Rhaglen 4 Trefi Gwyllt Iolo

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-If you want to see a show, you

-won't see a better wildlife show...

-..anywhere in the world

-than starlings coming in to roost.

-It's like a huge hornet's nest

-under Aberystwyth pier.

-These birds

-will have flown tens of miles...

-..to feed on farms

-in northern Ceredigion...

-..or even as far as Meirionnydd

-and Montgomeryshire.

-They gather in small groups...

-..and return to roost in a safe

-and dry place, under the pier here.

-As they come back,

-they form larger and larger groups.

-By the time they've reached here,

-there are 5,000 of them...

-..10,000 sometimes.

-They fly back and forth,

-back and forth.

-Thousands are coming in.

-Look at all these.

-It's one of nature's wonders

-how these came together...

-..and chose Aberystwyth pier

-as a meeting spot...

-..after spending the day

-spread out throughout Mid Wales.

-But during autumn and winter

-throughout Wales...

-..this is what starlings do.

-If there's a good place to roost...

-..they remember it

-and obviously share the information.

-The best places are often in towns.

-Will they stay here a while?

-Will they stay here a while?

-

-They'll stay under there overnight.

-It's been

-the experience of a lifetime.

-It's great.

-Do they gradually fly away?

-Yes, in the morning,

-as they came in.

-They come in groups of dozens,

-sometimes hundreds.

-They go back and forth before

-deciding it's time to go to sleep.

-They fall out of the air

-under the pier.

-It's incredible how they know

-how to come in. From all directions.

-It's a safe and dry place

-under the pier.

-Listen to that sound.

-The sound of thousands of birds.

-They're under the pier in rows.

-Those at the end of the rows

-will fly up and go under the pier.

-They're packed tightly together.

-They're packed tightly together.

-

-How often does this happen in Aber?

-Every night.

-Every night.

-

-For how long?

-It starts at the end of October...

-..and will go on until late

-February or the beginning of March.

-Every night, free of charge.

-The metal parts of the pier...

-..are far sturdier and sheltered

-than any tree, hedge or rush...

-..their natural roosts.

-For a starling,

-this is a perfect spot.

-A disused building with plenty of

-dry standing spaces does the job.

-I estimate that around 9,000

-have come in tonight.

-They're all right under the pier.

-I can still see them, thousands

-of them, and you can hear them.

-They're very noisy.

-They seem to be deciding exactly

-where each one is going to be.

-The more experienced ones,

-the oldest ones, are in the middle.

-The younger ones are on the fringes.

-If it's extremely cold,

-they will get very cold...

-..whereas the ones in the middle

-will be warm and safe.

-What I like about this roost

-in Aberystwyth...

-..is you're right there

-with the birds.

-They fly above your heads

-and come round...

-..and you can go right up to

-the pier and listen to their noise.

-It's unique.

-Cardiff

-It's not only starlings

-that roost in towns overnight.

-Many different birds do it.

-We associate cormorants

-with the coast.

-But these fly to a park in Cardiff

-to spend the night.

-It's late afternoon.

-The sun is about to set.

-In five minutes,

-it will have disappeared.

-The cormorants are gathering

-to roost on the tall trees here.

-One's flying off.

-Why do they come to Roath Park?

-There are tall trees here...

-..they're on an island in the middle

-of the lake so they're safe...

-..but the main reason is because

-they're so close to the sea.

-In five minutes, they can be

-feeding, filling their bellies.

-Another five minutes,

-they can be back here roosting.

-For the next half an hour to an

-hour, I expect to see more arriving.

-Here's one coming in now.

-The official Welsh translation

-of cormorant is "mulfran".

-Like a lot of our birds, there are

-many dialectal Welsh words for it.

-"Morfran" (sea crow)

-is one of them...

-..an apt term as it's black

-and is seen on the seaside.

-Another name

-is "colier" (collier)...

-..perhaps referring

-to its dark colour.

-"Gloddestwr" (glutton)

-as it swallows a lot, I suppose.

-How about these -

-"wil wal waliog"...

-.."Llanc Llandudno"

-and "wilibofran".

-They're names

-that hint it's quite a character...

-..like "bilidowcar" - my favourite.

-They like being together.

-They nest together,

-sometimes, they hunt together.

-They also obviously

-like to sleep together.

-Around 50 cormorants...

-..roost near Roath Park Lake

-in Cardiff every night in winter.

-In the city centre,

-there's a far larger bird roost...

-..which hardly anyone notices.

-Look at that tree.

-It's alive with small birds.

-They're all wagtails.

-They make quite a noise.

-There are hundreds of wagtails here.

-They're roosting here.

-They're along the roof.

-Once one of them

-decides it's safe for them to go...

-..it goes down and is followed

-by dozens of others like waves.

-They're still coming in.

-They'll roost here overnight.

-Wow! Look!

-They're moving back and forth.

-It'll be a while yet

-before they settle...

-..before they decide

-where they roost.

-They're constantly chattering

-and moving all the time.

-They're so busy.

-They're still coming. I've never

-seen so many wagtails together.

-I estimate that at least 200 have

-come in and they're still arriving.

-In contrast to cormorants...

-..the pied wagtail

-tends to spend the day alone.

-In winter, at night,

-they come together to roost.

-They'd naturally spend the night

-in marshes...

-..and keep warm in rushes

-above the water.

-The temperature in towns can be many

-degrees warmer than the countryside.

-That can be the difference

-between life and death in winter.

-It's one reason why they come here

-in their hundreds.

-There are fewer marshes

-available to them these days...

-..and, like many other birds...

-..they've learnt

-there are better spots in towns.

-As well as that,

-they're away from any dangers.

-I estimated the number of birds

-as they flew in.

-I thought there may be 200.

-But looking up at that tree,

-they're like leaves.

-I'd say there are at least

-double that number here.

-All the white bits you can see

-are wagtails.

-One theory is they come together

-to share information about food.

-If a bird looks healthy, it means

-it's found a good place to feed...

-..so it'll be a good idea

-to follow it in the morning.

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-Haverfordwest

-There are wild places in all towns.

-This one is in Haverfordwest.

-In summer,

-the wild plants are at their best...

-..and change a barren spot

-into a colourful and rich habitat.

-I'm coming down towards

-the football pitch.

-In front of me

-is the old animal mart.

-It was closed years ago.

-Places like this that have been left

-alone are great...

-..because nature

-always reclaims them.

-Even in places such as this

-there are all sorts of flowers.

-Red clover is good.

-It's full of nectar.

-I've seen six species of butterfly

-just in this bit.

-I've seen two types of skipper - the

-small skipper and the large skipper.

-They're orange butterflies.

-They're quite swift.

-There's plenty of nectar and pollen

-for them on the flowers.

-Areas of land such as this one

-in towns are important for wildlife.

-With rural habitats declining...

-..this is one of the few places

-in which nature can thrive.

-In winter, finding food is hard.

-It must be searched for

-everywhere...

-..including in any wild habitats

-near towns.

-The bittern

-is one of Wales's rarest birds.

-This one has landed in a pool

-near Cardiff.

-It would usually hide in a marsh

-in the countryside.

-But despite the rubbish...

-..it's decided that

-this is a good place to find fish.

-It'll be here for a day or two,

-or longer if there's enough fish.

-On an industrial estate near Rhyl...

-..a short-eared owl

-has found a wild patch of land.

-Winter is the best time

-to see unusual birds around towns.

-Birds who usually hide

-are forced to be less shy.

-In the summer, short-eared owls

-live on the uplands.

-In winter, it's forced

-to look for mice lower down.

-This is a good place to hunt.

-The thick vegetation has created

-the perfect habitat for small mice.

-I don't know of any supermarket

-in the country...

-..that isn't a good place for birds.

-When new ones are built,

-trees are planted.

-These are rowan trees.

-Once they mature, they're full

-of berries, like this one here.

-That attracts birds.

-Here, blackbirds and thrushes

-have been landing on the tall trees.

-They come down and feed here.

-It'll get dark within half an hour.

-They have to feed now

-before they go to roost over there.

-Without the supermarket,

-these trees wouldn't be here.

-This all takes place on the side of

-one of North Wales's busiest roads.

-Incredible.

-If you're very lucky, when you go

-to your local supermarket...

-..you might see these lovely birds,

-waxwings.

-They come from Scandinavia.

-They're rare winter visitors.

-They come here

-once every six or seven years.

-When the berries fail

-in Scandinavia...

-..they visit us.

-When they do come, the best place to

-see them is your local supermarket.

-They're beautiful. They really are.

-It has orange-pink, punk-style hair.

-There are patches of red

-on their wings.

-That's why it's called a waxwing.

-They're so pretty.

-When you go to

-your local supermarket in winter...

-..you might see these.

-When it's frozen solid

-in the rest of Europe...

-..thousands of birds head west

-to milder weather.

-They'll go as far as Ireland

-if they must.

-After eating the berries...

-..they'll fly back to the Continent

-for the spring.

-Winter can be a good time

-to see birds in towns.

-As it's such a barren season...

-..thousands come to eat

-or to look for shelter.

-For a short period

-just before sunset...

-..which only lasts

-for about 15 minutes...

-..you'll get a great aerial show

-such as this one in every village.

-Wow! Look at these!

-Hundreds of jackdaws.

-I'm between Llanelli and Loughor.

-Every night in winter,

-hundreds of birds come in to roost.

-They choose tall trees,

-either behind me...

-..this one or ones in front of me.

-It depends

-on the direction of the wind.

-This is a great place for them.

-Lots of heat comes from houses.

-There are lots of factories

-here too.

-As well as that, it isn't far for

-them to get food in the morning...

-..from people's gardens, parks

-or farms.

-This is right in the middle.

-Almost three million jackdaws

-live in Britain.

-So it's no surprise...

-..that so many gather around our

-towns during winter when it's cold.

-The most experienced birds

-lead the way.

-They're the ones

-who find the roosts.

-But they never go

-straight to the roost.

-They circle around the area and

-land in many places before settling.

-There's wave after wave above me.

-No-one knows why they don't find

-one spot and settle there.

-It never happens.

-They look like they're going

-to settle, they go up...

-..look like they're settling again

-and go back up, just like these.

-Some are settling just above my head

-in this tree.

-After landing,

-they obviously natter to each other.

-A jackdaw language where they chat

-about good places to shelter...

-..and to find food in the morning.

-Away they go...

-..like children who want to continue

-playing and put off going to bed.

-They continue chatting.

-And they continue to decide

-who lands where.

-You can be sure that the experienced

-ones will get the best spots.

-I think this will be the final wave.

-It's getting very dark.

-What's interesting is...

-..they're settling for the night

-not only in the trees...

-..but on the factory too.

-They've found a safe and warm place

-to roost.

-That's where they'll stay all night.

-If I was a jackdaw

-or another urban creature...

-..I'm sure there's enough in towns

-for me to recommend.

-There are great places to stay warm

-overnight.

-They're cosy compared to open,

-desolate places in rural Wales.

-Between the concrete

-and among the rubbish...

-..there's enough food available.

-There's no problem commuting.

-If they have to leave the town, they

-only have to fly above the traffic.

-And, of course,

-every little wild patch helps.

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