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Feathered Friends

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In this programme, we're taking a look at our feathered friends,

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starting here on the north Norfolk coast,

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where the skies are filled with life.

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As thousands upon thousands of geese,

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ducks and sea birds put on a show, and we have got a ringside seat.

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The bird theme continues with Helen up in Cumbria.

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I'm hoping to catch a glimpse of something pretty special, too,

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one of the best sights in the whole birding world,

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and it's all down to one of our most unassuming species.

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With outbreaks of bird flu continuing across the country,

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Tom is finding out how poultry keepers are coping.

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Frankly, if we have to stop selling our eggs as free-range,

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it will cripple the industry.

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And Adam is back on the farm, taking stock at the start of another year.

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This is the one I'm after.

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Oh, fella!

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He's a really strong, powerful animal.

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It's magical, seeing dawn break over wetlands in winter.

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Especially when the sky is filled with so many geese and wildfowl.

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The north Norfolk coast is one of the best places in the

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country to catch this sight.

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Here at the RSPB reserve at Snettisham,

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there are thousands of overwintering birds to be seen.

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But there's one in particular that I'm here for.

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Well, it's just after seven o'clock on this crystal clear morning,

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the perfect conditions to hopefully see one of the greatest

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natural spectacles of the British winter -

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the morning flight of the pink-footed geese.

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These high-flying birds are extreme migrants,

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navigating thousands of miles from Iceland and Greenland to the UK,

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with huge flocks heading for Norfolk every winter.

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'Snettisham's pinkies, as they are affectionately known,

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'are watched over by site manager Jim Scott.'

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-Morning, Jim, how are things looking out there?

-Yeah, pretty good.

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-Actually, there are thousands.

-Are they quite spread out?

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Yeah, they reasonably are, actually, yeah.

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Of all the places that they could go, Jim,

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why are they here at Snettisham?

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Well, it provides a perfect, safe roosting area for them at night.

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You can see the vast expanse of mudflats

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we have in front of us here.

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So, the geese will roost way out there on the mud,

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and they feel safe out there.

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As well as a bed, there's a hearty breakfast here for these geese, too.

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The main reason pink-footed geese come to Norfolk is because of

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the sugar beet that's grown, and it's the aftermath of

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the harvest, all the bits and pieces that are left over in the fields,

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they find it a very energy-rich source of food.

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They're obviously quite sensitive as well, because you can see

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them notice us and instantly change direction.

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Yeah, they're not too keen flying directly over people.

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Here we go, that's lovely, isn't it? Look at the layers there.

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-Artistic in the sky, isn't it?

-Yeah.

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Would they normally stay in these kind of natural smaller groups,

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or do they wait for sort of a couple of birds to go and then they

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-all go en masse?

-It varies, really.

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You always get a few little groups going,

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and actually it can be quite good to see which way they're going

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to take, in terms of the flight lines, to get yourself in the right

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position, to get them all flying very close to you.

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And being in the right place at the right time is vital.

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Because once a week, Jim carries out a mind-boggling stocktake.

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We are going to try and count all these geese.

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It just sounds like a ridiculous thing to say,

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try and count all of these geese. OK, what is the technique?

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Well, it's an estimate.

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So, it depends, these smaller flocks that are coming out here,

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I count them ten at a time. So, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 or so.

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-OK.

-When the bigger flocks come out, I'll up that to 50s.

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So, these flocks that are much closer,

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you can just do with your eye.

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But the flocks that are further away, you need to use binoculars

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because there's more geese in those flocks than you think.

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Counts like these help Jim build up a picture

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of the health of the pinkies' population year-on-year.

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-Have a go at this flock here, then.

-OK, so I'd go...

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-I'm going for 105 in that line.

-What, in that one flock?

-Yeah.

-No.

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-No? What did you get?

-About 75.

-OK.

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We've got a... This is happening quite rapidly now.

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Right.

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340.

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Oh!

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-What did you get?

-I got 320.

-Oh! Did you?

-That's good enough.

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-That's good enough.

-That's good enough!

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In a single morning this winter, Jim counted 47,000 geese.

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But not all birds at Snettisham are doing so well.

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RSPB scientists, like Dr Mark Eaton,

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use a novel method to break population numbers down.

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It's a simple system, traffic light codings, so red, amber, green.

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Green are the species for which we've got least concern,

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doing quite well.

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Happy with how their populations are.

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Some common, familiar birds like blue tits and robins,

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some of the wetland birds we find here.

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Amber list, those that we are slightly concerned about.

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And then the red list, 67 species,

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and those are the ones that we really are concerned about.

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One that we can find and hear on the mudflats here is the curlew.

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So curlew numbers are declining rapidly.

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Not just here, but across the world.

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They are regarded as near threatened with extinction on a global scale.

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And, actually, the UK has a lot of the world's curlews.

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So, there's a real obligation on us to help the species.

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And do you know what it is that's going badly wrong?

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We know that they're not breeding well, so we are looking at what the

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problems are there, and working with landowners to help numbers recover.

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Well, it was the pink-footed geese that brought me here first

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thing this morning. I had a good go at counting them. I'm not sure how

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successful I was, but as far as you're concerned,

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what are numbers looking like? And which list are they on?

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Pink-footed geese, they're a good news story.

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I don't know how many you counted,

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but we know that numbers are going up.

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We maybe have around 400,000 pink-footed geese in the UK every winter,

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which is nearly all of the world's pink-footed geese.

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Numbers have doubled in the last 25 years.

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They remain on our amber list, just a signal that we have to keep

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an eye on these, because we have a responsibility to look after them.

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Now, one of the biggest problems facing both birds and those

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of us that keep them is avian flu.

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In the last few weeks, cases have been reported all over the

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country, and at the moment, tight restrictions are in place.

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Here is Tom with more.

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This is one of the UK's great wildlife spectacles -

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the assembly of migrating birds

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as they flock here for the winter from colder climes.

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On the grass over the back, there, you can see those dark,

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reddish heads, a little cream stripe down them.

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-Yeah.

-So those are widgeon. There's thousands of them on site.

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There's some birds that take off in big groups,

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got all the white under their wings, white and black. What are they?

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So, they are mostly golden plovers.

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-There's 2,000 or 3,000 of them.

-Love the way they suddenly shift.

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Many of the birds here at the Frampton Marsh RSPB reserve in

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Lincolnshire have travelled from as far away as Siberia to

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escape the winter chill.

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But this year, some of them have brought with them something

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no-one wants to see -

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avian flu.

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Since December, flu has been confirmed in wild birds at

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a number of our nature reserves.

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Here, it was found in five widgeon and one teal,

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both of which are migratory species.

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Why is it we appear to be seeing quite a few cases of bird flu

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on reserves?

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It's really just a function of where people are looking for it.

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Somewhere like this, obviously, we have our reserve staff, our wardens

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that are out and about on the ground every day, monitoring the birds.

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So, we are more likely to find those sick and dead birds

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when they turn up.

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Obviously, birds die of all sorts of things, but they don't stay

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around for long, they'd be picked up by a scavenger of some description.

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So, what first tipped us off that we had an issue here and we

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thought we might have bird flu on site is because there were

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small numbers of groups of birds, half a dozen,

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being found in close proximity.

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Bird flu viruses are constantly evolving,

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meaning that we are always having to play catch-up.

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This strain is called H5N8,

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and at the moment, does not appear to be able to infect people,

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unlike the one we had here ten years ago, H5N1,

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which has killed 450 people worldwide.

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But H5N8 brings with it one new and very specific danger.

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In the past, avian flu has mostly been found in waterfowl.

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This new variant is infecting everything from magpies and

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pheasants to buzzards and peregrine falcons.

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With more species being added to the list every month.

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And there's no way we can realistically control

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the behaviour and movement of these birds.

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The virus is transferred by contact between birds,

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or through their faeces and bodily fluids,

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so it's really important that we don't help to spread it.

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Because it's not just wild birds that can catch it, domesticated

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poultry like chickens and turkeys are particularly susceptible.

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In another sinister development, bird flu

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has been found for the first time in Britain in backyard flocks.

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But this is not a problem limited to specific parts of the UK.

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There have been cases throughout the country.

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But this is just the tip of the iceberg.

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There will be many more infected birds that haven't been

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identified, given the difficulty of spotting them

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in the wide open spaces of our countryside.

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Bird flu this winter is much more complicated than the cases

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we've seen so far would suggest.

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-How big is this outbreak?

-This is a very large outbreak.

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The avian influenza viruses constantly circulate worldwide

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but they vary in

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how severe they are. This one is particularly severe,

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affecting countries across Europe,

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21 countries in total now, including the UK.

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Over 530 individual affected cases, showing that we've got

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a real challenge with how infectious and how severe this virus is.

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Well, give me the bullet points of what you are doing to try and

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halt the spread of this disease.

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Where there is disease, we put geographic restrictions round so

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we can take time to understand how the disease is spread, especially to

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make sure we can spot and deal with spread between commercial flocks.

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And across Great Britain, there's a thing called a prevention zone,

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and within that we've asked people to house or otherwise keep birds

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separate from wild birds.

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We've also banned gatherings of poultry,

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poultry are the most susceptible to this disease, and bringing them

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all together and then sending them all away again is a very good way of

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spreading disease, so we've banned that

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and will keep that under review.

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These measures are taking their toll.

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This is the busiest time of year for poultry shows, as rare

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breed owners look to build their flocks before the breeding season.

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The ban could have a lasting impact.

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Chickens are also being prevented from being re-homed after their

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commercial egg-laying days are over.

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Already, thousands that could have been living happily in people's

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gardens have had to be slaughtered.

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Everybody who owns poultry, no matter how few birds you have,

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needs to keep them separate from wild birds.

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Flouting these rules can mean a £5,000 fine

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and three months in prison.

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So, where is the current outbreak likely to lead,

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and how big a threat will it be in the weeks and months ahead?

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That's what I'll be finding out later.

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The Scottish Borders make up a diverse and wild landscape,

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bursting with nature and birds in abundance.

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If you're an artist looking for inspiration,

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there's plenty here to let your imagination take flight.

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But I'm here to meet an artist who doesn't just paint nature,

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she paints with it.

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Clare Brownlow uses pheasant feathers instead of

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paintbrushes to produce her vibrant paintings of the local wildlife.

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I'm dying to find out how, why and just where this idea came from.

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Clare, I like your office.

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Nice, isn't it?

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So, why feathers?

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I was at home in Norfolk with my parents and I'm one of those

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people who can't sit still, I have to be doing something.

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And my father had a bunch of these in the kitchen,

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so picked one out, there was a pot of ink for his fountain pen on

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the table, and I just started playing and fiddling around

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and kind of came across this really fun way of painting,

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and lots of energy and movement in it and lots of splatters,

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and quite messy, which is quite nice.

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So, is it the technique you like or is there more to it?

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Do you like the fact that you're making art with wildlife?

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The whole concept of kind of painting with wildlife

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is really special.

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It's quite a nice kind of full circle.

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-And it must be cheaper.

-A lot cheaper, yep.

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People send me feathers in the post, it's really fun.

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I get, like, packages, and as a thank-you,

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I pop a pack of cards in the mail for them.

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So you've got plenty of tools, what about the subjects?

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How do you work out what to paint?

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We are literally surrounded by all sorts of wildlife here.

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We've got roe deer in the garden, we've got hares, pheasants...

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You've got swans flying down the river, it's amazing,

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it's just bursting with wildlife.

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Clare's attic studio is where fine feathers become fine art.

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Oh, Clare, what an Aladdin's cave!

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-Thank you.

-I don't know where to look first, there's so much to see.

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But this is where it all happens?

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Yep, this is where we are going to see how good you are

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with a pheasant feather.

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I think I could probably tell you now, but let's have a go.

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OK, so pick yourself a nice long feather.

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These are like pieces of art in themselves.

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What I want you to do is I want you to kind of strip down here,

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just so that it's kind of cleaner and easier for you to paint with.

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And then you cut it...

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..like a quill and just make sure there's no rags.

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-Do you want a hand?

-Yeah, I'm making myself nervous.

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There we go.

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And what about the paint?

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The paint I use is Indian inks and acrylic inks,

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just because they are really bright and vivid colours.

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Me and art are a bit like a bull in a china shop, so...

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-Good.

-Oh, OK.

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Messy is good in this room, messy is good.

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OK. So what we're going to do is I've kind of drawn you

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-your own little pheasant...

-Yeah.

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And I want you to go crazy.

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The paper that I use is watercolour paper

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and it's got slight bumps in it and when it catches,

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it produces this brilliant splash.

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Look, I'm getting a good few splashes there.

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That's amazing, that's amazing.

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That's not that bad, is it?

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You're a natural. You're going to put me out of a job!

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I'm basically colouring in your work, though,

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so it's kind of cheating, but shh...

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Yeah, we won't say anything.

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Come on, let's see how the master does it.

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How long does it take to finish a pheasant, for instance?

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Anything from a few days to a couple of months.

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Now, you're very kind, Clare,

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but I think this looks a bit like a patchwork parrot.

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I think it's brilliant for a first attempt.

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What's it meant to look like?

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A pheasant...

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THEY LAUGH

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We'll just slide that one over there,

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and I've been working on this one.

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-Oh, my goodness!

-It's not quite finished, a bit of work to go,

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but that's the general idea.

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Yeah, and having tried to do it,

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I can appreciate that that is not an easy look to achieve.

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Thank you.

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And Clare's got one more bird-based surprise up her sleeve.

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So I heard that you were going to have a look at some starlings later,

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so I just did that one for you.

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-Wow.

-Again, not quite finished.

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I'll be surprised if I get to see a starling in this much detail but

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that gives me an excellent reference point, thank you so much.

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No problem.

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Later on, I'll be looking for the real thing

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but thanks to Clare's unusual artwork,

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at least I've spotted one starling today as well as a whole

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menagerie of birds brought to life from a single feather.

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'Now it's time for our winter warmer.

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'Late last summer, we asked some well-known faces from DJs

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'to comedians...'

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It's a seal! False alarm, everyone, it was a seal.

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'..chefs to singers...'

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# My old man said follow the van... #

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'..which part of our magnificent countryside was special to them.'

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This week, actor and musician David Essex

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takes a trip down memory lane

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as he travels to the East Sussex-Kent border

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to relive his childhood summers hop picking.

0:19:220:19:25

First time I came down, I think I was probably about four.

0:19:350:19:39

Growing up in east London, there wasn't much countryside,

0:19:400:19:44

so the big adventure was to come down hop picking

0:19:440:19:47

around September time.

0:19:470:19:49

What would happen is that this open-back truck would turn up

0:19:530:19:57

in Canning Town where I was living

0:19:570:20:00

and the women and children would pile onboard with suitcases.

0:20:000:20:05

Lo and behold, we're into the countryside.

0:20:050:20:08

For me, I remember the first time I saw cows in fields, just being

0:20:100:20:16

completely overwhelmed by it.

0:20:160:20:18

I remember going to Robertsbridge, Tenterden.

0:20:230:20:27

My dad, before I turned up,

0:20:270:20:30

I know went to Robertsbridge and that's where he used to go.

0:20:300:20:33

Hello, mate.

0:20:430:20:44

DOG BARKS

0:20:440:20:46

This feels very familiar, especially the dog barking.

0:20:460:20:49

Also the smells, as well.

0:20:500:20:52

Buildings...

0:20:530:20:54

Yeah. This takes me back.

0:20:550:20:58

First of all, you would turn up,

0:21:030:21:04

the farmer would come out and would give you these...

0:21:040:21:08

..sort of, well, I suppose it's like a duvet affair

0:21:100:21:12

and then you go off to a haystack and you fill it all with hay

0:21:120:21:16

and then you carry it to your bunk in the cow shed.

0:21:160:21:20

I remember distinctly that the cowsheds we slept in

0:21:230:21:27

had tin roofs because

0:21:270:21:29

you could hear the rain coming down

0:21:290:21:31

and I always thought that was wonderful.

0:21:310:21:33

I still like that - the sound of the rain on a tin roof.

0:21:330:21:36

Generally in the week, it was women and children

0:21:430:21:46

that came down initially on the lorry and then the menfolk.

0:21:460:21:50

Basically, they were dockers,

0:21:500:21:51

they would all come at the weekend

0:21:510:21:53

and they'd be singing round a fire, like a brazier, I remember.

0:21:530:21:58

I remember the smell of that.

0:21:580:22:00

And, of course, all the kids had to go to bed

0:22:000:22:02

but I could hear it in the distance.

0:22:020:22:03

# My old man said follow the van... #

0:22:030:22:06

and stuff like that.

0:22:060:22:08

So, yeah, it's very emotive.

0:22:080:22:10

I didn't do much hop picking, no.

0:22:280:22:30

For me, there was too many different things I wanted to experience,

0:22:300:22:35

like climbing trees,

0:22:350:22:36

or nicking the farmer's apples and going off and...

0:22:360:22:41

just seeing things that I'd never really seen before.

0:22:410:22:45

JJ. How are you?

0:22:550:22:57

David. Are you going to show me how this works?

0:22:570:22:59

-Yeah, sure.

-Right, let's have a look.

0:22:590:23:01

Oh, I see. Right.

0:23:060:23:09

So that gadget there's actually cutting the vines, isn't it?

0:23:090:23:12

-It cuts it so it's...

-Cuts through and then they drop into here.

0:23:120:23:15

It looks different because, from memory,

0:23:230:23:25

there used to be these kind of bins that were made of sacking and

0:23:250:23:32

the pickers would sit there and the pole man would come down,

0:23:320:23:36

pull down some hops over the bin and then they would pick into it.

0:23:360:23:40

I mean, my nan was incredible.

0:23:400:23:42

She was a demon and she knew specifically, you know,

0:23:430:23:46

exactly what was a bushel in the basket.

0:23:460:23:49

Because sometimes I would sort of pick a little bit

0:23:490:23:52

before I'd go off on adventures and she would say, "No, Dave,

0:23:520:23:56

"that's too much,"

0:23:560:23:57

so she would knock a few off and it was exactly right.

0:23:570:23:59

He's got the easy job, hasn't he?

0:24:040:24:06

I think the locals thought these little stinkers from east London

0:24:130:24:17

were really quite something and they were fascinated by us, you know,

0:24:170:24:20

the way we talked. "Cor, what's that?"

0:24:200:24:23

And they'd tell you what it was. "What's that?" "That's poisonous."

0:24:230:24:26

"Nah, it ain't." "Yes, it is."

0:24:260:24:28

So, you know, there was a lot to learn from both sides.

0:24:280:24:30

-Thanks a lot.

-All right?

-Yeah.

0:24:320:24:34

-Did you enjoy that?

-I did enjoy it, I did enjoy it, yeah.

0:24:340:24:37

There it goes.

0:24:410:24:42

A load of hops up to the automated picking machine

0:24:420:24:45

as opposed to my nan.

0:24:450:24:47

Generally at weekends,

0:24:540:24:55

we'd follow the grown-ups through the fields to the pub and get

0:24:550:24:58

our lemonade and packet of crisps.

0:24:580:25:00

For a little boy coming from the East End,

0:25:030:25:05

it was magical.

0:25:050:25:07

Summer seemed to last for ever.

0:25:070:25:09

Adventures were ongoing and filled every day.

0:25:100:25:14

And the feeling of community and family was extraordinary.

0:25:160:25:21

My relatives were travellers and there was an Uncle Levi.

0:25:230:25:26

I remember him saying to me, you know, as a little boy,

0:25:260:25:29

you're looking at cars and you're thinking about fortune and money and

0:25:290:25:33

all the rest of it and he said,

0:25:330:25:34

"Watch the sun rise in the morning

0:25:340:25:37

"and set in the evening and live a natural life."

0:25:370:25:41

It had a sort of profound effect on me.

0:25:410:25:43

All this did. You know, love of the countryside was, I suppose,

0:25:450:25:50

instilled in me at that time.

0:25:500:25:52

I remember one time walking back and I'd never seen so many stars

0:26:000:26:05

in my life because you never saw them in London.

0:26:050:26:08

Stars everywhere and I just stood in the middle of this field,

0:26:080:26:11

it must've been about ten o'clock, looking up in wonderment.

0:26:110:26:15

It was, yeah...

0:26:150:26:17

Great times.

0:26:170:26:18

I've still got a tradition where I take a string of hops and I drape it

0:26:200:26:24

around my mum's grave because I know she would have liked that and,

0:26:240:26:28

of course, my nan.

0:26:280:26:29

So, I've still got that.

0:26:310:26:32

So, I'm going to nick a string of hops, if I can,

0:26:320:26:36

if the farmer will let me, and that's where they'll end up.

0:26:360:26:39

Earlier, we heard how bird flu is spreading across much of the country

0:26:510:26:55

and now it's been reported on more and more commercial farms.

0:26:550:26:59

Tom's report does contain some distressing images.

0:26:590:27:02

It's early on a cold winter morning.

0:27:140:27:17

Across the country, people are on their way to work.

0:27:170:27:20

For some, that means dealing with the aftermath of avian flu.

0:27:200:27:24

The current outbreak started with a case on a farm in Lincolnshire back in December.

0:27:280:27:32

But despite the precautions,

0:27:340:27:35

the second confirmed case of the virus H5N8 in one of our commercial

0:27:350:27:41

flocks was found in the middle of January right here in Lincolnshire.

0:27:410:27:46

All the birds were either killed by the virus or culled.

0:27:490:27:53

The latest cases have shown that the outbreak is far from over and while

0:27:550:27:59

the impact of bird flu on the infected business is devastating,

0:27:590:28:03

the consequences for the country are more far-reaching.

0:28:030:28:06

The UK is a big exporter of poultry products but from the moment

0:28:080:28:12

the virus is known to be here, that demand plummets.

0:28:120:28:16

The final cost to the industry is unknown but losses from the last

0:28:160:28:21

outbreak were valued at around £100 million.

0:28:210:28:24

And the free-range sector of the industry is at risk, too.

0:28:260:28:29

Almost half of all the eggs bought in the UK are free-range but all

0:28:290:28:34

those produced here could disappear completely from our supermarket shelves.

0:28:340:28:38

Their main selling point is that the hens spend a significant amount of

0:28:380:28:42

their time free to roam outside.

0:28:420:28:45

But not at the moment.

0:28:450:28:47

They're having to be kept inside, away from any possible contact with wild birds.

0:28:470:28:53

And Defra guidelines say we shouldn't go into the barns

0:28:550:28:58

at this free-range farm near

0:28:580:28:59

Wantage in Oxfordshire.

0:28:590:29:01

So we gave a camera to the farmer here, Doug,

0:29:010:29:04

because he can go in his barns and we wanted to see how his hens were

0:29:040:29:08

getting on. So, Doug, how is it?

0:29:080:29:11

There you go, Tom. Not sure I deserve any credits at the end of the programme.

0:29:110:29:14

No Oscars for cinematography coming your way?

0:29:140:29:16

-Maybe not yet.

-Just before we get to what's on here,

0:29:160:29:19

describe what this scene would look like normally, in a normal year.

0:29:190:29:23

Well, yes, absolutely. So normally this whole area of grass would be

0:29:230:29:27

covered in brown specks, the birds would be everywhere.

0:29:270:29:29

So how does it feel for you to see it bare?

0:29:290:29:31

Well, a little bit disheartening, really,

0:29:310:29:34

but the reality is we have to keep them in

0:29:340:29:35

and I think it's for the best.

0:29:350:29:37

So, how are your hens doing?

0:29:370:29:38

It's fair to say that every flock's different but on this farm they're

0:29:380:29:42

doing OK. We're spending an awful lot of time putting what we call

0:29:420:29:45

enrichments into the building,

0:29:450:29:46

so more straw for littering and footballs

0:29:460:29:49

and plastic bottles and all

0:29:490:29:51

sorts of things just to keep the birds stimulated.

0:29:510:29:53

Hens get stressed very easily

0:29:530:29:55

and if they get stressed they can become ill

0:29:550:29:57

and catch other diseases,

0:29:570:29:59

so, it is highly important that we keep them entertained.

0:29:590:30:02

There is real urgency here.

0:30:020:30:04

The current restrictions

0:30:040:30:06

run until the 28th of February but under EU rules,

0:30:060:30:09

a free-range hen can only be kept inside for 12 weeks of the year.

0:30:090:30:14

If the deadline is extended,

0:30:140:30:15

the hens will have to be kept inside

0:30:150:30:17

for longer than the regulations allow.

0:30:170:30:21

Frankly, if we have to, at the end of that 12-week period,

0:30:210:30:23

stop selling our eggs as free-range, it will cripple the industry.

0:30:230:30:27

-Why?

-If the law states they are no longer free-range,

0:30:270:30:30

the supermarkets won't sell them as free-range,

0:30:300:30:32

they will sell them as barn eggs,

0:30:320:30:34

we will lose our premium and we will still have all the extra cost.

0:30:340:30:37

Free-range egg producers have planted over a million trees in the last ten

0:30:370:30:40

years to provide a fabulous environment for the birds.

0:30:400:30:43

They are still there, we still have the costs.

0:30:430:30:46

We are hoping that this is just a short-term blip,

0:30:460:30:48

the birds will be outside, I hope, on the 28th of February.

0:30:480:30:51

If not, soon after.

0:30:510:30:53

We all go back to free-ranging, everyone's happy.

0:30:530:30:56

So, what are the chances of the crisis going beyond the end of February?

0:31:000:31:05

We all hope that in a month's time,

0:31:050:31:07

all this fuss will have disappeared and influenza will be gone again.

0:31:070:31:10

Dr Colin Butter from the University of Lincoln

0:31:100:31:13

is an expert in the avian flu virus.

0:31:130:31:16

We know it's a migratory species and they will pass.

0:31:160:31:20

But if we find it in more non-migratory species,

0:31:200:31:22

and we have found it in a couple so far,

0:31:220:31:25

then it's here and, of course, it may be here to stay and that means

0:31:250:31:29

it would be here for a long time and a threat to poultry.

0:31:290:31:33

So we wait to see.

0:31:330:31:34

I think the next month will be really crucial.

0:31:340:31:37

And how does that all feed into our calculation of the long-term threat for

0:31:370:31:40

-this country?

-It's really important.

0:31:400:31:42

So presently the way of controlling influenza in poultry is culling,

0:31:420:31:47

is stamp out. Now, that's sustainable when the threat is low,

0:31:470:31:51

so when they get infected once in a while, maybe by wild birds,

0:31:510:31:56

that's a very sustainable control strategy.

0:31:560:31:59

But if the threat is continuous,

0:31:590:32:01

if the threat is all year because it's in wild birds all year,

0:32:010:32:05

then that strategy probably is no longer sustainable and we have to think

0:32:050:32:08

about other ways of controlling influenza in poultry.

0:32:080:32:11

And that's a real worry, especially for the commercial free-range keepers.

0:32:110:32:16

That's absolutely true.

0:32:160:32:17

Then we would have to think about other means of controlling influenza in poultry.

0:32:170:32:21

So one thinks about vaccination,

0:32:210:32:24

which is presently not allowed without special permission,

0:32:240:32:28

or breeding resistant birds.

0:32:280:32:30

This again we think may be possible.

0:32:300:32:32

Just to be clear,

0:32:320:32:34

is this any kind of a threat to humans?

0:32:340:32:37

It's not a high-level threat to humans,

0:32:370:32:39

there is no suggestion at the moment that this virus easily infects people

0:32:390:32:43

but bird flu viruses do occasionally infect people and with these H5

0:32:430:32:48

viruses, when they do, the consequences can be severe.

0:32:480:32:51

That's just one of the dangers in the back of the minds of those trying to

0:32:530:32:57

control this outbreak.

0:32:570:32:59

But now, as always, there's only so much we can do to control nature.

0:32:590:33:04

The next few weeks are going to be absolutely crucial.

0:33:050:33:08

We might be lucky and there are no new outbreaks and restrictions may be

0:33:080:33:12

lifted. But if there are new cases and the disease is considered to be

0:33:120:33:17

endemic in this country,

0:33:170:33:19

it's going to prove a very tough time for the poultry industry

0:33:190:33:22

and, of course, the birds themselves.

0:33:220:33:25

Our native farm animals have been bred to thrive here.

0:33:380:33:41

And Adam knows this only too well.

0:33:420:33:45

His farm is perched high on a Cotswold hill and his animals need to be

0:33:450:33:48

tough to endure the long winters.

0:33:480:33:50

I've recently been visiting farms in New Zealand

0:34:070:34:10

and, out there, it seems to

0:34:100:34:12

be warm all year round and the grass never stops growing.

0:34:120:34:15

Here we are in the middle of our winter and although it's been a mild

0:34:150:34:18

winter, it's still quite chilly in comparison.

0:34:180:34:21

This time of year, most modern breeds of cattle are in the shed because

0:34:210:34:25

they mess up the ground but also they need lots of nurturing and food and

0:34:250:34:30

silage. Whereas these more traditional,

0:34:300:34:32

hardy breeds can cope with being outdoors.

0:34:320:34:35

They don't need quite so much grub and they can cope with the cold.

0:34:350:34:38

The Belted Galloway here has got a nice,

0:34:380:34:40

thick coat and then, of course, the Highland,

0:34:400:34:42

the hardiest British breed of all,

0:34:420:34:44

can cope with whatever the weather throws at it.

0:34:440:34:45

And then we've got Dougie the bull.

0:34:450:34:47

They are all in calf, so he can't do any damage.

0:34:470:34:50

And they get on reasonably well but they have a pecking order.

0:34:500:34:53

You'll notice they'll push each other out of the way and the ones with

0:34:530:34:57

horns know exactly where the tip of their horns are.

0:34:570:34:59

Look at that one scratching its back where it's got an itch.

0:34:590:35:02

We've only just started feeding them this silage,

0:35:020:35:05

which is grass that was cut in the summer.

0:35:050:35:07

Up until now, all winter they've been grazing on the grass in this field

0:35:070:35:10

and there's still a fair bit there.

0:35:100:35:13

On this part of the farm, we are trying to encourage wild flowers,

0:35:130:35:17

so this pasture isn't allowed to be grazed during the spring and summer.

0:35:170:35:20

If I pull it up, you can see the old dead grasses which provide good

0:35:210:35:25

roughage for the cattle but in amongst them are the bright green leaves

0:35:250:35:28

that provide plenty of protein, too.

0:35:280:35:31

It also encourages ground-nesting birds.

0:35:310:35:33

You get little invertebrates and small mammals that the owls hunt on and

0:35:330:35:37

just here is an owl pellet.

0:35:370:35:40

This has been regurgitated by an owl and if you open it up, you can see

0:35:400:35:44

there is a skull of a mouse.

0:35:440:35:48

I remember as kids, my dad used to collect them,

0:35:480:35:50

we'd take them home and

0:35:500:35:52

dissolve them in water and then try

0:35:520:35:54

and guess what animal the owl had eaten.

0:35:540:35:56

At this time of year, with lambing season almost upon us,

0:36:010:36:04

my flock of 800 breeding ewes are more of a challenge.

0:36:040:36:08

I'm trying to toughen them up so they need less looking after.

0:36:080:36:11

In here are our pregnant ewes and there is a mixture of breeds but the main breed in

0:36:120:36:16

here are Romneys.

0:36:160:36:18

And when I was in New Zealand recently, there were a lot of Romneys out

0:36:180:36:21

there but the way they manage them is quite different to us.

0:36:210:36:25

They're very hard on their sheep.

0:36:250:36:26

Come by.

0:36:260:36:28

So they'll put the sheep up onto the hills and they have to look after

0:36:280:36:31

themselves. So if a ewe becomes lame, they will get rid of it.

0:36:310:36:35

If it needs treating because it's ill, they'll generally get rid of it.

0:36:350:36:38

Or it will just die naturally.

0:36:380:36:40

Here if a sheep is lame, we treat it.

0:36:400:36:42

If a ewe is trying to give birth and the lambs are stuck,

0:36:420:36:45

we'll assist her and then help the lambs suckle.

0:36:450:36:47

So we really look after them but that means that they take a lot more

0:36:470:36:51

shepherding and therefore a lot more labour.

0:36:510:36:54

And so what we are trying to do with our flock is build a more robust

0:36:540:36:58

animal that looks after itself.

0:36:580:36:59

We do that by monitoring them.

0:36:590:37:01

So each of these ewes has got an ear tag.

0:37:010:37:03

In it is an electronic chip,

0:37:030:37:05

I can scan this over the ewe's ear and if she has any problems with her

0:37:050:37:08

feet or lambing or whatever it may be,

0:37:080:37:11

I can put it into the computer and then when I'm selecting the females to

0:37:110:37:15

keep from my ewes to breed in the future...

0:37:150:37:17

Away. ..I can then choose the right ones.

0:37:170:37:21

But it's all very well going through this selection process but what we

0:37:210:37:24

really need to do is think very carefully about the genetics, too.

0:37:240:37:27

This is the one I'm after.

0:37:410:37:43

Whoa, fella! He's a really strong, powerful animal.

0:37:430:37:49

And this is my Romney ram.

0:37:490:37:51

He comes from a guy called Chris Hodgkins and what Chris has done is he's

0:37:510:37:56

imported New Zealand Romneys from a flock called the Wairere flock and

0:37:560:38:01

they're all New Zealand genetics and they're really robust,

0:38:010:38:04

animals that can survive.

0:38:040:38:06

And it's not what you see on the surface,

0:38:060:38:09

it's the genetics underneath that I'm after.

0:38:090:38:11

So they are quite resistant to foot rot, they're really tough,

0:38:110:38:14

they're really hardy, they're brilliant mothers.

0:38:140:38:17

And that's what I want to breed into my flock.

0:38:170:38:19

In New Zealand, because they've got lots of sheep per person,

0:38:190:38:24

they grow grass all year round,

0:38:240:38:26

their cost of production is quite low,

0:38:260:38:28

which is why they can get New Zealand lamb all the way from the other side

0:38:280:38:31

of the world onto our supermarket shelves competing with our lamb.

0:38:310:38:35

So, what we need to do here is try and reduce the cost by having animals

0:38:350:38:40

that look after themselves,

0:38:400:38:41

and therefore our lamb will be more competitive.

0:38:410:38:45

You are a good boy, aren't you?

0:38:450:38:46

Heel!

0:38:500:38:51

In farming, you never know what's round the corner.

0:38:510:38:53

I've had to find somewhere to house our geese.

0:38:530:38:56

Something I wouldn't normally do but as we've already heard,

0:38:560:38:59

there's been a bird flu outbreak.

0:38:590:39:00

Our poultry and ducks and geese are usually free-range but we've changed

0:39:030:39:07

the way we manage them this winter because of avian influenza,

0:39:070:39:10

or bird flu.

0:39:100:39:11

The Defra guidelines are to keep your birds indoors so that

0:39:110:39:15

they're kept away from wild birds so they don't catch and spread the

0:39:150:39:18

disease. So these geese would usually be roaming around in the paddock,

0:39:180:39:23

grazing on the grass and having a lovely time, but I've kept them shut in

0:39:230:39:26

just to be on the safe side.

0:39:260:39:27

I've got a foot dip here for precautions and then I'll just bed them down

0:39:270:39:32

and give them some food. They are happy enough in here.

0:39:320:39:36

They're living on barley and pellets.

0:39:360:39:38

And then just top up their water.

0:39:420:39:43

There we go, geese. Hopefully, it won't be long before we can let you out again.

0:39:490:39:53

I've also brought some of my breeding sows indoors.

0:39:570:40:00

Pigs to feed next.

0:40:000:40:02

Pigs don't have a breeding season.

0:40:030:40:05

They give birth all year round and we've recently had some new arrivals.

0:40:050:40:09

In here, I've got two sows.

0:40:110:40:14

This lovely big Tamworth, the ginger one, and then the Iron Age next door.

0:40:140:40:19

They farrowed, they gave birth at the same time and they've given birth to

0:40:190:40:23

13 piglets between them.

0:40:230:40:25

We've kept them separate in these pens so they don't fight but the piglets

0:40:250:40:29

can run under the hay rack and go in between the two sows and feed off

0:40:290:40:33

whichever sow they fancy going to.

0:40:330:40:36

Pigs are unlike most creatures,

0:40:360:40:38

so a sheep will only feed its own lambs and a cow will only feed her own

0:40:380:40:42

calf, they don't feed anybody else's.

0:40:420:40:44

But pigs in this sort of system will often multi-suckle.

0:40:440:40:47

They're happy to feed others' piglets.

0:40:470:40:50

You can tell the difference, the Tamworths are very gingery and the Iron Age

0:40:500:40:53

have got that wild-boar look about them.

0:40:530:40:55

They've got those stripy piglets, quite camouflaged.

0:40:550:40:58

Here you are, missus.

0:40:580:40:59

As well as drinking milk from their mothers,

0:41:020:41:04

the piglets are starting to nibble on the pig nuts.

0:41:040:41:07

It won't be long now

0:41:070:41:08

before they can live off the pig nuts as their total diet.

0:41:080:41:11

We've got the Iron Age sow next door and, look, she's lying down,

0:41:190:41:23

she's got a handful of piglets with her and now this Tamworth's finished

0:41:230:41:26

her feed, she's got a whole bundle of piglets, most of them are with her.

0:41:260:41:31

Some are facing the wrong way,

0:41:310:41:34

there's a little Iron Age now and he's gone sort of piling into the group.

0:41:340:41:37

Oh, dear.

0:41:370:41:39

Look, she's sitting up now.

0:41:390:41:41

Too many, just too many.

0:41:410:41:43

She's had enough of that.

0:41:430:41:44

The piglets may be a handful, but in a month's time,

0:41:470:41:50

lambing will be in full swing

0:41:500:41:51

and there will also be plenty of calves to tend to.

0:41:510:41:54

Life might be about to get frantic,

0:41:550:41:57

but I love farming and wouldn't change it for the world.

0:41:570:42:00

Come on, boys.

0:42:000:42:02

This is the Wash, off the north coast of Norfolk.

0:42:140:42:17

It's the most important haven for waders and wildfowl in Western Europe,

0:42:170:42:21

which makes it the perfect place to spot and learn all about birds.

0:42:210:42:27

And just a few miles inland at this village primary school,

0:42:290:42:32

the bird spotters of the future are learning their stuff.

0:42:320:42:35

Can you make me a pair of binoculars with your hands?

0:42:400:42:42

Are you ready? Are you going to look up?

0:42:420:42:44

'All over Britain, classes like this

0:42:440:42:47

'are taking part in the RSPB's Big Schools' Birdwatch,

0:42:470:42:50

'a scheme to get children interested in the birds around them.'

0:42:500:42:54

-Keep looking.

-'Reception year head Jane Kendall

0:42:540:42:56

'is showing these four- and five-year-olds what to look out for.'

0:42:560:42:59

A blue tit.

0:43:010:43:02

Oh, Josh has got another one ready, put your binoculars on.

0:43:020:43:05

Are you ready? Let's have a look at this one.

0:43:050:43:08

What can you see?

0:43:080:43:10

Which one was it, Robin?

0:43:100:43:12

Um... Black-headed gull.

0:43:120:43:14

What's special about a black-headed gull?

0:43:140:43:17

'What the children learn in the classroom,

0:43:170:43:19

'they'll soon be putting to the test outdoors.'

0:43:190:43:22

Before we go outside and make some bird feeders,

0:43:240:43:26

the children are just honing their identification technique.

0:43:260:43:29

And you're not holding back with it. It's quite advanced, isn't it?

0:43:290:43:32

When you look at kind of the level of bird-watching.

0:43:320:43:34

Yeah, the children have really engaged with this topic.

0:43:340:43:37

Particularly some of the children who are really challenging me,

0:43:370:43:40

particularly with my knowledge of birds.

0:43:400:43:42

They love it, they absolutely love it.

0:43:420:43:44

You can just see how enthusiastic they are.

0:43:440:43:46

They thrive on it. And we hope that the children will

0:43:460:43:48

take this on as a hobby or it will be a lifelong skill that actually

0:43:480:43:51

caring for our environment and being able to spot the nature around them

0:43:510:43:54

and support that is really key for us.

0:43:540:43:56

'Time now to put those lessons to the test

0:43:580:44:01

'but first the children need some birds to spot.

0:44:010:44:03

'So, they've got some tasty treats lined up that they hope

0:44:030:44:07

'will tempt the birds to stop by.'

0:44:070:44:10

Oh, what's happening over here?

0:44:100:44:11

We're mixing birdseed and peanut butter.

0:44:110:44:14

'This paste is irresistible.'

0:44:140:44:16

Oh.

0:44:160:44:17

And then we're going to pop it into the holes in these logs.

0:44:170:44:20

'And stuffing it into small logs encourages birds to forage.'

0:44:200:44:24

I tell you what, Amber, if I hold that for a second,

0:44:240:44:26

you use the lollipop stick and stick it right in the hole.

0:44:260:44:29

That's it.

0:44:290:44:31

So, is it snowing over here?

0:44:330:44:35

And you put some lard in, do you, and roll it up?

0:44:350:44:37

'Robins and blackbirds love maggots made out of lard and flour.'

0:44:370:44:42

Lift it out. One, two, three.

0:44:430:44:44

Ta-da!

0:44:440:44:46

'Threading fruit and cheese onto wire loops

0:44:460:44:49

'makes a chewy snack for chaffinches.'

0:44:490:44:52

I made mine already.

0:44:520:44:54

Oh, that is impressive. You'll have to show me how you made that.

0:44:540:44:56

You've got to start with the wire.

0:44:560:44:59

Oh, that's a good bit.

0:45:010:45:02

The birds are really lucky.

0:45:020:45:04

They are.

0:45:040:45:06

'Pine cones are perfect for packing with a fattened seed mix.

0:45:060:45:10

'The birds will have to work hard for their reward.'

0:45:100:45:13

If you were a bird, wouldn't you want to eat that?

0:45:130:45:15

Yeah.

0:45:150:45:17

'Apples stuffed with sunflower seeds are ideal for blue and great tits.'

0:45:170:45:21

So you've got an apple that you've cored,

0:45:230:45:27

you've put that through to make a little perch, have you?

0:45:270:45:29

So the little birds can come and land on it.

0:45:290:45:31

What a good idea.

0:45:310:45:33

'Overseeing the children's efforts is RSPB volunteer Judy Simmons.'

0:45:330:45:37

They just love being outside, learning about their environment,

0:45:390:45:43

the creatures that share this world with us.

0:45:430:45:46

We've been talking about how birds survive during the winter and to make

0:45:460:45:51

the children understand that they need to help them.

0:45:510:45:55

Right, let's go. Where do you want to hang yours?

0:45:570:46:00

'Here goes, fingers crossed these feeders tempt some hungry birds in for a

0:46:000:46:04

'feast and give these children an early taste of twitching.'

0:46:040:46:07

Good work, look at that!

0:46:100:46:12

-Is that one yours?

-Yes.

-High-five! Loving your work.

0:46:140:46:17

I'm just going to go around here and have a little...

0:46:170:46:19

Oh! I think it's brilliant.

0:46:190:46:21

I think we are there, I think we are done.

0:46:220:46:24

Mine is still there!

0:46:240:46:25

'There's still time to get involved in the RSPB's Big Schools' Birdwatch.

0:46:250:46:29

'Head to our website for details.

0:46:290:46:32

'Right, class photo.'

0:46:320:46:34

One, two, three...

0:46:340:46:36

ALL: Yeah!

0:46:360:46:39

We could do this for hours.

0:46:400:46:42

This week, Countryfile is all about birds.

0:46:520:46:55

While Matt is way out east in Norfolk, I've come north to Cumbria,

0:46:550:46:59

my neck of the woods, to a site they call Watchtree.

0:46:590:47:02

It's a 205-acre nature reserve on a former airfield.

0:47:050:47:08

Keen-eyed visitors come here hoping to spot a rare species

0:47:080:47:12

but I've got something bigger in mind.

0:47:120:47:15

I'm on the trail of something very special and if I find it, it won't be

0:47:160:47:20

a fleeting glimpse at the end of a pair of binoculars.

0:47:200:47:22

No, we're talking a sky full.

0:47:220:47:25

Thousands of birds filling the air, fingers crossed.

0:47:250:47:28

Watchtree is one of the best places in the north to spot murmurations of

0:47:300:47:35

starlings, those incredible aerobatic displays put on

0:47:350:47:38

by this humble bird in the winter.

0:47:380:47:41

But it wasn't always such a paradise.

0:47:470:47:50

In 2001, the site was used as a mass burial ground

0:47:500:47:52

for animals during the foot-and-mouth crisis.

0:47:520:47:56

But nature heals,

0:48:020:48:04

and 16 years later, it's been transformed into this.

0:48:040:48:08

'The starlings don't come out till dusk,

0:48:160:48:18

'so in the meantime, I'm meeting reserve director Frank Mawby

0:48:180:48:22

'to find out what else to watch out for at Watchtree.'

0:48:220:48:25

What is it about this place that makes it such a good environment for

0:48:250:48:29

-different birds?

-Well, we've got lots of different habitats.

0:48:290:48:32

We've got this old woodland we're in now,

0:48:320:48:34

next to it we've got new plantation woodland,

0:48:340:48:36

we've got grassland, wetland, and that gives us

0:48:360:48:40

about 35-40 species of breeding birds every year.

0:48:400:48:44

You've got numbers and you've got rare birds, haven't you?

0:48:440:48:47

The curlew certainly is one of our sort of rarer species.

0:48:470:48:50

You will find yellowhammers on our bird feeders,

0:48:500:48:53

tree sparrows in abundance which,

0:48:530:48:55

when I first came to Cumbria, were very scarce.

0:48:550:48:58

Are you surprised that there are so many birds, given the wind turbines?

0:48:580:49:01

Well, there is certainly evidence that the initial works

0:49:010:49:04

will scare them away from a site but they're quite happy.

0:49:040:49:07

You see them breeding on the ground and quite close to the turbines and

0:49:070:49:11

they manage them very well.

0:49:110:49:13

There is still an hour or two till dusk,

0:49:180:49:21

the time when the starlings will put on their sensational display.

0:49:210:49:25

Fingers crossed.

0:49:250:49:27

Murmurations of starlings really are incredible and the best thing about

0:49:270:49:31

them is you really don't need to be an expert

0:49:310:49:33

to appreciate how hypnotic they are.

0:49:330:49:36

A few weeks ago, we asked you to send in your sightings and you

0:49:360:49:39

have not disappointed us.

0:49:390:49:40

Frank, you're going to love these, have a look at this.

0:49:400:49:43

Your clips made up for the disappointment Matt and I felt

0:50:070:50:10

at not seeing them for ourselves a few weeks back.

0:50:100:50:13

But I'm hoping for better luck today.

0:50:140:50:16

'Making sure that everybody who wants to see the starlings

0:50:200:50:24

'can do so is the job of access manager Ryan Dobson.

0:50:240:50:27

'He reckons the best way to get around the site is by bike.'

0:50:270:50:30

It is quite a collection of bikes you've got here, Ryan, isn't it?

0:50:320:50:35

We have bikes that are suitable for any ability or disability,

0:50:350:50:39

whether they need to have a care worker with them at the same time,

0:50:390:50:43

so we have stuff like the side-by-side and you pedal that by hand.

0:50:430:50:46

I guess the most advanced version is this one.

0:50:460:50:49

Any wheelchair can sit on the front of that.

0:50:490:50:52

Are you seeing people you wouldn't expect to see here and are they coming back?

0:50:520:50:55

Absolutely, we're busier than we've ever been and the range of

0:50:550:50:58

different people accessing nature at Watchtree is huge.

0:50:580:51:02

I like this bike here.

0:51:020:51:03

Oh. But I imagine as well you get kids just coming and wanting to try

0:51:030:51:06

-these out.

-Oh, yeah, yeah, that's part of it as well.

0:51:060:51:09

If you've got a family come along with six kids,

0:51:090:51:14

one of which has a disability, this is one of the only places everybody does the same thing.

0:51:140:51:18

The ability becomes irrelevant, doesn't it? Because everyone's on a level playing field.

0:51:180:51:21

I mean, look at me, I'm practically an Olympian!

0:51:210:51:24

This is excellent. Right, I'll see you in an hour.

0:51:240:51:28

'One of the people who has benefited

0:51:300:51:32

'from Watchtree's range of accessible bikes is Deborah Dearden.

0:51:320:51:36

'She liked one of them so much she got her own.'

0:51:360:51:39

Now, Deborah, that is a steed and quite a set of wheels.

0:51:390:51:43

I don't know which to comment on first. That's the biggest dog I've ever seen!

0:51:430:51:47

Talk to me about this bike, though.

0:51:470:51:50

It's the most amazing, fabulous thing that I can go anywhere in.

0:51:500:51:55

Normally I'm on a mobility scooter.

0:51:560:51:58

And I can't go up kerbs and I can't go over rough grass.

0:51:580:52:02

Whereas this has individual wheels sprung, so it's amazing.

0:52:020:52:08

Would you say you have an appetite for the outdoors?

0:52:080:52:11

Do you want to go up hills?

0:52:110:52:12

I've been wanting to go outside and up mountains since I was 16.

0:52:120:52:17

And then I had a bad car crash and unfortunately it left me with injuries

0:52:170:52:23

which meant I couldn't.

0:52:230:52:24

-Can you now?

-Yes.

0:52:240:52:26

-Finally.

-So, where have you been?

-We've been up Wynlass,

0:52:260:52:29

which I've never been able to do.

0:52:290:52:31

Ramsbottom is the next one.

0:52:310:52:32

I believe I can do that now.

0:52:320:52:34

This must seem relatively tame. What brings you to Watchtree?

0:52:340:52:38

Birds.

0:52:380:52:39

About 12 months ago, I started coming to watch the birds and to

0:52:390:52:43

bring what was a baby puppy.

0:52:430:52:46

I don't think he was ever a baby!

0:52:470:52:49

SHE LAUGHS

0:52:490:52:50

'Dusk descends.

0:52:520:52:54

'A small crowd gathers.

0:52:550:52:58

'All here to witness one of nature's greatest sights.

0:52:580:53:02

'Large numbers of starlings can never be guaranteed

0:53:020:53:06

'and it's a tense wait.

0:53:060:53:07

'But our patience pays off.

0:53:090:53:11

'In a big way!

0:53:140:53:15

'Just look at that.'

0:53:150:53:17

Wow! It's incredible, isn't it?

0:53:310:53:34

It's just wonderful.

0:53:340:53:35

'And their numbers just build and build.'

0:53:530:53:56

Look at all those birds!

0:53:560:53:59

Blimey! Where have they come from?

0:53:590:54:01

We're getting up to 40,000 maybe.

0:54:010:54:02

Oh, my word.

0:54:020:54:05

It's almost supernatural,

0:54:160:54:17

the way these starlings dance around each other

0:54:170:54:20

and peel off and come together in the sky, it really is spectacular,

0:54:200:54:24

what a showing! But the light is starting to fall,

0:54:240:54:27

which means it's time for these birds to settle down and roost

0:54:270:54:30

for the night here in Cumbria and probably down in Norfolk as well.

0:54:300:54:34

I think it's time for us to do the same.

0:54:340:54:36

Yes, it's all very calm and peaceful here.

0:54:380:54:40

Now, next week, it's our winter special

0:54:400:54:42

and I'll be up in Helen's neck of the woods, in Cumbria,

0:54:420:54:45

looking at hardy Herdwick sheep,

0:54:450:54:47

and Ellie will be in the snowy Cairngorms.

0:54:470:54:49

I hope you can join us then.

0:54:490:54:51

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