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Sam & Ade Go Birding - Season 1 Episode 3
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00:04So, you've just been doing a bit of Shakespeare, Twelfth Night.
00:07Yeah.
00:09Is this the moustache you had for Malvolia?
00:12It is.
00:13You've been twiddling it since we got up.
00:14I'm so sorry.
00:16It is a becoming...
00:16Twiddle, twiddle, twiddle.
00:18And how long is it since you did Malvolia?
00:20It's a week.
00:21And you've still got it on?
00:22I know I'm slightly worrying about saying goodbye to him.
00:26Because I played him twice, once when my dad died and once when my mum died,
00:30he got me through some, you know, a tough year.
00:34Yeah.
00:34Is it time to take it off, do you think?
00:36Do you want me to take it off?
00:38Oh, well, actually, that...
00:40Hang on.
00:40What have you got, a knife?
00:42Yes, I've got scissors.
00:44Go on, then.
00:44Just go up to the edges.
00:46It's quite hard to see.
00:48I don't want to hear that.
00:51Guy, you've got tough hairs.
00:53It's waxed.
00:53All my scissors are rubbish.
00:55Yeah, I think it's probably...
00:57Oh, I feel less strong already.
00:58You can have that.
01:01Let's have the other one.
01:05Oh, that's better.
01:07Shall I do your nasal hair?
01:09No, stop there, please.
01:10Something for the weekends.
01:11Where are you going on your holidays?
01:15If the acting ever dries up.
01:17Yeah.
01:17You could do this.
01:17I could do my barbering.
01:18Very good.
01:24Did you hear the rain last night?
01:26Oh, my God.
01:26I think we can see the results of that rainfall today.
01:29Welcome to the Somerset Levels.
01:32Well, this is another fine mess you've gotten me into.
01:35Oh, no.
01:38There's been a lot of rain.
01:40And, um...
01:41I mean, this is a road.
01:42This is the road we wanted to go down.
01:45This is the largest area of water meadows in Britain.
01:47They're meant to be flooded some of the time.
01:49But they're not really meant to be this flooded this much of the time.
01:54However, this is a very good place to look for a bittern.
01:57A bittern.
01:58A bittern.
01:59B-I-T-T-E-R-N.
02:02Bittern.
02:02One of the best disguised, one of the most secretive,
02:07and certainly the shyest bird in Britain.
02:10It's like a small...
02:11Well, it is a small, brown, quite pudgy heron.
02:15But it's exactly the colour of the reed beds it nests in.
02:18Hang on, it's that one over there.
02:22They have this habit.
02:23They put their bill vertically.
02:25And they look a bit like Beaker from the Muppets.
02:28Oh, I've heard that sense.
02:30And they basically disappear.
02:33Are there many of them?
02:35There are many more than there were.
02:37There's been an amazing conservation effort
02:39to stop draining reed beds and protect their habitat.
02:45Even though they're very hard to see,
02:47bitterns do make this extraordinary noise.
02:50They boom.
02:52Boom.
02:53Yeah.
02:53It sounds like somebody blowing across the top of an enormous milk bottle.
02:56Unless we're unlucky and find someone blowing across the top of an incredibly tall milk bottle.
03:01That's possible, of course.
03:02Hiding in the reeds.
03:05So we might hear one.
03:06But even if we don't see a bittern,
03:08what we will see is lots of large white birds.
03:11In fact, look.
03:13They're swans, aren't they?
03:14That's right.
03:15They're mute swans.
03:16They're mute swans and they're making quite a lot of noise.
03:21Shall we start looking?
03:22Yeah.
03:22Well, we're not getting through that,
03:24even in your Land Rover.
03:25We'll have to find another way.
03:36I think this is the soggiest landscape I've ever driven through.
03:40It feels like we're on a tiny little causeway.
03:44It does, doesn't it?
03:44All the time.
03:45Yes.
03:46But yes, these water meadows have been artificially irrigated by,
03:51well, it was called drowning.
03:53When the water's carried off the river,
03:55it takes all the sediment, which isn't much use in a river,
03:59into the fields, fertilises them.
04:02And then if you're growing hay or grazing cows,
04:08it's perfect grazing land.
04:17There's a lot of birds.
04:19Yep.
04:19Plenty of birds.
04:21And this is prime bitten country.
04:24So we need to find a hide where we can wake quietly and...
04:30I like these stumpy things.
04:33Got something of the triffid about it.
04:36They might start following us.
04:39So we're going into stealth mode now.
04:41Are we?
04:42Yes.
04:43Do we have to walk, strangely?
04:45Why not?
04:51Is that a robin?
04:52Yeah.
04:53Oh, no, sorry.
04:54No, that's a run.
04:54My apologies.
04:55Where?
04:55Where is it?
04:56Just here.
04:57Into the little cocked tail.
05:01Oh, really opening his mouth wide.
05:04Yeah, it's a proper, proper spring song.
05:06They say it's the smallest bird in Britain.
05:08Is that right?
05:08Well, it would have to fight the goldcrest for that.
05:12Didn't we see a goldcrest?
05:14We did.
05:14And a firecrest.
05:15I actually had any idea because it was so bloody small.
05:20Oh, this hide looks good.
05:21Mm.
05:22Very high tech.
05:24Hide tech.
05:25Hide tech.
05:27Right.
05:28So we need to check the edges of all the reeds, really.
05:30All right.
05:30It's a movement.
05:31Yeah.
05:31You tend to look on the edges of the reed beds because if the bittern's on the edge, then you'll
05:35see it.
05:36And if it isn't, then you won't.
05:37Yeah.
05:37But they do come to the edges sometimes.
05:40Would we hear them before we saw them?
05:42Yeah, we could easily hear one.
05:45And even birders who've seen lots of them consider a sighting at a special event.
05:50They're that difficult to see.
05:51So nobody's blasé about bitterns.
05:56So what does it sound like exactly?
05:58Can you do an impression for me?
06:01Beer bittern.
06:02OK.
06:02Fresh from the Royal Shakespeare Company.
06:05Samuel West is where.
06:06From the buttocks.
06:07We'll be giving it his bittern.
06:09It's really low.
06:11Yeah.
06:12Hoo.
06:13Hoo.
06:14Hoo.
06:16Hoo.
06:17Yeah.
06:18The reviews are in and frankly they're not very good.
06:20Are they not?
06:20Well, we'll see it, shall we?
06:22See what turns out.
06:23Let me see if we can find a milk bottle bittern.
06:31Oh, just that.
06:33Sounds like a bit of drum and bass.
06:35Hoo.
06:35Yeah.
06:36Yeah.
06:36Yeah, they'd like drum and bass.
06:40It is exciting.
06:41It's the furthest carrying and the lowest frequency call of any bird in Britain.
06:51I know some of these.
06:52Yes.
06:53The black one with the white forehead down to the bell.
06:57Yeah.
06:58Is either a moorhen or a coot.
07:00And which one is it?
07:02No.
07:02It looks like it's got a white plastic spoon on its face.
07:05Yeah.
07:06That's coot.
07:06Yeah.
07:07Well done.
07:09Do you see grebe just behind it?
07:10Great crested grebe?
07:11Oh, is this the silvery one?
07:13Yeah.
07:14Any sketch from a 70s TV show about bird watchers?
07:18They're always looking for a great crested grebe.
07:21I wouldn't really call it a great crest.
07:24It gets one in spring for breeding purposes.
07:27The face is white with orange and then the crest is black and goes up.
07:32And it looks quite punky.
07:33Yeah.
07:33It looks like early Susie Sue in the Banshees.
07:36And they're very sweet breeders.
07:39They do this thing where they dive for weed and come up and present it to each other.
07:45They stand up in the water and go face to face.
07:48Do they?
07:48Yeah.
07:49I don't know how they do it.
07:50It's very beautiful.
07:51We won't see it for a couple of months.
07:59Can I say I've just seen something?
08:02What have you just seen?
08:03Right over there, there's this bit of reeds here and then there's water.
08:07There's something on a kind of block.
08:09And on it, there's a weird looking thing.
08:10Is that the bitten?
08:12That is a grey heron.
08:14And the block is its nest, I think.
08:17All right.
08:18It's a good looking bird, isn't it?
08:19It's beautiful.
08:20It's already got its breeding plumes on its head.
08:22Yeah, it's like a...
08:23It's an earling.
08:24It's wearing a hat.
08:25Yeah.
08:27There's two more there.
08:28Yeah?
08:29Oh, gosh, look.
08:30Yeah, it's just in front of us.
08:32Grey herons normally nest in mature trees.
08:36But they're nesting in reeds here, which is very unusual.
08:39They just look so depressed.
08:41They look like they're sort of in a...
08:43Yes, they do.
08:44...dredgeful kitchen sink drama and it's all just gone so wrong.
08:48It's too much, yes.
08:50And they're just going to stay there till they die.
08:52God, it looks grim.
08:54The wind's blowing them about.
09:04I've only just noticed that's Glastonbury tour in the background.
09:07Oh, gosh, that is.
09:08Look.
09:10Have you been to Glastonbury?
09:11You must have been.
09:13I've performed at it twice.
09:14You haven't.
09:15I have.
09:15You've played Glastonbury.
09:16With my band.
09:18Played the Avalon stage.
09:19I'll tell you a thing about Glastonbury.
09:21Go on.
09:22From about a mile away, all you can smell is human ordeur.
09:28There's a track we used to go in by to get to the back of the Avalon stage with the
09:32van.
09:33And it passes the men's urinals.
09:37And it almost takes the skin off your eyes.
09:39It's so acrid.
09:40Wow.
09:42Yeah.
09:42But what was the experience of playing the festival?
09:45Do you know, it was one of the best gigs we ever did.
09:47Yeah.
09:49Just people who are really into it.
09:51Yeah.
09:52I'll bet.
09:52Yeah.
10:00So looking at birds is a new hobby for you.
10:03What other hobbies have you got?
10:05Would you call music a hobby?
10:06Um, I think I'm a man prone to looking on the gloomy side of things.
10:14And, um, I find, uh, boredom depressing.
10:19Ooh.
10:21So I've always busied myself with picking at some strings of something or writing something,
10:28you know.
10:28I find filling the time in a way of staving it off.
10:35A strange thing happened in lockdown when I contacted you, in fact.
10:41Oh, I remember, yes.
10:42I started building this new vegetable garden.
10:45And that's when I started noticing birds.
10:47And that's when I rang you and said, how do I find out what that bird is?
10:51And I was sort of, you know, mid-60s.
10:55And I thought my life might be over.
10:59Professional life.
11:01Really?
11:01Yeah.
11:02I wasn't really sad about it.
11:03It's the first time I kind of viewed my life in its entirety.
11:08There is where it started.
11:09And it's got to here.
11:10So it gave me this way of having an overview of what life was.
11:16What my life was.
11:18I mean, I basically dick about and I've made that a career.
11:22Yeah.
11:24Yeah.
11:30Look, there's some grebes doing a bloody thing.
11:33Look, there they are.
11:33Look, there they are.
11:35Yes.
11:36Shaking their heads.
11:37There you are.
11:39Isn't that great?
11:40You described that to me.
11:41And now they're doing it.
11:43And now they're doing it.
11:43They're standing up.
11:44Look at mine.
11:45Oh, no.
11:45Look at mine.
11:46Are they trying to make with each other?
11:49Yeah.
11:49I think they're thinking of being a pair.
11:54They're having a rest between dances now.
11:56It's great that we saw that.
11:58It felt like they'd come to show me.
12:00Exactly what I just said.
12:02Say, we know we're not supposed to do this until a bit further into spring.
12:05But we heard your friend trying to explain what it was.
12:09We saw on 2013.
12:10He wasn't doing it well.
12:11It's like this.
12:14Yes.
12:15It's not all doom and gloom, is it?
12:17No, no.
12:22Shall we try somewhere else?
12:24Yeah.
12:30They're very attractive, these reeds, aren't they?
12:33Yeah.
12:37See, that's the Canada goose.
12:38I can tell by the chin strap.
12:41I can.
12:43No luck with the bitten yet.
12:46You know, we could well see one just skirting the top of the reeds
12:50as it moves from one place to another.
12:53We haven't heard one.
13:05Perfectly sane.
13:06Nothing to see here.
13:13I'm amazed they're not beating the door down.
13:19No sign of a bit.
13:20They're very, very shy.
13:22We'll have to look somewhere else.
13:25You have little faith.
13:28There probably is one there.
13:29It's just that it's hiding.
13:48Look at the Godwits.
13:49That's good.
13:49Godwits, black.
13:50Black and white.
13:51With a white wing bar.
13:52And long bills coming round.
13:55Oh, yeah.
13:56And they look great.
13:57Yeah.
13:58Good numbers of grey heroin, but no luck with the bitten.
14:03So before we go, I want to have a proper look on the base of these reeds with the scope.
14:11Do you want to warm up?
14:13Yes, sir.
14:14Yes, I'll do...
14:15If I see one, I'll call you.
14:16I'll do my job of warming up.
14:30It's a nasty, sleeping wind.
14:34The trouble is, when you're looking at reed beds,
14:39they're so exactly the colour of a bittern.
14:42When you zoom in on them, you think you can see one.
14:49You're a robin.
14:51Come on, Mr. Robin.
14:54Some delicious food.
14:58You can see me, can't you?
15:02You're looking lovely.
15:16It's a...
15:17It's a...
15:17Here all year.
15:18I mean, I keep thinking I see one.
15:21It's just a tree stump.
15:33come on do another one i know and the weather's been shocking absolutely
15:49the cooks are very noisy
15:54there you go you look like a little mechanical bird
16:20oh i'm bloody freezing did you find anything of course i didn't
16:25you'll never guess what happened when you're away tell me this bitterns sat on the bonnet of the car
16:34boomed at me
16:38it's not in this time
16:42i've just been feeding a robin no yeah came to my hand i mean fleetingly
16:47i think it's the same one that's in cornwall no it's a lot smaller actually really
16:53where are we off to your next see if we can find some cattle egrets somerset's the best place for
16:58them is it yeah there are more here than anywhere else in britain at the moment
17:03secrets i've had a few but then again too few dimensions
17:14what do you think your hobbies are is bird watching your soul no it's my main hobby i think
17:22a lot of my hobbies center around collecting yeah i mean you know that i keep lists for birds and
17:28and i collect stamps i think that the need to fill some void is one i feel and also the
17:38need to
17:39catalogue a confusing world yeah oh hang on hang on we have
17:47cattle cattle and cattle egrets i love cows i love cattle egrets i think cows have got the
17:54loveliest eyes in the world i hope you don't say that to jennifer too often
18:03why are they hanging back with cattle so the cattle egrets do something for the cows
18:09and the cows give them something back the cattle egrets take ticks and flies off the cows yeah they've
18:16been known to do it very gently around a cow's eye for instance yeah what the cattle egret get is
18:21that
18:22when the cows tread through the ground they turn over the ground like a little plow and they turn up
18:27insects and invertebrates yeah and the cattle egret eat them they're a heron they're a small white heron
18:33yeah although they're called egrets i mean what is a heron then what i mean why why why are all
18:39those birds called heron what does that mean long-legged wading bird with a long dagger-like bill
18:45that mostly eats fish but actually the cattle egrets don't don't need fish as much well they can feed on
18:52drier fields and they eat invertebrates they'll you know take a frog mind you take a frog they'll take
18:58a frog i'll take a frog i'll take a frog have you got a frog what have you got another
19:01frog
19:02oh god i'll take a frog i don't mind
19:10so it's approaching dusk and it's the right time of year there's one more spectacle we can try and
19:16find before dinner i do like three spectacles a day a starling murmuration a murmuration
19:24i've never really seen one close up i'm going to call the starling hotline
19:31and see what they tell us about where we might be able to find some
19:36it has not been possible please try again later it has not been possible to connect your call
19:44the rain's come in yes it has why it's been such a good day really isn't it yeah
19:51yeah compared to what we thought it was gonna be well starlings head straight to roost if it's
19:56raining so there probably won't be a murmuration tonight yeah let's head for the digs and try for
20:00starlings tomorrow
20:11yes very good oh nice and warm don't lock it oh there we are kitchen are you cooking tonight i
20:19certainly am jolly good i like the fire
20:28that smells good what is it uh we're having kedgeri oh brilliant
20:35all right here we go then day list somerset levels
20:43great crested great which i think is my favorite bird of the day very good very very sleek very
20:53nicely designed it's lovely isn't it what exactly is kedgeri well kedgeri the way i make it is um
21:01bloody mess no it's it's um it's basically smoked haddock and rice
21:06in a sort of slightly curried sauce what's not to like i know
21:12we didn't see a chitty's warbler we heard lots it looks like madness to me this yeah someone wants
21:21to say what what does madness look like it's it's it's this when you flick through the same book you
21:27look at every page again yeah i like it it's quite a sane madness there are much madder mads yeah
21:37charlie starling yes starling still funny
21:44ren my friend my friend was lovely yeah singing away there saying don't don't forget about us common
21:51birds we did we really didn't we demand a look yes they demanded very well and i have to say
21:57best singer of the day no no no question very good sir no question to use some of the house's
22:03eggs
22:03Have you seen the chickens outside?
22:05No, they're beautiful. Look at that colour.
22:09Shall we have that one? Go on.
22:12So lots of herons today.
22:14They're no bitten, but there's always tomorrow.
22:17The herons are fantastic. The herons were good.
22:25There's a purple heron on our wine.
22:28That's very good. Yeah.
22:30Not charming. Cheers, my dear.
22:33Mmm.
22:34Well-burnted.
22:36Thank you, mate.
22:40Oh, that's lovely.
22:42That's beautiful, eh? Thank you so much.
22:44It looks all right, doesn't it? It looks gorgeous.
22:46I mean, it's food, it goes in, it comes out.
22:50OK.
22:51I can usually make supper in the time it takes for EastEnders to be...
22:57Missed.
22:58Yeah.
22:59Jennifer watches EastEnders while I make supper
23:03and then...
23:03Very good.
23:04So, half out.
23:05So as soon as you hit the duff-duff-duffs,
23:07you know it's time to serve.
23:08Mmm.
23:10Oh, this is great.
23:11Really delicious.
23:13So here's to the elusive bitten.
23:16On the hope of one tomorrow.
23:18That bitten doesn't know what's coming to you.
23:21Duff-duff-duff-duff-duff-duff-duff-duff-duff-duff.
23:25It's not top.
23:26Yeah, not top.
23:30Duff-duff-duff-duff-duff-duff-duff-duff-duff-duff-duff.
23:54One of my favourite boring bird calls, memorably described by Simon Barnes as a bored football fan.
24:01A collared dove going, hoo-hoo-hoo.
24:04Hoo-hoo-hoo.
24:07Hoo-hoo-hoo.
24:08Hoo-hoo-hoo.
24:09Hoo-hoo-hoo.
24:09Hoo-hoo-hoo.
24:09He says it's like a bored football fan going, united, united.
24:15Hoo-hoo-hoo.
24:16And you can never forget that once you've heard it.
24:18Hoo-hoo-hoo.
24:23Hoo-hoo-hoo.
24:23Hoo-hoo-hoo.
24:25Hoo-hoo-hoo.
24:26What a splendid day.
24:29An awful lot of birds about.
24:32Now, where's those chickens?
24:35Hoo-hoo-hoo.
24:37Here they are.
24:41Hello, little chickens.
24:43I love a chicken.
24:45It's all got such characters.
24:48my wife wants to make a sitcom about chickens just film chickens and then put voice over on them
24:57yes hello oh what are you going to do today well I thought I thought I'd just peck at some
25:03food
25:06really attractive a good chicken gorgeous birds
25:14there's some birds those are I don't know I think they're starlings
25:21not quite a murmuration just a fall I feel nervous saying that they are without confirmation from the
25:29master can I hear a corn bunting
25:39big flock of sparrows just here and a robin just behind it and the song thrush just down here
25:53this is the first time I've done this sort of go out in the morning it's really quite pleasant
26:04oh I think I'm being stalked by the robins right I'm gonna go and get the coffee on
26:15just photosynthesizing for a bit
26:21it's better
26:39good morning good morning good morning how are you I'm very well what time did you get up
26:45oh I don't know about seven I'm doing my morning madness walk is that coffee it is coffee
26:50oh who nice little mug thank you cheers cheers well I went out did you yes do you know what
26:59I found
26:59go on chickens you can't count those what's the plan today well we're gonna master and see a bit and
27:10again I brought a bit and photograph and you remember I said that it looked like beaker that's
27:15what they when they freeze that's why they look big bitons apparently even though they were very shy
27:22were never particularly difficult to catch and they were on the the menu in the medieval times
27:29well I did a bit of reading last night did you yes how many bitons do you think were eaten
27:36for the
27:37investiture of the Archbishop of York in 1465 204 no it's no wonder we can't find one that's like
27:47almost all Britain's but bitons that's quite hard to say yeah 200 and 204 just for just for
27:53invest it's just showing off isn't it and I've got some footage of the suspect this is who we're
28:00looking for this is to prove that they do exist no it's quite a fine head isn't it he looks
28:07very
28:08inquisitive oh yeah what's that over there that's kind of very good good good good good so why they've
28:14got better many accents they have though haven't you you can see they're much stockier than normal
28:18herons but it does prove they exist they are not fictional birds although they very nearly were I
28:25mean 97 we got down to 11 of them they could easily have become extinct in the wild it's been
28:31a great success story 283 in 2024 and it's a massive recovery well so since we stopped the church of
28:39England from eating them yes I'm used to the accusation that I'm geeky yeah but I've been
28:48thinking about you calling my listing mad I think it's part of a sort of mindfulness
28:55something about putting it down and trying to expand it is mind expanding as well as geeky I
29:03think just to me anyway I think it might also be a way of putting the world in order yeah
29:16you've been all right since you're a mom died yeah you became an orphan very quickly didn't you
29:22really it's quite the funeral went well it started with a line straight out of 40 towers it was um
29:32we
29:32got an email on the morning of the Mars funeral that said there is a gas leak at Putney crematorium
29:39so we had to switch chapels so we didn't all get cremated here and the music wasn't working so we
29:46sent her
29:46off to route wall from the st john passion on this tinny little bluetooth speaker but um we were
29:53wondering what to put on the front cover and um of the funerals I argued for this picture
30:01I didn't use that yeah I mean it's one of the nice things when your parents die is that you
30:05find out
30:05things about them that you didn't know stories yeah this was in a guardian photo essay saying
30:10pranella scales of life in pictures it's from the year I was born and I'd never seen it before and
30:16then somebody sent me these
30:23daddy which one's you that's me that's my brother Joe and there we all are this is in 1975 when
30:30I'm nine
30:31and Joe is six yeah I'll tell you what your dad looks like my dad in those pictures did you
30:44know
30:44there was a stream outside a stream a stream you're gonna yeah isn't it beautiful that you can see how
30:51high the water is yeah a local wildlife photographer and filmmaker I set up a camera just over the other
30:59side of this bridge and that stick just in front of it is a favorite perch of the kingfisher you
31:08had
31:08a very brief encounter with why we did see one in Cornwall didn't we the idea now is to have
31:13a much
31:14closer and possibly with luck a longer encounter you just have to be very quiet and still and wait
31:30I'm loving this bridge it's really quite a lot of water going under it yeah how long do you wait
31:39for
31:40that 10 minutes in your house yes I might have to shift yeah thanks maybe I brought a couple of
31:48cushions I'll wake me up when it comes oh god you can't lie down this step
32:02little kingfisher sweet little bird of the water
32:07uh oh it went through it went through yeah you said I saw it yeah okay so maybe it was
32:18my song
32:19that called it in yeah I'm sure it was actually if I may say yes searching for two elusive birds
32:28in
32:28one trip yes isn't it yeah I'll ask you for trouble yeah be funny if the bitten came through now
32:40on a lilo I heard who you're looking for with a cocktail so I thought I knew
32:50oh little cute fisher where have you gone why don't you come back to me
32:58I saw you fly past but just saw your ass and that's no use to me to me your ass
33:08is no use to me
33:11all right shall we move on are you calling it West Hamor oh you're giving up then I would stay
33:17but
33:17yes of course yes if you if you have to go I just don't have the patience yeah oh god
33:22almighty
33:24oh christ that's a way to get arthritis it's good for us bird yoga yeah
33:32oh right where are we off West Hamor will there be some birds there yes
34:10no matter how many times you look at them Sam they're always going to be ordinary swans yeah
34:14I know hope springs it out you keep looking at them thinking there's going to be something different
34:18I know I mean I should actually know because hoopers and buicks are slightly smaller and those are massive
34:30oh
34:40well after my Saint Francis of Assisi act with the Robin I'm now
34:46walking on water I think something great might be happening to me
34:52might be the second coming well it's funny you should say that because there are
34:57Three mentions of bitterns in the Old Testament.
35:00Oh, yeah. Yes, in Isaiah,
35:01it talks about the total destruction of a place called Edom
35:05under divine judgment, a return to pre-Genesis chaos,
35:11and the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it.
35:15And the idea is that it's totally abandoned.
35:19A remote and horrible place.
35:21Well, even in biblical times,
35:23the bittern was looking for somewhere
35:25where it really wouldn't be disturbed.
35:27Yeah. They're that shy.
35:29I wonder what it's doing there,
35:31in this place where it can't be seen.
35:34Well, that's exactly the thing, isn't it?
35:35You are meant to wonder. You're not meant to go and see.
35:38Ah.
35:50I like this hide.
35:52It's gorgeous.
35:53It's like the bridge of the ship in which we serve.
36:04Bittern's damn quiet tonight, number one.
36:07Yes, sir. Too quiet.
36:08Haven't seen a sign of bittern.
36:10He's out there somewhere.
36:13Waiting.
36:15I've checked all the edges of the reeds.
36:18Good for you.
36:21There's some gadwall.
36:24Is that his missus next time?
36:26Well, if he gets lucky, it is.
36:28Ah.
36:28The male is the grey one with the black stone,
36:31and the female looks quite like a mallard.
36:36It looks rather dull, but close up, it's absolutely pretty and beautiful.
36:48It's very peaceful in a hide, isn't it?
36:51It's such a meditative place.
36:53It is gorgeous, isn't it?
36:54A place of peace.
36:55It's a strange landscape.
36:57It's sort of lunar.
36:59It doesn't feel quite...
37:00Yeah.
37:01...earthly.
37:02Well, it's basically an old pit, isn't it?
37:04If they've dug the peat out.
37:05Yeah.
37:06And then it's filled up with water.
37:11It's a very loud coot.
37:13Ooh.
37:15Yes, you were loud.
37:16That's what I'm saying.
37:18You, sir.
37:23So this bittern...
37:24Yeah.
37:25..that is possibly standing right in front of us, disguised as a reed...
37:30Easily.
37:32And the way we are...
37:34You know, you and I are both actors.
37:37Do you think you hide in your roles?
37:39I like being someone else.
37:41I love being someone else.
37:42I think...
37:43Pretending to be someone else.
37:44I think enjoying being somebody else isn't quite the same thing as hiding in something.
37:48I know my mum really liked being somebody else, and the only time I ever saw her unhappy...
37:54..was when her dementia meant she could no longer learn lines, and she couldn't pretend to be somebody else.
38:00Yeah.
38:01I don't know that...
38:03I mean...
38:04Bittons...
38:05If Bittons were people, they would be...
38:08Loners.
38:09Well, they would be socially really awkward.
38:12Yeah.
38:12They would shun almost all contact, and they would freeze as well.
38:18They would, you know, just hope it all goes away.
38:21Yeah.
38:23Yeah.
38:35You listen very carefully.
38:40You can hear the sound of the rain on the water.
38:43It's hissing.
38:46It's hissing.
38:47Yeah.
38:48Thousands and thousands of tiny noises making a hiss.
38:54Fancy a cuppa?
38:56Oh, God, yes.
38:57Let's go and get the thermos.
38:58Oh, no.
39:00Oh, no.
39:06What's that?
39:15Did you bring a milk bottle specially?
39:18No.
39:19No.
39:19I think it's...
39:21Have you found a bit in here somewhere?
39:24I think I've been bitten.
39:26That was very convincing, though.
39:28Was it?
39:29Yeah.
39:29It got me fooled for a bit.
39:42It doesn't seem to be calling back.
39:48We're going to be confusing a lot of birds.
39:52I'll try a sexier one.
39:54OK.
39:54Good luck.
39:59Why was that sexy?
40:01Had rhythm.
40:03Had something.
40:04Syncopation.
40:06Well, it's brought in a cormorant.
40:20I'm afraid the bitten has eluded us again today.
40:24Back to the car?
40:25Yes, let's.
40:27My socks are getting a bit soggy.
40:31Very nice sunlight, though, through that.
40:33Gorgeous, watery sunlight.
40:35Yeah.
40:35Look at the raindrops hanging off the...
40:37Oh, yeah, off the reeds.
40:38Beautiful.
40:39Perhaps we should go and...
40:41Go and look at some starlings?
40:42...look for a murmuration of starlings.
40:43Absolutely.
40:44Bloody loot, there.
41:10Bloody loot, there.
41:11Yeah, doesn't matter where we go. The tour is always in front of us. It's promising
41:23There's a single white egret up there great white
41:32There's a few in front of the tour now
41:38Have you and oh have you seen any starlings? No, no, no don't listen to him. Yeah, they're over there
41:45What do you say are the beginning? Yeah
41:50Here they come here they come
42:01Oh bloody hell exactly
42:04Christ almighty
42:07That's enormous
42:14That's amazing
42:16Do you look at it looks like a one ginormous bee? Yeah, it's like a huge fall to get around
42:20there
42:21If you've never seen a flock of birds you'd think the end of the world was coming
42:37And the moon is out gorgeous. Isn't that great?
42:41Come this way
42:43Should I get my mealworms out?
42:45Hmm
42:48That is extraordinary
42:53I can't actually see anything else in my bins
42:56No
42:57Except starlings
42:59Do you have any idea why they do it?
43:02Well safety in numbers is the main thing
43:05But they're looking for somewhere safe for the night
43:08Look at that
43:11Oh my god
43:13Oh my god
43:17Listen, listen, listen
43:22Does this make up for your bitten?
43:24Oh god, yeah
43:2730,000 starlings
43:38You can see why it's called a murmuration
43:39I mean that felt like a murmuration
43:42That was so beautiful
43:44What a noise
43:50Thank you for being here when I saw that
43:53That was great, really
43:54Really special
43:58Thank you for my great Christy Grieve
44:03He's my bird of the trip
44:05Is it?
44:05Yeah
44:06So now you sound like a real bird watcher
44:08I saw the mating dance of the great Christy Grieve
44:11It's like you're in a sitcom
44:24I think they've gone to roost, perhaps we should do the same
44:27Yeah
44:29Bid you adieu, Somerset
44:30Thank you, Somerset
44:31You've been great
44:32See you soon
44:33Right, to the pub
44:39If you're interested in learning more about the birds featured
44:42And nature reserves near you
44:43Go to rspb.org.uk forward slash c5
44:48For more information
44:59To answer your question
45:00Alright, because of the birds were.
45:23Cpcregon
45:24Have
45:24reminded us about your story Dangerous
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