0:00:11 > 0:00:13I was born and always lived amongst this.
0:00:13 > 0:00:16We're all crammed in with not much room to breathe,
0:00:16 > 0:00:21and whenever we hear about our wildlife, it's usually about rats or pigeons.
0:00:21 > 0:00:24But from a young age, I discovered another world here,
0:00:24 > 0:00:26amongst the concrete and clay.
0:00:26 > 0:00:29I'm a birder, so my London's been one of lapwings,
0:00:29 > 0:00:35yellow wagtails, honey buzzards and ring ouzels - to name but a few.
0:00:35 > 0:00:37So, armed with my binoculars,
0:00:37 > 0:00:40and with the help of special guest Alison Steadman, I'm going
0:00:40 > 0:00:45right into the cityscape to unearth a beautiful urban jungle.
0:00:45 > 0:00:48We can just about see her underbelly.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51Which is orange. That's great.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54They're not seen all over London, and they do make quite a racket.
0:00:54 > 0:00:59If I open up this, tucked in there, almost the same colour as the hay...
0:01:00 > 0:01:01..is a little spiny back.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24To start with, I'm taking a trip down a watery road that,
0:01:24 > 0:01:28at the time, was built purely to aid industry.
0:01:29 > 0:01:32This was first opened in 1801.
0:01:32 > 0:01:35At its height it carried timber, building materials
0:01:35 > 0:01:39and coal to King's Cross Station from the industrial North.
0:01:39 > 0:01:42It also enabled fruit to be brought to marmalade makers,
0:01:42 > 0:01:45beer to bottlers and grain to a nearby flour mill.
0:01:45 > 0:01:48It was once the equivalent of the North Circular Road.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09Its industrial use is now long gone, and today it is
0:02:09 > 0:02:14apparently a great highway and byway for London's wildlife.
0:02:19 > 0:02:22We get wildlife right in the heart of our city.
0:02:22 > 0:02:26Canals connect our rural, idyllic countryside - where people
0:02:26 > 0:02:29expect to see this explosion
0:02:29 > 0:02:32of wildlife - with our urban centres.
0:02:32 > 0:02:36The canal brings together a huge variety of different habitats,
0:02:36 > 0:02:41we've got a hedgerow that lines its edges, grassy verges,
0:02:41 > 0:02:44this amazing open water space.
0:02:44 > 0:02:47This allows wildlife to travel up and down,
0:02:47 > 0:02:50either through the hedgerow or within the water.
0:02:50 > 0:02:52Not only does it use the canal as a corridor,
0:02:52 > 0:02:55like a bit of a superhighway, but once it's living in our city,
0:02:55 > 0:03:00it uses it as a place to feed on, and for protection.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09The canal towpath is now much used by Londoners
0:03:09 > 0:03:13going about their everyday business, but there's no shortage of birds,
0:03:13 > 0:03:17and they seem quite happy to have us around.
0:03:17 > 0:03:19One of my favourite wading birds, the heron,
0:03:19 > 0:03:22is apparently always to be found by the weir at Brentford,
0:03:22 > 0:03:24where the Grand Union joins the River Thames.
0:03:25 > 0:03:29So how did you know that fella was going to be over there?
0:03:29 > 0:03:32He's here all the time. Every time I come down to Brentford I can
0:03:32 > 0:03:34guarantee to see the heron.
0:03:34 > 0:03:38It's amazing because grey herons are birds of rivers and marshes
0:03:38 > 0:03:41and places like that, and it's incredible to see a heron
0:03:41 > 0:03:44hanging out in such an urban place like this.
0:03:44 > 0:03:47Absolutely, and it just shows how important the waterways are,
0:03:47 > 0:03:51connecting the countryside with the heart of our city,
0:03:51 > 0:03:54and the birds just migrate in with them.
0:03:54 > 0:03:57They are wading birds - I look around me, I can't see any areas
0:03:57 > 0:03:59where he can actually wade, so what does he feed on?
0:03:59 > 0:04:03Well, here he's actually feeding on scraps that people are putting
0:04:03 > 0:04:06out for the pigeons, but he's also sitting on the weir tops
0:04:06 > 0:04:10and taking fish as they go over, or fishing them out of the canal.
0:04:10 > 0:04:15I love grey herons, I think they're a really statuesque sort of animal.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18'One of the delights that heron would have had his eye on
0:04:18 > 0:04:22'on in the past would have been that old London favourite - the eel.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25'The young elvers travel over huge distances to migrate to
0:04:25 > 0:04:27'places like Brentford.
0:04:27 > 0:04:29'They're still here in the canal,
0:04:29 > 0:04:32'but in the past this place would have been teeming with them.'
0:04:32 > 0:04:35We've got anecdotal records, from the 1830s for instance,
0:04:35 > 0:04:40of millions of elvers coming in through London every day.
0:04:40 > 0:04:44Huge, unimaginable numbers, nature in massive abundance,
0:04:44 > 0:04:47and now we get an absolute fraction of that.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50Here, their decline is being recorded.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53A team of volunteers from the Thames Rivers Trust trap
0:04:53 > 0:04:57and count the young elvers trying to make their way up the canal.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01Over a two-month period they've only seen about 50.
0:05:01 > 0:05:03It's a very complicated story
0:05:03 > 0:05:05because they have this amazing life cycle.
0:05:05 > 0:05:10They travel from the ocean, 5,000km away, that's where they start,
0:05:10 > 0:05:12and they drift with the ocean currents
0:05:12 > 0:05:14across from the Sargasso Sea,
0:05:14 > 0:05:17and then they get washed up in estuaries across the coasts
0:05:17 > 0:05:20of Europe and end up in lovely places
0:05:20 > 0:05:22like this at Brentford Lock here.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26En route they are susceptible to all sorts of risks -
0:05:26 > 0:05:31there's fishing, big part of the picture, commercial interest there,
0:05:31 > 0:05:34people have eaten them for many generations of course.
0:05:34 > 0:05:39The changing ocean currents, related to climate change and things,
0:05:39 > 0:05:42new diseases in the European eel.
0:05:42 > 0:05:46'As well as counting them the team have built an elver pass,
0:05:46 > 0:05:49'to help make life as easy as possible for those eels that
0:05:49 > 0:05:51'actually make it here.'
0:05:51 > 0:05:54Without our help the elvers wouldn't be able to get above the weir,
0:05:54 > 0:05:57so we've had this elver pass installed here...
0:05:57 > 0:06:01that allows the elvers to wriggle up the pass
0:06:01 > 0:06:03into our trapping box.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06And then we count them, measure them, and let them go on their way.
0:06:11 > 0:06:15It's very important that we carry on doing what we can in our patch,
0:06:15 > 0:06:19so, opening up access to the canals, opening up access to the rivers.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22The more adults we can support in London,
0:06:22 > 0:06:26the more adult eels will return back to the Sargasso to breed,
0:06:26 > 0:06:30and then hopefully, more breeding adults will mean more young elvers
0:06:30 > 0:06:32coming back into London year-on-year.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49It's great that volunteers are trying to encourage eels
0:06:49 > 0:06:52back to London in greater numbers, but all along the banks,
0:06:52 > 0:06:55other animals are already flourishing.
0:06:55 > 0:06:59Leela had something that looked like a baby dinosaur to show me
0:06:59 > 0:07:01just a couple of blocks away at Hanwell.
0:07:01 > 0:07:05This is a smooth newt. This is actually a juvenile newt.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08It looks like it was last year's.
0:07:08 > 0:07:09Yeah... But a female.
0:07:09 > 0:07:13We can tell that from the colouration. She's slightly paler.
0:07:13 > 0:07:18Why do these newts like the canal so much?
0:07:18 > 0:07:21The canal at this point has got side ponds in it,
0:07:21 > 0:07:24so areas where it's free from fish.
0:07:24 > 0:07:29In the spring, so May onwards, they come down into this area to breed.
0:07:29 > 0:07:33It's a really, really important part of their life cycle.
0:07:33 > 0:07:37The canal connects all our different gardens, our different parks.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40A male newt will actually travel a few kilometres
0:07:40 > 0:07:44to find new ponds, and they will travel 500 metres each night.
0:07:44 > 0:07:48If people were to take time and look in their ponds in the spring
0:07:48 > 0:07:50they might find these small newts.
0:07:50 > 0:07:51Completely harmless.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54Obviously in their gardens too.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57So, if they could take time to make a compost heap,
0:07:57 > 0:08:01or even just leave a pile of logs or stones in a corner
0:08:01 > 0:08:04where they won't be disturbed, that is excellent for the newts.
0:08:04 > 0:08:08'As we were filming our newt, a dog walker stopped to look.
0:08:08 > 0:08:12'He was fascinated by the creature, but had previously seen something
0:08:12 > 0:08:14'on the tow path that he'd never seen before.'
0:08:14 > 0:08:17It was a silvery colour, about that round.
0:08:17 > 0:08:19What, newts? No. About that round.
0:08:19 > 0:08:24It had like a head of a lizard coming out of it,
0:08:24 > 0:08:26as though it had dropped off a tree.
0:08:26 > 0:08:31It's just like you're describing a slowworm. But it was silvery.
0:08:31 > 0:08:33Yes, silvery or bronze-like.
0:08:33 > 0:08:38When I looked on the website, it didn't say it was silvery.
0:08:38 > 0:08:42No, they can have different colourations.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45'With his dogs impatient to continue their brisk walk,
0:08:45 > 0:08:49'the gentleman moved on, but Leela actually had a slowworm
0:08:49 > 0:08:53'to show me, that she'd found on this very spot earlier in the day.'
0:08:53 > 0:08:56This is the perfect home for slowworms as well.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59They like similar habitat to the newt.
0:08:59 > 0:09:01They're loving the undergrowth here,
0:09:01 > 0:09:04the long grasses we've got in the field to the back.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07They'll be sheltering underneath piles of wood,
0:09:07 > 0:09:10and burrowing slightly into the ground itself.
0:09:10 > 0:09:12They are really similar to a snake,
0:09:12 > 0:09:15but their scales don't overlap at all,
0:09:15 > 0:09:18which makes them really smooth to the touch.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21They're actually a legless lizard.
0:09:21 > 0:09:25'Leela and her legless lizards and newts had already convinced me
0:09:25 > 0:09:27'that if it's wildlife you're after,
0:09:27 > 0:09:29'a trip down the canal is well worthwhile.
0:09:29 > 0:09:33'But before I left, I wanted to enjoy the heron one last time.
0:09:33 > 0:09:37'He stood patiently hoping for lunch, whilst just above him,
0:09:37 > 0:09:40'London got on with its busy life.'
0:09:40 > 0:09:43If you take a few steps away from the canal,
0:09:43 > 0:09:46you might end up on a street like this.
0:09:46 > 0:09:47Pretty busy.
0:09:49 > 0:09:51So, not much space for wildlife, you might think.
0:09:51 > 0:09:55But, most parts of the capital have parks and open spaces,
0:09:55 > 0:09:58and if our wildlife senses any old piece of land that suits,
0:09:58 > 0:10:01they move in and live quite happily,
0:10:01 > 0:10:05as Alison Steadman found out right in inner-city Stoke Newington.
0:10:10 > 0:10:12Heat haze against concrete.
0:10:12 > 0:10:15The smell of the ubiquitous kebab.
0:10:15 > 0:10:20Sounds of dubstep, rap and funk emanate from every car.
0:10:20 > 0:10:25But hold on, is that the distant sound of birdsong I can hear?
0:10:25 > 0:10:29This is Abney Park Cemetery, and it's an extraordinary place.
0:10:29 > 0:10:32It was originally a woodland,
0:10:32 > 0:10:35but because it's been a cemetery since 1840,
0:10:35 > 0:10:39no-one's been allowed to build on it, and it teems with wildlife.
0:10:41 > 0:10:43'I live just down the road from this place,
0:10:43 > 0:10:47'and I adore the sight and sounds of birds in my garden.
0:10:47 > 0:10:51'But here, smack bang in the middle of one of the most populated parts
0:10:51 > 0:10:55'of London, the birdsong is apparently some of the loudest
0:10:55 > 0:10:57'and varied of anywhere in the country.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02'Richard Beard has spotted birds in here for years
0:11:02 > 0:11:04'and is a sound recordist.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07'So, with his rather fetching microphone,
0:11:07 > 0:11:11'he's heard them all, and has even made a CD of them singing.'
0:11:11 > 0:11:14So what have you been hearing? Anything good?
0:11:14 > 0:11:17Yes, there's been some magpies up there.
0:11:17 > 0:11:21And a great spotted woodpecker
0:11:21 > 0:11:23has been calling just over there.
0:11:23 > 0:11:25Right.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28We've had some goldfinches. Oh, that was a great tit!
0:11:31 > 0:11:34I particularly like the green woodpeckers.
0:11:34 > 0:11:36That yaffle they have.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39Yeah, the yaffle, they call it. It's a lovely sound.
0:11:39 > 0:11:41It's almost like they're laughing.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44Yeah, and it carries right across a wood. Absolutely, yes.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50The thing I find about the birdsong is that,
0:11:50 > 0:11:56because obviously we all lead busy lives now, we get tired and stressed,
0:11:56 > 0:11:59and sometimes I get very stressed with my job, although it's fun.
0:11:59 > 0:12:03But I love just to sit, and if there's a blackbird singing,
0:12:03 > 0:12:06there's something calming about it, isn't there?
0:12:06 > 0:12:10They'll perch themselves in full view and sing away.
0:12:12 > 0:12:14Although you can recognise the song of a blackbird,
0:12:14 > 0:12:17every blackbird will have a slightly different song. Really?
0:12:17 > 0:12:21Yes, so there was a car alarm going off at some distance over there -
0:12:21 > 0:12:26they'll often mimic car alarms, or mobile phones.
0:12:26 > 0:12:30Somewhere in the song, there will be some mimicry of something else.
0:12:30 > 0:12:31Right, I didn't know that.
0:12:35 > 0:12:39So why is this place so special to you?
0:12:39 > 0:12:40It's a haven.
0:12:40 > 0:12:45We're surrounded by houses and traffic,
0:12:45 > 0:12:48but what we get here is just so many different species.
0:12:48 > 0:12:52There are so many different habitats in here.
0:12:52 > 0:12:57Beautiful trees everywhere. Yes. I think there are 120 different species of tree in here. Wow!
0:13:00 > 0:13:04'Listening to birds singing, I'm rather good at that,
0:13:04 > 0:13:06'but at this time of year,
0:13:06 > 0:13:10'it's actually very difficult to see the birds in the canopy above.
0:13:10 > 0:13:13'But I know a man who always can.
0:13:13 > 0:13:17'Graham Hatherley is our wildlife cameraman, and was lurking
0:13:17 > 0:13:21'amongst the gravestones, ready to film anything he could find.
0:13:21 > 0:13:23'He must have some tips.
0:13:23 > 0:13:24I like to pick a good spot.
0:13:24 > 0:13:27You see an awful lot more, I think, by staying still,
0:13:27 > 0:13:29than you do by wandering around.
0:13:29 > 0:13:32I always think a fisherman sees a lot more than a cyclist.
0:13:32 > 0:13:34A good friend of mine often says look up,
0:13:34 > 0:13:37so in this environment
0:13:37 > 0:13:41you've got the forest canopy, and a lot of the smaller birds particularly
0:13:41 > 0:13:47will be gleaning flies and other food from the top of the canopy.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50Birds in the lower canopy like robins and blackbirds
0:13:50 > 0:13:52will often forage on the ground.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55So you're looking for movement, really.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58And also what food they like, I suppose, as well.
0:13:58 > 0:14:02If you're near a tree that's got berries that a particular bird
0:14:02 > 0:14:04would like... Absolutely, yes.
0:14:04 > 0:14:08In fact, there's a cherry tree along here,
0:14:08 > 0:14:13which has wood pigeons in it and grey squirrels feeding.
0:14:13 > 0:14:17I had a cherry or two from it too!
0:14:17 > 0:14:19And I noticed a fox cub underneath,
0:14:19 > 0:14:22picking up the cherries that the other birds and the grey squirrel
0:14:22 > 0:14:24were dropping as they were foraging.
0:14:24 > 0:14:26And this cub, I guess,
0:14:26 > 0:14:29had left the safety of its mother's protection
0:14:29 > 0:14:33in the last month or two, so this is the critical time in its life.
0:14:33 > 0:14:36Having to forage for itself. That's right.
0:14:36 > 0:14:38Have you seen anything else exciting?
0:14:38 > 0:14:43Yes, just now there was a sparrowhawk just over in the wood in that direction.
0:14:43 > 0:14:47Brilliant. Just skulking in the canopy.
0:14:47 > 0:14:50And I think that was a young bird, a fledgling from this year.
0:14:54 > 0:14:59We're 50 yards from Stoke Newington High Street,
0:14:59 > 0:15:00and all this is going on!
0:15:00 > 0:15:03It's so exciting. It is, isn't it?
0:15:03 > 0:15:06And it's good to have a green heart, a green lung,
0:15:06 > 0:15:09in a really dense, urban space.
0:15:09 > 0:15:12So full of life and interesting things to see,
0:15:12 > 0:15:15if you sit for a moment and notice them.
0:15:15 > 0:15:18Just take the time, take five minutes and look.
0:15:24 > 0:15:27'As the sun lowered, new birds came out
0:15:27 > 0:15:29'and performed a merry dance for us.
0:15:29 > 0:15:33'High in the sky, swifts search for their supper.
0:15:35 > 0:15:39'This really is somewhere you should experience for real.
0:15:39 > 0:15:41'I'd recommend sticking to the paths though
0:15:41 > 0:15:44'because it really is a bit of a jungle.'
0:15:44 > 0:15:47So, if you want to come and see all this for yourself,
0:15:47 > 0:15:50it's open every day, but it closes at night.
0:15:50 > 0:15:53But I'm being given a special treat.
0:15:53 > 0:15:56I am going bat spotting.
0:16:03 > 0:16:08'Abney Park's Gothic chapel makes a perfect spooky location for them.
0:16:08 > 0:16:12'I'd arranged to meet Philip Briggs from the Bat Conservation Trust.
0:16:12 > 0:16:16'He came armed with his bat detectors.'
0:16:16 > 0:16:19So, here we've got a common pipistrelle.
0:16:19 > 0:16:25It's got that very distinctive wet, slappy sound, like somebody slapping their cheeks.
0:16:25 > 0:16:30Pipistrelle are the really tiny ones, aren't they? Yes, exactly.
0:16:30 > 0:16:32So we probably can't see those because they're so tiny.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35No, if you look up, you can see them flitting around.
0:16:43 > 0:16:45So, Philip, tell me,
0:16:45 > 0:16:48why is this particular place really good for bats?
0:16:48 > 0:16:51Well, it's full of insects, which they like to eat.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54Woodland is one of the best kind of habitats for insects.
0:16:54 > 0:16:56Certainly a lot of insects around tonight.
0:16:56 > 0:16:57And it's also nice and dark.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00They prefer dark areas because they're safe from predators.
0:17:01 > 0:17:03There's one.
0:17:03 > 0:17:04There, there!
0:17:05 > 0:17:09They're just hoovering up all these midges and annoying insects.
0:17:09 > 0:17:12I wish they'd hoover up a few more - I'm itching all over!
0:17:12 > 0:17:18It's said that one of these can eat 3,000 midges in an evening. Really?!
0:17:18 > 0:17:19There's one!
0:17:19 > 0:17:21BUZZING NOISE
0:17:21 > 0:17:24Hear that? That's called a feeding buzz.
0:17:24 > 0:17:26When they detect an insect, they speed up their calls
0:17:26 > 0:17:28so they can really home in on it.
0:17:28 > 0:17:32The calls get so fast that on the bat detector it just sounds like a raspberry!
0:17:32 > 0:17:33Right!
0:17:33 > 0:17:37They have a great time here, it's a wonderful location for them,
0:17:37 > 0:17:40but what about the rest of London?
0:17:40 > 0:17:44Well, London has lots of really nice bat habitats.
0:17:44 > 0:17:49There's all the parks, where you've got water, trees, just the sort of places they like.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52There's buildings, trees for them to roost in.
0:17:52 > 0:17:55The trouble with London is the habitat is very fragmented,
0:17:55 > 0:17:57so it's kind of lots of islands.
0:17:57 > 0:18:01We've got all this street lighting everywhere... Yeah. Exactly.
0:18:01 > 0:18:04It's quite bright. Yes, they need these dark corridors.
0:18:04 > 0:18:08So would you say this was a perfect location for bats?
0:18:08 > 0:18:10I think it's pretty good.
0:18:19 > 0:18:22What a treasure that place is.
0:18:22 > 0:18:26But London can be a very hard and unforgiving city.
0:18:26 > 0:18:31So, without our help, wildlife would struggle to find places to live.
0:18:31 > 0:18:33But thankfully, all over London,
0:18:33 > 0:18:37there are people using the cityscape in very clever ways,
0:18:37 > 0:18:40and deliberately creating habitats for wildlife.
0:18:47 > 0:18:52Here, just off the Lea Bridge Road in Leyton,
0:18:52 > 0:18:54surrounded by light industry and traffic,
0:18:54 > 0:18:57something truly beautiful has occurred.
0:18:57 > 0:19:01This place was originally built in 1852 to provide clean water
0:19:01 > 0:19:05to the East End, following an outbreak of cholera.
0:19:05 > 0:19:09This would have been either open water, or ten to fifty men
0:19:09 > 0:19:11labouring away digging out sand and gravel.
0:19:11 > 0:19:15The amount of activity going on, the steam engines pumping,
0:19:15 > 0:19:17the noise, the people wandering around,
0:19:17 > 0:19:20the horses pulling carts.
0:19:20 > 0:19:23I don't think it would have been the best habitat for wildlife.
0:19:23 > 0:19:26# Birds flying high
0:19:26 > 0:19:28# You know how I feel
0:19:29 > 0:19:32# Sun in the sky
0:19:32 > 0:19:34# You know how I feel... #
0:19:34 > 0:19:37But by the late 1960s, it was obsolete
0:19:37 > 0:19:41and was left to become overgrown and a wasteland.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44But 20 years ago, it was realised that it had the potential
0:19:44 > 0:19:46to be the perfect habitat for wildlife.
0:19:46 > 0:19:48We try and balance the two -
0:19:48 > 0:19:51the industrial history and the natural history.
0:19:51 > 0:19:55We've got a variety of habitats, from reed bed to wet woodland,
0:19:55 > 0:19:57which is quite a rare habitat.
0:19:57 > 0:19:59We've got a wet meadow behind us.
0:19:59 > 0:20:02This used to be a filter bed,
0:20:02 > 0:20:05so how did it make the transition to what it is now?
0:20:05 > 0:20:09A key thing we did was to stop managing it as a filter bed,
0:20:09 > 0:20:12so it was left to go wild and naturally colonise.
0:20:12 > 0:20:16One of the key things we did was bring in a pumping system for water,
0:20:16 > 0:20:20so that meant that we can now manage the different water levels
0:20:20 > 0:20:23at different times of the year, and that helps us keep the habitats
0:20:23 > 0:20:26at optimum level for different wildlife at different times.
0:20:26 > 0:20:30This is now a perfect spot for a bit of urban birding.
0:20:31 > 0:20:35This unique hide has a different view every time you open
0:20:35 > 0:20:38a different window, and different birds to be seen through each one.
0:20:38 > 0:20:41But there's much more than birds here.
0:20:41 > 0:20:45Even the old wellhead had a treat in store.
0:20:45 > 0:20:48This is where all the clean water would have ended up.
0:20:48 > 0:20:52It's been opened up now so people can see some of the architecture.
0:20:52 > 0:20:55Is that not a frog down there? Yes, that's great.
0:20:55 > 0:20:57That's one of our edible frogs.
0:20:57 > 0:21:01That's probably the first edible frog I have seen in London!
0:21:01 > 0:21:03# Dragonfly out in the sun
0:21:03 > 0:21:05# You know what I mean, don't you know
0:21:07 > 0:21:10# Butterflies all having fun
0:21:10 > 0:21:13# You know what I mean... #
0:21:13 > 0:21:16As Graham, our cameraman, hid amongst the reed beds,
0:21:16 > 0:21:18something wonderful happened.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21All around him, nymphs turned into beautiful dragonflies.
0:21:21 > 0:21:25# And this old world is a new world
0:21:25 > 0:21:29# And a bold world for me... #
0:21:35 > 0:21:39Remember, this is just across the road from trains, buses
0:21:39 > 0:21:41and traffic jams, so this really is
0:21:41 > 0:21:43a surprising part of London's East End.
0:21:43 > 0:21:47And it's open to the public all year round, and admission is totally free.
0:21:50 > 0:21:54London has over 40 nature reserves and wetland areas that you can visit.
0:21:54 > 0:21:57Binoculars can be inexpensive,
0:21:57 > 0:22:00and even bat detectors are less pricey than you'd think.
0:22:00 > 0:22:03So, don't just watch it on telly - get out there
0:22:03 > 0:22:05and take a look around for yourself.
0:22:05 > 0:22:08'If you need help, go to our website.
0:22:11 > 0:22:14'Of course, you've probably missed that -
0:22:14 > 0:22:18'but don't worry, I'll give it out again before the end of the programme.
0:22:18 > 0:22:21'If you wanted to, you could really get involved.
0:22:21 > 0:22:25'Most of the conservation work here is done by volunteers like Paul Lister.'
0:22:25 > 0:22:28This is an amazing area of grassland.
0:22:28 > 0:22:30There must be tonnes of butterflies hanging out here.
0:22:30 > 0:22:35Yup, we've got something like a third of the 59 species
0:22:35 > 0:22:39that are normally recorded in the UK on this site.
0:22:39 > 0:22:42What - right next door to Lea Bridge Road,
0:22:42 > 0:22:44you have a third of all butterflies found in Britain?!
0:22:44 > 0:22:48Absolutely. They're such beautiful creatures. They are indeed.
0:22:48 > 0:22:52There has been a bit of a downturn in butterflies. Why has that happened?
0:22:52 > 0:22:55Well, agricultural issues, pesticides and so on
0:22:55 > 0:22:58have played a part in that, I'm sure.
0:22:58 > 0:23:02But of course, in an urban environment like this,
0:23:02 > 0:23:06particularly one that's been constructed out of a lot of concrete
0:23:06 > 0:23:09and filter beds and so on, maybe we're a little less prone to that.
0:23:09 > 0:23:11That's really interesting.
0:23:11 > 0:23:14You'd think that in the countryside it'd be much more pristine,
0:23:14 > 0:23:16but urban environments are actually better
0:23:16 > 0:23:19because we don't use pesticides like people in the countryside do.
0:23:30 > 0:23:32Butterfly meadows like this one
0:23:32 > 0:23:34aren't to be found on most London streets,
0:23:34 > 0:23:38but one thing we are most certainly not short of is rooftops.
0:23:38 > 0:23:40And right next to King's Cross Station,
0:23:40 > 0:23:42they're using the roof of an office block
0:23:42 > 0:23:44to help another endangered species.
0:23:44 > 0:23:47The bee has been in such decline that the government
0:23:47 > 0:23:48are even getting involved.
0:23:48 > 0:23:53Somebody calculated that one in three bites of food
0:23:53 > 0:23:55that you eat are actually being pollinated by bees.
0:23:55 > 0:23:58And so, if we don't have that, we'd have to do it manually,
0:23:58 > 0:23:59which is crazy.
0:23:59 > 0:24:04They are an intrinsic part of our food-growing production.
0:24:04 > 0:24:08On the next roof across from here, we've got a couple of beehives.
0:24:08 > 0:24:11So I'm planting plants that actually will feed them because,
0:24:11 > 0:24:16up to now, London's been a really good refuge for bees in the UK.
0:24:16 > 0:24:18It's away from the agri-farming, no spraying,
0:24:18 > 0:24:22but there's a slight problem here - everyone's very keen to have hives.
0:24:22 > 0:24:24John Chapple, a very famous London beekeeper,
0:24:24 > 0:24:27when he first started he was the only hive in his area.
0:24:27 > 0:24:29Now he says he's got 19 other hives around him.
0:24:29 > 0:24:33We've got to actually ramp up food, more fodder.
0:24:33 > 0:24:34We all have, I think,
0:24:34 > 0:24:38a responsibility to actually do as much as we can.
0:24:38 > 0:24:41This building overlooks the canal, and back down on the waterway
0:24:41 > 0:24:44they're doing their bit.
0:24:44 > 0:24:47They're planting floating meadows to give the bees even MORE food
0:24:47 > 0:24:50as they make their way alongside the watery corridor.
0:25:05 > 0:25:08This is a rather faster, less leafy highway.
0:25:08 > 0:25:12It's the Westway, one of the main arterial roads into Central London.
0:25:12 > 0:25:14But just a stone's throw away,
0:25:14 > 0:25:16there's a garden that shows what we can all do.
0:25:18 > 0:25:20Jackie St Clair has, up to now,
0:25:20 > 0:25:22been best known for her glamour modelling,
0:25:22 > 0:25:26but it's her love of birding that I've always known her for.
0:25:26 > 0:25:30I only started modelling so I could go on trips to exotic locations
0:25:30 > 0:25:32and see the birds there.
0:25:32 > 0:25:36I'd take my binoculars when I was shooting a calendar in Mauritius,
0:25:36 > 0:25:38or the Seychelles, or Bali, or Fiji.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41And I'd often extend my trip by a few days
0:25:41 > 0:25:43and I'd go around the islands to see what was there.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46I'd always said if I was lucky enough
0:25:46 > 0:25:50to have a garden of my own, I'd make it as wildlife friendly as possible.
0:25:50 > 0:25:54Together with the expertise of her gardener Phil Ram,
0:25:54 > 0:25:57Jackie has created a birder's paradise.
0:25:57 > 0:25:59But before we got into the birding, they had something else to show me.
0:26:01 > 0:26:03I can see a tiny little prickly back.
0:26:03 > 0:26:05If you just hold back that ivy a little bit...
0:26:06 > 0:26:09Like that, hold back the ivy.
0:26:09 > 0:26:12Tucked in there, almost the same colour as the hay...
0:26:13 > 0:26:14..is a little spiny back.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18'They'd rescued a beautiful hedgehog.'
0:26:18 > 0:26:21So there she is. I don't think we should get her out.
0:26:21 > 0:26:23Oh, not at all, not at all, let's leave her.
0:26:23 > 0:26:27For me, I almost feel like I'm in the edge of a wood.
0:26:27 > 0:26:29So you must get a lot of good birds here as well.
0:26:29 > 0:26:31Yes, it feels like that.
0:26:31 > 0:26:33We've put up 27 nest boxes - different ones
0:26:33 > 0:26:35and they have attracted a lot of different species.
0:26:35 > 0:26:38High up in that sycamore is a woodpecker box.
0:26:38 > 0:26:41We were lucky enough to have a family of great spotted this year.
0:26:49 > 0:26:54We've had blackbirds, robins, blue tits, coal tits,
0:26:54 > 0:26:58long-tailed tits, wrens, thrush, dunnocks, greenfinch, chaffinch,
0:26:58 > 0:27:02goldfinch, the odd pied wagtail, even a grey wagtail -
0:27:02 > 0:27:03very surprisingly.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16Apart from planting things that provide seeds and berries,
0:27:16 > 0:27:18we've added extra food for them,
0:27:18 > 0:27:21we have a tiny pond so they can drink and bathe.
0:27:21 > 0:27:23The feeders were really the first thing, weren't they?
0:27:23 > 0:27:25When the garden was newly-planted,
0:27:25 > 0:27:28obviously nothing was going to sustain any wildlife or anything,
0:27:28 > 0:27:31so the feeders were a key way of bringing stuff in.
0:27:35 > 0:27:37This is niger seed to attract goldfinches
0:27:37 > 0:27:40and the moment we put it there, they arrived. Really?
0:27:40 > 0:27:42And that's incredible in itself, isn't it?
0:27:42 > 0:27:45I mean, the fact that you put in niger seed and then...
0:27:46 > 0:27:48..within days, they know it's here.
0:27:48 > 0:27:50Now, why do they know it's here?
0:27:50 > 0:27:52Well, they do circuits - birds do circuits.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55They visit the territory, they know, eventually,
0:27:55 > 0:27:58when things are put up and they come and feed and that's it.
0:27:58 > 0:28:00Yeah, that's brilliant.
0:28:00 > 0:28:02Do you think they also have a little bit of jungle telegraph?
0:28:02 > 0:28:05You know, do you think they let their mates know about it? Yes.
0:28:05 > 0:28:06Absolutely.
0:28:12 > 0:28:16So, even in a jam-packed city like London, there's things we can all do
0:28:16 > 0:28:19to help the birds, the bees and all manner of wildlife to live with us.
0:28:21 > 0:28:22It's wonderful, isn't it?
0:28:22 > 0:28:24Woodpeckers next to the Westway,
0:28:24 > 0:28:26dragonflies hatching by Lea Bridge Road,
0:28:26 > 0:28:29even lizards lounging in Hanwell.
0:28:29 > 0:28:34So you see, this great big capital of ours really is an urban jungle -
0:28:34 > 0:28:36it's just knowing where to look.
0:28:40 > 0:28:44If, like me, you want to find lots of places to visit to check out
0:28:44 > 0:28:45London's wildlife,
0:28:45 > 0:28:48or find out how to get more involved, go to our webpage...
0:28:50 > 0:28:53Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd