Yorkshire & Lincolnshire Urban Jungle

how close you are to the natural world. Even in this, the most urban

environment. There are so many natural wonders in our towns and

cities. It is a shame more of us can't take time out of our busy

lives to stop and discover what is city, you might be surprised to find

just how easy it is to get back to Keeley Donovan ventures into a

graveyard after dark to catch some winged beauties. I'm starting my

exploration from here, Sheffield, the city of steel. I'm less than

half a mile from the city centre. So you can't get more urban than this.

This is the River Don which runs through the city centre and these

are our bait to catch a glimpse of a colourful winged hunter. It is

bright blue, orange and at the top of most people's must-see bird list.

We are on the hunt for the kingfisher, slap bang in the middle

of Sheffield. This bird can be elusive. I have been staking out

this stretch of water for two mornings and so far, all we have

caught is two fleeting glimpses. Here it is flitting over the water.

We just need it to stop so we can get a good look. At last, got it!

After seven hours, we have got a kingfisher perched on a snag in

front of us. Fantastic! All we have had is the kingfishers whizzing

up-and-down. He's just flitted around. I can tell the kingfisher is

definitely a male. I know that because if you look at his bill,

there is the upper mandible, the top part, and the lower mandible, the

lower part. The lower mandible is all black. Females have a red base.

As brilliant a hunter as the kingfisher might be, it is not at

the top of the urban food chain because it is another potential meal

for the undisputed king of the city skies. In order to catch up with

this fabulous urban predator, I'm going to need the best view the city

can provide. Here, 250 feet up, I'm looking down from a peregrine

falcon's eye view of Sheffield. Half a mile away is my first view of this

magnificent creature. A mating pair has been here for two years. Three

chicks hatched this year and have just left the nest. These pictures

were recorded on a camera which streamed images on the internet. My

guide is Jim Lonsdale, who works at Sheffield University. He installed a

platform to attract the birds. It is not long before we see them in

action. One of the adults has just made a kill with the hungry young in

hot pursuit. It has some food. Three peregrines are chasing it. Oh, food

pass, fantastic! Wildlife spotting doesn't get much better than this.

The fastest bird on Earth flying around the city skyline, juveniles

chasing the adult with food. Magic! To the winner, the spoils. Even from

a mile away you can see this falcon tucking into its prey. Their vision

is eight times sharper than the human eye. No birds in Sheffield can

be safe. Somebody once said to me if it flies, a peregrine will eat it.

LAUGHTER Mostly pigeons, but a little greeb, jay. That is an

amazing variety of birds. They are hunting all of these birds within

the limits of Sheffield. I never thought for one minute that I would

be stood here watching peregrine falcons. The thing I like most of

all is watching them fly. They are unbelievable flyers. Yeah.We got

two chicks last year. They fledged successfully. This year, four again,

but only three hatched. When did they fledge? Ten days ago.At the

moment, they are following their parents, flying around? Yeah,

getting more adventurous and going further afield day-by-day. It is not

a case of peregrines having to adapt to this urban environment as it

could have been designed for them. No threats from anxious gamekeepers

and buildings that mimic the cliffs that their rural cousins inhabit. Of

course, an endless supply of food. I have come back to the River Don to

see some more birds that have adapted to a city landscape.

Sandmartins usually nest in sandbanks, but they are at home in

these old factory drainage pipes, too. Pollution from the heavy

industry used to render the River Don uninhabitable for wildlife.

Today, big firms pay to keep it clean. A steel mill might be the

last place you would expect to be wildlife friendly. Just down here, I

am looking at a tiny blue-tailed damsel fly. It is a damsel fly

because its wings are rested behind its back. It's got a blue tip to its

abdomen and this one, right here, is a female and I know that because it

is laying eggs under the leaf. This unlikely wildlife oasis is slap bang

in the middle of forge master, one of the biggest foundries in

Sheffield. It is inviting nature into an industrial area. It is a

nice place for employers to come and use on their breaks and lunch time.

It is a nice place to come and escape. We have sandmartins at the

moment nesting, butterflies and we have had otters spotted on sight as

well. Otter?Yes. On sight here?-- on the site here? That's right.

on the five weirs walk. It opened five years ago, creating a wildlife

corridor through Sheffield's industrial heartland. It only came

about by chance in the mid-'80s. was working as a town planner. One

lunch time, myself and a couple of colleagues scrambled down a gap

between the bridge and the factory to have a look at the river and we

came across this 16th Century weir. We thought this is amazing. Why

can't people visit this? From that, we decided to set a trust up.

years later, after millions of pounds were raised, the walk was

finally opened in 2008. It is beyond what we could have dreamed, really.

It's been so satisfying and so rewarding to see the river coming

back to life, nature does most of it, but being able to help it along.

Keeping the Don clean is a big job for volunteers working with the

river stewardship company. The focus is on the River Don. This bankside

vegetation is really important as well? It provides refuge for a lot

of wildlife. It was a habitat that was lost for long periods of time?

Most of this section isn't natural anymore and the banks have been

build-up so the native vegetation has been squeezed into such a small

area now. Before, it would have spread for quite a way from the Don.

We have a nice woodland and aquatic plants in front of us? We have some

nice figwort here. Yeah, it's really good for the insects as a food

source. You have some nasty aliens as well? Yes. That is one of the

jobs that the volunteers are doing down here, helping to eradicate the

Japanese knotweed. If we were to leave the banks here, all of this

bank would be covered in nothing but knotweed. What is the plant life

like in the river? This section of the Don is coated in water crowfoot.

You can see these beautiful white flowers. This is the most wonderful

sign the river is in a healthy state. It will be full of

invertebrates which are food for loads of other animals. We could be

in the Peak District, but if you glance over that wall, it's

industry! We are in the heart of the industrial belt. The health of the

Don must be reflected by what swims in it. Tony Richardson has known the

river for more than 50 years and remembers when the water ran orange

with industrial pollution. How's it going? Well, I have caught these in

20 minutes. Beautiful. Look at that. Fabulous. Lovely. That beautiful

long dorsel fin. They are gorgeous fish. Beautiful fish. They just like

the freshest of fresh water and they will not live in any pollution. I

used to spend a lot of money going out to Lincolnshire or North

Yorkshire, or on the Trent. Now I don't have to. This is just ten

minutes away from where I live. It is good. It doesn't cost me anything

in petrol! What is a good day's fishing? A good day for me - in

three hours I could have about 25 to 30 fish and they are all decent

fish. They are all like this, sometimes. So I will leave Tony to

liberate his catch back into the Don to ensure they live to fight another

day. I'm at a secret location and we have been given a tip-off about a

badger sett backing on to some gardens. Just behind me, the sun is

setting so the badgers will emerge soon. So we will have to get into

position quick. This is a really good indication that the woods are

being used by badgers. It is one of their tracks and runs between

feeding areas and their sett. They are creatures of habit. This is a

good sign. These woods are surrounded by housing on all sides.

Most of the people living here will have no idea who their nocturnal

neighbours are. We are getting close to the sett now. I will have to do

something I very rarely do - whisper! Badger watching is not just

about being patient and silent. You need to be lucky, too. If the wind

is in the wrong direction, they will smell you and you have no chance.

But tonight we are downwind of the sett so our scent doesn't carry

which is a good job as a badger's sense of smell is 800 times more

sensitive than ours. Finally, after hours of waiting, the midge bites

seem worth it as we are 25 feet away when a badger emerges. It looks like

a large male. That is a big adult badger. It's such a thrill to see

such a large animal thriving in our towns and cities. And another treat

- Mrs Badger then emerges to have a look and to sniff. It may be there

are cubs inside but we don't get to meet the whole family, sadly. That

is it from Sheffield and I have to say what a cast of wildlife

characters. Keeley Donovan has been to another green oasis in the heart

of urban Yorkshire, which hundreds of commuters pass right by every day

often without as much as a second It's amazing just how much you can

miss on your daily commute. Even on a journey you have made every day

for years, as you hurry to work there might be some natural wonders

you have overlooked a few paces away. That's exactly why I have come

to Shipley station just minutes from Bradford. If it wasn't for the

efforts of one woman, this small unremarkable piece of land, about

the size of a tennis court, it wouldn't be here at all. Artist and

naturalist Susan Stead has spent the last two decades defending this

meadow. Hello. Hello.Nice to meet you. You have chosen a beautiful day

for it. I have.You capturing the blues? The blue is the common blue

butterfly that is anything but common in these parts. It's the

meadow's star turn. I have arrived and I nearly missed it. How did you

stumble across it? In 1988 there was a small paragraph about blue

butterflies in Shipley station. Apparently, somebody had been

tidying up part of the station and pulling up yellow buds which the

blues feed on. I then decided to come down here and investigate and

at that time, this field here was part of a huge big meadow.

Eventually British Rail was persuaded not to use what was left

of the land for car parking and Susan Stead's campaign culminated in

David Bellamy opening the Shipley station butterfly meadow 20 years

ago this summer. The meadow is only open to the public on a few days

every year because of the fragility of the habitat. More than 50 kinds

of plants have been found here and 14 species of butterflies and moths.

Because of the cold spring, only three had so far emerged, including

the common blue and the meadow brown. Why is it so important to

keep this meadow? We shouldn't have to damage a wonderful wildlife area

like this for a car park. The common blue is one of the species which is

very down in number throughout the UK, as a lot of species are. And we

need to conserve as many areas as we can for butterflies and plants

because we are losing a lot of our wildlife. So, this little oasis of

meadowland remains here by chance and the wildlife exists hemmed in by

tarmac and largely unnoticed by the station's busy travellers.

As the light fades, I have come to York to see if I can find some

creatures who prefer the night. I don't normally spend my evenings in

graveyards, but I am told this place really comes alive after dark. I'm

about to go trapping with moth expert David Chesmore. It is very

bright here in the graveyard in the dead of night. What have you got set

up here? It is an ultraviolet light which attracts the moths. They don't

all come out at night. There is quite a lot of daytime flying moths.

What is the difference between a moth and a butterfly? There isn't

really. The difference is supposed to be that the butterfly rests with

its wings up and the moths with its wings down. There are exceptions.

is not long before the light has brought in some flying visitors.

This pretty little creature is called a swallowtail. I thought all

moths were just brown and boring. It is one of 1,800 varieties of moth

that we have here in Yorkshire. It is 11.30pm and we must have caught

or seen about 15 to 20 different varieties of moth. That is just in

the last hour. We are going to give it the course of the night and come

back first thing to see what else we have got. As York wakes up and gets

on the move, I'm on my way to see what's in the moth trap. The

graveyard is a great natural habitat because it's remained untouch for

nearly 200 years. Morning, David. Good morning. So, what have we got?

Despite the temperature dropping to 10 Celsius, there are still some

wonderful moths. This is a burnished brass. It is gripping to my hand.It

is warming itself up getting ready to fly. Take a look at this guy.

Absolutely beautiful. This is my favourite. The garden tiger. It is

quite docile because it's cool but it is going to warm itself up on my

hand. It's been a very cold spring, so a lot of moths have been delayed

a lot. We haven't seen that many moths so far this year. The numbers

are building up. Not all moths are welcome. This horse chestnut could

be seriously damaged by them. one of these blotches is a

caterpillar living inside the leaf. In there? These are tiny moths.Just

about make them out. Do they destroy the tree? It causes loss because

these little moths, every successive generation, about three generations

a year will mind different parts of the leaf. So the leaves go brown and

they drop off. And can't take in sunlight? No.So, what have I found

out about butterflies and moths? Butterflies like to fly during the

day, although some don't. Moths prefer to fly at night, although

some of them prefer to fly during the day. So I am confused! What I do

know is they are beautiful, fascinating and diverse creatures

that you can find in your own back garden. You need to take time out to

marvel at them. Mike's travelled from South to East

Yorkshire for our final look at the wildlife you might find in your

urban area. This is Prince's Avenue, one of the

main thoroughfares into and out of Hull. It's also just two minutes

from an aquatic oasis teeming with I have not come here to see a man

swimming in his garden pond. I am here to catch up with these little

fellas who share it with him! you coming in? The water is lovely.

Bill Marsden has spent tens of thousands of pounds building this

swimming pond so he could share his daily dip with newts and other

amphibians. Come on, tell me how this crazy garden pond came about?

had a bit of money. We decided what could we do that is different?

have planted all these native plants around? All the planting around the

edges provide what is necessary to make the water sweet. It is

effectively rain water. The wildlife responded immediately? Nothing has

been introduced. When we first set up the pond, we filled it to check

that there was no leaks and we heard these plop, plop, plop from above.

It was beetles. They had seen the water. They were flying up there and

they were all diving in. It was amazing. Lots of aquatic insects.

The stars, of course, are the newts. There are thousands of newts. In the

breeding season, you would put in a net and you would come up as many as

you like. We should swim off and find a few. Let's do that.The water

is quite clear, but even so, it is hard to get close enough for a

really good look without frightening the newts away. So we have put some

in a tank to give you a closer look. These are smooth newts. They are in

their breeding finery there. The males are fabulous creatures. They

have a crest, starting behind the head and going all the way right

down to the tip of the tail. The females are a bit more understated.

The male uses that crest and his tail to waft in front of the female

to beguile her, to get her all excited so they can mate and the

female, during the breeding season, will probably lay up to 200 eggs. It

is not like frogs where they lay a mass of eggs together. The female

will lay individual eggs. The most amazing thing is people think the

newts spend their lives in the water. It spends far more time on

dry land. I have to say this is just about the best wildlife garden pond

I have ever seen. It's astonishing how much is in here.

Bill has had enough for one day. But he and his wife can come back any

time they choose. And I have got pond envy!

Having dried off and warmed up, I'm after some wildlife that flies

rather than swims. But this little chap has had a few problems with his

usual mode of transport. He's been rescued by the East Yorkshire Bat

Group. He is called Lazy Boy. He is like me. He is a bit reluctant to go

to the gym and, in his case, he is reluctant to fly. A member of the

public found him on a road in a village outside of Hull and they

rang up because if you see a bat during the daytime, they probably

need your help. Any chance we can have a look at his wing? Is that

possible? They are just so beautiful. There we go.Look at

that. Look how fine his wing actually is. On the leading edge,

that is his thumb? Yeah.The rest is fingers of a hand and the skin is

stretched between them. That's right. He's got the same bones that

we have got in our hands. His fingers are incredibly long. I think

we should see some bats in the wild. Let's make a move. Let's do it!

Let's go batting! Joining us is a group of fellow bat

spotters and we are heading for a nearby park that's ideal for these

wonderful flying mammals. There you go. Which species are these? These

will be common pipistrelles. These are very clever bits of kit?

Amazing. They turn the ultrasound that the bats are making during echo

location audible so we can hear it. There you go. A bat phone!LAUGHTER

Armed with our bat detectors we can hear them, but we want to see them,

too. Woah! Straight past us. There we go. One near the water. Woah!

That was within a metre of my nose. Very close. LAUGHTER They are

whizzing over our heads. What did you get there? Common pipistrelle.

Feeding buzz. Explain a feeding buzz? It sounds like a raspberry!

Somebody blowing a raspberry. If they are coming into feed, that is

the noise they will make. Every single road around this park is

stacked with houses and they act as perfect roosts for the bats in the

park. They have the bed and in here, they have the breakfast, or evening

meal? If you have a snack bar at the end of your street, why would you

travel any further? That is what this park is providing for the bats

in the avenues and the streets around here. I have a soprano.

have. I have 55 here. Soprano is coming through. We have changed the

frequency of some of the bat detectors. We have got two different

species. There is the pipistrelle calling at 45 and another species at

55, the soprano pipistrelle. Early the next morning, with the sun

not long up, it is time for my final wildlife stakeout. Again, we are

trying to catch a glimpse of another elusive creature. I have come to a

drain which runs through a housing estate a few miles from the centre

of Hull. I'm on the trail of the water vole and have been told they

inhabit the banks of this waterway. I don't think I have seen a stretch

of water with so much litter in. The water itself is really clean. The

vegetation on the banks, it is fabulous habitat for lots of

animals. It is a great wildlife spot. After a four-hour wait, three

of them in the pouring rain, we catch one on camera. Oh, yes! Water

vole. Just briefly swimming between one side of the drain and the other.

You can see its head sticking up and it dips down to its back and its

bottom sticks out. A V-shaped wake behind it. Oh, what a terrific spot!

This is such an elusive mammal. Really hard to catch up with. It

needs patience. Then, two further glimpses. It has been worth the

wait. The water vole has declined across Britain by as much as 95%.

The reasons for this are primarily due to loss of habitat and also

pollution in the river systems. The final nail in the coffin is the

introduction of the American mink that's cleared whole water systems

of their water voles. The one area that they seem to be doing OK is

urban areas like this. Mink really don't like people and dog walkers.