:00:16. > :00:22.of Scotland. All across the UK, we have been plunged into the grip of
:00:22. > :00:27.winter. We're all having to adapt to the freezing conditions. For us,
:00:27. > :00:31.it's challenging. For our wildlife, it's a matter of survival.
:00:31. > :00:37.wildlife has to stay out, but of course, you don't have to, so slip
:00:37. > :00:47.us on - a nice cup of cocoa. Snuggle up on the sofa because for
:00:47. > :01:04.
:01:04. > :01:08.the next 60 minutes, it's Winterwatch, programme four, very
:01:08. > :01:11.sadly the last in our series, coming to you from the Aigas Field
:01:11. > :01:15.Centre here in the beautiful Highlands of Scotland. Now, we have
:01:15. > :01:18.been here this week, and every day we have been exploring the
:01:18. > :01:22.strategies animals use to get through the hardships of winter, so
:01:22. > :01:26.we've done a bit of science, but also, we have seen some fantastic
:01:26. > :01:30.animals and some fabulous behaviour, and I can promise you there's more
:01:30. > :01:34.coming tonight. Tonight we'll resolve some of the tests we have
:01:34. > :01:39.set the animals, for example, the agility tests for our pine martens,
:01:40. > :01:43.can they up the antsne and Professor Packham's test for red
:01:44. > :01:47.squirrels - they look confused. They are confused. It's also a
:01:47. > :01:52.testing time for the grey seal colony at Blakeney Point. It's
:01:52. > :01:56.certainly no beach party for the adult males as tensions are
:01:56. > :02:00.mounting and testosterone is bursting. I have to confess - I
:02:00. > :02:03.nearly had a cardiac arrest last night when I saw those long-tailed
:02:04. > :02:09.ducks. They were pretty special, but look what I found when I went
:02:09. > :02:12.for a walk around my own patch - nothing less than a hawfinch! Come
:02:12. > :02:16.on! After this programme, tonight, there will be Unsprung. That's
:02:16. > :02:19.where things get a bit loose and, frankly, dodgy. We're going to
:02:19. > :02:23.break with tradition because we always in that show have a little
:02:23. > :02:27.quiz for you, and we're going to set the quiz right now, so here it
:02:27. > :02:37.comes. You have to try to identify this animal. We have mixed up the
:02:37. > :02:45.
:02:45. > :02:50.test - image A - what might that Now, image B - a little bit more
:02:50. > :02:55.difficult, that one. That's tricky. That's tricky, that one. Then
:02:55. > :02:59.finally, image C, the koala bear - no, it isn't. They're all British
:02:59. > :03:03.animals. You can get on the website and have a guess. What do you think
:03:03. > :03:06.they are? We'll resolve that in Winterwatch Unsprung. Can I say it
:03:06. > :03:11.has been an extraordinary week since we started Winterwatch.
:03:11. > :03:15.Before Winterwatch, it was quite mild, but now winter has set in. It
:03:15. > :03:18.has snowed across many parts of the UK and will continue to do so next
:03:18. > :03:21.week, but what does that mean for wildlife watching? Well, you can
:03:22. > :03:26.guarantee one thing - you can get some good photographs. This is from
:03:26. > :03:30.Mandy West, and it's a gull on ice and having a little bit of a
:03:30. > :03:34.problem keeping its legs together. And I tell you what - I have been a
:03:34. > :03:37.bit like that on ice myself - suddenly do the splits. It's not
:03:38. > :03:41.just the birds that have been on the ice. The stars of our show have
:03:42. > :03:45.been out there too. Take a look at this. This is one of our pine
:03:45. > :03:50.martens that was on the show last night. It's heading out to the
:03:50. > :03:52.frozen loch. You may wonder what on earth it's doing out there, but
:03:52. > :03:57.these things are opportunistic omnivores. They're always on the
:03:57. > :04:02.sniff for food. They have one of the naughtiest noses in the mammal
:04:02. > :04:07.kingdom. What it's after - we don't know. It could be scavenging for
:04:07. > :04:11.anything that died and floated this side of the loch but also it could
:04:11. > :04:17.be sniffing for small mammals like voles that are there. It then
:04:17. > :04:22.decides to go where no other pine marten has gone before, either that
:04:22. > :04:28.or catch the boat to Cairo. It's off. Fantastic! Let's have a look
:04:28. > :04:34.at our live camera and have a look around. We have seen lots, actually,
:04:34. > :04:40.- two pine martens - there was one just a few minutes ago, which is
:04:40. > :04:46.pretty frustrating. No pine martens, and up to the beaver lodge. Don't
:04:46. > :04:50.tell me there was one there minutes ago. They're out doing stuff!
:04:50. > :04:55.of people have been sending in questions. I have one from Jack,
:04:55. > :04:59."Why do beavers walk on ice?" They do it to get to the other side...
:04:59. > :05:03.It wasn't a joke. That's exactly what they do. Their environment is
:05:03. > :05:07.the loch. When it freezes over, it means they have two choices, swim
:05:07. > :05:13.under the ice or walk on top of it. I guess it's just a personal
:05:13. > :05:19.council. There may be an energy- saving device in there, might be
:05:19. > :05:25.easier to walk than swim, don't get cold. They do come out. Have a look
:05:25. > :05:30.at this. We're surrounded by the forests the beavers come into, and
:05:30. > :05:32.all of these forests here are potential food, and not just
:05:32. > :05:38.potential food because we can see they have been eating these trees.
:05:38. > :05:43.Look at this here. In fact, all around this area you can see these
:05:43. > :05:46.trees have been chewed off all around - little bits of - bits and
:05:46. > :05:50.pieces all around. Now, they're really, really clever, these
:05:50. > :05:53.beavers because they plan ahead because what they'll do in autumn
:05:53. > :05:58.is they'll cut around a tree. They'll partially bite through it,
:05:58. > :06:02.but leave it so that in the winter they come out and just have a few
:06:02. > :06:06.little bites and down it goes. Now, with the freezing, life has got a
:06:06. > :06:10.little tougher for the beavers. Have a look at this. Now, here's
:06:10. > :06:15.one of our youngsters on top of the ice. As you can see, the ice isn't
:06:15. > :06:20.quite thick enough to support it. We have noticed their behaviours
:06:20. > :06:23.change as it's frozen. They're bringing in smaller twigs into the
:06:23. > :06:27.lodge. Here is one of the kits bringing in a twig - much, much
:06:27. > :06:31.more - a little bit of an argy bargy. I think that's something
:06:31. > :06:36.delicious. The other one wants a bite. You can actually hear it
:06:36. > :06:40.nibbling away. Here he goes. But they have definitely gone for -
:06:41. > :06:45.sounds like a pencil sharpner! When they try to bring in larger twigs,
:06:45. > :06:49.it's mmp more difficult. This one is really struggling. It's got a
:06:49. > :06:53.larger bit of wood under the water. It did manage to get it in in the
:06:53. > :06:57.end, but look at this. It hasn't got any bark on it, this piece. You
:06:57. > :07:02.can see it's all been eaten off, so why is it bringing it into the
:07:02. > :07:05.lodge? It's bringing it in to do a bit of DIY because they're
:07:05. > :07:10.constantly moving things around in the lodge. We have seen them doing
:07:10. > :07:14.a lot of building, but we've also seen something very curious we have
:07:14. > :07:20.never seen before. Look at this youngster. Here it is, and it just
:07:20. > :07:24.sort of pushes down its tail like a plate, and what is it doing down
:07:24. > :07:32.there? What is - it's feeding. You can just about hear - it's eating
:07:32. > :07:36.down there. Now, they have a very curious feeding system. It's called
:07:36. > :07:41.sikatrophy. They eat the food once, but they can't get all the goodness
:07:41. > :07:45.out of it. It's tough to digest, so they poo it out - it's not very
:07:45. > :07:51.pleasant, then they reeat it, so they actually eat their food twice
:07:51. > :07:55.to get the nutrient out of it. And some other animals do as well -
:07:55. > :08:01.rabbits do the same thing. So that was a good word for you - I never,
:08:01. > :08:07.ever thought I would see that in my life, an absolutely fascinating bit
:08:07. > :08:13.of behaviour. I bet you like that word, sycotrophy. I shall be using
:08:13. > :08:16.that word regularly! We have a good question from George, aged ten, "Do
:08:16. > :08:21.males fight during the breeding season? ""that's a good question.
:08:21. > :08:25.It's rare that they do because they tend to breed for life, but not
:08:25. > :08:32.often, but sometimes they tend to fight over territory. Usually there
:08:32. > :08:37.will be a mock fight. There will be a lot of tail slapping and teeth
:08:37. > :08:42.knashing. Occasionally it will escalate into a full belly-to-belly
:08:42. > :08:45.match. They sit up and swipe at each other with their paws like
:08:45. > :08:50.that trying to push them over, but that's not often, so good question.
:08:50. > :08:53.Thanks for that. I can't see beaver boxing catching on as a televised
:08:53. > :08:58.sport. I like to champion the underdog, so we're now going to
:08:58. > :09:03.show you an animal with a bit of an unsung reputation. Charles Darwin
:09:03. > :09:10.fancied them. In fact, he recognised more than 200 different
:09:10. > :09:15.varieties. The missus liked to stew, boil or bake them. Woody Allen, not
:09:15. > :09:24.a great ornithologist, said they were rats with wings. Here is a
:09:24. > :09:28.film about a bird which is quite simply steeped in shame and scandal.
:09:28. > :09:34.Pigeons - whichever town or city you're, in they're absolutely
:09:34. > :09:39.everywhere, even flourishing right through the winter. The domestic
:09:39. > :09:42.pigeon has somehow managed to conquer urban spaces all around the
:09:42. > :09:47.globe. There are 310 species worldwide. Some of them are very
:09:47. > :09:52.beautiful. Some of them are very rare. Some of them, like the dodo,
:09:52. > :09:56.are very dead, but due to our dislike of the domestic pigeon, we
:09:56. > :10:03.turn our nose up at most of them just because we're tripping over
:10:03. > :10:11.them on the railway platform. But you see, there's a lot more to know
:10:11. > :10:17.about this very, very interesting The street pigeon of today has
:10:17. > :10:22.descended from a shy coastal bird called the rock dove. Back in Roman
:10:22. > :10:27.times this bird was domesticated. It was bred for its meat and
:10:27. > :10:31.because of its legendary homing instincts. Over the century, many
:10:31. > :10:35.of these pigeons escaped from captivity and set up home in our
:10:35. > :10:39.towns and cities. They turned everything on offer there - the
:10:39. > :10:42.food, the shelter, the water, everything - to their advantage,
:10:42. > :10:47.enabling them to thrive even in the cold winter months.
:10:47. > :10:51.Isn't it great to go birding and not actually need your binoculars?
:10:51. > :10:58.All you've got to do is take five minutes in your lunch break, sit in
:10:58. > :11:01.the park and enjoy birds. Look at the variety of patterning in their
:11:01. > :11:05.plumage here. Every one of these birds looks almost like an
:11:05. > :11:13.individual, and when you recognise birds as individuals, you can learn
:11:13. > :11:17.a lot more about them. That is the case with dogs. Feral pigeons are a
:11:18. > :11:22.domesticated species from which we created different breeds or types,
:11:22. > :11:26.and pigeons are classified by their plumage. This one is called the
:11:26. > :11:33.blue bar. It has those two stripes down its wing, and it looks a lot
:11:33. > :11:36.like the wild rock dove. Checkered pigeons with their specifically
:11:36. > :11:41.wing plumage are the result of intensive selective breeding by
:11:41. > :11:46.people in the past. Less common is the pied pigeon. To be honest, it
:11:46. > :11:50.looks like a bit of a mongrel and does indeed have a mixed genetic
:11:50. > :11:54.heritage. Now, one man who thinks that all of this colourful plumage
:11:54. > :11:59.could be the secret to the pigeon's success is Adam Rogers. He's a bit
:11:59. > :12:03.of a pigeon fancier, but he's one with a passion for science. Good
:12:03. > :12:08.morning, Adam. Good morning, Chris. I'm just going
:12:08. > :12:11.to sneak in, trying not to disturb your feathered funs here. Aren't
:12:11. > :12:15.they beautiful? Well, I think they are beautiful, but why are there so
:12:16. > :12:19.many different varieties? Why don't they all revert to that wild type,
:12:19. > :12:25.which is what you might expect them to do? You're right. Most feral
:12:25. > :12:31.birds will revert to their wild, unsettled type, but the pigeons do
:12:31. > :12:34.something called disassociated mating. One bird would rather mate
:12:34. > :12:38.from a bird that is different from itself, and that keeps the variety
:12:38. > :12:43.going. This is a crucial part of the pigeon success story - all of
:12:43. > :12:49.this variety is a reflection on the underlying genetic diversity in the
:12:49. > :12:53.pigeon population. Now, in-breeding can lead to genetic weakness, but
:12:53. > :12:58.by choosing a mate that is genetically different to itself, a
:12:58. > :13:01.pigeon can bolster the health of its chicks, giving them better
:13:01. > :13:06.immunity to disease, something absolutely vital in our dirty and
:13:06. > :13:12.crowded urban areas, but this is really surprising because this has
:13:12. > :13:15.to mean that each bird must know what type of pigeon it is. Only
:13:15. > :13:20.then could it choose to mate with a different type of pigeon. That's
:13:20. > :13:26.what I find so amazing - so few animals have a sense of self and
:13:26. > :13:31.can actually know what they look like. Pigeons have proven they can
:13:31. > :13:36.recognise an image of themselves on a canvas screen or reflection.
:13:36. > :13:40.You're telling me - that's a checkered pigeon. This checkered
:13:41. > :13:44.pigeon now it's a checkered pigeon. It does. And would therefore try to
:13:45. > :13:49.mate One Show of these pig beings over here? Absolutely. It can
:13:49. > :13:53.compare itself to another and decide which one it's going to
:13:53. > :13:58.choose. Which is amazing. We look in mirrors and recognise ourselves,
:13:58. > :14:03.but very few species do. That's right. We're on par with
:14:03. > :14:08.chimpanzees and the top animals. This is astounding. It's not the
:14:08. > :14:11.only remarkable thing about feral pigeons. Because our ancestors
:14:11. > :14:15.favoured birds that could yield the most broods in a year because they
:14:15. > :14:19.wanted to eat them all year around, some feral pigeons have developed a
:14:19. > :14:22.unique way to get ahead in winter. The checkered birds we see here,
:14:22. > :14:26.these are able to breed even in the depth of January when all the other
:14:26. > :14:30.birds maybe aren't. How do they manage to breed all year around?
:14:30. > :14:34.They feed their chicks differently to other birds. They produce
:14:34. > :14:37.something called pigeon milk. It's completely different to our
:14:37. > :14:45.bluetits and spares... They need insects, don't they, which means
:14:45. > :14:51.they can only breed in the summer and springtime. Absolutely. Pigeons
:14:51. > :14:55.can turn any food into milk. pigeons produce milk, but it's only
:14:55. > :14:59.the checkered ones that have developed the ability to breed
:14:59. > :15:09.during winter. It's no co- coincidence they're now the most
:15:09. > :15:41.
:15:41. > :15:45.numerous type of feral pigeon side? I don't mind! I find that so
:15:45. > :15:49.interesting, best survival technique makes them so successful.
:15:49. > :15:53.And it is down to that variety and that is what Adam Rogers is so
:15:53. > :15:57.interested in. It is an on-going project and he would like your help.
:15:57. > :16:02.The price of the help is half his sandwich on a park bench at
:16:02. > :16:06.lunchtime! If you are in an urban area, try and record which pigeons
:16:06. > :16:14.in relative abundance that you see. You can take those recordings and
:16:14. > :16:19.visit our website. Then you can find your way to this form, which
:16:19. > :16:23.Adam has put up. It shows you the key pigeon varieties, and you can
:16:23. > :16:27.put in your results here. That is added to our knowledge of these
:16:27. > :16:33.birds and bird biology in general. A good piece of cities and science,
:16:33. > :16:39.so please join in. You should not underestimate pigeons. They played
:16:39. > :16:43.a vital role in World War Two. You probably know that, but how many?
:16:43. > :16:47.Roughly 200,000 pigeons took part in World War Two, taking vital
:16:47. > :16:51.messages to the front line. Some of them did it so heroically that they
:16:51. > :16:55.were awarded the animal version of the Victoria Cross. One such
:16:55. > :17:00.example was GI Joe, who flew 20 miles to the front line and
:17:00. > :17:06.delivered a message just in time to save 100 soldiers from being bombed
:17:06. > :17:11.by their own plane. All down to a pigeon. And 32 homing pigeons got
:17:11. > :17:18.that award. That is pretty good. I am impressed. That I was talking
:17:18. > :17:24.about World War Two? That's my girl! Finally. It has all rub off
:17:24. > :17:27.and come true! If you are fans of The Killing or The Bridge, you
:17:27. > :17:31.might be interested in our next film. Martin has headed into the
:17:31. > :17:41.heart of Bristol to see if he cannot solve the case of the
:17:41. > :17:50.
:17:50. > :17:56.Here in the heart of the city, there is a serial killer at work.
:17:56. > :18:01.There are bodies, there are clues, there is a mystery. But happily,
:18:01. > :18:06.there is also a star witness. Sam Hobson is a wildlife photographer
:18:07. > :18:11.with a passion for urban wildlife. I met him on top of a multi-storey
:18:11. > :18:15.car-park in Bristol. Among the rubbish, there was a surprise. We
:18:15. > :18:24.have got lots of feathers here. Do you know what they are? I am pretty
:18:24. > :18:31.sure that this one is a female tail feather. And these small, stripy
:18:31. > :18:35.ones, they could be a slight feathers. The teal is a small
:18:35. > :18:39.migrate three dark and the slide is a wading bird. In the winter they
:18:39. > :18:45.should be in the wild, and the last place I would expect to see them
:18:45. > :18:55.would be in the middle of Bristol. What is going on? But feathers are
:18:55. > :18:59.
:18:59. > :19:04.not the only find. Would you like to smell that? Detective work in
:19:04. > :19:12.action. It smells like ponds, rivers. They like slow-moving water,
:19:12. > :19:18.so rivers, ponds, lakes. And also you have found that. Feet, wings,
:19:18. > :19:21.in the city. Based on this body of evidence, what is happening? Urban
:19:22. > :19:27.peregrine falcons in the centre of the city. So the peregrine falcon
:19:27. > :19:30.is the mystery killer. Clearly, these peregrines are hunting
:19:31. > :19:35.Migrating birds at night, using the street lights to help them see
:19:35. > :19:39.their prey. Winter migrants are probably an easy target. They are
:19:40. > :19:46.flying across unfamiliar places in the dark and they may well be
:19:46. > :19:49.disorientated by the lights of the city. Sam's detective work,
:19:49. > :19:57.identify exactly which species the peregrines are eating, can tell us
:19:57. > :20:01.a lot about bird movements this winter. Birds like this lapwing,
:20:01. > :20:08.this was all in the last week or two. And they are birds on winter
:20:08. > :20:17.migration right now? Yes. Woodcock, for example. These could have been
:20:17. > :20:25.from Russia, the Baltic states. And as a response to the cold weather,
:20:25. > :20:27.the peregrines of creating a Lada. This one was found with two
:20:28. > :20:31.carcasses that had barely been touched and had washed down from
:20:31. > :20:36.the top of the building in the night. Then it was a story and that
:20:36. > :20:43.have been washed off? And then you found it? Fascinating. The
:20:43. > :20:53.peregrines of farm -- are telling us what is going on. We are tucked
:20:53. > :20:55.
:20:55. > :20:59.up in bed and now we know what is That guy is probably out looking
:20:59. > :21:04.for peregrines right now. People heard that they hunted at night and
:21:04. > :21:13.some of them has actually seen it. When people are in bars, drinking
:21:14. > :21:19.cocktails, he is probably tramping the streets! I am envious! Those
:21:19. > :21:23.little birds, how do they migrate? Well, they do. Water birds move at
:21:23. > :21:28.night. You can go out into your garden, into the street, and stand
:21:28. > :21:32.there quietly and very often you can hear things flying over. Waders,
:21:33. > :21:36.geese, wild fowl, that sort of thing. Lots of these birds have
:21:36. > :21:40.counter shading, dark on top and pale underneath. That is perfect
:21:40. > :21:44.when they are swimming on the water so anything looking up cannot see
:21:44. > :21:51.them, and nothing looking down, but at night, the street lights will
:21:52. > :21:56.reflect off the pale belly and the peregrine can spot them. Let's have
:21:56. > :22:01.another look at that peregrine, the killing machine. We think the eyes
:22:01. > :22:08.occupy 50% of their skulls. They have also got marvellous talents,
:22:08. > :22:12.killing machines, fantastically accurate. Despite their weaponry,
:22:12. > :22:16.it is estimated that 50% of juvenile peregrines will die in the
:22:16. > :22:19.winter because it is very tough for them. They are one of the most
:22:19. > :22:23.dashing predators that we have. Another bird of prey that we have
:22:23. > :22:29.does not have the same reputation and is known for being a worm. I am
:22:29. > :22:38.talking about the buzzard. Look at this picture that has been sent in.
:22:38. > :22:44.It is a buzz at -- buzzard chasing a sea eagle with a rabbit.
:22:44. > :22:51.Ambitious! Perhaps things are tough and they are desperate? Then they
:22:51. > :23:01.concentrate on career and, and we have had our carcass camera out. --
:23:01. > :23:04.
:23:04. > :23:14.end, it does not feel entirely comfortable. They grab some of the
:23:14. > :23:14.
:23:14. > :23:18.meat, and then the leap up, and they fly off. Extraordinary. Here
:23:18. > :23:25.they have had their own cameras and they have seen a different bird,
:23:25. > :23:30.the red kite. The red kite is a success story because it was
:23:30. > :23:35.extinct in England and Wales at the end of the 20th century. There was
:23:35. > :23:40.a population in Scotland. Since then, attempts to breed it had been
:23:40. > :23:48.very successful and it has come back. It is a fascinating bird.
:23:48. > :23:52.Take a closer look. Beautiful. Absolutely stunning. In the summer,
:23:52. > :23:55.this bird will feed on birds and mice, things like that, but in the
:23:55. > :24:00.winter it changes its strategy and it becomes a specialist on
:24:00. > :24:05.carcasses. One of the amazing things, it can eat what other birds
:24:05. > :24:15.cannot. Bowen's, Animal Fair, things that are buzzard would not
:24:15. > :24:22.
:24:22. > :24:29.eat. -- bones and animal hair. There is a rooster near here and
:24:30. > :24:34.another in Oxfordshire, near Stowe -- Stokenchurch. We have to get
:24:34. > :24:38.their very early. Otherwise they are already in the trees. When they
:24:38. > :24:42.have fed, the birds want to conserve energy. If they have eaten
:24:42. > :24:46.in the morning, they will roost until the evening. Perhaps that is
:24:46. > :24:51.a sign of how good they are. If they can afford to roost from 2
:24:51. > :24:58.o'clock, they must have a good tummy. Let's go live to the beaver
:24:58. > :25:03.lodge. We have one there. It is one of the kittens, judging by what it
:25:03. > :25:13.looks like, and it has probably been in the water. It is chewing on
:25:13. > :25:19.
:25:19. > :25:23.the sticks and we can hear it, that fabric beneath the bark. We see
:25:23. > :25:28.them eating an enormous amount. They have to meet a lot of twigs.
:25:28. > :25:36.As you have explained, they are not very good at digested it. The young
:25:36. > :25:41.ones are trying to put on weight during the winter, and the older
:25:41. > :25:46.ones are losing that which. Another close relative of the pine Marten,
:25:46. > :25:56.the badger. Michaela was keen to see one, so we went to see what we
:25:56. > :26:01.
:26:01. > :26:08.seeing badgers? I am not a betting man, but I would stake my house,
:26:08. > :26:12.all of its contents, the lives of all of my family, a racing Ferrari,
:26:12. > :26:18.and the night out with a supermodel on the fact that we are not going
:26:18. > :26:20.to see any! Can I tell you something about badgers? They feed
:26:21. > :26:25.principally on earthworms and the ground is frozen, which means it is
:26:25. > :26:30.difficult for them to get them out. It is also January and we are in
:26:30. > :26:34.the North of the UK. On all of the Knights of the year that I would
:26:34. > :26:38.have chosen, it is a pleasure to be out with yourself drinking hot
:26:38. > :26:43.chocolate, but it would not have been tonight. I would like to see a
:26:43. > :26:49.badger, don't get me wrong, but I am being pragmatic. I know there
:26:49. > :26:53.are some fat badges in at their house, in a state of torpor,
:26:53. > :27:03.reduced body temperature, thinking that they should conserve their
:27:03. > :27:22.
:27:22. > :27:28.energy, the ground is solid, no come back... Look! Fantastic. What
:27:28. > :27:35.an animal. It has got one spot on the right hand side. It could be
:27:35. > :27:41.one of ours. I have to consult the manual. I have to be honest, the
:27:41. > :27:45.first time for me. To see one in the flesh? Absolutely beautiful.
:27:45. > :27:49.They are totally active throughout winter? Yes. They have such a high
:27:49. > :27:52.metabolic rate that they have to be continually. They cannot take on
:27:52. > :28:02.fat because they have to pursue their prey and they cannot afford
:28:02. > :28:08.
:28:08. > :28:15.beautiful coat. That was the beginning of their near end because
:28:15. > :28:19.they were hunted for hundreds of years for their fur. We think of
:28:19. > :28:24.them as a Scottish animal, but they are not. We find them all the way
:28:24. > :28:34.through France and into Europe. They are only up in Scotland
:28:34. > :28:36.
:28:36. > :28:41.because there were less people here a real treat for me, a beautiful
:28:41. > :28:51.animal. I was just thinking, his nose is just like a poodle's nose.
:28:51. > :28:52.
:28:52. > :28:57.It is. It's got a nose like a marten, you don't know how much I
:28:57. > :29:01.was wishing a badger would poke its little nose. During the winter
:29:01. > :29:05.sometimes they'll stay underground for 90% of the time. If you want to
:29:05. > :29:12.see badgers and you're a casual badger watcher I would recommend
:29:12. > :29:15.going in April or May. I was a bit optimistic, but what I did love
:29:15. > :29:20.about seeing that is not only was at this time first time I'd seen a
:29:20. > :29:23.pine marten for real, but I saw it in colour. Obviously, we've got our
:29:23. > :29:29.infrared cameras live on the pine martens. We have got some fantastic
:29:29. > :29:33.shots, but to see it in colour was special. We have got some great
:29:33. > :29:39.pine marten shots, but what have we learnt? Quite a lot. We have seen
:29:39. > :29:45.quite a lot of behaviour. That's a beautiful picture of a pine marten,
:29:45. > :29:50.back lit. That got you very excited. Spraying, yes, they were marking
:29:50. > :29:55.the log with the glands beneath their tail. The reason is there is
:29:55. > :30:01.a second pine marten there. Yes, they're being very territorial. It
:30:01. > :30:08.has a characteristic musky smell. It has given some of their
:30:08. > :30:14.relatives a name - weasel means fart. Why? Because of the smell,
:30:14. > :30:21.because they're very smelly animals. Some are called pinemart because
:30:21. > :30:26.they didn't smell as bad. These are pine martens. We set up a challenge,
:30:26. > :30:30.an acrobatic and gymnastic challenge for our pine martens to
:30:30. > :30:34.see Just how agile they were. As you can see here, they're very
:30:34. > :30:38.agile. They make pretty easy work of that. We have like a tightrope
:30:38. > :30:43.between the two trees. It walks across it using that tail for
:30:43. > :30:46.balance and gets the food, didn't seem the struggle at all. It didn't
:30:46. > :30:50.struggle at all, no, not at all. We think one of the reasons they spend
:30:50. > :30:56.more time up trees is to avoid competition with foxs that are
:30:56. > :31:02.eating the same prey, small mammals. They're not catching small mammals
:31:02. > :31:07.up there but allows them access to other animals like birds and their
:31:07. > :31:10.nests. I think we have to thank the pine martens for giving us some
:31:10. > :31:14.entertaining... I am going to miss them to be quite honest with you.
:31:14. > :31:19.Can we just see - I know they weren't on the live cameras a
:31:19. > :31:24.second ago, but let's have a quick look. Nothing - look! It's a
:31:24. > :31:27.badger! You. You had me there. You genuinely did! We can see that we
:31:27. > :31:32.set up that challenge - we made it a little bit harder, but actually,
:31:32. > :31:35.we have had no interest in that today, have we? Not yet, but these
:31:35. > :31:39.cameras will be on until later this evening, so people can keep
:31:39. > :31:42.watching on the website. If they turn up, they might try to see if
:31:42. > :31:46.they can reach down a little bit further. It wasn't just the pine
:31:46. > :31:49.martens we were challenging. We also challenged our red squirrels
:31:49. > :31:52.that we've got live cameras on too. We set them a little task that
:31:52. > :31:57.Chris made up. It was quite a good one. They had three jars. We were
:31:57. > :32:00.seeing which nut they prefer - either shelled hazelnuts, ones in
:32:00. > :32:04.the shell or raisins, and you can see they absolutely didn't touch
:32:04. > :32:09.the others. They went for the shelled nuts. We gave them then
:32:09. > :32:12.three different nuts. Which did they go for? Still the hazelnuts in
:32:12. > :32:16.shells. What was interesting if you were watching last night is they
:32:16. > :32:21.picked the walnuts up, but didn't seem to be able to carry them.
:32:21. > :32:25.no. Interestingly enough, we had someone - this is from Roderic from
:32:25. > :32:28.Normandy in France - great to know you're watching over the water.
:32:28. > :32:33.He's got red squirrels in his garden. He did a little test on
:32:33. > :32:36.them as well, and he said they did go for the walnuts. They happily
:32:36. > :32:40.collected them and seemed to have no trouble at all in carrying them
:32:40. > :32:45.away. However, he did say they have a number of walnut trees in the
:32:45. > :32:49.vicinity, so they were used to them. That's right. Now, those squirrels
:32:49. > :32:53.were out there just thinking that tomorrow is just another day but it
:32:53. > :32:59.wasn't because I'd come up with another cunning plan to test - we
:32:59. > :33:06.know they're taking whole nuts because they want to cache them but
:33:06. > :33:09.where? I thought if we got some ribbon and glued it to the nut,
:33:09. > :33:14.non-toxic glue like this we could encourage the squirrels to take it
:33:14. > :33:19.away, then we could see the ribbon and recover all the nuts. Did it
:33:19. > :33:24.work? The squirrels turned up. They weren't put off by the ribbon
:33:24. > :33:29.whatsoever. There was one initial flaw in my plan. The squirrel takes
:33:29. > :33:32.it out, then delicately removes the ribbon. Oh, no! I know. At this
:33:32. > :33:38.point I thought I had been foiled but thankfully they kept coming
:33:38. > :33:42.back. Here, the squirrel goes back to cache that nut. Meanwhile,
:33:42. > :33:47.another squirrel was lurking about, Michaela, and it sneaks in thinking
:33:47. > :33:52.it can pilfer some of those hazel nuts. I don't mind, of course,
:33:52. > :33:57.because I am hoping one run office with the ribbon attached. Spotted.
:33:57. > :34:01.The other squirrel comes back and isn't happy, takes one of the
:34:01. > :34:04.marked nuts. It's in the tree, so it starts to come down the tree.
:34:04. > :34:09.This is great because this is precipitating a really interesting
:34:09. > :34:13.piece of behaviour. Then they're chasing one another like this -
:34:13. > :34:18.dust devil that one. Watch this. The one that's got the nut does
:34:18. > :34:22.something interesting. He has got the ribbon attached. He digs, but
:34:22. > :34:27.doesn't put the nut there. He's pretending. Then it digs again and
:34:27. > :34:31.doesn't put the nut there. Finally, it digs and leaves the nut in there.
:34:31. > :34:35.It is doing that so it knows there is another squirrel about, so it's
:34:35. > :34:41.digging false holes to confuse it, but look - it's left the little
:34:41. > :34:44.piece of ribbon there. You're so chuffed. I tell you, I really am.
:34:44. > :34:48.They were carrying them great distances. Look, this one
:34:48. > :34:54.disappeared into the woods. All that was left was for us to go out
:34:54. > :34:58.and find those ribbons, so we set off at lunch time. We headed out
:34:58. > :35:02.with our runner, Tom, and had a great look around. I have to thank
:35:02. > :35:06.Tom as well because he was the one that glued all the ribbons onto the
:35:06. > :35:10.nuts. We did recover some of them. Look. Then we also measured the
:35:10. > :35:15.distance that they'd taken them away from our source. Look at that
:35:15. > :35:19.- 25 metres... Quite a distance. We did one other thing - I was quite
:35:19. > :35:24.careful. I didn't want to litter the Aigas Field Centre estate with
:35:24. > :35:27.pieces of ribbon so we replaced them with hazel nuts. So the
:35:27. > :35:32.squirrels will get their nuts. you learn something from that?
:35:32. > :35:37.did. At last, the representation - the graph! The graph. Here are the
:35:37. > :35:42.nuts we recovered, 80 out of 80, not bad. The furthest distance they
:35:42. > :35:46.carried them, 65 metres. A long way. It's expending energy to carry a
:35:46. > :35:52.nut out. There it's got to be worthwhile. If I have one message
:35:52. > :35:57.here - I am not going to get a Ph.D for this - I don't expect one, but
:35:57. > :36:01.you can do this with your kids at the weekend. Think what fun you
:36:01. > :36:05.would have seeing those squirrels with bits of ribbon. Something to
:36:05. > :36:09.do at the weekend. On Winterwatch, we have been following the winter
:36:09. > :36:14.season of Good Friday seals at Norfolk at Blakeney Point. Our
:36:14. > :36:19.first two episodes, we got a lot of you commenting quite emotionally
:36:19. > :36:22.about the abandoning of the seal pup, quite understandably. In our
:36:22. > :36:26.final instalment tonight, Richard Taylor Jones finds out things get
:36:26. > :36:32.really heated on the beaches when testosterone is pumping. Warning:
:36:32. > :36:37.it does get a little bit aggressive. We have been following a pup called
:36:37. > :36:41.Millennium, who has a very peaceful life to date and is only days away
:36:41. > :36:51.from being weaned and leaving his mother. As a result, she's now
:36:51. > :36:58.
:36:58. > :37:04.coming into season and will soon be this duty is called Sebastian. He
:37:04. > :37:12.has Millennium's mother in his harem of seven females. Sebastian
:37:12. > :37:22.is fast asleep, but a male is approaching his territory. We'll
:37:22. > :37:30.
:37:30. > :37:35.call him Mr Sneaky because his skirt around an outlying male
:37:35. > :37:45.called Mr Red, who could potentially raise the intruder
:37:45. > :37:45.
:37:45. > :37:51.alarm. This helps Mr Sneaky get close to Sebastian's females.
:37:51. > :37:53.But Sebastian isn't fooled for long. He's realised there's a threat -
:37:53. > :38:01.perhaps because of Mr Sneaky's scent or his vibrations in the
:38:01. > :38:11.ground. GROWLING
:38:11. > :38:25.
:38:25. > :38:33.the dunes above Sebastian's harem? Mr Sneaky has tried the low road.
:38:33. > :38:43.Now it's the high road. The grass is a perfect cover. The females are
:38:43. > :38:46.
:38:46. > :38:49.tantalisingly close. But dare he risk an approach? He has no time to
:38:49. > :38:59.decide. Sebastian may be asleep again, but he's been spotted by Mr
:38:59. > :39:11.
:39:11. > :39:17.defend. If he loses her, he loses his only chance to breed this year.
:39:17. > :39:27.This is a fight about the right to create life. The stakes could
:39:27. > :39:30.
:39:30. > :39:40.barely be higher. The contest is close and brutal. A display of raw
:39:40. > :39:40.
:39:40. > :40:34.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 54 seconds
:40:34. > :40:44.ferocity and sheer desperation. Red. He's exhausted, bloodied and
:40:44. > :40:55.
:40:55. > :41:02.worn. He rests. These wounds will across Blakeney, males eventually
:41:02. > :41:09.earn the right to mate, to pass on their genes. The breeding season is
:41:09. > :41:19.now coming to a close, and couples are spread across the beach in
:41:19. > :41:26.
:41:26. > :41:31.Millennium, who has been so sheltered from these dramas,
:41:31. > :41:36.moments like this will be many years away. In the meantime, for
:41:37. > :41:42.all the pups here at Blakeney, there is the difficult matter of
:41:42. > :41:46.leaving mother and then learning to live out at sea. They all have a
:41:47. > :41:56.huge life journey to go on, and it starts here in the cold depths of
:41:57. > :41:58.
:41:58. > :42:02.at Blakeney Point there, and it's amazing that they choose to breed
:42:02. > :42:08.in the winter. That was shot at the beginning of winter, but how things
:42:08. > :42:11.change. Have a look at what it looks like today at Blakeney Point.
:42:11. > :42:15.Obviously, it has been hard hit by the snow down in Norfolk, and
:42:15. > :42:19.there's a seal pup. You would have thought it would be freezing, but
:42:19. > :42:26.you know it has been a very cold year - over 1,200 pups born.
:42:26. > :42:29.Believe it or not, another one has been born since Monday. They're
:42:29. > :42:33.still giving birth, amazing. A heavy snowfall is forecast up and
:42:33. > :42:38.down the country, and this is a golden opportunity, because if it
:42:38. > :42:41.does snow, get out in the garden, and that gives you a chance to see
:42:42. > :42:45.exactly what has been going on in there almost hour by hour, and
:42:45. > :42:54.sometimes you can track something, a little mouse or something, and
:42:54. > :42:58.then you see a little pool of blood. Then there's a whole story. The
:42:58. > :43:04.snow is a wonderful tumt to get out and have a look at what's been
:43:04. > :43:11.going on. Yesterday we showed you hierarchy on our bird freeders. We
:43:11. > :43:15.showed you a treecreeper. I think I said you never get tree creepers on
:43:15. > :43:22.bird feeders. I'll get my coat because this has been sent in by
:43:22. > :43:29.one of our viewers and it's clearly a tree creeper on a feeder. It's
:43:29. > :43:33.not eating the nuts because these are insect-eating birds. Then I
:43:33. > :43:37.went to the textbook, and you won't believe this - they eat a very
:43:37. > :43:42.small amount of pine and spruce seeds. Presumably, they use their
:43:42. > :43:46.long beaks to reach inside the open cones. Can't be right all the time!
:43:46. > :43:50.I don't mind. It's a learning process. I like that. You might see
:43:50. > :43:54.a tree creeper on your bird feeder if you're really lucky. You might
:43:54. > :44:00.also see one of these. I saw one last year. I thought there is
:44:01. > :44:04.something wrong with that chaffinch. It's washed out, but it's not a
:44:04. > :44:08.chaffinch. It's a brambling. As we have been saying, the colder it
:44:08. > :44:14.gets, the more likely you are to get something unusual on your bird
:44:14. > :44:19.feeders, and don't forget also, the last weekend of January it's the
:44:19. > :44:24.RSPB Big Gardens Bird Watch. You can check the website for the dates
:44:24. > :44:28.and things. We have had a couple of letters, people that have seen
:44:28. > :44:34.something unusual... Letters, I like that. Not letters! This is
:44:34. > :44:38.from Joe Black, currently getting up to 13 house sparrows, which is
:44:38. > :44:43.adorable. They're not as common as they used to be. Michelle from
:44:43. > :44:46.Truro in Cornwall saw five to six toads mating in her garden and
:44:46. > :44:50.found frogspawn in her pond. Isn't that fascinating, even though up
:44:50. > :44:54.here all sorts of animals are shutting down, things are already
:44:54. > :45:00.starting to stir in our garden ponds, amphibians like frogs -
:45:00. > :45:03.these are toads - are already preparing to mate. They're going
:45:03. > :45:07.into position. They do it very, very early on in the year. Look at
:45:08. > :45:11.that big toad. Many of you are getting ready to go on toad patrol
:45:11. > :45:15.to help them as they cross the roads. Isn't that interesting? She
:45:15. > :45:25.was down the Cornwall, wasn't she? That's where you would expect it to
:45:25. > :45:28.
:45:28. > :45:32.start in the south and it's and toads, but how important? We
:45:32. > :45:38.are asking you to get involved in a frogspawn account. It is simpler
:45:38. > :45:44.than you might expect. Go out and count the clumps. That is what it
:45:44. > :45:54.looks like, each one, and they want to know how ponds are important for
:45:54. > :45:54.
:45:54. > :45:57.breeding amphibians. The details of that on the website. Now, no better
:45:57. > :46:02.time for winter walk. The best place to walk is your patch. It
:46:02. > :46:09.means most to you and you need to know what is there. I went out into
:46:09. > :46:14.my patch, and look at what I found. The New Forest was created by
:46:14. > :46:21.William the Conqueror in 10 of 79, as a royal hunting forest for him
:46:21. > :46:26.and his nobles. They hunted deer and it was first called the New
:46:26. > :46:31.Forest in the Domesday Book. But why was it new? Was there a forest
:46:31. > :46:41.already here? There was. The people of 36 carriages had worked it and
:46:41. > :46:41.
:46:41. > :46:45.he burnt it down and threw them out. -- 36 parishes. That is the history.
:46:45. > :46:50.It is 26 square kilometres. That is the statistic, but what about the
:46:50. > :47:00.reality? Reality is that it is fantastic. It is my home and it is
:47:00. > :47:18.
:47:18. > :47:25.Forest, this is one of the highlights, one of the species that
:47:25. > :47:32.people typically enjoy seeing. Fallow deer. There are about 1500
:47:32. > :47:36.in the forest. Of course these ones are in their winter pellet, this
:47:36. > :47:42.wonderful brown colour. That means that when they are in the woodland,
:47:42. > :47:48.they are very difficult to see. Typically they are browsing animal,
:47:48. > :47:56.selectively choosing which vegetation they eat. It is not a
:47:56. > :47:59.random process. Throughout the course of the year they will be
:47:59. > :48:03.visiting particular plants and selecting particular parts to get
:48:03. > :48:13.certain nutrition. At this time of year, they are very keen on you
:48:13. > :48:32.
:48:32. > :48:36.Holly growth. Very nice to see. -- Forest in winter is this. The
:48:36. > :48:39.leaves are very important, it is quite deep, and it is a great food
:48:39. > :48:46.source for many invertebrates which are fed on by the birds that come
:48:46. > :48:50.here. You can see robins, Threshers, finches, rooting around and sorting
:48:50. > :48:57.out the millipedes and the worms. It is breaking down and rotting and
:48:57. > :49:04.as a consequence, it is warmer down here than it is on top. This lay-
:49:04. > :49:07.off leaves for the winter period provides a layer of insulation for
:49:07. > :49:17.the forest floor, keeping it a little bit warmer, mean the
:49:17. > :49:33.
:49:33. > :49:43.invertebrates can be active, chaffinches feeding beneath the
:49:43. > :49:49.holly tree. It is not a good winter in the New Forest this year. There
:49:49. > :49:55.is not beech mast, which the chaffinches favour, so I do not
:49:55. > :50:04.know what they are eating. Among them is a hawfinch, which has
:50:04. > :50:08.brightened my day. They are mega birds, with mega beaks. We are
:50:08. > :50:17.lucky that they are easier to spot in the winter time and that is a
:50:17. > :50:26.real treat. That is worth, I estimate, 2500... 10,000
:50:26. > :50:35.chaffinches. Yes! Only four bullfinches equal one male hawfinch,
:50:35. > :50:45.which equals 10,000 chaffinches. Not that I am picky, all birds are
:50:45. > :50:51.
:50:51. > :50:58.equal but some are more equal than over a beautiful mossy carpet of
:50:58. > :51:02.natural history. This tree is history. It could have been 400
:51:02. > :51:06.years old when it toppled to the ground. It could have been growing
:51:06. > :51:14.when the Roundheads were clobbering the Cavaliers, when we lost America
:51:14. > :51:18.and they signed the declaration of independence. This tree could have
:51:18. > :51:22.been growing when there was a Spitfire in the sky and when Geoff
:51:22. > :51:26.Hurst scored the winning goal. This was a great part of England and my
:51:26. > :51:31.hope is that the New Forest will continue to be a massive part of
:51:31. > :51:35.English history. But it will only do so if we look after it. That
:51:35. > :51:45.said, look at this. This little beech tree is growing on top of
:51:45. > :52:01.
:52:01. > :52:06.this fallen giant. Perhaps this is Come on, they are pretty special.
:52:06. > :52:10.You do not see that sort of thing sitting on your sofa or in the
:52:10. > :52:14.kitchen. You have to go outside and it for yourself. You can go to the
:52:14. > :52:19.things to do section of our website and end your postcode to get some
:52:19. > :52:23.ideas of things to do near you. We are set up for us know we weekend,
:52:23. > :52:29.so get on your Wellington boots, but the children on a lead, and
:52:29. > :52:38.find a hawfinch! Plenty of you have been out and about, sending in
:52:38. > :52:48.photographs and for did. We -- and videos. We have two spectacular
:52:48. > :53:22.
:53:22. > :53:31.much for those. I would say that is one of the greatest one love
:53:32. > :53:37.spectacles on it, never mind in the UK. -- wildlife spectacles. Now it
:53:37. > :53:42.is time to look back at our cameras. Come on, beavers. One last look.
:53:42. > :53:47.think they are getting ready for Winterwatch Unsprung! They are not
:53:47. > :53:54.there. They have been great. Many of you have already been up and
:53:54. > :54:04.about and you have taken some great photographs in the ice and snow.
:54:04. > :54:06.
:54:06. > :54:13.The kestrel is a super bird. else? Fox on the ice. Pine marten,
:54:13. > :54:16.an opportunist, sniffing for something. Thank you for all of
:54:16. > :54:20.your photographs. Sadly we are coming to the end of Winterwatch
:54:20. > :54:25.but the wind is not nearly over. It has been such a strange year that
:54:25. > :54:30.we might even get a very harsh winter even now. We might. But will
:54:30. > :54:37.it be as harsh as 50 years ago? This is the 50th anniversary of the
:54:37. > :54:43.winter of 1963. It was a mega winter. At 5:30pm on Saturday we
:54:43. > :54:47.have got a Winterwatch 1963 special, exploring what happens not only to
:54:47. > :54:56.the people in this terrible winter but to all of the Wired Love, too.
:54:56. > :55:04.Catch up with that on Saturday. -- all of the wildlife, too.
:55:04. > :55:11.remember that! Rubbish! I do, my toboggan. Anyway, what is the last
:55:12. > :55:17.bit? I cannot remember. It is getting cold. Yes, what are the
:55:17. > :55:26.beavers doing? I am too cold! is what we have seen them doing a
:55:26. > :55:31.lot of and if I was not a pragmatic scientist, I would think it was
:55:32. > :55:36.love! But it is just staying warm, conserving the energy, using the
:55:36. > :55:40.planning that they did throughout the autumn storing food. They rest
:55:40. > :55:44.for most of the day and only go out to recover some of their stored
:55:44. > :55:50.food in the evening. Occasionally they bring it back, but it is just
:55:50. > :55:55.a little bit too much of an effort. This beaver has actually fallen
:55:55. > :56:00.asleep with the stick in its mouth, trying to get into the lodge. What
:56:00. > :56:04.about that? Fingers crossed for those beavers. I really hope they
:56:04. > :56:07.will make it through the winter. They have certainly provided plenty
:56:07. > :56:13.of entertainment. That brings us to the end of Winterwatch and I would
:56:13. > :56:21.like to say a huge bank you've to the centre up here and all of their
:56:21. > :56:25.team. -- huge thank you. They have made us feel so welcome, not just
:56:25. > :56:30.Winterwatch but Autumn Watch, too. We have been so well looked after
:56:30. > :56:34.at this beautiful place. We have been very inspired by the winter