:00:07. > :00:14.Winter is here, and it's time for some of the UK's greatest wildlife
:00:15. > :00:19.spectacles. It's a challenging time of the year for wildlife and to
:00:20. > :00:23.survive, animals like this gorgeous fox we've been observing the last
:00:24. > :00:29.few days, have to be resourceful and adaptable. I'm on a mission to try
:00:30. > :00:34.to find one of Britain's magically allusive animals, but it's bitterly
:00:35. > :00:35.cold, there's fog everywhere. It can only mean one thing, it's
:00:36. > :01:03.Winterwatch! Hello, and welcome to Winterwatch
:01:04. > :01:09.2017. Coming to you live from the wonderful RSPB Arne in Dorset. I've
:01:10. > :01:15.said this before but I can say it again. We have a crack cracking
:01:16. > :01:19.series of shows coming up, all sorts of interesting stuff, tonight even
:01:20. > :01:23.chemistry and particle physics. We are in amazing part of the country
:01:24. > :01:28.not just for wildlife but whether as well. It rarely snows here, because
:01:29. > :01:33.it is surrounded by North Woods, so there is a sort of microclimate, it
:01:34. > :01:41.is relatively mild, so they told us. It's going to be -3 tonight. --
:01:42. > :01:46.surrounded by Poole Harbour. The last few days it's been glorious,
:01:47. > :01:50.beautiful sunshine, beautiful sunrises and sunsets but it has been
:01:51. > :01:54.frosty, said wildlife has had to keep itself warm, especially in the
:01:55. > :02:01.morning. We have puffer jackets, Robbins have to puff themselves up.
:02:02. > :02:06.The deer Cavanda frosty start of the morning, you can see the frost on
:02:07. > :02:12.their fur. And when the pond freezes over this egret has a tricky
:02:13. > :02:18.business stepping out onto the water. This morning not just frost
:02:19. > :02:21.but fog, it has stayed all day we will probably have it tomorrow
:02:22. > :02:25.morning. The mission we've chosen to accept is the same as always, to
:02:26. > :02:29.bring you the very best of British wildlife and to explain how it is
:02:30. > :02:33.coping with this particular season, how to get through this harsh
:02:34. > :02:38.weather and harsh conditions. We've been filming things all the country
:02:39. > :02:42.and we've bugged our nature reserve with lots of wild cameras. Let's go
:02:43. > :02:48.live to a couple of them now. We have them out on some carcasses.
:02:49. > :02:52.This is a deer carcass in the woods. This is an amazing resource at this
:02:53. > :02:56.time of year, all of that meat is food for a great range of creatures.
:02:57. > :03:00.Another one we have out on the heathland. They have been really
:03:01. > :03:03.busy. We've seen all sorts of things on these carcasses in the last few
:03:04. > :03:07.days and I'm sure we will through the course of the week. We've had an
:03:08. > :03:13.amazing variety of wildlife already. We will give you just a taster of
:03:14. > :03:17.now we've had buzzards, the bird you would expect the carcass at this
:03:18. > :03:22.time of year. Widespread and common, taking full advantage of that free
:03:23. > :03:26.resorts. We've seen a lot of fox action as well. We will show you
:03:27. > :03:30.more of that later on in this show. And this is interesting, because
:03:31. > :03:35.this is a much paler bird, it looks like a different species but it is
:03:36. > :03:40.another, and bothered. A lot of action and we will be unpacking that
:03:41. > :03:42.as the days go on. If you are a regular viewer you will know for
:03:43. > :03:46.Springwatch we go to the same location for several years and four
:03:47. > :03:49.Autumnwatch we go somewhere else and winter we move on. This time we were
:03:50. > :03:58.here in autumn and we have come back for winter. Why was that?
:03:59. > :04:01.When we were here in October, the deer ratting and that leads were
:04:02. > :04:07.turning. Now the right is over. The leaves
:04:08. > :04:21.have been replaced by a crown of frost. And the safe haven of North
:04:22. > :04:27.Arne is as cool as ever. On the mudflats, 25,000 new arrivals since
:04:28. > :04:33.autumn. The marshes are hugely important for raptors. All I hear
:04:34. > :04:40.because this area is like no other part of the country. A mosaic of
:04:41. > :04:43.habitats creates a unique microclimate full of species, all
:04:44. > :04:49.seeking refuge during the cold winter months.
:04:50. > :04:50.This has to be one of the finest places to experience the best of
:04:51. > :05:04.British wildlife, this winter. What a place. Beautiful place. It is
:05:05. > :05:08.a remarkable part of the UK and one of the most biodiversity but we said
:05:09. > :05:15.in Autumnwatch that within a column to the's radius of where are you can
:05:16. > :05:19.find more species of bird, mammal and plant than anywhere else in the
:05:20. > :05:25.country. Absolutely remarkable. But where are we? Let's take a look.
:05:26. > :05:28.Here is the UK. If we zoom in and we are right in the middle of the south
:05:29. > :05:33.coast, sandwiched between Weymouth and Bournemouth. I have here a
:05:34. > :05:41.closer map. This is Bournemouth over here. Then you have Poole Harbour
:05:42. > :05:45.here. Weymouth further down here. You can see this huge natural
:05:46. > :05:50.harbour here, which is just beyond the trees over that, it's that that
:05:51. > :05:54.surrounds this peninsula, and this peninsular is our nature reserve.
:05:55. > :05:58.It's a very big reserve, spread out. We've sent our intrepid Martin to
:05:59. > :06:02.another part of the reserve and he's really set himself a challenge
:06:03. > :06:07.tonight. It's along the lines of a bird in the hand is worth two in the
:06:08. > :06:18.bush. It was going to be a tough challenge anyway, made tougher
:06:19. > :06:22.to my because it is foggy. How you doing, Martin? We are doing
:06:23. > :06:25.very well. It is a little bit nippy down here. I will tell you a quick
:06:26. > :06:28.story. I was on holiday wants, walking by the River Severn on the
:06:29. > :06:30.Welsh side and I looked down and saw something... I will try and
:06:31. > :06:33.demonstrate it to you. Like a little glowing dairy or some sort of
:06:34. > :06:37.jewellery on the ground. I thought, what on earth is that? I reached
:06:38. > :06:42.down and as Mike and got down to it it suddenly resolved itself into a
:06:43. > :06:48.bird. Beautiful colours, exactly the same as the leaves. It flew off and
:06:49. > :06:54.it was a woodcock. If you look at some of our beautiful Flickr
:06:55. > :06:59.photographs of woodcock you will forgive me. The lovely colours of
:07:00. > :07:04.the feathers, that match perfectly believes, the autumnal leaves. This
:07:05. > :07:10.last one. You can hardly see it there. They are fabulous birds. They
:07:11. > :07:17.rely on that camouflage to lie up during the day. They are almost like
:07:18. > :07:23.ghosts, because they only come out at dawn and dusk, so when you do see
:07:24. > :07:26.them, if you do, they are shadows against the half-light.
:07:27. > :07:29.Unfortunately, woodcock are in a lot of trouble at the moment, their
:07:30. > :07:36.numbers have been crashing for some time and the very latest trust for
:07:37. > :07:42.ornithology figures from 2003-13 show a 29% decline in breeding
:07:43. > :07:49.woodcock. So they need our help. Luckily, Arne at this time of year
:07:50. > :07:52.is a real hotspot for woodcock. We had our thermal out the last couple
:07:53. > :07:57.of nights looking to see we can see them. There they are. Of course, you
:07:58. > :08:04.couldn't see this at all if you are standing there. You can see this
:08:05. > :08:08.very dumpy little bird with a long bill. Out at night, feeding for
:08:09. > :08:13.worms, digging around. In the morning they will flit back into the
:08:14. > :08:17.woods in the half-light. So what we are going to try and do is almost
:08:18. > :08:22.impossibly, we're going to try and catch a woodcock tonight and ring
:08:23. > :08:26.it. That's all part of the research to try and increase our knowledge
:08:27. > :08:31.about this bird. How are we going to do that? First of all we need an
:08:32. > :08:38.expert, a licensed expert and here he is. Nice to see. Luke, you are a
:08:39. > :08:44.licensed volunteer wringer. You have your net and you have your torch.
:08:45. > :08:50.Yes. You have this bit which I'm fascinated by. Can you explain what
:08:51. > :08:53.this is all about? Woodcock can hear everything, their hearing is
:08:54. > :08:56.fantastic. They can hear our footsteps. Wear out in the darkness
:08:57. > :08:59.and they will be listening out for predators. We need something to
:09:00. > :09:02.dampen the sound of that on this box will play a nice little tune of
:09:03. > :09:08.running river to try and dampen down the sound of our footsteps. Can you
:09:09. > :09:14.make it work? Yes. Look at that, there it goes.
:09:15. > :09:18.That reminds me, I need to go to the loo! We are going to go out now,
:09:19. > :09:22.seriously, and try to see if there... We know there have been
:09:23. > :09:26.woodcock in this field. We have to leave our film crew behind. There
:09:27. > :09:30.are seven people standing here. We Luke and I can go out but we have
:09:31. > :09:33.got an advantage, because we have the thermal camera over there. Let's
:09:34. > :09:38.have a look and see if we can see anything...
:09:39. > :09:43.It's quite foggy so it's having a job to see through that, what you
:09:44. > :09:52.reckon, I can't see anything at the moment? Not a thing at all. That
:09:53. > :09:56.won't dampen spirits, we will try. Definitely. He's a skilled man. This
:09:57. > :10:01.place is brilliant for waders like woodcock but also for lovely
:10:02. > :10:05.avocets. They flocked here. What is about this area that makes it so
:10:06. > :10:07.good for waders? A couple of weeks ago I came down here to and find
:10:08. > :10:20.out. I've headed over the water to the
:10:21. > :10:25.National Trust Brownsea Island Timmy biologist Doctor Ross, who's been
:10:26. > :10:33.studying what makes this area so attractive for wintering avocets. We
:10:34. > :10:37.can see the avocets there. They will have a job today getting anything
:10:38. > :10:43.through the eyes but I guess I will wait until it melts and then start
:10:44. > :10:47.to feed. So graceful. Due to. Right very cryptic. Black and white. What
:10:48. > :10:52.will you telling me, your theory? Birds that forage socially tend to
:10:53. > :10:56.have more striking plumage like that. It could be they are
:10:57. > :11:00.black-and-white, striking, making them easier for avocets to see when
:11:01. > :11:06.they are foraging together. I think they probably have better eyesight
:11:07. > :11:14.than other waders. They don't just probe with their beaks, avocets can
:11:15. > :11:22.search for things by feeling. A multitalented bird. Indeed. So why
:11:23. > :11:30.is this place so special for avocets?
:11:31. > :11:36.The answer lies beneath our feet. This is perfect mud. When you are
:11:37. > :11:42.stuck you know it's the right place. Ready? I'm slowly sinking in. It's
:11:43. > :11:49.going to go in and water will come out the side that. That is so neat!
:11:50. > :11:53.Now mud is coming out so I will close the valve. That creates a
:11:54. > :12:01.vacuum, so when you Paul Best mud out, which isn't that easy... --
:12:02. > :12:06.when you pull this mud out. The mud should come out of the end with some
:12:07. > :12:12.vigorous shaking. Here it comes! I can actually see things in their
:12:13. > :12:22.already. Is that it now or do we take another one? We can take a few
:12:23. > :12:26.more if you fancy it. Can we? OK. Catherine has spent three years
:12:27. > :12:32.sampling the mud here, so she's an expat. I haven't quite got the
:12:33. > :12:39.technique. Can you feel it coming? No, I can't feel it coming at all.
:12:40. > :12:43.Try faster. LAUGHTER There we go, nice. Shall we go and
:12:44. > :12:45.see what we have in the banks? Let's do it. LAUGHTER
:12:46. > :12:58.I am stuck, too. Fascinated to see how you do this.
:12:59. > :13:04.Catherine has found a sample from this lagoon contains an average of
:13:05. > :13:08.270 creatures, compared to just 40 elsewhere around the harbour.
:13:09. > :13:20.This is exceptional. This is really special mud. It's also quite hard to
:13:21. > :13:26.sieve. During her studies Catherine repeated this process up to 45 times
:13:27. > :13:29.a day, and sure enough, with perseverance, we strike invertebrate
:13:30. > :13:36.gold. Here you see, there's a worm here.
:13:37. > :13:42.That little thing there? That is avocet food? Yes, one of the
:13:43. > :13:48.avocet's favourites. There's loads of them. It's teaming. Cool, you can
:13:49. > :13:56.see them swimming, that's exciting! Brilliant.
:13:57. > :14:04.Now we have a whole trade avocet food. We have rag worms and Mike
:14:05. > :14:12.shrimps. Yes, little Mike shrimps. How many mud shrimps and rag ones
:14:13. > :14:16.that they need? About 200 calories a day. We believe those tiny little
:14:17. > :14:21.mud shrimp, they need 350,000 of those data Phil that energetic
:14:22. > :14:27.requirements. Let me get my head around that, 350,000? Yes, quite a
:14:28. > :14:29.lot. That's why you see them feeding quite frequently when they are
:14:30. > :14:39.sweeping their bill across the mud. What about the worms? They are
:14:40. > :14:43.bigger and have higher calorific content so they may be need six or
:14:44. > :14:46.7000 of those a day to fill the energetic requirements. I thought
:14:47. > :14:53.you would say 60 or something because they are quite big. Six or
:14:54. > :14:57.7000? Yes. It seems almost impossible avocet can get enough
:14:58. > :14:59.calories from vertebrates on that -- invertebrates on the Rome, and
:15:00. > :15:06.Catherine's research has revealed they are supplementing their diet. I
:15:07. > :15:10.managed to get some fecal samples, and I saw all the things you would
:15:11. > :15:14.expect from the rag worms and the legs of the trophy but I also found
:15:15. > :15:23.little fish bones. In all the samples. Avocet eating fish? Indeed.
:15:24. > :15:28.They were making up their calorific requirements with fish. Have you
:15:29. > :15:31.ever seen it? I have, I've got some brilliant videos of avocet is
:15:32. > :15:34.picking up fish out of the water. They tend to do it when they are
:15:35. > :15:38.feeding together in a big aggregation which is like social
:15:39. > :15:42.foraging. They might be herding the fish. This happens a lot on the
:15:43. > :15:53.lagoon. It's really lovely to see. Are many fish per day? Maybe 200,
:15:54. > :15:55.250, still quite a few. That's loads. Yes but a lot easier than
:15:56. > :16:01.6000 rag worms. I'm not surprised that when ever you see in avocet, it
:16:02. > :16:07.is feeding. It's hard work being avocet! It is. Good research. Thank
:16:08. > :16:15.you. That is a great bit of research but
:16:16. > :16:22.350,000 per day! I know they are tiny little shrimp things. I did
:16:23. > :16:27.some maths and that is 14,583 per hour, or 243.1 per minute. That
:16:28. > :16:34.seems like a massive amount, every minute, they have got to catch how
:16:35. > :16:38.many, 250? 243.1. But when they are sifting in the water, they can take
:16:39. > :16:41.three or four in each sweep of the bill if they are feeding in an area
:16:42. > :16:45.where the shrimp are very dense but nevertheless, it is a big ask for
:16:46. > :16:49.this bird to get through the winter, feeding on such small things with
:16:50. > :16:52.such low calorific value. As Catherine said, she has seen them
:16:53. > :16:57.take fish and she knows from her research that they do. It is very
:16:58. > :17:03.rarely documented. It would be more efficient because they would only
:17:04. > :17:06.have to do 200-250 but we wanted to see if we could capture any fishing
:17:07. > :17:09.behaviour on the weapons come here. We sent the cameraman out and this
:17:10. > :17:15.is what they saw. They did not see any of the avocet eating fish but
:17:16. > :17:19.what do you reckon? Is that the herding behaviour Catherine said
:17:20. > :17:23.they do before they fish? I think this is fascinating behaviour but
:17:24. > :17:26.not herding. The animals are moving together against the tide, which is
:17:27. > :17:30.either sweeping invertebrates down towards them, or when they are
:17:31. > :17:34.moving on their feet are exposing the invertebrates and then sweeping
:17:35. > :17:38.the silt away. When I have seen herding behaviour in other species,
:17:39. > :17:40.like brown pelican, which do it frequently, there's a lot more
:17:41. > :17:46.activity. It is energetically expensive behaviour so they would
:17:47. > :17:50.probably only do it if there was a high density of prey in any given
:17:51. > :17:54.area. But avocet to do it. We have seen it. If you have seen doing it
:17:55. > :17:59.and you have a photograph of them doing it, we would love to see it.
:18:00. > :18:05.Riether and the cameramen are still out there so if they catch the
:18:06. > :18:10.avocet eating fish, will show you. We have another live camera, which
:18:11. > :18:14.we are calling wader cam. Let's go there now. It is very foggy tonight
:18:15. > :18:18.so the images are not great quality but I can see some weeding, and a
:18:19. > :18:21.bird in the centre of your screen with a black bottom which looks like
:18:22. > :18:27.a widgeon. And I can hear one whistling as well. And the foreheads
:18:28. > :18:30.are a dead giveaway. Not many waders in the Merc at the moment but
:18:31. > :18:34.throughout the course of the week, we have seen a great abundance of
:18:35. > :18:45.them down in the harbour. This vast expanse, when the tide... Isaac
:18:46. > :18:49.expands a bit posh, there! When the tide goes in an outcome this expanse
:18:50. > :18:57.is a great place for birds to come and forage. This is the recognisable
:18:58. > :18:59.species, the Eurasian curlew. Oystercatchers have an
:19:00. > :19:03.internationally important population in Poole harbour every winter so
:19:04. > :19:06.plenty of those juicy, those striking pale, pied waders.
:19:07. > :19:11.Spoonbill is as well, of course, we will bring you those through the
:19:12. > :19:15.week, not strictly a wader but using its bill in various ways to get food
:19:16. > :19:21.from the water, like the avocet. I love spoonbill, it is easy to spot.
:19:22. > :19:25.The spoon bill, not tricky. We will be looking at waders in more detail
:19:26. > :19:32.as the days go by. But tonight's star is this one that we will take a
:19:33. > :19:35.closer look at, the redshank, and medium-sized wader, very distinctive
:19:36. > :19:39.with its red legs and bill, although it's in the mud so it looks rather
:19:40. > :19:43.brown at the moment. This is what they have to do a lot, feeding. They
:19:44. > :19:50.use their eyesight in the daytime to pick and probe for food from the mud
:19:51. > :19:53.shallows. Look, this one has got a marine worm, probably a lugworm but
:19:54. > :20:01.look at what it does, it walks over to some clean water and washes it
:20:02. > :20:05.off before gobbling it down. That is quite interesting. You wouldn't
:20:06. > :20:09.expect it would mind eating all of the mud as well. It obviously has do
:20:10. > :20:15.it a lot of them. But look at what it does now. -- to eat a lot of
:20:16. > :20:19.them. You can see how big the mud is, all over its legs and it puts in
:20:20. > :20:25.its bill and then it puts its whole head in the mud. What is
:20:26. > :20:29.interesting, is you can see the mud all over the bill but there isn't
:20:30. > :20:34.any on its head. And the feathers, look, it does it again, brings up
:20:35. > :20:38.its head and its feathers are completely clean. How does it do
:20:39. > :20:43.that? There are a couple of methods it uses to do that. If we can slow
:20:44. > :20:46.the picture down and take another look, the quality is not that
:20:47. > :20:49.brilliant but you can see what is going on, the head goes in. In
:20:50. > :20:53.shallow water or liquid like this mud, there is a thin layer of air
:20:54. > :20:58.which forms over the surface of the bird's body and as a consequence,
:20:59. > :21:03.the liquid, the water never comes in contact with the feathers. But if
:21:04. > :21:09.birds dive deeper, or it has poured with rain for a long time, they rely
:21:10. > :21:13.upon the oil that they get from their preen gland which is situated
:21:14. > :21:17.just above the base of their tail. They take the oil out of it and
:21:18. > :21:21.spread it all over their feathers. But what is important is that the
:21:22. > :21:27.oil goes into the microscopic structure of their feathers, into
:21:28. > :21:31.the barbs and Bob yours. So with the bird gets wet, it does not get into
:21:32. > :21:37.the microstructure. And then when it emerges from the water or shakes
:21:38. > :21:40.itself, the water is expelled from the feathers, rather than needing to
:21:41. > :21:44.evaporate. If you think about it, you go out in the rain and get
:21:45. > :21:47.soaking wet, when you hang your coat up to dry, you have do put it near a
:21:48. > :21:55.heat source to evaporate the water. The bird does not need to do that.
:21:56. > :21:59.This oil, viz aliphatic, Mono West, waxy oil it gets from its sebaceous
:22:00. > :22:03.gland... I hope you are taking notes! That repels the water and
:22:04. > :22:07.that is how it stays dry. I could do with a pair of jeans like that
:22:08. > :22:12.because I've got mud all the back of jeans. I want to see you stroking a
:22:13. > :22:16.sebaceous gland and then rubbing it down the back of your trousers. I
:22:17. > :22:19.will practice that tonight! It is food that has attracted the waders
:22:20. > :22:24.to the wetlands at this time of year. For most animals, it is food
:22:25. > :22:28.that determines the location of their winter roost or wherever they
:22:29. > :22:33.go. Just a couple of weeks ago, Gillian Burke went in search of a
:22:34. > :22:35.stunning winter visitor that has found a fantastic resource right in
:22:36. > :22:58.the middle of Sheffield. Winter is a really tough time to
:22:59. > :23:03.birds, there are hardly any insects around and generally not a lot to it
:23:04. > :23:10.but there is another option. At this time of year, this is the good
:23:11. > :23:14.stuff. Jewel-like and succulent, berries are a brilliant, energy rich
:23:15. > :23:16.option, and this winter, they are in particularly strong supply thanks to
:23:17. > :23:25.last you's wet spring and warm summer. Lots of different species,
:23:26. > :23:29.resident and migrant alike, take advantage of this feast and because
:23:30. > :23:32.we are a nation of gardeners, our cities and towns are a surprisingly
:23:33. > :23:40.good place to see the birds in action.
:23:41. > :23:47.Missal thrush are often territorial and will defend berry patches
:23:48. > :23:52.against rivals. Whilst Redwing are gregarious, and generally happy to
:23:53. > :23:58.share. Blackbirds have the widest berry diet of any species, eating up
:23:59. > :24:02.to 33 different types of berries. But there's one bird I've never seen
:24:03. > :24:06.before, that migrates here in winter, especially for the berries.
:24:07. > :24:08.They usually come in very small numbers but this year, there's been
:24:09. > :24:33.an eruption. This is a crazy place to have a
:24:34. > :24:40.wildlife first, but these are my first waxwings.
:24:41. > :24:46.These exotic little birds can stay in their Scandinavian and Russian
:24:47. > :24:53.breeding grounds all winter, if the berry crop is large enough. But when
:24:54. > :24:57.it isn't, they head south, arriving on our east coast from November
:24:58. > :25:03.onwards. Providing us with a rare winter treat.
:25:04. > :25:22.What's amazing is that they are really having to battle away today
:25:23. > :25:25.in the wind. As they come in, they slightly overshoot the tops of the
:25:26. > :25:29.trees and then let the wind just kind of guide them to alight on the
:25:30. > :25:35.tips of the branches. It is really precise work. It's amazing to watch.
:25:36. > :25:44.You can see they have these striking yellow bars and wings, and the
:25:45. > :25:49.little red tips, where they get their name, the waxwings, they are
:25:50. > :25:54.actually the shaft of each further, they project beyond the feather, and
:25:55. > :25:59.they look like sealing wax which is where they get their name, the royal
:26:00. > :26:06.seal of the waxwing. It is absolutely beautiful. And to see how
:26:07. > :26:13.agile they are when they feed, it's not easy, today, it is so windy. The
:26:14. > :26:16.thing about waxwings is, unlike any of the other birds, they are the
:26:17. > :26:20.only ones that can survive the whole winter on a diet of just fruit.
:26:21. > :26:26.While the other birds will start to decline, they will start to lose
:26:27. > :26:30.weight, waxwings actually thrive. Waxwings will eat a whole variety of
:26:31. > :26:34.different berries, but it's the Rowan crop that is key to their
:26:35. > :26:40.numbers. Andrew Burns are so well loved, that in northern Europe, they
:26:41. > :26:47.are known as bird berries. And it is easy to see why. Individual waxwings
:26:48. > :26:49.have been seen to eat up to 1000 berries per day, sometimes tripling
:26:50. > :26:57.their body weight in the process, and stripping the trees bear. What's
:26:58. > :27:01.amazing about these birds is that they have even adapted to this
:27:02. > :27:05.special diet. They have a wider gate than any of the other birds we have
:27:06. > :27:08.seen. And that means they can really specialise on a huge variety of the
:27:09. > :27:18.berries available through the winter. The contrast of this busy
:27:19. > :27:25.road, this urban environment, and these exquisitely beautiful birds,
:27:26. > :27:33.it is, to me, just such a wonderful treat. And a surprise!
:27:34. > :27:39.Fantastic, aren't they? Beautiful. I've always wanted to photograph
:27:40. > :27:43.them, I've got a fantasy in my mind of a whole bunch of waxwings in the
:27:44. > :27:46.snow with their red feathers, it could be beautiful. Better get your
:27:47. > :27:50.camera out because it has been a good year for waxwings are lots of
:27:51. > :27:54.people have it enjoyed them and taking photos. Let's look. They are
:27:55. > :27:57.beautiful to photograph, look at that with the rowan berries and that
:27:58. > :28:02.lovely background. This is a group of them in the sunset, thanks to
:28:03. > :28:07.Mandy for that. It almost looks like it is drawing that berry up in the
:28:08. > :28:10.air and catching it in its mouth. Midair, isn't it? This one is
:28:11. > :28:17.interesting because you can see the rings on the bird. If you see a
:28:18. > :28:20.waxwings with the rings, then the Grampian ringing group would like to
:28:21. > :28:23.know about it. They are doing in nationwide study and they want your
:28:24. > :28:26.reports. It's really important that if you see a ringed one, let them
:28:27. > :28:35.though and the details are on the website. Although waxwings come here
:28:36. > :28:37.in the winter, they're not a typical long-distance migrant because that
:28:38. > :28:41.would imply they did it every winter but they don't, they are rocked from
:28:42. > :28:44.time to time and they come from Scandinavia to the UK. It is
:28:45. > :28:49.commonly thought that is because the berry crop that they are so
:28:50. > :28:52.dependent on as they are there. But they still have to get here so I
:28:53. > :28:56.wonder of the recent weather has given them a helping hand? I don't
:28:57. > :28:58.know what the answer is but I know a man who will, the one and only Nick
:28:59. > :29:09.Miller from the BBC Weather Centre. It was a cold start to winter across
:29:10. > :29:12.some parts of Scandinavia, headwinds haven't been that strong, because it
:29:13. > :29:16.hasn't been that stormy so far this winter. I want to show you a picture
:29:17. > :29:24.from the end of November. This is starfish, washed ashore by storm
:29:25. > :29:30.Angus. Since then relatively few storms compare with last winter.
:29:31. > :29:34.High-pressure, settled conditions, fog like we've seen today and hard
:29:35. > :29:38.frost. And if you're lucky, some sunny days. Winter so far for us is
:29:39. > :29:44.only briefly been stormy. December was thrown out, January has been
:29:45. > :29:51.colder with some snow and frost at times and drier than average. With
:29:52. > :29:57.cold and drier weather that will be present again this week. More winds
:29:58. > :30:04.later in the week. Wind chill becomes more of a factor. For you in
:30:05. > :30:09.Arne, some fog again tomorrow. Wind chill is that wind picks up. It is a
:30:10. > :30:14.fact for you, Arne today has been colder than some spots in
:30:15. > :30:15.Scandinavia. Gothenberg, Stockholm for example. So much for the
:30:16. > :30:28.waxwings. Foggy on frosty, what are the
:30:29. > :30:38.chances Martin will feel woodcock here? Listen, if you don't try, you
:30:39. > :30:41.never get. I admire his tenacity. We can spy on him because we have a
:30:42. > :30:45.live camera on him, there they are wandering round in the dark. They
:30:46. > :30:53.have to be really quiet, to have any chance of seeing a woodcock? Listen.
:30:54. > :30:58.That's the water sound Luke is playing, to drown out the sound of
:30:59. > :31:01.their footsteps. I suppose if it's frosty... Is it frosty out there?
:31:02. > :31:06.That would be quite noisy, their footsteps would be noisy. You don't
:31:07. > :31:09.think their chances are high? I think they have a chance, they are
:31:10. > :31:12.out there, the woodcock are out there, one might fly in their pocket
:31:13. > :31:17.by accident possible and is out there is one of our live cameras. We
:31:18. > :31:21.can go live to one of those carcass cameras. This is the one in the
:31:22. > :31:25.woodland. I have to tell you, there has been a fox sniffing around. It
:31:26. > :31:30.is live TV and you cannot trust the wildlife these days so he's not
:31:31. > :31:34.there at the moment. We've had a lot of birds, a huge variety of birds.
:31:35. > :31:40.Let's see what we've seen... A robin. Not maybe a bird you would
:31:41. > :31:43.expect to see on a carcass, but remember it is omnivorous, so it
:31:44. > :31:47.will take advantage of any food it can get at this time of year.
:31:48. > :31:52.Also, as we saw at the beginning of the programme, buzzards, we've had a
:31:53. > :31:57.few buzzards on the carrion. You would expect them to be taking
:31:58. > :32:02.advantage. That is a very good meal for any animal. You can see by that
:32:03. > :32:08.carcass that a lot of animals have already taken advantage. It's almost
:32:09. > :32:12.there. The buzzard is certainly finding some rich pickings.
:32:13. > :32:19.Beautiful bird, isn't it? Stunning. Stunning. You can see, that's been
:32:20. > :32:26.out about a week I think, and already it's nearly bare. There's a
:32:27. > :32:29.lot out there that's angry at this time of year and it's not moving, it
:32:30. > :32:33.their everyday so when they find it, they keep going back and back to it.
:32:34. > :32:38.You expect to see carrion feeding birds on a carcass like that and
:32:39. > :32:40.carrion feeding mammals on it as well, like the fox. There has been a
:32:41. > :32:51.lot of fox activity. This looks like a female that's come
:32:52. > :32:58.back to finish off what is left of the meat on the leg of the deer
:32:59. > :33:03.here. She is trying to use her incisors at the front of her jaw to
:33:04. > :33:05.nibble off the last little bit. She doesn't seem to be getting a lot of
:33:06. > :33:16.joy with that. No. So she tries a different
:33:17. > :33:19.technique here. She starts to strip the skin off and expose a bit more
:33:20. > :33:29.of the muscle that's left on the bottom of that limit. -- of that
:33:30. > :33:34.limb. The robin skips by, staying out of reach, waiting its turn. Look
:33:35. > :33:39.at that, she's got a big chunk there. Just listen to the sound.
:33:40. > :33:45.Look at that. She's using some specialised teeth on the side of her
:33:46. > :33:52.jaw, tissue year that meat off the carcass. See the way she's turning
:33:53. > :34:05.her head sideways? Then if she fancies a bit of roughage... She
:34:06. > :34:10.tugs at the fur. She wants some skin to go with it. There is a nice
:34:11. > :34:16.chunk. Sits down and smacks her mouth. I get told off by my mum for
:34:17. > :34:23.that. Amazing to see such natural behaviour, isn't it? It is, amazing.
:34:24. > :34:27.Look, I have a fox skull here. I can show you this and show you the
:34:28. > :34:31.teeth. This is the typical Fox skull we see. These are the long canine
:34:32. > :34:36.teeth, these are not for cutting meat at all, these are for grabbing
:34:37. > :34:39.prey. When it comes to cutting meat, if I put this bit of card in here,
:34:40. > :34:45.we can look at this particular teeth here. This is what we used to call
:34:46. > :34:49.the, sealed his, they're now called the sectorial teeth. They are a
:34:50. > :34:59.group of premolars in the bottom and top jaw. If I get that improperly...
:35:00. > :35:05.Turn it head on like this, you might be able to see, like that, look at
:35:06. > :35:10.the side of the tooth here. What happens is, these little cusps give
:35:11. > :35:14.it the grip and then as it closes the jaw tightly, the meat is sheared
:35:15. > :35:19.by those teeth, as it slides down the sharp insides of those
:35:20. > :35:24.premolars. On the top is a muscle that comes over and connects to this
:35:25. > :35:29.part of the jaw, and because it's close to these teeth, you get
:35:30. > :35:34.maximum power there. That's how the fox and other carnivals manage to
:35:35. > :35:39.get their food off of the bone. A few other groups are mammals have
:35:40. > :35:42.these teeth. People are amazed to see the skull of a fox because they
:35:43. > :35:49.think that would be bigger but that is the average male fox skull? Yes.
:35:50. > :35:54.These animals only way between 5-8 kg, about the weight of an small
:35:55. > :36:00.dog. At this time of the year they have a lot of further and look a lot
:36:01. > :36:04.bigger. It's not just one fox we've been watching. Let's show you the
:36:05. > :36:10.one we have been showing you. You can see it has a very silver back.
:36:11. > :36:16.We think this is a female. It's a gorgeous, healthy looking fox. Look
:36:17. > :36:23.at this one. It's clearly a different individual. This is a
:36:24. > :36:31.male, much stockier and quite striking. Almost looks a bit like a
:36:32. > :36:38.Racu, doesn't it? Very darkly marked underneath, very unusual. So we have
:36:39. > :36:42.a silverback and a Racu unlike fox. We know we have two individuals and
:36:43. > :36:45.we think we have more. It is something we will be looking at in
:36:46. > :36:48.the next few days. Sometimes when you see animals as individuals like
:36:49. > :36:52.these foxes they are quintessentially beautiful and
:36:53. > :36:55.satisfying to get a great view. On other occasions it's great to see
:36:56. > :37:00.them en masse, and you get a feeling of real involvement with that
:37:01. > :37:06.species. The other day Michaela and I went a few miles away from here to
:37:07. > :37:07.Poole Harbour to Studland to see one of nature's greatest wildlife
:37:08. > :37:21.spectacles. Michaela? Yes. Can I ask you a
:37:22. > :37:31.personal question? You can. When did you last murmarate? I don't know,
:37:32. > :37:37.how many deep need to murmarate Chris Wratt I'm wondering how many
:37:38. > :37:43.starlings are here and if it can be justified as being called a
:37:44. > :37:47.murmaration. The locals reckon 10,000 birds come in this
:37:48. > :37:52.murmaration. They all come together and swell and swell and that's when
:37:53. > :38:00.we'll get that fantastic spectacle. There are more people birds in the
:38:01. > :38:04.sky. Quite a lot of murmarating going on in the bushes. Here we go,
:38:05. > :38:11.here we go. The first few are coming in quite close. They are all joining
:38:12. > :38:16.in now, the smaller groups, can you see them coming? What amazes me is
:38:17. > :38:21.how quickly that's happened, how quickly they've all come together
:38:22. > :38:29.like that. That's fantastic! There has to be at least 10,000. No, I
:38:30. > :38:34.don't think it is 10,000, but that's a murmaration.
:38:35. > :38:42.No one really knows exactly why they do it. What's your theory? Is it to
:38:43. > :38:47.warm up before they roost? Is it just a safety in numbers think, a
:38:48. > :38:54.mixture of the two? Also, they are communicating to each other. When
:38:55. > :38:57.they go to roost we know there is a hierarchy of who is where in the
:38:58. > :39:01.roost. We know when they go foraging the next day, the birds that have
:39:02. > :39:05.foraged better the previous day takes those birds. It's Stephanie
:39:06. > :39:12.about communicating. It is right over our heads! Listen, listen.
:39:13. > :39:31.I love the way they make these fantastic shapes, they swirl and
:39:32. > :39:38.then go back in to a ball and then back out it goes again. What do you
:39:39. > :39:41.reckon? I haven't thought... I will try and estimate... Are you going to
:39:42. > :39:48.count? I will try to estimate. I reckon maybe 3000. I'd say at
:39:49. > :40:59.least 5000. Listened to that. And they're all
:41:00. > :41:08.dropping down, look. It's like someone's pulled the plug out.
:41:09. > :41:13.That was just amazing, Chris. I've never seen one like that before, all
:41:14. > :41:18.of that swirling, couldn't have been better. For the price of a car park
:41:19. > :41:23.ticket. That's good value, couldn't ask for anything more. Just cake.
:41:24. > :41:29.You have to admit, that was enough for a murmaration. Yes.
:41:30. > :41:33.We could go on about the starlings but we're going to go live to our
:41:34. > :41:42.woodland pond camera now. Because somewhere there... Just gone. Let's
:41:43. > :41:48.just give it a second. There was a fox there seconds ago. But he or she
:41:49. > :41:56.has skulked off into the grass. What a shame. Honestly, Fox's! Going back
:41:57. > :42:00.to our starlings, that was an incredibly memorable experience. Not
:42:01. > :42:05.only the beauty of the murmaration, but the sky behind, it was a
:42:06. > :42:09.glorious sunset. In fact, it was so amazing we went back two days later
:42:10. > :42:12.to watch. It's a real privilege to see here here in Studland because
:42:13. > :42:18.they haven't had a murmaration like that for 30 years. The last time
:42:19. > :42:23.people enjoyed that spectacle was 1986-87. Chris, you watched them. I
:42:24. > :42:28.tried to watch individual ones when we were looking. You just wonder,
:42:29. > :42:32.how do they do it? It's not a choreographed ballet, so how do they
:42:33. > :42:36.know when to switch on turn and make those amazing patterns? Until
:42:37. > :42:40.recently it's been difficult to look at that, but with modern technology
:42:41. > :42:44.mathematicians have looked into and this is what they have found out.
:42:45. > :42:48.The closer statistical correlation with Starling movement in the flock
:42:49. > :42:52.like this is not in another biological phenomenon but in
:42:53. > :42:58.particle physics, particularly the physics of magnetism. What we are
:42:59. > :43:01.looking at here is a transition change, the fluid movement of the
:43:02. > :43:07.starlings is like a phase transition. They are on the cusp of
:43:08. > :43:12.changing from one state to another. So it's a bit like a snowflake,
:43:13. > :43:16.which is static on a hillside and then one snowflake can turn and
:43:17. > :43:20.instigate an avalanche. That's what happens in the flocks of starlings.
:43:21. > :43:26.One bird can affect the whole flock and the whole flock can affect one
:43:27. > :43:29.bird. What's interesting is under analysis, each starlings can
:43:30. > :43:35.influence the movement of seven other starlings around it, not the
:43:36. > :43:39.whole flock. But a bird only a few starlings away is then influencing
:43:40. > :43:43.the next seven starlings and the next seven starlings. That's why you
:43:44. > :43:47.get that wavelike movement that sweeps throughout the flock. There
:43:48. > :43:51.is no flop leader, that's one very important thing worth saying. That
:43:52. > :43:57.whole flock is in itself driving most beautiful movements. It reminds
:43:58. > :44:01.me of one of those 1970s lava lamps, a bit moves on it all follows makes
:44:02. > :44:05.different and interesting shaped. I've just given an explanation,
:44:06. > :44:08.albeit brief and stand about particle physics and phase
:44:09. > :44:13.transition and you've lowered it to a gadget from the nineteen
:44:14. > :44:17.seventies. I can get my head around that, a lava lamp! What is important
:44:18. > :44:21.to remember is we see them in those vast numbers, 15,000 of the match
:44:22. > :44:26.Studland, but the numbers have declined. In fact, 30 years ago
:44:27. > :44:29.there was 100000 and that is pretty typical of around the country.
:44:30. > :44:30.Although it's still incredibly impressive, there's not as many
:44:31. > :44:38.around. But what there are many more of our
:44:39. > :44:41.people going to look at the starlings. In the past, we
:44:42. > :44:46.persecuted them, gassed them, there were flocks of millions of these
:44:47. > :44:50.birds. In 1972, the only accurately counted flock in the UK numbered 1
:44:51. > :44:54.million birds but what was great was the other night when we went there,
:44:55. > :44:58.there were 300 people, and the second time, it was closer to 1000
:44:59. > :45:02.so people's attitudes to wildlife have radically changed and now they
:45:03. > :45:08.see this as something truly special and worth seeing. And now we have
:45:09. > :45:12.shown it, there will probably be 2000! I'm going down there with a
:45:13. > :45:20.little cafe I will be opening up, cups of coffee, ?10.5. You can see
:45:21. > :45:23.murmurations all over the country, like Brighton and Aberystwyth peer,
:45:24. > :45:28.and all the information is on the website. I strongly recommend you do
:45:29. > :45:34.it because it is a memorable spectacle to go and see.
:45:35. > :45:41.Astonishing. As is the Woodcock, but has Martin caught one yet?
:45:42. > :45:46.Well, Chris, no, not really. In fact, this is my third consecutive
:45:47. > :45:50.night out with Luke and I've come to realise it is a much more subtle and
:45:51. > :45:55.difficult art form that I had other guests. Tonight is not a great night
:45:56. > :46:00.for it, really. No, it is flat, and being foggy does not help. We had a
:46:01. > :46:06.moment of extreme excitement about ten minutes ago. Yes, but it was cow
:46:07. > :46:11.poo. But it was shaped like a Woodcock. It's really difficult. We
:46:12. > :46:15.only have Luke's torch to look around but there is the thermal
:46:16. > :46:21.camera and while we have been out and about over the last two nights,
:46:22. > :46:47.it turns out the Woodcock have been leading us a bit of a runaround.
:46:48. > :46:54.Did you realise we were surrounded by them? No, that's the first time
:46:55. > :46:58.I've seen that. We had no idea. It just shows how skilful a business it
:46:59. > :47:02.is. Thank you for taking us out so we have not had much luck tonight,
:47:03. > :47:09.have we? But let's have a look at what happened last night. We went
:47:10. > :47:13.out and we managed to find one bird. We hoped it would just sit
:47:14. > :47:16.absolutely still and of course, you can see it at the bottom of the
:47:17. > :47:21.screen, moving around the whole time. Good Luke possibly get his net
:47:22. > :47:27.carefully over the bird? It is a woodcock. Here we go. He got it!
:47:28. > :47:30.He's very careful to get the woodcock in the centre of the net so
:47:31. > :47:37.he does not hit it with the sides. The bird was absolutely fine. We
:47:38. > :47:43.actually caught the woodcock last night, about three fields away in
:47:44. > :47:47.that direction. A long way away from where Luke had setup is kind of
:47:48. > :47:55.processing area. So we rushed back with the bird and then Luke got down
:47:56. > :47:59.to measuring and collecting data. Now, this is the first time I have
:48:00. > :48:08.been able to get a close look at a woodcock. Look at that long, probing
:48:09. > :48:12.bill. There's the gleaming eyes and the beautiful, rustic colours. Of
:48:13. > :48:17.course, we are here because we want to gather data about this
:48:18. > :48:21.critical... This bird's numbers are critically declining so Luke is
:48:22. > :48:29.putting on the ring and I am acting as scribe, writing it down. Look at
:48:30. > :48:33.the colours. Exquisite. Its eyes have got almost 360 degrees vision.
:48:34. > :48:40.As it turns its head, it can almost see 360 degrees. A wonderful bird. I
:48:41. > :48:45.never dreamt I would get that close to it. What we had to do then was
:48:46. > :48:49.released the bird. But you can't just release it in the bright light
:48:50. > :48:53.that we had used to do all the ringing and everything. So you turn
:48:54. > :48:57.off all the lights and you only use an infrared lamp. It was completely
:48:58. > :48:59.invisible to the woodcock. And then it was our turn to see if we can let
:49:00. > :49:05.it go. OK. Here we go. Got him. Have you?
:49:06. > :49:31.Fantastic. Very good. OK. It's quite exciting in complete
:49:32. > :49:35.darkness, isn't it? It's amazing. I've no idea what he has doing now
:49:36. > :49:43.because it is pitch black. I can't see anything! He's just down there.
:49:44. > :49:50.He seems totally calm. He is rustling the grass a bit behind him.
:49:51. > :50:01.Brilliant! Doesn't get better than that. Fantastic! Absolutely
:50:02. > :50:06.brilliant. I never thought we would actually catch one in a million
:50:07. > :50:11.years. The ringing data, that kind of data, has shown an amazing
:50:12. > :50:16.result. This is from the British trust for ornithology and they have
:50:17. > :50:20.been tracking the birds, these are ringing returns. Some of the
:50:21. > :50:26.woodcock of flying as far as Russia, which is a round-trip of around 6000
:50:27. > :50:32.kilometres. The one we had last night, we think was probably old
:50:33. > :50:36.enough to have that trip twice. That is 12,000, 13,000 kilometres but the
:50:37. > :50:40.bird has flown. It is vitally important we get more data in the
:50:41. > :50:43.hope of stopping this crucial decline of this magical bird.
:50:44. > :50:49.Anyway, we have got camera people all around here at RSPB Arne but
:50:50. > :50:53.camera men and women up and down the country sending us in reports. John
:50:54. > :51:12.Aitchison has been filming otters off the West Coast of Scotland.
:51:13. > :51:19.It's 20 years since I saw my first otter here. I've been watching them
:51:20. > :51:25.ever since, following their ups and downs, generation after generation.
:51:26. > :51:31.In that time, my own family have grown up, sharing the shore with the
:51:32. > :51:39.otters. After so many years, we know them really well. My son Rohan
:51:40. > :51:45.especially. At 16, he's already an expert at working where they might
:51:46. > :51:49.be. He knows the shapes of the boulders and the weed that can hide
:51:50. > :51:55.them, the sounds and the behaviour of birds and I have shown him where
:51:56. > :51:57.the otters are. But sharing their lives is far from easy, above all in
:51:58. > :52:10.the winter. -- showing their lives. This is a mother and her cub. I saw
:52:11. > :52:14.my first mother otter just here are with her own cubs, on this same
:52:15. > :52:24.piece of sure, before Rowan was born. -- offshore. They grow up much
:52:25. > :52:25.faster than us, and in his lifetime, there might already have been eight
:52:26. > :52:39.generations of otters. Their lives are short and intense,
:52:40. > :52:44.but as the years speed bike, I find the otters more and more inspiring.
:52:45. > :52:52.They are so full of energy, and more than any other animal I know, they
:52:53. > :52:56.seize the day. This young one is a bit less than a year old. She still
:52:57. > :52:59.has a lot to learn from her mum. Not only what to eat, but how and where
:53:00. > :53:11.to catch it. She needs to eat a fifth of her own
:53:12. > :53:16.weight in fish every day. And until now, her mother has called them for
:53:17. > :53:18.her. But now she must learn to do it for herself. -- has caught them. Her
:53:19. > :53:28.life depends on it. Passing on what you have learned to
:53:29. > :53:35.the next generation is something that we share with the otters.
:53:36. > :53:39.Helping your family to grow up. And just like us, the most special
:53:40. > :53:44.moments are bound up with the trust and it is Missy -- trust and
:53:45. > :53:51.intimacy that only family members share.
:53:52. > :53:54.The cub must think she will be more comfortable if she sleeps on top of
:53:55. > :54:08.her mother. Above the rising tide. Therein separable, or at least the
:54:09. > :54:12.cub sees it that way. -- they are inseparable. But soon, the closeness
:54:13. > :54:23.will have two end, whether she feels ready or not. And this is why.
:54:24. > :54:30.It's the cub's father, and he has plans of his own. He usually lives
:54:31. > :54:34.alone, further down the coast, but this winter, he's decided to stay
:54:35. > :54:40.here, near his mate and their daughter. He can tell there's change
:54:41. > :54:46.in the air. The mother's caught a flatfish and
:54:47. > :55:01.as usual, the cub expects to eat it. But this time, her mother says no.
:55:02. > :55:03.The cub can tell that something is different between them. But she has
:55:04. > :55:16.no idea what it means. The mail has brought his catch
:55:17. > :55:21.ashore, too. Flatfish are hard to deal with in the water. But the
:55:22. > :55:27.others have seen him, and his chances of having a quiet meal are
:55:28. > :55:32.slim. I've never seen this before. The mother seems to want his fish
:55:33. > :55:40.and he's not keen to give it up. But maybe there's more to it than that.
:55:41. > :55:45.She is certainly pleased to see him. The cub's not so sure, and she is
:55:46. > :55:49.right to be wary. It is pretty clear that her mother's keen to start
:55:50. > :55:54.another family and once there are new cards on the way, the daughter
:55:55. > :55:59.will have to leave. The territory can't support them all. If she can't
:56:00. > :56:06.fend for herself, she will starve. It is evening now and the mother has
:56:07. > :56:14.slipped away. From where Rowan is, he can see she has gone to meet her
:56:15. > :56:16.mate. She's always been playful, but this is the first time she has
:56:17. > :56:29.excluded the cub from her games. Making the break is never easy and
:56:30. > :56:33.I'm sure when the time comes, that every parent hopes they have done
:56:34. > :56:34.all they can, that their offspring have learned enough and they are
:56:35. > :56:43.ready to go. And when my own children head off,
:56:44. > :56:46.one of the things that will make me proud is that they have discovered
:56:47. > :56:53.the joy of the natural world for themselves.
:56:54. > :56:59.Isn't it lovely when you can pass on your passions to your children? I
:57:00. > :57:04.mean, I'd try to pass on my passion for dance to my son, tried to get
:57:05. > :57:10.him in a tutu but he wasn't interested! Fortunately, he likes
:57:11. > :57:16.wildlife. My stepdaughter is at university doing zoology! You passed
:57:17. > :57:21.it on, well done! Lovely. Chris, I have a question for you. Can you see
:57:22. > :57:26.that? People talk about woodcock carrying their chicks in their leg.
:57:27. > :57:29.What do you reckon? Is it true? Over the years, I've learned to never
:57:30. > :57:35.underestimate the ingenuity of nature. But also, never to trust the
:57:36. > :57:38.fanciful imagination of old countrymen in the 18th century.
:57:39. > :57:43.Having said that, I have an open mind. We have seen a weasel on top
:57:44. > :57:47.of a woodpecker. Surely at some stage, if it happens, someone will
:57:48. > :57:50.photograph it? My chickens do that when they come off the nest, the
:57:51. > :57:56.chicks fall out under their wings, easy mistake to make. That is we
:57:57. > :58:00.have got time for. Tomorrow, we have got a bird feeding experiment that
:58:01. > :58:04.you can try at home. We are going to try to identify other foxes here. We
:58:05. > :58:11.have seen two tonight but there are many more to see. I will find out
:58:12. > :58:14.more one of -- about one of RSPB Arne's iconic birds, the Dartford
:58:15. > :58:18.warbler, and using not only binoculars but this is very
:58:19. > :58:23.important piece of equipment, a sonic toothbrush, a pink one at
:58:24. > :58:28.that. So find out why I need one of these tomorrow. We will see you
:58:29. > :58:30.then. 8pm, BBC Two. I think I will use this to clean my teeth now.
:58:31. > :58:32.Goodbye.