0:00:02 > 0:00:04Hello, I'm Chris Packham and this is Nature's Top 40,
0:00:04 > 0:00:09your guide to the top wildlife shows that you can see anywhere across the UK.
0:00:18 > 0:00:23Now we're right up there in the Top Ten at the moment. But before we go on, here are some of the most
0:00:23 > 0:00:25astonishing spectacles that have come before.
0:00:27 > 0:00:29Sending sparks up our charts.
0:00:29 > 0:00:32Fresh from a fairytale - glow worms.
0:00:34 > 0:00:37Wordsworth called them earth-born stars.
0:00:37 > 0:00:38They are really very special.
0:00:39 > 0:00:44Lolo Williams claimed that rutting goats were even better than deer.
0:00:44 > 0:00:48It's full on 100 miles an hour stuff. They go up on their hind legs and then crash.
0:00:48 > 0:00:54And, at nine, our biggest entry, a shark the size of a bus.
0:00:54 > 0:00:58You would think it doesn't get any better than this,
0:00:58 > 0:00:59but, believe me, it does.
0:01:04 > 0:01:08So then what's made it even bigger than the basking shark?
0:01:08 > 0:01:12Take a look at this and you might be in for a bit of a surprise.
0:01:12 > 0:01:17For some people, not a terribly pleasant one because the adder has made it into our charts.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20Not because of its secretive or venomous nature,
0:01:20 > 0:01:23but because at number eight, we've got dancing adders.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28# I said that I bet that you look good on the dance floor
0:01:28 > 0:01:30# I don't know if you're looking for romance or
0:01:30 > 0:01:32# I don't know what you're looking for... #
0:01:37 > 0:01:38Dancing adders, eh?
0:01:38 > 0:01:41I bet you hadn't thought of that. But they do dance
0:01:41 > 0:01:45and we'll be seeing that later on in the programme. But first...
0:01:50 > 0:01:54If you're looking for dancing adders you need to tell the difference between the adder,
0:01:54 > 0:01:58and the other common snake, the grass snake. This is a grass snake. It's not an adder.
0:01:58 > 0:02:02If it was, I wouldn't be handling it because they're venomous,
0:02:02 > 0:02:05and if you do get bitten then you need to go to the doctor.
0:02:05 > 0:02:09The grass snake, first of all, they can grow to be about five foot long.
0:02:09 > 0:02:14They're nearly always an olive colour and they've got this lovely pattern on the neck there.
0:02:14 > 0:02:16Always a band of yellow.
0:02:16 > 0:02:22The adder, which I have in the tank here, they're usually shorter and fatter and the easiest way
0:02:22 > 0:02:28to tell them apart is to look for the black zig-zag all the way down the back of the adder.
0:02:28 > 0:02:36If you're lucky to get close enough to them then look at the eye, the adder has got this vertical slit,
0:02:36 > 0:02:39whereas the grass snake has got a round pupil.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42Those are the basic differences.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45So what kind of habitat at you looking for, Rhys?
0:02:45 > 0:02:47We need... quite dry we've got a little bit of...
0:02:47 > 0:02:51'Rhys Jones is a man who's mad about adders.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57'He's rescued an adder from a building site
0:02:57 > 0:03:01'and is releasing it in Parc Slip nature reserve in South Wales.'
0:03:01 > 0:03:06It'll be just in time for it to settle in before its winter hibernation.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09She's looking a tad...
0:03:09 > 0:03:11Very feisty, isn't she?
0:03:11 > 0:03:13She's just been moved, Lolo, so she's...
0:03:13 > 0:03:16a little bit... I'm sure she'll be a good girl for us.
0:03:17 > 0:03:20You're obviously an experienced handler, Rhys,
0:03:20 > 0:03:22cos these are venomous, aren't they?
0:03:22 > 0:03:27They are venomous, but they're not as dangerous as some people may think.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30Generally, this animal will do anything apart from bite you.
0:03:36 > 0:03:39You called her "she" earlier, how do you know it's a female?
0:03:39 > 0:03:45Well, as you can see, she's an earthen brown colour and the males tend to be a slate grey.
0:03:45 > 0:03:49She's beautiful. This is an ideal area for her here?
0:03:49 > 0:03:53Yeah, we've got a bit of gorse there. There's plenty of cover.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56There's going to be a lot of prey items here and there's...
0:03:56 > 0:03:59nice places for her over winter so they'll be fine.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02It's getting cooler now, they're going to be hibernating fairly soon.
0:04:02 > 0:04:06Indeed, yes. She'll probably be looking to grab a last meal now,
0:04:06 > 0:04:12looking for the odd vole here or there, and then she has to empty her stomach contents completely.
0:04:12 > 0:04:16She must make sure there's no food at all in those intestines.
0:04:16 > 0:04:21As soon as she gets cold that food will rot so she needs to get compete clear of all of it.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24And next spring, Rhys, that's when the action starts?
0:04:24 > 0:04:26Oh, it is indeed yes, yes.
0:04:26 > 0:04:31That's when we'll see our males out trying to impress the females because it's very important
0:04:31 > 0:04:36to get prime position in the field to make sure you attract your biggest, fittest females.
0:04:38 > 0:04:40It's all about finding and keeping a mate.
0:04:44 > 0:04:49Once the smaller, greyer male adder has paired up with a female, he smothers her with affection,
0:04:49 > 0:04:54entwining his body with hers and guarding her from other admirers.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01If he senses a rival close by, it's action stations.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13I've only ever seen it once and that was purely by accident.
0:05:13 > 0:05:20I saw two males and they were trying to push each other over. It was like a mad reptilian tango.
0:05:20 > 0:05:22It is indeed, it is indeed.
0:05:22 > 0:05:24It's far better than your dance earlier!
0:05:24 > 0:05:28Nothing wrong with it, nothing wrong with it. Have you ever seen it?
0:05:28 > 0:05:30Yes, only once myself, and purely by accident.
0:05:30 > 0:05:35It was a big open field and I thought it was a rabbit popping its head up very quickly.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38It turned out it was two males really going for it.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41They wouldn't have cared if I was stood right next to them.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44They were really involved in making sure that they could get
0:05:44 > 0:05:47that prime position and push over the opposing male.
0:05:48 > 0:05:53This is not a battle to the death, but a test of strength.
0:05:53 > 0:05:58The snakes lock together, pushing against each other until one has the advantage.
0:06:00 > 0:06:02And there's one golden rule.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05The snakes never use their venom on each other.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08That's reserved for their prey.
0:06:08 > 0:06:12The aim is simply to push the rival's head to the ground and thus defeat him.
0:06:14 > 0:06:16Why is it called a dance, Rhys?
0:06:16 > 0:06:20Some of these males will actually intertwine with other males,
0:06:20 > 0:06:22you can see them going back and forth.
0:06:22 > 0:06:28It's quite spectacular. I suppose that our ancestors saw them and it would just be at the beginning
0:06:28 > 0:06:32of spring, lovely and warm, everything started to grow again.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35These animals rejoicing at the coming of the sun.
0:06:35 > 0:06:37They probably saw it as a dance.
0:06:37 > 0:06:41I saw mine right at the beginning of April. Is that the best time?
0:06:41 > 0:06:44Yeah, that would have been about right, yeah.
0:06:44 > 0:06:49But if you are going to see them dancing, it's well worth it, cos it is a top spectacle.
0:06:49 > 0:06:51Oh, spectacular, it's right up there.
0:06:51 > 0:06:56Right up there as one of the most spectacular wildlife events in Britain, definitely.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01And there we go, you can keep your Strictly Come Dancing,
0:07:01 > 0:07:06the adders' dancing - more exciting and far better early evening viewing.
0:07:13 > 0:07:19Coming up next is something that was suggested by the listeners to BBC local radio and visitors to our
0:07:19 > 0:07:24website, and I have to say it would definitely make my top five. I know I say that about all
0:07:24 > 0:07:30and there'd be 50 things in my top five, but this one would be there, number seven, bluebells.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35There are lots of wildlife spectacles which we share with
0:07:35 > 0:07:39other countries, but there's one that is uniquely British.
0:07:39 > 0:07:45It's a spectacle that's on a scale and grandeur you will see nowhere else in the world.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48I'm with Fraser Bradbury from the Forestry Commission.
0:07:48 > 0:07:51- Fraser, shall we show them? - I think we should.
0:07:51 > 0:07:52Have a look at this.
0:08:07 > 0:08:11This is Westwoods near Marlborough in Wiltshire,
0:08:11 > 0:08:15reputedly one of THE very best bluebell bonanzas.
0:08:15 > 0:08:17There are bluebells for as far as the eye can see -
0:08:17 > 0:08:22front, left, back, forward. It is 100% blue. You must be very proud.
0:08:22 > 0:08:24I am. It's a sea of blue, and it's here because
0:08:24 > 0:08:30- we've managed these woodlands sympathetically for the bluebells. - How many?- How many bluebells?
0:08:30 > 0:08:33I'm only halfway through counting!
0:08:33 > 0:08:38I would say probably more than millions, we might even be approaching billions here.
0:08:38 > 0:08:43Well, we've got maybe 300 hectares of bluebells here so there's quite a large site.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46As well as things... It's over so fleetingly, isn't it, really?
0:08:46 > 0:08:51The great thing about Westwoods is that you can get different times when you come in, different aspects
0:08:51 > 0:08:54so the bluebells will be out in one area, but not in another.
0:08:54 > 0:09:00So you can walk through this wood and see bluebells beginning of May, middle of May, end of May.
0:09:05 > 0:09:11Some liken this spectacle to a cathedral with a wonderful carpet of flowers below.
0:09:13 > 0:09:20Certainly visitors, who come from near and far, are awed by the dazzling display.
0:09:21 > 0:09:23Absolutely gobsmacking.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26I came here with the Ramblers Association in Bath
0:09:26 > 0:09:30about five years ago and ever since I've been bringing friends back
0:09:30 > 0:09:34to show them because everybody has their favourite bluebell wood,
0:09:34 > 0:09:38but I don't think anything matches this place.
0:09:38 > 0:09:43- Never been before, but we came because it was recommended and it's brilliant.- It's so...
0:09:43 > 0:09:48..express the English countryside for me in English woods, personally.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51I love England, and bluebells are especially beautiful.
0:09:51 > 0:09:55So what about the million-dollar question?
0:09:55 > 0:09:58Where would bluebells be in the most wonderful spectacles in Britain?
0:09:58 > 0:10:03- Out of 40? - Out of 40, what number would you put it at in the hit parade?
0:10:03 > 0:10:0538 or something.
0:10:05 > 0:10:07No! No, number one's the best.
0:10:07 > 0:10:10Number one is the best.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13Number one is the best and number 40 is the 40th best.
0:10:13 > 0:10:18OK, number one, we'll give it number one. Sorry, I mix up.
0:10:20 > 0:10:26Well, our panel didn't put it at number one, but number seven is pretty darned good.
0:10:29 > 0:10:34Although you shouldn't pick wild flowers, I've been given special permission to pick one bluebell
0:10:34 > 0:10:38by the land owner to show you their amazing bulbs.
0:10:38 > 0:10:42If I have a look at it here and give it a good old squidge,
0:10:42 > 0:10:47look how sticky it is! This substance has been used down
0:10:47 > 0:10:52the generations for helping bind books, but they found this material
0:10:52 > 0:10:56also prevented the books from actually being eaten
0:10:56 > 0:11:00by things like moths and silverfish because of its toxic properties.
0:11:00 > 0:11:04Really amazing, isn't it? Look at that.
0:11:06 > 0:11:12Because it's poisonous, most foraging woodland animals wisely leave the bluebells alone.
0:11:15 > 0:11:19But there is one potentially serious threat -
0:11:19 > 0:11:21a foreign lookalike.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27Don't these bluebells look gorgeous?
0:11:27 > 0:11:30Well, they're not as lovely as they might seem because
0:11:30 > 0:11:33they're imports from the Continent,
0:11:33 > 0:11:37and the problem is they like mixing it with our native bluebells.
0:11:37 > 0:11:41I'm meeting Mark Spenser who works for the Natural History Museum.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44Isn't this the loveliest spot to sit?
0:11:44 > 0:11:48Absolutely fabulous. I mean, where else, indeed in fact nowhere else
0:11:48 > 0:11:50in the world, can you come and see this spectacle.
0:11:50 > 0:11:55Particularly when you get low, you get the most incredible vivid blue colour the whole way round.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58It is stunning. It is a completely unique thing.
0:11:58 > 0:12:04The British landscape has got something to go, "This is ours, this is British and we love it."
0:12:04 > 0:12:08Is it likely to last? What is the problem with this Spanish invader?
0:12:08 > 0:12:11Well, we need to find out. Is there a problem?
0:12:11 > 0:12:17There's been concerns raised by conservationists, gardeners and whole parts of the British society
0:12:17 > 0:12:22that there maybe a threat from the so-called Spanish bluebell which is a plant which has been
0:12:22 > 0:12:28growing in British gardens for about 300 years. But increasingly there are signs that it's moving out of
0:12:28 > 0:12:33gardens, partly as a throw-out, from people throwing away excess bulbs. Sometimes it may be because
0:12:33 > 0:12:36it's naturally seeding into the local environment.
0:12:36 > 0:12:39People are concerned that it's hybridising with the native plant,
0:12:39 > 0:12:46and this hybridisation may well affect the ability of our native plants to survive into the future.
0:12:46 > 0:12:49So, Mark, what is the difference between our native bluebells,
0:12:49 > 0:12:53which I have here, and the Spanish conquistadors which you have?
0:12:53 > 0:12:59Oh, right. The British plant has classically got a rather Gothic arch just here on the flower spike.
0:12:59 > 0:13:04This one's wilting a bit, but the flower spike on the Spanish and hybrid tends to be more upright.
0:13:04 > 0:13:07The native plant also... Each individual flower,
0:13:07 > 0:13:12each individual flower is tubular, straight-sided...
0:13:12 > 0:13:16whereas the Spanish, they're much more wide and opened out.
0:13:16 > 0:13:18Leaf width is also a really useful feature.
0:13:18 > 0:13:23You can see here straightaway that this leaf is much, much wider than the native plant.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27And also, it tends to be a much more vigorous plant.
0:13:27 > 0:13:33Often you find that these really are kind of quite large compared to these plants here.
0:13:33 > 0:13:39But rest assured, here at West Woods, the British bluebell rules supreme.
0:13:40 > 0:13:44I've just invented a new word for the Oxford English dictionary -
0:13:44 > 0:13:46"bluebell-tastic".
0:13:50 > 0:13:52Bluebell-tastic, what is he on?!
0:13:52 > 0:13:57He's on the ball, it was a blue haze. But if that was blue, how about this for a purple haze?
0:13:57 > 0:14:01This is the New Forest at the end of summer with
0:14:01 > 0:14:06all the heather in flower and this didn't even make it into our charts.
0:14:06 > 0:14:08Still, if you'd like to see some bluebells,
0:14:08 > 0:14:10then why not check out our website?
0:14:10 > 0:14:13We tend to think of them as a woodland species,
0:14:13 > 0:14:15but there are plenty of places in the UK
0:14:15 > 0:14:17where they grow on open cliff tops.
0:14:17 > 0:14:21One of the best is Skomer Island, off the Pembrokeshire coast of Wales.
0:14:21 > 0:14:25That can be bluebell-tastic!
0:14:25 > 0:14:28Still, moving on, we've got another spectacle for you.
0:14:28 > 0:14:31It's not really a spectacle in the true sense,
0:14:31 > 0:14:33because it's not something you need to see,
0:14:33 > 0:14:35it's something you need to hear.
0:14:35 > 0:14:40Straight in at number six is a birdsong extravaganza.
0:14:43 > 0:14:51Get up nice and early in May, and in gardens, woods and parks, you'll hear the delightful dawn chorus.
0:14:51 > 0:14:57Spring is in the air and the birds are singing their hearts out.
0:14:57 > 0:15:01All the usual suspects are at full volume:
0:15:03 > 0:15:08Defending their territory...
0:15:08 > 0:15:10And trying to attract a mate.
0:15:10 > 0:15:15- From one of our tiniest birds, a very powerful sound. - CHIRPING
0:15:15 > 0:15:19The big song of the little wren.
0:15:26 > 0:15:31There are also plenty of migrants, like the whitethroat,
0:15:33 > 0:15:36They've come all the way from Africa, to add their voices to the chorus.
0:15:41 > 0:15:44The fluid song of the willow warbler.
0:15:55 > 0:16:02And last, but not least, the easiest call to recognise, "chiff chaff, chiff chaff, chiff chaff..."
0:16:02 > 0:16:07Sung, of course, by the Chiffchaff.
0:16:12 > 0:16:18As the day goes on, many birds will quieten down, but not all.
0:16:22 > 0:16:29When the sun shines, this bird really kicks off and it'll treat you to an iconic aerial display as well.
0:16:29 > 0:16:33And this is a perfect place to find a skylark,
0:16:33 > 0:16:38a bird which has charmed authors, poets and romantics over the ages,
0:16:38 > 0:16:41and, for once, the best way to get to grips with these birds,
0:16:41 > 0:16:46on a beautiful spring day, is to lie down on the job.
0:16:48 > 0:16:54It's just a question of waiting for the lark to ascend, but the thing is the males at this time of year
0:16:54 > 0:17:02rise into the sky and drip down this cacophony, a cascade of trilling notes to attract the females.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05I shouldn't be speaking. I'm spoiling it, I'm spoiling it.
0:17:05 > 0:17:11Just listen. There's something about lying down in warm grass
0:17:12 > 0:17:16with a waft of that dry sense of old England
0:17:16 > 0:17:21and just listening, with your eyes closed, to a skylark.
0:17:24 > 0:17:29Its song isn't perfect, but it's its sheer exuberance.
0:17:29 > 0:17:35It's just the idea this little bird is rising up there, raining all of these notes down to Earth.
0:17:35 > 0:17:37That's what makes it special.
0:17:39 > 0:17:43For the finale, a bird with a very loud voice indeed.
0:17:43 > 0:17:47The best time to hear this one is at dusk,
0:17:47 > 0:17:51and I've come to do that at Woods Mill, a Sussex Wildlife Trust reserve.
0:17:53 > 0:17:59This fluffy monstrosity that I've got here is a parabolic reflector,
0:17:59 > 0:18:03and, basically, beneath this camouflaged and woolly exterior
0:18:03 > 0:18:06is a bowl which acts like a giant ear.
0:18:06 > 0:18:11It captures the sound and focuses it on the tip of the microphone, which is inside here.
0:18:11 > 0:18:16I plan to listen to the most celebrated songster of them all...
0:18:18 > 0:18:20..the nightingale.
0:18:20 > 0:18:26This bird uses an impressive range of different sounds, making an extremely complex song.
0:18:38 > 0:18:42I know I look a complete berk, but I don't care, because...
0:18:42 > 0:18:46BIRD SINGING
0:18:46 > 0:18:49..just listen to that.
0:18:54 > 0:19:00For me, it's not about the complexity of that song - complexity, that's classical music.
0:19:00 > 0:19:05I'm an old punk rocker. For me, it's about the volume and just...
0:19:05 > 0:19:07listen to that.
0:19:07 > 0:19:11You know, the loudest nightingales can sing at nearly 100 decibels.
0:19:13 > 0:19:17That's as loud as you putting your ear up to a motorcycle exhaust
0:19:17 > 0:19:20or a massive truck going past you on the road.
0:19:20 > 0:19:26The human ear can cope with 85 decibels, so if you exposed yourself to nightingales very close to your
0:19:26 > 0:19:29ear for a prolonged time, you could go deaf.
0:19:29 > 0:19:36The sheer volume makes this bird easy to hear, but hard to spot, as it skulks in the bushes.
0:19:36 > 0:19:39But it's that great sound that's put it in our top ten.
0:19:39 > 0:19:43To test it, we asked one of our researchers, Neil,
0:19:43 > 0:19:50to bring along his daughters, Anya and Kaya, who are both nightingale novices.
0:19:50 > 0:19:54Will the song knock their socks off?
0:19:54 > 0:19:59Hear that one bird over there and then this one.
0:20:01 > 0:20:03LOUD CHIRPING
0:20:03 > 0:20:06(Hear them arguing now?)
0:20:06 > 0:20:09(First, it's one, then that one.)
0:20:15 > 0:20:17(I like this one best.)
0:20:18 > 0:20:22Have you ever heard a bird singing like that before?
0:20:22 > 0:20:24Never.
0:20:24 > 0:20:25Go on then, marks out of ten?
0:20:25 > 0:20:30- Ten out of ten. - Ten out of ten? Marks out of ten?
0:20:30 > 0:20:32- Ten.- Yeah, ten.
0:20:32 > 0:20:36'What a feast for your ears.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39'Truly a great number six.'
0:20:46 > 0:20:51So, here we are with the first entry into the UK's top five greatest wildlife spectacles
0:20:51 > 0:20:54as voted by our panel of wildlife experts.
0:20:54 > 0:20:58They've been Anthony McGeehan from Northern Ireland, Lolo Williams from Wales,
0:20:58 > 0:21:02Gordon Buchanan form Scotland and myself representing the English.
0:21:02 > 0:21:07Number five, the thoroughly British and extraordinarily diverse
0:21:07 > 0:21:10summer wild flower meadow.
0:21:15 > 0:21:19If someone were to ask you what's your idea
0:21:19 > 0:21:22of a summer spectacle, would you go for rugged cliffs
0:21:22 > 0:21:25with thousands of nesting sea birds
0:21:25 > 0:21:28or dolphins and seals frolicking in the sea?
0:21:28 > 0:21:32Or would you go for something completely different,
0:21:32 > 0:21:36rather more gentle but equally glorious -
0:21:36 > 0:21:39a meadow full of beautiful wild flowers?
0:21:52 > 0:22:00This is Yarnton Mead near Oxford. A wonder of different colours and a breathtaking variety of flowers.
0:22:00 > 0:22:06This Monet in Middle England is the result 1,000 years of farming in a very special and sympathetic way.
0:22:08 > 0:22:14Rosie Smith is one of the people who's lucky enough to own a piece of this fabulous meadow.
0:22:14 > 0:22:16Rosie, so which is your patch?
0:22:16 > 0:22:20Well, it could be anywhere in this field.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23This all goes back to the open field
0:22:23 > 0:22:28traditional system of strip farming and each owner would draw lots
0:22:28 > 0:22:31as to where the owner would then have his strip to cut his hay
0:22:31 > 0:22:34and then to graze the cattle afterwards.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37- So you'd get a different strip each year.- Oh, you could do, yes.
0:22:37 > 0:22:41So, principally, it would be about owning the hay crop off that strip?
0:22:41 > 0:22:47- Yes, and then grazing it afterwards with cattle.- How have you ended up owning a piece of this then?
0:22:47 > 0:22:52I inherited it from my father and he was head meadsman for 20 years,
0:22:52 > 0:22:56- so I took a great pride in the management.- Head meadsman.
0:22:56 > 0:22:58- It sounds very mediaeval. - It does.- What's a meadsman?
0:22:58 > 0:23:06Well, they actually manage the meadows on behalf of the owners and cos it is a responsibility
0:23:06 > 0:23:10to try and maintain the meadows as best they can for the...
0:23:10 > 0:23:13obviously, the wonderful species that we see here,
0:23:13 > 0:23:15but also to get some funding for the owners,
0:23:15 > 0:23:20because they would like it to produce a little bit of an income for them.
0:23:20 > 0:23:24When you walk in here and see it on a day like today, what do you actually feel?
0:23:24 > 0:23:27I think when you step in here, it's wow.
0:23:27 > 0:23:30I don't think anything more can express
0:23:30 > 0:23:37that it is certainly very special and I think words can hardly express how I feel when I come in here.
0:23:37 > 0:23:39Are you quite proud of being part of all this?
0:23:39 > 0:23:43I am. I am very proud. I'm proud that my father spent 20 years.
0:23:43 > 0:23:49Obviously he loved it and he enjoyed managing it for everyone
0:23:49 > 0:23:54and I think he'd be proud that I'm taking it on for him.
0:23:54 > 0:23:58In amongst the flowers, there's another spectacle.
0:23:58 > 0:24:01Insects galore, feasting on the plants.
0:24:01 > 0:24:07Look at this damselfly, its head covered in yellow pollen.
0:24:07 > 0:24:12There are butterflies, and day flying moths like these burnet moths.
0:24:12 > 0:24:14It's bug heaven.
0:24:16 > 0:24:22But enough entomology. What most visitors come to see are the flowers.
0:24:24 > 0:24:31The sheer variety of flowers and grasses here is just amazing and it's not only the big and bold,
0:24:31 > 0:24:34like the ox-eye daisy and this purple knapweed.
0:24:34 > 0:24:37There are lots of smaller grasses and flowers in there as well.
0:24:37 > 0:24:43In fact, supposedly, you can find 60 species in a 5-metre square area,
0:24:43 > 0:24:47so I need the help of a top botanist, Camilla Lambrick.
0:24:47 > 0:24:52Camilla, this is just the most beautiful meadow I've ever seen.
0:24:52 > 0:24:56Gorgeous. It's a quite an extraordinary diversity out here.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59Are you ready to take the five-metre challenge?
0:24:59 > 0:25:00I'll see what I can find.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03Right, I'll let you set out your area and start counting.
0:25:10 > 0:25:13Ah, here's meadowsweet, yellow rattle,
0:25:13 > 0:25:14meadow barley.
0:25:14 > 0:25:17Here's devil's-bit scabious.
0:25:17 > 0:25:18That's the yellow oat,
0:25:18 > 0:25:21black knapweed.
0:25:23 > 0:25:26I'm no expert botanist, but even just sitting here,
0:25:26 > 0:25:31there's meadow buttercup, there's great burnet and this is quaking grass,
0:25:31 > 0:25:35so I've just ticked off a few species just in this small patch.
0:25:35 > 0:25:39I'm hopeful that Camilla will do really well.
0:25:43 > 0:25:45Meadow grass...
0:25:45 > 0:25:47that's the dog's tail...
0:25:54 > 0:25:58- How are you doing, Camilla? - I've got to 44.
0:25:58 > 0:26:04Not quite the 60 mentioned, but it is a huge diversity to have in a very small area.
0:26:04 > 0:26:08I'll settle for 44. Why is it that there's just so many species here?
0:26:08 > 0:26:11Well, it's a series of factors.
0:26:11 > 0:26:13There's long continuity.
0:26:13 > 0:26:16The Romans, they started cutting hay for their horses
0:26:16 > 0:26:22and we've been doing almost exactly the same thing for thousands of years ever since.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25And I'm guessing no fertiliser, nothing like that?
0:26:25 > 0:26:28That's right, no fertiliser. As soon as you get the nitrogen phosphate,
0:26:28 > 0:26:33you get lots of grasses like this Yorkshire fog and it would all come up dense grass.
0:26:33 > 0:26:37So it's been documented as being managed like this for thousand years,
0:26:37 > 0:26:42- but if it was the Romans, that could take us back 2,000 years, couldn't it?- Yes, it's a long time.
0:26:42 > 0:26:47It's completely irreplaceable and it's a great privilege to be part of the team looking after it.
0:27:06 > 0:27:10Well, that's number five, but if you like what you've seen so far,
0:27:10 > 0:27:16you really don't want to miss out on finding out what is the UK's greatest wildlife spectacle.
0:27:16 > 0:27:19In the meantime, though, don't let us have all the fun.
0:27:19 > 0:27:22Get out there and enjoy a few of them for yourselves.
0:27:22 > 0:27:24Until next time, goodbye.
0:27:41 > 0:27:44Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:27:44 > 0:27:47E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk