:00:29. > :00:35.From the mountain tops to the valley bottoms, it is
:00:36. > :00:39.home to an astonishing array of wildlife.
:00:40. > :00:45.Habitat loss, climate change and invading species all
:00:46. > :00:50.taking their toll on some of our best-loved creatures.
:00:51. > :00:56.From red squirrels to water voles, our wildlife is feeling the heat.
:00:57. > :01:00.But with a little help, things can be turned around.
:01:01. > :01:02.In this wildlife edition of Countryfile,
:01:03. > :01:07.we'll be looking at the fortunes of some of our most endangered species.
:01:08. > :01:10.And some of the animals lost a long time ago,
:01:11. > :01:20.We'll also be having another look at some of the wildlife winners
:01:21. > :01:24.and losers we featured on Countryfile in the past.
:01:25. > :01:34.you'd probably have big teeth like that, as well.
:01:35. > :01:38.Can't help but feel a bit of an adrenaline tingle as you go in.
:01:39. > :02:05.I've come to the Wildwood Trust in Kent, an animal charity that's
:02:06. > :02:13.the perfect backdrop to explore our wildlife winners and losers.
:02:14. > :02:21.just a few miles inland from Herne Bay on the Kent coast.
:02:22. > :02:24.It's been going since the late '90s and
:02:25. > :02:28.since that time has been in the vanguard of wildlife conservation.
:02:29. > :02:35.and wild cats are just some of the endangered animals to be found here.
:02:36. > :02:41.But there's one animal really making waves. The beaver.
:02:42. > :02:47.but were hunted to extinction 400 years ago.
:02:48. > :02:52.Slowly but surely, they are making a comeback.
:02:53. > :02:56.So Pete, what's the national picture for where we are with our beavers?
:02:57. > :03:01.Well, beavers have been returned in a number of projects,
:03:02. > :03:04.There's the wonderful project of Knapdale
:03:05. > :03:06.and of course then there's the River Tay,
:03:07. > :03:10.where they've escaped from some captive situations and over
:03:11. > :03:26.and thinking that they're disrupting our river management.
:03:27. > :03:31.What's the reply to that? The beaver will save us money.
:03:32. > :03:35.They can help get rid of pollutants, nitrates, phosphates,
:03:36. > :03:41.But of course, they cause little problems to individual landowners
:03:42. > :03:49.When beavers burrow into river banks and open up little
:03:50. > :03:52.wildlife ponds, they create a beautiful nature reserve
:03:53. > :03:59.all along the river where it's wild, so that's fantastic for wildlife.
:04:00. > :04:03.And there's one particular creature that Pete reckons will become
:04:04. > :04:09.We'll find out which that is in just a few minutes.
:04:10. > :04:12.Before then, let's take a look back at the time Julia ventured
:04:13. > :04:15.out into the snowy Yorkshire Dales in search of one of our most
:04:16. > :04:27.I'm meeting wildlife photographer Simon Phillpotts at a spot
:04:28. > :04:34.Hi, Julia. Hiya. I'm ready for my masterclass.
:04:35. > :04:37.Lovely to meet you as well. So you've got all the kit, I see.
:04:38. > :04:40.Yes, we're already to go, so that one is yours, the big one there.
:04:41. > :04:42.Is it really? Yeah. Oh, I feel very privileged.
:04:43. > :04:46.I'm also hoping to get my first snap of a red squirrel.
:04:47. > :04:52.No, not really. This is the best location in terms of light
:04:53. > :04:56.because it's quite open woodland and the squirrels really don't mind.
:04:57. > :05:01.As long as they can come and find their food, they're happy.
:05:02. > :05:07.Yes, well, this is actually quite a young pine forest, so in terms
:05:08. > :05:11.of natural food, a lot of the cones aren't fully developed yet, so they
:05:12. > :05:15.do need some supplementary feeding to help them through the winter.
:05:16. > :05:19.Is this camera idiot-proof? Yeah, we're all ready to go.
:05:20. > :05:24.Now, all you're going to have to do is make sure you get the centre
:05:25. > :05:28.focus point on the squirrel, then you can fire away.
:05:29. > :05:44.But the birds are definitely enjoying the free banquet.
:05:45. > :06:01.Here he goes. Oh, come on, little cheeky thing.
:06:02. > :06:06.In just a few minutes, three or four are running around.
:06:07. > :06:10.They're quick movers, aren't they? They do a sort of a smash-and-grab.
:06:11. > :06:12.They come and get the nut and then they're off.
:06:13. > :06:15.They'll just come and grab a hazelnut and then they'll take it away
:06:16. > :06:23.and put it in a private store, hidden away from all the other squirrels.
:06:24. > :06:26.They're so quick, all I seem to catch are a bushy red tail.
:06:27. > :06:34.It would be nice if at least one posed for me!
:06:35. > :06:43.There we go. If only he would just turn around!
:06:44. > :06:48.Oh, that's a beautiful pose. Showing off now! Oh, yes. They do.
:06:49. > :07:02.But what's the future for red squirrels in Yorkshire?
:07:03. > :07:04.At the moment, greys are mainly southerners,
:07:05. > :07:09.whilst the reds cling on to more northern locations.
:07:10. > :07:13.A front-line now runs right through the Yorkshire Dales.
:07:14. > :07:15.Simon is part of a new group that wants to make
:07:16. > :07:19.more of the area's red squirrel territory.
:07:20. > :07:22.Another member of the group living right on the grey squirrel
:07:23. > :07:27.So, Anthony, this is such a new squirrel group,
:07:28. > :07:29.you haven't even got a name yet. We haven't, we haven't.
:07:30. > :07:33.So how long have you been here? We've been here just on 20 years now.
:07:34. > :07:37.And what was the squirrel landscape like when you arrived?
:07:38. > :07:42.When we arrived, we had red squirrels up the Dale that way. Yes.
:07:43. > :07:45.We had grey squirrels on that side of us
:07:46. > :07:49.and we took the view that if we could control the greys,
:07:50. > :07:54.and if we were really lucky, we might get a red here.
:07:55. > :08:01.Four years ago, we seemed to have got rid of all the greys
:08:02. > :08:08.Shortly after that, we had two reds, then we started having litters here.
:08:09. > :08:13.These are the squirrels from that litter, filmed just before the snow.
:08:14. > :08:21.Anthony has helped this farm become a red squirrel stronghold.
:08:22. > :08:30.What is the aim of the group? What's your ambition?
:08:31. > :08:34.We want to get as many of the sort of local people involved as possible
:08:35. > :08:36.so that we can do three things, really.
:08:37. > :08:40.One is to monitor the greys and the reds.
:08:41. > :08:44.The second is to help control the greys and then third thing is
:08:45. > :08:50.to feed and encourage the reds to spread out into the community.
:08:51. > :08:53.One of the most important things that they want to do is encourage
:08:54. > :08:59.locals to report their sightings of both grey and red squirrels.
:09:00. > :09:02.Today, Matt Neal from the Yorkshire Dales National Park has
:09:03. > :09:08.come along to help Anthony set up his own squirrel-monitoring system.
:09:09. > :09:13.Hello there. Hello, hi. Right. That looks like a feeder.
:09:14. > :09:17.The idea of the feeder is to try and attract squirrels to this location.
:09:18. > :09:19.The idea is we're going to try and find out
:09:20. > :09:22.if we've got red squirrels or grey squirrels visiting this location.
:09:23. > :09:24.And have you seen one of these in action before? We haven't.
:09:25. > :09:28.We haven't had one of these here before.
:09:29. > :09:38.now for the hi tech monitoring device - a bit of plastic pipe.
:09:39. > :09:43.And then we've got our sticky pad, OK, so we take the backing off now.
:09:44. > :09:50.And then we push that just up inside in this end.
:09:51. > :09:54.Like so. And you can just see the sticky pad at that end. Yeah. OK?
:09:55. > :09:57.So as the squirrel comes along the branch,
:09:58. > :10:03.Matt's brought along a sample from another site.
:10:04. > :10:13.Yeah, there's lots of shading going on, isn't there?
:10:14. > :10:15.Yeah, so we take them away and examine these parts under
:10:16. > :10:19.a microscope and then that tells us whether it's a red or grey squirrel.
:10:20. > :10:22.These kinds of systems are just so important, aren't they, for you?
:10:23. > :10:24.They are, because if we know if we've got red
:10:25. > :10:27.squirrels or grey squirrels in an area, then that helps us and
:10:28. > :10:30.other bodies advise landowners on the best way to manage woodlands.
:10:31. > :10:34.Future habitat management is going to be one of the key measures
:10:35. > :10:39.to ensuring we have a sustainable red squirrel population.
:10:40. > :10:42.This little box is going to be a fantastic monitoring
:10:43. > :10:46.system to find out, if indeed there are any greys left in the area,
:10:47. > :10:50.how many there are and whether or not it's going to stay red.
:10:51. > :11:03.Plenty of young reds have been seen near the project site this year.
:11:04. > :11:07.Back at the Wildwood Trust animal reserve in Kent, I'm finding out
:11:08. > :11:12.that bringing back beavers could benefit other wildlife.
:11:13. > :11:17.Could that mean dormice? Red squirrels?
:11:18. > :11:24.Actually, it's a river bank favourite. Here's Pete Smith again.
:11:25. > :11:29.They create this, so along every river bank in the country,
:11:30. > :11:33.when we have beavers back, they will create areas like this.
:11:34. > :11:37.You've got reed beds, you've got wet woodland,
:11:38. > :11:41.you've got a complex variety of plants and this is what...
:11:42. > :11:46.All the rare creatures. We have got great crested newts in this pond.
:11:47. > :11:49.We've got emperor dragonfly, we've got water vole.
:11:50. > :11:52.With the water voles, with this kind of habitat,
:11:53. > :11:57.and all the other predators of water voles,
:11:58. > :12:00.so if you want to save water voles, this is the type of habitat we need.
:12:01. > :12:05.Water voles need all the help they can get.
:12:06. > :12:08.They're one of our biggest wildlife losers,
:12:09. > :12:13.with numbers down more than 90% since the 1970s.
:12:14. > :12:16.But wildlife CAN be brought back from the brink, as Matt found out
:12:17. > :12:23.in Dorset when he headed straight for the man-made caves on the coast.
:12:24. > :12:28.These are the extraordinary Beer Quarry Caves, and for millennia
:12:29. > :12:31.people have quarried the soft limestone here.
:12:32. > :12:35.It was the Romans who first took advantage of this natural resource
:12:36. > :12:44.and this seam continued to be exploited up until the 1920s.
:12:45. > :12:47.Its 75 acres of caverns are testimony to the blood, sweat
:12:48. > :12:53.and tears of generations of men, and now the quarry's closed its doors
:12:54. > :12:56.the moist air and constant temperature has enticed another
:12:57. > :13:00.opportunist to take up residence here.
:13:01. > :13:04.Greater horseshoe bats, in their hundreds.
:13:05. > :13:07.They're one of the biggest bat species in Britain
:13:08. > :13:10.and are recognisable by their horseshoe-shaped nose leaf.
:13:11. > :13:12.But all is not well with the great horseshoe.
:13:13. > :13:17.Over the past 100 years their numbers have dropped by 90%,
:13:18. > :13:20.making them an increasingly rare sight.
:13:21. > :13:25.Every year, around 200 greater horseshoes can be
:13:26. > :13:33.in the whole of the UK, which means that this place is
:13:34. > :13:38.one of the most important hibernaculums in the whole country.
:13:39. > :13:42.And they're not the only species to have taken up roost.
:13:43. > :13:47.No less than ten of the UK's 17 species of bat have been found here.
:13:48. > :13:50.And for the past five years Dr Fiona Mathews
:13:51. > :13:54.from Exeter University has been keeping a close eye on them.
:13:55. > :14:01.Do you want to come up and have a look? Is that a bat?
:14:02. > :14:05.and it is absolutely covered in little dewdrops
:14:06. > :14:09.of condensation so it looks like a Christmas tree decoration, really.
:14:10. > :14:13.It's condensation that's caught on its fur
:14:14. > :14:17.and the bat has chosen to come and hibernate down here
:14:18. > :14:20.because it's really damp, and the damper it is,
:14:21. > :14:22.the less often the bat needs to wake up and go and have a drink,
:14:23. > :14:27.so it's actually an adaptation, if you like, to hibernation.
:14:28. > :14:38.and this time it doesn't have the dewdrops on it.
:14:39. > :14:42.It's probably been awake more recently and shaken them off. Right.
:14:43. > :14:45.What these guys are doing is they're trying to surround themselves
:14:46. > :14:52.We know that these sort will tend to hibernate at the front of the caves
:14:53. > :14:56.so they're looking for a temperature that is pretty much like your
:14:57. > :14:59.average fridge because they really don't want to be disturbed.
:15:00. > :15:03.And then you get things like the greater horseshoe bats,
:15:04. > :15:06.in huge numbers, and they'll choose a warmer temperature of cave
:15:07. > :15:08.and they'll be on the move quite often during the winter
:15:09. > :15:11.so they'll be feeding every few days. Right.
:15:12. > :15:27.Because they're so endangered, we think that their numbers
:15:28. > :15:32.have probably declined because these guys are really, really dependent on
:15:33. > :15:36.old pastures and basically the sort of things that are disappearing in
:15:37. > :15:42.the British landscape and what we've been doing is a ringing project.
:15:43. > :15:44.You see here, it's got a little metal ring on its forearm
:15:45. > :15:52.and find out where it is that we've seen this bat before.
:15:53. > :15:58.you'd probably have teeth like that as well! Yeah!
:15:59. > :16:04.It's got this horseshoe-shaped flap of skin on its nose.
:16:05. > :16:07.Well, listen, little man, I think we should let you
:16:08. > :16:23.more horseshoe bats have taken up residence.
:16:24. > :16:26.Here at Wildwood, they're making space for water voles.
:16:27. > :16:31.Each of these cages has a little family of water voles in them.
:16:32. > :16:34.And I'm here to help conservationist Vicky Johnson do a little
:16:35. > :16:41.Wow, Vicky. There are a lot of enclosures here. There are.
:16:42. > :16:44.There are quite a few. It's about 100, 100 enclosures at the moment.
:16:45. > :16:46.All full of water voles? Yeah, pretty much.
:16:47. > :16:50.We've got about 250 in captivity at the moment.
:16:51. > :16:53.It's this time of year when Vicky clears out the cages
:16:54. > :16:56.It's only once animals are given a clean
:16:57. > :17:03.bill of health that they'll be returned to the wild.
:17:04. > :17:06.So where are the offspring of these water voles going to go to?
:17:07. > :17:11.Well, hopefully these will become part of a reintroduction project.
:17:12. > :17:14.OK, so we've roused the first of the water voles.
:17:15. > :17:17.So that we can give them a health check, we've got
:17:18. > :17:20.to gently encourage them into these cardboard tubes.
:17:21. > :17:24.Hopefully they'll mistake them for burrows and scurry straight in.
:17:25. > :17:27.And then you kind of have to listen out for the ping.
:17:28. > :17:37.Right, if we keep pushing those tubes in... OK.
:17:38. > :17:41.I heard a little metal ping, did I? Or...I made that up. That's it.
:17:42. > :17:50.Fabulous. Quite small compared to... Yeah. This is one of this year's.
:17:51. > :17:53.Oh, I see. So this is young. This is one of the youngsters, yeah.
:17:54. > :17:55.So now we're just going to check it over.
:17:56. > :17:58.We'll just check the gender and then we'll give it a little wait
:17:59. > :18:05.Yeah, that's a little female. So we write that on here. Female. Lovely.
:18:06. > :18:09.And we'll just check over the teeth and the eyes.
:18:10. > :18:12.Yeah, those eyes look really healthy. Lovely dark fur.
:18:13. > :18:16.Incredibly dark, actually. So this one's got good teeth.
:18:17. > :18:20.You're happy about the condition? Yeah. The eyes look fine as well.
:18:21. > :18:27.Is it all there? Yeah. Yeah! Here's Mum.
:18:28. > :18:39.and you can see the size difference between her and the youngsters.
:18:40. > :18:42.Yeah. But I still just like to give her a check over
:18:43. > :18:46.so we'll just pop her back in the tube.
:18:47. > :18:53.Have we got a good chance of bringing back water voles
:18:54. > :18:58.Definitely. Um, we've sort of found now that hopefully
:18:59. > :19:01.the numbers are kind of starting to stabilise.
:19:02. > :19:09.Water voles need a river bank habitat to thrive
:19:10. > :19:16.Here's James and a chance to hear again how one strange little beetle
:19:17. > :19:18.is desperately clinging to life along the banks
:19:19. > :19:30.The tansy beetle is right at the top of our most endangered species list.
:19:31. > :19:34.Appropriately in these parts, it's known as the jewel of York.
:19:35. > :19:37.Once widespread in Britain, it's now confined to a few isolated colonies
:19:38. > :19:41.along just one small stretch of the River Ouse.
:19:42. > :19:45.It relies entirely on this little guy here for its survival.
:19:46. > :19:49.It's a plant called tansy and it's from this which it gets its name.
:19:50. > :19:52.The problem is, right along this stretch of river,
:19:53. > :19:54.the plant is finding it really difficult
:19:55. > :19:58.to cling on to the banks, and that is devastating news for the beetle.
:19:59. > :20:01.Unseasonal flooding has eroded the river banks,
:20:02. > :20:04.washing away tansy plants and, with it, both the adult beetles
:20:05. > :20:14.Last summer, the entire British tansy beetle population was halved.
:20:15. > :20:22.TBAG, the Tansy Beetle Action Group, is trying to reverse
:20:23. > :20:28.this dramatic decline by shoring up the beetle's habitats in the area.
:20:29. > :20:32.And there are two TBAG members who've taken the task of rescuing
:20:33. > :20:41.Dr Geoff Oxford from the University of York and his wife Roma
:20:42. > :20:49.have been breeding the tansy beetles in their kitchen.
:20:50. > :20:56.Guys, I've never seen an endangered insect breeding station before
:20:57. > :21:04.OK, so... bucket with tansy growing in it
:21:05. > :21:07.and in the net we have adult beetles. OK.
:21:08. > :21:12.And at this time of year they are mating and laying bright yellow eggs.
:21:13. > :21:17.Roma gives the larvae the best possible chance of survival.
:21:18. > :21:21.She keeps them in separate pots, and that's for a very good reason.
:21:22. > :21:27.The tansy beetle eats tansy beetle eggs. It's a really annoying habit...
:21:28. > :21:32.And also it doesn't do great things for the beetles themselves.
:21:33. > :21:35.To protect their offspring from being eaten, tansy beetles
:21:36. > :21:39.have evolved to lay their eggs away from the tansy plant.
:21:40. > :21:49.Well, in here, no problem, but in the wild they've only got four days
:21:50. > :21:57.But nothing's simple for this beetle.
:21:58. > :22:00.Although tansy is a highly scented plant,
:22:01. > :22:03.the tansy beetle can't detect it from any sort of distance.
:22:04. > :22:07.It only knows it's tansy when it steps on it.
:22:08. > :22:10.So when they're wandering between tansy clumps,
:22:11. > :22:13.they don't know where they're going, they just wander at random.
:22:14. > :22:15.So these won't fly away when this is opened?
:22:16. > :22:24.But they do not fly. They walk everywhere. So they can't fly. No.
:22:25. > :22:28.They can't sense any of the plants they want to eat at a distance. No.
:22:29. > :22:35.Yes. I'm beginning to see why this thing is becoming extinct!
:22:36. > :22:41.to reintroduce tansy beetles into the wild is well under way.
:22:42. > :22:51.where they're on public view in the museum garden.
:22:52. > :22:54.Alison, you're the garden manager here. Explain this to me.
:22:55. > :22:56.I was expecting wall-to-wall monoculture tansy
:22:57. > :22:59.but there's all sorts of stuff going on in here.
:23:00. > :23:02.Yeah, that's right. Well, these beds were specifically planted
:23:03. > :23:06.and what we're trying to do is recreate the sort of natural
:23:07. > :23:09.environment they would have on the banks of the River Ouse.
:23:10. > :23:12.Tansy is their main food plant in Britain
:23:13. > :23:15.but on the Continent they're found on all sorts of other plants
:23:16. > :23:19.and it's actually really good to have a nice mix of species.
:23:20. > :23:33.It's the fruition of the project...is to establish a proper
:23:34. > :23:42.breeding colony here, so to actually see them mating is fantastic.
:23:43. > :23:49.I'd never even heard of the tansy beetle, with its crazy
:23:50. > :23:55.iridescent colours and very weird evolutionary finickiness.
:23:56. > :23:59.But with the fantastic work of the TBAG project, hopefully
:24:00. > :24:04.these little guys will be around for generations to come.
:24:05. > :24:09.And the latest news is that tansy beetle numbers are stable.
:24:10. > :24:18.This little dormouse was found with its brothers
:24:19. > :24:23.and sisters abandoned in a plant pot at a garden centre.
:24:24. > :24:27.He should be hibernating by now but keeper Judy Hill is keeping him
:24:28. > :24:35.They're not heavy enough to go into hibernation
:24:36. > :24:39.and survive a winter, so now that they are off their milk,
:24:40. > :24:44.they've been weaned, they are here in a nice warm room
:24:45. > :24:47.to overwinter with a view to going out next spring.
:24:48. > :24:49.So, you're going to keep them awake all winter to get them fed up?
:24:50. > :24:54.Oh, and doing a good job of it there with that nut.
:24:55. > :24:58.While this one carries on to feed, there's a chance to see again
:24:59. > :25:05.one of our most remarkable wildlife success stories in recent years.
:25:06. > :25:10.And it all happened here in the Cotswolds back in 2011.
:25:11. > :25:14.Matt and Julia were on the trail of a long-vanished butterfly -
:25:15. > :25:18.Eggs from another site had been brought here
:25:19. > :25:21.in the hope of re-colonising this former stronghold.
:25:22. > :25:28.Did Matt and Julia get lucky and see a large blue?
:25:29. > :25:32.They haven't been seen at this spot in the Cotswolds in over 50 years.
:25:33. > :25:35.Several attempts to reintroduce them have failed
:25:36. > :25:38.but scientists are hopeful that they've got it right this time.
:25:39. > :25:41.The site is top secret but we've got exclusive access
:25:42. > :25:45.and today's the day that the butterflies should start to emerge.
:25:46. > :25:52.Tell me what you are doing this time last summer here, David.
:25:53. > :25:56.Well, what we were doing, we were actually making an experimental
:25:57. > :26:04.and to do that we collected eggs from Somerset and reared the caterpillars
:26:05. > :26:11.Each day at about four o'clock, you'd bring them down on the site
:26:12. > :26:16.and then, using a paintbrush, gently move them onto the ground.
:26:17. > :26:23.So you're laying eggs, basically? In effect, yes. Painstaking work.
:26:24. > :26:26.To give ourselves the best chance of seeing them, Matt and I
:26:27. > :26:30.He's a few fields away with self-confessed butterfly geek
:26:31. > :26:39.You've got to be patient, haven't you? Very patient.
:26:40. > :26:52.Come on, you blues. This is looking pretty good. Sheltered. Nice.
:26:53. > :26:58.Oh, here we go. Meadow brown. Meadow brown, meadow brown.
:26:59. > :27:13.We've got something there, Patrick. Yeah, we've got a small blue here.
:27:14. > :27:25.OK, we've seen the small blue, the common blue.
:27:26. > :27:28.Lots of blue butterflies but no large blues.
:27:29. > :27:33.Nothing so far, Matt, yes. Not a sausage. Definitely not a butterfly.
:27:34. > :27:50.Are you feeling up here? Left? Right? Straight up? I think up here. OK.
:27:51. > :28:02.but still no sign of the butterfly we're all here to see.
:28:03. > :28:08.And just when you're about to give up... Look! There's one there. Where?
:28:09. > :28:12.Can you see? Sitting in the bush. Oh, yes!
:28:13. > :28:18.Our search is over. They're here. Success!
:28:19. > :28:27.Well, what to me is so pleasing is this is the first time that
:28:28. > :28:33.a large blue has been live on this site for over 50 years.
:28:34. > :28:37.Baker boy, we've got one! Come down the hill.
:28:38. > :28:40.Julia, you would not believe how close Patrick
:28:41. > :28:46.and I are to a large blue right now. It's unbelievable.
:28:47. > :28:49.Fantastic! You've got one as well? Amazing!
:28:50. > :28:52.'And we're just observing one basking.'
:28:53. > :28:57.It's just closing its wings now. Honestly, I'm like inches away.
:28:58. > :29:01.'Ditto that. All right, come down when you're ready.'
:29:02. > :29:04.OK, so this butterfly didn't officially exist all through our
:29:05. > :29:08.childhood and this is the closest I've ever got one in my life.
:29:09. > :29:10.I can't tell you how thrilling that is.
:29:11. > :29:14.And its wings are still soft, so this butterfly keeps its wings soft
:29:15. > :29:18.so it can emerge from the nest underground, from the ants' nest.
:29:19. > :29:21.And this guy's wings are still all soft and floppy from that
:29:22. > :29:26.emergence cos it's only just come out this morning.
:29:27. > :29:29.Where are we looking? Where are we looking? Right there.
:29:30. > :29:34.In the hazel bush. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah! It's a good feeling, isn't it?
:29:35. > :29:37.It must be a fantastic feeling for you! It's a fantastic feeling.
:29:38. > :29:40.Absolutely fantastic. All of your hard work paid off.
:29:41. > :29:45.Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't. This time, it has.
:29:46. > :29:48.And Patrick, as a self-confessed butterfly geek,
:29:49. > :29:51.what's this moment like for you? Oh, it's so exciting.
:29:52. > :30:06.Since we featured the Large Blue back in 2011,
:30:07. > :30:10.There are now plans to reintroduce them
:30:11. > :30:13.at two further sites in the Cotswolds.
:30:14. > :30:18.They are clearly one of our wildlife winners.
:30:19. > :30:21.But here's an animal that shouldn't be here.
:30:22. > :30:25.It's controversial, but wild boars are at large in our countryside.
:30:26. > :30:33.so that means appealing to these boars' bellies.
:30:34. > :30:40.I've got some very festive apples and sweet chestnuts in here.
:30:41. > :30:48.Here we go... See what these guys make of it.
:30:49. > :30:52.For wild boar, this is haute cuisine.
:30:53. > :30:54.But these animals will eat almost anything,
:30:55. > :31:00.If you want to see how a wild boar works,
:31:01. > :31:07.You've got to see how this guy works!
:31:08. > :31:10.So, we're going to present an apple...
:31:11. > :31:12.and if he's good, he'll show us his teeth.
:31:13. > :31:16.Look at that! Those tusks! Strewth!
:31:17. > :31:18.You wouldn't be on the wrong side of that. No, no.
:31:19. > :31:24.So, wild boar are already out there in the wild. Should we be worried?
:31:25. > :31:28.No! There's probably 1,000 wild boar in Kent and Sussex.
:31:29. > :31:34.They've probably been living here since the '80s -
:31:35. > :31:39.And they're now, you know, popping up all over the country.
:31:40. > :31:44.'They especially love woodland, where they can forage for nuts,
:31:45. > :31:48.'and this could make them useful tools in shaping the landscape.'
:31:49. > :31:53.have got a relationship with the oak tree.
:31:54. > :31:56.The oak tree will lose all its genetic diversity
:31:57. > :31:59.because without these chaps they don't get their seeds spread.
:32:00. > :32:03.The acorns don't get spread around. They lose their genetic diversity.
:32:04. > :32:07.So you've an amazing relationship between transferring seeds around,
:32:08. > :32:14.in places where wild boar have snuffled around.
:32:15. > :32:19.So a lot of the diversity of our woodlands depends on wild boar.
:32:20. > :32:23.So, boars are back, but they are controversial.
:32:24. > :32:27.Could we see even more controversial re-introductions
:32:28. > :32:32.I'll have the answer to that in just a few minutes -
:32:33. > :32:35.but first, a big story about a little bird.
:32:36. > :32:43.Some conservation success I saw for myself back in August.
:32:44. > :32:45.And it all centred on Portsmouth harbour
:32:46. > :32:51.and these old oyster beds in particular.
:32:52. > :32:56.Back in the 1900s, this would have been a hive of fishing activity,
:32:57. > :32:58.but pollution brought business to a standstill
:32:59. > :33:05.Today this man-made farm now plays host to thousands of birds
:33:06. > :33:13.Including one of our rarest sea birds - the little tern.
:33:14. > :33:20.The RSPB are using rather unusual methods to try and protect it.
:33:21. > :33:22.And that's where this beast comes in!
:33:23. > :33:25.STOPS ENGINE Thank you!
:33:26. > :33:30.And it's on this surface that little terns like to nest.
:33:31. > :33:33.But because they're fairly particular,
:33:34. > :33:48.All bagged up, I head to the oyster beds with RSPB warden Wes Smith.
:33:49. > :33:51.They better appreciate it! I'm sure they will.
:33:52. > :33:56.Right. We're going to get this lot across to the island here,
:33:57. > :34:01.and create some perfect nesting material for the little terns.
:34:02. > :34:03.Little terns only visit the UK in the summer
:34:04. > :34:09.This is the perfect time to do it, right now.
:34:10. > :34:13.We actually had two circling overhead today... Wow!
:34:14. > :34:19.The little tern has been in decline right across Europe.
:34:20. > :34:25.8% of the UK's entire population are found right here.
:34:26. > :34:29.Why this island as opposed to anywhere else along this coast?
:34:30. > :34:38.on some of the islands which are very suitable for them.
:34:39. > :34:43.tend to get bullied, pushed out the main cluster.
:34:44. > :34:45.So, this one here - if we can get it just at this timing -
:34:46. > :34:50.it will be absolutely perfect for them.
:34:51. > :34:53.Finally, it's time to help volunteer warden Chris Cockburn
:34:54. > :34:57.cover the newly weeded surface with shells,
:34:58. > :35:01.then some hard landscaping is needed.
:35:02. > :35:06.What's with the bricks, Chris? Well, this looks very uniform.
:35:07. > :35:08.So, you're a little term, you're coming back your nest...
:35:09. > :35:15.Are we just playing a bit of boules with the bricks, are we? Yeah.
:35:16. > :35:20.A bit of set dressing, to try and really encourage them in?
:35:21. > :35:22.So, if you've got little terns nesting here,
:35:23. > :35:28.So they can fly over - "Ah, that's my brick, now where was my nest?"
:35:29. > :35:30.And this is where we're very cunning... Oh?
:35:31. > :35:33.We're going to put down some decoys to see if we can attract them.
:35:34. > :35:36.So, these handmade jobs - they're life-size...
:35:37. > :35:39.Shows how small they are! They are.
:35:40. > :35:41.That's why they're called little terns. Yeah, yeah.
:35:42. > :35:44.And does this work? Putting a decoy in?
:35:45. > :35:48.In America they've moved a colony of 2,000 birds.
:35:49. > :35:51.Taken a little while but... By using decoys? Using decoys.
:35:52. > :35:58.With the decoys set, the only thing left to do is wait.
:35:59. > :36:03.will transform these derelict oyster beds,
:36:04. > :36:18.about come face-to-face with an animal of a very different order.
:36:19. > :36:32.And I'm really glad I'm this side of the wire.
:36:33. > :36:35.Hard to believe anything so wild ever roamed our landscape,
:36:36. > :36:40.They were here up until 1,500 years ago,
:36:41. > :36:46.but lynx still live wild in parts of Europe now.
:36:47. > :36:48.And some people would like to see them
:36:49. > :36:53.roaming wild and free here again, too. Is that good idea, though?
:36:54. > :37:06.when he went on the trail of lynx last December.
:37:07. > :37:14.Once upon a time the great woodlands of Britain
:37:15. > :37:21.were home to a supreme hunter - the European lynx.
:37:22. > :37:27.There is talk of reintroducing these amazing creatures back into the wild.
:37:28. > :37:30.So, what would we be letting ourselves in for?
:37:31. > :37:32.To find out, I've come to the Cairngorms Highland Park
:37:33. > :37:43.A few months ago they welcomed two additions to the lynx family,
:37:44. > :37:52.a pair of lynx kittens, the first to be born here in 20 years.
:37:53. > :37:55.Can't help but feel a bit of an adrenaline tingle as you go in.
:37:56. > :38:03.The barrier's removed - but this is how it could be!
:38:04. > :38:06.The European lynx is the largest of the lynx family,
:38:07. > :38:11.You're very used to this in here? Oh, yeah!
:38:12. > :38:16.They are formidable hunters, but apart from a few scratches,
:38:17. > :38:23.there are no records of attacks on humans anywhere in the world.
:38:24. > :38:25.Although we've got brooms at the ready
:38:26. > :38:37.The trick here is to provide them with a challenge for their dinner,
:38:38. > :38:43.That should be all right. That should be great!
:38:44. > :38:47.They're fed with venison and some pheasants from a nearby estate.
:38:48. > :38:51.Only locally sourced food will do for this hungry clan!
:38:52. > :38:56.They're what we'd call stealth hunters.
:38:57. > :38:58.Because they're forest dwellers they tend to
:38:59. > :39:01.hold a position for a very long time and then ambush their prey.
:39:02. > :39:06.So, it's a sudden spring - a sudden attack? Yes.
:39:07. > :39:09.It's not like we'd see on the Serengeti, with the lions chasing...?
:39:10. > :39:15.These are very different in their methods of stalking their prey.
:39:16. > :39:18.And how much food do they get through in the wild?
:39:19. > :39:25.per animal they'd take up to 50 to 60 roe deer a year.
:39:26. > :39:28.50 to 60... Which is quite a lot! Yeah, it is quite a lot.
:39:29. > :39:31.They do however leave pieces behind. That's also part of the ecosystem.
:39:32. > :39:42.That's feeding other animals, even down to slugs and beetles.
:39:43. > :39:45.So why did they disappear from the British countryside
:39:46. > :39:50.Well, recent research points the finger at us.
:39:51. > :39:58.thanks to deforestation and hunting over a millennium ago.
:39:59. > :40:04.lynx have been reintroduced in several European countries,
:40:05. > :40:07.including Switzerland, France, Germany and Poland -
:40:08. > :40:14.has been rumbling around for some time.
:40:15. > :40:17.In fact, there are European directives that encourage
:40:18. > :40:30.So could we really see these big cats stalking across the land once again?
:40:31. > :40:33.Well, conservationist Roy Dennis thinks so.
:40:34. > :40:36.I've come to Glenfeshie in the Highlands to find out why.
:40:37. > :40:40.So do the Scottish Highlands provide a good home for the lynx?
:40:41. > :40:45.we've enough food, enough places to live.
:40:46. > :40:48.It's solely a social and political issue,
:40:49. > :40:54.but why should we reintroduce this big cat?
:40:55. > :40:57.I think there's two reasons. One is ecological -
:40:58. > :40:59.we need it there as part of the system.
:41:00. > :41:03.And as someone who goes around the world -
:41:04. > :41:14.I get embarrassed when they ask me what we've done at home.
:41:15. > :41:18.Roy thinks lynx could help balance the ecology of our countryside,
:41:19. > :41:23.As we heard on Countryfile earlier this year,
:41:24. > :41:26.deer have an appetite for young trees and vegetation.
:41:27. > :41:30.In Scotland, to give their forests a chance to grow,
:41:31. > :41:33.they've had to cull thousands of the animals every year.
:41:34. > :41:38.But a top predator like the lynx could naturally do the job for them.
:41:39. > :41:40.Could it really happen here? Yeah, I think so.
:41:41. > :41:43.And I think that the community that chose it
:41:44. > :41:47.would become one of the famous places of Britain.
:41:48. > :41:56.Bringing the lynx back would be highly controversial.
:41:57. > :41:59.Some farmers and gamekeepers have serious concerns
:42:00. > :42:02.about the impact on wildlife and livestock.
:42:03. > :42:05.It's unlikely that we'll be seeing lynx back in the Highlands
:42:06. > :42:13.The debate about bringing back predators like the lynx
:42:14. > :42:22.imagine coming face-to-face with a wolf without the fence.
:42:23. > :42:24.Well, that's exactly what I'm about to do.
:42:25. > :42:26.This might be my last chance to tell you
:42:27. > :42:28.about the Countryfile calendar for 2014,
:42:29. > :42:31.which you've still got time to get hold of
:42:32. > :42:35.with its theme of Our Living Landscape.
:42:36. > :42:39.The calendar costs ?9 and comes with free delivery.
:42:40. > :42:42.If you'd like one, then please visit the Countryfile website -
:42:43. > :42:46.there you'll find all the details you need to order your copy.
:42:47. > :42:49.And remember that ?4 of the cost of each calendar
:42:50. > :42:53.Think of me when you're putting that on your wall,
:42:54. > :42:57.because I'm about to head into the unknown.
:42:58. > :43:11.Oh, my Lord, this feels really scary.
:43:12. > :43:22.I've stepped into the lair of a real-life pack of wild wolves.
:43:23. > :43:26.Wildwood chief Pete Smith assures me it'll be OK.
:43:27. > :43:35.I do feel quite vulnerable out in the open like this.
:43:36. > :43:38.Any sign of them, Pete? Yes.
:43:39. > :43:42.If you follow my eyes, you can see them flitting through the trees.
:43:43. > :43:46.Now, of course, that flit through the trees is what... There you go!
:43:47. > :43:50.Yeah. Makes me feel like they're circling you. They are.
:43:51. > :43:53.That's what our relationship with wolves probably was
:43:54. > :43:58.We never saw them, apart from that flick through the trees,
:43:59. > :44:03.you might hear a distant howl now and again...
:44:04. > :44:06.So they never actively predated upon humans when they were here?
:44:07. > :44:11.the number of wolf attacks on humans is minuscule.
:44:12. > :44:15.The risks to you today is not coming in here,
:44:16. > :44:17.it's getting out of the shower in the morning,
:44:18. > :44:20.it's banging your head on the bathtub, and the car journey in.
:44:21. > :44:22.That's the statistical risk. Right.
:44:23. > :44:31.that amazing feeling of being so close to raw nature.
:44:32. > :44:35.The wolves are curious, but they're hanging back.
:44:36. > :44:40.It doesn't stop me feeling slightly on edge.
:44:41. > :44:48.It's quite enjoyable, in a strange way.
:44:49. > :44:51.That feeling that you could be... in danger somehow.
:44:52. > :45:05.just because we're so safe these days, I suppose.
:45:06. > :45:11.I don't know, excitement and danger in your heart,
:45:12. > :45:15.when you see one just staring at you, as I did just now.
:45:16. > :45:18.There is something primordial about this closeness.
:45:19. > :45:21.There are those who'd like to see the wolves reintroduced.
:45:22. > :45:27.but there are truly wild carnivores here already,
:45:28. > :45:34.In a moment I'm going to be getting into another cage
:45:35. > :45:42.But first, let's find out what the weather has in store
:45:43. > :46:01.Good evening. The weather's been quite beastly of late. Unfortunately
:46:02. > :46:05.that disturbed weathers is set to continue until the end of 2013 and
:46:06. > :46:09.indeed beyond. But it has been kinder to us this weekend. A lovely
:46:10. > :46:13.day today, but powering in off the Atlantic this next band of cloud. It
:46:14. > :46:19.is clearly going to give us all wet weather and windy weather. Hopefully
:46:20. > :46:29.not so much to cause further issues in eastern issues. -- in eastern
:46:30. > :46:34.areas. An amber warning, 6 mm of rain. Warnings for rain in Northern
:46:35. > :46:42.Ireland, Wales and the South West. We've got warnings of lively gusts
:46:43. > :46:47.of winds for England and Wales. Even inland at 60 miles per hour could
:46:48. > :46:51.cause damage. A wet and windy evening and night. It will be with
:46:52. > :46:57.us for tomorrow morning's rush, for many the return to work.
:46:58. > :47:03.It really is going to be powering down in parts of the south and west
:47:04. > :47:07.of Scotland. Snow across the Grampians, Ayrshire and Dumfries and
:47:08. > :47:12.Galloway we are particularly concerned. Hopefully over by morning
:47:13. > :47:15.for Northern Ireland. Aterrorous conditions on the roads in northern
:47:16. > :47:19.England. Much of Wales and southern England with the wind and rain
:47:20. > :47:24.combined, a lot of spray and surface water. At least it will be mild.
:47:25. > :47:31.There'll be a lot of fog over the hills. Gradually the rain eases east
:47:32. > :47:37.wards. Hopefully it will be over for many parts by lunchtime. The winds
:47:38. > :47:43.will drop as the rain clears away. 7 to 11. Sunshine coming through. Not
:47:44. > :47:52.a bad end to the day. But atrocious weather in between. Only a brief gap
:47:53. > :47:56.before rain and strong wind moves in for New Year's Eve. A narrower band
:47:57. > :48:01.of rain, but there could be heavy rain along the weather system on top
:48:02. > :48:05.of tonight and tomorrow's rain. We start to get the compounding
:48:06. > :48:10.problems again. It should have cleared for many by midnight into
:48:11. > :48:14.2014 but there'll be showers following along behind. Not totally
:48:15. > :48:18.dry. Certainly not promising that. The unfortunately as we head into
:48:19. > :48:21.New Year's Day, once again looking towards the next area of low
:48:22. > :48:26.pressure to be steaming in off the Atlantic. With it some very windy
:48:27. > :48:31.weather. The two combine to give atrocious travel conditions. Again
:48:32. > :48:36.with another inch or two of rain forecast in many areas, warnings are
:48:37. > :48:42.in force. It comes hot on the heels of the rain of tonight, tomorrow and
:48:43. > :48:45.new New Year's Eve's rain. We are in a broad wind coming in off the
:48:46. > :48:51.Atlantic. Sunshine and showers. Perhaps a breather. We'll keep an
:48:52. > :48:54.eye on low pressure in the Atlantic for the end of the week. Perhaps
:48:55. > :48:59.Thursday is a breather, but there'll be more showers on the South Coast,
:49:00. > :49:04.particularly the north and west, with that westerly wind. It stays
:49:05. > :49:07.mild but by Friday there is the potential for low pressure off the
:49:08. > :49:11.Atlantic and bring more wind and rain.
:49:12. > :49:15.If you do have plans, stay tuned to the forecast.
:49:16. > :49:18.You can get the warnings from the website too. We are going to see
:49:19. > :49:29.more rain and gale-force winds, which could bring
:49:30. > :49:33.I'm in Kent, at the Wildwood Trust's animal reserve near Herne Bay.
:49:34. > :49:38.about our wildlife winners and losers.
:49:39. > :49:45.Rare butterflies and beautiful beetles.
:49:46. > :49:48.There is one creature for whom it is getting critical -
:49:49. > :49:59.They're only found now in the remotest parts of the Highlands
:50:00. > :50:09.Wildcats can breed with ordinary domestic cats and the result
:50:10. > :50:17.is that the pure strain of wildcat is becoming rarer and rarer.
:50:18. > :50:19.Here, they're breeding purebred wildcats.
:50:20. > :50:25.this female gave birth to a kitten she couldn't look after.
:50:26. > :50:31.So the kitten ended up here, along with another young wildcat.
:50:32. > :50:34.Keeper Sally Barnes has become its surrogate mother.
:50:35. > :50:37.So, you've been rearing her from how old?
:50:38. > :50:40.From three days old. And she's now four months.
:50:41. > :50:42.That must be doing night shifts as well, then.
:50:43. > :50:46.Yeah, so, three days I would be getting up every two hours
:50:47. > :50:48.and then it was every four, then every six,
:50:49. > :50:51.and just gone from there, really, so... Like a newborn baby, almost.
:50:52. > :51:01.and Isla responds to Sally as her mother.
:51:02. > :51:04.Meanwhile, Isla's real mum is just a cage away.
:51:05. > :51:10.Clearly not an animal to be messed with.
:51:11. > :51:14.Is there a danger, then, that she's going to become far too humanised?
:51:15. > :51:18.I mean, she's still very young and they say about
:51:19. > :51:21.two years old they might turn into the wildcat they're supposed to be.
:51:22. > :51:25.So we have to see what happens around then. There we go.
:51:26. > :51:36.She's very friendly with you. Yeah. And the audience.
:51:37. > :51:39.'John the sound man is well used to this.
:51:40. > :51:43.'His microphone is just about wildcat proof.'
:51:44. > :51:46.It's remarkable how much like domestic cats they look.
:51:47. > :51:48.The only thing I can see that's different
:51:49. > :51:50.just from first glance is how thick the tail is.
:51:51. > :51:54.They're much more muscular in appearance. They're bigger,
:51:55. > :51:57.have longer legs, their face is a little bit wider,
:51:58. > :52:00.their jaw is wider and, like you said about the tail, it has
:52:01. > :52:04.got really thick, wide rings on it and the big, black tip at the end.
:52:05. > :52:09.That's a bit of a giveaway. They're the main differences. Her general...
:52:10. > :52:12.Her general play is much more aggressive.
:52:13. > :52:15.'Isla's older cage-mate is clearly too grown-up
:52:16. > :52:20.What is the picture like nationally? How are they doing?
:52:21. > :52:22.They're not doing very well, actually.
:52:23. > :52:23.They're becoming more and more endangered
:52:24. > :52:26.and there are a few programmes now trying to conserve them.
:52:27. > :52:28.They reckon there's only about 400 left in the world
:52:29. > :52:30.and we don't actually know how many of those are pure,
:52:31. > :52:33.cos there's a lot of things that threaten them at the moment -
:52:34. > :52:36.hybridisation with domestic cats, feline diseases,
:52:37. > :52:39.human prosecution, general things like roads as well.
:52:40. > :52:50.but it is possible to turn things around.
:52:51. > :52:56.A magnificent bird brought back from the brink.
:52:57. > :53:00.John's been following the story for 20 years so it was only fitting
:53:01. > :53:06.that he was in the Lake District to see the last ever release.
:53:07. > :53:12.seeing a buzzard soaring overhead is a pretty common sight.
:53:13. > :53:19.and truly magnificent large bird is back in our skies again.
:53:20. > :53:23.By the late 1800s, red kites had been hunted to extinction in both
:53:24. > :53:29.England and Scotland, with just a small pocket surviving in Wales.
:53:30. > :53:35.and conservationists protected this remaining population
:53:36. > :53:40.and, 100 years later, the Red Kite Reintroduction Programme was born.
:53:41. > :53:45.I first reported on it for Countryfile back in 1993.
:53:46. > :53:48.This is the airport at Madrid, the Spanish capital, and I'm just
:53:49. > :53:52.boarding a flight to London, escorting a rather unusual passenger.
:53:53. > :53:57.It's this rare and beautiful bird of prey - a red kite.
:53:58. > :54:00.I was lucky enough to be there as some of the first birds
:54:01. > :54:05.in the project were released in the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire.
:54:06. > :54:08.At the time, red kites had been declared
:54:09. > :54:11.a globally threatened species. But not any longer in the UK.
:54:12. > :54:15.There are now more than 1800 breeding pairs spread across the country.
:54:16. > :54:21.But the scheme had some early difficulties in the Chilterns.
:54:22. > :54:25.People put down food for them - one reason for unnaturally high numbers
:54:26. > :54:34.of red kites - and, when scavenging, they became as cheeky as seagulls.
:54:35. > :54:37.Have you learned any lessons from those initial releases?
:54:38. > :54:41.I mean, the programme has been running for 23, 24 years
:54:42. > :54:47.people have been learning, they've been adapting what they do.
:54:48. > :54:49.But some of the concerns you have from other releases don't
:54:50. > :54:54.Obviously, the Chilterns is a fairly heavily populated area
:54:55. > :54:57.and the birds are interacting with busy roads and a lot of people.
:54:58. > :55:01.Up here, as you can see behind us, it's not quite as heavily populated.
:55:02. > :55:06.and you've got an agricultural industry, livestock-based,
:55:07. > :55:08.quite a lot of wildlife around about here,
:55:09. > :55:12.so you've got a different dynamic going on which I don't think will
:55:13. > :55:15.cause some of the problems you've got in other parts of the country.
:55:16. > :55:19.Grizedale is the final chapter. It's the last bit of the jigsaw, really.
:55:20. > :55:23.We've released 60 birds over the last two years
:55:24. > :55:28.and, any time now, the next 30 birds are about to be released.
:55:29. > :55:31.The first two years are doing really well.
:55:32. > :55:35.We've got birds around the area seen on a regular basis and we've also
:55:36. > :55:39.got one or two birds that are also travelling out to other populations.
:55:40. > :55:41.It's hoped the Grizedale birds will create
:55:42. > :55:44.a stronghold for the species in the Northwest
:55:45. > :55:52.and that one day they'll join up with other colonies around the country.
:55:53. > :55:55.I'm on my way now to a secret location
:55:56. > :56:01.where the last 30 red kites to be released in England are being kept.
:56:02. > :56:04.We've got special access but I'm told it's touch-and-go
:56:05. > :56:14.Their keeper Ian Yoxall and his team have been careful to minimise
:56:15. > :56:17.human contact to stop the birds getting used to people.
:56:18. > :56:27.but Ian is allowing me to come very close to one of the birds.
:56:28. > :56:30.Ian, here's one that will soon be flying up in the sky, eh?
:56:31. > :56:33.That's right, John, yeah. Soon to be released, this one.
:56:34. > :56:35.What's the significance of the number 21?
:56:36. > :56:39.Right, well, 21 is obviously individual to the bird -
:56:40. > :56:44.it is bird 21. Yeah. This is year code, which is red for 2012.
:56:45. > :56:48.This wing tag on the right wing also has an orange bar,
:56:49. > :56:51.which designates the area code, which is orange for Cumbria.
:56:52. > :56:54.So the idea is that if anybody watches it,
:56:55. > :56:57.sees it from the ground, they will let you know... That's right, yeah.
:56:58. > :57:00.They can get all the information from one wing tag
:57:01. > :57:02.and hopefully that information will come back to either
:57:03. > :57:07.the Forestry Commission or RSPB or organisations like that.
:57:08. > :57:11.So, for the moment, for number 21, it's back to the cage, is it?
:57:12. > :57:16.It is, unfortunately, yeah, for another day or two.
:57:17. > :57:19.The birds had to wait until the vet was completely happy
:57:20. > :57:24.they were all fit and well for take-off.
:57:25. > :57:28.the red kites finally got their taste of freedom.
:57:29. > :57:31.They'd been brought here as chicks from another release site
:57:32. > :57:33.and they should disperse far and wide.
:57:34. > :57:38.the hope is they'll head back home to Grizedale to breed.
:57:39. > :57:42.Well, when I first got involved with the red kite project all those
:57:43. > :57:46.years ago, I don't think anybody then would have ever believed that,
:57:47. > :57:50.nearly two decades later, thousands of these beautiful birds would be
:57:51. > :57:54.gliding on the wind all over the country. It must be one of
:57:55. > :57:59.the most successful wildlife reintroduction programmes ever seen.
:58:00. > :58:04.'A conservation story there to bring extra cheer at this time of year.
:58:05. > :58:08.'for this little Scottish wildcat kitten?'
:58:09. > :58:11.So, Sally, what are the plans for this one then?
:58:12. > :58:14.The plan for her is to keep her happy in here with the other one
:58:15. > :58:16.so she can learn some wildcat ways from the other kitten
:58:17. > :58:19.and then hopefully she can mate with a male one day
:58:20. > :58:22.and have her own litter and then we'll have to see where that goes.
:58:23. > :58:25.It'd be nice to actually release her into the wild one day.
:58:26. > :58:27.That would be an amazing outcome, wouldn't it?
:58:28. > :58:31.Well, I wish her a very healthy and happy New Year.
:58:32. > :58:37.Thank you for joining us at Wildwood.