:00:39. > :00:43.Welcome to Winterwatch. For the next hour, we are going to bring
:00:43. > :00:47.you the very best of Britain's wintry wildlife, coming here from
:00:47. > :00:51.the beautiful Brecon Beacons here in South Wales. And we are here on
:00:51. > :00:56.the most glorious day to celebrate, and yes, I did say celebrate, went
:00:56. > :01:02.up. As you will find out, there are masses to see and do as long as you
:01:02. > :01:09.wrap up warm. So what happens to our wildlife in winter? How does it
:01:09. > :01:13.manage to survive this harsh, unforgiving season?
:01:13. > :01:18.Winter. It is the season of extremes. It is the coldest, the
:01:18. > :01:25.windiest, the wettest and also the darkest time of the year, and yet
:01:25. > :01:30.it can also be the most beautiful. It is a truly challenging few
:01:30. > :01:35.months for our wildlife, a real test of the fittest, but as ABBA,
:01:35. > :01:45.nature has devised ingenious solutions to allow our wildlife to
:01:45. > :01:46.
:01:46. > :01:50.overcome the trials of winter -- as Winter brings some of our greatest
:01:50. > :01:55.wildlife spectacles. So why not get the thermals on, get out and so cut
:01:55. > :01:59.some of the wonders of the season? -- so Cup.
:01:59. > :02:04.This says that winter is in a glorious season? -- who says. We
:02:04. > :02:08.have been out on the trail of some of Britain's finest winter wildlife.
:02:08. > :02:13.Charlie Hamilton James has been enjoying fabulous views of one of
:02:13. > :02:19.our favourite animals. Maya Plass helped Martin to survive a -- sold
:02:19. > :02:22.Lavery and mystery. Gordon Buchanan braved the cold to find out how one
:02:22. > :02:26.of the our toughest birds makes it through the winter. Michaela
:02:26. > :02:30.Strachan caught up with our swallows, who have flown 6,000
:02:30. > :02:34.miles to South Africa. As always, we will be trying to answer some of
:02:34. > :02:38.your questions and look at some of your spectacular photographs.
:02:38. > :02:44.all of this, we wanted a spectacular location and we have
:02:44. > :02:50.got one. Behind us there, capped with snow, Brecon Beacons National
:02:50. > :02:55.Park. The highest mountain in southern Britain, Pen-y-Fan, 886
:02:55. > :02:59.metres. For every 100m that you go up, it is said that it dropped one
:03:00. > :03:05.degree centigrade and it is pretty chilly up there. A tough place to
:03:05. > :03:09.be wildlife. Perhaps surprisingly, winter is actually a great time to
:03:09. > :03:17.go wildlife watching. One of the best places to go this time of year
:03:17. > :03:20.is an estuary. Chris showed me why. Martin, I have brought you here to
:03:20. > :03:27.celebrate something quintessentially British. By the
:03:27. > :03:33.patriotic? Do you know, I am. This here is the Diamond Jubilee. The
:03:33. > :03:37.Olympics. -- this year. It the British Olympics will be the best
:03:37. > :03:41.there has ever been. We invented everything from Parliament to punk
:03:41. > :03:47.rock and we make the best motor bikes are the world. You forgot two
:03:47. > :03:53.things. Spik fires and Geoff Hurst. And I am patriotic as well --
:03:53. > :04:03.Spitfires. What I had actually brought you here to see his great
:04:03. > :04:03.
:04:03. > :04:11.British mud. Mud? Go on, then, in we go. How is it? Martin, this mutt
:04:11. > :04:15.is globally important, -- mud. Because of the Gulf Stream, a body
:04:15. > :04:21.of warm water that reaches right up to the top a bystander and sweets
:04:21. > :04:27.that the British coast, keeping our waters unfroze and and relatively
:04:27. > :04:33.ball back reaches the top of ice land and sweeps down. As a result,
:04:33. > :04:40.hundreds and 1,000 -- thousands, millions of birds come here to
:04:40. > :04:42.exploit this resource. This very rich resource. Actually, Chris,
:04:42. > :04:45.12.5 million wildfowl use our estuaries, marshes and mudflats
:04:45. > :04:49.every winter. Half of the entire world population of golden plovers
:04:49. > :04:54.come here. Almost three-quarters of the world's knot make the most of
:04:54. > :05:00.our mud. And an unbelievable 91% of black-tailed godwits come to our
:05:00. > :05:10.shores this time of year. But why do all these birds find our
:05:10. > :05:17.
:05:17. > :05:22.This mud has a very high calorific value. There is a sort of scale, it
:05:22. > :05:28.is a chocolate bar scale. Take this chocolate bar. One cubic metre of
:05:29. > :05:34.mud can contain up to 38 chocolate- covered bars of calories. By Jude
:05:34. > :05:41.Law of science? A chocolate bar scale -- don't you just love
:05:41. > :05:47.science? This cubic metre of mud also contains an idiotic presenter
:05:47. > :05:52.who has trodden into it. This could end very badly. It is not about
:05:52. > :05:59.chocolate for the birds. This is absolutely packed with invertebrate
:05:59. > :06:04.life. Shellfish, worms, you name it, it is in that. The problem is, they
:06:04. > :06:06.have got to get it out. How are they going to get it out? Let's go
:06:07. > :06:11.and look at some birds getting it out.
:06:12. > :06:17.The key thing is of, of course, all of these birds have different
:06:17. > :06:21.beaches. They are all after different things in the mud at
:06:21. > :06:24.different depths. That means they can all feed in the same place at
:06:24. > :06:30.the same time, but by feeding on different things at different
:06:30. > :06:35.depths. So even in one foot of mud, different species will exploit
:06:35. > :06:40.different bits. And the way they find it is fantastic. Some of them
:06:40. > :06:44.have super-sensitive tips to their bill. You imagine a bird's billed
:06:44. > :06:49.as being tough, but the tip of it can be quite soft and flexible, and
:06:49. > :06:54.it is filled with a mass of nerves that can send any movement in the
:06:54. > :06:57.mud. Others can even pick up electrical current in the mud that
:06:57. > :07:02.are made as the creatures move through it. It is a whole range of
:07:02. > :07:08.methods they have to get food dead. Sometimes they just put it in, have
:07:08. > :07:15.a little feel and move on. Sometimes they will throw it in and
:07:15. > :07:23.out of the mud. -- mud. I have tapped -- seen Italian mud, it is
:07:23. > :07:33.rubbish. I have seen the enemies mutter, it is rubbish. A Brazilian
:07:33. > :07:33.
:07:33. > :07:42.mud? This is the mud that really counts. The mud of that matters.
:07:42. > :07:46.Great British mud! The mud of that matters. Where were you for that?
:07:46. > :07:55.We were near Lymington in Hampshire. But the thing about the UK, there
:07:55. > :08:01.is a lot of estuaries, Exe, the Wash, Morecambe Bay. Wherever you
:08:01. > :08:05.are, there is an estuary nature. Slimbridge is fantastic, the
:08:05. > :08:09.headquarters of the wildfowl Trust in Gloucestershire. Ian Llewellyn
:08:09. > :08:19.spent the day there recently. Just bear that in mind, one day, and
:08:19. > :08:19.
:08:19. > :09:46.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 86 seconds
:09:46. > :09:50.Absolutely glorious. I love a steaming a cormorant. But we have
:09:50. > :10:00.also had some pictures sent in by the viewers, and one bird has
:10:00. > :10:00.
:10:00. > :10:06.cropped up time and time again. Here they are, this one... And Al,
:10:06. > :10:12.clearly, but not one we I used to seeing. -- and Al. This is a short-
:10:12. > :10:18.eared owl, and this winter, there has been a huge influx. Sometimes
:10:18. > :10:21.they were coming in from the coast 40 or 50 at a time from Scandinavia
:10:21. > :10:25.and we are seeing irruptive migration, not a regular migration
:10:25. > :10:28.that happens every year, it requires special conditions. What
:10:29. > :10:32.we think might have happened is there has been a very good breeding
:10:32. > :10:36.season in Scandinavia, lots of lemmings, lots of small mammal prey,
:10:36. > :10:40.then it got cold and they have got to go somewhere and they have come
:10:40. > :10:47.to the UK. We have had lots of to the UK. We have had lots of
:10:48. > :10:52.pictures coming. This one is really nice. Shame about the wire! Look at
:10:52. > :10:56.this one, that is gorgeous. Nice grass, reflecting the colours and
:10:56. > :10:58.the bird is beautifully lit. It is the bird is beautifully lit. It is
:10:58. > :11:04.not just you who have been out capturing short-eared owls on
:11:04. > :11:07.camera, our cameraman did the same. Have a look at this fabulous
:11:07. > :11:12.footage of a short-eared owl hunting, by the looks of things.
:11:12. > :11:16.really buoyant flight. That is what those long wings all about. They
:11:16. > :11:21.are not nocturnal, they will hunt in daylight. It has spotted
:11:21. > :11:26.something and it immediately swoops down, with its wings back so it
:11:26. > :11:31.would damage them. It has either heard it or it has seen it and it
:11:31. > :11:35.plunges down into the grass. It is a small mammal of some kind. When
:11:35. > :11:40.you see it taking off, initially it is in its peak and then its swaps
:11:40. > :11:45.it to its feet and makes its way off to eat it, possibly away from
:11:45. > :11:48.it being stolen by another bird. real winter treat for us, but you
:11:48. > :11:53.may think why on earth are these birds making the effort to come
:11:53. > :11:57.here, when it is not exactly tropical? Bear in mind that in
:11:57. > :12:01.Scandinavia and continental Europe, it is even colder than theirs. So
:12:01. > :12:08.this is like a summer holiday for a short-eared owl. -- called the
:12:08. > :12:16.bandits. -- colder than this. This is the weather station at the
:12:16. > :12:19.Every day at 9 o'clock on the dot, measurements are taken and they are
:12:19. > :12:26.sent to the Met Office. Let's have a look and see what the temperature
:12:26. > :12:30.is now. It is minus 5.5 and I can tell you, it is extremely Parky.
:12:30. > :12:37.That has not been the story of winter so far. November was the
:12:37. > :12:41.warmest on record, it really was. December was the mildest for five
:12:41. > :12:49.years, and extraordinarily, in Aberdeen Shia on Boxing Day, it was
:12:49. > :12:55.a positively tropical 15C. We could do with a bit of that now. But what
:12:55. > :13:02.has all this warmth meant for our wildlife? George told us that on
:13:02. > :13:08.Christmas Day, 12:30pm, he saw a red admirable -- Red Admiral fly
:13:08. > :13:12.past the window. He called his wife and daughter to confirm. A lot of
:13:12. > :13:16.you have seen them. They should by rights be hibernating, but in the
:13:16. > :13:22.warm, they will be out flying around. Now it is so cold, let's
:13:22. > :13:26.hope they have all gone to sleep. Thank you, Martin. This month,
:13:26. > :13:31.everything changed. Gone were the balmy days of December and January
:13:31. > :13:36.and along came sub-zero temperatures, frost and some snow.
:13:36. > :13:40.And very pretty it was as well. The landscape at last started to look
:13:40. > :13:44.like a proper winter Wonderland. did for a few days, it was
:13:44. > :13:52.fantastic. It was quite a relief after all of that much and drizzle
:13:52. > :13:57.in December. -- mud. Where did it come from? Europe finally got cold.
:13:58. > :14:02.Up in fin land, it got them to minus 36. Even in Germany, it was
:14:02. > :14:05.down into the minus 20s and this had a big impact. Many bird species
:14:05. > :14:10.finally got the push from continental Europe and came over
:14:10. > :14:20.here to the UK. Everyone was out of bed with their cameras getting some
:14:20. > :14:53.
:14:53. > :15:01.splendid pictures, which was sent That is what is fantastic about
:15:01. > :15:07.winter, get great wildlife pictures. But some have been in touch to see
:15:07. > :15:11.that birds have not been coming to your gardens budget trick in
:15:11. > :15:18.December when it pours so warm. The reason is there was a lot of food
:15:18. > :15:24.available through the countryside. So any birds could still find worms.
:15:24. > :15:28.But of course that changed this month when the cold snap came in. I
:15:28. > :15:33.noticed birds coming into the tedious in my garden. Although the
:15:33. > :15:38.cold snap has been quite short so far, do you think it could have a
:15:38. > :15:46.detrimental affect on birds? Generally it needs to be cold for a
:15:46. > :15:53.longer period. The data has been analysed and some of the smaller
:15:53. > :16:02.species, those prone to losing heat more quickly, did suffer. Robins
:16:02. > :16:07.and song thrushes, even hedge birds down by 21%. But after the
:16:07. > :16:13.prolonged period we had a mild spring last year and then we have
:16:13. > :16:18.records because the birds were so productive. Chaffinches had their
:16:18. > :16:23.best ever breeding seasons in the spring. So nature balanced out.
:16:23. > :16:28.did. And I think unless we get a very long called period now, it
:16:28. > :16:33.will not be as bad as the past two winters. While some species in this
:16:33. > :16:43.country have adapted to deal would these very cold conditions. Gordon
:16:43. > :16:48.
:16:48. > :16:57.Buchanan headed to the Cairngorms It is a true Arctic specialist. The
:16:57. > :17:02.ptarmigan. It has adapted to live in extreme conditions of the high
:17:02. > :17:07.mountains and is the UK's toughest bird bone reputation. I have been
:17:07. > :17:11.given special permission to camp up here. Winter days are short and I
:17:11. > :17:21.have to be out at first light. But putting up a tent in a gale-force
:17:21. > :17:22.
:17:22. > :17:26.wind is not easy. Warmth is one of those simple
:17:26. > :17:36.pleasures we take for granted! Incredible to think that these
:17:36. > :17:45.
:17:45. > :17:55.ptarmigan are living out their. I'm going to try to get some rest.
:17:55. > :17:55.
:17:55. > :18:01.In the morning the weather has closed in. I took all this
:18:01. > :18:05.equipment into my tent, former clothing, and an having a
:18:05. > :18:15.increasing appreciation for what these ptarmigan are up against. I'm
:18:15. > :18:21.
:18:21. > :18:31.definitely not warm and cosy! There we go, I knew we were going
:18:31. > :18:36.to see one. Perfect. These ptarmigan have evolved to exist
:18:36. > :18:45.appear in many ways, it even their feet are feathered. They kind of
:18:45. > :18:51.act like snowshoes. You can see the Anne Picking and the vegetation. It
:18:51. > :18:57.is this kind of Alpine, shrubby kind of plant that they are feeding
:18:57. > :19:00.on. They will actually store food in their crop so during the cold
:19:00. > :19:07.nights they can sit there and regurgitate and feeding through the
:19:07. > :19:13.night. The thing that does it for me but these birds is their ability
:19:13. > :19:20.to change colour. As the mountain top is covered in snow lit
:19:20. > :19:28.ptarmigan also change their colour. When the weather is really bad they
:19:28. > :19:32.will actually dig little snow holes and tuck themselves in down there.
:19:32. > :19:37.Ptarmigan and I definitely one of my favourite birds. It is
:19:37. > :19:47.incredible that they can exist up here all year round. And what I
:19:47. > :19:48.
:19:48. > :19:56.learned after last night is that they belong here and I do not!
:19:56. > :20:01.That is one tough bird! Tough bloke as well! We are hiding in the
:20:01. > :20:08.centre! I have got something to show you. It is slightly
:20:08. > :20:18.embarrassing, but at least we can have a close look at one. I
:20:18. > :20:20.
:20:20. > :20:27.inherited this, it was shot by my father! That was 50 years ago. How
:20:27. > :20:34.do they change the colour of their feathers? Well the feather itself
:20:35. > :20:44.cannot change colour, it is dead material, but they moult their
:20:45. > :20:48.
:20:48. > :20:58.feathers in wintertime. Let's move on! Since that time when your
:20:58. > :21:04.father was able to shoot that, if they were a lot more abundant.
:21:04. > :21:08.Barbara it wants to know more about why some animals change the colour
:21:08. > :21:15.of their fur in winter. Well like the birds it is a moulding process,
:21:15. > :21:25.they have to physically changed their fur. And they produce a cult
:21:25. > :21:26.
:21:26. > :21:30.which is not rich in pigment. Their ears can remain black so they can
:21:30. > :21:36.keep them warm, basically. The length of the day is what triggers
:21:36. > :21:44.it. The temperature controls the speed at which they turn colour but
:21:44. > :21:48.it is also genetically controlled as well. If you take a southern
:21:48. > :21:53.stoat up to Scotland and leave it on the top of the mountain it will
:21:53. > :21:58.not turn colour because it is not genetically programmed to do that.
:21:58. > :22:03.Some animals in the winter are able to change them stumps physically
:22:03. > :22:07.but others change their behaviour. -- themselves. Some bird species
:22:07. > :22:12.gathered together in huge groups at this time of year, in their tens of
:22:12. > :22:18.thousands, like these rocks. It is fantastic sight for us but also has
:22:18. > :22:25.some important advantages for the birds. For a start there are more
:22:25. > :22:29.pairs of eyes on the lookout. But it is also about warmth. In winter
:22:29. > :22:35.wagtails often come into the city centre looking for a warm place to
:22:35. > :22:41.spend the night. And hundreds of Pied wagtails are making the most
:22:41. > :22:46.of the escaped heat from this building. But the most impressive
:22:46. > :22:53.have to beat starlings. Their vast swimming murmurations on winter
:22:53. > :22:58.evenings are magnificent. They roost in large groups like these on
:22:58. > :23:02.Aberystwyth peer. They can reduce their overnight heat loss by up to
:23:02. > :23:10.one-third simply by huddling together. Not all birds will do
:23:10. > :23:19.that, some will leave the shores in pursuit of much warmer weather.
:23:20. > :23:27.Mikaela Strachan did the same thing. -- Michaela. We sent her on the
:23:27. > :23:32.trail of one of our summer species. I mean South Africa on my way to
:23:32. > :23:42.find out where one of our favourite little birds migrates to in our
:23:42. > :23:44.
:23:44. > :23:52.winter. I'm joining local bird watcher Andrew Pickles in am
:23:52. > :23:55.massive reed bed where the birds spend the night. Andrew is an
:23:55. > :24:05.experienced birdwatcher and hopes to catch some swallows to shed some
:24:05. > :24:05.
:24:05. > :24:11.light on their epic migration. This is the spot. I think we will put up
:24:11. > :24:20.the next in a straight line down there. How many birds to expect?
:24:20. > :24:27.could be up to 1.5 million. What kind of time to expect them?
:24:27. > :24:37.would say any time from about a quarter to seven onwards.
:24:37. > :24:46.
:24:46. > :24:51.So we have got a bit of time. What about predators? Yes we have a
:24:51. > :25:00.bird that migrates with the swallows, and he is sensible, he
:25:01. > :25:07.migrates with his prey! So we're all set up? Yes we just need to put
:25:07. > :25:15.on recording of their roosting call which hopefully will attract them
:25:15. > :25:23.into the nets. This is amazing, it is starting. Oh
:25:23. > :25:33.my goodness! Literally within two minutes, suddenly all of them have
:25:33. > :25:39.
:25:39. > :25:49.come over us. The sky becomes full. Look at that! They're just in and
:25:49. > :25:52.
:25:52. > :26:02.out. They're just everywhere. huge numbers.
:26:02. > :26:07.
:26:07. > :26:15.You have caught masses tonight. I make that 51. That is not bad.
:26:15. > :26:22.What happens to them now? They will remain in those bags overnight.
:26:22. > :26:32.it just too dark to ring them and release them tonight? Yes. They are
:26:32. > :26:35.
:26:35. > :26:40.quite content. Are we ready to go? I will take the birds.
:26:40. > :26:47.How long have you been ringing these birds of this most? About
:26:47. > :26:52.three to four years. And what have you learnt? Well for the swallows
:26:53. > :27:00.we have learnt their migration routes, these swallows can live up
:27:00. > :27:09.to 10 or 11 years of age. That is a lot of flying. If you think about
:27:10. > :27:15.it they travel to Europe and back every year for 10 years. One of
:27:15. > :27:22.your British birds has been here! So if there is one there is going
:27:22. > :27:30.to be 100. The important thing is to check the state of its primary
:27:30. > :27:35.feathers. As soon as they arrive from Europe they will start malting.
:27:35. > :27:45.When they get to the Last Feather then we know they're getting ready
:27:45. > :27:47.
:27:47. > :27:55.to migrate. If the female bird does not return within a few days, the
:27:55. > :28:02.male will find himself another mate! That is harsh! But it is
:28:02. > :28:11.incredible that they fly back to the same spot year after year.
:28:11. > :28:16.Reconnect this one go. -- we can't let.
:28:16. > :28:20.I guess without any of that ringing going on you would not for one
:28:21. > :28:26.minute think that they have flown all the way from Europe to South
:28:27. > :28:36.Africa. Not at all. For the size of the bird it is hard to imagine that
:28:36. > :28:42.they could fly that kind of distance. Good luck!
:28:42. > :28:45.Michaela has got the right idea, going south for the winter! Well
:28:46. > :28:50.those swallows will quite shortly be heading north. We should see
:28:50. > :28:56.them returning to Britain Roundabout April. Yes some of the
:28:56. > :29:02.early ones at the end of March. then there are the Ospreys. We went
:29:02. > :29:08.to follow the young Ospreys in the autumn. And those youngsters will
:29:08. > :29:13.not least but the adults will start heading back. The youngsters will
:29:13. > :29:21.stay in West Africa and then start to make their way back in the next
:29:21. > :29:26.One of the other species we were looking at last year was the
:29:26. > :29:30.cuckoos. They have been fitted with new technology, satellite tax,
:29:30. > :29:33.which meant we could see where they had gone for the winter. They have
:29:33. > :29:38.been down here in central West Africa. They are beginning to get
:29:38. > :29:43.fidgety. Martin the cuckoo has been rumbling about, he has moved 90
:29:43. > :29:47.miles north. Perhaps not starting his migration, perhaps looking for
:29:47. > :29:52.his car keys. In the springtime, for the first time ever, we are
:29:52. > :29:55.going to find out the route that these birds take back to Europe and
:29:55. > :30:00.hopefully back to the UK and we will bring you update on that.
:30:00. > :30:04.will, but what do you do if you can't fly south? What do you do if
:30:05. > :30:08.you have to stay here? You tough it out. One of the ways to do that is
:30:09. > :30:14.to simply go to sleep. Take a leaf out of the Book of hedgehogs, bats
:30:14. > :30:17.and dormice. They will sleep their way through the cold snap and wake
:30:17. > :30:22.of a very sensibly when it starts to get warmer. We have had an
:30:22. > :30:26.interesting question, what happens to things like insects and
:30:26. > :30:30.invertebrates, how do they get through the winter? Many of them
:30:30. > :30:37.hibernate as well. Many of the adult butterflies, tortoise shell,
:30:37. > :30:40.red admiral, brimstone, they will hibernate as adult in Stakes. -- in
:30:40. > :30:47.sex. They will start to become active in the spring when they
:30:47. > :30:51.start to lay their eggs. But that inspects -- other adult insects
:30:51. > :30:55.don't hibernate as adults, but as La they, and hide away from the
:30:55. > :31:00.stove. Some of them have compounds within them like an defies that
:31:00. > :31:03.stop them from a freezing -- anti- freeze. Then you have queen wasps
:31:03. > :31:07.and bumblebees, they are fertilised females and only they survive from
:31:07. > :31:11.the colony and in the springtime, they are some of the first one she
:31:11. > :31:16.will see out, looking for a safe spot to stopover in the new year.
:31:16. > :31:20.You may think it's the perfect time of the year to be hibernating, but
:31:20. > :31:27.going to the seaside in the depths of winter? Surely not. Martin might
:31:28. > :31:34.just change your mind. This is Salcombe in Devon. I used
:31:34. > :31:38.to come here every year five family holiday, a houseboat. Out there.
:31:38. > :31:42.And in summer, it is packed with people. But in the depths of winter,
:31:42. > :31:48.it is a very different story, almost deserted. So the people are
:31:48. > :31:51.gone, what about the wildlife? To uncover some of the secret of the
:31:51. > :31:57.seashore in winter, I'm joining marine biologist Maya Plass, who
:31:57. > :32:02.knows just where to look. Why are we on an old pontoon?
:32:02. > :32:06.Pontoons are the best place to look for things. Underneath this will be
:32:06. > :32:14.all sorts of amazing creatures, it is like a barrier Reef seen. Stick
:32:14. > :32:19.your head right over. There are tons of things. Loads of really
:32:19. > :32:28.beautiful anemones. There is a crab. A velvet swimming crab. And behind
:32:28. > :32:35.that, there is a coral, called Dead man's fingers. I am amazed that the
:32:35. > :32:40.richness. And it is called. It is. There is one down there, a sponge
:32:40. > :32:45.called mermaids globe. The they had such lovely names. Apart from dead
:32:45. > :32:48.man's fingers. The sea is cold in winter and the
:32:49. > :32:56.water tends to be clear as there's less algae and plankton. And low
:32:56. > :33:04.tide reveals a miscellany of marine marvels. There is a welcome.
:33:04. > :33:10.that just a shell? It is a live one. It has bid for Caird. It is holding
:33:10. > :33:17.itself in the mud. -- it has bit put out. That is how they glide
:33:17. > :33:22.around. That stops it from drying - - drying up, and if any predators
:33:22. > :33:27.try and get into eat the flesh, it is a protective device. I just
:33:27. > :33:32.thought it was an empty shell. Shall we put him back? Yes, put him
:33:32. > :33:40.back. Another really good place is to
:33:40. > :33:45.look here. These are rare eggs. They are. That is actually the egg
:33:45. > :33:50.capsule of what we just saw. In the spring Bunce, perfectly formed ones
:33:50. > :33:55.will come out. -- spring guns. is a mollusc egg, that squishy
:33:55. > :33:58.thing. So even in the depths of winter, there's plenty of wildlife
:33:58. > :34:08.around, but we were not expecting this, something neither of us have
:34:08. > :34:16.
:34:16. > :34:24.ever seen before. Is it natural or There it was. A couple of times.
:34:24. > :34:28.That was nearly one metre. Come on, Maya. What the heck is squirting
:34:28. > :34:34.this war to read? All around here, you have evidence of some of the
:34:34. > :34:39.bivalves, a type of Shell, a type of snail, and they bury into the
:34:39. > :34:44.water. They filter water out and as they squirt the water out into the
:34:44. > :34:48.water, at high-tide, you wouldn't see it, but now you will see it
:34:48. > :34:56.squirting out. You will see it with a razor clams and things. There's
:34:56. > :35:06.only one way to finally solve this mystery. I can see something.
:35:06. > :35:08.
:35:09. > :35:16.is that? Look. Shall we give it a Isn't that amazing? What a bizarre
:35:16. > :35:23.structure. You think that is out all the time? It looks like it. I
:35:23. > :35:27.think it is called a gaper. We have solved the mystery. That is the
:35:27. > :35:32.mystery squirt of. By day out with Maya Is a perfect
:35:32. > :35:39.example of what makes a seaside in winter so special -- my day out. It
:35:39. > :35:45.is just full of surprises. Chris, Chris, Chris. Look at that,
:35:45. > :35:52.Martyn. A just out of the blue, there it is. Here we are in Wales,
:35:52. > :35:57.the perfect thing in -- on a better day it is... A red kite. The emblem
:35:57. > :36:01.of these Brecon Hills. It is quartering, looking for small
:36:01. > :36:06.mammals, I'm unlucky rabbit, perhaps. That is what they will do
:36:06. > :36:10.even in the middle of winter. If you are red, due can see things
:36:10. > :36:13.like that. They -- out you can see things.
:36:13. > :36:23.Another creature you might seek out and about in winter, especially
:36:23. > :36:27.near a river, is an otter. Charlie Hamilton James heard about an otter
:36:28. > :36:33.family on an urban river and has his own theory about why such
:36:33. > :36:38.younger cubs a might be around this time of year. -- might be around.
:36:38. > :36:48.So hard to spot in this murky water. It is so nice, there is a bit of
:36:48. > :36:50.
:36:50. > :36:55.It is so nice, there is a bit of tend to have their cubs in winter,
:36:55. > :36:58.because they are going to stick around with their mother, they have
:36:58. > :37:03.had this summer whether hunting is easy and they have honed their
:37:03. > :37:09.skills by the time the winter comes -- aware of the hunting is easy.
:37:09. > :37:15.And then they can make it on their own. I would say that covers three
:37:16. > :37:19.or four months old. -- that young cub. It has another few months with
:37:19. > :37:25.its mother and it has to learn the skills of being an otter. It isn't
:37:25. > :37:30.just fishing, it is learning to fight, learning to hold territory,
:37:30. > :37:34.learning what a good territory is. A whole load of stuff that this
:37:34. > :37:39.tiny otter has got to learn from Maugham. They have gone quite a
:37:39. > :37:43.long way away, so I suggest we go and find them -- learned from a
:37:43. > :37:47.mother. I am quite surprised to see that
:37:47. > :37:51.mother and a Moore with one club, because I had heard reports of one
:37:51. > :38:01.with two. Either she has lost one of her young or there is another
:38:01. > :38:04.
:38:04. > :38:13.there is a lovely Kingfisher. She has a bright red lower beak, which
:38:13. > :38:23.means she is female, and she is in great condition. Look at that,
:38:23. > :38:33.
:38:33. > :38:40.I am not sure if it is the same ones I have already seen. It looks
:38:40. > :38:50.smaller, that one. There is a very high-pitched whistle. The reason is,
:38:50. > :38:57.
:38:57. > :39:01.three otters. Beautiful. They are far too small to be catching food
:39:01. > :39:06.for themselves. They are totally reliant on their mother to do the
:39:06. > :39:12.fishing for them. So she has quite a lot of pressure on, she has to
:39:12. > :39:16.catch food not just for herself but for these two. When you bear in
:39:16. > :39:22.mind, and adult otter is putting away about one kilo of fish a day,
:39:22. > :39:29.that is quite a lot of work to do to feed everyone.
:39:29. > :39:36.You can hear sirens. It is a busy main road just there. I am about
:39:36. > :39:44.100m from the supermarket car-park. Another siren. This is the modern
:39:44. > :39:48.otter. Living in cities. Coming out in the day. Getting used to people.
:39:49. > :39:54.This is basically exactly what foxes did in the 1970s and eighties,
:39:54. > :40:04.when they became urbanised and came into cities. Now the otters are
:40:04. > :40:07.
:40:07. > :40:09.I have nipped down the road from the mountain centre to meet Wynn
:40:09. > :40:13.Morgan from the Brecon Beacons National Park.
:40:13. > :40:17.Charlie said it is a great time of year not just to see otters but
:40:17. > :40:23.other sort of revolt wildlife, including a bird I know you will
:40:23. > :40:27.love and I certainly know, and it it is -- it is dippers. Is this a
:40:27. > :40:33.good river for them? It is fantastic, it is fast flowing, you
:40:33. > :40:35.can see how clear the water is, it is ideal. They are just such
:40:35. > :40:42.is ideal. They are just such handsome birds, and much more
:40:42. > :40:47.robust than you think. Quite chunky little things. He is just purged on
:40:47. > :40:57.that rock with that lovely white breast showing. -- purged. Here he
:40:57. > :40:59.
:40:59. > :41:05.his days patrolling? It is several hundred metres of river. Yes,
:41:05. > :41:09.between the three bridges, I would say. The family of dippers we were
:41:09. > :41:13.watching it Springwatch nested right in a waterfall. There is no
:41:13. > :41:20.water for I can see, but where do they nest along here? That
:41:20. > :41:24.waterfall. We put nest boxes up. We have one on the bridge, and one on
:41:24. > :41:28.the bottom Bridge. I have brought one with me, we need to put one on
:41:28. > :41:33.the middle Bridge. A I can feel work coming on. I can see why
:41:33. > :41:43.looking pretty fit. There is no such thing as a quiet afternoon's
:41:43. > :41:49.
:41:49. > :41:59.bird-watching! I will get my drill ladder? I was hoping he would, but
:41:59. > :42:01.
:42:01. > :42:04.There we go, a nice new nest site for the dippers and if you want to
:42:04. > :42:12.do the same for your garden birds, let's go back to Chris and Martin,
:42:12. > :42:16.who have lots of advice for you. So if I am thinking of putting up a
:42:16. > :42:20.bird box in the garden, what should I be thinking about? Doing it now.
:42:20. > :42:23.Now is the time to get them up because birds will be prospecting
:42:23. > :42:28.at this time of year to make sure there are nest holes available in
:42:28. > :42:32.their territory so they can start straight away. And where do we put
:42:32. > :42:36.them? It is very garden specific, so you have to use commonsense, but
:42:36. > :42:40.don't put them where they are very exposed and will get lots of bad
:42:40. > :42:44.weather but equally don't put them in the sunshine, where you will
:42:44. > :42:48.cook the eggs and the young in the sun. And put them away from where
:42:48. > :42:54.there might be predators, Catt, sparrowhawks. They like bushes to
:42:54. > :42:59.be close by, so they birds can land and fly in and come out safely.
:42:59. > :43:04.they don't get used one year, do you leave them or what? Move them.
:43:04. > :43:10.It is very difficult to get your head into that of a blue tit or a
:43:10. > :43:15.great tit. I have tried it, I have drunk eight pints and climbed into
:43:15. > :43:19.a box. It is just not in the right place, move it the next winter and
:43:19. > :43:24.shifted until eventually you are in the same thought pattern as the
:43:24. > :43:29.birds -- shift it. I have a question. I took this box from my
:43:29. > :43:34.garden only yesterday, what has done this? This has been opened by
:43:34. > :43:38.a grey squirrel. Grey squirrel are quite serious predators, really,
:43:38. > :43:42.art -- of young birds and even eggs in a nestbox like this. Woodpeckers
:43:42. > :43:48.will open them as well, they tend to open them at the bottom, but
:43:49. > :43:53.there are no Peck mark, this has been chewed by a squirrel. I had a
:43:53. > :43:59.way you can overcome this problem. You put a little metal plate on
:43:59. > :44:03.here and that. The squirrels from their large in the hole. -- that
:44:03. > :44:08.will stop. Get yourself a played like this, you can stick them on to
:44:09. > :44:12.any nestbox. Bath played. We have been putting them up already. Al
:44:12. > :44:15.wildlife cameraman has been out and hopefully he has put them in the
:44:15. > :44:25.right place so we can bring you some super pictures in time for
:44:25. > :44:43.
:44:43. > :44:48.Winter it may look like a quiet and dormant time in the woodland. When
:44:48. > :44:55.it is cold and windy the leaves can get damaged so many of the plants
:44:55. > :45:00.that grow via survive the winter in a resting stage.
:45:00. > :45:04.Most of the trees we have in the UK are deciduous which means that they
:45:04. > :45:09.lose their leaves to stop them from freezing. But Prince agreed to
:45:09. > :45:15.reduce water loss. That is not to say that there are not signs of
:45:15. > :45:19.life. Here are the buds just waiting for the temperature and the
:45:19. > :45:24.like to be right before they burst out. Trees produce their buds at
:45:24. > :45:29.the end of summer, they would not have the energy to produce complex
:45:29. > :45:33.structures like this during the winter. During the autumn and
:45:33. > :45:41.winter the buds are small and insignificant but in the spring
:45:41. > :45:46.they swell up just before they are ready to open. Before the tree's
:45:46. > :45:52.shade out the floor of the woodland there is a window of opportunity
:45:52. > :45:55.and the flowers race to make the most of that light. Primroses,
:45:55. > :45:59.bluebells are sure signs that spring has arrived. But the first
:45:59. > :46:05.of the year are the snowdrops and this year they have been especially
:46:05. > :46:10.early, the first actually coming out in mid-December. Snowdrops are
:46:10. > :46:14.not strictly speaking and native species. But they have become
:46:14. > :46:24.ingrained in our culture as a sign that the winter is ending. It is
:46:24. > :46:24.
:46:24. > :46:30.thought they came from Italy in the 15th century. The tip of the
:46:30. > :46:35.flowering stem is covered with a protective leaf, so it can push up
:46:35. > :46:41.through the soil without the flour getting damaged in the process.
:46:41. > :46:46.Typically this species spreads by bulbs dividing. But it may also be
:46:46. > :46:51.pollinated if it is warm enough and you have insects like bumble bees
:46:51. > :46:55.and even flies that active. When the temperature reaches 10 degrees
:46:55. > :47:00.the petals will open up horizontally and then the insects
:47:00. > :47:03.can see the pattering on the petals that will attract them to the
:47:03. > :47:08.nectar and get them to carry the pollen. There are a beautiful plant
:47:08. > :47:15.and at the moment they have got the woodland pretty much to themselves.
:47:15. > :47:20.But spring is on its way so they had better make the most of it.
:47:20. > :47:25.Snowdrops are lovely it this time of year, they bring a smile to your
:47:25. > :47:31.face. Now plants are dormant in the winter which means that it is a
:47:31. > :47:41.good time of year to plan things like trees. I have, little further
:47:41. > :47:47.down into the bracken is. You want to plant this cheap to replace that
:47:47. > :47:54.rather splendid one that has come down in the winter storms. It is
:47:54. > :48:03.important that the ground has not frozen? Exactly. We are also making
:48:03. > :48:10.a square hole. If you dig a round hole the roads would just go round
:48:10. > :48:20.instead of spreading out. So better to do it in a rectangle. Well I'm
:48:20. > :48:30.going to watch you admiringly! How deep does it need to be? Just about
:48:30. > :48:35.
:48:35. > :48:40.the depth of the pot. Trees are not really very deep rooted. The club's
:48:40. > :48:50.owner took off the top we will put in the bottom because they contain
:48:50. > :48:54.
:48:54. > :48:58.nutrients. -- the clods. probably know that this is the
:48:58. > :49:02.Jubilee year, at the Queen has been on the throne for 60 years and the
:49:02. > :49:07.Woodland Trust want to mug that occasion and leave a fantastic
:49:07. > :49:12.Legacy by encouraging all of us to plant trees. They would like 6
:49:12. > :49:16.million trees to be planted throughout the UK this year. And
:49:16. > :49:21.ideally they would like 1 million of those to be planted this month.
:49:21. > :49:26.So if you want to find out more and make sure that the tree you plant
:49:26. > :49:32.counts as part of this wonderful national jubilee celebration, then
:49:32. > :49:36.you can find all the details on our website. There's something else you
:49:36. > :49:43.can do this winter it just as rewarding. But you'll have to get
:49:43. > :49:47.up before dawn. If you set your alarm clock a little earlier, get
:49:47. > :49:55.yourself a cup of tea and step out site. You could be in for a winter
:49:55. > :50:00.a surprise. 6:30am. Wildlife sound recorders Chris Watson has agreed
:50:00. > :50:07.to drop round to my house to help unravel the dawn chorus in the back
:50:07. > :50:11.garden. We can instantly identify a robin,
:50:11. > :50:21.it is beautiful stop Chris has brought along some kit that will
:50:21. > :50:25.
:50:25. > :50:35.help pinpoint individual bird songs. That is the tawny owl. Fantastic.
:50:35. > :50:42.
:50:42. > :50:46.And that is a cockerel! Why do they tend to sink at first light?
:50:46. > :50:49.think they're singing now because actually it is too dark to feed.
:50:49. > :50:55.They have just woken up so what they need to do is defend their
:50:55. > :51:04.territory. The need to sing so all the neighbours know, I'm still here,
:51:04. > :51:13.it still defending this territory. Some of the songs are fantastic and
:51:13. > :51:18.complicated, like that of the Robin. The females like complexity? It is
:51:18. > :51:23.a complex sound because they're giving multiple messages. Telling
:51:23. > :51:31.rival males, do not come here. And also giving come on messages to the
:51:32. > :51:36.female at the same time. And we are no work here understanding it.
:51:36. > :51:43.someone like me not that great with birdsong, this is a good time of
:51:43. > :51:52.year because, as the trees are bare, I can see more easily what is
:51:52. > :52:02.producing the song. And also of the migrants have arrived so what we're
:52:02. > :52:03.
:52:03. > :52:09.here in other resident birds. So it is a good time to start.
:52:09. > :52:16.As it gets lighter the dawn chorus subsides. Like us, the birds are
:52:16. > :52:26.getting hungry. So we now listening to what might feathered friends are
:52:26. > :52:28.
:52:28. > :52:34.chatting about. Listen to this.
:52:34. > :52:38.You're instantly engaged in that world. The microphone is in a place
:52:39. > :52:44.where we would never be because we would affect their behaviour. You
:52:44. > :52:52.can hear the power of those wings. That massive leap in Hanson's the
:52:52. > :52:57.whole thing. These birds are constantly communicating. What
:52:57. > :53:04.we're hearing now is not a song but contact calls. And of course now
:53:04. > :53:14.they're not territorial. They have had to come to a temporary truce
:53:14. > :53:23.because they're sharing this food supply. The great thing is that
:53:23. > :53:32.these sounds are happening all the time. You can appreciate now the
:53:32. > :53:40.mount of vocalisation. I'm so glad, this is where I do the washing up
:53:40. > :53:50.every morning. You can just watch them. But now all I can hear them
:53:50. > :53:56.
:53:56. > :54:01.as well. Do you mind if I keep this?! I will hire it out!
:54:01. > :54:05.They're eating the out of house and Home! They clear that entire
:54:05. > :54:09.feature every single day. And it is because you're doing something
:54:09. > :54:17.right. You're clearly putting out a lot of really good food. And that
:54:17. > :54:21.is quite an important thing at this time of year. The birds want to get
:54:21. > :54:28.as fit and healthy as possible before the breeding season. So
:54:28. > :54:33.putting out a good range of foods, I'm putting out meal worms now.
:54:33. > :54:37.Peanuts, sunflower seeds, that type of thing, is really going to be
:54:37. > :54:44.doing your birds of favour. And another thing on these cold and
:54:44. > :54:54.frosty mornings is to make sure that they have fresh water.
:54:54. > :54:55.
:54:55. > :55:00.One other thing we have noticed, the first signs of breeding. We
:55:00. > :55:07.know just one little blue tit flying around the Land Rover and
:55:07. > :55:13.especially at the mirrors. What is going on? It is just vanity! No, I
:55:13. > :55:16.have seen this in other birds. Often individual males become
:55:16. > :55:24.preoccupied with their own reflection because they believe it
:55:24. > :55:28.is another male. It is a territorial display. It may be
:55:28. > :55:35.February but this is an amorous month as many of our animals and
:55:35. > :55:38.birds are proving. They're all kinds of ways to rule
:55:38. > :55:44.your lover but surely the most elaborate is that of the great
:55:44. > :55:54.crested grebe. In February they dance, if not quite cheek to cheek,
:55:54. > :55:58.
:55:58. > :56:03.then the key to beak. This romances and brings the pair together making
:56:03. > :56:08.sure that they are committed parents. Frogs and toads, what they
:56:08. > :56:14.lack in romance they make up for in tenacity. The risk life and limb to
:56:14. > :56:18.return to the pond where they were born. The male frog can hang on in
:56:18. > :56:23.his tight embrace for several days to make sure he is the one to
:56:23. > :56:31.fertilise her eggs. But he has got competition. Looks like this lot
:56:31. > :56:35.are having a ball! Hazel trees are much less picky. For them, love
:56:35. > :56:40.really is in the air. Hazel catkins are actually clusters of male
:56:40. > :56:44.flowers. Their release millions of grains of pollen into the air.
:56:44. > :56:49.These tiny love packages are at the mercy of the wind, ready to be
:56:50. > :56:57.caught by the tufts of the female flowers. The final result is a
:56:57. > :57:02.tasty hazelnut, planted neatly in the soil by a forgetful scroll.
:57:02. > :57:06.Foxes probably count as one of the loudest lovers of the winter. But
:57:06. > :57:10.notes suite serenades when Foxes are courting. The blood curdling
:57:10. > :57:15.howls of the Vixens at night is enough to make the hair on the back
:57:15. > :57:19.of your neck stand up. The vixen is receptive for just three days so
:57:19. > :57:23.there is a frenzy of activity at this time of the year. Matings
:57:23. > :57:27.brief but the pair may be stuck with each other for hours
:57:27. > :57:33.afterwards because their genitals locked together. This strategy
:57:33. > :57:37.ensures that the dog fox has the best chance of being the daddy!
:57:37. > :57:42.Last leek Hare's take the award for the feisty EST partners of winter.
:57:42. > :57:45.They may be called the Mad March hares but you can see these boxing
:57:45. > :57:49.matches much earlier in the year. You might assume that these
:57:49. > :57:54.fearless fighters are males but actually it is the feisty female,
:57:54. > :57:59.fending off the advances of the male. She's only ready to mate for
:57:59. > :58:06.a few hours every six weeks. So the rest of the time, any male food
:58:06. > :58:13.gets too close will have his years box. That is girl power! All of
:58:13. > :58:17.that goes to show that love is in their hair!
:58:17. > :58:25.Well we hope we have managed to convince you that winter is