0:00:20 > 0:00:24This is Wicken Fen Nature Reserve in Cambridgeshire.
0:00:24 > 0:00:27It's a brilliant place, it's somewhere you should come.
0:00:27 > 0:00:31More than 200 different species of birds have been seen here,
0:00:31 > 0:00:3425 different types of mammal live here,
0:00:34 > 0:00:3919 species of dragonfly, and, get this, 1,000 different types of moth.
0:00:39 > 0:00:45Wicken Fen was THE first nature reserve to be bought by the National Trust,
0:00:45 > 0:00:48way back in 1899.
0:00:48 > 0:00:53The 1,500-acre site is a tiny remnant of the watery wilderness
0:00:53 > 0:00:56that once characterised the whole of East Anglia.
0:00:56 > 0:01:01Undoubtedly, one of the best ways to explore these rivers, or loads,
0:01:01 > 0:01:05as this channel is called, is on one of these Fenland longboats.
0:01:05 > 0:01:11You can just gaze down into the clear waters here and literally look into a different world.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15The water supports an abundance of wildlife,
0:01:15 > 0:01:21but I'm looking for one thing in particular - the aerial master of the insect world.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25Now, to find these creatures, like most wildlife,
0:01:25 > 0:01:28one of the best things you can do is to look for the right habitat.
0:01:28 > 0:01:34- Rory Mackenzie Dodds, you've been looking for the right habitat for a long time...- Indeed.- ..and know it.
0:01:34 > 0:01:38- What do you make of this? - It's absolutely brilliant, Chris.
0:01:38 > 0:01:40It's a lovely, lovely site here.
0:01:40 > 0:01:44You've got the three key sorts of plants which are attractive,
0:01:44 > 0:01:49you've got lots of oxygenators in the water, which keep the water nice and clear,
0:01:49 > 0:01:54- and then you've got the surface coverers, like white water lilies... - Looking very nice.- Very nice.
0:01:54 > 0:01:59..and then above those you've got these tall, stemmed plants.
0:01:59 > 0:02:02These are the three key groups which are really attractive habitat.
0:02:02 > 0:02:04- And there... - Right! OK, yes, absolutely.
0:02:04 > 0:02:09It's the star of our show - a dragonfly. Look at that.
0:02:09 > 0:02:12This is the stunning Emperor dragonfly,
0:02:12 > 0:02:19the largest of a family that's been around for 300 million years, much longer than us humans.
0:02:19 > 0:02:21This one is a brown hawker.
0:02:21 > 0:02:26It's decided it's a perfect place for a female brown hawker to lay her eggs,
0:02:26 > 0:02:30so it is guarding this territory, waiting for a female to come along.
0:02:30 > 0:02:38When that happens, he will mate with her, and she will be ready to lay her eggs along both sides of the pond.
0:02:38 > 0:02:41- Good start.- There is a damselfly down here. Two!
0:02:41 > 0:02:45This pair of damselflies are laying their eggs,
0:02:45 > 0:02:50with the male holding onto the female to ensure that no other males muscle in.
0:02:52 > 0:02:54The egg hatches into a nymph,
0:02:54 > 0:02:58which lives underwater for around three years -
0:02:58 > 0:03:01hence the importance of those oxygenating plants -
0:03:01 > 0:03:07before it emerges from the water and sheds its skin to transform into the adult dragonfly.
0:03:08 > 0:03:13This is the dried-out skin of the last aquatic stage of this dragonfly,
0:03:13 > 0:03:17and here is the adult insect that has emerged from it.
0:03:17 > 0:03:19At the moment, it is pumping its wings full of fluid,
0:03:19 > 0:03:22and in the process of drying out.
0:03:22 > 0:03:26But just over here is another one that is a few hours ahead of it.
0:03:26 > 0:03:32Shortly, it will be taking to the wing and starting its process of looking for a mate.
0:03:37 > 0:03:41- Look, a four-spotted chaser. - That is. They're unmistakable.
0:03:41 > 0:03:46What you need to look out for is the four little spots in the middle of each wing.
0:03:46 > 0:03:51- How many species here? Five or six? - Five or six, just dragonflies, yes.
0:03:51 > 0:03:54And there's actually three or four down here.
0:03:54 > 0:03:58There are three of four types of damselfly too.
0:03:58 > 0:04:02And how do you tell the difference between damsels and dragons?
0:04:02 > 0:04:08Effectively damselflies are smaller and more delicate, but there is a trick, Chris, which is
0:04:08 > 0:04:13when you see them land, if they park their wings along their backs...
0:04:13 > 0:04:15- Folded behind? - Folded behind, exactly.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18..the chances are that it is an damselfly.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22If the lay them out flat, like an normal aeroplane, it is a dragonfly.
0:04:22 > 0:04:28- This is dragonfly heaven, isn't it? - It is absolutely perfect.- And yet we're not even on the the reserve.
0:04:28 > 0:04:35- This is just a pond-dipping area for kids.- And they've created a perfect heaven for dragonflies.
0:04:36 > 0:04:41These insects need sunshine to heat up their bodies in order to fly.
0:04:41 > 0:04:44They use their wings as solar panels.
0:04:47 > 0:04:51Now then, what have these children found in a nearby pond?
0:04:54 > 0:04:57- Hello there, James.- Hello. - What have you got, then?
0:04:57 > 0:05:01So far, I've got a great crested newt. I think it's a female.
0:05:01 > 0:05:03It certainly is. What a fantastic animal.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06- Beautiful. Have you seen its belly? - Yeah.
0:05:06 > 0:05:11Lovely and marbled and black underneath. It is a female - it's a bit bigger than the male.
0:05:11 > 0:05:17'The great crested is the largest newt found in Britain, and can live up to 27 years.
0:05:17 > 0:05:21'But it is endangered, so you need a licence to handle it.'
0:05:21 > 0:05:28What a fantastic animal. It just goes to prove what a wealth of wildlife there is here at Wicken.
0:05:28 > 0:05:30Now, here's a little tip.
0:05:30 > 0:05:34Dragonflies often return to the same perching spot,
0:05:34 > 0:05:37so if you're patient and keep still...
0:05:38 > 0:05:42This common dart has been landing on this stick in front of me for some time,
0:05:42 > 0:05:48so I thought I'd stick my finger out and see if he'd choose my finger instead of the stick.
0:05:48 > 0:05:52And it's given me the best views of a dragonfly I've had all day.
0:05:52 > 0:05:54Let's see if he does it one more time.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57Just look at that.
0:05:57 > 0:05:59Oh, it's like having a pet.
0:05:59 > 0:06:04He goes off for a little fly, chases another dragonfly, and then he's back to my hand.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07It's like falconing, but with dragonflies.
0:06:07 > 0:06:09Look at that!
0:06:10 > 0:06:12What a stunning creature.
0:06:15 > 0:06:19Now, this habitat may look perfectly natural to you, but I'm afraid it isn't.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22It's been managed by man for centuries.
0:06:22 > 0:06:26One of the principal uses of an area like this was to cut the sedge for thatch.
0:06:26 > 0:06:29Well, these days that's largely redundant,
0:06:29 > 0:06:33and if we were to leave this area, it would rapidly become woodland.
0:06:33 > 0:06:39It'd be a disaster - we want wetland here - so they've come up with a new way of managing the vegetation.
0:06:39 > 0:06:44I say new, but, in fact, it was happening thousands of years ago,
0:06:44 > 0:06:47when bison and wolves and bears were roaming this land.
0:06:49 > 0:06:52These stunning-looking animals are konik ponies.
0:06:52 > 0:06:57They are one of the closest relatives to the primal ponies that roamed over Europe.
0:06:57 > 0:07:01And the warden, Carol Laidlaw, knows more about these herds than most.
0:07:01 > 0:07:08We've got them here because they're wetland specialists. They're so hardy, and have a placid temperament.
0:07:08 > 0:07:12You need an animal that is not going to be aggressive or bolshy.
0:07:12 > 0:07:14- Just a bit curious. - Just a bit curious, yes.
0:07:14 > 0:07:18They're no respecters of body space, as you can see.
0:07:18 > 0:07:22- But they are here to graze the site? - Yes.- In a traditional fashion.
0:07:22 > 0:07:27The National Trust has a huge expansion project on that is going to last the next hundred years,
0:07:27 > 0:07:34and it is going to become unsustainable to buy machinery and people to manage the land,
0:07:34 > 0:07:38so the best way to do it is to get these guys out to act as natural wardens.
0:07:38 > 0:07:42- They're out 365 days of the year. - 365 days of the year, yep. Rain or shine.
0:07:42 > 0:07:44Rain or shine...
0:07:47 > 0:07:52Beautiful as these animals are, Karen has one important tip for visitors.
0:07:52 > 0:07:59The general advice is, if you want to come and see these horses, um, use binoculars and watch them from afar.
0:07:59 > 0:08:02Don't approach them - these are wild animals and they're not predictable.
0:08:02 > 0:08:08- They're quite curious today, and they're behaving themselves.- Yes. - Let's hope they prosper.
0:08:08 > 0:08:13The National Trust plans to expand this fen over the next hundred years
0:08:13 > 0:08:17until it's 17 miles long, stretching all the way down towards Cambridge.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20What a thought that is.
0:08:24 > 0:08:27Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd - 2006
0:08:27 > 0:08:30E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk