:00:22. > :00:25.centre and behind me there seems to be a bit of fuss going on. What are
:00:25. > :00:29.they looking at? Well, they're all hoping to see this beauty, the
:00:29. > :00:35.peregrine falcon. The fastest creature on the planet and in the
:00:35. > :00:39.heart of this city. Getting your wildlife fix has never been easier.
:00:39. > :00:44.I'm about to show you, so come with me through the urban jungle of the
:00:44. > :00:49.North West. Coming up - Birds in Salford and
:00:49. > :00:52.bats in Manchester. I cast my eyes to the skies.
:00:52. > :00:57.Will Rani Phillips stay focused as she tries her hand at wildlife
:00:57. > :01:00.photography in Liverpool? They're really fast! And I join the fight to
:01:00. > :01:07.save the hedgehog and go looking for badgers, in Warrington.I'm known as
:01:07. > :01:11.The Urban Birder, because I love birding and I love cities. So I
:01:11. > :01:19.could never pass up the chance to go birding in Greater Manchester, which
:01:19. > :01:26.has so many fantastic locations. It's also a great place to watch
:01:26. > :01:36.other flying creatures that aren't birds. But first I'm going on an
:01:36. > :01:39.
:01:39. > :01:42.They say that if you want to search for urban wildlife the best place to
:01:42. > :01:52.start looking is your own doorstep, and that's exactly what we're going
:01:52. > :02:03.
:02:03. > :02:09.Salford Quays may be home to the BBC these days, but it's also a top spot
:02:09. > :02:12.for wildlife, especially birds. I'm taking a trip on the water, courtesy
:02:12. > :02:17.of the Irwell Pride, the unlikely looking vessel which helps monitor
:02:17. > :02:27.water quality here. My guide is local birder James
:02:27. > :02:28.
:02:28. > :02:31.Walsh, who's devised his own bird and in Salford Quays we've got a big
:02:31. > :02:38.five too. We've got cormorant, lapwing, grey heron, mute swan and
:02:38. > :02:43.kingfisher. And how many of those do you think we'll see today? I think
:02:43. > :02:53.we've got a good chance of seeing all five. We've got a cormorant
:02:53. > :02:53.
:02:53. > :02:57.flying over there. They roost here and catch fish. They're here all
:02:57. > :03:00.year round. That's one down! It isn't long before we've ticked
:03:01. > :03:04.off two more. Wherever there's fish to be had you'll find a Grey Heron.
:03:04. > :03:07.And everyone's favourite, the Mute Swan, is another bird you can pretty
:03:07. > :03:12.much guarantee. But I'm pleasantly surprised to see many others,
:03:12. > :03:16.including this Goldeneye, a rare sight in the English summer. And
:03:16. > :03:20.check out this Buzzard - a bird of open country searching for food in
:03:20. > :03:25.the heart of the city. It's a very urban environment. I'm surprised you
:03:25. > :03:28.get so many species here. We've recorded over 100 species. We've
:03:28. > :03:38.been recording warblers, waders, different species of ducks, birds of
:03:38. > :03:39.
:03:39. > :03:47.prey. It's still a bit of a secret wonderland for birders. It sometimes
:03:47. > :03:51.feels like your own private nature reserve round here. We used to get a
:03:51. > :03:55.lot of fly-tipping around here. It was one of the worst polluted water
:03:55. > :03:59.courses in Europe at one stage so it's taken a lot of time and
:03:59. > :04:02.dedication to bring it back to how we are at the moment. The more
:04:02. > :04:05.organisms there are in the water, the more animals there are in the
:04:05. > :04:15.periphery of the watercourse feeding off them. Such as the wagtails
:04:15. > :04:38.
:04:38. > :04:43.taking the insect life, the small muddy beach provides my
:04:43. > :04:47.highlight of the day - a Little Ringed Plover. Not a bird you see
:04:47. > :04:52.every day but one which has started to move into urban areas. We also
:04:52. > :04:55.tick off the fourth of our big five. We've also got a Lapwing which we
:04:56. > :04:59.haven't spoken about yet. I'd say Lapwing is probably, as well as the
:04:59. > :05:09.Kingfisher, it's the most iconic species we have here on the Quays.
:05:09. > :05:14.
:05:14. > :05:18.you can count me in every time. There's wildlife everywhere -
:05:18. > :05:23.there's a couple of Mallards over there. I must say, James, I'm liking
:05:23. > :05:28.your patch. Cheers, mate!And as we head back to base, look what our
:05:28. > :05:38.cameraman spots - a tantalising glimpse of blue. The elusive
:05:38. > :05:42.
:05:42. > :05:49.Platt Fields Park lies between Fallowfield and Moss Side, bang in
:05:49. > :05:52.the middle of inner city Manchester. As the day draws to a close, the
:05:52. > :05:56.skateboarders give way to other visitors. And I'm joining them, on a
:05:56. > :06:00.bat watch. Perfect conditions - warm all day,
:06:00. > :06:07.overcast but it's dry and not too windy so should get a lot out
:06:07. > :06:11.feeding tonight around the lake and around the tree lines. Steve does a
:06:11. > :06:16.lot of work helping to get injured bats back into the wild so he's able
:06:16. > :06:19.to show me a couple up close. First the tiny Pipistrelle. The mythology
:06:20. > :06:27.which surrounds these fantastic mammals means they tend to be a bit
:06:27. > :06:31.unloved, even feared. How can you be scared of this? He is quite ugly.He
:06:31. > :06:36.is stunning. A fantastic animal. He is just interested in feeding on
:06:36. > :06:40.insects. He will eat about 3,000 a night. When he's flying close to
:06:40. > :06:47.people it's cos of the midges. up is an injured Noctule, Britain's
:06:47. > :06:51.largest bat. See the mouth going? She's echo locating. She's shivering
:06:52. > :06:56.but that's just her warming up as if she was ready to fly off and get
:06:56. > :07:04.hunting but she doesn't need to. She gets a supply of food from me, of
:07:04. > :07:10.course. Four different species have been recorded in the park. As
:07:10. > :07:15.darkness falls, Steve's team gathers by the lake. Once people get to see
:07:15. > :07:19.what they look like up close, they get really interested in them.
:07:19. > :07:29.They're a species you can sit in your garden with a glass of wine and
:07:29. > :07:30.
:07:30. > :07:34.watch. They come to you, more or less. What do people feel when they
:07:35. > :07:38.see a bat for the first time? think when they actually see it and
:07:38. > :07:48.they know it's a bat, it tends to get people hooked. I think, wow,
:07:48. > :07:52.
:07:52. > :07:58.look at them fly. They're very A bat detector is just a tool to let
:07:58. > :08:07.us hear the bats. It's got two dials. The first dial, turn it right
:08:07. > :08:10.up, you're going to hear even the quieter bats. The other dial is the
:08:10. > :08:20.frequency range. I normally suggest setting around about 45 kilohertz
:08:20. > :08:21.
:08:21. > :08:31.that's where we'll find most bats tonight. Detectors usually cost from
:08:31. > :08:37.
:08:37. > :08:47.�60 upwards but if you join a bat I got a bat! I got a bat! The sound
:08:47. > :08:58.
:08:58. > :09:06.haven't got a head torch or a bat detector - you've got a fishing rod!
:09:06. > :09:11.Do you fish here often? All the time. And do you see bats?I see
:09:11. > :09:17.them every night. What do you think about bats. They're fantastic.
:09:17. > :09:27.They're fun, nice to see and they're fantastic. You sound like a prime
:09:27. > :09:39.
:09:39. > :09:43.candidate to join the bat club. had an amazing day. I've travelled
:09:43. > :09:53.around and seen so much urban wildlife and here tonight, all those
:09:53. > :09:55.
:09:55. > :10:01.bats, fantastic. Just imagine what's Many of us who like natural history
:10:01. > :10:06.fancy ourselves with a camera. But you don't need to go far and wide or
:10:06. > :10:16.spend loads of money. And to try and prove it, Rani Price spent a day on
:10:16. > :10:20.
:10:20. > :10:24.her home patch, to see if she could When I was growing up here in
:10:24. > :10:27.Liverpool, I never thought of it as a haven for wildlife. But it seems
:10:28. > :10:31.I've been walking round with my eyes shut. All across the city there are
:10:31. > :10:36.places where flora and fauna thrive, and I'm going to try and find some
:10:37. > :10:41.of them. Helping me to appreciate the finer points of all things
:10:41. > :10:51.natural is Steve Round, a professional wildlife photographer.
:10:51. > :10:59.
:10:59. > :11:03.basic skills of his trade. Poor fella - he hasn't got a clue what
:11:03. > :11:08.he's let himself in for! I'm not the best photographer. I'm
:11:08. > :11:18.closer to the worst. Sometimes heads missing, don't always catch the shot
:11:18. > :11:19.
:11:19. > :11:23.and I'm not very patient. Am I going to be a great wildlife photographer
:11:23. > :11:26.today, Steve? It takes more than a day to become a great wildlife
:11:26. > :11:30.photographer but I can certainly show you the first steps to getting
:11:30. > :11:32.there. When we talk about being in the city, where are we going to find
:11:33. > :11:35.wildlife? Any parks, gardens, anywhere where there's water will
:11:35. > :11:39.attract wildlife. The M62 isn't what I'd call green
:11:39. > :11:44.but right next to where it arrives in Liverpool, and not many people
:11:44. > :11:51.know this, is the fabulous National Wildflower Centre. It's a showcase
:11:51. > :11:55.for Britain's wild flower heritage and about as green as you can get.
:11:55. > :11:58.This was a derelict building site when we took it on. This has all
:11:58. > :12:01.been planned and planted to deliberately look like this.
:12:01. > :12:05.you've actually planted wild flowers? Yes, all of these were
:12:05. > :12:09.planted. Once you've planted wild flowers, how much do you need to do
:12:09. > :12:13.to keep them maintained? Or is that the idea, they just grow wild?
:12:13. > :12:17.do grow wild but they do need some sort of management. They will need
:12:17. > :12:20.cutting every year but they are left pretty much to their own devices.
:12:20. > :12:26.The centre is popular with local schools and I soon become an
:12:26. > :12:34.honorary member of 1D, Hope Primary school in Huyton. This lives in the
:12:34. > :12:44.water. It's called a newt. Look underneath, it's got a spotty belly.
:12:44. > :12:47.
:12:47. > :12:53.Oh, no, it's going to jump! The frog was quite soggy and slimy.
:12:53. > :13:01.spotty! Is that what you remember about it? Did he have big eyes?
:13:01. > :13:05.Middle size! Middle-size eyes! As much as I'm enjoying the chat
:13:05. > :13:08.with my new mates, Darcy and Wade, I am actually here to learn the first
:13:08. > :13:13.lessons of wildlife photography.Sort out which camera you're going to
:13:13. > :13:16.use. This is a digital SLR. When you look you'll see a small square in
:13:17. > :13:20.the middle when you look through the viewfinder and if you get that small
:13:20. > :13:24.square on the point you want to take the picture of, whether it's a
:13:24. > :13:34.flower or a bird or a squirrel or whatever. I'm thinking we're going
:13:34. > :13:42.
:13:42. > :13:47.to start small, start with things Move a little bit closer. Right. Oh,
:13:48. > :13:57.yes, that looks nice. Take a few, you can always delete ones you don't
:13:58. > :14:14.
:14:14. > :14:23.predict the next flower it's going to and then be ready. Where are you?
:14:23. > :14:33.I'm clicking and it's out of focus. I got the bee on the flower. Bee on
:14:33. > :14:43.
:14:43. > :14:52.Just fire any time? If you see something worth taking a picture of.
:14:52. > :14:57.Here's a couple of hawk moths. not sure I know exactly what I'm
:14:57. > :15:07.taking the picture of. I'm just snapping away, it's my technique. If
:15:07. > :15:12.
:15:12. > :15:15.it works, hey ho. Look at me, check It's time to leave the security of
:15:15. > :15:25.the Wildflower Centre and head out into my own Urban Jungle, a
:15:25. > :15:35.
:15:35. > :15:39.Just about every town and city has a park and Liverpool has one of the
:15:39. > :15:45.best. This is Sefton Park, a magnificent 235 acre oasis of green,
:15:45. > :15:55.between Toxteth and Mossley Hill. And the place is teeming with
:15:55. > :15:58.
:15:58. > :16:08.There's tonnes to see here - all sorts of animals and birds,
:16:08. > :16:08.
:16:09. > :16:13.including woodpeckers and even parakeets! It is fabulous for
:16:14. > :16:17.wildlife. It is a great asset. And all this and to think we're just ten
:16:17. > :16:20.or 15 minutes from the city centre, from the thriving metropolis of
:16:20. > :16:24.Liverpool. And we've got all this wildlife here and it's living in
:16:24. > :16:29.perfect harmony. On the lake at the moment, we've got our swans, our
:16:29. > :16:37.baby cygnets, which are absolutely beautiful. Little grebe, crested
:16:37. > :16:47.grebe, coots, moorhens, which are nesting at the moment. Ducks galore.
:16:47. > :16:50.
:16:50. > :16:55.And for wildlife photography as Grebe but have to admit they are
:16:55. > :17:00.stunning. The mother is carrying two tiny chicks on her back. How cute is
:17:00. > :17:05.that! Unfortunately they are a bit far away.
:17:05. > :17:15.This is somewhere I want to get wet and get right in there. What can I
:17:15. > :17:15.
:17:15. > :17:25.do? A bigger lens. Only answer is a big lens. You need a proper big
:17:25. > :17:33.
:17:33. > :17:37.lens. Apparently this is a 500. I've Swans are just as lovely and Steve
:17:37. > :17:46.gives me another top tip. You don't want to be taking a shot straight
:17:46. > :17:56.down. You want to be at their level. The closer you are to water, the
:17:56. > :18:07.
:18:07. > :18:11.better. You're sort of going into - the fast-moving squirrels. But I
:18:11. > :18:17.have a cunning plan - I've brought monkey nuts!
:18:18. > :18:27.Here's one! Don't get excited! Take the picture, Rani!
:18:28. > :18:32.
:18:32. > :18:42.Where have you gone? They're really fast. I'm ready.
:18:42. > :18:44.
:18:44. > :18:54.Oh my goodness. I've got half of one, an action shot.
:18:54. > :18:59.
:18:59. > :19:05.Here's one right behind. Go for the eye. He's scratching! He's gone.
:19:05. > :19:11.My day complete, it's time to get Steve's verdict. I've learned a lot.
:19:11. > :19:19.Simple things like just try to get very low and get them in focus.
:19:19. > :19:22.you've done it. Thank you. I look forward to seeing the best ones.
:19:22. > :19:24.His top tips - no matter what your standard.
:19:24. > :19:29.Choose your backgrounds carefully - avoid distractions.
:19:29. > :19:39.Compose your shot - try to isolate the subject.
:19:39. > :19:39.
:19:39. > :19:43.Try to get down to animal eye level, Now Rani and Steve had some pretty
:19:43. > :19:48.nifty gear there but you don't need to spend a fortune to get good
:19:48. > :19:57.images. If you want some tips, or better still, if you'd like to send
:19:57. > :20:02.us some of your pictures - then go to bbc.co.uk/summerofwildlife.
:20:02. > :20:05.There's some great information there for you.
:20:05. > :20:11.All across the North West, wildlife is making its home in urban
:20:11. > :20:16.locations. Did you know there's a colony of terns in Preston? Or that
:20:16. > :20:19.there's a nature reserve in the shadow of Heysham Power Station? And
:20:19. > :20:29.then there's Warrington, a town with more than a few surprises, lots of
:20:29. > :20:30.
:20:31. > :20:34.badgers, and also home to a woman on With a population of almost quarter
:20:34. > :20:38.of a million, Warrington is one of the biggest and busiest towns in the
:20:38. > :20:43.North west of England. It's also got plenty of wildlife to enjoy.
:20:43. > :20:46.However, not everything in the garden is rosy. Despite the fact
:20:46. > :20:52.most urban wildlife appears to be on the increase, there is one
:20:52. > :20:55.traditional town dweller that appears to be in a bit of trouble.
:20:55. > :21:05.This little fella is among our favourite garden visitors but
:21:05. > :21:07.
:21:07. > :21:11.they're fast disappearing. 60 years ago, there were 35 million
:21:11. > :21:17.hedgehogs in this country. Today there is only one million and that
:21:17. > :21:20.number is falling. They could disappear in this country by 2025.
:21:20. > :21:24.Virginia Jones was so upset by the plight of the hedgehog that she
:21:24. > :21:27.decided to do something about it. She's been running a rescue centre
:21:27. > :21:35.from a garage in Fearnhead for the past five years.
:21:35. > :21:42.I get approximately 250 hedgehogs through here every year. About 85%
:21:42. > :21:46.of those make it and are rehabilitated back to the wild.
:21:46. > :21:49.Just days before I went to meet her, Virginia took in a very special
:21:49. > :21:56.delivery - six baby hoglets, abandoned by their mother when their
:21:56. > :22:01.nest was destroyed by dogs. I've got the scary job of feeding one of
:22:01. > :22:04.these tiny, vulnerable creatures. This is not cow's milk, it's a
:22:04. > :22:13.special formula. Hedgehogs are lactose intolerant. They should
:22:13. > :22:20.never be given cow's milk. Get the point in. Now gently, gently,
:22:20. > :22:27.depress the plunger. Very gently. Very hungry. How you finding it?
:22:27. > :22:30.It's a big responsibility. I'd probably be a nervous wreck after a
:22:30. > :22:35.couple of days of doing this! I have to stress, please don't try
:22:35. > :22:42.this at home. If you find an injured hedgehog take it to the vet or a
:22:42. > :22:46.rescue centre. The babies may look cute but we always have to remember
:22:46. > :22:49.that they are wild animals and they should be living out in their own
:22:49. > :22:53.environment. Seeing a hedgehog in your garden is a great buzz and it's
:22:53. > :22:56.still not too late to help them. Try putting out food - Virginia
:22:57. > :23:01.recommends cat or dog food and water, but definitely not milk. It's
:23:01. > :23:06.also crucial to leave gaps in, or under, your garden fence. Hedgehogs
:23:06. > :23:09.need to cover about eight gardens a night to get enough food. And try
:23:09. > :23:19.installing a night vision camera - you'll love the hedgehog shots, and
:23:19. > :23:20.
:23:20. > :23:26.as Virginia found, you may even get But there are success stories too
:23:26. > :23:30.and close to the middle of town, I've made a fantastic discovery.
:23:30. > :23:36.This is a typical sand martin colony, set up on a steep sand bank
:23:36. > :23:44.close to water. Now they normally like to live in rural areas but this
:23:44. > :23:49.colony have chosen to live outside a chemical factory in Warrington.
:23:49. > :23:52.There's heavy traffic on land and on water. But somehow these tiny
:23:52. > :23:57.visitors who've come all the way from southern Africa have slipped
:23:57. > :24:00.under the radar, of even the most watchful eyes. Have you noticed
:24:00. > :24:07.anything interesting terms of the birds and wildlife here? Mainly the
:24:07. > :24:10.ducks, the swans, foxes definitely. Have you ever noticed that, that
:24:10. > :24:20.embankment, and nesting in that sandbank are a few pairs of sand
:24:20. > :24:23.martins, like brown swallows? Have you ever noticed them? No, no, no.
:24:23. > :24:27.A party from Rumworth School in Bolton is on an educational visit to
:24:27. > :24:33.the factory. I don't think they were expecting a natural history lesson
:24:33. > :24:38.about bird migration. They must be exhausted cos look have far they've
:24:38. > :24:41.travelled from Africa to here! astonished that a species of bird
:24:41. > :24:49.could live so close to an industrial area and still fly there without
:24:49. > :24:55.being affected by it. Look behind you, there's a buzzard. That big
:24:55. > :25:01.bird of prey, see it now? Ddid you know they're the most common bird of
:25:01. > :25:08.prey in Britain? Have you ever seen buzzards before? I've heard of them
:25:08. > :25:11.but never seen one. I invite the lads to get a closer
:25:11. > :25:14.look through my binoculars but our view is interrupted by one of the
:25:14. > :25:18.more unusual hazards of urban birding! That's a sand martin, and
:25:18. > :25:28.here's another one heading left, and here comes a big ship to ruin our
:25:28. > :25:29.
:25:29. > :25:35.pictures were taken? In a forest? In the heart of the country? No, all
:25:35. > :25:40.this footage was shot in suburban gardens in Cheshire. Badgers and
:25:40. > :25:43.foxes are closer than you think. Especially if you live in
:25:44. > :25:46.Warrington! I'm really keen to see an urban badger so I'm going to meet
:25:46. > :25:52.the Lynch family. They've been getting regular visits for over
:25:52. > :25:55.three years. The first time I saw the badger he was in next door's
:25:56. > :25:59.garden in the compost heap and I ran and grabbed my camcorder. I couldn't
:25:59. > :26:03.believe what I was seeing and I captured the footage here - you can
:26:03. > :26:11.see. He came through the fence into our garden. I couldn't believe it.
:26:11. > :26:14.I'd never seen badgers here before. Sometimes we're almost blase about
:26:14. > :26:19.the fact that we have badgers coming every evening almost. It's
:26:19. > :26:25.brilliant, isn't it? Yes, cos when they come and it's quite early I can
:26:25. > :26:29.usually sit for ages watching them. Very occasionally they've had more
:26:29. > :26:32.than one badger feeding on the patio but usually it's just one, normally
:26:32. > :26:42.around 9pm. Paul and Joe find that peanuts are the badgers' favourite
:26:42. > :26:46.
:26:46. > :26:56.food and tonight I'm hoping they'll still no sign of the badger. Joe's
:26:56. > :27:22.
:27:22. > :27:26.she came! She was here so briefly. She came right to the patio. The
:27:26. > :27:29.thing is we have a cameraman at the top of the patio, she might have
:27:29. > :27:39.detected his presence. Maybe smelled the hide or something and ran
:27:39. > :27:41.
:27:41. > :27:44.straight off, but we got the shot! wildlife can be a brilliant thing to
:27:44. > :27:49.do, but it can also be highly unpredictable. That's why these
:27:49. > :27:53.things are really useful. They're called trail cams and basically they
:27:53. > :28:01.start filming whenever something passes through the beam. They're
:28:01. > :28:04.relatively cheap and very easy to use. Even I can work one!
:28:04. > :28:11.In fact it was a trail cam which captured our Warrington badger,
:28:11. > :28:15.returning for her peanuts at 2.26am, long after we'd all gone to bed!
:28:15. > :28:19.Well, we've come to the end of our trip round our very own Urban Jungle
:28:19. > :28:25.and I really hope you enjoyed it. Remember, if you want more tips and