0:00:02 > 0:00:04Welcome to Nature's Top 40 -
0:00:04 > 0:00:08a countdown from 40 to 1 of the UK's greatest wildlife spectacles.
0:00:17 > 0:00:20And today, I'm here at Belfast Loch in Northern Ireland.
0:00:20 > 0:00:25You've got the cranes of Harland and Wolf over there behind me and on this reserve,
0:00:25 > 0:00:30some of the greatest concentrations of wild fowl and waders anywhere in the UK.
0:00:30 > 0:00:32It's a truly fantastic place.
0:00:32 > 0:00:38But before we get started on today's countdown, here's a look at some of the things that've been before.
0:00:38 > 0:00:42Singing his way into our charts, the natterjack toad.
0:00:42 > 0:00:49Our panel of experts put this at number 40 - loud, proud and blowing bubbles for Britain.
0:00:49 > 0:00:57Even higher up the chart, a moving carpet of knot - where else in the world can you see so many birds?
0:00:57 > 0:00:59Well, how about this?
0:00:59 > 0:01:03The rook roost was suggested by BBC Radio Norfolk and stormed into our charts at 29.
0:01:03 > 0:01:09It looks like a bonfire and someone's bashed it and they're all tiny little pieces of ash.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15Today, we're counting down from 28 to 25 and I've come here
0:01:15 > 0:01:22to Northern Ireland to meet one of the other experts that ranked our UK spectacles - Anthony MacGeean.
0:01:22 > 0:01:27Now before we get going, Anthony, why are one of my top five favourites - the glow worms -
0:01:27 > 0:01:31languishing in the lower 30s? Is this anything to do with you?
0:01:31 > 0:01:35Well, I think lack of a song springs to mind as one kind of bit of a drawback.
0:01:35 > 0:01:39Oh, you birdbrain, you birdbrain. There's one thing we won't disagree on.
0:01:39 > 0:01:42At number 28 - swarming bats - what do you think?
0:01:42 > 0:01:46Yeah, I've had a bit of a soft spot for bats, you know, since childhood.
0:01:46 > 0:01:49I used to even regard them as a bird in those days.
0:01:49 > 0:01:53A man with bat on his bird list. At number 28, let's see them swarming.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00Well, it's 4.30 in the morning,
0:02:00 > 0:02:05and something very remarkable is about to happen. We're going to see
0:02:05 > 0:02:07several hundred mammals.
0:02:07 > 0:02:13They've gathered in this house in Hampshire to have their babies, and up to 1,000 have been recorded -
0:02:13 > 0:02:16and they've been out on the town all night long.
0:02:16 > 0:02:21Bat swarming - number 28 in our top 40.
0:02:21 > 0:02:25These are soprano pipistrelle bats.
0:02:25 > 0:02:28They gather in their hundreds in maternal roosts when it's time to breed,
0:02:28 > 0:02:34and first thing in the morning, they put on a show known as swarming.
0:02:34 > 0:02:38Come on now - there are no excuses not to get up early in the morning
0:02:38 > 0:02:41to see bats swarming like this.
0:02:41 > 0:02:47And with a little home movie camera, it's never been as easy.
0:02:47 > 0:02:51This has got an infrared option and I can see
0:02:51 > 0:02:56the bats swirling right round the gable end of the house.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59Look! Those little fluorescent specks, believe me, are bats.
0:02:59 > 0:03:06And look how social they are - five, six, seven, eight all whizzing around together.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09Ah. Superb sight!
0:03:09 > 0:03:14I can only just see them against the sky.
0:03:14 > 0:03:18But with this, it makes it easy.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23Isn't this lovely? It's wonderful, it's so exciting!
0:03:23 > 0:03:27But being a mad keen naturalist, I want to know what's going on here.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30And fortunately for me, I've brought along a friend.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33Just behind me here we have a bat lady.
0:03:34 > 0:03:38Must be Alison Rasey from the Bat Conservation Trust.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41- I am, hello, good to see you. - Likewise. How's it going?
0:03:41 > 0:03:44It's good. Plenty of activity up there at the moment.
0:03:44 > 0:03:49- I love this sound we're hearing, the little drumming!- Yeah, yeah.
0:03:49 > 0:03:53These are the soprano pipistrelles as you can hear them on a bat detector.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56You wouldn't be able to hear them if we didn't have this.
0:03:56 > 0:04:01We've got the number 55. That's the frequency that they're echo locating, is that right?
0:04:01 > 0:04:06Yeah. There are other pipistrelles and common pipistrelles echolocate at about 45 kilohertz.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09There's also another species of pipistrelle in the UK
0:04:09 > 0:04:14called an enthusiast pipistrelle that echo locates at something below 40 kilohertz, about sort of 38,
0:04:14 > 0:04:18something like that, so we've actually got three species in the UK.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22- Wow! That one flew right over my head as well.- Yeah.- Oh, superb.
0:04:22 > 0:04:24There's a lot of sort of slaps, you know,
0:04:24 > 0:04:29as I said of echo locating - getting a sound picture of their surroundings -
0:04:29 > 0:04:33but as they home in on an insect, the echolocation calls get faster and faster and faster,
0:04:33 > 0:04:36cos they've got to be accurate where they're homing in.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39That's when you get that sort of raspberry sound, if you like.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43- Parp!- Exactly. Yeah. Brilliant, you'd be a good bat.- Thank you.
0:04:49 > 0:04:54Now I understand this is not any old colony, this is a maternity roost - what does that mean?
0:04:54 > 0:04:59Right, this is a roost where the females have gathered together to have their baby.
0:04:59 > 0:05:01Now this only happens once a year.
0:05:01 > 0:05:05The females will only have usually one baby each and they have it.
0:05:05 > 0:05:08They give birth generally either in June or July.
0:05:08 > 0:05:10Baby bats are called pups
0:05:10 > 0:05:13and they're just as cute as the canine variety.
0:05:15 > 0:05:20This roost is excellent location, plenty of trees around - brilliant habitat for them -
0:05:20 > 0:05:23because it's not only the roosting space that's important for them,
0:05:23 > 0:05:27they've got to be able to have a good supply of food as well.
0:05:27 > 0:05:31So this is obviously nice and insecty. Excellent habitat for them.
0:05:31 > 0:05:33So they've got it all here - everything that they need.
0:05:33 > 0:05:37It's perfect here for this number of bats to gather to have their baby.
0:05:37 > 0:05:41- Bat des res.- Indeed.- And look how many are flying around now, Alison.
0:05:41 > 0:05:43- Isn't it amazing?- Brilliant.
0:05:43 > 0:05:48- I think a few are going in now, rather than just swarming around. - Yeah, they are, aren't they?
0:05:50 > 0:05:52The reason I really like bats is I hate midges,
0:05:52 > 0:05:56cos I've got one of those skin types where I get really easily eaten.
0:05:56 > 0:06:00These should be my friend, cos they take loads of midges out the air.
0:06:00 > 0:06:04Yeah, indeed they are. Yeah, up to 3,000 in a night.
0:06:04 > 0:06:06On average per pipistrelle bat.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09Per bat, so that's a lot of midges.
0:06:09 > 0:06:13- I can also hear a tawny owl just calling in the background. - Yeah, I heard that.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16And they occasionally take bats, is that right?
0:06:16 > 0:06:20- Yeah, has been recorded, yeah. - Wonderful sound. Do you hear that?
0:06:20 > 0:06:23OWL HOOTS
0:06:36 > 0:06:41Now I'm with the Brent Jones family who are lucky enough to live below the pipistrelles.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44Nick, William, Harriet and Clare.
0:06:44 > 0:06:47You are the luckiest family, aren't you? Wonderful.
0:06:47 > 0:06:49They're very good, very good indeed.
0:06:49 > 0:06:53- You have to get up early to see them though.- Very early, very early.
0:06:53 > 0:06:58Think you guys were here about 4am, so yeah, they started swarming about half past four.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01So, Harriet, how did you know there were bats in your attic?
0:07:01 > 0:07:05Well, at first, it was this really horrible smell,
0:07:05 > 0:07:10and we just thought it was the new house smell. But after a few days, it was still there.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13We opened windows, smelly candles, it was still there.
0:07:13 > 0:07:18And we were out one night on the patio and we saw these.
0:07:18 > 0:07:25It looked like birds, um, but we looked into it a bit more closely and they were actually bats.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28- Wonderful. Isn't it amazing you've got such a big roost above your head?- Yeah.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31Does it make you kind of stay awake at night?
0:07:31 > 0:07:36Well... They make a little high squeaky noise which is really nice.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39What do you think of the bats, William? Cool, aren't they?
0:07:39 > 0:07:44- How many do you think there are in the top of the house?- 101!- 101?
0:07:44 > 0:07:48I think there are a few more. What's the highest number that have been recorded, Nick?
0:07:48 > 0:07:53About two weeks ago, we saw 771 -
0:07:53 > 0:07:56we counted them out of this end of the house,
0:07:56 > 0:08:00but we know there are others at the other end of the house.
0:08:00 > 0:08:07And the other evening, we counted 77 out of there, so we know, as a minimum, there's 850 up there.
0:08:07 > 0:08:12That's without the ones we missed and without the babies that aren't flying yet.
0:08:12 > 0:08:15- That's a pretty phenomenal number. - Anyone's guess, really.
0:08:26 > 0:08:31If you'd like to find out more about bats, you should think about joining your local bat group.
0:08:31 > 0:08:38They organise walks and might be able to throw more light on which species it is that you're hearing or seeing.
0:08:38 > 0:08:42Number 27 now, and it's something that really says summer.
0:08:42 > 0:08:46Clouds of butterflies - what could be better than that?
0:08:46 > 0:08:52Well, perhaps just watching one butterfly emerge form its pupae. Fantastic.
0:09:00 > 0:09:05Is there a more colourful order of animals in the UK?
0:09:05 > 0:09:10Butterflies are as vivid and as complex as a stained glass window.
0:09:11 > 0:09:18And sometimes, even in Britain, you can find large congregations of one species.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21This is the Great Orme in North Wales.
0:09:21 > 0:09:25One of the last places in the UK where you could see
0:09:25 > 0:09:27a butterfly spectacular.
0:09:30 > 0:09:35I'm surrounded by literally hundreds of butterflies.
0:09:35 > 0:09:39They're all from the same species - these are the silver studded blue.
0:09:41 > 0:09:45There are about half a million of these tiny butterflies here.
0:09:45 > 0:09:49The silver studded blue is similar to the common blue, but rarer.
0:09:49 > 0:09:54They have these metallic blue, jewel-like studs on the hind wing.
0:09:56 > 0:10:02Butterflies' colours come from hairy scales which cover the wings and part of the body.
0:10:02 > 0:10:09Some scales have pigment in them, but the iridescent blues and greens are created by light.
0:10:09 > 0:10:14Tiny ridges diffract the light. You get the same effect looking at a CD.
0:10:14 > 0:10:21But the scales are fragile and when they are damaged, the colours fade.
0:10:21 > 0:10:26These butterflies are so tiny, it's really hard to see them.
0:10:26 > 0:10:31But once you get your eye in, you can see that the bushes are absolutely covered with them.
0:10:31 > 0:10:33There's one right here.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36It's got its wings shut, so you can't see that amazing blue.
0:10:36 > 0:10:40But as soon as it warms up, it's going to look absolutely stunning.
0:10:47 > 0:10:53To find masses of them, I've asked Russell Hobson from Butterfly Conservation to help me.
0:10:53 > 0:10:56One thing about the Great Orme is the fact that
0:10:56 > 0:11:00not only has it got silver studded blues but it's got them in profusion.
0:11:00 > 0:11:05I mean, in the 19th century, they were recorded here as in swarms,
0:11:05 > 0:11:08and still today, it's one of the few places in UK you can come and get
0:11:08 > 0:11:14that sensation of lots and lots of butterflies flying around you as you walk along these slopes.
0:11:14 > 0:11:20We're not talking about seeing clouds of butterflies so that the sky darkens, what we're talking about
0:11:20 > 0:11:25is basically every step you take, you'll see half a dozen butterflies.
0:11:25 > 0:11:31And there's not many places you can actually get that experience in Britain now.
0:11:31 > 0:11:36So why don't we see so many clouds of butterflies these days?
0:11:36 > 0:11:43Well, primarily because we don't these days have as many fields full of wild flowers.
0:11:43 > 0:11:45And that's what butterflies need.
0:11:45 > 0:11:49Both the adults for nectar and also the diversity of wild flowers means
0:11:49 > 0:11:53there's different things for different butterfly species, caterpillars to feed on.
0:11:53 > 0:11:56Here you've got lots of wild flowers, lots of the rock rose
0:11:56 > 0:11:59that the silver studded blue caterpillars feed on.
0:12:05 > 0:12:12An equally magical but even more intimate spectacle is watching a caterpillar turn into a butterfly.
0:12:15 > 0:12:19It has to be one of the most wonderful sights in the natural world.
0:12:21 > 0:12:26This is a purple emperor, emerging from its chrysalis.
0:12:28 > 0:12:31Newly emerged butterflies aren't ready to fly immediately.
0:12:31 > 0:12:36It takes about an hour to form the wings, by pumping fluid from the abdomen.
0:12:40 > 0:12:43So they often emerge at night to avoid predators.
0:12:44 > 0:12:48The proboscis isn't fully formed either.
0:12:48 > 0:12:56It starts as two halves which are hooked together, a bit like Velcro, to form a straw-like tube.
0:12:59 > 0:13:06This is a top ten spectacle and it happens to millions of butterflies every year,
0:13:06 > 0:13:09but we almost never see it.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12It's one of nature's secret miracles.
0:13:12 > 0:13:19Back on the Great Orme, as the day warms up, we find more and more silver studded blues.
0:13:22 > 0:13:24There's loads here! Gosh! That's amazing!
0:13:24 > 0:13:27- Yes, just in amongst the bramble, isn't it?- Yeah.
0:13:27 > 0:13:31And they'll stick in amongst here, but it's not dense scrub.
0:13:31 > 0:13:34Even though it's not always easy to walk through,
0:13:34 > 0:13:37there's quite a lot of rock rose in here.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40So there's quite a lot of places for them to egg lay as well.
0:13:40 > 0:13:42- Oh, wow, look at this. - This is lovely.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45I mean, there's so many butterflies here.
0:13:45 > 0:13:48It's fantastic, and there's very few places in the UK
0:13:48 > 0:13:52where you just get this intimacy with a butterfly and in these numbers as well.
0:13:52 > 0:13:58- The experience isn't just about them flying around where you can see them. - It's being amongst them, isn't it?
0:13:58 > 0:14:02Being amongst them, yeah, but there's so much going on that you just...
0:14:02 > 0:14:06You need to come out to get a real impression of the sheer numbers here
0:14:06 > 0:14:11and why this is such a spectacular place and such a spectacular experience.
0:14:14 > 0:14:16Fantastic. It's so simple!
0:14:16 > 0:14:21You know, a butterfly emerging from its pupae is never going to cease to fascinate me.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24Anyway, this is equally tremendous, Anthony.
0:14:24 > 0:14:29All of these godwits so close and you've brought them here and got them like this. Fantastic work.
0:14:29 > 0:14:31Yeah, I see them every day and never tire of them.
0:14:31 > 0:14:36You're a bit biased, so what about outside of the reserve here and into the province?
0:14:36 > 0:14:41- What are your other favourites? - Whooper swans are another big favourite.
0:14:41 > 0:14:46It's hard to beat sort of big birds, especially ones that have to fly like 900 miles across
0:14:46 > 0:14:51the sort of pretty tempestuous Atlantic ocean to get from here to the breeding grounds.
0:14:51 > 0:14:54OK, whooper swans. Next up?
0:14:54 > 0:14:58Snipe has got to be it. People who have never seen snipe,
0:14:58 > 0:15:03it's something that is really the ultimate in sort of camouflage and cryptic plumage.
0:15:03 > 0:15:07And what about what about a non-bird? Can you squeeze a non-bird into your three?
0:15:07 > 0:15:12If I wave the flag for Ireland, it would have to be the Irish hare.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15It's such a nicer animal than the brown hare.
0:15:15 > 0:15:21But let's go back to birds - at number 26, it's the somewhat painful sea bird attack.
0:15:25 > 0:15:32This is an experience where you don't have to look for the wildlife, because it comes and finds you.
0:15:37 > 0:15:39BIRDS SCREECH
0:15:39 > 0:15:43Ooh! You can see why this particular stretch of boardwalk is called Bomb Alley.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46It's the height of the breeding season at the moment.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50All of these birds' eggs are about to hatch, so they're maximally aggressive.
0:15:50 > 0:15:58They see me as a potential predator and they've all this investment and they want it to pay off.
0:15:58 > 0:16:00Goodness me!
0:16:00 > 0:16:03I like birds...sometimes.
0:16:03 > 0:16:09These little beauties are Arctic terns, weighing in at about 100g,
0:16:09 > 0:16:11but packing the punch of a heavyweight boxer.
0:16:11 > 0:16:15Now it's not that these particular birds have got a vendetta against me.
0:16:15 > 0:16:20It's just that they're about to realise a massive investment. Look at this -
0:16:20 > 0:16:23the female here has laid these two relatively large eggs,
0:16:23 > 0:16:25and if I gently... Come on.
0:16:27 > 0:16:32You see that? That's a lot of energy's gone into producing those.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35Also, she's then had to sit on them, the male's had to feed her.
0:16:35 > 0:16:39And in a couple of days' time, these eggs are about to hatch.
0:16:39 > 0:16:43And that means that they are at their peak of aggression at the moment.
0:16:43 > 0:16:48They just want to see those chicks and don't want trouble from me. I don't want any trouble either.
0:16:50 > 0:16:51Oh!
0:16:51 > 0:16:56What makes these birds so special is their remarkable migration.
0:16:56 > 0:17:01They spend our winter in the Antarctic, before flying 6,000 miles
0:17:01 > 0:17:04to breed in the Farne Islands during our summer.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07And their arrival brings in the visitors.
0:17:07 > 0:17:11You see, I've learned my lesson. I'm well-equipped now.
0:17:11 > 0:17:16And any minute, I'm going to sell this cane for 10, 20 or even £30.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19It's one of the pleasures of running the gauntlet -
0:17:19 > 0:17:22you can then stand back and watch the rest get pecked to pieces.
0:17:22 > 0:17:24I love the word "Ow".
0:17:26 > 0:17:30But getting pecked isn't really that bad - honestly, honestly, it isn't.
0:17:30 > 0:17:33- What do you make of it, then? - Oh, fantastic. It's great!
0:17:33 > 0:17:36I always wanted to be in an Alfred Hitchcock film.
0:17:36 > 0:17:40- I was just going to say you've come off lightly.- No, I've got poo.
0:17:40 > 0:17:42- No, I'm pooed on.- That's good.
0:17:42 > 0:17:47We just thought it was fun, we thought it was very amusing.
0:17:47 > 0:17:49You've waving a brolly over your head.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52Seemed like a good idea at the time, yeah.
0:17:52 > 0:17:55- What do you think of the experience, yeah?- Superb, superb.
0:17:55 > 0:18:01I love it. It's so nice getting so close to the birds, even watching them attack you. It's...yeah.
0:18:01 > 0:18:05It's something special. You don't get that in London.
0:18:05 > 0:18:08This human invasion of their territory is well managed,
0:18:08 > 0:18:12and where else in the UK would a wild animal do this?
0:18:15 > 0:18:19On the Farnes, there are flitters, passers and sitters.
0:18:19 > 0:18:23I'm currently lucky to entertain a sitter.
0:18:23 > 0:18:29Just looking around here, there are a number of birds with sand eels, these tiny little silvery fish,
0:18:29 > 0:18:34and they are the reason that these terns have come all that way to breed here.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37Those fish are like little tern burgers.
0:18:37 > 0:18:41They're exactly the right size to catch, carry and feed their young
0:18:41 > 0:18:45and if the numbers of sand eels drop, they're in real, real trouble.
0:18:45 > 0:18:49Sometimes, they end up trying to feed their young these things.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52Now this is a pipe fish. You can see it's much much larger.
0:18:52 > 0:18:55It's also extremely tough and it's not at all oily.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58This is not good tern chick food whatsoever.
0:18:58 > 0:19:02Some of the young birds even choke on them, and in the last few years,
0:19:02 > 0:19:05numbers of these pipe fish have swollen exponentially,
0:19:05 > 0:19:12and you can go down to the shoreline here and literally scoop hundreds, hundreds out of the rock pools.
0:19:12 > 0:19:13So...
0:19:13 > 0:19:16You come near me, I'm going to give you a free lunch.
0:19:16 > 0:19:21There are daily landings during the spring and summer to this National Trust outpost,
0:19:21 > 0:19:24and it's a regular haunt for local lad Brian Little.
0:19:24 > 0:19:27Brian, this is an extraordinary spot.
0:19:27 > 0:19:29How long have you been coming here?
0:19:29 > 0:19:32It's over 50 years.
0:19:32 > 0:19:35It was about...1950
0:19:35 > 0:19:39- when I first came to the Farne Islands and I was 14 then.- 14.
0:19:39 > 0:19:43- I'm 71 now! - And you're still pleasured by being pecked and pooed upon.
0:19:43 > 0:19:46I come and I'm pleased to be pecked by Arctic terns.
0:19:46 > 0:19:48They're such superb birds.
0:19:48 > 0:19:52The thing is, Brian, you've been coming here for more than 50 years
0:19:52 > 0:19:55and still not engendered enough respect from these creatures...
0:19:55 > 0:20:00No, no, they still give me hell! You notice they don't think, "OK, we'll play cool.
0:20:00 > 0:20:05"There's Brian, you know, he's been coming here for 50 years, we'll not peck him."
0:20:05 > 0:20:08But they must be one of your favourites, of course.
0:20:08 > 0:20:14Yes, in terms of the migrations, they're fascinating, you know.
0:20:14 > 0:20:18I can hardly believe that such a tiny bird
0:20:18 > 0:20:24can travel thousands and thousands of miles on this planet of ours.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27Well, haven't ringed birds here been found in Australia?
0:20:27 > 0:20:30Yes, and one bird was only four months old.
0:20:30 > 0:20:33Four months after being ringed here on the Farne
0:20:33 > 0:20:39it was found on a beach in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
0:20:39 > 0:20:41But the thing is they are also very long lived?
0:20:41 > 0:20:45So in the total of their life the mileage is phenomenal.
0:20:45 > 0:20:48Well, you're talking about 12,000 miles each year
0:20:48 > 0:20:52plus whatever meanderings they have to add on to that.
0:20:52 > 0:20:54And 27 years' worth.
0:20:55 > 0:20:59It's mind boggling, you know, absolutely mind boggling.
0:21:00 > 0:21:03Ow! That was the worst!
0:21:03 > 0:21:05It was the worst all day.
0:21:05 > 0:21:10You know, the one good thing when you come to think about leaving the island - and you have to leave,
0:21:10 > 0:21:13there is no hotel, no bed and breakfast, no camp site -
0:21:13 > 0:21:18is that you have to run the gauntlet of all of these furious birds for the second time.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21And there's one thing for absolutely certain -
0:21:21 > 0:21:25this has to rank as a great spectacle because you can smell these birds,
0:21:25 > 0:21:27you can hear them, you can see them,
0:21:27 > 0:21:30and ladies and gentlemen, you can feel them.
0:21:30 > 0:21:31All the time.
0:21:35 > 0:21:40Now I can promise you you can't get closer to any birds in the UK than that.
0:21:40 > 0:21:45And I know it's a bit painful, you might get a peck on the ear or two, but think about this.
0:21:45 > 0:21:50Better to upset those terns than, say, a black rhino with the same intentions.
0:21:50 > 0:21:55Anyway at number 25 now, it's one of the UK's cutest mammals.
0:21:59 > 0:22:03The majesty of Scotland.
0:22:03 > 0:22:09And for wildlife, the Aigas Estate in the Highlands is as good as it gets.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19So the estate here is absolutely heaving with wildlife
0:22:19 > 0:22:21but we've come to see one very special animal,
0:22:21 > 0:22:25and in a break in the mould I'm not going to tell you what it is.
0:22:25 > 0:22:27No, but I will give you a couple of clues, OK?
0:22:27 > 0:22:33It's a mammal, it's incredibly shy and it comes out at night.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36But it's not a badger. It's also the size of a cat.
0:22:36 > 0:22:39But it's not a cat.
0:22:39 > 0:22:42It's a member of the weasel family.
0:22:42 > 0:22:44But it's not a weasel.
0:22:44 > 0:22:51And it's so good, so good that I've named it as an honorary bird.
0:22:51 > 0:22:52An honorary bird.
0:22:55 > 0:23:00One last clue - coming from the south, it's not an animal that I know particularly well,
0:23:00 > 0:23:03and therefore I'll need a bit of assistance to find it.
0:23:03 > 0:23:05Who better than the owner of the estate here,
0:23:05 > 0:23:08author and naturalist John Lister Kay - the man himself.
0:23:08 > 0:23:10- Hello, welcome to Aigas. - How are you?
0:23:10 > 0:23:12Good to see you. Yeah, very well thanks.
0:23:12 > 0:23:16- Plenty of visitors?- Yeah, lots of visitors and just fabulous wildlife.
0:23:16 > 0:23:19What about the creature that I'm coming to search for?
0:23:19 > 0:23:21They're here too.
0:23:21 > 0:23:25Very shy, very unpredictable but with a bit of luck,
0:23:25 > 0:23:29and maybe a few tricks up our sleeve maybe we can find one or two.
0:23:29 > 0:23:32- You're the man, so come on, let's go and have a look.- OK.
0:23:33 > 0:23:37All this rain, John, has been an asset to we naturalists
0:23:37 > 0:23:41when it comes to leaving spore or track marks, hasn't it?
0:23:41 > 0:23:44Wonderful mud at a time of year when we wouldn't normally see tracks at all.
0:23:44 > 0:23:48- There's plenty of tracks here.- Yeah, we have red deer going through here.
0:23:48 > 0:23:50Here we are, some badger tracks here,
0:23:50 > 0:23:54very distinctive with these five front claw marks deep in the mud.
0:23:54 > 0:23:58- Trotting down here, hasn't it? - That's right, he's travelling.
0:23:58 > 0:24:03This going the other way, a little bit older, smaller animal,
0:24:03 > 0:24:05might be what we're looking for.
0:24:05 > 0:24:08Very distinctive, different, and very cat-like.
0:24:08 > 0:24:10They've got this pad at the back,
0:24:10 > 0:24:13four pads in front of it but no claw marks at all.
0:24:13 > 0:24:18Nothing. No claws visible at all as this animal has retractable claws
0:24:18 > 0:24:22and he only produces them when he needs them, for skipping up a tree for instance.
0:24:22 > 0:24:25Well, it's certainly an intriguing animal.
0:24:25 > 0:24:27So how am I going to see it?
0:24:27 > 0:24:33John's got a special area where he regularly set outs irresistible treats like peanuts,
0:24:33 > 0:24:36and the real favourite - sticky jam.
0:24:39 > 0:24:43It's just after half past seven and they are meant to turn up at eight o'clock.
0:24:43 > 0:24:46Well. But if they do, I can tell you,
0:24:46 > 0:24:49oh, oh, it's going to be absolutely mega.
0:24:49 > 0:24:53John's just putting a little bit more food out to try and tempt them in.
0:24:53 > 0:24:56I tell you what, I often get a sense of anticipation
0:24:56 > 0:25:01that really gets me going, but at the moment I'm veritably twitching.
0:25:01 > 0:25:02Twitching.
0:25:12 > 0:25:16- Here we go! Chris, look up the top there.- Yes.
0:25:16 > 0:25:19He's just gone by.
0:25:19 > 0:25:21Here he is again, he's moving right.
0:25:23 > 0:25:25I think he'll come down past this ash tree
0:25:25 > 0:25:28so we'll see him again in just a moment.
0:25:28 > 0:25:31There he is, there he is. Look at that.
0:25:34 > 0:25:36That's the mammal you've been looking for.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39That's the pine marten.
0:25:39 > 0:25:42See him testing the wind, checking it out.
0:25:47 > 0:25:51What an animal. What an animal.
0:25:51 > 0:25:54There we are - how about that, hey?
0:25:55 > 0:25:58So lovely to see him climb the tree like that.
0:25:58 > 0:26:01So fluid, so agile, so acrobatic.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05He's really got stuck into the peanuts now.
0:26:05 > 0:26:07Yeah. Now what's quite funny, Chris,
0:26:07 > 0:26:11is the peanuts jam in the teeth quite regularly
0:26:11 > 0:26:15and sometimes you see frantic scratching at the cheeks
0:26:15 > 0:26:17to try and shift the peanuts out of the teeth.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20- Bit like us, then. - Yeah, that's right.
0:26:20 > 0:26:25John, they've got a very wide taste in food - their diet's extraordinary, isn't it?
0:26:25 > 0:26:30Yeah. They take almost anything. Frogs and toads and newts.
0:26:30 > 0:26:33Small birds, ground nesting birds' eggs.
0:26:33 > 0:26:36Small mammals, voles, shrews, mice, rats.
0:26:36 > 0:26:41They chase squirrels - I don't know how successful they are at catching them but they chase them.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46When you're watching at a feeding station,
0:26:46 > 0:26:48you never can be sure what's going to turn up.
0:26:48 > 0:26:51Sometimes, if you're really lucky
0:26:51 > 0:26:54a female appears bringing her young, or kits.
0:26:54 > 0:26:56They're born in the spring
0:26:56 > 0:26:59and remain with their mother for around six months.
0:26:59 > 0:27:02They used to be a really rare mammal, you know,
0:27:02 > 0:27:05but now I'm glad to say that they're coming back strongly
0:27:05 > 0:27:09and they're spreading throughout Scotland and down into England.
0:27:09 > 0:27:13Oh, they're absolutely stunning, absolutely stunning.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16Honorary bird, without a doubt,
0:27:16 > 0:27:18this is an honorary bird.
0:27:18 > 0:27:19But wow!
0:27:21 > 0:27:24I don't know - it's difficult, this top 40 business,
0:27:24 > 0:27:28because at this moment in time this is number one.
0:27:37 > 0:27:42And some lucky folk see all of this in their own back gardens.
0:27:45 > 0:27:47Les Humphreys from Fort William in Scotland,
0:27:47 > 0:27:52sent us this video filmed from the comfort of his study.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01It just shows that if you can win their trust,
0:28:01 > 0:28:03these normally shy animals will reward you
0:28:03 > 0:28:06with quite delightful encounters.
0:28:10 > 0:28:12Pine martens. Pine martens at number 25?
0:28:12 > 0:28:15What's going on? They're fantastic!
0:28:15 > 0:28:18Almost undoubtedly the UK's finest mammal,
0:28:18 > 0:28:22and if they're at number 25, just think of what is to come.
0:28:22 > 0:28:28A very good reason for you to join us for some more of Nature's Top 40.
0:28:36 > 0:28:39Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:39 > 0:28:42Email subtitling@bbc.co.uk