0:00:02 > 0:00:04This is the tale
0:00:04 > 0:00:07of a family of little owls who set up home
0:00:07 > 0:00:09in an old English orchard.
0:00:10 > 0:00:15Perhaps a surprising place for such wild creatures to be.
0:00:18 > 0:00:23A man-made fruit garden is an unlikely wilderness, after all.
0:00:26 > 0:00:31So how will life among the old fruit trees affect the family's fortune?
0:00:42 > 0:00:44The end of winter,
0:00:44 > 0:00:47and this secret part of Herefordshire seems quiet.
0:00:47 > 0:00:50But under the mistletoe, a romance is blossoming.
0:00:50 > 0:00:52Two little owls are in love.
0:00:57 > 0:01:05# You do something to me
0:01:06 > 0:01:13# Something that simply mystifies me
0:01:15 > 0:01:19# Tell me... #
0:01:19 > 0:01:22BIRD SINGS MERRILY
0:01:22 > 0:01:24It's the start of their year.
0:01:24 > 0:01:28Little owl lives, like all living things, are driven by the seasons.
0:01:28 > 0:01:32Their family life is echoed by the annual cycle of the old fruit trees.
0:01:35 > 0:01:40Spring first sweeps into the orchard on a white tide of pear blossom,
0:01:40 > 0:01:42and all seems well.
0:01:47 > 0:01:52There's only one forlorn-looking owl to be seen. Could something have happened to his mate?
0:01:54 > 0:01:58One 300-year-old pear tree hides a secret...
0:02:00 > 0:02:02..the brooding mother.
0:02:02 > 0:02:06She'll have to incubate her eggs for four long weeks.
0:02:09 > 0:02:13While the owls can do nothing but sit and wait,
0:02:13 > 0:02:15the orchard around them bursts into life.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49And suddenly, it's the owl's turn too.
0:02:52 > 0:02:57A tiny white body peeps out from under its mother's wing.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03The first of the owl chicks have hatched at last.
0:03:10 > 0:03:15While the rest of the orchard sleeps at night, the little father has a job to get done.
0:03:15 > 0:03:20His mate and his family depend on him entirely for food.
0:03:20 > 0:03:25While the babies are tiny, the mother has to stay inside and keep them warm.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28Spring nights can be dangerously cold.
0:03:40 > 0:03:45# I'll be with you
0:03:45 > 0:03:52# In apple blossom time... #
0:03:55 > 0:03:59The old orchard is turning out to be a good choice.
0:03:59 > 0:04:05In just a couple of weeks, the tiny white chicks will become grey bundles of fluff.
0:04:08 > 0:04:10Just about feathered and chill-proofed now,
0:04:10 > 0:04:15so both parents can race in the earthworm feeding relay.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24Plump orchard worms slither down a treat.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27But a chaffer beetle is quite a beakful.
0:04:33 > 0:04:37It's not just owl chicks who are putting on weight.
0:04:37 > 0:04:43By the end of May, all the blossom has gone and tiny fruits begin to swell.
0:04:43 > 0:04:45CATTLE BELLOW
0:04:50 > 0:04:54The parents have to hunt night and day to satisfy demand.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01Their chicks love their worms, beetles and moths,
0:05:01 > 0:05:05but they'll also snaffle up mice and even small birds.
0:05:10 > 0:05:15It seems that every egg the mother laid has become a healthy baby.
0:05:17 > 0:05:23Wise little owls - the soil under the old trees have not been ploughed for centuries.
0:05:23 > 0:05:25It's a worm and insect paradise.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28Perfect for rearing a family.
0:05:29 > 0:05:36There are not just three, but five scruffy pom-poms - the full clutch.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43The old orchard is a wildlife haven.
0:05:45 > 0:05:47July, and high summer.
0:05:48 > 0:05:52Easy days for the champion Hereford cattle.
0:05:52 > 0:05:57# Summertime
0:05:57 > 0:06:01# And the livin' is easy
0:06:01 > 0:06:05# Fish are jumpin'
0:06:05 > 0:06:10# And the cotton is high
0:06:12 > 0:06:15# One of these mornings
0:06:15 > 0:06:22# You're gonna rise up singin'
0:06:22 > 0:06:26# Then you'll spread your wings
0:06:26 > 0:06:30# And you'll take to the sky
0:06:31 > 0:06:35# But till that morning
0:06:35 > 0:06:41# There's a-nothin' can harm you
0:06:41 > 0:06:49# With daddy and mamma standing by... #
0:06:50 > 0:06:53Summer season is still busy season for little parents, though.
0:06:53 > 0:06:57Their family are leaving the nest.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01The chicks are still being fed by their parents.
0:07:01 > 0:07:05But soon it will be time for them to leave and fend for themselves.
0:07:14 > 0:07:18Childhood and English summers are never quite long enough.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24By the time the first apples are ripening,
0:07:24 > 0:07:28the owl parents have already said goodbye to their brood.
0:07:30 > 0:07:36Although it might be quiet on the owl front, autumn sees a new burst of activity in the orchard.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41Ripe fruit and seeds means new visitors.
0:08:00 > 0:08:03Though have all the owl family gone?
0:08:04 > 0:08:05Not quite.
0:08:05 > 0:08:11The old orchard proved to be the perfect place for little parents to rear a big family.
0:08:11 > 0:08:15Having found such a good home, they are here to stay.
0:08:17 > 0:08:23- # In the shade of old apple trees - Apple trees
0:08:23 > 0:08:28- # When the love in your eyes I could read- I could read
0:08:28 > 0:08:34# From the wind and a buzz that I heard, like the song of birds
0:08:34 > 0:08:38- # Seems to whisper sweet music to me- Music to me
0:08:38 > 0:08:44- # I could hear dove birds, buzz of the bees- Buzz of the bees
0:08:44 > 0:08:48- # In the blossom as you said to me - Said to me...
0:08:48 > 0:08:51# With a heart that is true
0:08:51 > 0:08:54# I'll be waitin' for you... #
0:08:54 > 0:08:56Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd 2005
0:08:56 > 0:08:59E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk