0:00:06 > 0:00:14It might have been unseasonably mild but winter is definitely upon us.
0:00:17 > 0:00:23Tonight will it be the crow or the Raven?It's the final episode of
0:00:23 > 0:00:28Game of Crows, we find out which is the most clever corvid.And I will
0:00:28 > 0:00:34delve into the life of one of the most charismatic birds of prey. Get
0:00:34 > 0:00:42cosy, it is Winterwatch.
0:01:00 > 0:01:04Welcome to Winterwatch 2018. What is finer than hot chocolate on a cold
0:01:04 > 0:01:08winter 's night? I will tell you, the best wildlife programme on TV
0:01:08 > 0:01:12and we have got one of them coming live from the Sherborne Park estate
0:01:12 > 0:01:16run by the National Trust here in Gloucestershire. Last night we had
0:01:16 > 0:01:21Mark Almond and Kate bush, tonights astonishing sights, the science will
0:01:21 > 0:01:27burst your brain, it worth waiting for.It is worth waiting for and
0:01:27 > 0:01:31it's been a great day, starting off with the most beautiful frosty
0:01:31 > 0:01:35morning. If you were arbitrarily like our cameramen you might have
0:01:35 > 0:01:42been treated to this fantastic view. Gorgeous
0:01:42 > 0:01:45Gorgeous muted colours. Very different from a few days ago when
0:01:45 > 0:01:49they had all that rain and mud. This morning lots of frost, it was a
0:01:49 > 0:01:56chilly morning. Basically the perfect frosty winters morning.
0:01:56 > 0:02:00Stunning. If you were out yourself you would have seen some of this.
0:02:00 > 0:02:05But the sun was out, melting the frost eventually and the wildlife
0:02:05 > 0:02:09was out making the most of basking in the sunshine with that beautiful
0:02:09 > 0:02:15blue sky. I was up early and it was lovely.Beautiful.Can you imagine
0:02:15 > 0:02:24being that coot and being up and throwing that cold water over
0:02:24 > 0:02:27yourself? We have got live cameras all around the Sherborne estate and
0:02:27 > 0:02:34we have set up feeding stations. One is alive right now, let's see what
0:02:34 > 0:02:41is going on. It is like Narnia. Let's go to the other feeding
0:02:41 > 0:02:46station, a lot of action here last night. Mice have been coming here a
0:02:46 > 0:02:53lot. Let's see what happened last night with the mice. Did you see
0:02:53 > 0:03:00that in the background? And owl, we thought that had caught something
0:03:00 > 0:03:08but what has the most done? It has frozen, frozen solid. The owl
0:03:08 > 0:03:15departs, so how long does the mouse 's a frozen? Almost five and a half
0:03:15 > 0:03:20minutes before it makes a move. Which is a sensible strategy, this
0:03:20 > 0:03:27was pitch black and the owl is hunting using sound so if the most
0:03:27 > 0:03:33had moved the owl might have come and got it.Five and a half minutes.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36I have seen something similar, occasionally sparrowhawks will sweep
0:03:36 > 0:03:40through and disturb the birds on the bird table but if one of them
0:03:40 > 0:03:44doesn't go it just freezes, called pets and bluetits doing it. Not for
0:03:44 > 0:03:50five and a half minutes, but a good few minutes hoping nothing will give
0:03:50 > 0:03:54them away. Amazing. If you were watching last night you will know we
0:03:54 > 0:04:01finally got to grips with some of the badgers here. We coloured three
0:04:01 > 0:04:05more and this allows us to know exactly where they are. And there is
0:04:05 > 0:04:09more activity. Just after the programme finished last night we saw
0:04:09 > 0:04:14this. This is the set where we have
0:04:14 > 0:04:15programme finished last night we saw this. This is the set where we have
0:04:15 > 0:04:20called one of the animals Mark Almond. That is one of them coming
0:04:20 > 0:04:23out of the hole and approaching the other badger and they immediately
0:04:23 > 0:04:28start some rough and tumble. It's not a full on white, if it was, two
0:04:28 > 0:04:32animals who have never met before, fighting over a potential mate, you
0:04:32 > 0:04:37would know about it. Lots of screaming and vicious fighting. This
0:04:37 > 0:04:42is play fighting which has escalated into an argument about who is top
0:04:42 > 0:04:48badger. It's about establishing the hierarchy. We can see Mark on the
0:04:48 > 0:04:54left side is slightly larger. He weighed over 16 kilograms which is
0:04:54 > 0:04:59pretty heavy! After all this bickering and
0:04:59 > 0:05:01pretty heavy! After all this bickering and nibbling he chases the
0:05:01 > 0:05:06other mail off. Why is that going on? The females are just about to
0:05:06 > 0:05:10give birth and when they do they will come into season and the badger
0:05:10 > 0:05:14mating season starts. You want to be top man badger at that time because
0:05:14 > 0:05:20you want to meet with the females. Is a truly like that, do the badgers
0:05:20 > 0:05:25have a tough hierarchy? Because it was quite gentle. It was more like
0:05:25 > 0:05:29play fighting.It was a bit, they have probably established the
0:05:29 > 0:05:34hierarchy and this was reinforcing it. Within a group of badgers there
0:05:34 > 0:05:39will be one breeding female but she does not just mate with the dominant
0:05:39 > 0:05:44male in the group because at this time of year male badgers from other
0:05:44 > 0:05:49groups will move to try to find the females, only 50% of the young are
0:05:49 > 0:05:56sired by the dominant badger in the grip. These sneaky males are scoring
0:05:56 > 0:06:05on 50% of the occasions. On our thermal camera we saw this, it's a
0:06:05 > 0:06:12female badger gathering bedding. Again, she is about to give birth
0:06:12 > 0:06:15beneath the ground, 1-5 cubs, she wants to produce those youngsters in
0:06:15 > 0:06:20a chamber which is nice and soft and warm and dry. At this time of year
0:06:20 > 0:06:25we see her taking quite a lot of bedding down.It is amazing, we
0:06:25 > 0:06:30really struggled to get any sort of shots of badgers at all in spring
0:06:30 > 0:06:36and autumn and now we're getting this fabulous behaviour.It is all
0:06:36 > 0:06:40because it is breeding times you're getting extra activity where the
0:06:40 > 0:06:44cameras are. In the summer, when we got here in spring the young had
0:06:44 > 0:06:48already been born and were mobile and then we got to alter Mandy had
0:06:48 > 0:06:54already moved to other parts. -- we got to and they had already moved.
0:06:54 > 0:06:58We all want to learn more about how they are using the landscape because
0:06:58 > 0:07:06it's a unusual.Badgers are not the only previously elusive animal are
0:07:06 > 0:07:11cameras have caught. This is another we have been struggling with in
0:07:11 > 0:07:20spring. Nothing in autumn. Fox. This is a thermal camera so you see the
0:07:20 > 0:07:26seat. It is out hunting and I think it is warming. That looked like a
0:07:26 > 0:07:35warm to me. What else could it be? -- a worm to me. It trots off and
0:07:35 > 0:07:45then it does what you see your dog do, it units, you can see the warm
0:07:45 > 0:07:50you're
0:07:51 > 0:07:59once it has urinated it robs itself in it so all the other foxes now
0:07:59 > 0:08:05that is its smell and off it trots. Why do you think we are seeing more
0:08:05 > 0:08:12of the foxes now than we did in autumn? We really struggled.It is a
0:08:12 > 0:08:17difficult time for foxes. They are awash with hormones, their testicles
0:08:17 > 0:08:23double in size at this time of year which must be uncomfortable, the
0:08:23 > 0:08:27right testicle is always bigger than the left testicle. All these
0:08:27 > 0:08:37hormones and the testicle growing, it must be so uncomfortable.
0:08:37 > 0:08:43Remarkable gone out knowledge. Over Christmas time we can hear the foxes
0:08:43 > 0:08:46barking and may make an enormous amount of noise when they are
0:08:46 > 0:08:54meeting. So this is probably males moving around, last chance to meet.
0:08:54 > 0:09:04I wonder if we will get it on the life form on camera. Two Woodcock
0:09:04 > 0:09:18's!Look at that! There they are! Look at those. We've lost it.That
0:09:18 > 0:09:33is great, the catch anything else... They are worming just like the fox.
0:09:33 > 0:09:39Our cameraman out and about and they managed to film this, is this? It is
0:09:39 > 0:09:46not little terrier? If you think you know what it is get in contact on
0:09:46 > 0:09:49Twitter and if any of you get it right we will let you know later in
0:09:49 > 0:09:56the programme. I love quiz.In the winter time we get an enormous
0:09:56 > 0:10:02influx of birds to the UK. Some of you might have been lucky enough to
0:10:02 > 0:10:06have brambling in your garden last weekend was the big garden bird
0:10:06 > 0:10:14watch. Occasionally we get waxwings coming in from Scandinavia, truly
0:10:14 > 0:10:17exotic and sometimes in large numbers. But there is one winter
0:10:17 > 0:10:22visitor which used to be more common and is not so now, but Michaela and
0:10:22 > 0:10:34I went out to try to get to grips with it, the one and only great grey
0:10:34 > 0:10:41shrike. I love a shrike.So do I but I have never seen a great grey
0:10:41 > 0:10:46shrike.They are a successful group of birds, lots of species around the
0:10:46 > 0:10:51world but this is a real beauty if we get a good view of it.This will
0:10:51 > 0:11:01be a treat.We have do find it first.
0:11:02 > 0:11:08They are site fateful so when they find someone they like they keep
0:11:08 > 0:11:11coming backwe have to keep looking up because they like it- and that
0:11:11 > 0:11:17you do it.Yes and they have got their territories and there is a
0:11:17 > 0:11:23good chance you can find them. This tree has got shrike written all over
0:11:23 > 0:11:28it.If you are a shrike you'd be sitting in the top of that tree?
0:11:28 > 0:11:32It's got a great viewpoint all around, let's poke around underneath
0:11:32 > 0:11:42deceived we can find the remains of any prey.What are we looking for?
0:11:42 > 0:11:46Feathers and for, maybe insects? That is a little bit of beetle. That
0:11:46 > 0:11:52is the abdomen of a hornet. And I imagine all of these will have been
0:11:52 > 0:11:59pellets. They will have been regurgitated just like owls produce
0:11:59 > 0:12:09them.You are quite the little Sherlock. Look at this. That is a
0:12:09 > 0:12:13pellet.Yeah. It must be fresh because it's not disintegrated in
0:12:13 > 0:12:19the rain.We are clearly in the right spot. Hopefully it's just a
0:12:19 > 0:12:24matter of time before it turns up. How long do you think we will have
0:12:24 > 0:12:28to wait because I am not very patient.You have to be, that is
0:12:28 > 0:12:33part of birding. It is an integral part of birding. We are not the only
0:12:33 > 0:12:39ones.There are quite a lot of people around. It really is a
0:12:39 > 0:12:42twitchers bird isn't it? There are only about 60 something of them in
0:12:42 > 0:12:48the country at this time of year.I hate to say it but when I was a lad,
0:12:48 > 0:12:53they were regular every winter. We would go deliberately to see them
0:12:53 > 0:12:57but there would not be a crowd like this. This is turning into a shrike
0:12:57 > 0:13:04shindig. But it will be coming back, I have faith.
0:13:12 > 0:13:19Downward dog, like that.
0:13:19 > 0:13:25Let's go.One more scan.We're not going to see it now. There we go,
0:13:25 > 0:13:33let's go.Seriously!
0:13:33 > 0:13:37let's go.Seriously!Seriously, it has wristed.I would sell my soul,
0:13:37 > 0:13:44it's not worth much, just bred to pop up so I could prove you wrong.I
0:13:44 > 0:13:55had a lovely day, come on.I hate birds.
0:13:55 > 0:14:01What do you think?I think the chances are good, less people here,
0:14:01 > 0:14:10less dog walkers and bird-watchers. Right in the top. Got him.Look at
0:14:10 > 0:14:21that!It is such a gorgeous looking bird. That is superb. It is almost
0:14:21 > 0:14:31fluffy. Do you know what it reminds me of? A bit of a long-tailed tip.
0:14:31 > 0:14:35This would eat 67 of them for breakfast. This is a proper bird,
0:14:35 > 0:14:45honestly.It's got the name Jackie Hangman. You used to play that game.
0:14:45 > 0:14:51Someone calls that are Jackie Hangman? Who does?I don't know,
0:14:51 > 0:15:00some friends of mine! Have you not heard that before?No.I love it
0:15:00 > 0:15:09when I teach you something.It is off. A flashback to yesteryear for
0:15:09 > 0:15:19me. Beautiful bird. Absolutely stunning. Top ten surely.
0:15:23 > 0:15:30Forgive me, it has got to be done. That was a bird.That was worth
0:15:30 > 0:15:34getting up twice very early for. It is a fascinating looking bird and it
0:15:34 > 0:15:40is also a very interesting bird because it is a voracious predator.
0:15:40 > 0:15:47It has a variety of prey. This was filmed last year in the same area.
0:15:47 > 0:15:55It is very likely this is the same bird and it has got a lizard. As I
0:15:55 > 0:16:01say, a variety of prey. This is the one we saw this year. We saw the
0:16:01 > 0:16:06remains of a beetle under the tree. It will catch lizards, Beatles,
0:16:06 > 0:16:10small mammals and even small birds sometimes. It does not always eat
0:16:10 > 0:16:15them straightaway and that is what makes them interesting.They are
0:16:15 > 0:16:20called Butcher Bird, not only for their voracious appetite and ability
0:16:20 > 0:16:24to kill things, but because they produce larders and they store food.
0:16:24 > 0:16:28During the breeding season when there is a surplus of food, they
0:16:28 > 0:16:35will hang it up on barbed wire fences and they might even do it in
0:16:35 > 0:16:39the winter. Here it is a question of using that the thorn is a tool
0:16:39 > 0:16:45because these are perching birds. They are not like raptors, they have
0:16:45 > 0:16:50not got big, powerful feet. They cannot hold down the prey. They pin
0:16:50 > 0:16:56it on the thorn so it gives them the ability to pack. They always go for
0:16:56 > 0:17:01the brain first, whether they are eating a bird or a mammal.I have a
0:17:01 > 0:17:06question for you. It is a fantastic bird and it copes in the winter, so
0:17:06 > 0:17:11why don't they stick around in the spring and summer?They breed
0:17:11 > 0:17:16throughout France, Germany and up into Scandinavia, much further north
0:17:16 > 0:17:22than Scotland in the UK. So it is not a question of temperature. But
0:17:22 > 0:17:27there are old records of them allegedly breeding in the UK. In
0:17:27 > 0:17:321991 there were a number of examples around the UK. I seem to remember in
0:17:32 > 0:17:37the depths of my mind there was a case of them breeding in Sutherland
0:17:37 > 0:17:41or Caithness. A few years ago there was a rumour they had bred in
0:17:41 > 0:17:45Yorkshire, so sometimes a pair would stick around.It would be great to
0:17:45 > 0:17:51have them throughout the year.They are declining unfortunately. It is
0:17:51 > 0:17:56coming back to that thing about the lack of large insects. Although they
0:17:56 > 0:18:02do eat birds and mammals, they rely on the Beatles principally.From a
0:18:02 > 0:18:06fabulous, little bird to the magnificent golden eagle. Gillian is
0:18:06 > 0:18:10in Scotland where she continues to explore the wonderful wildlife of
0:18:10 > 0:18:17the island of Islay.Welcome back to Islay. Tonight I am on the south of
0:18:17 > 0:18:23the island. To the left of me is the Lighthouse, those twinkling lights
0:18:23 > 0:18:28in the background. We have just had an amazing time here, this place is
0:18:28 > 0:18:31incredible for wildlife. It finds you even when you are not looking
0:18:31 > 0:18:38for it. Yesterday on our way to location we saw a white tailed eagle
0:18:38 > 0:18:43and yesterday by now. Today we have had seals popping up and bobbing
0:18:43 > 0:18:48around, watching what we were doing. Last night we filmed otters at a
0:18:48 > 0:18:54whiskey distillery, but that is not all that we saw. This is a
0:18:54 > 0:18:59spectacular view. But if you look carefully in the top left-hand
0:18:59 > 0:19:06corner you can see it. That is, a golden eagle. That is not just one
0:19:06 > 0:19:10golden eagle, it is a pair, a breeding pair and they are seen
0:19:10 > 0:19:15regularly in parts of the island. Winter is a great time to see golden
0:19:15 > 0:19:20eagles, they make the most of the short winter days to go out hunting.
0:19:20 > 0:19:24The more we watched them, we started to notice they kept coming back to
0:19:24 > 0:19:30the same spot. Here you can see them really looking down, but we could
0:19:30 > 0:19:37not work out what it was. They breed early, so were they looking for
0:19:37 > 0:19:40nesting material? Was there a carcass down there? We simply could
0:19:40 > 0:19:49not see. So where exactly are we? I have got a map here. This is where
0:19:49 > 0:19:52we were last night filming the otters up here. This is a little bit
0:19:52 > 0:20:01wet. Down here is the golden eagle area. This is the Oa peninsula, a
0:20:01 > 0:20:05hotspot for golden eagles. To really appreciate why we have got to see
0:20:05 > 0:20:14this place in the daytime, let's have a look. This is a mix of craggy
0:20:14 > 0:20:20moorlands and farmland. Most of it is managed by the RSPB for wildlife
0:20:20 > 0:20:26for the benefit of wildlife and it works. It is home to many rare
0:20:26 > 0:20:30species of birds and those cliffs either reason why golden eagles do
0:20:30 > 0:20:36so well here. It does not just provide amazing nesting sites, but
0:20:36 > 0:20:41the wind, which we are getting the full force of tonight, is another
0:20:41 > 0:20:47reason. It bounces off the Atlantic into the cliffs and it gives the
0:20:47 > 0:20:50Eagles much-needed lift. To give you an idea of how it works I have
0:20:50 > 0:20:57brought something along for you. Check this out. This is a scale
0:20:57 > 0:21:04model of an adult golden eagle. Tip to tip that is 2.2 metres long, as
0:21:04 > 0:21:10big as they get. This is magnificent, they are built to soar.
0:21:10 > 0:21:17They use this wingspan through the spring, through the summer, to look
0:21:17 > 0:21:21effortlessly and cover the huge distances, looking for a live prey.
0:21:21 > 0:21:26They will take hairs and rabbits and in the winter live prey is scarce on
0:21:26 > 0:21:33the ground, so they have to make use of carrion. This was our chance to
0:21:33 > 0:21:39get some really close views of the birds. We put some cameras on a deer
0:21:39 > 0:21:43carcass and we waited. It took as four days, but on day five this is
0:21:43 > 0:21:53what we saw. On day five the first eagle had landed. The first thing
0:21:53 > 0:21:58you can appreciate is the size of this bird. It is almost the same
0:21:58 > 0:22:03size as the deer. Its first task was to get into the carcass and very
0:22:03 > 0:22:07efficiently it starts using that sharp beak to pull away at the firm
0:22:07 > 0:22:15and stripping away. It took just 50 minutes to clear the whole of the
0:22:15 > 0:22:23left flank. And now it needs as much as it can. We timed that first
0:22:23 > 0:22:27sitting and it took 37 minutes to absolutely gorgeous itself. In the
0:22:27 > 0:22:40next shot you can see that it is really filling out. It is just
0:22:40 > 0:22:47tucking in. Check this shot.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50tucking in. Check this shot. It is rammed full, it has gorged to the
0:22:50 > 0:22:56max. A golden eagle can eat a kilo in a single sitting. If that was for
0:22:56 > 0:23:02my body size that would be the equivalent of 28lbs stake. You
0:23:02 > 0:23:06really start to appreciate this is a really important food source for
0:23:06 > 0:23:12them. But we were curious. How long would it take them to strip that
0:23:12 > 0:23:17carcass beer? We will find out later in the show. For now, it is back to
0:23:17 > 0:23:22Sherborne and Martin. What fantastic pictures the team are
0:23:22 > 0:23:27getting in Islay. Just before we came out, I spoke to a friend of
0:23:27 > 0:23:32mine who used to be the site manager up there. He told me there were a
0:23:32 > 0:23:37pair of golden eagles up there and the use to hunt and fly along the
0:23:37 > 0:23:42cliff and drive the goats off the cliff. He did not see it once, he
0:23:42 > 0:23:48saw it loads of times. Those eagles are extraordinary birds. We do not
0:23:48 > 0:23:54have eagles here, but what we have in Sherborne is a beautiful raptor,
0:23:54 > 0:24:01the red kite. In Springwatch we got these intimate views inside the nest
0:24:01 > 0:24:04as the three chicks swallowed ludicrous meals, but they got bigger
0:24:04 > 0:24:07and bigger and all three of them successfully fledged. It was
0:24:07 > 0:24:14fantastic. In all probability they are still around in Sherborne and do
0:24:14 > 0:24:20not intend to go far. In the trees around me now in this light drizzle,
0:24:20 > 0:24:25there are probably loads of birds or roosting, trying to find somewhere
0:24:25 > 0:24:30to snuggle down out of the cold in the night. But red kites do not do
0:24:30 > 0:24:39it like that. A couple of weeks ago I went two kilometres away from here
0:24:39 > 0:24:54to try to see what was going on. This is so frustrating because there
0:24:54 > 0:25:02are five kites here. The mist has come down and completely shrouded
0:25:02 > 0:25:14the roost that they are going in on. There are more. And another one.
0:25:14 > 0:25:21Maybe 30 have come in, but they are all hidden in the mist now. But you
0:25:21 > 0:25:25can see that cops there. We are only about a mile away from the main
0:25:25 > 0:25:30studio and if you came during the day you would think it was an
0:25:30 > 0:25:32ordinary little copse, but you would be wrong because that is where all
0:25:32 > 0:25:37these kites are pouring into as it begins to get dark. There is another
0:25:37 > 0:25:44one. In a way this is good because wherever we go out and film wildlife
0:25:44 > 0:25:49we wait until it is sunny and lovely and the sun always shines on TV.
0:25:49 > 0:25:54Well, it does not.
0:25:55 > 0:26:00Well, it does not. You can just see them just flying in. They seem to
0:26:00 > 0:26:05float, buoyed up on the air. They are so graceful. They must have a
0:26:05 > 0:26:10really clear map of the whole area because they are coming from areas
0:26:10 > 0:26:16that are thick with mist. Yet they seem to know exactly where they are
0:26:16 > 0:26:23going. There goes one in. I can see a couple just sitting there like
0:26:23 > 0:26:29ghosts in the mist. The mist seems to add to that slightly surreal
0:26:29 > 0:26:38look. A perfect winter scene somehow.
0:26:41 > 0:26:45somehow. That was really a magical experience being there with those
0:26:45 > 0:26:49kite drifting into the nest. We could not see inside the roost to
0:26:49 > 0:26:54find out what was going on. What might be going on, some people say
0:26:54 > 0:26:58that young red kites get together and that is their way of getting to
0:26:58 > 0:27:02know each other because they stay together for life once they get
0:27:02 > 0:27:09together. So what we did to find out in a bit more detail we got our
0:27:09 > 0:27:16thermal camera and we went down to peep properly into the darkness.
0:27:16 > 0:27:22Well, they are not pairing up. They are individuals. They do a lot of
0:27:22 > 0:27:26preening. They get muggy feet in winter and they are often pruning
0:27:26 > 0:27:31their feet and their feathers. We were thinking do they get together
0:27:31 > 0:27:36like starlings and wagtails? By roosting close together they raised
0:27:36 > 0:27:42the temperature. But they were not doing that. They are all separate in
0:27:42 > 0:27:46the trees, so they are not warming each other up. It is difficult to
0:27:46 > 0:27:52know what is going on. I have got two questions. Why that particular
0:27:52 > 0:27:58cops? Every now and then some of those birds get up in the middle of
0:27:58 > 0:28:02the night and fly to a completely different roost. What is that all
0:28:02 > 0:28:07about? Whilst we have been here we have been filming these beautiful
0:28:07 > 0:28:13birds in flight around here in Sherborne. It is good to remember
0:28:13 > 0:28:18that these birds very nearly became extinct. Red kites were extinct in
0:28:18 > 0:28:25the middle of the 19th century in England and in Scotland. They hung
0:28:25 > 0:28:30on, just a few pairs in Wales, and thanks to serious conservation work
0:28:30 > 0:28:35they have now managed to recover and we have got about 1800 breeding
0:28:35 > 0:28:42pairs, which is still a tiny number really. The sites of lots of kite
0:28:42 > 0:28:46wheeling around in the air, if it was not for conservation, that would
0:28:46 > 0:28:52be empty sky, so they still need our help. Winter is a great time to go
0:28:52 > 0:28:58out and do a bit of bird-watching. So let's go out with naturalist John
0:28:58 > 0:29:05Waters and see what we can find. Winter for me is a quieter time of
0:29:05 > 0:29:13year, but there is still plenty to see if you know where to look. Our
0:29:13 > 0:29:18garden is in the middle of a 1970s housing estate, probably not the
0:29:18 > 0:29:26best place to attract wild birds. But we have got a berry bush, and
0:29:26 > 0:29:31birds particularly like it. This winter we have had Red Wings. They
0:29:31 > 0:29:36are common birds in Britain and come from Scandinavia. They do not like
0:29:36 > 0:29:40to be the first one into the bush because they might get eaten by a
0:29:40 > 0:29:48cat. So I put out some plastic models. One bird might think there
0:29:48 > 0:29:52is already a thrush in there and once they are in debt, the rest of
0:29:52 > 0:29:57the flock will join them. Red Wings are beautiful birds and they have a
0:29:57 > 0:30:03lovely red patch under their wings, which gives them their name. It is a
0:30:03 > 0:30:08real treat to be able to sit on my doorstep and watch these shy,
0:30:08 > 0:30:15woodland birds feeding in my garden just a few feet away.
0:30:15 > 0:30:18just a few feet away. I am very lucky to live on the edge of
0:30:18 > 0:30:22Dartmoor, so I have got a whole range of different habitats where I
0:30:22 > 0:30:32can watch all sorts of amazing wildlife in the winter.
0:30:32 > 0:30:38One of my favourite insects. These wasps overwinter in little clay pots
0:30:38 > 0:30:44attached to the gorse and the heather, each female wasp will build
0:30:44 > 0:30:50one of these within 2-3 hours. Through exploring the behaviour of
0:30:50 > 0:30:53the wasp I've got to know the behaviour of the heath land as well.
0:30:53 > 0:30:58A truly nice to be accompanied by some stone chaps, there is often a
0:30:58 > 0:31:04couple who are resident on the heath. The male with his lovely
0:31:04 > 0:31:10little white patches. This winter there have been exceptional number
0:31:10 > 0:31:23of Hough inch's. -- hawfinches. They look quite angry. Big and bulky with
0:31:23 > 0:31:28enormous great beaks. Real characters. Coloured like autumn
0:31:28 > 0:31:35leaves. Pale cinnamon brown and grey with a bit of blue as well. You see
0:31:35 > 0:31:40the power of the beak which it uses to crush hard seeds. What it likes
0:31:40 > 0:31:48our hormone beams. Quite acrobatic things. They will hang down and grab
0:31:48 > 0:31:54the seeds, often grabbing a whole bunch at once. Really fabulous to
0:31:54 > 0:32:03see such a shy bird at such close range.
0:32:05 > 0:32:09One of the things about winter days is that although they are so short
0:32:09 > 0:32:13it is the fact you can get out at dawn and dusk, so many interesting
0:32:13 > 0:32:18things happen in the natural world as they light changes. In the summer
0:32:18 > 0:32:23it's hard to get up so early or stay out so late but in the winter it is
0:32:23 > 0:32:28easy. Nothing I like better than coming out to the woodlands. I have
0:32:28 > 0:32:31been watching this flock of long-tailed hits for about three
0:32:31 > 0:32:37winters. They have got so used to me that they behave normally and allow
0:32:37 > 0:32:46me to watch their natural behaviour. The young, once they leave the nest
0:32:46 > 0:32:50are not abandoned by their parents. The flocks you see in the winter are
0:32:50 > 0:32:56often the parents and the young altogether. You cannot really not
0:32:56 > 0:33:01like them, they are sociable birds. They fly around in a little flock
0:33:01 > 0:33:08and help each other out to find food.
0:33:08 > 0:33:13These are tiny little birds. The only way they can really survive
0:33:13 > 0:33:17particularly when it's very cold and the nights are short in midwinter is
0:33:17 > 0:33:23to snuggle up together and keep warm. It looks so cosy. If I had to
0:33:23 > 0:33:28sleep out in the woods that would be a place to sit, snuggled up in a big
0:33:28 > 0:33:35sleeping bag. So many of them all fluffed up together that you cannot
0:33:35 > 0:33:39really tell where one ends and another begins. The only way to
0:33:39 > 0:33:42count how many there are is to count all the tales which are sticking
0:33:42 > 0:33:49out. What better way to end the day really. What an amazing sight to
0:33:49 > 0:33:57see. Really special.
0:33:57 > 0:34:02That is adorable, have you seen that?I have never seen it, I have
0:34:02 > 0:34:07seen them plenty of times but never doing that.Me neither, we'll have
0:34:07 > 0:34:12to go on another mission to see them. What more could you want? All
0:34:12 > 0:34:17of the birds we have had our birds which people get excited to see, and
0:34:17 > 0:34:28although John had a Hough -- hawfinches on his track, this time
0:34:28 > 0:34:32of year, a couple of hundred usually visit our shores but this year we
0:34:32 > 0:34:40have had an influx of them, about a thousand to possibly 5000 birds have
0:34:40 > 0:34:45arrived to the UK from the autumn. It's a good chance to see them. On
0:34:45 > 0:34:49Sunday we had a tip-off there were a few in the churchyard in Sherborne
0:34:49 > 0:34:53Village so we headed off with our binoculars and were treated to this
0:34:53 > 0:35:02site. Look at that massive powerful bill and with our binoculars we
0:35:02 > 0:35:07certainly got a really good sighting. Usually very shy and
0:35:07 > 0:35:13difficult to see. They are usually hidden in the upper canopy of mature
0:35:13 > 0:35:18woodland but we were lucky and saw a few beautiful birds.Absolutely
0:35:18 > 0:35:24fantastic. I cannot stress it enough, if you have not seen a
0:35:24 > 0:35:28hawfinch this is the winter, get your binoculars and get out there.
0:35:28 > 0:35:34We were sent to this date this afternoon, this is last year, this
0:35:34 > 0:35:39week, and the number of hawfinch sightings in the UK. 12. This is the
0:35:39 > 0:35:46UK this year with the number of hawfinch sightings this week, 203.
0:35:46 > 0:35:51There is a very much a southern bias to these sightings. So you might
0:35:51 > 0:35:58have thought they were coming from further north like the great grey
0:35:58 > 0:36:02shrike and other visitors but it seems like a storm moved the birds
0:36:02 > 0:36:07up from southern Europe and it is are more common because they can
0:36:07 > 0:36:11feed on things like hornbeam and beach seeds and these trees are more
0:36:11 > 0:36:17common there. We think of ourselves as having a pretty tough job, but if
0:36:17 > 0:36:24you bite into a cherry and you bite onto the stem you can break your
0:36:24 > 0:36:32teeth. But a hawfinch has the ability to crack open a cherry
0:36:32 > 0:36:37stone. It has a couple of little pads at the corner of its beak to
0:36:37 > 0:36:42hold the stone in the right position. It's got massive muscles
0:36:42 > 0:36:46anchored around the back of its head so it doesn't village jaws apart and
0:36:46 > 0:36:55it can the crushing power of 50 kilograms. 50 kilograms bite from a
0:36:55 > 0:37:01tiny little bird it's extraordinary. That was not the most scientific
0:37:01 > 0:37:04demonstration I've ever done on Winterwatch but it does exemplify
0:37:04 > 0:37:11the fact that these birds have enormous biting power. Eat your
0:37:11 > 0:37:20heart out.A lot of you have seen hawfinches arranger patch and sent
0:37:20 > 0:37:26in pictures. This coming on Twitter, this was Derbyshire. They have also
0:37:26 > 0:37:36been seen in Hampshire. This is interesting, this was a flock of
0:37:36 > 0:37:40around 30 around Ludlow. Thank you for sending was in. Keep looking for
0:37:40 > 0:37:44them, this is the winter to see them.You would have seen episode
0:37:44 > 0:37:51one of Game of Crows yesterday, are rather medieval contest to test
0:37:51 > 0:37:55cognitive abilities but it was inconclusive and we asked who you
0:37:55 > 0:38:00thought had won. The results are in, 61% thought the raven that would
0:38:00 > 0:38:06prove to be the more intelligent bird and 39% said Crowe. Let's find
0:38:06 > 0:38:15out now in the final episode of Game of Crows.
0:38:17 > 0:38:26Raven from the Winter fell with the news. It says, Fischer, 1-1.All to
0:38:26 > 0:38:31play for.
0:38:31 > 0:38:37play for. Yesterday the Crowe sped to victory.Whilst the raven made
0:38:37 > 0:38:42short work of the guillotine with his impressive inquisitiveness. But
0:38:42 > 0:38:48two tests remain.
0:38:49 > 0:38:53two tests remain.Game three, the war map. This test is and memory.
0:38:53 > 0:38:59Important skills when catching and storing food. For this test each
0:38:59 > 0:39:04bird must spot the one brightly coloured soldier amongst the hordes
0:39:04 > 0:39:11before the two minute hourglass runs out.It's time to play the Game of
0:39:11 > 0:39:14Crows.
0:39:18 > 0:39:33First up, the raven.Where is the soldier? Straightaway! It hasn't
0:39:33 > 0:39:37even got three eyes. It spotted the soldier straightaway in amongst the
0:39:37 > 0:39:41crowd and went straight to it.And now it is laying waste to the other
0:39:41 > 0:39:47armies.They have got very good eyesight but more importantly they
0:39:47 > 0:39:54have a very good memory.Bring on the crow.I will set the sons of
0:39:54 > 0:40:04time. Before you have even set the sons of time! He is faster.You are
0:40:04 > 0:40:07still setting the sons of time and you missed it, he went straight in
0:40:07 > 0:40:16and got it. 2-1. To the crow.
0:40:17 > 0:40:19and got it. 2-1. To the crow.With a brain 15% larger than the crow on
0:40:19 > 0:40:23paper the youthful raven should be doing better. But can he at least
0:40:23 > 0:40:31even up the score?The final test sees winter coming. With ice and
0:40:31 > 0:40:41stone.Presented with frozen food sealed in ice, a rock and warm
0:40:41 > 0:40:47water, how will these birds get the meat and win the game?Will the
0:40:47 > 0:40:54raven's superior size and strength beat the wily old crow? The key
0:40:54 > 0:40:58thing is that this is brand-new, they have not been exposed to this
0:40:58 > 0:41:03at all, it's a new experience for them.Let's turn over the sons of
0:41:03 > 0:41:04time.
0:41:08 > 0:41:17What's he going to do? What is he going to do? He's got it. No.
0:41:17 > 0:41:22Testing everything isn't he? He's going to throw it off the edge and
0:41:22 > 0:41:26see if it smashes.LAUGHTER
0:41:28 > 0:41:41He is using the ground now.Let's bring him back. Go on. Good man. No!
0:41:41 > 0:41:49That's drawn blood! That really hurt.That is really Game Of Thrones
0:41:49 > 0:41:58that is. This is what we need.It is difficult to pin down ice.
0:42:02 > 0:42:08He's just trying to use brute force and having real difficulty.The sand
0:42:08 > 0:42:19is of time...Out. He got some food out of it. He used smashing it to
0:42:19 > 0:42:24bits with his beak and holding onto it with his talent. Partial success.
0:42:24 > 0:42:30Shall we see what the crow can do? Smart ice cube. A little bit smaller
0:42:30 > 0:42:42because of the crow.What is that? What is that? It's a bit cold.
0:42:42 > 0:42:46What is that? It's a bit cold. I think he is more accurate.Look at
0:42:46 > 0:42:52that. Who would have thought it? He's definitely scoring.He almost
0:42:52 > 0:42:58put it in the warm water.That might have been an accident. I must give
0:42:58 > 0:43:03an element of honesty and say that this has been achieved far more
0:43:03 > 0:43:09quickly than the raven. So thinking about these challenges, the raven is
0:43:09 > 0:43:15a bigger birds, but sometimes the more power the less grace.Never was
0:43:15 > 0:43:21and more true than what we have seen today.I think we have seen birds
0:43:21 > 0:43:25with different personalities, not just a crow and a raven but there
0:43:25 > 0:43:28are higher cognitive abilities allow us to determine those personalities
0:43:28 > 0:43:35more quickly. I have to follow my sword. I have to do the decent thing
0:43:35 > 0:43:42and fall on my sword. Because the crow has trounced the raven.Much to
0:43:42 > 0:43:44both our surprises I fancy.
0:43:49 > 0:43:54Quoth the raven, nevermore. I say, that is a big surprise. I would have
0:43:54 > 0:43:59banked on the raven, bigger bird, bigger brain, great reputation for
0:43:59 > 0:44:04being the most cover bird on the planet. Along with 61% of you I
0:44:04 > 0:44:09thought the raven would win and we lost. Nevertheless... After all of
0:44:09 > 0:44:14that carrying around in medieval costume, there is a point.
0:44:14 > 0:44:17Understanding the cognitive ability means we've got some very dramatic
0:44:17 > 0:44:22new science. Come on, this is astonishing.This is really
0:44:22 > 0:44:29astonishing. It turns out that the crow family appear to be as
0:44:29 > 0:44:34intelligent as some of the primates. How can that be? Particularly when
0:44:34 > 0:44:40you look at this. Here, this is exactly the correct size, scale
0:44:40 > 0:44:48size, that is a chimpanzee brain, it is not real obviously. And this is a
0:44:48 > 0:44:54crow's brain. How can it be that a brain that size can be as clever as
0:44:54 > 0:44:59a brain that size? Well the very latest science has shown us how they
0:44:59 > 0:45:04do it and it is all to do with neutral density. How tightly the
0:45:04 > 0:45:10neurons are packed into the different brains. In the crow's
0:45:10 > 0:45:15brain it has ten times more neurons per gram weight, than the
0:45:15 > 0:45:19chimpanzee. So although it is smaller it has much more densely
0:45:19 > 0:45:23packed it neurons and that is how that little brain can compete in
0:45:23 > 0:45:24intelligence with the much bigger brain.
0:45:30 > 0:45:33All of these years we have been using the term bird-brain and we
0:45:33 > 0:45:40should have been saying chimp brain. Even birds we might see flying
0:45:40 > 0:45:43around in our gardens like the goldcrest have a similar sort of
0:45:43 > 0:45:51relationship. The goldcrest weighs about seven grams. They have a brain
0:45:51 > 0:45:58that weighs 0.36 the ground. A mouse weighs 27 grams and has a brain
0:45:58 > 0:46:05which weighs 0.4 to the ground. Bigger animal, bigger brain. But the
0:46:05 > 0:46:09goldcrest has got 2.3 times the number of new runs in its brain down
0:46:09 > 0:46:14the mouse has which suggests, and it is untested, that the goldcrest
0:46:14 > 0:46:20might be a more intelligent animal than the mouse. Twice as bright as
0:46:20 > 0:46:26the mouse.Potentially. On a completely different note all brains
0:46:26 > 0:46:33change size as we grow of course. Look at this fascinating chart. This
0:46:33 > 0:46:38is the size of human brains as we grow. Here we are as a baby and the
0:46:38 > 0:46:43brain gets bigger and bigger and then something frightening happens.
0:46:43 > 0:46:49At the age of 40 our brains start to shrink, Chris. I'm afraid your brain
0:46:49 > 0:46:56and my brain is on a downward spiral.But our brains can change
0:46:56 > 0:47:01shape and function during our lifetimes. We have rearranged some
0:47:01 > 0:47:06of the neurones to protect ourselves and it gives us the ability to
0:47:06 > 0:47:11recall things, so it is not all bad news.But the female brain
0:47:11 > 0:47:16throughout is smaller than the male brain, mate.Potentially
0:47:16 > 0:47:23controversial. We have shown that size is not important, it is density
0:47:23 > 0:47:27that counts, size is not important. It is not the size of your brain, it
0:47:27 > 0:47:34is what you do with that.I have been saying that for years. Less
0:47:34 > 0:47:36discontinued this anatomical conversation and head over to Julie
0:47:36 > 0:47:41in to see how she is getting on with her eagle.
0:47:41 > 0:47:45Welcome back to the Oa peninsula on Islay. We have been following a
0:47:45 > 0:47:51breeding pair of golden eagles and we put some cameras out in the hope
0:47:51 > 0:47:56of getting some views on a deer carcass. We thought it would last
0:47:56 > 0:48:04the ages, but did it? Four days after the first eagle appeared we
0:48:04 > 0:48:11noticed that most of the left flank was completely gone. The animal was
0:48:11 > 0:48:16not that big, about 20-30 kilos, bones and everything. But that was
0:48:16 > 0:48:22an incredible start. We notice they started to arrive in the morning, or
0:48:22 > 0:48:28at least this one. It would have a huge feed after a cold winter's
0:48:28 > 0:48:35night and once it was done it was gone. The 4th of January was a
0:48:35 > 0:48:40really wet day. Eagles rarely fly on days like this, it is terrible
0:48:40 > 0:48:45hunting weather, really tough conditions, so it was making the
0:48:45 > 0:48:50most of this fine. Then we noticed a change in the routine. There were
0:48:50 > 0:48:54two visits, one in the morning and one later on. Were these two
0:48:54 > 0:49:01different birds? A male and female? Either way, there was very little
0:49:01 > 0:49:07left. And then on the 7th of January the eagle landed by the carcass as
0:49:07 > 0:49:14usual. Then what we saw next was amazing. In this shot in the top
0:49:14 > 0:49:20left-hand corner of was the mate and it sat there watching for 40
0:49:20 > 0:49:25minutes. This was our proof that both birds were aware of the
0:49:25 > 0:49:30carcass, possibly feeding on it as well. This is the last time we saw
0:49:30 > 0:49:36the pair and there was nothing left. In just 11 days we counted 14 visits
0:49:36 > 0:49:42and each took just over half an hour. That was 7.5 hours to strip a
0:49:42 > 0:49:4930 kilo carcass bear. Absolutely amazing and all that meat served one
0:49:49 > 0:49:53purpose, to get the pair into perfect breeding condition which for
0:49:53 > 0:50:02golden eagles comes early, as we saw. Now, this is a magnificent
0:50:02 > 0:50:11bird, absolutely built to soar. We noticed the pair started to play.
0:50:11 > 0:50:16They were tumbling, sort of floating. This is the beginning of
0:50:16 > 0:50:23the courtship ritual. They are masterful flyers. But it was the
0:50:23 > 0:50:28mail that started to do his stuff. He pulled his wings in and plummeted
0:50:28 > 0:50:35right down and just before the bottom of his dive, he pulled up and
0:50:35 > 0:50:42climbs again and he does it again. Wings held tightly to the body, legs
0:50:42 > 0:50:49tucked in. He could build up speed to 320 kilometres an hour. This is
0:50:49 > 0:50:54the second fastest birds in the world. Only the peregrine is faster.
0:50:54 > 0:51:00He was not doing this to impress his mate, this was a long distance,
0:51:00 > 0:51:04territorial display, a message to mail is a long distance away saying,
0:51:04 > 0:51:09this is my patch, keep out. The good news is that e-mail has been
0:51:09 > 0:51:14successful at breeding for the last four years and so there is a good
0:51:14 > 0:51:19chance she will be sitting on the eggs in March. Golden eagles are
0:51:19 > 0:51:24resident on this island all year round, but some birds only come to
0:51:24 > 0:51:29these shores in the winter.
0:51:31 > 0:51:38these shores in the winter. Dawn breaks on the north-east coast.
0:51:38 > 0:51:41Wading birds have spent the cold night huddled together in mixed
0:51:41 > 0:51:49flocks. They have waited not for the sun, but for the moon to do its work
0:51:49 > 0:51:58and turned the tide. Now, despite the chill, they must get going. But
0:51:58 > 0:52:07a tiny bird remains. It's a sanderling.
0:52:11 > 0:52:18sanderling. Despite its diminutive size, it is incredibly resilient.
0:52:18 > 0:52:26From summer breeding grounds high in the Arctic Circle in winter
0:52:26 > 0:52:31sanderlings migrates south.
0:52:32 > 0:52:38sanderlings migrates south. Some even make it as far as Australasia.
0:52:38 > 0:52:44Not that stats for one of the smallest waders on the beach. During
0:52:44 > 0:52:50the freezing winter months, sanderlings must eat almost
0:52:50 > 0:53:01constantly in order to survive. Life is lived on a knife edge. Wind is a
0:53:01 > 0:53:09constant problem. It does not take much for this little bird to be
0:53:09 > 0:53:15blown off course.
0:53:15 > 0:53:19blown off course. Nevertheless, this is a bird perfectly adapted to its
0:53:19 > 0:53:29habitat. Unlike other waders, sanderlings have no hind toe to drag
0:53:29 > 0:53:39them back and slow their speed. Like tiny clockwork toys they -- about,
0:53:39 > 0:53:46only just avoiding being swamped by the breakers. It is exhausting to
0:53:46 > 0:53:53watch. It must be hard work. But it does give the sanderlings an
0:53:53 > 0:54:00advantage. None of the other waders here feed on the tide line like this
0:54:00 > 0:54:10and so they have this part of the beach virtually to themselves.
0:54:10 > 0:54:17Pickings are rich at the water's edge and the sanderling's short bill
0:54:17 > 0:54:23is perfect for probing the mud for tiny morsels. It is also
0:54:23 > 0:54:33super-sensitive. Touch receptors on its tip can detect vibrations of
0:54:33 > 0:54:37prey in the sand up to two centimetres away so they do not even
0:54:37 > 0:54:47have to touch something to note it is there. Much of their diet is made
0:54:47 > 0:54:54up of minute crustaceans, such as tiny crabs and sand hoppers. But
0:54:54 > 0:55:00sometimes they chanced upon a lucky find.
0:55:11 > 0:55:16The sanderlings are not totally alone on the beach. While most mind
0:55:16 > 0:55:32their own business, others are more of a disruption.
0:55:32 > 0:55:43Eventually calm is restored. And the birds can get back to the serious
0:55:43 > 0:55:49business of foraging. These tiny birds must eat their fill before the
0:55:49 > 0:55:57tide begins to turn. Then the dining table will be lost to the sea once
0:55:57 > 0:56:08more. What a delightful film, absolutely
0:56:08 > 0:56:13superb, beautiful photography and a stunning, little bird. 70,000
0:56:13 > 0:56:18sanderlings come to the UK every winter, all the way from Siberia.At
0:56:18 > 0:56:24the beginning of the programme we set you a quiz. Could you identify
0:56:24 > 0:56:29this particular animal? A few of you have sent in answers. Some said a
0:56:29 > 0:56:35baby deer. It could have been. Stephen said it was a long eared
0:56:35 > 0:56:42owl. Danielle Brownlee says a very wet squirrel.That is a good call. A
0:56:42 > 0:56:49lot of you got it right. Oliver Andrews, Catherine back in --
0:56:49 > 0:56:57Catherine Birkett. Let's see what it was. If we pull out the camera you
0:56:57 > 0:57:06can see it was a wild boar. A fabulous animal.We have had an
0:57:06 > 0:57:11instant response to our item about hawfinches from Phil Jones in
0:57:11 > 0:57:17Newcastle who sent us this photograph. This is the bill of a
0:57:17 > 0:57:24hawfinch which he found. You can see a pound and a ruler for contrast.
0:57:24 > 0:57:35Good work.Did that come in during the programme?It did. Brilliant.
0:57:35 > 0:57:44And I love murmurations and this is a murmuration of starlings making
0:57:44 > 0:57:52fantastic patterns in the sky. There is a predator cutting them all up.
0:57:52 > 0:57:57It looks like a lava lamp. Very sadly that is all we have got time
0:57:57 > 0:58:02for. Join us after the show for Facebook live with Lindsay Chapman.
0:58:02 > 0:58:07That is coming up in a moment. We are on at eight o'clock tomorrow
0:58:07 > 0:58:16night. We are going to resolve our farmland leading experiment. Gillian
0:58:16 > 0:58:21is in Islay exploring the lives of geese.And I shall be revealing the
0:58:21 > 0:58:31extraordinary and sometimes shocking sex life of these bats. It is not
0:58:31 > 0:58:37that shopping, don't worry.It is eight o'clock tomorrow.Bats, you
0:58:37 > 0:58:44have got to be there.