call it a Shrew. Imagine people scrambling into a
:59:03. > :59:08.Shrew, in World War II. It first flew on the 6th of March 1936 at
:59:09. > :59:34.Eastleigh airport. It was number... In Japan, art and life are
:59:35. > :59:36.intrinsically connected.