:04:50. > :04:55.This programme is about damp places, fresh water, and what is the best
:04:55. > :05:05.creature you could possibly hope to see in the river? It has to be one
:05:05. > :05:12.
:05:12. > :05:16.This used to be an incredibly rare animal, but I'm pleased to say it
:05:16. > :05:20.has recovered from decades of persecution and poisoning, and now
:05:20. > :05:29.you can find them up in nearly every county of the UK. That is
:05:30. > :05:34.They are incredibly secretive, generally. The film we show them on
:05:34. > :05:41.Monday is an exception to the role, they are very secretive, and when I
:05:41. > :05:45.arrived here on the Tim Peake said a few days ago, I learned of a few
:05:45. > :05:55.footprints down the river, so I set out with our wildlife camera
:05:55. > :06:02.
:06:02. > :06:05.We are looking for signs of otters. First thing we look for is nice
:06:05. > :06:15.muddy banks, where the otter might have left his footprints. That is
:06:15. > :06:19.our first sign. Otters love, clean, quiet rivers with cover on the
:06:19. > :06:26.banks and lots of places to hide up in. Where ever you find otters you
:06:26. > :06:35.know you have a pretty healthy river. What do you have over there?
:06:35. > :06:41.A snake. It has to be an eel, surely. It is a snake. Grass snake.
:06:41. > :06:48.Wow! I bet you that was otter. the a boot full, and another one.
:06:48. > :06:55.That is too late. Worth it though. Look at that! I have never seen
:06:55. > :07:01.this before. I have seen them take eels that is why I thought we had
:07:01. > :07:08.eels. This is a grass snake. It's a sad situation. I'm fond of grass
:07:08. > :07:14.snakes. I'm also fond of otters. Otter has take an few bites before
:07:14. > :07:18.giving up entirely. That is great find. The main diet for otters is
:07:19. > :07:25.fish, they are opportunists and take whatever they can find, be it
:07:25. > :07:29.frog, crabs, small mammals and even odd things like grass snakes. We
:07:29. > :07:35.have found otter dinner, or the left overs from otter dinner. Now,
:07:35. > :07:45.we are looking for one of the easest field signs for otter, which
:07:45. > :07:51.is a spright, that is posh talk for otter droppings, basically. We are
:07:51. > :07:58.having a crack at it this afternoon. The cameraman is joining in. Look
:07:58. > :08:05.what he has found? Well done. We have got what I reckon are probable
:08:05. > :08:12.meek, smaller than the otter. Oh, look, we have an otter. It is a
:08:12. > :08:16.bigfoot print. The Menzies is a smaller print. That is a rare
:08:16. > :08:21.scenario, beautiful for compare and contrast. Couldn't get better other
:08:21. > :08:28.than if if we had one sitting in between the two. We don't. We will
:08:28. > :08:32.find one now, aren't we, Josh? Otters leave footprints in the mud
:08:32. > :08:38.of the river bank, but also when they cross land into neighbouring
:08:38. > :08:42.rivers and lakes leaving the tell- tale signs behind. I have one. We
:08:42. > :08:47.have gone down the river. We have returned back to the original sight
:08:47. > :08:55.of the original exciting discovery. The grass snake is down there. Up
:08:55. > :09:03.here is a site. You can see the bones and teeth and scales. If I
:09:03. > :09:09.get down and give it a sniff. Some say it smells of Jasmine. Others
:09:09. > :09:14.say it smells of summer meadows. To me it just smells slightly fishy,
:09:14. > :09:18.but not unpleasant. That is fresh. You can see how oily that. Is he
:09:18. > :09:24.has wiped his bum on the bark. That is good enough for any other otter
:09:24. > :09:34.to know who has been here and when. That was pretty good. We could do
:09:34. > :09:34.
:09:34. > :09:39.better. If you saw yesterday's show you know I'm fopbld of these --
:09:39. > :09:43.fond of these trail cameras. The chances of me getting an otter were
:09:43. > :09:52.slim. I had only had three nights of having that camera out on
:09:52. > :09:59.location. I set them none the less. This is what we managed to film. A
:10:00. > :10:03.blackbird! Then we got this. Unmistakibly the tail of an otter.
:10:03. > :10:10.That would have been good enough for me. I have never captured an
:10:10. > :10:15.otter before. Look what happens now. There is it its profile. It comes
:10:15. > :10:20.back. It gets better. It sticks its bum on the log, and does a wiggle.
:10:20. > :10:25.We identified that site and we got the result. I will show you again.
:10:25. > :10:30.I know you are having your tea. I don't care, this is worth seeing it
:10:30. > :10:37.again. Watch for that wiggle of the bum. He wipes his bum on the bark.
:10:37. > :10:41.There he goes. He is off. I say, he, I don't know if it's a he or she.
:10:41. > :10:47.Sexing them is difficult in the field. We have been asking here on
:10:47. > :10:56.Springwatch in the Afternoon for your favourite signs of spring.
:10:56. > :11:02.This is from Beverley Westwood. She says, "I love seeing the blossom
:11:02. > :11:06.which has been spectacular this year." My favourite is the crab
:11:06. > :11:16.apple. We agree with her. A cracking sign of spring much we ask
:11:16. > :11:26.everybody what their favourite sign of spring. Everybody. That means
:11:26. > :11:31.Chris Packham doesn't get away. What I wait for is the male
:11:32. > :11:36.butterfly. Winter is fading. Have you this firework of yellow.
:11:36. > :11:43.Pulsing like that across the lane as you drive past. Then I know that
:11:43. > :11:46.spring is here. Of all the places here at Springwatch I have two
:11:47. > :11:52.favourites, one is this truck and the other is the reserve itself.
:11:52. > :11:56.Come up here. It's lovely in here. Look at this. I will take a breath.
:11:56. > :12:02.Hello, Laura. It changes every day. Every time we come in here there is
:12:02. > :12:07.somebody else. I can't keep up with it. You are one of the, what is
:12:07. > :12:11.your job? Story developer. I think of an old man coming up with these
:12:11. > :12:16.ideas. It is coming from the cameras and the live feeds. You
:12:16. > :12:26.have some sleep issues, haven't you? We have. What is your daily
:12:26. > :12:32.ree teen? We are up at 3.00 am, we are here from 4.00 am, 12 hour
:12:32. > :12:35.shift. It's an early start and a long shift. This is our second week
:12:35. > :12:41.and trying to get into the shifts. Last night was the first night I
:12:41. > :12:47.managed to get six-hours sleep. have been looking like the living
:12:47. > :12:51.dead. Grey. You look lovely today. What have we got? What are the
:12:51. > :12:59.highlights? The buzzards have been interesting today. We have had
:12:59. > :13:09.seven feeds. The parents have been coming back, mostly the mum, coming
:13:09. > :13:14.
:13:14. > :13:19.backs with frogs and v voles and a Gosling chick. A technical issue
:13:19. > :13:23.with the camera. It does happen. It's surprising it doesn't happen
:13:24. > :13:29.more often. That is being adjusted. That will be back live very soon.
:13:29. > :13:37.This one, this is a new one. It is. That was launched yesterday on the
:13:37. > :13:43.evening show. That is our meadow pipits. They are sitting at the
:13:43. > :13:49.bottom of the nest. Let's look at action we had earlier on. There is
:13:49. > :13:54.the parent bird. They are very subtle birds, lovely. A bird of
:13:54. > :14:00.grassland. Here comes the parent. Look at the babies. They are some
:14:00. > :14:05.of my favourites of the British bird nestling sthrefplt that fuzzy,
:14:05. > :14:09.punky awkward looking. This is about wetlands and freshwater. We
:14:09. > :14:19.sent a very well-known British mammal to go and see another very
:14:19. > :14:19.
:14:19. > :14:23.well-known British animal, an icon of our rivers and waterways. The
:14:23. > :14:30.water vole is in really serious trouble. Is there anything you and
:14:30. > :14:35.I can do to help? Well, yes, there is. Here in Cumbria I have come to
:14:35. > :14:41.help out with an important project that is trying to boost water vole
:14:41. > :14:44.numbers. Alison Reid has been breeding water voles in captivity.
:14:44. > :14:53.She and a team of local volunteers will prepare them all for release
:14:53. > :14:58.into the wild. Do they bite much? They do. They do, oh, good.
:14:58. > :15:04.other thing that happens quite often. When you are trying to catch
:15:04. > :15:10.them they go up your trouser leg. Up your trouser leg and bite!
:15:10. > :15:20.Fantastic. No-one has been bitten yet. There is a first time for
:15:20. > :15:29.
:15:29. > :15:34.everything. We can't be sure there Their years, his little face!
:15:34. > :15:41.just going to put a tube this way, in case he decides to run. There
:15:41. > :15:46.are two of them. Put your hand forward. Well grab! Fantastic.
:15:46. > :15:55.you would like to get a hold of him. There is the other one, a little
:15:55. > :16:01.sweetie! He has got a little brown face with whiskers. And little need
:16:01. > :16:09.ears and soft, silky fur, the book is right! Alison and her team need
:16:09. > :16:13.to prepare 60 today, each one gets microchip so she can try to monitor
:16:13. > :16:23.them once they are released. Sorry, this is not very elegant, it is
:16:23. > :16:23.
:16:23. > :16:28.doing a good, but she does not know it! How are your knees? Saw!
:16:28. > :16:32.never knew conservation could be quite so painful! The following
:16:32. > :16:37.morning, a team of volunteers are on site to give them their first
:16:37. > :16:41.taste of freedom. What makes this such a good spot? This site has
:16:41. > :16:47.been chosen because it is a fantastic habitat with fantastic
:16:47. > :16:51.vegetation. Food and a great place to burrow. Yes. What about
:16:51. > :16:56.predators? That is a really big issue? That is the biggest problem
:16:56. > :17:02.for them, and this site has been predator controlled for the last 10
:17:02. > :17:07.years. Our there mink here, or not? There are not many, it is really
:17:07. > :17:10.good news. You cannot just chuck them out into the wild. These cages
:17:10. > :17:14.will allow them to gradually integrate into their new home, and
:17:14. > :17:24.they are not actually released. They dig their own way out when
:17:24. > :17:28.they have acclimatised. Until then, it provides shelter and food. So
:17:28. > :17:34.this is it, the moment of truth for him, you must have quite mixed
:17:34. > :17:37.feelings now. I have got a very mixed feelings, because these are
:17:37. > :17:42.the baby's eyebrow at last year, so they had been with me for a year
:17:42. > :17:45.now. It is great to set them free, rather than being in captivity, but
:17:45. > :17:50.it is an anxious time, because you want them to survive and breed
:17:50. > :17:56.successfully. I want to reach out and give him or her a stroke, but I
:17:56. > :17:59.don't think I will! He will bite you quite viciously! Alison and her
:17:59. > :18:07.team of volunteers have done everything they can in their battle
:18:07. > :18:12.to save the water vole, and so far it looks like they are winning. Do
:18:12. > :18:22.you really live by the river, said the mole? What a jolly life! On it
:18:22. > :18:23.
:18:23. > :18:27.and in it, said the rat, it is my Is it me, am either only one who
:18:27. > :18:33.wants to tell a water vole to shut its mouth while it is chilling? I
:18:33. > :18:37.am pleased to welcome Derek, who is Mr waterboard, responsible for
:18:37. > :18:42.reading a lot of these animals, welcome. Thank you for bringing
:18:42. > :18:49.that vole with us. That film was made a little while ago, he can
:18:49. > :18:54.tell by Martin's have. How is the water vole bearing? You are looking
:18:54. > :18:57.at progressive decline of the species in some parts of Britain.
:18:57. > :19:01.Increasingly, they are concentrated in specific areas and disappearing
:19:02. > :19:04.in many parts of the wider countryside. Some of the
:19:04. > :19:09.reintroductions we have done over the course of the last 10 years or
:19:09. > :19:13.so are doing very well, but we are working on a landscape scale, with
:19:13. > :19:17.smaller projects. What are the main threats? War of the main problems
:19:17. > :19:23.for the animals is that it lives in a very tight corridor, right next
:19:23. > :19:26.to streams and river slides. He's facing threats like introducing
:19:26. > :19:32.normal American mink, a predator that hunts in a way that no native
:19:32. > :19:38.predator would. That animal has had a disastrous effect. He said that
:19:38. > :19:43.and he woke up! It is patchy, they are doing better in some areas.
:19:43. > :19:46.some areas, they are doing very well, in Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk,
:19:46. > :19:50.areas where you have got the remnants of the old wetlands and
:19:50. > :19:55.massive ditch systems, they are doing well, populations expanding.
:19:55. > :19:59.In other parts of Britain, it is not quite so good. I think we have
:19:59. > :20:03.got a water vole in front of us, about four times the size of a
:20:03. > :20:10.regular vole. What are the top things to look out for if any
:20:10. > :20:13.member of our audience are thinking of having a look? If you see the
:20:13. > :20:19.animal in a stream aside situation, it is like a clockwork toy,
:20:19. > :20:25.burrowing across the surface of the stream. They have quite a round,
:20:25. > :20:28.blood fees, small ears, a short tail, a darker colours and a more
:20:28. > :20:33.than a brown rat. It does not have the long pigtail or protruberant
:20:33. > :20:40.ears. Very different. Thank you very much for bringing him in. Has
:20:40. > :20:46.he got a name? Ratty! That is an original name! These are a creature
:20:46. > :20:50.river starts in the uplands, and there is a creature that lives
:20:50. > :20:58.there, one of our favourites, and we send a wildlife cameraman to see
:20:58. > :21:04.Only a few minutes' drive away, Ian Llewellyn has been getting some
:21:04. > :21:09.lovely shots of a dipper. This one is nesting, precariously, as they
:21:09. > :21:13.sometimes do, under a waterfall. Not only do you need a good eye to
:21:13. > :21:18.see them, you need a good telephoto lens to get these kinds of shots,
:21:18. > :21:23.especially of such a small bird. You cannot normally get that close.
:21:23. > :21:27.Beautiful! Is it me, or our wildlife cameraman becoming more
:21:27. > :21:31.eccentric? We have the best wildlife, the much fancy technology
:21:31. > :21:37.and fabulous moustaches, and we have the most fabulous sound man!
:21:37. > :21:41.What are you doing, Gary? It is not just about pictures, it is the
:21:41. > :21:47.sound that gives the pictures emotion, ambience and sheer beauty
:21:47. > :21:51.and poetry. Absolutely. What are you doing? Ian with his long lens,
:21:51. > :21:55.let's say he is trying to film a bird 100 metres out, fine, he can
:21:55. > :22:00.get a tired shot. As a sound recordist, I need to get the
:22:00. > :22:08.microphone close up. So I have to think out of the box and put a
:22:08. > :22:13.remote-controlled boat with a microphone on it. I disguise it as
:22:13. > :22:17.a great coups. Out it goes. I have been wondering what the goose is
:22:17. > :22:22.about! I'm sure some of our viewers have as well, this has been in the
:22:22. > :22:27.background, like a toy, but it is a professional piece of equipment!
:22:27. > :22:36.didn't work, they were scared of it! It has got an evil eye, that is
:22:36. > :22:44.why! The next idea, a bit of basket-weaving, disguise it as an
:22:44. > :22:49.island. From audio cruise to audio Ireland. The idea is, microphones
:22:49. > :22:55.and there, that is going to go on there and slowly out towards the
:22:55. > :23:01.bird. Does it work? Let's say it is a work-in-progress. We might even
:23:01. > :23:11.see it working by the end of this series! The challenge today is
:23:11. > :23:13.
:23:13. > :23:18.Oh, my goodness me! Can you give us a clue? It was filmed at night time,
:23:18. > :23:22.in the wind, obviously! That bothers you! We do not like wind
:23:22. > :23:27.noise. I don't know, is it something snoring, something
:23:27. > :23:31.chilling? I might have a guess at this, but I want you to have a
:23:31. > :23:36.guess, get on to the website and let us know what you think, we will
:23:36. > :23:42.reveal the answer later on. It is not a one-way street, I have got a
:23:42. > :23:47.challenge for you. You let of that you were listening on your day off,
:23:47. > :23:54.and I want you to go out and get as the sound of a singing bring it,
:23:54. > :23:58.you have got plenty of time. It is a lovely, beautiful bird.
:23:58. > :24:02.Absolutely cracking bird, the mountain blackbird, the symbol of
:24:02. > :24:06.spring in the uplands. It is a beautiful bird, more people need to
:24:06. > :24:11.know about it, and Gary is going to learn all about it. Why you are
:24:11. > :24:17.having a lie-in at the weekend, Gary will be on the wind the slopes
:24:17. > :24:21.of the mountain trying to find one. Before dawn! Good luck, thanks a
:24:21. > :24:26.lot! I do not think he is that pleased, he is shaking his fists
:24:26. > :24:33.now, in between weaving. Let's go to art block camera, no, there is
:24:33. > :24:37.nothing happening there, most of the action there is at night, but
:24:37. > :24:41.this is from last night. We have got our wood mouse, and I know we
:24:41. > :24:44.have seen the one mouse before, and it looks a bit like what we shot
:24:44. > :24:48.yesterday, but it is completely different footage, and we also have
:24:48. > :24:52.the footage of a shrew, there we are, the same sort of thing as
:24:52. > :24:56.yesterday, and that is probably because it is, different shots of
:24:56. > :25:01.the same animals. They are territorial, just like the birds.
:25:01. > :25:07.Our cameraman has come a long with a great they block full of fruit,
:25:07. > :25:13.they think it is Christmas, and they are making the most of it. CEO,
:25:13. > :25:23.we have got a vole! This came into the trap last night. This is a
:25:23. > :25:27.
:25:27. > :25:31.first for as, for this Springwatch, of the water vole, but it shares a
:25:31. > :25:36.lot of the same features. Anyway, a lovely, but back to the theme of
:25:36. > :25:45.the show, which is fresh water. If you want to get into fresh water,
:25:45. > :25:49.there is no better way than pond Now, it is almost certain that
:25:49. > :25:53.wherever you are, you will be close to some body are still fresh water,
:25:53. > :25:58.a pond, a ditch, even a puddle with some kind of life. For the most
:25:58. > :26:05.part, we take them for granted, we do not bother to get underneath the
:26:05. > :26:08.surface. What I strongly recommend this to take with you a field
:26:08. > :26:12.assistant, this is my daughter. Even if you are of the older
:26:12. > :26:18.generation, I tend to find that taking the young person with you
:26:18. > :26:20.not only is good for them, because it is a great family activity, but
:26:20. > :26:26.it also enables you to see the world through totally different
:26:26. > :26:36.eyes. That is right, get it in the vegetation, see if you have got
:26:36. > :26:37.
:26:37. > :26:43.anything. I have got something! Yes, you have got a pond snail,
:26:43. > :26:50.first one of the day! We have got loads of cruel things. A water
:26:50. > :26:56.woodlouse, it is called a pond lies. What else have we got? These little
:26:56. > :27:03.things are water fleas, see those? They are brilliant, because
:27:03. > :27:09.everything keeps them, so if you a healthy pond. That black squiggly
:27:09. > :27:13.thing, what is that? If you look at his flat head, it is like a
:27:13. > :27:21.hammerhead shark. That is a flatworm. Do you know what is cool
:27:21. > :27:31.about a flat when? It has got a mouth but no bottom! That is right,
:27:31. > :27:36.it eats its food and does not prove. -- poo. So you get the idea? That
:27:36. > :27:40.was one net full, not even a whole night, it was your first dip, and
:27:40. > :27:45.already we have an incredible selection of incredible creatures.
:27:45. > :27:49.There is lots of family bonding that goes on, learning together and
:27:49. > :27:59.exploring, and that is exactly what we are doing now. Where has she
:27:59. > :28:05.
:28:05. > :28:13.Dad, look what I have got! What have you got? A dragonfly, look!
:28:13. > :28:20.look! Do want to pop in in there? Yes. Very gently. Oh, brilliant,
:28:20. > :28:24.look at that, well done! That is the best catch of the day! Just
:28:24. > :28:28.look at this trait, it is heaving, this is the contents of a couple of
:28:28. > :28:34.net falls, nothing more, and a new look at the amount of water, look
:28:34. > :28:44.at the rest of the pond, just think how much more life is in that pond.
:28:44. > :28:47.
:28:47. > :28:53.If you want to see wildlife, go Now, while you were watching that,
:28:53. > :28:59.on a marsh camera, it has gone now, just a second or two ago, this is
:28:59. > :29:03.what we saw! We had a grey heron, had topical as that? One of the
:29:03. > :29:08.more easily recognisable of our wetland birds, and I believe he is
:29:08. > :29:12.hunting, stalking around, they are very cunning predators, of all
:29:12. > :29:18.things aquatic, beautiful, brought to you by one of our other cameras
:29:18. > :29:24.that is at there on the marsh, obviously. Now, this is Springwatch,
:29:24. > :29:30.and Spring leads into summer. Just as that happens, we are having a
:29:30. > :29:35.summer of wildlife, all part of the same thing, and it is here, this is
:29:35. > :29:38.all the information compiled and distilled into one booklet. This is
:29:38. > :29:41.everything you need to know about how to get to grips with the
:29:41. > :29:44.British countryside and its wildlife, and you can go online and
:29:44. > :29:48.order your copy. There is something order your copy. There is something
:29:48. > :29:52.I would recommend even more, because every page of this is
:29:52. > :29:57.available online, you can save paper, print of what you want or,
:29:57. > :30:02.better still, just look at it and enjoy it, drink it in, then go out
:30:02. > :30:05.and practise it in the field. There is a whole page in his arm pond
:30:05. > :30:09.dipping, and I strongly recommend you check it out if you have not
:30:09. > :30:15.had a look at this sort of stuff before. The beauty of the pond for
:30:15. > :30:19.me is that it is easy to take it for granted, but you can see some
:30:19. > :30:25.very cool things. If you look at the little things, throw your fresh,
:30:25. > :30:28.childish eyes, you will see some amazing things, and this is what we
:30:28. > :30:33.do in a macro studio, full of fresh childish eyes and very expensive
:30:33. > :30:39.cameras. There is the studio and action, we popped in the other day,
:30:39. > :30:45.and a film this, the lava of a great diving beagle, one of the
:30:45. > :30:51.more splendid half-volley pond Beatles. Kit is known as a pond
:30:51. > :30:57.tiger, for obvious reasons. He is tucking in in gruesome detail, and
:30:57. > :31:02.you can even see the people swallowing, how mean it and cool
:31:02. > :31:12.and groovy is that! Chris Packham has a few favoured pond creatures,
:31:12. > :31:13.
:31:13. > :31:16.In my opinion there are a few creature that we spend our lives
:31:16. > :31:23.live with, but never pay enough live with, but never pay enough
:31:23. > :31:30.attention to. I might list them as wasps, wood lice, worms and, today,
:31:30. > :31:34.pond skaters. For a start, they are insects, they are true bugs. What
:31:34. > :31:39.about that skating? How do they achieve that, these little miracles
:31:39. > :31:45.achieve that, these little miracles of nature? Well, on their limbs and
:31:45. > :31:50.theired abouties they have hydro phobic hairs, microscopic hairs
:31:50. > :31:57.which repel the water. In every square millimetre of their body
:31:57. > :32:06.they have no less than 1,000 of these hairs. It's that which allows
:32:06. > :32:10.them to rest on the surface of the water and create these sparkling
:32:10. > :32:14.little ripples. Also when it comes to skating their limbs are
:32:14. > :32:20.important too of course. Their behind limbs support their body
:32:20. > :32:26.weight. Their centre legs row them across the surface of the water.
:32:26. > :32:31.Their four limbs rest on the water surface. With these they sense the
:32:31. > :32:37.struggle of their prey. They are sensitive to vibrations coming
:32:37. > :32:40.across the surface of the water. They will skate across when any
:32:40. > :32:47.luckless thirsty insect falls in and begins to struggle. They stab
:32:47. > :32:57.it and they poison it with a toxin. They inject an enzyme to turn its
:32:57. > :33:02.insides into a meaty soup, then they suck it up. One last thing.
:33:02. > :33:07.Where do you think pond skaters go in winter? This puzzled me from a
:33:08. > :33:15.young age. I thought they possibly survived as eggs or maybe at the
:33:15. > :33:19.bottom of the pond. No, adult pond skaters like this will fly long
:33:19. > :33:25.distance, several hundred meters they will hibernate as adults under
:33:25. > :33:29.logs and stones, folding up their delicate legs. When the sun come
:33:29. > :33:36.out in spring they reemerge to fly back to the ponds to start all over
:33:36. > :33:44.again. Are you getting it now, ponds are fantastic places. They
:33:44. > :33:51.are full of excitement and drama and splendid creature. If you want
:33:51. > :33:58.to find out more, there is an ofrgs organisations called Pond
:33:58. > :34:08.Conservations. They are doing the Big Pond Dip, a national tur vai of
:34:08. > :34:09.
:34:09. > :34:15.our ponds and ditches. -- national survey of our ponds and ditches.
:34:15. > :34:20.Look, they are piling it on at the moment. They have that black glossy
:34:20. > :34:26.cap of the adult bird. The adults are coming backwards and forwards
:34:26. > :34:35.all the time. Look how much they have grown? Watch that nest
:34:35. > :34:45.expanding. That nest expanding as the chicks swell. They are being
:34:45. > :34:49.
:34:49. > :34:52.fed on caterpillars. We are down to five. We had seven or eight. They
:34:53. > :34:59.are getting bigger and bigger every day. Will they fledge over the
:34:59. > :35:04.weekend? I don't know. I tonight think they will. Who knows. It is a
:35:04. > :35:10.will happen. There are predators about. That is always a possibility.
:35:10. > :35:14.Stay tuned on the web cams if you want more information. If you can't
:35:14. > :35:19.stand the suspense of waiting until next week. There is a bird which
:35:19. > :35:24.lives on our rivers, when you see one there is nothing like the
:35:24. > :35:32.Kingfisher that is out there. It's a bird which absolutely splendid.
:35:32. > :35:37.It brings a spike of excitement into all our lives. Here it is.
:35:37. > :35:41.Wildlife cameraman has been filming kingfishers for 20 years. In
:35:42. > :35:47.childhood he used to bunk off school, allegedly, to watch them.
:35:47. > :35:57.What he doesn't know about kingfishers, no-one does. I'm
:35:57. > :35:59.
:35:59. > :36:05.outside the nest. I think the chics have -- chicks have arrived. I'm
:36:05. > :36:11.sitting here quietly hoping to catch a glance of an adult bird
:36:11. > :36:14.flying into the nest with a fish. I'm not seeing anything. However
:36:15. > :36:20.experienced we are, we can all make mistakes. I have forego then my
:36:20. > :36:30.chair. Now I'm getting pins and needles. That's in the nice. That's
:36:30. > :36:36.
:36:36. > :36:43.the first rule of sitting in a hide, It's the male bird. He's got a fish.
:36:43. > :36:52.All lined up, ready to grks when he feeds it to the chick he can feed
:36:52. > :37:02.it head first. They always eat head first. He has gone into the nest.
:37:02. > :37:10.
:37:10. > :37:15.Yes, fantastic. I'm really chuffed. Later that spring Charlie returned
:37:15. > :37:21.to the spot where the King fisher pair were now busy feeding their
:37:21. > :37:31.hungry chicks when he witnessed something he had never witnessed
:37:31. > :37:35.
:37:35. > :37:40.This female has just arrived odd out of nowhere. Our house female
:37:40. > :37:50.has just flown off. I've no idea who she is. It's weird he is not
:37:50. > :37:51.
:37:51. > :38:00.aggressive towards her. I wonder if he has two girls on the go? It's
:38:00. > :38:10.not unheard of, but it's really rare. The house female isn't happy
:38:10. > :38:15.
:38:15. > :38:19.and decides it's time it get rid of This is incredible. It's completely
:38:19. > :38:25.mad here. There are kingfishers over the top of my hide constantly.
:38:25. > :38:35.It's like the Battle of Britain. You see these streaks of kingfisher
:38:35. > :38:56.
:38:56. > :39:01.going past. It's like a house of It has suddenly just gone
:39:01. > :39:07.completely quiet much I guess the house female has gone off down
:39:07. > :39:17.river as she has to feed her chicks and herself. It's unfair. Now the
:39:17. > :39:17.
:39:17. > :39:24.new female who turned up gets the bloke and the nest. I'm joined on
:39:24. > :39:29.my hay bale sofa by Gary. We will tuck into this lot in a minute.
:39:29. > :39:33.What do you think of that sound? Fantastic. You wanted to be there
:39:33. > :39:41.recording that? Absolutely. wasn't you? No. Will you reveal...
:39:41. > :39:50.What is the Sound of the Day? Let us hear it one more time? What on
:39:50. > :39:53.earth? It sounds like a soldier marching on a gravel path. In short
:39:53. > :39:58.bursts! No idea. What do you think that is? What do you think that is?
:39:58. > :40:02.I have no idea. I think it's something chewing, am I right?
:40:02. > :40:10.Absolutely. It was recorded in? Scotland. Something famous in
:40:10. > :40:15.Scotland that chews. I reckon beaver chewing a piece of wood?
:40:15. > :40:20.Absolutely at night-time. Who got it right? Let us find out. Thank
:40:20. > :40:30.you very much. Let us start with who got it wrong. Emma said a
:40:30. > :40:37.hornet. It could have been. Jess said someone eating crunchy nuts,
:40:37. > :40:45.breakfast c cereal. Not sure you are allowed to say thrafplt are
:40:45. > :40:49.other breakfasts. Adam Fox, Cameron and Simone Barter, well done you.
:40:49. > :40:55.While we have our tea and cake, we know you are having your tea and
:40:55. > :41:05.cake, you have written in and told us, we will lay on a musical
:41:05. > :41:05.
:41:05. > :42:06.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 61 seconds
:42:06. > :42:10.You will help your self- -- yourself. The summer of wildlife is
:42:10. > :42:15.about everything you are seeing around you, all about what
:42:15. > :42:21.Springwatch is about. There are thousands of events going on around
:42:21. > :42:26.this very weekend. It kicks off this weekend for a lot of people.
:42:26. > :42:31.If you want to know what is going on and how to get involved it's
:42:31. > :42:35.on and how to get involved it's easy. Go onto the website and will
:42:35. > :42:39.you go to the bit where it says - things to do. Click on that. Enter
:42:39. > :42:44.your postcode. It will give you, by the magic of technology, it will
:42:44. > :42:48.bring you all the information that you want. It will all come up there.
:42:48. > :42:52.There are loads to get involved with. Not sure if we are doing
:42:52. > :42:59.sound recording courses. It is all. There our cake is looking dry. I
:42:59. > :43:05.think it will rain. We will have a look at the live cams quickly
:43:05. > :43:09.look at the live cams quickly before we go. There is the buzzards.
:43:09. > :43:17.They are feeding again. Not sure what they are feeding. Can't see
:43:17. > :43:23.that, there is themarsh cam. Isn't that nice. A swan preening away,
:43:23. > :43:28.lovely bird. Anything else for us? No, they have decided not to. We
:43:28. > :43:34.have a couple of birds on there. We are just about over now. Remember,