Skip to playerSkip to main content
aaadata13
  • 2 days ago

Category

🚗
Motor
Transcript
00:00What a beautiful building. This is Cromarty Lighthouse, but these days it's not guiding ships, it's guiding science.
00:30It's not your average field station, but for the past 35 years this lighthouse has been at the heart of one of the world's longest running dolphin studies.
00:51The lighthouse sits at the tip of the Black Isle, north-east of Inverness. A perfect vantage point to study the dolphins of the Murray Firth.
01:09I'm here to meet marine biologist Dr Barbara Chaney, who has been watching the waves here for 20 years.
01:18I thought we should go down to beach, we could have a wee chat down there.
01:24With Barbara as my guide, I'm on a mission to track down the bottlenose dolphins that call these Scottish waters home.
01:32I'm like a little kid at a candy store wanting the candy, give me the candy, give me the dolphins.
01:39Spotting them from the boat would be incredible, but I'm also hoping to get an insight into their life beneath the waves.
01:46Oh, there's actually a squeak.
01:50We'll also dip into the Countryfile Archive to revisit other conservationists around the UK, dedicating their time to studying our marine life.
02:02Are we counting the whole cliff?
02:03People with a passion for uncovering the secrets of the wildlife we share our shores with.
02:12Let's see if we can get some.
02:14Yeah, cool. I'm feeling confident.
02:16And those dedicated to protecting species that are on the brink.
02:20Right, let's find some sharks.
02:21I must admit the lighthouse is a unique study station.
02:36Yeah, we're quite spoiled, I think, here.
02:39This is part of the University of Aberdeen, and we've been studying the bottlenose dolphins in the area since 1989.
02:46Actually, my boss, Paul Thompson, set it up. He actually came here to study seals.
02:51And when they were out studying the seals, they spotted some bottlenose dolphins.
02:54And I'm sure the locals knew they were here, but really nobody had done any work on bottlenose dolphins in the UK before.
03:02And so they were really interested in looking at, you know, how many dolphins were here, why they were here, what they were doing in Scotland.
03:09And that's how the study started.
03:11You could have studied anything. Why bottlenose dolphins?
03:13Yeah, really interesting. We study a few different species at the field station, and it's all species who are long-lived and who could be affected by both natural and man-made change, whether that be climate change or developments.
03:28And so we're interested in looking at these different species and comparing them.
03:32And bottlenose dolphins, you know, there's not many of them around the UK coast, so it seemed like a great species to investigate and find out more about.
03:40Looking around, I can see loads of industry. There's big ships, there's cruisers going past. Why on earth are the dolphins picking this spot?
03:50So we think it's a really good habitat for them here, and that might be in a big part because the Moray Firth has a lot of salmon rivers running into it.
03:59And it's estimated about 20% of the UK salmon is in the Moray Firth.
04:04What does your study involve?
04:05What we do is a thing called photo identification. So we can take photos of the dorsal fins of the dolphins, and they have these natural marks on their fins.
04:15When they play and fight with each other, that's how they pick up these marks.
04:17Yeah.
04:18And so we can recognise all the individuals, and that allows us to follow them through time. We can figure out how many there are. We can figure out if they're having calves and how many calves they're having.
04:29And we can look at the survival of the individuals. You know, we took a photo of individuals back in 1989 that we still see today.
04:36Wow. So if I took a photo right now of a dolphin, is there any way that I can send it in to hopefully be able to identify the individual that I'm looking at?
04:44Yeah, so we have a collaborative project with St Andrews University.
04:48Okay.
04:49And they actually have a website that's called Citizen Fins, and you can actually upload your photographs to there.
04:53Yeah.
04:54And then you get feedback from them as to who the individual is. But also we have a website at the Lighthouse.
05:00So I'm always interested if it's a dolphin somewhere that we wouldn't expect to have seen it. So always happy to look at dolphin photos.
05:08Fantastic. I've got my camera with me today. Is there any chance that we can go out on a boat and I can help you with a bit of photography?
05:15Definitely. So I thought we could go out on the local dolphin watching boat and hopefully find some dolphins and maybe we can see if we can both get some photos.
05:22Fantastic. All right. Come on then. I'm looking forward to this.
05:30Our coastline is a magnet for marine life, sometimes living side by side with industry.
05:39Five years ago, Margarita took a trip to Cornwall, where seals and fishermen share the waters around Lew Island.
05:52Lew may be picture perfect, but it is a working harbour, reliant on its fishing industry,
05:57and in the summer more than 600,000 visitors.
06:02I'm in search of seals, irregular to these shores, and I'm told the best place to find them is over there.
06:10A break in the weather means we can get out to visit Lew Island, owned by Cornwall Wildlife Trust.
06:21It's a short distance from the mainland and is a haven for birds, insects, and of course, seals.
06:27Worldwide, the grey seal is endangered, but the population in the UK is healthy, and this part of the coast is an important place for them.
06:36The Cornwall Seal Group monitor the seals here. Recent storms have taken their toll, and the group has rescued three seal pups already this year.
06:45Rough seas can fling them on the rocks and separate them from their mothers.
06:49Susseya is leading the team.
06:52We have a relatively small number here, so we can recognise these individuals and really get to know them,
06:59understand who they spend the time with, where they go. So if the seals are thriving here, we know the fish is thriving here, the fishing is thriving here,
07:08but equally, if they're struggling, then we can use that to work out what's going on with the wider world.
07:15It's like a little window into the world of seals, and by looking in this little window of the world of seals, we can actually see the big picture.
07:23The small population of 15 regular seals means the group can get to know each one really well.
07:31They're probably the most intensively studied seals, grey seals in the whole of the world.
07:38The photographs the volunteers take are a way of identifying each seal.
07:46If we look over there, maybe just over there.
07:51Come on, sealies. Do your stuff, please.
07:56Oh, there he is. Or is it a she?
07:58She, I think. I'd say it was a she.
08:09We have to see the seals, but they are quick, literally. Head above water, then down again.
08:14But you could identify that it was a young one?
08:17Yes, yes.
08:18Just from that few seconds?
08:19Yes, yes.
08:20A very small head, yes.
08:22No fur pattern, so we can't tell which seal it is yet, but we've definitely seen one.
08:28We've caught a glimpse, but it's important to keep a respectful distance.
08:33However, on the way home...
08:35Good spot, Dave!
08:37So we were just heading back into shore, and Dave, our skipper, just spotted a seal so close to the shoreline.
08:47Is that quite unusual, Sue?
08:48Yes, it's very unusual for it to be so close into the mainland.
08:53Quite exciting.
08:54Very exciting. It's an adult female, and it's eating a fish.
09:00Oblivious to us as well, not bothered.
09:03While it's very special seeing seals in their natural environment, there are disadvantages to living side by side.
09:17The worsening weather and unwanted human interactions are all a threat to these animals, but plastic pollution can have dire consequences.
09:26Ellie Jackson is a local author who's coming to the rescue.
09:33Well, the seals themselves, as an animal, are actually really playful in the sea.
09:38So if they see things that catch their attention, like a fishing net, or a container, or a frisbee even,
09:45they want to have a look at it and see what's going on.
09:47And unfortunately, sometimes it can go over their necks, and this is when it becomes a problem for them.
09:52So as they grow, they're growing into this plastic.
09:56And the plastics that you're finding out when you're clearing up the oceans, or clearing up the beaches here,
10:02what kind of things are you coming across?
10:04We're finding all kinds of things. So really random things.
10:07I've got a collection here of things.
10:08This is a fishing net. It's so strong, there's no way that's going to be deteriorating for a good 50 years or so.
10:15And the seals swim into the nets, and then it gets trapped around them.
10:18So that's a huge problem as well.
10:20We've also got something that we're just starting to understand more and more, and that's these.
10:25What is this?
10:26It's a rock?
10:27Basically, they're plastic that's melted together with the rocks to form this new kind of material.
10:32So if you put that into the sea, that would actually float.
10:35So you would just find this floating in the ocean?
10:38Yeah, I found that on a beach just up the road, up the way there.
10:41So our waste is almost becoming new materials in the ocean?
10:43It is. It's really frightening to see it.
10:45So you've decided to take your advocacy one step further, and your children, because they were all getting involved in the beach cleans.
10:53It comes from the children, the inspiration, yes.
10:56So I've written a children's book about plastic in the ocean.
10:59If they're taught at this age how to care for our environment, the kind of changes they need to be making, like going plastic free in their lunch boxes, reusable bags, that then becomes second nature to them because they've grown up with it.
11:11And that's the inspiration you get from the children. They're the ones giving us the push we need to do to help protect our animals like the seals.
11:20Since filming, there's been a big drop in plastic pollution on East Loo Beach, helped by the awareness raised by Ellie and others.
11:29And 2025 is a big year for the Cornwall Seal Group. They're celebrating their 25th birthday.
11:36So far, they've looked through nearly one and a half million photos, carried out over 62,000 surveys and made almost 150,000 seal IDs.
11:48A very happy birthday indeed.
11:51From Cornwall to Cromarty, coastal communities are vital for marine conservation.
12:08And here on the Murray Firth, they're essential in keeping track of who's who in the bottlenose dolphin world.
12:16This is it. Dolphin time.
12:23We've just had a call that dolphins have been spotted a couple of miles off Cromarty.
12:29I'm all geared up. I've got my camera. And to say that I'm beyond excited is an understatement.
12:46Over there, there's a seabird breeding colony, mainly guillemots and razorbills, shags, cormorants, lots of gulls sometimes.
13:00Of course I'm excited to see dolphins, but I'm not going to pass up the chance to take in a seabird colony along the way.
13:07They might even give us a clue about where the dolphins are.
13:13Is there a particular bird that people should be looking out for to give them the indication that there's cetacean underneath?
13:20For minke whales, you often see smaller seabirds diving, some of the ox, some of the gulls, and you'll maybe see a minke whale surface because the minke whales are going for very similar food.
13:32Whereas the dolphins we know go for so much different types of food, it's not always food that the seabirds would also be eating.
13:38But if you do see a lot of gulls diving, it's maybe worthwhile having a wee look for dolphins.
13:43Barbara, when it comes to seabird colonies like this, is there any correlation with the dolphins?
13:49If they do well, does it mean that the dolphins do well?
13:52So it's hard to see the direct link, but it does give you an idea if maybe the seabirds aren't doing very well,
13:58we might be a little worried that there's not enough food around in general and there might be issues for the dolphins as well.
14:04It's time to get back to what I'm really here for, tracking the bottlenose dolphins.
14:11Sarah's just having a wee look in the binoculars, are they? Up that way? Okay, yes, let's just go.
14:19But first, we're off to the east coast. A couple of years ago, Charlotte was at one of the UK's busiest seabird colonies,
14:27helping to count another remarkable species, the gamut.
14:30The area where the turbulent North Sea greets the chalk cliffs of the East Yorkshire coastline might seem an inhospitable place to call home.
14:45But here at RSPB Bempton Cliffs Nature Reserve, this wild, windswept environment is visited by around half a million seabirds every year.
14:55And there's one particular species I'm hoping to see today, the gannet.
15:07Famous for their high diving feeding routine, the gannet, one of the UK's largest seabirds, was one of the hardest hit species by the ongoing avian influenza epidemic,
15:18with almost a quarter of its total population lost.
15:23Now, the team at Bempton Cliffs are about to begin a particularly important gannet population count to see how the birds have fared since then.
15:32So I'm joining RSPB conservation scientist Saskia Wisniewski to see how it's done.
15:39I mean, is it literally just one, two, three, four?
15:44It is very much like this, but obviously, as you can see, they're all on a cliff, so it makes it a bit difficult because there's a lot of topography.
15:52Some of them are hiding.
15:53And most of them move around.
15:54They do. So when we usually count, we count them from the boat, which gives us a little bit more flexibility.
15:59But obviously, as you can see, the weather is not cooperating with us today.
16:03I guess when you're going like this, it's really difficult to count.
16:06It is, it is, yeah.
16:07So how much can you see them from land?
16:10So you can't see the whole colony, unfortunately, from land, which is why if we do a full colony count, we need to be on the boat.
16:17But we do have like smaller segments of the cliffs that we count every single year, and they give us an indication of population increase or decline.
16:26These smaller land-based counts are compared with the full colony counts done by boat to ensure the data is as accurate as possible.
16:35Oh, my goodness, Saskia. Are we counting the whole cliff?
16:39So it's basically the site of the stack, or the bit that's facing us directly.
16:44We are not counting every single individual bird. What we're counting are apparently occupied nests.
16:49Sometimes you have two on them, sometimes you have one on them, but it's only one nest site.
16:54So I'm not counting birds, I'm counting nests?
16:56Nests, exactly.
16:57And if there happen to be two there, they still count as one?
16:59Exactly, that's right.
17:00OK.
17:01So if I told you right now, count all of those birds, you're unlikely to lose track at some point in the middle of it.
17:07Yeah, OK.
17:08So what we do is we divide them in subsections.
17:10This is a lot more complicated than I thought it was going to be, Saskia.
17:13OK.
17:14We can do this, we can do this.
17:16Also, this is a counter.
17:17Ah, OK.
17:18So you actually don't lose track.
17:19Yeah, right, OK.
17:20Because you're new to it, I'm going to count it again.
17:22Oh dear, right.
17:24And then we see if we actually match up, because we want to get it right, don't we?
17:28Yeah, yeah, yeah.
17:30Right, I'm going in.
17:32Go for it.
17:33One.
17:35Two.
17:42Breeding age gannets, like the ones we're counting today, are distinctive for the clean black tips of their wings,
17:48while juvenile gannets can be recognised by a mottled black and white wing pattern.
17:54Due to bird flu, monitoring gannet numbers is critical, but it's just one part of a bigger picture.
18:01Along the clifftops, Reserve Manager Dave O'Hara and Visitor Experience Officer Poppy Rummery are monitoring the colony's fertility.
18:11Oh, goodness me, guys.
18:13The closer you get, the smell does intensify, doesn't it?
18:18It does, definitely.
18:19What is that?
18:21Guano.
18:22Oh, OK.
18:23The rich smell of guano.
18:24Yeah.
18:25So what are you actually looking at?
18:26Because you're much closer than I was over there with Saskia counting.
18:29So there's about 55 nests on here, so I'm keeping an eye on whether the gannets have chicks, whether they have eggs.
18:37It's really good to kind of get an indication of how well the population is doing overall with breeding success,
18:42because that, in theory, is what is going to help them to increase the population.
18:48Can I have a quick look?
18:49Absolutely, yeah.
18:50What you can see?
18:51I've got a chick in my scope.
18:52Oh, have you?
18:53Hopefully you'll be able to see it.
18:54It is just fluff underneath the adult at the moment.
18:56Sometimes the adults will just be completely covering the chicks,
18:59and you have to kind of just stand and watch, basically, for a bit of movement to see what's underneath them.
19:05Gannets mate for life and produce one egg a year,
19:09which they incubate in nests in very close proximity to their neighbours, for safety in numbers.
19:17Dave, the gannets were really badly hit, weren't they, by avian flu.
19:21Does the spacing of the nests have anything to do with the way that spread?
19:26Yeah, unfortunately for colonial species, nesting together for protection actually does make them vulnerable to viral diseases.
19:33We saw quite an impact here in 2022.
19:3680% of the chicks died through the summer from bird flu.
19:39Which is incredible, isn't it?
19:40Yeah, and it was really horrible to see, but also a big loss of adult gannets as well.
19:45So where are we now, then, in terms of this colony?
19:49Well, we saw productivity improve last year, thankfully.
19:52It was less than it normally is, but we'll be doing a full colony count this summer to see what the population's like.
19:58And we're also seeing everything to birds that survived bird flu.
20:02If you wanted to look at some birds through the telescope here...
20:05And what am I looking for?
20:07Well, hopefully you can see three gannets there.
20:10I can.
20:11The left-hand gannet there has a very black, cloudy eye, and that is a bird which...
20:17Oh, yeah!
20:18So that bird on the left has survived bird flu.
20:21So the ones that had bird flu then, and survived, developed a different eye?
20:26Certainly some of them have done that.
20:28We know from the blood tests that they survived as a bird flu.
20:31Then the hope, I suppose, is that you've got at least some birds in the colony who won't get bird flu or are immune to it.
20:37Yeah, and there had been a worry that, you know, this black eye, this is one symptom,
20:40but there might have been other effects as well.
20:42It might have affected fertility was a worry.
20:44You can see just about, now and again, that little chick underneath it, a real kind of beacon of hope.
20:50The fact that the bird with the black eye has successfully reared a chick indicates gannets,
20:58who've survived avian flu, have a hope of reproducing, providing cautious optimism for Dave and his team.
21:06And I suppose it's why it's so important to keep counting them all the time.
21:09That's why monitoring is so vital.
21:11Yeah, we have a great team here who are involved in the monitoring, and all around the UK.
21:17Knowing what's happening with our populations is really important,
21:20and getting better protection for them, at sea especially.
21:24They are amazing birds.
21:34While avian flu continues to affect bird populations in the UK,
21:38there is some good news coming out of RSPB Bempton Cliffs.
21:42Their 20-24 count showed that the number of fledged chicks was on the up,
21:48and close to their long-term average, which is fantastic.
21:56From sky to sea, every count helps us build a picture of life around our coast.
22:01And nowhere is that more important than here in the Murray Firth.
22:06Home to the UK's longest running bottlenose dolphin study, which is now in its 36th year.
22:12Really good conditions. Yeah.
22:14You can't ask for anything more than this.
22:16Definitely calm enough to see something.
22:18There's dolphins, yeah, just to the left of the boat.
22:29So I think what we should do is, if we can get a little bit closer to them,
22:32if you want to try and get some pictures, and so we can actually not only see that they're dolphins,
22:36but try and identify which one it is.
22:38I'll tell you what, you take that side of the boat.
22:40Okay.
22:41And if I get anything on this side, I'll be snapping away, and may the best photographer win.
22:45Oh, okay, a little competition.
22:47I love a competition.
22:53Everything becomes a fin.
22:55Yeah.
22:56When you're looking for dolphins, anything that moves looks like a fin.
23:00The dolphins are definitely out there, but so far, they're proving a bit camera shy.
23:06Oh, there we go.
23:07I think that's a mum and calf there.
23:08Would the mum and calf tend to stay a little bit further away from us,
23:12or do they come close and have a look?
23:14Yeah, so sometimes when the calf's very newborn, the mums will kind of keep them a little bit further away from boats,
23:21but as they get a little bit older, I think the calves get quite curious.
23:24Right.
23:25And so can come towards the boat.
23:27Well, I'd love for them to come over. I'll get you a selfie, you and your mum. Family portrait.
23:36If we take a photo of a dolphin, what should I be focused on? Which part of the dolphin?
23:41So what we want to get is a picture of their dorsal fins, so their fin on their back,
23:45and that's what's got some natural marks on it.
23:48So there's things called tooth rakes, which are marks from their teeth, obviously.
23:52Yeah.
23:53And then they also have nicks, which are just bits missing from the edge.
23:56of the dorsal fin, again from the teeth of the other dolphins.
24:00I'm like a little kid at a candy store wanting the candy. Give me the candy. Give me the dolphins. I'm going to focus on this side now. I'm changing tactics.
24:16OK, I was going to say I'm going to cheat and focus on this side too.
24:18That's my side. Go back to your side. And then, just like that.
24:22Come on, dolphins. Let's go. There you are.
24:25There we go. There we go. We've got dolphins up ahead.
24:29I think I've got a photo of a dolphin now.
24:34Yay!
24:35First dolphin picture. Now I just need like a hundred more, if possible, and a lot closer.
24:40Now speaking of getting images closer, if people are watching the dolphins that are out in the water, should they be aiming the boats towards them or should they be letting them just do their thing?
24:54No, let them do their thing. For our work, we have a license to do photo ID.
24:59Yeah. Which allows us to spend a little bit more time with the dolphins and get a little bit closer to them.
25:04Even with their license, we try and stay a little bit further away from them.
25:08Right. And just not to disturb them and let them carry on with their natural behaviours.
25:13How cool was that?
25:18A breaching dolphin has got to be the ultimate prize for a photographer.
25:23You see so much detail, but why they do it is less clear.
25:28What's the breaching about?
25:30We don't 100% know what it is, but there's lots of different thoughts on it.
25:35So we know they communicate with things like whistles, but actually also their physical behaviour can be communication to other dolphins.
25:42But I think sometimes it must just be fun for them.
25:46From a distant glimpse of a fin, we're now surrounded. My camera is busy.
25:54Did you see the salmon?
25:55I saw the fish. I saw the fish. Let me just have a look.
25:58Ah, you see the fish. You see the dolphin and the fish in Midath. This is awesome. This is so cool.
26:07Got two of them kissing right in Midath. Come on.
26:10I wouldn't call it kissing. I call it a headbutt. A gentle headbutt.
26:18Here they come. Here they come.
26:20Oh, my gosh. Hello. Hi.
26:23You see them on the bow of the boat?
26:24I don't even need a long lens.
26:26I'm just a happy snapper right now.
26:32I really hope that one of my images manages to contribute to your study.
26:36Absolutely.
26:37Would you put like a little tiny name? Photographed by Hamza Yassid right next to it.
26:41Yeah, we can put a credit for you.
26:43Yes. I can actually contribute something to science.
26:46Yes.
26:53This is awesome. This is awe-inspiring.
26:56To be able to just drift with the tide and see dolphins behaving like this naturally, you can't ask for anything better.
27:05And best of all, hopefully, one of my images will contribute to science, which for me, as a zoologist, is a dream come true.
27:13We have totally lucked out today.
27:20But some marine investigations can be far trickier, especially when it comes to even rarer sea creatures.
27:29As Joe experienced a couple of years ago off the coast of the Llyn Peninsula in North Wales.
27:35Now, don't worry. This is only a model of an angel shark.
27:43And unless you're a small fish, these are completely harmless.
27:49In UK waters alone, there are thought to be over 40 species of shark,
27:54from the small cat shark to blue and basking sharks.
27:59Angel sharks are one of the world's rarest and can grow to over eight feet in length.
28:09There are numerous reports of angel sharks along the Welsh coast each year.
28:14And I'm about to learn how to take a shark DNA sample in a bid to help scientists discover more about this population.
28:22Jake Davies is a local marine biologist and coordinates Angel Shark Project Wales.
28:29The hope is to use the shark DNA to understand the genetics of the angel sharks off the Welsh coast.
28:36This should help determine whether the population is connected to other regions or isolated in Wales.
28:42Before the lesson begins, though, it's time to be formally introduced to my new co-star.
28:48I believe this is yours. It is indeed.
28:51This is Angwen. She's part of our team.
28:53We aim to better understand this critically endangered species that we get off the Welsh coast.
28:56Fantastic. And how are you going about doing that?
28:59We use her for engagement, public events, but also can train people on how to take a mucus sample from the top side of the shark.
29:06So what, are you actually going to swab or take DNA from an angel shark?
29:08Yeah, so that's the aim of it, having these little kits on board so when they are accidentally caught, it's a very simple technique.
29:13And who's catching them? Because you're not allowed to catch these, are you?
29:16No, so it's illegal to target the species, but if they are accidentally caught whilst out fishing, there's some guidance on how to take these samples too.
29:21So from commercial to recreational fleets.
29:25Would they possibly turn up in both of them? They might be hauled up in nets or they might be caught sort of rod and line fishing.
29:29Yeah, over the years they've been caught both ways.
29:31So show me, how do you DNA swab an angel shark?
29:34So we produce a guidance, so here's a pack, a very simple pack.
29:37And inside of here, we've got some test tubes, which would be usually filled with an ethanol.
29:41These are basically what you think, the kitchen scouring pads, because you're going to take three samples along the top of the pectoral fin, which is the big fin here.
29:50So these ones at the side, the pectorals here?
29:51Yeah, the biggest ones here. So you take a firm but not too harsh, pushing down on the top to pick up some of the mucus they have and that will then pick up some of the skin cells and that's what we can use then to analyse the DNA of this individual.
30:02Right.
30:03And that can be sent off for analysis, but also we have a recording sheet here where we can take the size of the shark, you can also sex it too, and also the wing length.
30:11And that biological information is really important to helping understand individuals.
30:16So you're not relying on them to say, ah, and get any sort of cheek cells or anything?
30:19No, no, that'd be a difficult one with these guys. But yeah, very harmless and a quick and easy one.
30:24So if one's caught, it can be quickly put back in the water safely.
30:27So one DNA sample will only tell you so much, but actually if you've got several samples of several different fish, then you start to build patterns.
30:33Yeah, having these packs to people who are interested and want to be part of the project kind of has that distribution off the coast.
30:39And if they accidentally catch one, then they're ready and they can gather that information.
30:44But that's enough of the plastic species. I'm hoping for some real action as we head out to sea.
30:51Great, just put these down here.
30:52Put them down here.
30:55Right, let's find some sharks.
30:56Angel sharks are known to be in waters around the UK and the Canary Islands, but the true extent of their range remains uncertain.
31:07Jake's been trying to gather more evidence of the shark's presence on the Welsh coast for some time.
31:13I'm hoping that today might be his lucky day.
31:16We're using these BRUVS, which stands for Baited Remote Underwater Video Cameras, to try and catch a glimpse of these elusive animals.
31:29And it's mackerel on the menu today, an oily fish that will give off a scent that should attract any predators lurking nearby.
31:37More than enough lines, so, yep, when you're ready...
31:39Up it. Down it goes. A little cloud of smelly stuff comes off.
31:44OK, so that's one in. We've got our orange buoy marking where we've got it, so that's about five metres.
31:50And we're going to go along and do another one?
31:51Yep, we'll just head down a little bit further.
31:57OK, so that is the second BRUV down.
31:59Now the BRUVs are down, we need to give the local marine life time to investigate.
32:06How often have you caught angel sharks on camera?
32:08So, out of the 88 deployments we did over the summer of 2019 and some deployments last year in 2020,
32:15we haven't had any, unfortunately, but one thing...
32:18None? None at all?
32:19None at all, but it's not a full surprise because they're an ambush predator.
32:22OK.
32:23And its likelihood is quite unlikely, but it's always good to have that kind of almost surveillance in there when in the water.
32:31We've got a skeleton of some mackerel.
32:35One hour later, it's time to head back to shore to see what we've caught.
32:41Jake, I'm really excited to see this because, honestly, we have no idea what was swimming around beneath us today,
32:46but it could have been anything and this will give us a clue.
32:48Yeah, no, exactly, so it looks a bit salty as we thought it would have been,
32:51but if you look carefully there, there's a shadow at the top.
32:54Yeah.
32:55And there we go.
32:56That's huge.
32:57Yeah, it looks quite big.
32:58It looks like it's an adult bullhuss or nurse hound, so they've got quite big spots
33:01that really distinguish it from its smaller cousin, the dogfish.
33:05Wow.
33:06That's a shark.
33:07Yep.
33:08So you did get a shark on camera.
33:09That's amazing.
33:10Yeah, definitely did.
33:11And this is, yeah, one of the many shark species that we got off the Welsh coast.
33:13It's one of the more common ones, but it's still really good to see this species of shark.
33:17Nurse hounds are a large type of cat shark that go by many names, including the greater spotted dogfish
33:24and the roughhound shark.
33:26So how does the footage help?
33:28Again, it's out there.
33:29It's another tool that we can use when possible.
33:32But getting that footage of an angel shark underwater off the Welsh coast will be incredible.
33:35You know they're there.
33:36I can just see that you're not going to give up until you get one on camera in Welsh waters.
33:40Look, we will get it, because we know they're out there.
33:42It's been the right time, right place for them.
33:47And that right time and right place came shortly after we filmed.
33:52Jake finally captured an angel shark in Cardigan Bay while he was out diving.
33:58As for Anguin, they're still going strong, helping to raise awareness of this special creature.
34:04Angel sharks may be elusive, but so too are bottlenose dolphins.
34:11Not that you'd believe that today.
34:14Oh, and there's more chomping out there as well.
34:16So actually I think we've got quite a few with us.
34:18There he is.
34:21Awesome.
34:23I don't even know if I'm contributing to science at the moment.
34:25I'm just having a dolphin of a time.
34:28I wanted to say a whale of a time.
34:30It's a dolphin of a time.
34:32We are being spoilt with sightings of what is the most northerly population of bottlenose dolphins in the world.
34:40And the team here use every tool they can to monitor them.
34:44You can see on my camera here we've actually got two lasers on the camera.
34:49So what that does is it shines on the dolphin and it provides a scale on the picture.
34:54It doesn't do them any harm.
34:56And we can measure the dolphins that way.
34:58We've got big adult males that are over three and a half metres long.
35:02That is chunky.
35:04And even the calves, when they're newborn calves, they're about one and a half metres long when they're born.
35:09On average, which is not much smaller than me.
35:12Yeah.
35:16Barbara and the team also monitor sightings of the dolphins from the sky using drones, as well as their sound from under the surface.
35:24All strictly under licence.
35:30So we have moored hydrophones.
35:33There's one just over there at North Souter, which we leave in.
35:37And the advantage of the hydrophones are they can be in, you know, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
35:41And it gives us a really good picture of how long are dolphins spending in different areas?
35:46Are they feeding in those different areas?
35:48So it gives us a fuller understanding of what they're doing here.
35:52And just like that, they go quiet.
35:59Yes!
36:01Come on!
36:02More! Action!
36:04This is one of the best dolphin viewings I've ever had.
36:08I've seen them all over the world.
36:09But I don't think anything beats it, like being here on my home turf, watching these guys.
36:16The weather topside has taken a turn for the worse.
36:20But luckily it doesn't affect the action below the surface.
36:24Hopefully Barbara's hydrophone will pick some of this up.
36:27This is going to be cool.
36:30I know they click and I know they whistle.
36:33But to be able to hear the dolphins that I have just photographed speak to each other.
36:39That's going to be cool. That's a first for me, for sure.
36:41So this is our little hydrophone here. If you want to put that in and just keep a little hold of it.
36:48OK.
36:49And just get it maybe a couple of metres, two to three metres deep in the water.
36:53OK. I must admit, I wasn't expecting it to look like a paddle.
36:56Yes. It's like a little ping pong bat.
36:59Yeah. We've got a lot of different types of hydrophones.
37:01But this one's quite handy because we can hear it straight away.
37:04All right. Fantastic.
37:05How sensitive is this hydrophone?
37:11The dolphins' vocalisations travel very far under the water.
37:14So it can hear them from quite a distance.
37:24Hearing the sound of the waves.
37:27So we could put it in a little bit deeper.
37:30OK.
37:31That might help.
37:35There's actually a squeak.
37:47Is there like a little whistle?
37:50That's some of the noises they make.
37:51So when they're communicating with each other, they make whistling noises.
37:54Oh, nice.
37:55That'll be that.
38:02What's that all about?
38:03That could be their echolocation clicks.
38:05OK.
38:06So the dolphins use that to find their way around in the murky waters of the Murray Firth.
38:12And also to find food.
38:14You hear those clicks very, very close together.
38:16We call that a feeding buzz.
38:17So as they home in on a fish, those echolocation clicks get much more frequent and it's a kind of more buzzing sound.
38:24I must admit, I was expecting it to sound a little bit like whales, where they go.
38:35But it's not.
38:36It's much more techno music.
38:39With the odd whistle in the middle.
38:42We know they have these things called signature whistles, which is like a unique identifier for each dolphin.
38:49So they know which dolphins are in the area.
38:51And then we also have these calls here that are called bray calls.
38:55We know the dolphins use them when salmon are around.
39:00Right.
39:01So they sound a little bit like a donkey bray.
39:02Yeah.
39:03So actually when we saw that salmon earlier getting thrown out of the water, I bet you there were some bray calls then.
39:09We think it might stun the fish to make it easier to catch because it's a very low frequency sound.
39:15Yeah.
39:16Or it could be what we call an altruistic call telling the other dolphins there's salmon in the area so the other dolphins know that they can find fish in that area.
39:24That's amazing.
39:28These sounds are clear as a bell today.
39:31But this is a busy stretch of water.
39:33There's a lot of industry around here and lots of shipping coming and going.
39:39If that increases, if there's more ships as time goes on, is that going to affect the dolphins?
39:44So a lot of our work with the hydrophones is actually recording those noises and seeing if the dolphins are echolocating.
39:51Are they still doing those foraging buzzes?
39:54Are they still able to carry out those natural behaviours even if there are ships in the area?
39:58They communicate with each other using noises.
40:01And so if you drown those out, that could be a big problem for the animals.
40:05So we need to really answer that question.
40:07May I listen some more?
40:09Absolutely, definitely.
40:10I want to see if I can hear them.
40:18It's like a disco for dolphins but without physically seeing them.
40:22What an awesome way to collect data.
40:25That is so cool.
40:27When it comes to protecting marine life, studies below the surface are crucial for effective monitoring.
40:39As Ali discovered one spring when she went looking for jellyfish off the North Cornwall coast.
40:44In their masses they gracefully glide through our seas.
40:51With their delicate bells and with every pulse, these vessels feed on the nectar of the ocean.
40:59Today I'm on the hunt for this fascinating creature but I'm going to need a bit of help in finding them.
41:05Now we've been scouring this scratch of coastline in hopes of finding jellyfish without any luck.
41:11But a couple of hours ago, one country of our viewer let us know that there were some here.
41:16So we've arranged to meet our scientist.
41:18Peter, hi Peter.
41:19Hello.
41:20How are you doing?
41:21Can we get close a look?
41:22Yes.
41:23A sound event but also a great opportunity to be able to see them close up.
41:26That's right.
41:27So at this time of year it's fairly normal for barrel jellyfish to be stranding.
41:32And can they strand in large numbers?
41:34Yeah, we get reports of hundreds, thousands of these things stranding in certain places.
41:39Peter is leading a nationwide survey to investigate mass strandings
41:43as he's keen to understand the movements of these enigmatic creatures.
41:47The barrel jellyfish for me is like the Arnold Schwarzenegger of jellyfish.
41:50It's a really thick sort of hard rubbery jellyfish and it's also one of the strongest swimmers.
41:56And research has shown that they're not just passively drifting,
41:59they're actually actively swimming up and down the water column searching for their prey.
42:03Absolutely fascinating but really nothing for humans to get too alarmed about
42:07because their sting isn't powerful enough to really hurt us.
42:10All jellyfish sting but some stings are stronger than others.
42:13So it's always best to wear gloves.
42:15And when we ask people to take part in our survey we always say look but don't touch
42:19because you don't want to get stung by some species of jellyfish because they can really spoil your day.
42:23It's one thing seeing these creatures beached on land but I want to see them in their natural habitat.
42:29So I'm continuing my hunt on the open sea with the help of an eagle-eyed crew.
42:34There's a nice slick here Ben just going off to the left.
42:38At this time of year the conditions are perfect for these jellyfish as they're drawn here on spring tides to feed on immense plankton blooms.
42:48These microscopic organisms spread right across our oceans.
42:53But can understanding plankton help me on my jellyfish hunt?
42:58Marine scientist Richard Kirby has captured incredibly detailed images of them.
43:03This looks like plankton art.
43:05It is. It's almost abstract isn't it? It's incredibly beautiful.
43:08And as we zoom in you can see all the detail of the different types.
43:11And this is your footage?
43:12This is footage I filmed the other day and I do this because well they're beautiful aren't they?
43:17And showing people is something that they wouldn't normally be able to see.
43:21It's absolutely gorgeous.
43:24It's amazing to think these microscopic organisms are no bigger than a hair's width.
43:31It's hard to overstate the importance of plankton. It's the beginning of all life in the oceans.
43:35It is and right now spring is happening in the sea.
43:38The phytoplankton are kicking off. In fact they're blooming.
43:41Just like spring in your garden you find you have to cut the grass.
43:43Now the phytoplankton are growing and that determines the abundance of everything else in the sea.
43:47In fact it feeds the whole marine food chain.
43:51Plankton is the key to finding our jellyfish.
43:54And Richard's research can tell us if this area is a good feeding ground.
44:00Look at that. It is a soup of plankton.
44:03I actually can't even see my fingers through the other side.
44:06Oh we've got a jellyfish in here too.
44:08Okay it's only a baby compass jellyfish.
44:11But seeing how much plankton there is the signs are looking good to find the adults.
44:16So I want to get onto the water for a closer look.
44:20Local marine enthusiast Ben Spicer is my guide.
44:23And knows where the best places are to try to spot barrel jellyfish.
44:27Let's see if we can get some. That would be amazing.
44:29Yeah cool. I'm feeling confident.
44:30Just keep looking down.
44:34Alright.
44:36There's so many different types of jellyfish.
44:38Sometimes you can spot them a mile off.
44:40And sometimes they'll just loom right up from underneath you.
44:43Yeah.
44:44The other day I did actually film some footage here.
44:48And it was of a big barrel jellyfish just cruising along.
44:51But the visibility was so clear.
44:52You know there's definitely an abundance of them in the Port Isaac Bay area.
44:58You know the funny thing about it is we both know that under there.
45:01There is so much life going on.
45:03Yeah.
45:04The plankton means we can't see it.
45:06And it's because of the plankton it's even there.
45:13With no luck in the kayaks, back on the boat, the only jellyfish I've seen is the little stowaway we caught earlier.
45:25With the hours passing and time running out, my hopes of a close encounter with a big barrel jellyfish,
45:31like the ones we saw on the beach earlier, are rapidly running out.
45:38Yeah, just below us, just behind us now.
45:40That's it, just to the back there.
45:43Just as we're giving up hope, a massive barrel jellyfish appears right alongside us.
45:48Finally we're able to get a glimpse of this spectacular animal.
45:52It's a real thrill to see one out in the wild, and it's not a thing of nightmares.
46:03It's truly captivating.
46:05But it's a fleeting encounter as it dives back down to the deep, disappearing through the thickness of the plankton.
46:11At last we've seen what we came for.
46:15And before heading back to the shore, there's just one last thing to do.
46:19Set our little stowaway free.
46:22Now it's time to return to the ocean.
46:26Go on.
46:28More spring life, back in the sea.
46:30Let's see.
46:41Since Ellie's visit, jellyfish sightings in the area have been on the rise,
46:46along with mass strandings of this often misunderstood marine marvel.
46:52Research is still continuing to understand why.
46:55The weather today has been a bit of everything.
47:02But if you'd like to know what's in store for the week ahead,
47:05here's the Countryfile weather forecast.
47:12Hello there.
47:13It is the final Countryfile weather of 2025,
47:17a year that looks likely to have been the UK's warmest on record.
47:21But the final few days of the year offer proof that even as the world warms and the climate changes overall,
47:29we will still have short term spells of cold winter weather.
47:32Rather cold for the next few days, mostly dry for the rest of 2025.
47:37Although that may not last, as I'll show you in a moment.
47:40But this area of high pressure is dominating the scene right now.
47:44A lot of cloud feeding around this area of high pressure.
47:47We keep a lot of that through tonight, squeezing out the odd spot of light rain or drizzle.
47:51But across parts of Northwest England, Northern Ireland and Scotland,
47:55where we do see clear skies, temperatures will drop minus five in the Highlands, for example.
48:00And we could see some fog patches across Northern Ireland and perhaps more especially through central parts of Scotland.
48:05Some of that fog could be slow to clear.
48:07Tomorrow, a lot of cloud, but I think a slightly better chance of seeing some sunny spells.
48:10Equally, a few showers into northeast Scotland and eastern England, where it will be breezy and top temperatures of three to nine degrees.
48:20Through Monday night and into Tuesday, our area of high pressure will stay with us.
48:23If anything, it pushes a little further southwards and eastwards and become centred across the north of the UK.
48:30So I think we'll see some spells of sunshine across Scotland on Tuesday.
48:32Same goes for Northern Ireland. Some early fog, though. Some of that could linger.
48:37More cloud for England and Wales and perhaps just a bit of patchy rain grazing the Channel Islands and the far southwest of England.
48:44Temperatures around three to eight degrees at best.
48:47And then we move into New Year's Eve and it's likely to be a really cold start to the day with this area of high pressure overhead.
48:53Light winds, so a widespread frost on Wednesday morning. Some patches of freezing fog.
48:58England and Wales having the best of the sunshine for the final day of the year.
49:02More cloud into Northern Ireland and Scotland. The winds will start to pick up.
49:05We'll see some showers into the northwest and that is just the first sign of a change.
49:10Now, this is what we're expecting to happen as we move towards midnight New Year's Eve into New Year's Day.
49:16This frontal system dropping into Scotland. A cold front bringing a band of clouds, some rain, some snow up over high ground.
49:25This is what we're expecting at midnight at the moment.
49:27But bear in mind, it's still a few days away, so you can keep up to date with your local forecast on the BBC weather app.
49:32But the cold front is going to push southwards through New Year's Day.
49:35It will tend to weaken the rain breaking apart a little bit, but behind it, the air turns colder.
49:40We'll see gales developing in the northeast of Scotland, where we will also start to see some wintry showers.
49:47And those wintry showers are likely to become more widespread as we move out of Thursday and into Friday.
49:52Our cold front is likely to linger, bringing a band of clouds and patchy rain, sleet and hill snow.
49:58But to the north of the weather front, well, the air will be turning really very, very cold indeed.
50:03So I think particularly across Scotland on Friday, any showers that you see are likely to be falling as snow, even down to sea level.
50:10This area of wet weather across Northern Ireland, Wales into the Midlands, that is likely to bring some sleet and snow in places.
50:16In between the showers, some smells of sunshine, but it's going to be windy and it will feel cold at two to seven degrees.
50:25So as we move into 2026, it looks like it is going to remain cold.
50:30It will be pretty windy and there are going to be some wintry showers likely to fall as snow in places.
50:36But equally, some smells of sunshine in between. Bye for now.
50:40The weather here in the west coast of Scotland has been a bit of everything.
50:52But if you want to guarantee yourself more sunshine, you should get yourself the Countryfile calendar.
50:57Here's John for more details.
50:59It costs £11.99, which includes UK delivery.
51:05You can go to our website, bbc.co.uk forward slash Countryfile, where you'll find a link to the online order page.
51:14Or you can call 0330 333 4564 to place your order by phone.
51:23Standard geographic charges will apply to both landlines and mobiles.
51:28The phone line will be available from Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, and Saturdays from 10am to 4pm.
51:40If you prefer to order by post, then send your name, address and a cheque to BBC Countryfile Calendar,
51:47PO Box 25, Melton Mowbray, LE 13 1ZG, and please make your cheques payable to BBC Countryfile Calendar.
51:59A minimum of £5.50 from the sale of each calendar will be donated to BBC Children in Need.
52:10I'm spending the day with the research team from Cromity Lighthouse Field Station on the Murray Firth.
52:16We've been surrounded by bottlenose dolphins.
52:19Ah, you see the dolphin and the fish in mid-end. This is awesome.
52:24And I've even heard them underwater.
52:28There's actually a squeak.
52:33And now we're going to see exactly which members of the Murray Firth dolphin families we've spotted.
52:39Let's get underneath here out of the rain.
52:44Barbara has a record of nearly 400 dolphins currently on the research studies radar.
52:52I've got all the photos downloaded here and we can scroll through and zoom in on some of the images.
52:59You've got the catalogue. I'd love to cross-reference with you and see if what you're saying is true
53:04or you're just telling me some numbers.
53:06OK, we can definitely do that.
53:07Awesome. All right, here we go.
53:09Who do we have here? Who's this?
53:11So that's a great photo of a well-known female. Her name is Severus.
53:17Severus.
53:18Severus, yes.
53:19She's got a little bit missing from the tiny, mean nick.
53:22Tiny nick, yes.
53:23And then some of these marks on the front of the fin there.
53:27All you see is her dorsal fin and you can identify not only the dolphin, the number and the name.
53:37That's right.
53:38You know, I've been doing this for 20 years, so taking a lot of pictures of her.
53:42We first saw her back in, I want to say, around 2009.
53:46And because I've seen her all those times since then, we know who she is.
53:50When I first started here 20 years ago, some of the females had newborn calves and some of those calves are having their own calves now.
53:57They're old enough to do that.
53:58Yeah.
53:59So being able to follow them and see how they're doing is quite special.
54:03Right.
54:04I want to test some more of your knowledge.
54:06Who's this here?
54:07So could we zoom into a little bit, please?
54:09Yeah.
54:10That's great.
54:11So that's a kind of perfect photo ID shot.
54:13Good.
54:14Good.
54:15And I think that's number 817.
54:18Should we just have a wee look just to be sure?
54:21Yeah, I want to double check.
54:22This is going to be a miracle.
54:23If you're just out of your head, you can just say the number like that.
54:29So there we go.
54:30So that's 817 there.
54:33Let me just double check.
54:35And you can see he's changed a little bit.
54:37He has.
54:38But you can see that bottom nick.
54:40Yes.
54:41What happens is they do change over time as they play and fight more with each other.
54:45The nicks don't heal, but they can get more of them.
54:48Yes.
54:49So that's what's happened to him.
54:50But you can maybe see at the top there, he's got that similar just little kind of dent at the top.
54:54Yep.
54:55Yep.
54:56It looks like someone's literally got a garden rake and just scratched around his dorsal fin.
55:02Yes.
55:03So that's the dolphin's own teeth as they're playing and fighting with each other.
55:09But can Barbara identify the dolphin in my favourite photo of the day?
55:14So who do you think that one jumping is?
55:16Um, so there's a lot of splash around.
55:19So often the jumping ones can be quite difficult to ID because of all that splash.
55:23But you can just see a little rake mark just right there.
55:26Yes.
55:27At the top of the fin.
55:28Yep.
55:29And so I think that's probably 1194.
55:32Barbara, this is phenomenal that you, you hardly need to take this out with you because you've got that catalogue built into your brain.
55:40We probably take about 10,000 photos a year.
55:42Yeah.
55:43So I look at a lot of photos of these dolphins.
55:45Does it have a name?
55:46It does.
55:471194.
55:48We've called that Pipette.
55:49Pipette.
55:50Oh, that's a lovely little name.
55:52Male or female?
55:53Actually, we don't know.
55:54Okay.
55:55So we should definitely check out your jumping shots to see if we could actually tell.
55:59And are we looking for the vent to kind of see if it's male or female?
56:02Exactly.
56:03All right, let's have a look, see if we can spot anything.
56:06Unfortunately, due to all the splashing, and he's just ever so slightly angled his dorsal fin towards us,
56:12he or she is not allowing us to be able to see if it's a male or a female.
56:17I think you've got some great shots there.
56:19You could come and do some photo ID for us any time.
56:22Will I have a job?
56:23I think we could sort something out, yeah.
56:26Do you think there's a positive future when it comes to bottlenose dolphins here in the British Isles?
56:42The population here we know is increasing.
56:45So there's more dolphins here than when we started.
56:49We know reproduction's been increasing as well, and from our work we know calf survival's been increasing.
56:55So when we first started here there was around 130 bottlenose dolphins on the east coast of Scotland,
57:01and now there's over 200.
57:02And so actually it's quite a good news story at the moment for these dolphins,
57:07but I think it's really important to keep monitoring them to make sure that continues and doesn't change.
57:12Well thank you so much for letting me have an awesome day out on the boat,
57:18but more importantly just seeing the amount of knowledge that you have has filled me with joy.
57:22Thank you so much.
57:23That's okay. Thanks for coming with us.
57:25What this project has done over the past 36 years is nothing short of remarkable.
57:33Oh, they're flipping upside down.
57:36Building a legacy of knowledge that's helping to protect the special dolphin population now and well into the future.
57:50Next time I'll be exploring life in and around one of Scotland's most stunning spots, Glenafric.
57:57Tell me how good my cast is, Peter. Go on.
57:59That one was rubbish.
58:04Oh, I got something.
58:05Excellent.
58:08What is it?
58:10And he's swimming.
58:12Hang on a minute.
58:13She's picking a little bit of food out of a fish and she's feeding it to something.
58:19See you then.
58:20Bye-bye.
58:28Extraordinary wildlife footage. Join Hamza for his hidden wild isles. Press red to watch on iPlayer.
58:34Here on BBC One, a death in paradise with vital evidence thousands of miles away.
58:39The Christmas special tonight at 8.30.
58:48The Christmas special tonight, will be safe.
58:49Within...
58:51The Christmas special tonight, will be wonderful.
58:53What us all!
58:55Is fool
59:01Can't live one another happy person of God.
59:14The thing is, please.
59:15After a doctor, my job is now earlier in the secure room.
Be the first to comment
Add your comment