:00:09. > :00:12.Welcome back to the beautiful Highlands of Scotland. Home to some
:00:12. > :00:16.amazing winter wildlife. We are discovering how different
:00:16. > :00:22.animals make it through this unforgiving season.
:00:22. > :00:28.It is getting colder. It was minus 5 Celsius here last night. How are
:00:28. > :00:38.our animals going to cope? comfortable on your sofa and get
:00:38. > :00:54.
:00:54. > :00:58.are at the Aigas Field Centre in the Highlands of Scotland and it is
:00:58. > :01:02.a fabulous place for us to be. Now, if you have been watching our
:01:02. > :01:07.programmes for the last couple of nights, well let me be frank. You
:01:07. > :01:13.know, we have brought you the sexiest Scandinavian birds that
:01:13. > :01:23.could ever land in your garden. We brought you the cutest baby animals
:01:23. > :01:23.
:01:23. > :01:30.known to human kind, baby grey seals, but we have given you the
:01:30. > :01:37.world's first rodenttorium and a delicate puff of pine marten urine.
:01:37. > :01:40.After this riot, you probably think that we have nothing more, but you
:01:40. > :01:43.couldn't be further from the truth because we have yet another
:01:43. > :01:47.fantastic programme. We certainly have, because even
:01:47. > :01:52.though it was minus 5 Celsius last night, even though it went down to
:01:52. > :01:55.minus 13 Celsius in Norfolk and those winter conditions are
:01:55. > :02:01.spreading throughout the country, making it look rather beautiful, a
:02:01. > :02:05.lot of our wildlife is still braving the cold and so are our
:02:05. > :02:15.camera teams to bring you some great winter wildlife stories.
:02:15. > :02:16.
:02:16. > :02:20.It seems that lots of you have been out in the snow. Paul Paul Paul
:02:20. > :02:24.Farnfield from Coventry sent us this picture. Thanks for that. Keep
:02:24. > :02:32.sending them in. We are going to find out why our
:02:32. > :02:41.cities can become a haven for wildlife at this time of year.
:02:41. > :02:45.And there has been a visitor to the rodenttorium. I wonder what it can
:02:45. > :02:50.be. We will reveal the answer later. We will start with a quiz. This is
:02:50. > :02:56.a feather which I collected the other day and I'm very, very
:02:56. > :03:00.pleased to have this feather, I can tell you. It has come from an
:03:00. > :03:04.exquisite winter visitor to the UK. I'm wonder if you can identify
:03:04. > :03:10.which species of bird this feather came from? If you think you know
:03:11. > :03:15.the answer, you can contact us via the website:
:03:15. > :03:19.Or by Twitter or by the blog. Let us know where you think this
:03:19. > :03:24.feather came and later on, we will reveal all and I can tell you, it
:03:24. > :03:28.is pretty special. You were on a rodenttorium roll
:03:28. > :03:34.today, Chris. It was minus 5 Celsius here last night. You saw
:03:34. > :03:38.last night that the loch froze over, but this morning we had milder
:03:38. > :03:45.weather and the ice melted giving us some fabulous, beaver footage on
:03:45. > :03:50.our live cameras. All looking very pretty and what came out early in
:03:50. > :03:56.morning which is always wonderful to see, the adult, Lily. That's the
:03:56. > :04:02.female. She swims underneath and goes to the middle of the loch and
:04:02. > :04:05.we were surprised to learn she had a cache. She brings back an
:04:06. > :04:12.enormous twig and swimming towards the lodge now, the artificial lodge
:04:12. > :04:16.that we have got the live cameras in, dives down into the opening and
:04:16. > :04:20.then we pick her up on our other camera. There she is with the twig.
:04:20. > :04:30.She is pulling it in. It must be hard work that and if you listen,
:04:30. > :04:47.
:04:47. > :04:52.communicating with Lily. Lily is is gnawing. She has taken that into to
:04:52. > :04:57.the lodge to eat it. One of the kids came out after our programme
:04:57. > :05:01.finished at 9pm. Tries to get out on the ice ungamely. It is only
:05:01. > :05:07.seven months old. This is the first winter it has experienced ice and
:05:07. > :05:12.it is thin ice. You can hear it cracking! Then she decides she is
:05:12. > :05:22.going to give up trying to get out and it dives down and swims
:05:22. > :05:22.
:05:23. > :05:28.underneath the ice. That's amazing. That's a silver torpedo, Michaela.
:05:29. > :05:34.That's an extraordinary shot to get. A second kid comes out and and does
:05:34. > :05:38.the same thing, but this one perseveres and falls in. You can
:05:38. > :05:42.hear the cracking ice and perseveres and up it goes and it
:05:42. > :05:47.waddles off on the ice. Absolutely fabulous footage that we've got on
:05:47. > :05:50.our live cameras overnight. A lot of you were watching that on the
:05:50. > :06:00.Red Button. Shall we see if we have live
:06:00. > :06:06.beavers? Oh, we have. That looks like, is that mum again? It is a
:06:06. > :06:15.smaller beaver emulating mum. It is having another snack.
:06:15. > :06:25.Tas smaller twig. Look how well they use their forepaws to carry
:06:25. > :06:27.
:06:27. > :06:32.things. This is in total darkness. It It can't see what it is doing.
:06:32. > :06:35.And it has taken this from its cache into the lodge to eat either
:06:35. > :06:40.now or later. Those do look like they have had
:06:40. > :06:46.the bark removed. It makes you wonder why they bring in twigs with
:06:46. > :06:51.no bark left on which have no nutrients. Look where it is placing
:06:51. > :06:56.it. It is very deliberate. It will be uncomfortable to sleep
:06:56. > :07:02.on if they leave it there. Oh look, it is making its bed.
:07:02. > :07:08.think it is adding a bit of wood to the lodge, isn't it? Yes. Because
:07:08. > :07:11.they do that, don't they? They will continuing to modify and extend the
:07:11. > :07:16.lodge. Remember, these are nocturnal
:07:16. > :07:20.animals and they will come to life at at this time of night. They
:07:20. > :07:24.usually come out around this time and spend a little time on the loch
:07:24. > :07:28.and building their dams and then they will come up, they might have
:07:28. > :07:35.a little dose before they go out again and they will spend all night
:07:35. > :07:39.out on the loch if it is mild. Look, we are about four or five
:07:39. > :07:44.minutes into the show. You have seen a beaver reinforcing its
:07:44. > :07:48.lodge! It is fantastic. And that was live just behind us
:07:48. > :07:52.here, it was just behind there. Let us go a little broad are and
:07:52. > :07:57.extend ourselves a little bit. Let's leave the beavers. Well, we
:07:57. > :08:02.noticed something going on curious. Look at that wintry scene and those
:08:02. > :08:06.little specks down the bottom, that's a herd of red deer. What is
:08:06. > :08:09.happening, we have noticed they are coming down from the tops of the
:08:09. > :08:19.hills to the lower ground and for a very, very good good reason. They
:08:19. > :08:20.
:08:20. > :08:23.have got to feed. After the rut, it is make or break time for the stags.
:08:23. > :08:29.They must feed. They are not able to get at food higher up the hills.
:08:29. > :08:32.We see them coming down. Here are a couple of youngsters having a
:08:32. > :08:35.little tussle and maybe preparing themselves for next year's rut.
:08:35. > :08:45.That's what they are doing, they are coming down off the hills so
:08:45. > :08:47.
:08:47. > :08:52.they can get better food lower down in the valleys. Well, it is a good
:08:52. > :08:57.time of year to see them. Red deer can slow their heartbeat
:08:57. > :09:04.down, consciously slow their heartbeat down so they can conserve
:09:04. > :09:07.up to 17% more energy. And it is an essential survival strategy, saving
:09:07. > :09:11.energy means you can make it last longer.
:09:11. > :09:15.Red deer are very, very good at surviving the harsh conditions, but
:09:15. > :09:25.there is another sort of deer close to here that takes the whole
:09:25. > :09:39.
:09:39. > :09:49.business of winter survival to a Mountains, a lone voice is carried
:09:49. > :09:51.
:09:51. > :10:01.on the wind. It is a Scottish variation of a traditional version,
:10:01. > :10:02.
:10:02. > :10:09.calling in the reindeer from the hills.
:10:09. > :10:14.On a blustery winter's day, I have come to meet Fiona Smith, a
:10:14. > :10:21.Scottish reindeer herder, whose family manage this free roaming
:10:21. > :10:26.herd. What do I do know? Here we are surrounded by reindeer in
:10:26. > :10:33.Scotland. How do they get here? Well, this herd was reintroduced,
:10:33. > :10:36.but reindeer are native to Scotland. Many years ago died out and they
:10:37. > :10:40.were reintroduced because this is where they should be. The
:10:40. > :10:44.Cairngorms the only place they can live naturally in Scotland. So for
:10:44. > :10:51.them to be here it is managed, but if we turned our back on them
:10:51. > :10:58.tomorrow, they would survive. have got adapted. Now reindeer fur
:10:58. > :11:04.is special. It is in two layers. They have got an outer layer and an
:11:04. > :11:08.inner layer. Underneath, they have got this thick layer and you never
:11:08. > :11:15.ever get down to the reindeer's skin. In fact, for them, the
:11:15. > :11:18.problem isn't keeping warm, it is keeping cool!
:11:18. > :11:23.What other adaptations have they got to the extreme cold? Everything
:11:23. > :11:28.about a reindeer is designed to keep them warm and save energy.
:11:28. > :11:31.They are insulated. They have got their lovely beard which comes down
:11:31. > :11:38.below their neck should it rain during the day and freeze at night.
:11:38. > :11:44.It is freezing down here. They have got the massive wide feet to spread
:11:44. > :11:47.spread their weight in the snow and for digging and you will see when
:11:47. > :11:53.they walk, they are only pressing the snow the once.
:11:53. > :11:59.Let's look at a foot. Let's have a look. There we go, you can see the
:11:59. > :12:03.foot and the way it splays out, it is like a snowshoe. It is quite
:12:03. > :12:09.thin and very flexible. So reindeer are built to with stand
:12:09. > :12:16.extreme temperatures, even their noses are covered in velvety fur,
:12:16. > :12:19.but there is another reason why they can thrive in the Cairngorms.
:12:20. > :12:28.Under a feet of snow, reindeer can still find food and they will dig
:12:28. > :12:32.down to get at this stuff - liken. It is not full of protein, but
:12:32. > :12:39.there is enough carbohydrate in it to keep the reindeer going
:12:39. > :12:41.throughout the winter. Reindeer will grace over over -- graze over
:12:41. > :12:48.large distances and keeping in touch with the rest of the herd is
:12:48. > :12:51.vital, but that can be difficult in extreme weather and low visibility.
:12:51. > :12:56.Evolution has provided another adaptation to tackle this problem.
:12:56. > :13:01.You will notice this strange clicking sound. Click, click all
:13:01. > :13:06.the time. It sounds like they are threading on twigs, but they are
:13:06. > :13:11.not. It is a special device in their back feet. The tendon is
:13:11. > :13:14.clicking across the bone in their back feet. And that clicking is a
:13:14. > :13:19.form of communication so if it was snowing really hard and they are
:13:19. > :13:22.following each other along, heads down, they can hear the reindeer in
:13:22. > :13:29.front just listening to the clicks. They don't have to grunt. They
:13:29. > :13:35.don't have to do anything, they just follow the clicks. Better
:13:35. > :13:39.still, by not communicating with grunts or calls, reindeers save
:13:40. > :13:43.heat. They are superbly adapted for Britain's most extreme extreme
:13:43. > :13:46.winner habitat. So as far as you are concerned the reindeer should
:13:46. > :13:53.be here in Scotland for the foreseeable future really?
:13:53. > :14:03.Absolutely. They are an essential part of our squish wildlife --
:14:03. > :14:06.
:14:06. > :14:12.Scottish wildlife. They are here to reindeers is it's both the males
:14:12. > :14:16.and the females that grow antlers. The males drop theirs after the rut.
:14:16. > :14:21.The females don't drop theirs until after the spring until they have
:14:21. > :14:26.given birth which means it's only the females that have antlers on
:14:26. > :14:33.December 24th and 25th, which means Santa's reindeers are all...
:14:33. > :14:41.Females. Dasher, Rudoff. They were all badly named because they should
:14:41. > :14:44.all be girls. What's really fascinating is why is that? Why do
:14:44. > :14:49.the male reindeers lose their antlers before the females? Here
:14:49. > :14:52.are a set of male antlers. They're bigger than the females' they have
:14:52. > :14:58.this axe shape bit at the front. They think that's for cutting
:14:58. > :15:00.through the snow to get to the lichen. A chisel. You can see how
:15:00. > :15:05.that might work. What'll happen is generally the males are dominant
:15:05. > :15:09.over the females, but when they lose their antlers, the females
:15:09. > :15:17.then become dominant. Whoever has the antlers become dominant. Why?
:15:17. > :15:22.The female needs food. She needs first dibs at the food because
:15:22. > :15:27.she's pregnant. By having the antlers it allows her to get first
:15:27. > :15:33.access to the food to help her calves. Interesting. Reindeer are
:15:33. > :15:37.perfectly adapted to the snow, but how do small mammals cope? Some
:15:37. > :15:43.surprisingly well, esspecially the once that take full advantage of
:15:43. > :15:47.warm places. Look at what arrived in the beaver lodge. It is a little
:15:47. > :15:53.water shrew. Fascinating, extremely rarely seen. It's a larger shrew,
:15:53. > :15:58.dark on the back, white on the tummy. They hunt in water. They
:15:58. > :16:01.look like a little silvery torpedoe again because all the air sticks to
:16:01. > :16:08.their fur, but here is the fascinating thing - they're
:16:08. > :16:12.venomous. They're actually venomous - a primitive sort of venom.
:16:12. > :16:18.There's venom in their saliva. They have a venom groove in their tooth.
:16:18. > :16:21.The venom runs down that and partially paralyses their prey.
:16:21. > :16:27.wonder how the beaver would have reacted to the shrew, interesting.
:16:27. > :16:33.Any animal should be frightened of them because they're tough. We had
:16:33. > :16:37.another mammal in our stump which is renamed by Chris the rodentorium.
:16:37. > :16:43.They have an amazing survival technique - their skeleton shrinks
:16:43. > :16:49.so they get smaller. As you can see, they're tiny anyway - they're
:16:49. > :16:52.almost the size of the hazelnut, 8- 9 grams. They're weenie, but
:16:53. > :16:59.they're aggressive. I was wondering if you had a common shrew in with a
:16:59. > :17:04.mouse, which one would you put your money in in the rodentorium? Are we
:17:04. > :17:08.playing top trumps? My money would be on the shrew. It is minute. Look
:17:08. > :17:12.at it beside those nuts. It's absolutely tiny, but if we slide in
:17:12. > :17:16.a picture of the mouse, it's much, much bigger, the mouse. That gives
:17:16. > :17:20.you a useful comparison there. But the shrew is tiny. Even bigger than
:17:20. > :17:23.that we had an unexpected visitor in the rodentorium. We teased you
:17:23. > :17:29.with this a little bit at the beginning of the programme. What
:17:29. > :17:33.could it possibly be? It is a pine marten. I mean, compared to the
:17:33. > :17:37.shrew and the mouse it looks enormous. Isn't that an interesting
:17:37. > :17:41.comparison? A shrew is nothing compared to that. Here is the weird
:17:41. > :17:45.thing - what is it eating in there? It seems to be coming in and out
:17:45. > :17:49.taking out what looks like hazelnuts. You think, wait a minute.
:17:49. > :17:54.A pine marten is a carnivore. What's it doing? And why is it
:17:54. > :17:58.taking it out? It's just sitting on the top with them. Could it be
:17:58. > :18:02.cashing them? Think of its teeth. The squirrel is perfectly adaptable
:18:02. > :18:07.for opening a nut. I don't think a pine marten is. Shall we check in
:18:07. > :18:13.with an expert? Let's ask Chris. I don't know. Chris, what do you
:18:13. > :18:17.think? You're absolutely right. The pine marten's teeth, it has sharp
:18:17. > :18:23.incisors for cutting their food, the meat, when they catch it. They
:18:23. > :18:28.haven't really got powerful jaws for crackingo open a hazelnut. I
:18:28. > :18:38.think it's force of habit. It's found an abundance of this so maybe
:18:38. > :18:42.that's what it thinks it has to do. They're also highly - the pine
:18:42. > :18:46.marten. Take a look at this. This is our pine marten feeding area.
:18:46. > :18:50.There hanging from a rope is tempting bait for the pine marten.
:18:50. > :18:54.They have no problem climbing up these trunks. They have frong
:18:54. > :18:57.forelimbs, then when it comes to going down, they have flexible
:18:57. > :19:01.ankles which allow them to twist and turn and get down very easily.
:19:01. > :19:07.They have scoffed all the food on the ground because it's late in the
:19:07. > :19:12.evening. It's sniffing about. It knows there is food there. Remember,
:19:12. > :19:19.this is total darkness. This is lit with infrared, but then it turns
:19:19. > :19:24.tightrope Walker. Look at that. It's too easy, wasn't it, really?
:19:24. > :19:28.Walked out, balancing with its tale and here it is reaching down and
:19:28. > :19:32.taking out the bait we put in there. Listen - it's gobbling it up. It
:19:32. > :19:36.soon returns. Watch the tail again. It's not about keeping the animal
:19:36. > :19:41.warm when it's all curled up. It's about balance,ed a down it goes
:19:41. > :19:46.with consummate ease. Now, the reason I am whispering is that I am
:19:46. > :19:51.actually quite close to that pine marten feeding station where we
:19:51. > :19:58.have been baiting them since Autumn Watch, if we come just through here
:19:58. > :20:01.this wall behind me runs up into the woods, and about 200 metres up
:20:01. > :20:05.through there is where that pine marten feeding station is. In fact,
:20:05. > :20:09.when the pine martens arrive, very often we see them on top of this
:20:09. > :20:13.very wall. Let's go live now to see if there is any activity there.
:20:13. > :20:16.There's the wall. I am standing alongside the bottom part of it. I
:20:16. > :20:20.don't think there is much showing. What we have done - look in the
:20:20. > :20:24.centre there. We have actually upped the ante and made it slightly
:20:24. > :20:31.more difficult for the pine martens. They've got to reach down far
:20:31. > :20:34.further to get the food. Will they be brave enough? Will they have
:20:34. > :20:37.enough arboreal alacrity to reach it? We'll have to find out later
:20:37. > :20:41.because there are no pine martens there at the moment. If you're
:20:41. > :20:44.wondering why they need to be such good climbers, they feed a lot on
:20:44. > :20:48.voles, and so did the foxes. We think one reason they climb so well
:20:48. > :20:51.is they want to avoid competition with those and find a different
:20:51. > :20:56.source of food. This means they can live in the same place as foxes at
:20:56. > :21:00.the same time, a bit of niche separation between species. Last
:21:00. > :21:04.night if you were watching the programme, you might have been
:21:04. > :21:09.listening too. Judy Collins was pleased to point out we were being
:21:09. > :21:14.upstaged by the call of a tawny owl. Julie, we don't mind being upstaged
:21:14. > :21:22.by the wildlife. That's what we're here for, but we also saw the bird
:21:22. > :21:25.when the show finished. Here it is out in the woods. And it's giving
:21:25. > :21:29.that characteristic contact call, and you can see it's got those
:21:29. > :21:34.bright eyes glowing there. That's a special layer of cells at the back
:21:34. > :21:38.of the eye which reflects the light through the sensitive cells so it
:21:38. > :21:43.can see far more clearly. What's all of this calling at this time of
:21:43. > :21:47.year all about? All over the UK you can go out on an evening and listen
:21:47. > :21:51.for tawny owls. It's about territoriality because the pairs of
:21:51. > :21:54.tawny owls are already in their territories and are defending them
:21:54. > :22:03.from rivals at the moment. They breed very early in the year, and
:22:03. > :22:06.this is one of the calls that you might hear.
:22:06. > :22:11.(HOO) Both the males and females will
:22:11. > :22:16.make that call. The females sound as if it's a bit more wailing, a
:22:16. > :22:20.bit more plaintive. It's all about keeping rivals out, making sure you
:22:20. > :22:24.have plebty of food for yourself in that territory so you're ready to
:22:24. > :22:28.spring in spring. There are 90,000 pairs all over the UK. As long as
:22:28. > :22:33.you have a structured habitat, somewhere for them to perch so they
:22:33. > :22:37.can look and listen for their prey, they can be somewhere near you,
:22:37. > :22:41.even if you're in the middle of a city. We tend to think of cities as
:22:41. > :22:51.hostile places where not much can survive. Well, take a look at this
:22:51. > :23:00.
:23:00. > :23:05.seem particularly uninviting. In this stark, unnatural landscape,
:23:05. > :23:08.it's really hard to imagine what wildlife could actually thrive here,
:23:08. > :23:18.and yet, you know, there are animals here, and some of them are
:23:18. > :23:26.
:23:26. > :23:30.taking advantage of the urban world relentless flow of traffic all
:23:30. > :23:35.produce heat - in fact, the very fabric of a city - the Tarmac, the
:23:35. > :23:41.stone, all of that shining glass - absorbs, reflects and stores this
:23:41. > :23:45.heat, and believe it or not, this raises the temperature by up to 2
:23:45. > :23:48.degrees compared to the surrounding countryside, and that's significant.
:23:48. > :23:54.You see, these extra few degrees of warmth can mean the difference
:23:54. > :24:00.between life and death for some animals.
:24:00. > :24:04.Esespecially during long winter nights. For instance, these birds
:24:04. > :24:10.are drawn into our towns to find shelter. In winter hundreds can
:24:11. > :24:15.gather to roost. Of course, there is safety in number, but also,
:24:15. > :24:19.vitally, there's shared warmth. The Treece that they roost in should
:24:19. > :24:23.have shed their leaves, but streetlights create artificial
:24:23. > :24:28.daylight, so the trees hang onto those leaves and use that light to
:24:28. > :24:34.generate their own energy. Next time you're out and about, look at
:24:34. > :24:38.the street lights in your road and see if it's the case there, and
:24:38. > :24:42.these birds do seem to select the Treece which have more leaf cover
:24:42. > :24:49.left. I suppose it makes sense - protection from the wind, the
:24:49. > :24:54.elements, and, of course, it will help keep them warm. As commuters
:24:54. > :24:58.are heading home, some of our city residents are just waking up, and
:24:58. > :25:08.many of these are homing in on another benefit of city life -
:25:08. > :25:26.
:25:26. > :25:30.very unexpected visitor - fallow deer have come into town to feed on
:25:30. > :25:35.the green grass of our manicured lawns. This is a rich food source
:25:35. > :25:40.compared to the slim pickings of the winter woodlands.
:25:40. > :25:44.The long nights will give them more time to feed. By the time the local
:25:44. > :25:47.human residents wake up, these shy animals will be long gone. Perhaps
:25:48. > :25:52.the best chance of noticing they have been there is to see some of
:25:52. > :25:57.their footprints in the lawn. Others, though, are also out
:25:57. > :26:07.searching for food, and there's absolutely loads here for those who
:26:07. > :26:13.
:26:13. > :26:23.can stomach a varied diet. Some animals take advantage of the
:26:23. > :26:31.
:26:31. > :26:35.country cousins, like to build their sets on sloping ground with
:26:35. > :26:45.plenty of cover. This group have made their home on a railway
:26:45. > :26:49.
:26:49. > :26:59.and the barrier created by the tracks means that they can forage
:26:59. > :27:08.
:27:08. > :27:11.badgers are doing exactly what their country cousins would be up
:27:12. > :27:17.to - gathering up warm bedding to get them through the cold winter
:27:17. > :27:20.nights. Now, you know, badgers inherit
:27:20. > :27:26.their sets, so this clan could have been living here since the tracks
:27:27. > :27:36.were laid a hundred years ago. What do I like about it? They have found
:27:37. > :27:41.
:27:41. > :27:48.their own space in an increasingly humans, but so many animals have
:27:48. > :27:53.worked out how to take advantage of the urban landscape. And in winter,
:27:53. > :27:56.urban areas provide a lifeline for some of our more street-wise
:27:56. > :28:06.wildlife, helping them to get through the toughest time of the
:28:06. > :28:11.
:28:11. > :28:15.actually, the variety of wildlife you can see in cities. And I have
:28:15. > :28:19.been on some fabulous urban safaris. One of my favourites was in a
:28:19. > :28:24.graveyard in south-west London where the gravedigger was feeding
:28:24. > :28:31.foxes, and we got absolutely brilliant views of urban foxes.
:28:31. > :28:34.uncle Sam lives in W5 and has a graveyard near him. He gets lots of
:28:34. > :28:38.foxes near there. It's quiet, and people generally don't take dogs
:28:38. > :28:41.into them, which scares the foxes away. What about a bit of urban
:28:41. > :28:47.bird watching? If I said to you look for a blue bard, a checkered
:28:47. > :28:52.or a pied, what might I be suggesting? Pigeons. In tomorrow's
:28:52. > :28:56.show, we get to grips with the pigeon. It's not, as is much
:28:56. > :28:59.perceived, a maligned bird. It's actually a very fascinating animal,
:28:59. > :29:02.a top film with an interesting bit of science to come. We have some
:29:02. > :29:07.photos, actually, of people who have been doing a little bit of
:29:07. > :29:11.urban bird watching. You're going to like this one, Chris - a top
:29:11. > :29:17.bird, a peregrine, on an interesting sculpture sent in by
:29:17. > :29:20.someone called Green Man, stunning, eh? The peregrine is beautiful. I
:29:20. > :29:24.have reservations about the sculpture. Never mind. That's a
:29:25. > :29:29.fabulous sight to see in a city centre. Here is another one. This
:29:29. > :29:33.is from Michael. It's a bearded tit. That doesn't look unusual, but it
:29:33. > :29:37.is when I tell you, Chris, that that was taken a couple of days ago
:29:37. > :29:41.in Hyde Park in London, and that's the first time ever they have been
:29:41. > :29:46.seen in inner London. I'm not surprised, and face a fabulous
:29:46. > :29:50.sighting. I bet lots of people went to see it. It's an amazing bird to
:29:50. > :29:55.see there because normally they inhabit extensive Reid beds in
:29:55. > :30:00.various parts of the country. They don't seem to move much unless the
:30:00. > :30:03.weather is tough. Because in East Anglia, there is lots of snow and
:30:04. > :30:07.ice, it might have been driven out of there along the Thames corridor
:30:07. > :30:10.into Hyde Park. What a find. You wouldn't believe it if you saw it.
:30:10. > :30:13.One thing you would believe seeing in parks is a squirrel because
:30:13. > :30:16.they're often in our parks, the grey squirrel, but this is a great
:30:16. > :30:20.time of the year to look out for them because they're pretty active.
:30:20. > :30:25.Around now all the way through to March, the females are coming into
:30:25. > :30:30.season, and the males start chasing them - not only around the park,
:30:30. > :30:34.but also up the trees, and it's something we have all seen and
:30:34. > :30:38.enjoyed. They make a lot of noise, so listen out for them barking.
:30:38. > :30:43.They make this curious barking sound. Sometimes it's not just one
:30:43. > :30:47.male chasing a female but a gang of them, all chasing the females
:30:47. > :30:53.through the trees - very entertaining. We have been lucky so
:30:53. > :30:57.far on the programme. We have had great live beavers, pine martens.
:30:57. > :31:02.One of the animals we have been looking at are red squirrels. I am
:31:02. > :31:09.going to tell you a story of red squirrels and sindrella. Stay with
:31:09. > :31:19.me. In the French version of their Cinderella, she's wearing a glass
:31:19. > :31:33.
:31:33. > :31:37.slipper but it also refers to a red How does a red squirrel keep warm?
:31:37. > :31:47.Well, I look a couple of hours off from rehearsals yesterday to find
:31:47. > :31:49.
:31:49. > :31:53.during the live week of Winterwatch that I get a chance to sit down and
:31:53. > :31:57.wait for something to happen, but if I'm going to have any chance of
:31:57. > :32:01.seeing these charming little characters then that's exactly what
:32:01. > :32:05.I'm going to have to do. Now, they are up the tree at the moment. If I
:32:05. > :32:15.want to see them close up, I'm going to have to put some nuts down
:32:15. > :32:33.
:32:33. > :32:39.right in front of me. My patience has paid off!
:32:39. > :32:45.And they are such cute cute little characters. One thing that really
:32:45. > :32:49.stands out are their little Tufty ears and at this time of the year,
:32:49. > :32:54.those ears are as fluffy as they are ever going to get. Not only do
:32:54. > :33:00.they look rather dashing, but they are very useful too, they use the
:33:00. > :33:04.ears for communication. By signalling with their ear tufts
:33:04. > :33:07.and tails they send important messages to other squirrels. This
:33:07. > :33:15.is particularly important for their courtship and to work out who is
:33:15. > :33:20.the most dominant squirrel in a territory. Now, this morning
:33:20. > :33:26.although it is cold up here, it is not freezing and so, these little
:33:26. > :33:30.guys are quite active. Once the the temperatures really drop and there
:33:30. > :33:35.is snow on the ground, they become a lot less active. In fact, they do
:33:35. > :33:44.what a lot of people do - they stay in bed.
:33:44. > :33:49.It is quite sensible really. Red squirrels have numerous nests known
:33:49. > :33:54.as drays which protect them from the harsh weather. With up to seven
:33:54. > :34:00.centimetres of cosy lining, these small homes can be up to 30 degrees
:34:00. > :34:05.warm Erin the -- warmer on the Inside. You know I have always
:34:05. > :34:09.loved squirrels, it done matter whether I am watching grey ones or
:34:09. > :34:19.red ones, they are always very endearing and entertaining to watch
:34:19. > :34:23.
:34:23. > :34:28.and for me, that certainly was a They are a beautiful little
:34:28. > :34:33.creature? Yes, they are, but they are not a pine marten.
:34:34. > :34:40.We set those red squirrels a challenge and credit, where credit
:34:40. > :34:47.is due, this challenge was designed by Professor Packham here here! We
:34:47. > :34:51.set three different possible food sources and we discovered the
:34:51. > :34:56.squirrel took the hazel nuts that were inside their shells and we
:34:57. > :35:02.thought the reason for that was, he looked full and he didn't want the
:35:02. > :35:08.feed immediately, he was taking the nuts off to cache them, to bury
:35:08. > :35:13.them and he needed the shells on the nuts to stop them rotting.
:35:13. > :35:18.The squirrels are out there swinging around the trees like a
:35:18. > :35:25.bunch of Tarzans. We knew they wanted nuts in their shells, but
:35:25. > :35:29.now, we have offered them three types of nut in their shell. We've
:35:29. > :35:36.got almonds on the left. We have got wallnuts in the centre and we
:35:36. > :35:43.have not hazelnuts on the other side. They are all perfectly ready
:35:43. > :35:53.to be cached by the squirrel. It thinks, it is my lucky day, I have
:35:53. > :35:54.
:35:54. > :36:02.got a lovely Walnut. It can't fit it in its mouth. It gives it
:36:02. > :36:10.another go. It thinks, "I must take advantage of this bonanza of the"
:36:10. > :36:16.it comes back and dumps the walnut and goes back to the hazel nuts.
:36:16. > :36:20.This is interesting Martin, you would think if can could carry away
:36:20. > :36:26.a larger walnut it would make sense. They are about four times the
:36:26. > :36:29.weight of the hazelnut. When it returned to it, it would have four
:36:29. > :36:34.four times the value, but perhaps it is too inconvenient to carry
:36:34. > :36:39.away. When it comes to foraging, it is not always about the energy, it
:36:39. > :36:43.is about the ease of what you've got o to achieve, but rest assured,
:36:43. > :36:49.I have got another experiment planned for our squirrels tomorrow.
:36:49. > :36:56.I think they can solve it, it is whether we can. We set awe quiz. I
:36:56. > :37:04.asked you -- we set you a a quiz. I asked which bird this feather had
:37:04. > :37:10.come. It is a winter visitor to the UK. It is a tail feather to a bird
:37:10. > :37:14.that comes to our shores. Steve Black think it is a black
:37:14. > :37:19.grouse. Jan Bridge thinks it might be a swallow.
:37:19. > :37:23.No, no, a winner visitor. -- winner visitor.
:37:23. > :37:28.For many of us, the wildlife that we see most often are the birds in
:37:28. > :37:33.our back garden on the feeders. Certainly, that's what I see. But
:37:33. > :37:39.look closely and there is a hierarchy going on here. Here is
:37:39. > :37:48.our little Coal Tit. They are quite feisty and they will see off other
:37:48. > :37:54.birds. But generally the bigger birds see av the smaller -- off the
:37:54. > :37:59.smaller birds. They can be really aggressive for a
:37:59. > :38:05.small bird. A blue tit will give way to the
:38:05. > :38:13.Great Tit. The chaffinch comes in and the Great Tit thinks that
:38:13. > :38:16.discretion is the better part of valour, I'm off! Sometimes they
:38:16. > :38:19.stay on if they are really, really hungry. Sometimes you will see
:38:20. > :38:24.birds that hang around when the woodpecker comes in. They will sit
:38:24. > :38:28.in the in the bushes around, but no one will come in when the
:38:28. > :38:32.woodpecker is there. Another Another bird that we saw in
:38:32. > :38:41.close proximity to our feeder, was the tree creeper. They don't visit
:38:41. > :38:48.those feeders, and it is climbing up the trunk and here probing to
:38:48. > :38:52.find its food. Why isn't it with the other birds? This is mixed
:38:52. > :38:57.species flocking. You could be walking in the winter woods and it
:38:57. > :39:01.is quiet and suddenly a hoard of birds will come around you, it
:39:01. > :39:05.could be tits and tree creepers, well they are together deliberately
:39:05. > :39:10.because if they can together they have got more eyes looking for
:39:10. > :39:13.predators and they will give alarm calls, and particularly the
:39:13. > :39:18.thrushes and they have similar alarm calls. Why is it such a
:39:18. > :39:23.benefit? Well, scientists looked at the tree creeper and found when
:39:23. > :39:28.they were in flocks of five, they picked five times a minute and when
:39:28. > :39:34.they were in flocks up to 30 birds, the amount of food they could find
:39:34. > :39:40.went up to 40. They find more food if they are in a flock with more
:39:40. > :39:45.birds because they can spend time looking for it and not looking out
:39:45. > :39:50.for predators. It is astonishing that the birds start to speak the
:39:50. > :39:55.same language and recognise each others alarm calls.
:39:55. > :39:58.Sometimes we under rate birds. There is another species which is a
:39:58. > :40:08.candidate for this. I went up the hill the other day to get a closer
:40:08. > :40:21.
:40:21. > :40:25.our most under rated and under loved birds. They are one of the
:40:25. > :40:30.UK's great success stories. Since the 1970s their numbers could have
:40:30. > :40:35.increased by 63% and what's the key to to that success? Well, basically
:40:35. > :40:39.it is a lot more woodlands because these birds really are a pine tree
:40:39. > :40:43.specialist. Particularly, spruce trees and post-war we planted lots
:40:43. > :40:48.of these. Now they have come to maturity, producing lots of cones
:40:48. > :40:51.and therefore, lots of seeds for the coal Coal Tits and they don't
:40:51. > :40:55.move far and we get few birds coming over from the Continent so
:40:55. > :41:01.all the Coal Tits that you see in your garden are probably birds
:41:01. > :41:04.which nested local to you. They do really well in the winter. Their
:41:04. > :41:08.survival rates are very high, unless it is a very, very cold
:41:08. > :41:12.winter and there are a couple of reasons. They can forage on the
:41:12. > :41:15.under sides of branches so if it snows, they are not picking through
:41:15. > :41:19.the snow, they are hanging beneath the branch and they are able to
:41:19. > :41:24.find their food. The second thing is, that they cache food throughout
:41:24. > :41:28.the autumn and early early winter and now they can taking advantage
:41:28. > :41:32.of that. They are going out and finding it to get through the tough,
:41:32. > :41:37.cold nights. They might be doing well in terms of their numbers and
:41:37. > :41:41.their winter sur survival might be good so they always need a helping
:41:41. > :41:50.hand so make sure your feeder is topped up for these under rated
:41:50. > :41:55.they are really hungry, they will see off other birds. They are
:41:55. > :41:59.feisty. I like them very much. They are not sharp and nasty. There is
:41:59. > :42:03.something generous about them deep down. Let's move on. When you are
:42:03. > :42:07.watching your feeder, all the different tits are coming in and
:42:07. > :42:12.sometimes in the great flurry it is difficult to tell one one from
:42:12. > :42:16.another. Let's have the Winterwatch to tits. Here is a blue tit. Most
:42:16. > :42:23.people know that. The Great Tit is bigger and more black. Here they
:42:23. > :42:28.are together. The Great Tit has the black cap on the top and the blue
:42:28. > :42:33.tit for the blue tit. A good shot to get them all there. Here is a
:42:33. > :42:38.Great Tit. The male has got a broader black stripe down the chest.
:42:38. > :42:41.And that black head. And here we have the Coal Tit, there is no
:42:41. > :42:46.stripe on it at all and you can see that little bit of white on the
:42:46. > :42:52.back of the head. And here is the blue tit, it has a
:42:52. > :42:57.yellow chest and the blue cap and fascinateingly they see in a
:42:57. > :43:01.different colour colour spectrum to us and that that blue glows.
:43:01. > :43:06.They have got different head patterns. That's how males
:43:06. > :43:09.recognise one another. We haven't been hanging around the feeders
:43:09. > :43:13.recording birds, we have been on to the tops where there has been snow.
:43:13. > :43:19.Here is a species which we see this autumn when it is displacing and it
:43:19. > :43:22.is a very famous bird. It certainly is. Look at that beautiful red
:43:22. > :43:30.grouse struggling in the snow a bit, Chris.
:43:30. > :43:35.Yes, they are struggling because they like to feed on heather
:43:35. > :43:42.heather shoots. They have found this ridge where the snow has blown
:43:42. > :43:47.off and per and they are pecking to get as much of the heather shoots
:43:47. > :43:53.as they can. If it snows it, they move lower down off the hill.
:43:53. > :43:57.Now, they are similar, those red grouse, to the ptarmigan. The
:43:57. > :44:02.ptarmigan have a different strot gee for -- strategy for feeding.
:44:02. > :44:08.Here they are. They will feed on much lower food. Here just pecking
:44:08. > :44:14.away at moss. They will eat food lower down in the vegetation and
:44:14. > :44:18.not the heather that the red grouse were feeding on. Look how
:44:18. > :44:22.beautifully camouflaged they are. This is a great example, again, it
:44:22. > :44:32.is niche separation. Niche separation and it is altitude. They
:44:32. > :44:35.
:44:35. > :44:45.important in our winters is fresh water, and rivers, as long as they
:44:45. > :44:49.
:44:49. > :44:53.keep running, are a perfect source unforgiving landscape, yet
:44:53. > :45:02.enigmatically beautiful in the depths of winter.
:45:02. > :45:12.This seemingly barren place is the source of a vital lifeline The
:45:12. > :45:14.
:45:14. > :45:23.river Dart. Many mammals on the Moore need fresh water. Red deer
:45:23. > :45:27.will drink in the strees and graze on the lawn -- streams and graze on
:45:27. > :45:37.the lawns at their grassy edges, but up here in winter this vital
:45:37. > :45:39.
:45:39. > :45:46.resource can be locked away, frozen for days on end. Winter sun eases
:45:46. > :45:50.the icey grip of short days and cold nights, and the Dart's PT-rich
:45:50. > :45:59.nutrient water is released, starting its 52-mile journey from
:45:59. > :46:09.source to sea. Trickles join into streams, and fresh water brings
:46:09. > :46:42.
:46:42. > :46:49.year around. Dense feathers insulate against the cold water as
:46:49. > :46:53.it hunts for small larvae that become more plentiful in winter.
:46:53. > :46:59.This abundant food source allows dippers to be one of the earliest
:46:59. > :47:04.breeding birds, and many will be building or repairing their nests
:47:04. > :47:08.now. Grey wag tails like fast- running streams too, but they're
:47:08. > :47:15.more cautious, forging at the stream's edge for any insects that
:47:15. > :47:23.are washed up. Kingfishers depend on water to hunt, and in winter,
:47:23. > :47:28.they will move downriver towards the sea if inland waters are frozen.
:47:28. > :47:36.The waters from Dartmoor flow stronger and bolder from east to
:47:36. > :47:40.west, merging at Dartmeet. Now one big river, the Dart flows south
:47:40. > :47:50.getting deeper and broader and leaving the moorland and woodland
:47:50. > :48:08.
:48:08. > :48:18.water meets salt. Home to rag worms and other food for wading birds
:48:18. > :48:32.
:48:32. > :48:42.for sea bass and other fish, which in turn attract herons and
:48:42. > :48:51.
:48:51. > :48:56.the way from moor to sea. Its nutrient-rich fresh water is a
:48:56. > :48:59.lifeline for a whole host of plants and animals in the hard times of
:48:59. > :49:03.winter. And you can't underestimate that.
:49:03. > :49:08.Lifeline is the word. Fresh water is incredibly important for all
:49:08. > :49:13.sorts of thinks - birds, things like herons and kingfishers. If it
:49:13. > :49:17.freezes, they have to head to the coast, and it's not optimal habitat
:49:17. > :49:23.for them. One other thing that's worth pointing out is if you do
:49:23. > :49:28.have birds coming to your garden, you're feeding them and it's frozen,
:49:28. > :49:32.make sure they get fresh water. you have a pond in your garden, try
:49:32. > :49:37.to stop it freezing over because it will be an absolute oasis for wild
:49:37. > :49:40.life. Someone that did just that was Kevin from Cambridgeshire. He
:49:40. > :49:46.had some spectacular results. Have a look. He filmed this, and look at
:49:46. > :49:50.the amount of birds coming to that pond not only drinking, but bathing
:49:51. > :49:54.as well. You can see he's stopped the ice from freezing over, so that
:49:54. > :49:58.just proves that it's a really good idea to do it. Thank you so much
:49:58. > :50:02.for that. You know one way to stop your pond from freezing over is to
:50:02. > :50:07.put a ball in the middle, and as the ball moves around - as long as
:50:07. > :50:11.it doesn't get too cold - then you can stop... If it's windy, the ball
:50:11. > :50:15.will blow around. If it's not... Frogs will play a bit of football.
:50:15. > :50:18.Fair enough. Yesterday we were talking not entirely about water
:50:18. > :50:22.freezing but water flooding. We have had some questions. What
:50:22. > :50:25.happens to all the fresh water fish in the floods? Where do they go?
:50:26. > :50:28.They can get stranded a long way from the original water course, the
:50:28. > :50:33.river or stream where they live. Some birds will take advantage of
:50:33. > :50:37.this. I have seen herons feeding on fish ins into had originated from
:50:37. > :50:41.rivers, and others have reported kingfishers doing the same.
:50:41. > :50:45.Initially it's a bonanza for some animals, but ultimately, it's bad
:50:45. > :50:53.news for fish. Have we any answers to the quiz? Yes, we have. The quiz
:50:53. > :51:03.- what is this feather? Where is it from? Sue McMillan, a glossy ivis?
:51:03. > :51:07.
:51:07. > :51:11.No. We had someone that asked, "is it the entail from a tern?" "Is it
:51:11. > :51:15.a long-tailed duck?" It certainly is. Look at this - all 20
:51:15. > :51:19.centimetres this particular feather of a long-tailed duck, a pretty
:51:19. > :51:29.special bird. I was very lucky to pop down to the coast earlier to
:51:29. > :51:36.
:51:36. > :51:43.during winter, and they spend most of their time out at sea, but today
:51:43. > :51:49.I'm really lucky, for an onshore wind has blown these I'ders closer
:51:49. > :51:54.to land, and this has given me an opportunity to get close to these
:51:54. > :51:58.remarkable birds. The Drake ider is a spectacular bird in its breeding
:51:58. > :52:03.plumage. Look at that. It's got that peachy wash on its chest,
:52:03. > :52:08.those lovely green panels over the back of its head and very neat
:52:08. > :52:13.black lines. It really is dressed up in a fabulous uniform, but I've
:52:13. > :52:23.got to tell you it pales into insignificance compared to a bird
:52:23. > :52:35.
:52:35. > :52:39.finer birds that visit the UK during winter than this - Drake
:52:39. > :52:43.long-tailed duck. I've never, ever been this close. I've seen them,
:52:43. > :52:49.but they were always right out at sea. This is about six, seven,
:52:49. > :52:55.eight metres away on a flat, calm harbour - absolutely sensational.
:52:55. > :53:00.Look at the crisp colouring, those beautiful white scapula shoulder
:53:00. > :53:04.feathers and then that long, thin tail - 30 centimetres of long-
:53:04. > :53:12.tailed duck! And it's so close that I can see the little cream ring
:53:12. > :53:15.around the eye. It's truly exquisite. It really is. And when
:53:15. > :53:18.they dive, they do this thing where they slightly open their wings,
:53:18. > :53:24.throw their head back and then topple into the water. They're
:53:24. > :53:28.diving down like this to find their food, which is typically mullsing,
:53:28. > :53:32.a few crustaceans, even small fish. The thing is that they'll dive into
:53:32. > :53:36.quite deep water, up to 60 metre, which means when they're wintering
:53:36. > :53:41.here they can be so offshore that they're difficult to see, difficult
:53:41. > :53:45.to count, so we're not entirely sure how many are here in winter in
:53:45. > :53:51.Scotland - we think around 15,000. Thankfully, they're now doing some
:53:51. > :53:58.aerial surveys, so we might have a better idea. Oh, my goodness - look
:53:58. > :54:02.at that. I don't believe it. There is another Drake with two females.
:54:02. > :54:07.There is going to be a confluence of long-tailed ducks metres away
:54:07. > :54:10.from me. Look at that! What an assemblage. I am not sure where
:54:10. > :54:19.those other three came from. There's two Drakes now and two
:54:19. > :54:23.females right in front of me! This is an ornithological nirvana -
:54:23. > :54:27.beautiful, absolutely beautiful. This is a lifetime moment, I can
:54:27. > :54:37.tell you. Oh, I'm going to need to sit down,
:54:37. > :54:38.
:54:38. > :54:48.calm down! Whiewhee! -- whew. Sometimes nature just gets it right,
:54:48. > :54:53.
:54:53. > :54:56.doesn't it? It really is just about totally love struck. What a bird!
:54:56. > :55:01.Fantastic birds. Something curious I noticed about some of those sea
:55:01. > :55:06.ducks, particularly those lovely long-tailed ducks - nearly all the
:55:06. > :55:11.males are black and white. Why might that be? Black and white.
:55:11. > :55:16.Here's a clue. Look at this picture. Now, why is that a clue? Well, they
:55:16. > :55:22.used to use black and white as camouflage for battleships, and
:55:22. > :55:26.what we think is that the black and white of sea ducks does act as
:55:26. > :55:30.camouflage. HMS Belfast. Belfast, lovely. It is actually in
:55:30. > :55:38.black and white. It could be pink and green for all we know! Just to
:55:38. > :55:41.see whether you think that that camouflage actually works, just
:55:41. > :55:45.watch this. Here's a long-tail duck again, and
:55:45. > :55:52.the colours are similar to the rippling on the water. With the
:55:52. > :55:56.battleship, I was so confused. Can I tell you a fellow called John
:55:56. > :56:00.Customer advised Churchill - he was an ornithologist, and he advised
:56:01. > :56:07.him to paint the battleships in what he called dazzle camouflage,
:56:07. > :56:13.and it caught on. They continued to paint them that way - it started in
:56:13. > :56:20.1917. Astonishing. I am going to go from battleships to tap dancing
:56:20. > :56:23.girls. Have a look at this. This was filmed on a mobile phone by our
:56:23. > :56:29.executive producer. There is the gull dancing away on the grass.
:56:29. > :56:33.What's it doing? It is causing vibrations to go through the soil
:56:33. > :56:39.and paddling to bring earthworms to the surface, and it's a behaviour
:56:39. > :56:43.you'll see in lots of other species as well. Snipe will do it, even
:56:44. > :56:51.woodcock sneaking through the woods in the dark will tremble with their
:56:51. > :56:58.feet as they purt their feet forward. It's highly effective.
:56:58. > :57:03.They do it in shallow water as well stirring up crustaceans. Oh, yes.
:57:03. > :57:08.Shall we have a look at our live cameras? The beaver is still in the
:57:08. > :57:13.lodge. We saw this at the beginning of the show. It is nice to end the
:57:13. > :57:17.show with a bit of live beaver action. Has it been doing this the
:57:17. > :57:21.whole programme? Or has it been out of the lodge? Certainly back in
:57:21. > :57:26.there with a nice big twig gnawing away. Let's see if we can hear it.
:57:26. > :57:32.We can. And who knows how long it's going to be doing that? You of
:57:32. > :57:36.course can be keeping your eye on the live cameras on the web and
:57:36. > :57:42.also on the red button overnight. We have had a few photos sent in.
:57:42. > :57:52.Look at this one - very nice, a grey squirrel in the snow taken a
:57:52. > :57:52.
:57:52. > :58:01.few days ago. This was Beau Jangles 72. This tops it taken by Glez
:58:01. > :58:08.Gustave. I don't know where that name came from. If a long-tailed
:58:08. > :58:13.duck is 7.9, this has to be an 8, a male sparrow hawk. That's the end
:58:13. > :58:17.of the programme. Lots coming up tomorrow. What have we got? We have
:58:17. > :58:21.ice and snow - how wildlife copes in the ice and snow.
:58:21. > :58:25.And we're going to go back with Richard Taylor Jones, and we're
:58:26. > :58:33.going to go and have a look at those seals again down in Norfolk.