Episode 2 Nature's Top 40

Hi, I'm Chris Packham with Nature's Top 40.

The biggest, the best, and the most magical wildlife encounters you can have in the UK.

It is the definitive list of Britain's greatest wildlife spectacles.

It is the 40 things you can't afford to miss.

Today we will compare the sheer magic of a moving carpet of birds

with an underwater hug.

-I was literally in an embrace with that seal.

-So, how did we rank them?

We took suggestions from the public,

sprinkled in some of our own, then our panel

scored them based on numbers, rarity, colour and noise.

The result is an extraordinary wildlife chart.

It's a UK nature programme like no other.

The very best of our wildlife spectacles ranked from 40 down to number 1.

We have already had foxes, toads,

and one of my all-time favourites, glow-worms.

What is coming up next? Moths.

This beauty here is Poplar Hawk and this one resting on my thumb is Swallow Prominent.

Getting to grips with these can be a fantastic experience for any naturalist.

Straight in at number 36, it's moth-trapping.

They're seductive, romantically named,

and they dance around bright lights like this.

I have come to Wareham Forest in Dorset for an evening's entertainment

that beats all the discos and bright lights down the road in Bournemouth.

If you want to be blown away by a mind-boggling array of bright colours

and patterns, I reckon a night's moth-trapping is just what you need.

# Why'd you have to be so cute?

# It's impossible to ignore you... #

From extreme camouflage to extreme beauty,

the sheer range of moths makes them endlessly fascinating.

This is White Ermine. The designer teddy of the moth world.

This one, the most dramatic of our many day-flying moths.

The Hummingbird Hawk-moth.

When I first saw these as a five year-old lad in my garden

in mid-Wales, I thought we had been invaded by hummingbirds.

Beautiful, yes, but for me,

the real excitement lies in revealing the secrets of the night.

Attracting moths is easier than you might imagine.

You can, of course, get yourself a moth trap.

There are lots of different models on the market. I've got a couple here.

The cheapest one will probably set you back about £100.

Or you can leave the bathroom light on, open the window, and go in in the morning to see what you have caught.

But there are one or two tricks you can use as well.

First of all, there's the wine rope.

Soak an old rope in a mixture of wine and sugar. Hang it up and that will attract moths from miles around.

The other one is to boil up a little bit of brown ale and sugar.

Add treacle and then

put that on a post or a tree and that is irresistible to moths.

Sticky work, this.

Let's have a closer look at these two traps. This is the Robinson trap.

The Rolls-Royce of moth traps.

It's about £230 but works on the same principle as all the others.

A big light bulb attracts in the moths.

They fall down the chute and get stuck in here until you inspect it in the morning.

This is a Heath trap. Much cheaper.

This you can pick up for under £100.

Back to the brown ale and the wine.

As the light fades, within minutes, we get a result.

It is only a Large Yellow Underwing, but I told you it worked.

One of the wonderful things about moth-trapping is that

we can leave this now and come back at a sensible hour in the morning to find out what we have caught.

Kelly, what have we got here?

Well, we have got a Pine Hawk-moth, this one.

A Poplar Hawk-moth is the one flapping its wings and a Buff-Tip.

Perfectly camouflaged so if it was sitting on a birch twig, you wouldn't be able to see it.

-That's incredible, isn't it?

-Yes.

What else have we got here? We have got a beauty down here.

-The Elephant Hawk-moth.

-Yeah. He's stunning.

He's beautiful, isn't he? Lovely pink and green colours

and great big green eyes as well.

They have got really noticeable eyes.

A whole variety on here. Kelly, what are these?

A beautiful one, there, yellow with dark bands across it.

-That's a Black Arches.

-Black Arches?

-Yeah. That's a male.

He's got really feathery antennae.

I can see that. This one here?

-That's a Coxcomb Prominent.

-They've fantastic names, haven't they?

Moth names are unique, compared to dragonflies and that type of thing.

Moths were named over 300 years ago by the early moth recorders.

A lot of them have really romantic names which is part of the fascination about studying them.

All these amazing names. It's really lovely.

What is this intricate patterned moth down there?

That is another one with a romantic name. That's a True Lover's Knot

-A True Lover's Knot?

-It is a common moth around here on the heathlands in Dorset.

That is a lovely name, I do like that. True Lover's Knot.

That will be another True Lover's Knot?

-Yeah.

-One of the fantastic things is that everybody can do this,

-it doesn't matter where you live.

-No. Wherever you live.

In the city or in the countryside.

moth-trapping is really enjoyable and interesting but is also really valuable information for people

recording moths and send that data in,

it actually adds to the picture of what is going on in Britain.

Where moths are, where they are disappearing, that type of thing.

-There is another nice one here.

-That is a Drinker Moth.

Why is it called that?

It is called that because the caterpillars need to drink on dew.

-So that's why they're called that.

-Oh. Why are moths important?

I think moths are important just because they are amazing, beautiful and really interesting.

But they are a really important part of our food chain.

They are important for birds to feed on and bats to feed on.

They're also really good pollinators of plants, like bees.

They are important for all our plants as well, to survive.

It's a bit like Christmas. You just don't know what you're going to get.

That is the exciting part.

I know people who have been recording moths for 40 and 50 years because it is so fascinating.

You never know what is going to turn up. There's species that migrate here...

We get moths that come all the way from Africa, Southern Europe.

They travel all this way and could turn up

in your moth trap in your garden. It is fascinating.

They are incredible little creatures.

With more day-flying moths around than butterflies,

how do you tell the difference?

Well, sometimes you can get a clue from the antennae.

Moths' tend to be flat or feathered,

while butterflies' often have clubbed ends.

However, it doesn't always work.

So, why should moths be in the top 40 wildlife spectacles?

Well, there are over 2,500 species in the UK.

You can find them from mountain top to seashore and you can get dozens in your back garden.

When they are this beautiful, for me, that really is a wildlife spectacle.

Now then, if moths don't float your boat, I bet these guys do.

Lots of people love seals.

For many of them, this is as close as they will ever get.

This is the Hunstanton Sea Life Sanctuary.

It is a top place to see seals but you can have a truly wild experience, too.

At number 35, it's swimming with seals.

I've come to the Isles of Scilly

to enjoy at very special wildlife experience.

Where the animals put on such a performance,

you could be forgiven for thinking they are not wild at all.

I'm going underwater with animals who come to play,

not because they are trained to,

but simply because they enjoy the encounter as much as we do.

The Isles of Scilly nestle 28 miles off the south-west corner of Britain

and are home to around 300 Atlantic Grey seals.

If you come during the breeding season in autumn,

you might see young pups.

They are so cute in their fluffy white coats.

SEAL CROAKS

But despite the aww factor, there is something even better in store.

I've joined husband and wife team, Susie and Mark Groves, to find

one of the places where the seals haul themselves out onto the rocks.

With a bit of luck, they'll be ready to play.

-Mark, this is Eastern Rocks?

-These are the Eastern Isles.

This particular group of rocks are called Rennie Brow, and the large island is Many Weathen.

It is a very popular spot for them to haul out.

There's absolutely loads of them up there now.

Have they been there since the tide went down?

As soon as the tide drops, they haul out and it's nice and sheltered.

Now the tide's coming in, you see how they lift their heads up?

They are hanging on!

They have to give in eventually and they just float around then.

When the tide drops, they'll haul out again.

They are making quite a lot of noise,

is that the breeding season or something?

No. It is mainly because they are all trying to get on the same rock.

When they haul out, there are all these rocks,

you'd think they'd have one each but they all to go for the same rocks

and the one who is already on there complains.

-It is like fighting over the armchair at home!

-Exactly!

The noise is very loud and you can imagine 300 or 400 years ago,

you were a sailor here wrecked,

if it was thick fog now and you suddenly heard that noise,

you can see how these sort of myths about sea monsters arise.

It is a very eerie sound

and if you couldn't see them, you would wonder what it was.

Oh, yeah, it is quite spooky. A sort of, "Ooooooh"!

SEAL KEENS

We're amazingly close, aren't we?

But, I mean, we're all kitted up to get even closer, I guess.

We will, in a minute. When we get in the water, we will swim over to them

and all being well, they will come right up. They are very curious.

They're as curious about us as we are about them.

Susie, you must have done this loads of times,

do you ever get tired of it?

Not ever. It is always different.

We always see different seals.

That makes it even more exciting.

I just love swimming with the little ones, particularly

cos they are really curious, the way they look at you as if

they are not quite sure

and then when they approach really close to you, that is so exciting.

Sometimes they'll just come up to your fin,

almost touch it and then, "I'm not going to do this",

and whiz off again!

Whereas, the adults are a little bit more, "I've done this before.

"This is cool"!

'Well, enough talking...'

Ready to go!

'..It's time to take the plunge and experienced it myself.

'Occasionally, on land, seals may bite a human.

'But the water is their territory.

'I'm the guest in their world.

'And if I swim calmly and wait for them to approach me, they will.

'Seals may be ungainly on the rocks,

'but under water, they are fast and agile,

'performing a graceful aqua ballet.

'Soon, they are all around us getting more and more inquisitive.

'They are full of fun and mischief

'and just love to come up to our fins and nibble them.'

-That was fantastic.

-Pretty good!

I had to pinch myself, to remind myself they are genuine wild animals

-cos they are so playful!

-Exactly. You have to cos they are really...

Today was fantastic.

They were just there on your fins and doing everything,

as though they are like little puppies, really.

But you're quite right, they are wild, totally wild,

which is what makes it such a fantastically unique experience.

It is such a privilege.

You're right there and they come up to you and interact with us as well.

But it is their deal.

Some days, they might not want to play and then that's fine.

-But today, they were very, very, very good.

-I am so lucky, aren't I?

You were lucky. You hit it right today.

'With so many seals about,

'I couldn't resist one more swim and I'm so glad I did.

'One decided to get really, really close,

'giving me one of my best wildlife encounters ever.'

It came up to my face and I kept still because I thought,

I don't want to frighten it away.

And it put its face on my mask. I could feel its whiskers on my cheeks.

And then, it put its flippers on my shoulders.

I was literally in a hug, in an embrace with that seal!

It was quite funny cos I was trying to look at them

factually and scientifically but basically, the human response is,

-they are adorable, aren't they?!

-Absolutely. We love them!

'Hugged by a grey seal in its own wild environment.

'In my opinion, this should have been top of the charts.'

Playful as puppies but sorry, Janet, not our number one.

Our wildlife panel put seals in at number 35.

I don't want to get ahead of myself, we are barely in the series,

but already, we are reaching a high point for me.

The first mass-gathering of birds.

And one of them, in its summer plumage,

can have a brick-red breast.

It's a real Bobby Dazzler. And this, the north coast of Norfolk, is the place to see it.

In at number 34, the high tide roost.

As far as I'm concerned,

when birds get together, it's a super-sexy sight.

When they get together and you get great views, that is just nirvana.

An unlikely place for a park bench, you might think,

on this very windswept beach on the edge of The Wash.

But birders like me are drawn back here like iron filings to a magnet.

This is Snettisham, an RSPB Reserve

and it's miles from my home, absolutely miles.

And yet, I have come back here maybe 8 or 10 times in my life.

At this time of year, in August, it is the place to come and see Red Knot when they are red.

Cos they arrive back here in their breeding plumage and they are red -

pumped up red, with this lovely tomato soup stain wash down their chest.

People flock here because The Wash is a pit stop for tens of thousands

of migrating waders, bulking up on food lurking within the rich mud.

Come when there is a spring high tide,

and you will have another treat.

The rush of water as the tide comes in leaves the birds with no mud to stand on.

OK, it is bad news for them but it's great news for us because

that lack of land means there is

going to be a top-notch wader flypast.

A few of them have started to lift now, off the end.

Stacks of birds out there, though. Even at this time of year.

There is a flock here now coming in.

You can see them turning white against the blue.

Look at this number here. The thing is, this is one flock of...

..well, hazard a guess,

in the region of about 400 birds.

But this has been going on now for the last half hour.

It is not one great movement.

These animals have been moving around

for at least half an hour, 40 minutes or so.

So huge numbers of birds have been moving around here.

The wind might be playing havoc with these birds.

Look over here. Here they come.

A few more Godwits moving across here.

Some of these are still in their summer plumage.

They've got lovely red chests, just like the knot.

More Godwits coming in.

They're nice against the blue but they're high.

There's a good number of birds. Look at this little lot here.

There's more over here. They're swirling around.

The whole point of their movement is that they are coming in off of the exposed mud which was being covered

by the water and they need somewhere

to find a safe roosting site until the tide goes out again.

They choose this gravel pit behind us. The wind is pushing

and there's a few more Oystercatcher coming in here.

The wind is pushing the birds in all sorts of directions.

That is a lovely sight, these birds up in the sky there,

but an equally lovely sight is this group of people behind me

because it makes me feel less of a sad geek for being out here

in this freezing wind looking at these birds!

It's heartening that I'm not the only lunatic on this part of the planet at this moment!

What do you make of it, then?

It is very wonderful. It really is wonderful.

I don't know what to say...

It is just the way the light catches the birds

and you can really get the outline and see the colours.

It is nice and sharp in this early morning sunlight.

-Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.

-I love it.

It's great because at first when we came here, we were told about 10,000 Knot had already gone

and we came over and wave after wave were just coming at us, it's amazing.

To see Knot when they're all souped-up

would normally involve a trip to the High Arctic.

Come here in August, and the birds come to you.

It's a great site and the RSPB's Kieron Nelson is a big fan.

Every now and again,

one turns around and you can see it has got a good red chest, hasn't it?

Yes. It is the perfect time of year for that.

These birds have done their breeding now.

They're finished looking smart for the summer

but they hold onto that beautiful colour for a bit longer.

They do look special.

We've got a spectrum here because

there is a small percentage seem to be fully red and there are some

clearly getting washed out and there are even a few grey birds

-in their winter plumage.

-Yeah.

It is a difficult time of year.

-If you have never seen these birds before, you might think there are different species in there.

-Yeah.

But it's also a great time to look at them side-by-side

and you can imagine what they would look like

up on their breeding grounds when they were in full colour.

We have got, give or take, 3 or 4,000 birds here right now.

That's nothing compared to what we might expect to get in the middle of winter.

Numbers will build up to 60 or 70,000 birds.

This whole bank here can be entirely coated in birds and you barely see the ground beneath the birds.

-It really is impressive.

-Funny you should say that. I've brought the laptop here

and I'm going to show you some pictures that we got in the winter last year.

This was filmed from this very hide.

That bank is just a seething mass of birds. We can't see the ground.

It's like a thick carpet of birds, yeah.

'So, when do you come?

'November and see the masses of Knot or August to see the dandies?'

I think if you can bear the cold, if you can stomach a brisk northerly in-your-face,

then get down here for the first tide in November and come and see

-this because it really is outstanding.

-It is outstanding.

Although, I have to say, an individual Knot in November

is not a lot of Knots, is it?

-There's one down there at the moment has got a lot!

-Yeah!

Now, Ragwort is unlikely to win a botanical beauty contest

unless you are a Cinnabar Moth or its larvae

as these things are one of the few animals that eat Ragwort.

But it's time now for our first flower extravaganza.

It's not Bluebells and it's not a classic English haymeadow.

It is a bit of Celtic flower-power.

Straight in at number 33, it is the Scottish Machair.

These are the Western Isles. One of the UK's last great wildernesses.

Mainland Scotland is 100 miles in that direction. Over here is

the North Atlantic and there is pretty much nothing between me

and North America, 2,500 miles away.

I guess what I am saying is that this place is pretty remote

but there is something so special here,

you've just got to come and check it out yourself.

Isn't this just stunning?

It is no wonder that one poet

called this the land of the smiling coloured flowers.

This is the Machair. It is one of the rarest habitats in Europe.

And the secret of the landscape lies in the soil.

This is a really good example of how the Machair works.

What it is, is all this sand is made up of ground-up shells.

That neutralises the acid in the peat and allows all these lovely flowers to flourish.

From May onwards, this landscape explodes into colour.

It is an event which local naturalist, Joanne Ferguson,

looks forward to with relish.

When we were up there looking down at this field,

it just looked really uniform, totally yellow.

Now we are here, you can see there are loads of different species.

Just looking around you,

there are Buttercups, Yellow Rattle, Nipplewort.

Nipplewort, that's the dandelion-like one?

-That's correct.

-Loads of Lady's Bedstraw here, too.

We do and some Ragwort and Thistles.

Now that we're down here, you can clearly see the edge of the field.

You know, where the crop has started growing

and there's a completely different set of species there?

You get this intense edge effect

where flowers like marigolds and poppies are quite dense

just at the edge of the crop, there.

'These aren't garden flowers but wild pansies,

'also known as Heart Seeds as they were used

'in medicines and love potions.

'This flower spectacular

'only occurs because the land is managed in a non-intensive way.

'The crofters use natural fertilisers,

'crops are rotated and fields are grazed and then left fallow.

'All this gives flowers their chance to shine.'

This is incredible, Joanne.

We've just come a few metres away from the other field and the flowers are almost completely different.

Yes, because it is a wee bit damper.

We've got a couple of Orchids here - these are really pretty.

This one here is Early Marsh Orchid, a Hebridean sub-species.

It's actually called Cochinea, based on the colour, cochineal.

Oh, right. It is a really lovely colour.

This one that is next to it looks to me like a Marsh Orchid?

Yes, but again it is a Hebridean sub-species.

See all the spotting on the leaves? That is a common orchid.

It is brilliant. Just surrounded by orchids. There are so many of them!

Look around us, there are thousands of orchids in this field here.

'What the Western Isles may lack in its variety of orchids,

'it certainly makes up in sheer numbers.'

It's amazing and although there are quite a lot of buttercups,

the overall colour has changed to purple.

The pinks and purples are really coming through.

You can see some of the other species are starting to flower.

There's some Ragged Robins flowering over there.

Yeah, it's gonna be really, really colourful the next couple of weeks.

We tend to take it for granted but this sort

of habitat occurs right throughout the Uist. It is quite amazing.

'These islands are a wildlife paradise throughout the year

'but it's flower-power that holds sway in the summer,

'providing a rich source of food

'for one of the UK's most threatened sets of insects.

'There are 25 species of bumblebee in the UK

'and some of the rarest can be found here.

'They are a favourite of artist, Bill Neill.'

-Hi, Bill.

-Hello.

-Nice to meet you.

-Good.

-I love your bee pictures.

They're so good!

Why bees, what has drawn you to bees?

I think I have always quite liked bumblebees.

They are interesting little things, aren't they?

And I just slowly got more and more interested in them

and like a lot of these things,

the more you find out, the more interesting they become.

They have that intrinsic link with the flowers here.

They do, they do indeed.

Some bees have longer tongue lengths than others and therefore

they specialise on certain sorts of flowers

that you need a long tongue to get right down to the food.

For that, some flowers provide more nectar to encourage them -

their use by these bees.

There are some species that don't have the long tongue so they just

nick nectar through a little hole in the bottom of the flower?

Yes, the Short-Tongued Bumblebee, the White-Tailed Bumblebee,

cheats its way by nibbling a little hole in the top.

'But how do you get to grips with a subject that won't sit still?

'Well, Bill makes a beeline

'for casualties that have been hit by cars.

'This landscape is a reminder of what much of the UK used to be like before

'intensive farming and fertilisers drained the land of its colour.

'It is a place that simply mustn't be missed.'

The islanders are rightly proud of the Machair. You can see why.

Because it's just got everything. You've got these really cute

but common plants like buttercups

and thousands of exotic gems like these orchids.

As a wild flower spectacle, it is just stunning.

That is all we have got time for today. Look at what we've had.

A myriad of moths.

A bird that looked like it had tomato soup spilled down its chest.

Swimming with seals and a flower-filled meadow

that looked like an explosion in a paint shop.

All of that and we're still at number 33 in our list of Britain's greatest wildlife spectacles.

So, join us again next time when the countdown continues. Goodbye.

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