:00:00. > :00:10.We are here in the wonderful Highlands of Scotland for the next
:00:11. > :00:14.four nights getting to grips with some of the best of the UK's
:00:15. > :00:18.wildlife and seeing how it survives this, the toughest time of the year.
:00:19. > :00:22.As part of our Winterwatch Cairngorms expedition we have teams
:00:23. > :00:29.out in the field as well as live remote cameras to bring you some
:00:30. > :00:33.fantastic wildlife. Like these black grouse and the iconic Scottish
:00:34. > :00:36.highland bird and one of my favourites, golden eagles. From the
:00:37. > :00:41.other end of the country, Brighton in fact, the fascinating story of
:00:42. > :00:47.our urban foxes. And I am going to be heading out into the wild up into
:00:48. > :01:09.the freezing hills. Welcome to Winterwatch.
:01:10. > :01:17.Yes, welcome to Winterwatch 2014, coming to you live from the
:01:18. > :01:23.beautiful National Trust for Scotland's Mar Lodge estate in the
:01:24. > :01:27.Cairngorms National Park, 4,500 square kilometres of some of the
:01:28. > :01:33.best habitat in the UK, occupying 2% of our land surface and harbouring
:01:34. > :01:37.25% of our threatened species. It's a top spot. Where is it? Well, let's
:01:38. > :01:41.look at the UK and we can zoom in to where we are.
:01:42. > :01:45.We are up here in central Scotland on the eastern side of the
:01:46. > :01:49.Cairngorms. You can see we are west of Aberdeen and south-east of
:01:50. > :01:56.Inverness. It's a beautiful place to be. What about our base? That's us
:01:57. > :02:01.down there on the flood plain in amongst some fabulous relics of
:02:02. > :02:05.Caledonian forest, Moorland and when we pull back completely you can see
:02:06. > :02:08.the peaks of the Cairngorms mountains, currently covered in
:02:09. > :02:13.snow. For the next four nights we are here, it's a top spot for
:02:14. > :02:19.wildlife. We can guarantee a good series. I am going to try to give
:02:20. > :02:25.you direct experience, so if you excuse me I am off. The plan is I am
:02:26. > :02:29.going to give you a whistle-stop tour of the estate, trying to see
:02:30. > :02:32.some of the habitats and meet remarkable animals. First of all, I
:02:33. > :02:36.am going to go up there as high as we can possibly get. It takes about
:02:37. > :02:42.nine minutes. See you later! Hopefully! He is like a rottweiler,
:02:43. > :02:46.once he gets his teeth into a challenge you can't stop him. Her
:02:47. > :02:50.for five seconds and he is gone. One of the reasons we have come here is
:02:51. > :02:54.because it's known to be the coldest part much Britain with record
:02:55. > :02:59.temperatures of minus 27 last recorded in 1982. So we were
:03:00. > :03:06.expecting snow. But this has been such a wild winter -- mild winter
:03:07. > :03:09.that even here there is only snow on the mountains but anything could
:03:10. > :03:13.happen over the next four days. We will keep an eye on the wildlife to
:03:14. > :03:17.see how it copes with whatever winter weather is thrown at it. Of
:03:18. > :03:21.course, all the animals here are coping in different ways. Let's look
:03:22. > :03:28.at our red squirrels that you see. They cope with the winter by burying
:03:29. > :03:33.their nuts and going back to them when it gets cold. What about deer?
:03:34. > :03:38.This is our red deer stag. He will have taken a lot of time eating up
:03:39. > :03:42.in the autumn, making himself in peak condition. Black grouse,
:03:43. > :03:48.perfectly adapted to living in cold conditions. When it gets really cold
:03:49. > :03:52.tale take shelter in the forests. Here there's lots of nocturnal
:03:53. > :03:56.animals, as well. We have live cameras out and about. Let's look at
:03:57. > :04:01.the first one. This is otter-cam. Any guess why? Yes, we are expecting
:04:02. > :04:08.to see otters! No otters on there at the moment but last night we got
:04:09. > :04:14.this You can see otter comes out of the water and enjoys the food that's
:04:15. > :04:19.been put on the bank. In fact, that little piece of water is behind us
:04:20. > :04:21.here. It's about 400 metres away, close to where we are at the moment.
:04:22. > :04:29.We also have our thermal camera here. If you were watching
:04:30. > :04:34.Autumnwatch we introduced it then. White is cold, black is warm. It's
:04:35. > :04:37.great for spotting animals at night, particularly if it's really, really
:04:38. > :04:42.dark. We have been out with it already. Here is an owl we spotted
:04:43. > :04:46.in the last few nights. A view down into the valley reveals a few spots
:04:47. > :04:51.that turn out to be red deer. They've come down to the riverside
:04:52. > :04:56.for the evening. Then lurking in the woods there is another deer species,
:04:57. > :05:01.probably a roe deer. Hard to tell. We will hope to catch more on the
:05:02. > :05:04.camera throughout the week. We are not just following animals here, we
:05:05. > :05:08.are looking all over the Cairngorms. This is a landscape that's open to
:05:09. > :05:11.the elements. It's remote. It's romantic. It's dramatic. But it can
:05:12. > :05:24.be treacherous. We have come to the mountain
:05:25. > :05:41.wilderness of the Cairngorms in the heart of the Scottish Highlands.
:05:42. > :05:54.It's stunning. With this beautiful landscape, it can be unpredictable.
:05:55. > :06:05.The changeable weather means each day brings a new challenge. The
:06:06. > :06:08.rivers rise as storms drench the hills. Diving dippers must make the
:06:09. > :06:25.best of their ever-changing home. The ancient Caledonian forest is
:06:26. > :06:37.home to some unique wildlife. It's a refuge for red squirrels. And wild
:06:38. > :06:44.cats. Up on the mountain-tops winter is in full force. These wind-swept
:06:45. > :06:52.peaks are the highest in the country and test even the toughest
:06:53. > :06:58.creatures. The Scottish Highlands are where winter hits hardest. So
:06:59. > :07:07.the animals that live here have to be true survivors.
:07:08. > :07:15.Such a beautiful place to be. And such iconic British animals. One of
:07:16. > :07:21.the most charismatic has to be a bird that lives in the mountain, the
:07:22. > :07:26.fabulous black grouse. We are really lucky that we have got a black
:07:27. > :07:30.grouse lec here, a display area where every morning these birds are
:07:31. > :07:33.coming out of the forest and starting to display and they present
:07:34. > :07:38.quite a spectacle. Look at them. Fabulous! Rather exotic things. They
:07:39. > :07:41.start just after first light which is why it's a little bit dull here
:07:42. > :07:45.and they normally disappear after about an hour. All these birds are
:07:46. > :07:51.males and there's a lot of them. Yeah, the males are called Black
:07:52. > :07:55.Hawk, the females grey hen. These are all males out here. The females
:07:56. > :07:59.won't arrive until later in the spring. It's unusual that they spend
:08:00. > :08:04.so much time displaying out of the breeding season. It's a spectacular
:08:05. > :08:14.display. It's also not just about what they do visually, it's also
:08:15. > :08:20.about the sound. Absolutely Fabulous. They're great
:08:21. > :08:28.birds to watch. To me they look like slightly angry ballet dancers with
:08:29. > :08:32.their tutus and frilly white knickers! Sometimes the display
:08:33. > :08:38.doesn't work and they'll end up fighting. This is great. They've
:08:39. > :08:42.declined by 95% in the last century. To see these birds now you have to
:08:43. > :08:45.go to parts of Wales and northern England, especially here to
:08:46. > :08:49.Scotland, it means getting up very early so very few birders get the
:08:50. > :08:52.chance to see them as well as this. This is going to be a treat and we
:08:53. > :08:56.intend to watch these birds throughout the course of the week.
:08:57. > :09:01.What we need is some good weather. They don't turn out if it's pouring
:09:02. > :09:05.with rain. I love that sound, that can travel for up to three
:09:06. > :09:09.kilometres. Later in the morning after an hour or so, they all head
:09:10. > :09:13.off. The strange thing is that when the males are there on the ground
:09:14. > :09:17.they're all fighting and displaying to one another, the minute they fly
:09:18. > :09:20.off they get on perfectly well for the remainder of the day. You don't
:09:21. > :09:28.have to just watch these in the evening with us, because we can
:09:29. > :09:33.bring you leccing live, we have this camera at a different sight. You
:09:34. > :09:38.have seen Lambing Live with Kate, one of our colleagues. A lamb is a
:09:39. > :09:45.small sheep. It's not big. It's not clever. We can offer you Black Hawk
:09:46. > :09:48.live first thing in the morning and nothing beats that. All you have to
:09:49. > :09:55.do is go on the red button or visit our website.
:09:56. > :10:02.At 9.00 am tomorrow morning if it's not pouring with rain here it will
:10:03. > :10:09.be live, come on, in your own front room. Fabulous. Martin is trekking
:10:10. > :10:13.live, he has been - he is being intrepid. Let's see where he has got
:10:14. > :10:18.to. We are getting there, driving up the hill here. I can actually feel
:10:19. > :10:22.it is getting colder and colder. The track's quite bumpy. We are bumping
:10:23. > :10:26.up and down. But it is getting chillier. We are getting up to the
:10:27. > :10:31.harshest, toughest part of the estate. Of course, lots of British
:10:32. > :10:32.wildlife, lots of animals have clever strategies for dealing with
:10:33. > :10:47.this, the harshest time of the year. During the depths of winter the
:10:48. > :10:57.warmth of summer can seem a distant memory. The land can seem barren,
:10:58. > :11:05.void of life, almost frozen in time. There's no doubt that food and water
:11:06. > :11:09.are hard to find. But take a closer look and you will see life.
:11:10. > :11:26.And plenty of it. To get through these hard times our
:11:27. > :11:34.wildlife has developed ingenious strategies. The first signs of this
:11:35. > :11:40.are a change in behaviour. Think back to the autumn, squirrels and
:11:41. > :11:42.Jays start to hoard their food, stockpiling supplies during the
:11:43. > :11:56.longer brighter days. Short-sighted moles bite the heads
:11:57. > :11:57.off worms and then stash them in underground larders before the
:11:58. > :12:08.ground freezes. Other animals, like foxes, they
:12:09. > :12:15.prefer to carry their winter feud around with them. They feast -- food
:12:16. > :12:20.around with them. They feast up. As winter takes hold some species
:12:21. > :12:24.become team players. Safety conscious groups unite to low
:12:25. > :12:32.indicate resources by day and then to keep one another warm at night.
:12:33. > :12:36.Whilst our smallest wildlife makes use of thick blankets of snow
:12:37. > :12:44.beneath which temperatures rarely fall below zero.
:12:45. > :12:52.But as winter continues, more drastic measures are acquired. Our
:12:53. > :12:58.wildlife's bodies begin to change as the cold sets in. Winter coats
:12:59. > :13:08.thicken, acting like thermal long-ones in the cold.
:13:09. > :13:15.Common shrews are true shape-shifters, they loose a third
:13:16. > :13:18.of their body weight. They shrink their skeleton, reabsorb calcium and
:13:19. > :13:24.cartilage and organs contract accordingly. They perfectly adapt
:13:25. > :13:30.their bodies to winter as the quantity and quality of their food
:13:31. > :13:36.declines. A few small bird species adapt to this cold by lowering their
:13:37. > :13:44.body temperature each night. It's called nocturnal hyperthermia. It
:13:45. > :13:49.safes the individual vital energy. Some, though, well, they take it a
:13:50. > :13:55.step further and hibernation is the answer. Hedgehogs, bats and doormice
:13:56. > :14:01.shut down to the point of barely breathing and then each one of them
:14:02. > :14:10.will patiently wait whilst their periodic heartbeats slowly tick
:14:11. > :14:14.their winter days away. Whilst some of our wildlife might struggle, the
:14:15. > :14:18.huge number of these natural geniuses are equipped to make it
:14:19. > :14:26.through. So whilst you're out and about, stop and take a closer look
:14:27. > :14:28.and I guarantee it will be life you see, using every trick in the book
:14:29. > :14:35.to get through these lean, dark times.
:14:36. > :14:40.So far this year, our wildlife is not hard to cope with freezing
:14:41. > :14:44.conditions although it's not the end of the winter yet and anything could
:14:45. > :14:48.happen. The biggest challenge for wildlife this winter has been rain.
:14:49. > :14:53.And there's certainly been plenty of it. Lots of areas have flooded. In
:14:54. > :14:56.fact, even in the last week since we have been here, there has been
:14:57. > :15:04.torrential rain. That's the River Dee, it's flooded, and gone into a
:15:05. > :15:09.lot of the fields all around, so that can cause wildlife a lot of
:15:10. > :15:15.problems. We were checking out our Flickr group and find the photograph
:15:16. > :15:18.which had been checking in. This shows a deer moving from one place
:15:19. > :15:23.to another to find some sort of security. All of this wet weather
:15:24. > :15:27.means, that extreme weather, means there have been winners and losers.
:15:28. > :15:34.Who are the winners? Well, with all of those flooded fields, that's a
:15:35. > :15:40.great thing for our wild flower, -- foul. Geese, Coopers, and ducks can
:15:41. > :15:45.get out the field, where they can graze safely on the grass, because
:15:46. > :15:48.they are protected from foxes by all about surrounding water. Other
:15:49. > :15:52.winners, they would include things like plants, all that water
:15:53. > :15:56.disburses their seed and it can germinate later in the spring and it
:15:57. > :16:00.fills up ponds which is good for amphibians, too. There will also be
:16:01. > :16:03.losers. I would have always thought that one of the prime losers of
:16:04. > :16:10.flooded fields would be these things. Earthworms. But, we spoke to
:16:11. > :16:14.a doctor from the University of Central Lancashire and he reminded
:16:15. > :16:18.me pertinently that these animals have evolved from marine species and
:16:19. > :16:24.in fact, adult worms can survive sometimes for as long as 195 days
:16:25. > :16:27.underwater breathing through their skin. The cocoons can survive
:16:28. > :16:32.indefinitely some in the floods recede, they have to and they
:16:33. > :16:36.quickly repopulate. Thanks, Kevin, for putting me about there. Other
:16:37. > :16:41.losers will be hibernating animals like hedgehogs, barn owls, they
:16:42. > :16:47.can't hunt if they are soaking wet, and even badgers. People of Saint
:16:48. > :16:52.badgers taking refuge up trees, extraordinary. Tough times. --
:16:53. > :16:59.people have seen. You would have thought an otter would revel it was
:17:00. > :17:02.flooded. But if they are in built-up areas, they often use a storm drains
:17:03. > :17:09.to cross roads but if they have been flooded, they are forced to cross
:17:10. > :17:14.the actual road and of course it can end in a casualty. That's been seen
:17:15. > :17:17.in many places. We see a lot of otter casualties when it has been
:17:18. > :17:22.flooded because they can't cross roads very well. Not bad animals are
:17:23. > :17:26.not waterproof, of course. We caught these pictures in the last couple of
:17:27. > :17:32.days. Look at this pheasant showing how waterproof its feathers are.
:17:33. > :17:38.They use their glands to cope those feathers in oil and the grouse are
:17:39. > :17:43.showing a good shake can rid itself of a shower. I think it will follow
:17:44. > :17:47.through with its head, as well. When it's happy nothing is going to grab
:17:48. > :17:52.it, it shakes its head. Great shots from a slow motion camera, but
:17:53. > :17:55.letters know what you have seen. We are interested to know how the
:17:56. > :18:04.floods are affecting you so send us your observations. Do you know what
:18:05. > :18:10.I find interesting? How animals are the same species cope with cold
:18:11. > :18:15.weather. Look at us. How many layers have you got on? I have got a hat
:18:16. > :18:22.and a scarf whereas Martin is quite rough, isn't it? An open necked
:18:23. > :18:27.shirt. He's like a bulldog, stocky, built up for action. I think he's
:18:28. > :18:35.like a waterproof pheasant, isn't it? Thank you very much, yes, we are
:18:36. > :18:38.up here, it is wilder, surrounded by Heather. It's quite steep, difficult
:18:39. > :18:44.for you to see, but it's quite steep. You might be able to see down
:18:45. > :18:49.there, those lights are a cabin, where Chris and Michaela actually
:18:50. > :18:53.are. Here we are, it's glorious up here but it's pitch black. Lefty but
:18:54. > :19:01.this place looks like during the day. Absolutely stunning -- lovely.
:19:02. > :19:05.Perfect Scottish countryside. That is the River Dee, we will be going
:19:06. > :19:10.there hopefully later on. A stunning place to be but have a look at this.
:19:11. > :19:16.We have got all this Heather here. Are you all right there? It's very
:19:17. > :19:23.steep. You can see all these little sort of pockets, those seed
:19:24. > :19:28.capsules. The Heather is ripening and the seeds are ripening in there.
:19:29. > :19:34.That is terribly attractive to a surprising bird that you get up here
:19:35. > :19:38.in the Heather. It is a bullfinch. I normally expect to see them on my
:19:39. > :19:42.bird table but not here. It is coming up, feeding on the Heather.
:19:43. > :19:46.It's a bonanza for them. It's dangerous for them to be on the
:19:47. > :19:51.ground like this but words of prey could get them, so they tend to stay
:19:52. > :19:54.together and lots of players of eyes looking out the danger. It's
:19:55. > :20:00.counterintuitive because these little birds will move up the help
:20:01. > :20:06.getting into harsher and harsher environments because the Heather
:20:07. > :20:10.ripens as we go upwards. A real surprise to see bullfinch is here.
:20:11. > :20:15.So that's the bullfinch. Come with me, watch out, there is a cable they
:20:16. > :20:20.are. This is the most remarkable thing because I don't know if you
:20:21. > :20:26.can see, but at there, there's a whole lot trees and beyond them, is
:20:27. > :20:31.something quite astonishing because we had heard that there is a golden
:20:32. > :20:36.eagle, such a rare bird, a golden eagle appear, further away. We had
:20:37. > :20:42.heard it was there, so what we did if we put a camera in the hope of
:20:43. > :20:47.getting a still picture may be fitful thought we didn't hold out
:20:48. > :20:50.any hopes. And look what the still camera got. A fantastic shot of the
:20:51. > :20:57.golden eagle. Absolutely superlative. So that was the
:20:58. > :21:01.beginning anyway, so now what can we do? We tried to get moving camera,
:21:02. > :21:06.video pictures of it, but it is difficult to do that but we did have
:21:07. > :21:10.some clues. Look at this. You can see a tree there. Look at the top
:21:11. > :21:21.corner therefore thought that branch had a bit of poo on it. So we put a
:21:22. > :21:28.camera in. You'll never guess what, just moments before we went on air,
:21:29. > :21:32.this evening, look what happened. Watch the tree. We were right. A
:21:33. > :21:41.golden eagle coming in. Straight to roost. Absolutely fantastic. It is
:21:42. > :21:45.up there now, we think. It's about one kilometre away, to be honest, so
:21:46. > :21:50.we are not disturbing it, but we will try to keep an eye on it. They
:21:51. > :21:55.are immensely difficult to see in the wild. We have thrown all the
:21:56. > :21:59.technology we have got at it. Gordon Buchanan set himself a challenge to
:22:00. > :22:13.go out and tried to film the golden eagle in the wild.
:22:14. > :22:17.For me, there is nothing more rewarding than seeing this iconic
:22:18. > :22:31.and majestic bird in the wild. But with only 440 pairs, scattered
:22:32. > :22:39.over the whole of Scotland, they have to be one of the country's most
:22:40. > :22:43.elusive creatures. I have set myself a challenge. I have got less than 48
:22:44. > :22:50.hours to find and fill the golden eagle. But I have got a promising
:22:51. > :22:55.tip-off. Eagle expert Roy has satellite tagged eagles and as part
:22:56. > :22:59.of the Cairngorms and say right now there could be leased four eagles
:23:00. > :23:05.within striking distance. How difficult would it be? Sometimes I
:23:06. > :23:11.walk up here cover drive up here and I see two or three and other days, I
:23:12. > :23:17.don't see any. At the present time, this is a nursery, learning area for
:23:18. > :23:22.eagles, because get a succession of immature juvenile eagles here. You
:23:23. > :23:27.have got young birds coming here. Really honing their skills on these
:23:28. > :23:31.hills? Yes, a lot of it is learning how to live, bit like what you're
:23:32. > :23:40.going to do today, across these bogs. Even though several juveniles
:23:41. > :23:45.use this area, they can range over hundreds of miles. So they're not
:23:46. > :23:53.going to be easy to find. This wind is quite incredible. This backpack
:23:54. > :23:57.is actually like sale, so the wind pressure over the mountain top. This
:23:58. > :24:03.is big country. In hospitable to man, and accessible to only the
:24:04. > :24:06.hardest creatures. After a few hours of hard slog, I find proof that
:24:07. > :24:16.there are young eagles in the area. There we go. This is feathers from a
:24:17. > :24:19.golden eagle. It might not look a golden eagle feather, because that's
:24:20. > :24:28.because it's downy feather from a juvenile. Look at this. We have a
:24:29. > :24:35.pallet. And I would say, at that sort of size, this is from a golden
:24:36. > :24:39.eagle. Like other birds, they regurgitate a pallet full of head
:24:40. > :24:46.and those they can't die just. This one is follow the fair of mountain
:24:47. > :24:52.hare. After several more hours of being battered about, I see another
:24:53. > :24:55.encouraging sign. I find myself face-to-face with the eagle's
:24:56. > :25:07.favourite food, already in its white winter coat. A mountain hare. Just
:25:08. > :25:12.head on down there. -- hidden. His ears are a bit brown. You can
:25:13. > :25:19.imagine a golden eagle soaring over this hilltop and seeing a white hair
:25:20. > :25:21.running across the hilltop. It makes for an easy target. Oh, there he
:25:22. > :25:36.goes. A disappointing day. No eagles. He
:25:37. > :25:41.will be looking for some place to rest for the night. For me, this
:25:42. > :25:43.place offers shelter and somewhere to recharge my batteries for another
:25:44. > :25:59.day. A new day begins and there's
:26:00. > :26:06.something positive on the horizon. A couple of ravens up there, which is
:26:07. > :26:10.a good sign. Ravens and golden eagles are closely associated, they
:26:11. > :26:16.feed on carrion found on the Hill in winter and there's lots of dead
:26:17. > :26:21.animals around. They have met their demise up in the hilltops. I set off
:26:22. > :26:28.again. The going seems tougher today and with every step, I become more
:26:29. > :26:32.and more disheartened. I'm finding it hard to keep my spirits up and I
:26:33. > :26:38.spend the rest of the day without a single sighting of an eagle. There's
:26:39. > :26:47.only one hour left before I'm due to leave this mountain. Once the light
:26:48. > :26:56.goes, my time is up. Then, in the gloom, I catch a glimpse of
:26:57. > :27:00.something. Hang on. Here we go. We have an eagle. Yes! Let's try to
:27:01. > :27:08.stay on it. Wonderful. OK, it's just... Stopped on a rock
:27:09. > :27:23.there. How about that? OK. Great. Now it is very distant. We
:27:24. > :27:47.are about to lose the sun. A glimpse like this is all the
:27:48. > :27:51.reward but I really need. -- that I really need. They are the ultimate
:27:52. > :28:03.emblem of nature in this country, the ultimate symbol of the wild.
:28:04. > :28:09.I think Gordon has proved extremely difficult to see a golden eagle
:28:10. > :28:12.close-up in the wild, which is a real shame, because they are
:28:13. > :28:16.fabulous birds to see. We thought you might like to see one, so we
:28:17. > :28:20.have cheated a little bit and brought in a captive bred golden
:28:21. > :28:28.eagle. She is absolutely beautiful, she is called Orla and I would
:28:29. > :28:36.imagine she is pretty heavy? About five and a half kilograms, slightly
:28:37. > :28:41.more than an obese pic unease dog. Do you know, I have got a new lady
:28:42. > :28:47.in my life, such an impressive bird, in beautiful condition. Absolutely
:28:48. > :28:51.stunning. And to have a captive one like this allows us to look at all
:28:52. > :28:54.the different features. Look at those talons, they are so strong.
:28:55. > :28:58.You think of the parade of the golden eagle would go for, anything
:28:59. > :29:04.from a small bird to a rabbit, even Fox, once I have called, they have
:29:05. > :29:08.got to fly off with it and this time of the year, though, they go more
:29:09. > :29:15.for dead deer and sheep and they will need those talons to rip the
:29:16. > :29:19.meat. Extremely powerful. The beak, not so much for killing, they do
:29:20. > :29:28.killing with feet but for tearing things up. This has to open a red
:29:29. > :29:33.deer hide. That's why they've a powerful beak. Let's look at the
:29:34. > :29:37.wings. A wing span of 1. 8-2. 2 metres. If I just gently rock her
:29:38. > :29:44.you will see. Look at the size of her! Look at that.
:29:45. > :29:50.Absolutely fantastic. About 440 pairs left in the UK.
:29:51. > :29:55.About 5% of Europe's population. Goodness me! What a treat. Everyone
:29:56. > :30:02.would agree this is a beautiful bird. It's what we call a sexy
:30:03. > :30:05.A-lister. It's stunning and exotic. What about the small stuff? Let's
:30:06. > :30:12.not forget the little things that live in your garden. They may not be
:30:13. > :30:16.sexy, but delve into the log pile and you will see a fascinating
:30:17. > :30:19.world. There's little repint from the
:30:20. > :30:23.weather in winter -- respite from the weather in winter but tucked
:30:24. > :30:36.into the corner of the garden is a safe house for wildlife.
:30:37. > :30:40.Protected from the extremes outside, the 59 species of butterfly, the
:30:41. > :30:49.majority spend the winter in this state. And tucked up between the
:30:50. > :30:55.bark, a Queen wasp sleeps. Wings folded under her body for
:30:56. > :30:59.protection, she will hibernate until temperature rises in the spring.
:31:00. > :31:06.And still deeper, hidden at the base of the log pile, a slug has laid a
:31:07. > :31:13.clutch of eggs. Slugs lay up to 400 eggs a year in batches of 50.
:31:14. > :31:15.During the colder autumn and winter, these will take a few months to
:31:16. > :31:26.develop and hatch. But not everything sleeps through
:31:27. > :31:32.the winter. And when food is scarce, these protein-packed microbites
:31:33. > :31:40.provide a tasty meal for a host of garden creatures, including a hungry
:31:41. > :31:48.centipede. They generally hunt moving prey and the front pair of
:31:49. > :31:56.legs is adapted into pincer venom-like claws. These not only
:31:57. > :32:02.help capture prey but are perfect for grasping and piercing.
:32:03. > :32:08.Temperatures in the log pile can be several degrees higher than those
:32:09. > :32:14.outside. Meaning that it's not just centipedes that are out and about.
:32:15. > :32:24.Delve into the gloom, and the barren becomes the busy.
:32:25. > :32:31.Ground beetles generally hibernate in winter, but living here means
:32:32. > :32:39.they can stay on the move. Having gorged on slug eggs, our
:32:40. > :32:43.centipede returns to the hunt. Its name means 100 foot. In fact, some
:32:44. > :32:50.have as few as 20 legs, whilst others as many as 300. All perfectly
:32:51. > :32:54.synchronised to ensure they don't get entangled.
:32:55. > :33:00.The flattened body is perfect for moving between the logs and twigs of
:33:01. > :33:06.this 3-D world. Living in the dark holds no fear for this beast either.
:33:07. > :33:13.They don't have true vision. They can only detect light and dark and
:33:14. > :33:20.rely instead on their sensitive antennae to search for food.
:33:21. > :33:27.Buried elsewhere more eggs. But unlike those of the slugs, these
:33:28. > :33:39.have an advantage. Their attentive mother is never far away.
:33:40. > :33:44.Female earwigs are the domestic Godesses of the insect world.
:33:45. > :33:48.Having kicked out the father while she was pregnant, this single mother
:33:49. > :33:54.lays a bundle of up to 80 eggs in early December.
:33:55. > :34:02.In this dank, damp world her eggs are prone to fungal infection and so
:34:03. > :34:04.each day she carefully turns and cleans the surface of the eggs to
:34:05. > :34:17.ensure that they stay healthy. The centipede senses food is nearby.
:34:18. > :34:58.The mother detects danger. She uses her pincer-like against
:34:59. > :35:03.trueders, even those larger than -- intruders, even those larger than
:35:04. > :35:08.herself. Unusually for an insect, earwig
:35:09. > :35:13.mothers never leave their eggs and will make the ultimate sacrifice in
:35:14. > :35:19.order to protect them. Today, however, victory is hers.
:35:20. > :35:25.But that doesn't stop her playing it safe.
:35:26. > :35:30.She moves her eggs to a more protected spot. Our female will
:35:31. > :35:36.sustain this level of care until the eggs hatch.
:35:37. > :35:38.If the winter proves a cold one, that could be for as long as four
:35:39. > :35:50.months. So this winter spare a thought for
:35:51. > :35:56.the hidden metropolis in the corner of your garden.
:35:57. > :36:04.Well, here we are on the second part of our tour and we have come down to
:36:05. > :36:12.the forest. Look at this gorgeous Scots pine. Before we go on, that
:36:13. > :36:17.earwig, like buffed and polished amber, definitely my favourite
:36:18. > :36:22.insect. In the wood here, Scots pine, a classic habitat. It has its
:36:23. > :36:25.own floral and fauna. It's wet at the moment because of all the rain
:36:26. > :36:31.we have been having. This place is drenched. Come up here. Yes, there's
:36:32. > :36:34.lots of specialist animals here and they leave clues behind. We are
:36:35. > :36:39.going to do a bit of detective work now, if I can see what I am doing.
:36:40. > :36:47.It involves pine cones. There is a standard pine cone. And that was a
:36:48. > :36:54.pine cone but that's a classic sign of an animal that's in here in these
:36:55. > :36:58.woods, it's the red squirrel. Red squirrels absolutely beautiful
:36:59. > :37:04.things. They're about half the size of the grey. Used to be all over the
:37:05. > :37:08.country. But this time of year they usually are solicitor tree but you
:37:09. > :37:10.will see them together -- solitary but you will see them together.
:37:11. > :37:15.They're starting their breeding season. This is the display, the
:37:16. > :37:20.courtship. You see them whizzing around trees. They're absolutely
:37:21. > :37:24.lovely little creatures. Those little ear tufts they've got, they
:37:25. > :37:28.only grow those in winter. In summer, they disappear. Red
:37:29. > :37:35.squirrels, lovely. Here is another pine cone. Let me
:37:36. > :37:40.see... Yes, there it is. It's been split there.
:37:41. > :37:45.That wasn't done by my pen knife, I promise. That was done by another
:37:46. > :37:53.iconic bird here, it's a crossbill. We can see how it did that. Here is
:37:54. > :37:59.the cross bill, weird week twisted over and it uses that to open these
:38:00. > :38:06.pine cones. It's extracting the seed there.
:38:07. > :38:15.Come with me, I want you to just allow your imagination to flow now.
:38:16. > :38:19.Look up into these trees. Imagine that there was - imagine you were up
:38:20. > :38:26.in those trees. In holes in the trees you might find another iconic
:38:27. > :38:31.animal here, a third. That's the pine marten. They're often up in
:38:32. > :38:35.trees. They'll sleep, they'll have a den up there.
:38:36. > :38:38.We know we have pine martens, cross bills, we have got red squirrels
:38:39. > :38:42.here, as well. What else? We are going to try and find out and I am
:38:43. > :38:48.going to show you this quickly. You may remember these. This is... Just
:38:49. > :38:52.whacked my knee! This is a way of finding out what's around here.
:38:53. > :38:56.Little things run in, put their feet in this and then they'll leave us a
:38:57. > :39:00.little sign. We will come back and set these all over the place and try
:39:01. > :39:04.and find out what else is around here.
:39:05. > :39:10.Anyway, we are going off now, down to the river. You are heading off
:39:11. > :39:15.back to Chris. Oops! I feel a little bit guilty
:39:16. > :39:19.that he is out in the wilds with the weather. It's colder up there and we
:39:20. > :39:25.are coming to our cosy cabin. We even have coffee waiting for us. I
:39:26. > :39:28.feel about that guilty! No heart. Now, winter is the time when a lot
:39:29. > :39:32.of our wildlife struggles to find food. There's no greater evidence
:39:33. > :39:36.for this than looking at your bird feeders. They are very busy at this
:39:37. > :39:40.time of year. A great range of species will be coming in. The
:39:41. > :39:45.reason they're so busy is that these birds are concerned about their
:39:46. > :39:48.bio-energetics, it's about the acquisition and expenditure of
:39:49. > :39:53.energy. Now, during the day time they will have to spend 85% of their
:39:54. > :39:59.time looking for food. We have short days remember, as well. Species like
:40:00. > :40:02.blue tits weigh 11 grams and need to eight ten grams a day because they
:40:03. > :40:08.lose 5% of their body weight overnight. You see they can't stock
:40:09. > :40:11.up and become robust, take on lots of fat like some animals because
:40:12. > :40:16.then they would be vulnerable to predators. They've got to take on
:40:17. > :40:19.that food every day which means that choosing the right food is
:40:20. > :40:25.incredibly important. It's thought that during the winter those birds
:40:26. > :40:29.look for best sources of food in people's gardens and go back to
:40:30. > :40:34.those sources of food before it gets dark so they can stock up for the
:40:35. > :40:38.night. But it's something that Oxford University want to explore
:40:39. > :40:43.more about. They want you to get involved. We want as many people as
:40:44. > :40:46.possible this week to get involved in a bird table experiment. What is
:40:47. > :40:58.the experiment? Let me explain. When your garden birds have to fuel
:40:59. > :41:02.up at the end of the day what food would they prefer? Something sweet?
:41:03. > :41:08.Like fruit? Or something fatty like a bit of cheese? There's only one
:41:09. > :41:13.way to find out and that's to do a little experiment. Over the next
:41:14. > :41:19.three days we are going to test this by changing the birds' menu. Day
:41:20. > :41:22.one, put out your normal bird seed. Sprinkle that on the table. To get
:41:23. > :41:27.an idea of the number of birds that normally visit your feeders in the
:41:28. > :41:31.afternoon, you need to count them and Oxford University need everyone
:41:32. > :41:35.to count in the same structured way. You watch for three minutes, see
:41:36. > :41:39.which birds come down. Mark them down, if you know the species that's
:41:40. > :41:48.great, if you don't put unknown. Put the numbers. Take seven minutes off
:41:49. > :41:52.and go and make a cup of tea. After a cuppa count again for three
:41:53. > :41:59.minutes. Wait for seven, and then do a third and final count. At the end
:42:00. > :42:03.of day one you clear away your normal bird food. And then you put
:42:04. > :42:09.out food ready for the day two experiment. That's either going to
:42:10. > :42:16.be cheese or apple. If your surname is A-L put out cheese. If it's M-Z
:42:17. > :42:23.like mine, Strachan, put out apple. On day two do the three-minute
:42:24. > :42:26.counts in exactly the same way. At the end of day two take away
:42:27. > :42:32.whatever is left on the bird table and put out the food ready for day
:42:33. > :42:35.three. For me, that's cheese. Remember, if your surname is A lf L
:42:36. > :42:48.that's going to be apple. So I hope that's clear. Do it
:42:49. > :42:53.between three and four, start tomorrow. I want to make sure you
:42:54. > :42:59.were listening, what were the rules? Tomorrow you put out normal food.
:43:00. > :43:04.The day after if your surname is between A-L put out apple. M-Z put
:43:05. > :43:08.out cheese. You count between three and four in the afternoon. Do three
:43:09. > :43:12.minutes, take seven minutes off to make tea, pre-boil the kettle if I
:43:13. > :43:15.was you. Then another three minutes and have another cup of tea if your
:43:16. > :43:19.bladder can stand it and three more wins at the end. If not, there must
:43:20. > :43:25.be details on the website. Details on the website and also download a
:43:26. > :43:30.form. If you are still not sure, then you can join in with us live
:43:31. > :43:34.tomorrow on Winterwatch Extra. Online and on the red button.
:43:35. > :43:37.Indeed. The reason the pressure is on these birds is because it's
:43:38. > :43:42.winter. We are having somewhat of an unusual winter. We are going to go
:43:43. > :43:47.to the BBC weather centre now to Nick. What I want to know is,
:43:48. > :43:52.firstly, why are we having a warm and mild and wet winter? Secondly,
:43:53. > :44:02.what's going to happen in the next week and precisely here is there
:44:03. > :44:07.going to be snow for us? I know you want snow. It is a mark of the
:44:08. > :44:11.winter so far that the lowest temperature where you are at Braemar
:44:12. > :44:17.has only been -5. I have been close to that in Bucks. The reason it's
:44:18. > :44:21.been so mild, powerful jet stream across the Atlantic generating storm
:44:22. > :44:26.after storm coming our way, and don't we know it? The flow of air
:44:27. > :44:31.from the south, that's a milder direction, so the winter so far has
:44:32. > :44:36.been stormy. We have paid a price and wildlife have, too. Part and
:44:37. > :44:43.parcel of that is how mild it has been. Temperatures above normal. The
:44:44. > :44:47.UK has had 82% of normal winter rainfall. We're only halfway
:44:48. > :44:52.through, and that is a Brucie Bonus for wetland birds not expecting to
:44:53. > :44:55.feed on dry fields. South-east England, the total so far represents
:44:56. > :45:01.more than what we would normally expect to get ahold of winter. And
:45:02. > :45:05.the Met office says unless something significant changes, we are on
:45:06. > :45:11.course for a wetter than normal winter. To get snow, you need some
:45:12. > :45:14.cold air. There's some in Scandinavia, close but not close
:45:15. > :45:20.enough. The mild air Comet looks like it's going to win, producing
:45:21. > :45:24.more later tomorrow. Clearing away by the end of the week, another wet
:45:25. > :45:29.and windy system from the Atlantic could be preceded by a bit of snow.
:45:30. > :45:34.This week, you have to go higher up into the Cairngorms to get that
:45:35. > :45:38.snow. I'm afraid, for you, it's more likely to be a cold rain. That's
:45:39. > :45:40.what we're expecting this week. I will talk more about that when I'm
:45:41. > :45:51.back with you on Thursday. That's really not what we want to
:45:52. > :45:56.hear. We want snow. Wet, wet, wet. It has been a very mild, wet winter
:45:57. > :45:59.as we have been saying and that is fooled a lot of plants and animals
:46:00. > :46:04.into thinking it is spring. Lots of you have noticed and you have said
:46:05. > :46:10.you have snowdrops in your garden already. One person even saw this,
:46:11. > :46:15.have a look. Frog spawn. You wouldn't expect to see this quite so
:46:16. > :46:21.early. If it doesn't freeze over, that's going to perish, isn't it?
:46:22. > :46:26.Yes, completely, it will. I think the frogs are taking a gamble,
:46:27. > :46:27.getting and succeed. Let us know what you have seen, the early signs
:46:28. > :46:40.of spring. Send ashore comments! That sent as your comments. Let's
:46:41. > :46:46.take a look at the estate where we are on this map over here. Here is
:46:47. > :46:53.the cabin. Here are the cameras. The bird feeder here, the eagle camera
:46:54. > :46:56.is up here as well. That is the Otter Cam. You can see the river
:46:57. > :47:03.valley down here, some high peaks. Down here, we hear Queen Victoria
:47:04. > :47:07.used to like to go down there taking her collie dog with her for some
:47:08. > :47:11.cucumber sandwiches. I bet she cut off the skin of a cucumber before
:47:12. > :47:16.she ate them, as well. Where is Martin Hughes-Games at moment? If
:47:17. > :47:22.that is us, he is down here, about there, is that right? That's exactly
:47:23. > :47:26.right, Chris, on the third and final part of our whistle-stop tour or
:47:27. > :47:33.today. Be careful coming down here. What out of there. I'm coming down
:47:34. > :47:42.to the River Dee itself. Here we go, let's jump over. The river is right
:47:43. > :47:46.here. It is a huge river, in fact, you can't see it in the dark we have
:47:47. > :47:52.filmed it in the days to get a better idea. There it is. It's
:47:53. > :47:57.exactly where I am standing now. There it is. A beautiful river. A
:47:58. > :48:06.lovely soothing sound. Right, I'm going to get in it. Ouch! The river
:48:07. > :48:10.is home to a fabulous little bird that needs these rapids, just like
:48:11. > :48:19.this. The only find it in beautiful places like this, the dipper. It
:48:20. > :48:22.looks like the Blackbird. Just wait to see what I can do. If a most
:48:23. > :48:31.unlikely bird, like an underwater submarine, a Blackbird submarine. It
:48:32. > :48:34.is hunting now. It has got something there, it is feeding on it,
:48:35. > :48:40.completely comfortable, totally comfortable on the water. We will be
:48:41. > :48:46.finding out exactly how it does that cover all the modifications it has
:48:47. > :48:52.got. This is a bit dodgy! One more thing, down here, look at this. It
:48:53. > :49:01.took us ages to find this. It just looks like nothing, doesn't it? Look
:49:02. > :49:08.closer, this is fish bones, and here is a bit more. It smells like
:49:09. > :49:15.violets or jasmine tea. It's quite nice. It is after poo, and they use
:49:16. > :49:24.of the mark their territory is and we have seen them here. That otter
:49:25. > :49:29.poo. Let's have a look at it. Here it is. There it is, quite difficult
:49:30. > :49:35.to see full so we think it is marking its territory. It uses poo.
:49:36. > :49:41.And also anal jelly. It leaves marks up and down its territory. A male
:49:42. > :49:48.can do 70, it is up and down the river. A female, slightly smaller.
:49:49. > :49:52.We will be following the otters. Further down the river, we have the
:49:53. > :49:56.Thermo camera out. We are trying to see what other animals are in the
:49:57. > :50:02.dark. Let's have a look live the thermal camera now. Fantastic, it
:50:03. > :50:06.looks like a rabbit. Hunched up there. It's very exciting, this
:50:07. > :50:12.camera, because it shows you things you wouldn't see any other way. Can
:50:13. > :50:15.we move it around a little bit? You never know what you are going to see
:50:16. > :50:21.with the thermal camera. Wait a minute. Very exciting. There's
:50:22. > :50:27.absolutely nothing there at the moment. Anyway, back to the studio.
:50:28. > :50:32.I'm just going to jump over, and we will go back to Chris and Michaela
:50:33. > :50:38.Fulford see you later. Chris, you miss me a Scottish ?5 note, because
:50:39. > :50:42.you tell me he fall into the river. I was wishing, yes. We have embarked
:50:43. > :50:47.upon a study with the University of Brighton looking at urban foxes, and
:50:48. > :50:51.we have got collared. Let's meet a couple of. Cast your mind back to
:50:52. > :51:01.Autumn watch also this beautiful animal in a suburban garden, the mum
:51:02. > :51:05.and dad. They are hanging out together. These were pictures back
:51:06. > :51:09.in autumn. We have great views of them there, but now we can find out
:51:10. > :51:12.a lot more about them quickly, because we have got them collared,
:51:13. > :51:17.and these are the results were getting from the satellite tracking.
:51:18. > :51:24.In real time, they tell is exactly where they are with each one of
:51:25. > :51:27.these blue docks. -- dots. Delete spends his time there and then
:51:28. > :51:37.shoots out over here. What's going on? Just after Christmas, I headed
:51:38. > :51:41.back to Brighton. During December's cold wet nights, people were treated
:51:42. > :51:51.early to their warm homes leaving Brighton's streets to the foxes. The
:51:52. > :51:55.breeding beseeching is approaching for the last spring a Mac bass cabs
:51:56. > :52:04.are fully grown and young males are potential rivals for their fathers.
:52:05. > :52:12.I'm back with Fox expert Doctor Dawn Scott, armed with her latest
:52:13. > :52:19.findings. Here we are in the heart of sweet suburbia looking splendid
:52:20. > :52:23.and English. As usual. But also, the territories of the foxes. Remind me
:52:24. > :52:28.a bit about their territories. Which parts of this area are they using?
:52:29. > :52:37.We're on this junction and you can see from this range,
:52:38. > :52:45.Fleet goes down here and then Fenwick, the Sun, has a smaller home
:52:46. > :52:50.range and it literally this street. He's not crossing as much as his
:52:51. > :52:53.dad. This is remarkable. Most of our viewers will be surprised how few
:52:54. > :53:01.gardens are suburban fox needs to survive. That's a tiny area. These
:53:02. > :53:05.are tiny local foxes. A small area, yes. What about their interaction
:53:06. > :53:10.because we think they are father and son. They spent a lot of time
:53:11. > :53:13.following each other around. To fully understand what has gone on,
:53:14. > :53:20.we need to see some footage. OK, let's go. One of the local residents
:53:21. > :53:26.has been feeding and filming the three-year-old Fleet and his son.
:53:27. > :53:30.Dawn takes me to the garden where he has documented a surprising shift in
:53:31. > :53:34.their relationship. This is where they come in. You can see that
:53:35. > :53:39.Holder, and they get fed around here. I can show you some footage
:53:40. > :53:43.and you can see that obviously they are feeding, competition for food
:53:44. > :53:50.there. He is hanging back quite a lot. The dad is seeing him off a
:53:51. > :53:56.bit. He's having first choice of food, isn't he? That was a bit bold
:53:57. > :54:05.from the youngster, wasn't it? What he did was... He has done it again.
:54:06. > :54:10.He is showing his dominance. He is kicking his father out and you can
:54:11. > :54:16.see the posture, that he is back, but is allowing him to do it.
:54:17. > :54:20.Fenwick is now becoming top dog and pushing Fleet out. He has got the
:54:21. > :54:28.main plate. Sitting at the high table. I don't know what to feel
:54:29. > :54:32.about that. I should be perfectly objective about it but I feel sorry
:54:33. > :54:36.for the young boy, being pushed off his plate by a young
:54:37. > :54:40.whippersnapper. I think it's happened to me! The thing is that
:54:41. > :54:44.Fleet, he doesn't like there's anything wrong with him. He's not a
:54:45. > :54:51.fading old man of Fox, is he? We do have some other footage that we can
:54:52. > :54:56.hear something that suggests is not well. You can't see very well but
:54:57. > :55:01.you can hear something happening. See if you can pick up what it is.
:55:02. > :55:13.RETCHING SOUNDS. Its lung Wareham. When he has a
:55:14. > :55:17.hacking cough, it can get in trouble -- lung Wareham. He was behaving
:55:18. > :55:26.difficulty -- lung the old boy got a cough. Lost a bit
:55:27. > :55:31.of weight. And the upstart is in there straightaway pushing him off
:55:32. > :55:39.the food? That's what happened. It is still to them claw, isn't it?
:55:40. > :55:45.Shall we find him? Of course. Urban foxes rarely live longer than a
:55:46. > :55:56.couple of years. Diseases like lung Wareham can finish them off sooner
:55:57. > :55:59.than that. If he survives, his next son will take over his patch. This
:56:00. > :56:10.is the young pretender's chance to breed. Which way? We might need
:56:11. > :56:14.binoculars. So, turfed out by his own son, Fleet needs to find a new
:56:15. > :56:21.home. The question is, just how far as he prepared to go? So what
:56:22. > :56:27.happens to Fleet? I just feel really sorry for the old guy. It's a
:56:28. > :56:29.cliffhanger. I can tell you, if you're thinking of popping out for a
:56:30. > :56:34.romantic evening meal tomorrow, forget it. Get an inexpensive
:56:35. > :56:41.microwave meal and stay in because you won't want to miss this action.
:56:42. > :56:47.He is a UK Olympian. Talking of Olympians, come on Martin. I just
:56:48. > :56:52.saw a hair scamper across the ground over there. Wildlife. Let's have a
:56:53. > :56:59.quick look at some of the highlights that we have seen. First of all,
:57:00. > :57:05.look at that. Isn't that beautiful? Absolutely stunning. I love the
:57:06. > :57:10.reflection the water, as well. I would like that on the wall.
:57:11. > :57:20.Beautiful. This one, I love. This is a golden eyeful from watch its body
:57:21. > :57:25.before it dives. Look at that. There was so little splash. Nine out of
:57:26. > :57:32.ten. Splash. You had to go to dinner. Only you could do that! Only
:57:33. > :57:36.I could do that. That brings us to the end of our first show. We hope
:57:37. > :57:44.you have enjoyed it. We will be back tomorrow at a different time, 8pm.
:57:45. > :57:56.What time, guys? 8pm. This is what we've got coming up. More fabulous
:57:57. > :58:01.black cock. I shall be looking at would ants tomorrow. We will take a
:58:02. > :58:07.look at these charming creatures, red squirrels, and putting them to
:58:08. > :58:14.the test. If you would like to carry on watching a bit more Winterwatch,
:58:15. > :58:21.Winterwatch unsprung is on after us. If you want to see it, very simple,
:58:22. > :58:25.all you have got to do is hit the red button there. Nick Baker is
:58:26. > :58:29.waiting for you. Tomorrow, 8pm. We hope you have enjoyed the show. We
:58:30. > :58:35.look forward to seeing you tomorrow for a little bit more exciting
:58:36. > :58:39.Winterwatch. See you tomorrow. I buy. -- bye bye.