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00:00It's like fishing for sound.
00:06Makes me want to go up the loo.
00:39Oh, here we go. Oh no, where? There you go, there you go, there you go. There's one in the
00:42air, one in the air.
00:43You see that? Woohoo! Oh my goodness! You see him? Amazing! There you go. Perfect. Good spot.
00:50At this time of year, there are two familiar sights which share these open fields.
00:55Lapwing, a joy to see, and hares. But unfortunately, the environment that they depend on is disappearing.
01:02Well, here on the Biston Estate, farmers and conservationists are bringing it back.
01:07And with it, some real sights of spring. Oh my goodness. They're still going, they're still going.
01:15In Hampshire's Avon Valley, the River Avon winds its way through woodland, water meadows and farmland.
01:24Much of it carefully managed to support wildlife each spring.
01:29Today, we've got a lovely sunny day. Everything's coming alive.
01:33Latwing are calling. It's a really optimistic time of year, I always find it.
01:37Just stunning.
01:39Matt, if you could pull that towards me very slightly, and I'm going to try and...
01:43There we go. Crank it up. Crank it up.
01:46Oh, it's coming through now. There she goes.
01:48Okay.
01:50Adam's also doing his bit to restore habitats for wildlife on his farm.
01:55As far as hedges go, you know, how does this one gauge?
01:59If I'm being honest with you, this season, it's probably the worst hedge I've laid.
02:03Oh, no.
02:04There's no reflection on you, Adam.
02:06But...
02:09And author Robert McFarlane celebrates the hare and the lapwing.
02:17Listen to that.
02:18Lapwing make these super cool calls, these strange cries.
02:27Well, that's a good start.
02:29Definitely strong from a lapwing perspective.
02:31Have you seen any hares yet?
02:33No, not yet, but we are in the perfect place to find out more.
02:37Okay.
02:37All right.
02:38Wish me luck.
02:39See you later. Keep them peeled.
02:48It's the careful management of the water meadows, heathland, woodland and farmland here
02:54that's helping species like the hare and lapwing flourish
02:57and keeps them returning each spring to nest in these open fields.
03:04Lapwing populations are falling across the UK, but here things are looking brighter.
03:11Rupert Brewer is Biston Estate's game and wildlife manager and is giving me a tour.
03:17I just can't get over the variety of areas and landscapes that you have to look after.
03:24Yeah, it's such a great site.
03:26You can be here on the heathland two minutes and we're into a completely different habitat
03:29and all the species that go along with those different habitats.
03:32So how long have you been involved in the estate?
03:3413 years now.
03:35What does that take to manage so many different types of habitat?
03:39It takes a lot of time and a lot of coordination.
03:43We've got a great team here that can get that done.
03:46So you've got input from lots of different groups?
03:49Oh yeah. I work with anybody to get information and help me understand.
03:54I help manage the forestry.
03:56I need to know what I've got and how to manage that commercially but sympathetically.
04:01That's the whole ethos of the estate.
04:03We farm, we forest, we do everything but with wildlife in mind.
04:07And in terms of how you start thinking about managing the months ahead in spring when you've got such a
04:14variety of habitats,
04:15what are you thinking about doing and getting sorted?
04:17In terms of wildlife, today we've got a lovely sunny day.
04:21Everything's coming alive.
04:23Latwing are calling.
04:24We're seeing hares and birds and everything's starting to move now.
04:28A bit of warmth and yeah, it's a really optimistic time of year I always find it.
04:32And you know there's going to be lots of monitoring and things coming up because now we're getting into nesting
04:37periods.
04:37Lots of work coming up but it's a good, it's a really good thing.
04:40And ground nesting birds?
04:42Yeah, we will get some latwing nests out here.
04:45Also medipipets and various species of duck as well.
04:53Wetland ecologist Lizzie Gratian from the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust
04:58has been working to boost the wader population here for the last 10 years.
05:04Hi Lizzie.
05:05Hi.
05:06What have you spotted today?
05:07So we've got latwing and redshank out in this field in front of us.
05:10So you can see a few latwing tumbling around and they're also down on the ground.
05:14You can see them hopping about every now and again.
05:16Redshank make a slightly different call and yeah, they're jumping around as well.
05:21So this time of year, what are you looking out for in their season?
05:25So these birds all turned up here about two weeks ago.
05:28So they're starting to set up their territories and figure out where to lay their eggs.
05:33So the latwing are displaying and they're starting to scrape.
05:36So the males make a little indentation in the ground and then the females put in a few sticks
05:40and that's where they lay their eggs.
05:42So they're all setting up home?
05:43Yep, yep.
05:44And they're coming back to the same spots.
05:46So a lot of these birds have bred here for the last few years and they're coming back to the
05:49exact same spots.
05:51Today we're just sort of starting out our surveys for the spring.
05:54So we're trying to get an idea of how many birds there are and how many are starting to set
05:59up their territories.
06:00So I just sort of do an initial scan and then we'll just note down everything we see.
06:05And then we do periodic surveys through the spring.
06:08And will they be sensitive to us being here?
06:11Yeah, so we try and do most of our survey work from a distance where we can,
06:16because as soon as we go into their habitat they will be disturbed and they'll come up and they'll leave
06:22their nests.
06:23But we just limit the amount of time we actually disturb them.
06:26So we look from a distance, pinpoint as much as we can and then we'll go in, find what we
06:31can
06:31and then we'll get out of her and leave them to it.
06:37Every nest is monitored.
06:39So the sooner they're found, the better chance the birds have of raising chicks.
06:45So what are we looking out for?
06:46So we are looking out for a little sort of hollow into the ground.
06:51It's sort of slightly purposely made.
06:54Oh, there we go.
06:55So there's one just here.
06:57So it doesn't look like a huge amount at the moment.
07:01Basically just a little indentation in this sort of tussock.
07:04Oh goodness.
07:04And then they've sort of put in a few bits of bits of dead grass around it.
07:09So not got any eggs yet, but it might do.
07:12I have to admit, I may have missed that.
07:15They are quite easy to miss.
07:18And they'll also make quite a few.
07:20So the male will make a few scrapes in this area
07:23and then the female will pick which one to lay her eggs in.
07:27Would you mark this scrape?
07:28I wouldn't necessarily make any markings around it
07:30because a GPS point will get me back to this area
07:32and I'll be able to find that quite easily.
07:35I would, if we did have eggs, do a number of other things.
07:37So all of the nests get a little temperature logger.
07:39So that's a way of monitoring that nest over its incubation period
07:45and getting an end date for it.
07:46So we can figure out with the temperature logger
07:49and with some field signs whether that nest hatched or failed,
07:53which is a really useful piece of information for us to have.
07:55And when might there be likely to be eggs in here or any of these scrapes?
07:59So, I mean, sort of any day now, we are right at the start of their season.
08:04They'll be laying eggs within the next week or so.
08:07And they all lay four eggs.
08:08So they'd all have four lovely little eggs in there.
08:11But this is a good sign that's...
08:13Oh, yes. Yeah.
08:14So they're definitely here.
08:15They're definitely going to give it a go.
08:16Eggs not too far behind, hopefully.
08:18Yeah.
08:21All this work has helped lapwing numbers increase,
08:24going from approximately 60 pairs 10 years ago to around 110 today.
08:32But predators still pose a serious threat.
08:34So Rupert is installing electric fences to help protect them.
08:39Can I give you a hand with this?
08:40Yeah, of course you can. Just take hold of that a minute.
08:42What predators are you looking out for now?
08:44Well, these have been mammalian predators, so foxes, badgers and otters.
08:47And it just gives the birds just that little bit more protection.
08:51Save their eggs and chicks as well.
08:53Predation is a significant problem.
08:55So by putting these non-lethal methods in, it all helps.
09:00And it's quite an effective tool or...?
09:03It's reasonably effective, but it's not 100%.
09:05And when you're dealing with such rare birds,
09:07you've got to use all the tools in the box, as it were.
09:10Obviously, badgers and otters are a protected species
09:12and we enjoy having them here.
09:14So the electric fence is the tool for those guys.
09:18And have you got any other options to protect the birds as well?
09:20Well, the habitat itself is key.
09:22You've got to put the habitat right, electric fences,
09:25and then that will give you some sort of justification
09:27to take other methods if necessary.
09:31And how long does it stay up for?
09:33Is it through the whole nesting season?
09:34Yeah, through the nest until we know they've all sort of fledged
09:37and left the area, then we'll take it down.
09:39Because we have to manage the meadows, we have to graze this
09:41and make hay out here as well.
09:42So this is why it's temporary, so we can still manage the site.
09:45Do you know the difference it's actually made
09:47to the number of nests you get since you've started doing this?
09:50Certainly, predation of nests is minimal now.
09:54So, yeah, it's a huge difference.
09:56Well, I'll definitely let you finish off and switch on.
10:14So why should we care about the plight of the Lapwing?
10:17Why does it hold such a special place in our hearts?
10:20Author Robert McFarlane might be best placed to explain.
10:34I've been writing about nature for about 45 years now,
10:38dating back to my first terrible poem about a penguin.
10:42And I don't think I'll ever stop.
10:43It fascinates me.
10:45We're part of this great complex web of life
10:46and we know so little of it.
10:49Wonder, fascination, mystery, they keep me coming back.
10:55I've often written about Lapwings.
10:57They have been in my life for as long as I can remember.
10:59The first field guide, bird guide I owned,
11:02I think it was the Reader's Digest Guide to the Birds of Britain.
11:05It had a Lapwing on the cover.
11:06I can summon it into my mind's eye and it was there,
11:09this beautiful shimmering iridescent bird.
11:12It was magic.
11:13I couldn't believe it existed in Britain.
11:20I love Lapwing.
11:22They make my heart sing.
11:24There are five or six of them out on the wet meadow over here
11:27and just watching them makes me happy.
11:32This name, Lapwing, it comes from the old English word
11:36Ljapowintse and that means very beautifully, I think,
11:39a flight with a with a flicker in it.
11:42If you watch Lapwing fly, you understand why the single birds,
11:46they tumble and turn in these swervy dips.
11:49And if you watch a whole flock in flight,
11:52if you're lucky enough to see it,
11:54they turn from black to white as they wheel
11:57like a handful of thrown dominoes.
12:01And even the Lapwing scientific name is poetic.
12:05It's lovely.
12:05Vanellus, Vanellus.
12:07It means little fan, little fan.
12:10And the name is given for the spread and the whirr
12:13of the Lapwing's wing feathers in flight.
12:26Listen to that.
12:27Lapwing make these super cool calls,
12:30these strange cries,
12:32and they sound like nothing else really.
12:36They remind me of sort of pinball machine bleeps
12:40and these static-y crackles.
12:46It reminds me of a wireless being tuned to a distant intergalactic station.
12:52And then when you see them on the ground,
12:54if you're lucky enough to get close,
12:56they gleam.
12:57They're iridescent.
12:58Their backs and their flanks are spectacular.
13:02If you see them in bright spring sunlight on a day like this,
13:06they glitter.
13:07They glitter like precious jewels.
13:09They glitter like they're wearing tungsten chain mail.
13:12They are beautiful birds.
13:16Lapwing have lived around and among us for thousands of years now.
13:21They thread through our histories, our stories, our personal memories.
13:26After decades of decline, the Lapwing is now an RSPB red list species.
13:31That means it's a bird of most conservation concern.
13:35And I dream of seeing Lapwing back in their thousands,
13:39forming flocks so vast above mud and marsh and divot,
13:43that when they turn it seems like the whole sky is on a pivot.
14:01One of the most effective conservation projects is taking place on the biggest dairy farm in the area.
14:07Here on the Biston Estate, they're giving wildlife a chance to thrive
14:11whilst running a huge commercial operation.
14:20George Brown has been managing this herd for six years,
14:24balancing the demands of a busy dairy farm with the needs of wildlife
14:28and the habitats it depends upon.
14:31What a spot!
14:33We milk 600 cows in total in two groups
14:36and we're just watching the second herd now coming on to get milked
14:39as the first herd heads out to start grazing.
14:42So obviously the dairy then is at the heart of the farm,
14:46but how does that sort of connect with the conservation stuff that's going on here?
14:50Our role basically I suppose is to provide this kind of commercial core of the dairy
14:54but fit in with all of the wider conservation stuff that's going on.
14:57Yeah.
14:57And so that's in terms of how we rotate around the whole estate
15:01and how our grassland fits in with the wider picture
15:03and then how our cows themselves graze different parts of the estate at different times of year
15:08to fit in with lapworms and hares and red shanks.
15:12Sometimes it's like conservation or farming
15:15and it really doesn't have to be like we live and breathe trying to do the both together.
15:27It's an incredible landscape for them to be grazing in.
15:30Hedgerows, tree lines, beetle banks, the dairy is kind of interspersed with all of that habitat
15:36and I guess that's part of what has made it a success.
15:38And with regards to sort of the wading birds, the lapwings and what have you,
15:42how close are the water meadows to where we are now?
15:45Really close, 200 metres from here over the road
15:47and then we're into the river meadows and the river raybone is then maybe 100 metres beyond that.
15:52It's kind of like a spillover isn't it for those birds?
15:54So you have to sort of manage it with all of that in mind.
15:57Absolutely.
15:57And the amazing thing I guess is that even within this relatively commercial dairy that we're stood in
16:02but because it's so close to that habitat we see that all of the success that's happening on the river
16:07meadows spills into here
16:09and so we would still get lapwings nesting in these very fields as well.
16:13The dairy enterprise rotates around the estate as well with the cows spending kind of the early spring up on
16:20this ground here
16:21while there's loads of nests and chicks on the river meadows.
16:23And then as those chicks have fledged, the cows can then migrate from here down to the meadows once the
16:29nature has had its chance to thrive.
16:31So the biggest thing that I can do or that the dairy can do for the lapwing project that is
16:37going on here
16:37is we have to deliver the river meadows grazed to 10 centimetres in height going into the winter
16:44because that then means that the lapwings have got this perfect habitat of short grass in the spring to nest
16:49in.
16:49So the dairy I guess has this key role in making sure that all of the vegetation that is grown
16:55up through the summer
16:56is grazed down in the autumn for the birds to arrive in the spring.
17:01George and the dairy team are just one part of a much bigger conservation effort across the estate
17:06which includes turning former arable farmland into the perfect nesting ground for lapwings.
17:14One of the people helping to make that happen is Martin Button, the estate's arable and environmental manager.
17:21So what are you busy with here? What's happening?
17:24Under our stewardship scheme, we do two hectare plots. We've got three of them dotted across the estate.
17:30Right.
17:31Just set up simply for the lapwing.
17:33Wow, so you're plowing all of this just for the nesting lapwings?
17:36Yeah, just for the lapwings.
17:37It encourages the wildlife. It's set in an area that sort of links the meadows where the lapwing should be
17:43onto arable ground just beyond it and it's sort of a block in between.
17:47How do they use this?
17:48They will just literally make a small scrape, a few little twigs and that's all they do
17:53and then they will just lay the eggs straight into that.
17:56I mean it is incredibly sandy, isn't it? The soil.
17:59We're sand over gravel here, we're very light land.
18:02Yeah.
18:02Very light indeed.
18:03So quite easy to plow.
18:05Oh yeah, very easy.
18:06Are you going to show me how you're going?
18:08Absolutely.
18:16How long have you worked on this place?
18:18I've been here 40 years this year.
18:20Right, gosh, so you've seen some change and actually some change in direction as well.
18:25Yeah, yeah, yeah.
18:25Absolutely, yeah.
18:26Change in the way the farm's been sort of managed overall and changing cropping, different management
18:34from the way the river meadows have been managed and the way we've managed for wildlife as well.
18:38Yeah.
18:39And with regards to the increase in numbers of, well, lapwings for one, but also wildlife in general,
18:45you must have seen a massive trajectory, have you, over your life?
18:48We have in the, probably certainly in the last 20 years, it's been a sort of an upward curve without
18:52doubt.
18:53We see wildlife, we've never had known the numbers.
18:56Right.
18:56With the Game of Wildlife coming in and doing a lot of their projects, we've now seen the increase in,
19:01in, uh, fledge birds.
19:03And that, that's quite a good incentive because you can then see what you're doing is making a difference.
19:07Yeah, yeah.
19:08And what sort of species have you been targeting?
19:11The lapwings, that's led to being the red shank of, of coming on the back of that.
19:15Um, we've had a water vole project as well, which we introduced, uh, uh, some water voles onto, uh, some
19:22streams on the river meadows.
19:23Yeah.
19:23And that's been very successful.
19:25And we're now seeing even, even the sea eagles making an appearance here quite regularly.
19:29Sea eagles?
19:29Yeah, we, we, we, we see them here quite regularly now.
19:31A lot of payback for your efforts then.
19:33Yes.
19:34Yes, it is.
19:34Yeah.
19:35No, I think it's been said that we're the guardians of the countryside.
19:37We're hopefully feeding people as well.
19:40But.
19:40Yeah.
19:40At the same time, you know, we're showing that it can work side by side.
19:44There is, there is a way that, you know, farming can work with nature.
19:48Yeah.
19:51Right, Martin.
19:51I will leave you to it, mate.
19:53Thanks for that.
19:54You're welcome.
19:55See you when we do.
19:56Cheers.
19:56Keep up the good work.
20:05Over the past few weeks, Adam's also been reshaping the landscape on his own farm to work, not
20:13just for his livestock, but for the local wildlife too.
20:22The tongi's have come to say hello.
20:25Now these dry stone walls are an ancient and beautiful feature of the Cotswold Hills, built
20:31with limestone slated stone.
20:34In fact, this field here was fondly known to our family as the Humpty Dumps, because it's
20:39lumpy and bumpy.
20:40And that's because it was hand quarried at the beginning of the century for walling stone
20:44and roofing slate.
20:45And, of course, they were a boundary to mark the field edges for shelter for the stock and
20:50to keep animals in.
20:51The stones on the top are called coping stones that are upright, so the animals are less
20:56likely to jump over the top.
20:59For generations, farmers have worked with the geology beneath their feet, making boundaries
21:04out of whatever the land gives them.
21:07Further down the valley, the ground changes.
21:10The soil is deeper and more fertile.
21:13And with fewer stones to work with, walls give way to hedges.
21:17Living boundaries that need managing properly to do their job.
21:21And this section has become too open at the base.
21:25At the moment, when we graze this area of the farm with sheep, they walk through the
21:30bottom of the hedge because it's so open, they get caught in the brambles.
21:34But what I'm hoping, with laying this hedge, we'll create a much firmer, stronger boundary
21:38so we can isolate the animals into grazing areas and manage it more easily.
21:45We're laying the hedge while the plants are dormant and before the bird nesting
21:49season begins.
21:51Hedgelaying styles vary from county to county, shaped by the landscape, the species that
21:57grow and the job the hedge needs to do.
22:00Russ Parker and his crew are laying in a traditional midland style, built to take the weight of
22:06livestock pushing against it.
22:10This is fantastic.
22:11Oh, I'm glad you're pleased.
22:12We've pleached the hawthorn that's in this hedge row.
22:15We're basically building it into the stakes to make a real stockproof firm barrier.
22:20So that terminology you're using, I don't know what any of that means, pleaching?
22:24Pleaching, so pleaching is the cut we make, sort of 80% through the stem.
22:28And that's still attached to the root?
22:29Still attached to the root.
22:30The sap's still going to rise through the bark and then that will encourage all new growth
22:34to come up from the bark.
22:36And as far as hedges go, how does this one gauge?
22:40If I'm being honest with you, this season it's probably the worst hedge that I've laid.
22:44Oh no.
22:45There's no reflection on you Adam.
22:47But the condition it was in, the bramble, the remedial work we've had to do to get it
22:52to where it is now.
22:53But you're doing the right thing and you're going to get a fantastic hedge.
22:56Sure, absolutely.
22:57But you driving around the countryside, do you just love it?
23:00Passing hedges, oh I've laid that, I've laid that one.
23:02You do, but some people neglect them even after you've laid them, which can be quite disappointing.
23:06Well I know you only live up the road, so you'll be giving an eye on me, won't you?
23:09I will, yes.
23:10Making sure I don't let it go to pot.
23:13I'll be checking it in the summer.
23:16In many ways, every hedge rust lays is a restoration project.
23:21After the Second World War, thousands of miles of hedgerow were removed to create larger fields
23:26for food production.
23:27So the ones that remain really matter.
23:30And it's not just for livestock, but for wildlife too.
23:34That's why we work with Edward Bon from the South West's Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group,
23:40helping us manage the land with both in mind.
23:44There's so many advantages to having a hedgerow as a boundary.
23:47The wildlife value, regrowth from the ground up, and you get that very low, thick cover.
23:53There's lots of species, grey partridge are a fantastic example that will love that.
23:58These linear features will be seen as a sight line for bats to move along, find sources of food.
24:04Small mammals can navigate around in it.
24:06You know, you might get toes nesting at the bottom of the stems.
24:09So you really are putting in the most incredible bit of habitat and biodiversity for the farm.
24:19I'm really delighted that Russ and his team have managed to fit in laying my hedge.
24:23And I have to say, they're making a fantastic job.
24:25And once it's all done, it'll have made a beautiful boundary.
24:29Good for the hedge, good for wildlife, and good for my grazing animals too.
24:33We're looking forward to seeing it finished.
24:36Over in a different pasture, it's time to shift focus.
24:40From the landscape, to the livestock that call it home.
24:46And our new livestock manager, Sam, has spotted a ram that needs some attention.
24:52So, which one is it then, Sam?
24:54It's this Hampshire.
24:55He's just holding that front right foot.
24:57So I think the best thing we can do is get him caught up and have a look at the
25:00foot.
25:00I'll get Gwen out and you can take him across to the gate.
25:04Moving the flock into the barns to check the ram's foot...
25:09Gives us a chance to work on Sam's dog handling skills.
25:15Sam's been with us a few months now and we share Gwen.
25:18So when I'm away, Sam will be working her and Charlie, our other livestock assistant.
25:22But the dog responds to different tones.
25:25The way I say her left and her right hand commands, slightly different to Sam.
25:30So Gwen's getting a bit confused.
25:32So we need a bit of a brush up on the commands.
25:34Ready, Gwenny?
25:36Our way.
25:39Stand.
25:39Stand. Gwen. Gwen.
25:40That'll do. That'll do.
25:41Are we coming round this way?
25:42Are we going...
25:43Our way is that way.
25:45Yeah, sorry.
25:46The dog went the wrong way.
25:48The command was right, but the dog went the wrong way.
25:51Right, okay.
25:52Gwen.
25:53Our way.
25:55That's it.
25:57She's gone really nicely through there.
25:58Yeah, really over there.
25:59Quite wide.
25:59Stand.
26:01Good.
26:02Do you want to try the whistle?
26:03I think we should, yeah.
26:04I've been practicing with this.
26:06Have you?
26:07Spending many nights.
26:09Just sat there on the sofa, you know, just trying to blow a tune.
26:12The stop is a short, sharp...
26:16That's it.
26:17Yeah.
26:17Pretty good.
26:18That's the...
26:19See, that's the one I struggle with.
26:21There's a trick to that.
26:22That'll do.
26:22That'll do.
26:25It's like the clangers.
26:29Okay.
26:30Do you want to try the left-hand command from here then?
26:35No.
26:36Two short, sharp whistles, but that meant nothing to her.
26:39Look at that.
26:41Extraordinary, isn't it?
26:42Yeah, absolutely.
26:42But it does just show how important that tone is and how easily you can confuse her.
26:47Right, we'll get these boys in and get that foot sword and showing.
26:49Yeah, absolutely.
27:02Good girl, Gwen.
27:03Good girl.
27:04Good girl.
27:05Yeah!
27:07Now, we have the task of tipping up a 16 stone tub.
27:12Yeah.
27:16What you've got with the growth of the foot is the outside horn which is like your fingernail and then
27:22in the middle is the pad and the soft fleshy bit.
27:26and there's like a sort of white line that goes around the outside here and
27:31sometimes you get muck you can see it there there's a bit of a gap and the
27:36muck gets in there and you can get a bacterial infection called scald and
27:42then that will turn into foot rot and will rot up the white line on the
27:48outside of the horn that's what's happened here and he's had this abscess
27:51in his hoof right so I'm just gonna spray his foot so that'll help kill the
28:00bacteria and now on top of that we'll give him an injection of antibiotics good
28:09boy do you think we should keep him in out of the wet fields probably won't be a
28:15bad idea just keep him dry and just give that foot a chance to heal in the dry
28:18really yeah it's a good boy
28:28well done Sam we'll leave him to it
28:45back in the Avon Valley spring is in full swing bringing with it one of the
28:51seasons traditions the Easter Bunny delivering eggs but that familiar story
28:56may actually have deeper roots in open farmland with two of our favorites the
29:02brown hare and the lapwing
29:12out in this open ground hairs rest in shallow hollows known as forms while
29:19lapwing nest in almost similar dips in the ground known as scrapes
29:25centuries ago if you found an egg in one of these hollows it's easy to imagine how
29:29these stories would take shape
29:36bioarcheologist Dr Karli Amin from the University of Exeter is here to tell me more
29:44oh my goodness oh my goodness it's amazing even to be able to clock them at this distance
29:51it seems so much part of British nature are hares native yeah so that's the really interesting
29:57thing they do seem like such a core part of the British countryside but they're actually an
30:01introduced species and they come in in the Iron Age so about 3,000 years ago from the continent
30:05and how did they arrive well people must have brought them here but we still don't fully understand
30:09exactly when they arrived but we know that by the time you get to the Iron Age about 3,000
30:14years ago
30:14there are hares around Britain and what was their significance in British culture when they came in
30:20yeah so one of the really interesting things about where we find hares in the early archaeological
30:24record in prehistory we don't find them mixed in with food waste we actually find them in special
30:29deposits as mostly complete skeletons so it suggests that they weren't just part of everyday food but they
30:34were something a bit more special I think when you have something that's new and it's just arrived
30:39and it's from a faraway place it has that feeling of importance to it that isn't just part of every
30:44day by Roman times the hares status had shifted again when the Romans arrived they have their own
30:59ideas about animals and especially about exotic animals so high-status homes like villas would
31:04have these areas called leper area where they would keep hares and also rabbits and they would run
31:09around you could come and see them and enjoy them in in nature so were they almost parks where you
31:16could come and see these creatures yeah exactly but the Roman period we also see the importance of the
31:21hair represented in the material culture so it's this point in time where we see beautiful pieces of
31:26artwork brooches that you could wear mosaics that have hairs represented and so the iconography of the hair
31:32really explodes in the Roman period again showing how important they were to Roman culture and this
31:38ideas of the wild and maybe the slightly unique so as soon as an animal that was very beautiful were
31:43there any other associations that made it so special that you would wear it as a brooch or put it
31:48onto a
31:48mosaic so it's likely that the hair was one of the animals associated with the goddess Diana so she's a
31:54Roman
31:55goddess who is associated with wild animals that has versions represented within British culture at the time of the Roman
32:01period and it's likely that the hair was one of her animals so that these personal adornments could
32:06have been worn by people who were particularly associated with the cult of Diana across centuries
32:15the brown hair keeps reappearing not just in fields but as an animal people have long linked with spring and
32:24new life that Easter connection how far back has that gone so the connections between rabbits or hares and
32:31Easter is comes from the 17th century as far as we can tell mostly from Germany but like lots of
32:36Germanic
32:37traditions during the Victorian era we import those things to Britain with us and so that's when we
32:40start to see the rise of the Easter bunny which may be as a hare and sometimes as a rabbit
32:45along with
32:46things like Christmas trees so those cultural traditions come into the continent in the same ways that the
32:50animals did 3,000 years before well it's been lovely to see these hares today especially bathed in all
32:57this spring sunshine yeah we've been really lucky so lucky how gorgeous now for another Easter treat from
33:12author Robert McFarlane
33:19oh hares well to me they're energy they're spring magic they are what Seamus Heaney once called the zigzag
33:28hieroglyph for life itself super fast
33:37I've just seen five or six hares out on the open field there they are extraordinary creatures no matter
33:44how many hares I see they always surprise me with their size those ones looked as big as dogs they
33:50looked as big as deer and they are big creatures and male hair can be two feet long from tip
33:57to tail and in
33:59my view once you know the difference between hare and rabbit there's no mistaking them hares have this
34:05black rim to those upright sound catching ears of theirs they have a gorgeous red gold sheen to their
34:13chest they have those massive feet which strike me as more like hooves than paws and then there's their
34:20eyes they're orb-like protuberant they have these jet black pupils and they're ringed right around with amber
34:27orange when you see hare you know it there is hare pure hare huge haunched hare there's also a nonchalance
34:40to the hare and it's a confidence that comes with the assurance of speed hares are quick they are our
34:49fastest
34:50wild land mammal they lope on over the field watchful but aware that they can drop the afterburners in a
35:00split
35:00seconds time that they can jink and zig and zag on the turn of a dime and ain't nothing gonna
35:08catch them
35:13i would say that the hare is probably more present in the folklore of these islands than any other
35:19creature that makes sense to me there's something shape-shifty and mythic about the hare there's
35:27something witchy and eerie in hare's stare there's a 13th century poem that's just called the names of the
35:35hare hare there are dozens of them here hare is stag of the stubble it's steer of the corn it's
35:43a bunch
35:43of very rude names that i probably can't repeat before the watershed and it's also moon cat and hedge cat
36:00here in this slarch and pine forest i've just seen a huge hare lumbering off completely unbothered by me
36:07between the trees and whenever i see a hare my heart leaps in my chest they're the green on the
36:15gold
36:16in woodland in field and i know that i've seen something strange and ancient and beyond my ken
36:42it's not just the sight of hares and lap wings that makes this place feel like spring
36:47it sounds different too and i'm off to meet somebody who does something a little bit different
36:52with the sounds of spring
36:56clive brooks is a sound artist and musician who loves getting out and about to record the sounds
37:02of nature particularly in spring when the landscape starts to come alive again
37:10i love the idea of sort of what i call foraging for sound just capturing all these different sounds
37:18sounds and then really trying to put them together into something that sounds beautiful almost like
37:24an impressionist painting really when we just gradually build up this piece of sound that really
37:30tries to describe this beautiful place and transports the listener well exactly that yeah into the wild
37:36space look we've got a stream here wouldn't it be great to try and get those little tinkly
37:41little stream based sound yeah let's get in a little bit closer matt if we can and i'll go in
37:56that's great i don't know it was beautiful it felt very tranquil and i'm just gonna chuck it
38:01somewhere over near the bank i think would be good it's like fishing for sound here we go
38:09see what you think makes me want to go up the low
38:20but it almost describes sort of rhythms and things so you can imagine that could be the start of
38:26something that just gives something a bit of gentle movement yeah it's weird it transports you well that's
38:31the whole thing don't you think sound can have a real effect on us yeah much more than we'd ever
38:37think
38:41so let's go about here matt oh yeah and see if we can start to get something
38:53it's amazing isn't it how different spring sounds to winter yeah all these birds are singing away and you
39:00know it almost feels as if they're not singing over each other they've all got their own individual
39:07little space
39:11it's like an orchestra it's just incredible
39:23sunset at the water meadows quite beautiful isn't it it really is
39:31so let's try and just capture some of this sound of this squelchy water meadow
39:40yeah it's great some geese over there we may get to record some lap wings perhaps
39:47well they're iconic aren't they for spring they really are a spring sound aren't they yeah and
39:51they're sort of like it's almost like a wee there you go there's one flying look you can see the
39:56wings
39:56going up into the sky you get these sort of like black and white flashes what do we stop here
40:02and just
40:02see what we get with the natural sounds of biston recorded clive creates his own soundtrack of spring
40:29welcome to my studio thank you clive what we can do with this we can press different buttons and
40:35we can actually trigger our samples and use them press that one there this one so at the moment you
40:41can hear that sort of tinkling sound but listen to this one now that's the same thing but we've slowed
40:47it down
40:48it's like a bongo drum isn't it oh that's me going through the meadow do you remember all that water
40:55yeah what we've done here is put lapwing calls on each of the different pads so we can play these
41:03lapwings almost like an instrument do you know what would be good on this would be to just put a
41:12little bit
41:12of tonal stuff i'm going to start with this keyboard do you fancy doing a bit of guitar
41:19okay okay get ready matt yeah
41:26yes that's it hey that's it yeah yeah yeah that's it yeah okay okay do you do a little bit
41:33more try
41:33another one bring let's take you in now go yeah that's it and then do you remember when
41:41we were just walking through that meadow and we had that sunset so i'm trying to get that
41:46vibe of sunset a bit of guitar a bit of lapwing oh it's been great i think we've got a
41:59number one
41:59on our hands here i do those lapwings are so musical anyway aren't they yeah and do you know what
42:07that
42:07is the sound of spring that i will never forget well the avon valley is full of the joys of
42:25spring
42:25today and the conditions are perfect for an easter egg hunt but what has the weather got in store
42:29for the week ahead let's find out with a country file forecast
42:41hello well storm dave has been bringing some very powerful winds across parts of the uk over the last
42:4624 hours with a number of trees being blown over we had disruption to transport and power as well
42:53dave at the moment is working across sweden bringing some strong winds to parts of scandinavia
42:58our top gust of wind was in capital courig 93 mile an hour gust here which was the strongest
43:03april gust at this site since records began over 30 years ago so we did have a few issues due
43:09to
43:09those strong winds what followed was colder air that brought some snow not just to the mountains
43:13of scotland we also had some snow earlier today even in glasgow now cold air is with us at the
43:19moment
43:19but look at the jet stream passing over the next couple of days we get this big ridge building in
43:23and that's going to shove much milder air across the uk so we'll all see temperatures rising
43:28over the next couple of days now before we get there overnight tonight showers across northern
43:33areas tending to become confined to northern scotland later in the night and with clear skies
43:38following for many areas it's going to be a cold night with some frost particularly in scotland but
43:43there'll be a few patches elsewhere in the countryside so for easter monday we're off to a chilly start to
43:48the
43:48day but the weather's completely different really as this area of high pressure moves in across england
43:53wales and scotland bringing mostly fine and dry weather with sunshine for northern ireland a bit
43:57of patchy cloud here and there could well be a few splashes of light rain pushing into the hebrides for
44:02a
44:02time overall our temperatures are higher about 11 to maybe 16 or 17 in the mildest spots in england
44:09one thing to note though is tomorrow comes with some very high levels of pollen so for some
44:14it could be a sneezy kind of day the high pressure is still with us into tuesday across england wales
44:19eastern scotland so more dry and fine weather with sunshine a change though for northern ireland as
44:24a band of heavier rain pushes in here turning wet as well across western areas of scotland now with
44:29the winds coming up from a south or southeasterly direction it's going to be a milder day temperatures
44:3418 in glasgow could reach the low 20s in the warmest spots in england and wales now moving from tuesday
44:41into wednesday we've got some slightly cooler air moving in to the north of the uk behind this cold
44:46front but at the same time the winds are light across england and wales allowing those temperatures
44:51to build a little further so wednesday probably the last of the warm days really across england and wales
44:56given the sunshine we could see temperatures reaching the low 20s threatening the highest
45:01temperature of the year so far but across the north of the uk it's going to be cooler particularly
45:06so for scotland where we'll have some cloud and some rain moving its way in now for thursday we
45:12get another cold front diving in this time it moves across pretty much the whole of the uk bringing
45:17much colder air with it and so we'll see this band of rain moving across scotland england and wales
45:23followed by blustery showers those showers a number of them will have hail maybe even a bit of sleep
45:28mixed in for scotland northern ireland the northwest of both england and wales and the air is going to be
45:33turning significantly colder for all of us so temperatures not really reaching the teens in
45:38many spots across the north at all and just eight there for stornoway and for lurwick the cool weather
45:43though doesn't last long as we head into friday we've got another ridge of high pressure for england
45:47and wales so more dry weather starting to turn a bit milder again quite breezy conditions for northern
45:52ireland and scotland mostly dry here with some bright or sunny spells but there'll be a bit of rain
45:58across the very far northwest so overall this week there's going to be a lot of dry weather
46:02and some sunshine around and overall it's often going to be pretty mild particularly the southern areas
46:18back in hampshire's avon valley careful management across the landscape is helping bring back the sites
46:25oh my goodness it's amazing even to be able to clock them at this distance and sounds of spring
46:35it's amazing isn't it how different spring sounds to winter but it's not just about what you can see
46:43and hear for local forager sammy longhorn spring is something to taste as fresh wild ingredients begin
46:52to emerge as a forager each season has got its gifts but spring is really really special that first flurry
47:01of fresh growth is something so exciting and it sort of catches me off guard every single year the first
47:06time that i see the first wild garlics of the year it's like bang we're off the season has begun
47:10and we're
47:11ready to really start collecting and harvesting in earnest it's really easy to get people to fall in
47:20love with things like violets and primroses roses and elderflower but for me my greatest joy is to
47:26get people to fall in love with the unloved things that they consider to be weeds or even that they
47:31consider to be really annoying foraging for personal use is generally allowed on common land but on private
47:39land permission is needed from the landowner and always make sure there's plenty left for wildlife
47:45to eat and for wild plants to reproduce for a beginner forager i would begin by harvesting plants that i
47:54already know like dandelion and bramble then when you want to branch out you can get to know a few
47:59plants
48:00really well each year and follow them throughout the year so i would get a few really good books from
48:05really repeatable respected foragers sammy has been foraging for 15 years so knows what's safe to pick
48:15and eat and what isn't but if you're not an expert always take advice some wild plants might look harmless
48:23but they could be toxic and always wash everything thoroughly before consuming
48:32safe identification is absolutely paramount for a forager so it's best practice to familiarize
48:38yourself with any potential toxic look-alikes before you go out and harvest i would be thinking
48:45about all the visual indicators of a plant the size of the leaf the shape of the leaf the arrangement
48:50of
48:50the leaves any other identifying features like berry nut seed i also really want to be thinking about
48:56where and when i can expect a plant to grow as well getting to know it in its wider aspect
49:01another great
49:02thing to use is our sense of smell anything in the garlic family is really going to tell us that
49:06it's in
49:07the garlic family
49:11for me foraging is such a joyful act it just allows me to connect with nature connect with the seasons
49:19connect with the ways that our ancestors would have lived and explore wild places and then come home
49:25with a basket full of amazing nutrient-dense food
49:41here in the avon valley beneath the spire of salisbury cathedral lies one of the country's most intriguing
49:48landscapes the harnham water meadows dating back to the 1630s they're one of britain's last
49:55traditionally managed water meadows each spring they flooded to create the rich grassland that farmers
50:04and wildlife has relied on for centuries whilst most grass fields are still waking up after the winter
50:12the meadows here are growing fast i mean look at this it's absolutely incredible and this is all
50:19thanks to a system that's been used here for just shy of 400 years
50:27these water meadows rely on careful management beneath the grass runs a network of channels and sluices
50:34that have controlled the water here for centuries overseeing it all is dr hadrian cook the water
50:42meadow trust's dedicated land drowner which must be one of the most unusual job titles around
50:49now they tell me that you are the drown there yep what does that involve well the drowner is the
50:56kind
50:56of trade name in this part of the world for the person who looks after the water meadows i came
51:01to
51:01work for the harnham water meadows trust about 20 years ago as our education officer and then
51:06looking at how the system operates i mean i can see why because i mean this is a mind-boggling
51:10system
51:11there's all these channels and gullies and platforms and levers what what's going on how does it work
51:18well it's simply a means of controlling the flow of water through the channels you'll see this is called
51:24a carrier technically yeah and it carries the water onto the meadow we control it with these hatches you
51:29can see there yeah and then it's caused to go along the tops of ridges in in small channels and
51:36it
51:36trickles down the side of those ridges and in trickling down the side of the ridges it does three
51:41things it warms the soil and grass temperature it adds nutrients and finally of course because it's
51:48uh very gently turbulent trickling through the grass it dissolves atmospheric oxygen and prevents it
51:54going stagnant and anaerobic so all this engineering you see is ultimately about keeping the water moving
52:00to keep the oxygen running through the system but the real economic function of the water meadow is to
52:05bring on the grass early in in spring or late winter we call it the early bite that meant that
52:11you could
52:12keep more animals alive yeah um over the winter time well will you show me how it all works right
52:17okay
52:17come over here you grab that while you're at it this yeah so here we go and matt if you
52:23could perhaps
52:24uh sort of make sure pull that towards me very slightly yeah um and i'm going to try and
52:32there we go crank it up crank it up right oh it's coming through now right okay
52:42so all this water here then that's heading down to a meadow what on the left hand side call it
52:47lower
52:47seven acres yeah right how long do you expect it to take to drown it i think we could wet
52:51that up in
52:52in 20 minutes half an hour um but we'd leave it on typically for up to a week
53:00so who are the team of people that you've got out here well these are our volunteers or some of
53:05our
53:05volunteers and we call them the diggers so what are they digging well they're keeping the channels
53:08clear they're uh repairing a culvert at the moment there's uh an old piece of the culvert has come
53:15to light all right wow i can see yeah the big pipe in there alex thompson is captain of the
53:21diggers
53:22this is old victorian right concrete and it collapses over time right um so we're repairing it
53:30but clearing it out so that the drain works properly we'll take the water away back down to
53:35the river we come along once a week yeah um we're out any weather really and we will either be
53:41in the
53:41water or on the land digging out clearing making sure that the drowners have got enough of their flow
53:50of water that they can do summer or winter drowning yeah isn't this the most perfect setting yeah you know
53:56we have a cathedral on one side we're on an island around surrounded by two lovely rivers uh and a
54:03great bunch of people that come along and give up their time freely to to maintain something that's
54:08been going for hundreds of years what's your process then game we can usually see what has been there
54:14and has either broken or just been clogged up yeah and it's a matter of clearing it and put it
54:19back
54:20putting it back to the way it should be the diggers have done over the years have done an enormous
54:25amount of of what would have been hugely expensive to do with any other way it's been wonderful and
54:31protected it and there's going to take it forward to the future absolutely absolutely i mean the grass
54:36is incredible from a sheep farmers perspective i mean it's heaven honestly really super that's good stuff
54:44it's this regular cycle of drowning and draining that keeps the grass growing throughout the cold winter
54:50months it creates lush meadows that are still used each spring by local graziers rob and anna hawk
54:59rob and how does this area compare to the other areas that you graze when you think historically all
55:06this area used to be drowned didn't it absolutely so we're quite similar to sheep flocks in the
55:11past the difference being now we would grow different crops there so great stubble turnips for
55:16their wintering yep and then the ewes uh this you know historically was to give an early bite of grass
55:22we're carrying that out so sheep come back down here in march onto this grass and what's the story
55:27of the flock that you've got in here anna these i presume these aren't going to land soon no these
55:33aren't going to these are going to be our replacements and they'll go to the ram in uh in the
55:38autumn
55:38and then they'll land again next year and how does this particular area fit into your farming system how
55:43often do you move them because that's what we're going on to do in a minute yeah no for sure
55:47so
55:48we're pretty much as they would have done historically rotationally grazing him so they'll be in this
55:52field graze this down a little bit and then move on to the next field yeah and then the next
55:57and then
55:58the next and then by the time there'll be a rest and this will have grown back again and there'll
56:02be
56:03yeah loads of grass for them to come back into yeah the sheep do well on here yeah maintains the
56:07grassland and it keeps ruralness close to salisbury yeah great well let's get them moved then and
56:14helping to round up the flock is border collie flame who's raring to go no flame that'll do flame good
56:22girl oh go for it girl there she goes
56:29you can't beat this as far as i'm concerned love it 260 sheep gathered up in next to no time
56:43good job flame very good
56:49oh nice and muddy nice and wet yeah but i guess this was all part of the system back in
56:54the day
56:54yeah it would have flown through here one of the ditches yeah that little bridge that was a causeway
56:58for the sheep to cross yeah brilliant um water for the dog and water for the sheep well well done
57:03honestly that was absolutely superb
57:15oh we've really been spoilt today we have doesn't it feel great to be indulging in spring
57:20it's like a launch pad for the rest of the year we've had sunshine lap wings hairs yeah and my
57:26musical spring symphony which we'll hear from after we've heard from john and charlotte yeah
57:32celebrating 30 years of the national forest next week
57:38it's a bird that's smaller than the palm of my hand and it's been to africa and back yeah there
57:43you go oh
57:46cool enough now do you think yes yes it certainly is were you surprised when you started going out
57:51locally i didn't realize last one's had so many lovely walks and it's literally on our doorsteps
57:57this is very appropriate john because you planted one of the very first trees and here you are now
58:03with the 10 millionth who would have believed it eh good hero
58:11hope you can join them then right it's time for this big premiere okay yeah i mean you're the radio
58:16dj so will you do the intro here is the sound of spring from matt and clive
58:40so
58:50you
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