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00:04Oh no, hidden cameras. I'm not sure I want to star on a wildlife television show.
00:13Hey Boris, for goodness sakes, you'll be in full view of millions of nature nuts.
00:19What are we going to do?
00:21Their programme starts in a minute.
00:24We've got to get out of here before they go live. Come on, let's scarper. It's Spring Watch.
00:52Hello, and welcome to Spring Watch 2026, coming to you from the picturesque Crumb National Trust estate here in Fermanagh.
00:59Where we've made our main base this year, and we're very much enjoying it.
01:03It's a little bit stormy tonight, might get some rain coming in, but it won't dampen our spirits
01:08because we've got plenty of good things coming up, including our favourite nest of the moment, the one and only
01:14Little Greaves.
01:15Oh, my favourite anyway.
01:17I knew you would start swooning immediately.
01:20We'll also be taking a look at our buzzards.
01:22Now, they started with a bit of a rough and tumble, a bit of bullying in the nest, reduced the
01:27brood from three to two, but now they're doing well.
01:30And we've seen plenty of predators too.
01:33Irish stoats, pine martens, and they have been predating some of our nests.
01:38But then everything's got to eat.
01:40And it's been quite a tough last few days, hasn't it?
01:42It was a tough watch last night.
01:44Well, I'm pleased to tell you all that everything is still alive over the last 24 hours at least.
01:49Let's have a look at our live cameras.
01:51There they all are.
01:53Everything's settling down for the night.
01:54So which one shall I take you to?
01:57I'm going to take you to our courtyard because I love the courtyard so much going on.
02:02We've got swifts, swallows, house martens, lots of activity.
02:06But let's have a look at our swift.
02:09There we go.
02:10That's it live.
02:11Settling down.
02:12Not very much action there right now, but there has been over the weekend.
02:17This is what happens over the weekend.
02:18We were really hoping that the swifts laid some eggs.
02:22And on Friday, as the adult gets up, we get a little peek of one white egg.
02:29And as they fly out, we get a very good look at it.
02:32So one egg laid.
02:33We were hoping another one was going to be laid.
02:35And on Sunday, 7.43 a.m.
02:39There we go.
02:39Two eggs.
02:41Typically, they lay two to three eggs.
02:43So you never know.
02:43We might get a third one.
02:45And then they fly out of the crack.
02:48And we get a very good view.
02:50And they've both been coming in.
02:51They've been brooding.
02:52They've been maintaining and improving the nest.
02:54Look at this.
02:55This is curious.
02:56It's brought in a buzzard feather.
02:59Interesting behavior.
03:00It starts to put it around the inside of the nest.
03:05And then it does something really odd.
03:08It starts to gag.
03:11And then it starts bobbing its head.
03:13And it brings up a ball of spit.
03:15You can just about see it there.
03:18And then it deposits the spit along the rim of the nest.
03:24Very diligently putting it all there.
03:28And that spit acts as glue.
03:31As it flies out of the crack, we can go back in.
03:35And you can see it's stuck the feather to the side of the nest.
03:41They've got a little gland under their tongue that produces especially sticky saliva.
03:45Which they stick everything together with.
03:47It's really cool, isn't it?
03:48Yeah.
03:49That's really cool.
03:49Let's have a look at what else has been going well.
03:52First of all, let's have a look live.
03:53See if we can just see that feather.
03:55Can we see it at all?
03:57No, we can't see it.
03:59But look, you know when it flew out, we saw that amazing sort of twist of the body that they
04:04have to do to get out of the crack in the wall.
04:06And so we sent a camera team out there to have a look at that because it is incredible.
04:10Look, as it goes in, I mean it happens so quickly you can hardly see it.
04:14And then as it comes out, it has to turn itself sideways and fly out.
04:20And if we slow that down, you can see it's quite an angle that it has to go to get
04:26into the nest.
04:29And then you see some others that kind of go up to the nest, then it's almost like a failed
04:34attempt.
04:35But we were discussing this and we were thinking, is it a failed attempt?
04:38Or is it maybe the adult going in, it sees the other adult on the nest and thinks, oh, there's
04:43a bit of a squash in there, I'll go out again.
04:44Or is it an intruder going?
04:46It could be intruders because when they first come back in the first couple of years after they fledged,
04:52those young birds will fly up to the entrances of other swift nests to see if they're occupied.
04:56We call them bangers because sometimes they just literally fly into them in that regard.
05:01But the key thing is there could be other swifts looking for nest sites there and going in as well.
05:05So it's hard to say, but it's a squeeze. It's a squeeze.
05:08It's certainly incredible.
05:10And there is a shortage of potential nest sites.
05:12Take a look at this. This is our starling fiddling with its nest a few days ago.
05:17It hears something and it's immediately perturbed and it bolts out of the nest and disappears.
05:24You can see the eggs there. Let's have a look at what's happening outside with the outside camera.
05:29It's a swift which is trying to get in and immediately the starling grabs it and pulls it out of
05:34the hole.
05:34In fact, it was so quick. Let's watch the whole thing again in slow motion.
05:38So here's the swift coming in. There, the starling has already arrived.
05:43It decides the best strategy is to get outside, latch on to the starling's tail and wings,
05:49and then use its own wings to drag it backwards out of the nest.
05:54Not a genteel animal, the starling.
05:56I'd love to put a Johnny Morris voice on that starling, what it was thinking.
06:00But here's a question for you. I mean, where did all of the swifts and starlings nest
06:04before there were buildings for them to nest in?
06:07That's a good question. Where did they nest?
06:09Well, they nested in hollow trees and in hollows in rock faces.
06:12And of course, they both choose the same nesting site.
06:15So there's going to be competition, with the exception of the fact that, of course,
06:18most of the starlings that are breeding here are residents.
06:20So they're going to get first choice of those sites.
06:23They're going to get in there in March and April.
06:24The swifts are migrants. They don't arrive back until May.
06:28So they're always going to be on the lookout for any potential site, even if it's occupied.
06:33And I think that's what's happening there.
06:34This is nest prospecting from the swift and the starling's already in there.
06:38It's interesting, isn't it, in that courtyard? I mean, there is a lot going on.
06:41The housemartins are also in there.
06:44They're not arguing quite so much over nest sites because they build their own nests under the eaves.
06:50And you've got these fantastic cup nests.
06:54And we've got about 45 pairs, we reckon, which is pretty incredible, isn't it?
06:59This is one that we've been watching.
07:02And it actually looks like they're watching us.
07:04They've got four eggs, peeks its head out, not just at us, but at the neighbours.
07:10Because you can see there's a nest there that's half built.
07:15And we've got a pair that are trying to finish it off.
07:18And this one doesn't look too happy about that.
07:21I know how it feels, actually, because my neighbours are building at the moment.
07:24And every so often, when they start digging, then I start giving them those.
07:30Moaning about the jackhammer.
07:32Exactly, it's the jackhammer.
07:34But anyway, so, yeah, I don't think they're going to be setting up
07:38any neighbourhood WhatsApp groups between these birds
07:42because there is a lot of chirping going on, a lot of looking.
07:46As I say, they're not particularly chuffed.
07:48I don't remember them being this fighty when I watched them when I was a kid.
07:53You know, because obviously they nest socially.
07:55They all like nesting together.
07:56It gives them a benefit when it comes to spotting and chasing away predators.
07:59But there's still a lot of competition taking place.
08:01The answer to both the house martin problem and the swift problem is boxes.
08:06Swift boxes and those house martin cups.
08:08Put them up.
08:09Help these birds out.
08:10Help the birds out.
08:11But anyway, those nests are incredible because they're all made of mud.
08:15So this slightly wetter weather that we've had this week has been an advantage to them
08:20because it means that the mud is softer and easier to get up.
08:25Because to make those nests requires around a thousand beakfuls of mud.
08:30So if they're doing either their building or their maintenance, then they constantly have to get this mud.
08:38And this little puddle is about 20 metres from the courtyard.
08:41So you can see a lot of them are coming down.
08:43This is like your local DIY store.
08:46They pop down, they get a beakful, they fly back, they mend the nest or they build it or they
08:52do their maintenance.
08:53There's lots of mud there, so you can see a lot of them are happily sharing the puddle.
09:00Except these two.
09:02And they're having what's basically called, well, a mud fight.
09:06It's a house martin mud fight.
09:08Mud wrestling.
09:08Mud wrestling.
09:09That's exactly what it is.
09:11That's what it is, honestly.
09:15I've got to say a thousand beakfuls of mud.
09:18That's a lot, isn't it?
09:20But now I'm going to take you into the nest.
09:22We saw this earlier, but this is inside the nest.
09:25This is the first time we've had a camera in a house martin nest.
09:30In the entire history of the universe.
09:31And I'd love to say that that's a really...
09:33Is that what it is?
09:34I think so, yeah.
09:35Let's big it up, Mick.
09:36Big it up, you know.
09:37But then again, we go to it and that's not the greatest bit of activity that we've seen.
09:41But it will be later.
09:42I mean, that's an extraordinary privilege, isn't it?
09:45You know, to have a camera inside a house martin's nest.
09:48And look, it's also got a feather.
09:50Yes, yes.
09:50It's decorated.
09:52It's copied and decorated its nest with a little feather.
09:55It has indeed.
09:55In fact, we're going to be looking at that later in the week
09:57because they seem to show a disproportionate number of white feathers
10:00being taken into the nest rather than other colours.
10:03Anyway, listen, let's move on from the house martins to a nest
10:06which we have shown you before on other series of Swingwatch.
10:08So it's not new, not in the first in the universe or anything like that.
10:11It's a very interesting bird.
10:12One of my favourites, actually.
10:13It's Blackcap.
10:14Let's go live to it now.
10:16Look.
10:16Oh, hold on.
10:17There's something about to happen.
10:19Top timing.
10:20Five little chicks there.
10:23And one of the adults can't see it.
10:25It's the female, isn't it?
10:25Yes, it is the female.
10:26Has come in and given them a good beak full of insects.
10:32Look at that.
10:33Excellent.
10:33It's amazing how they're almost vibrating as they pop their beaks out.
10:37So eager, aren't they?
10:38Again, competition for food.
10:39They soon settle down, though, when they realise it's gone.
10:42Oh, look.
10:42That's great as well.
10:43She's going to settle down and start brooding them.
10:47Oh, no.
10:47They haven't given up.
10:49I spoke too soon.
10:50I spoke too soon.
10:51They haven't.
10:51They want another beak full.
10:52They want another beak full.
10:54Talking of beak full, have a look at this because we have been watching them.
10:58And at this time of year, although the birds are omnivorous, they eat berries throughout
11:02the course of the autumn and the winter, for sure.
11:04At this time of year, they should typically be feeding their young an insect diet.
11:08Someone hasn't told the male black cat.
11:10And he's bringing in ivy berries and trying to feed them to the young.
11:15Now, look.
11:16He's very diligent, but that's simply not going in, is it?
11:20It's not going to go in.
11:21And he works his way around the entire brood, stuffing that giant berry into those tiny
11:28birds' mouths.
11:30And he just won't give up.
11:32Well, commendable diligence, as I say, but no, it's not going to work.
11:37What's required here is some female assistance.
11:40So she comes in, gives them some insects, goes straight down, and then after a while,
11:45she can't put up with this nonsense any longer.
11:48So she takes the berry and does the decent thing, and swallows it.
11:53I love that.
11:54I know.
11:55I know.
11:56Honestly.
11:58Ah, there we are.
11:59Nice to see those.
12:00And a bird that has very much increased.
12:02A 240% range increase in Ireland in the last 50 years, and a 50% range increase in the
12:09UK.
12:09And we think this is because they've changed their migration patterns.
12:12The climate breakdown, warmer summers and springs, has been favouring them as well.
12:17So, for me, they're a warbler for, you know, Generation Z, basically.
12:20We grew up with willow warblers.
12:22They've largely disappeared, but the blackcaps are here.
12:25Look, here's one of those.
12:28That's one of those berries.
12:29Mick, that's what he was trying to force down.
12:31That makes you realise just how small the chicks are, doesn't it?
12:35Yeah, it does.
12:35That's like us trying to swallow a melon or something in one go, isn't it?
12:39Yeah.
12:39Anyway, will it or won't it work?
12:41Well, you know, frankly, he was onto something, that male.
12:43Because the female later comes in with a berry of her own.
12:48And look.
12:49Look at that.
12:50Oh, yes.
12:51An element of redemption for the male there.
12:54Oh.
12:55It's going to be a smaller berry.
12:56And look.
12:57It immediately produces results.
12:59It stimulates that chick to produce a fecal sac, which she immediately consumes.
13:04That is brilliant.
13:05Come on.
13:06That's pretty good, isn't it, really?
13:07So that's a little roundup of some of our nests, at least.
13:11And don't forget, you can carry on watching them on the iPlayer.
13:14And that's what's been happening here in Northern Ireland.
13:17But let's see what Yolo's up to, because he's down south.
13:21He's in capital city of London.
13:23Yesterday was at Hampstead Heath.
13:25And today, where is he?
13:26Well, I recognise that building, Yolo.
13:31Yes, indeed, I've moved and I'm sure most people at home will recognise the iconic building behind me.
13:38It is, of course, the Natural History Museum.
13:41My favourite building in the whole of London.
13:44Just look at the architecture.
13:46Absolutely stunning.
13:48Now, I sneaked inside earlier, but we are not going inside this evening.
13:52No, we are staying out here in this green space, because this area has been completely transformed in the last
14:01few years.
14:01They've created a fantastic mix of mini habitats here.
14:07It's become a kind of an outdoor laboratory since it was reopened in 2024.
14:15It's a real hotbed of scientific research here.
14:20Now, I last came here in 2018.
14:24And I have to say, having come back here now, I barely recognise this area.
14:30And because of the habitats, of course, it's absolutely brilliant for all kinds of wildlife.
14:36Just look at it.
14:37It's a stunning area.
14:39Now, I'm going to take you on kind of a whistle-stop tour now.
14:43A kind of a supermarket sweep of this garden, right?
14:47So, hold on to your trolleys.
14:49Here we go.
14:50Now, we'll start with the water before we dive below the surface.
14:54Let me just show you this footage that was taken by a staff member here just a few days ago.
15:00It's a bathing sparrowhawk.
15:02Now, sparrowhawks do very well here in London, of course, in the parks and the big gardens.
15:07It's an apex predator, so it needs to clean those feathers.
15:12Now, if we dive under water, I've seen smooth newts.
15:15I've seen all kinds of beetles, water boatmen here.
15:19And they also recorded 15 different species of dragonflies and damselflies here.
15:26And that includes this.
15:28This is the willow emerald damselfly.
15:31It's a recent coloniser, first recorded here in 1979.
15:35Since then, it's spread north and west.
15:38And they've seen it breed here because it lays its eggs on the branches and on the stems of trees
15:47and shrubs that hang out over the water.
15:49Now, let's move on, take you over to the mini woodland they have here.
15:55Look at the mix of trees.
15:56The tall ones at the back of the London plains.
15:59You've got oak here.
16:01You've got hazel.
16:02Look at how much more advanced this is.
16:05It's about a month more advanced than it is back home.
16:07The hazelnuts are already out there.
16:11What else have we got here?
16:12We've got mountain ash, more hazel here.
16:16Now, they've already recorded breeding birds like wrens, like blue tits here, like dunnocks as well.
16:24And when our long lens camera operator Steve was here the other day, he filmed these.
16:30It's a family of long-tailed tits.
16:33These are the youngsters, aren't they beautiful birds?
16:35I do like long-tailed tits.
16:37Now, they look like adults as if they've been through the washing machine and the colours have run and faded
16:43a little bit.
16:44Now, let's take you on and show you this.
16:47Now, this area is bugged.
16:49They have sensors all over here.
16:51You see that?
16:52That is a sensor that will be recording temperature, humidity, rainfall, sunlight.
16:59It'll even record the sound of the traffic, birdsong.
17:03It'll record insects, everything.
17:05And this is a chalk grassland.
17:08You see it in flower oxide daisies, red campion here.
17:11There's another grassland over here.
17:15This is full of different...
17:16You've got cocksfoot.
17:17You've still got some flowering plants in there.
17:20And they do say that a well-planted garden will produce about a teaspoonful of nectar every single day.
17:29And you might think that's not very much.
17:31But it is.
17:31It's about a ton of food for us humans.
17:34And of course, this is brilliant for all kinds of pollinators, your bumblebees, your butterflies, your hoverflies, your beetles, your
17:42dipterans.
17:43They're all very, very important pollinators.
17:47Now, we're moving on now to probably the most important part of this garden here.
17:53Now, here, they are testing the resilience of plants and other wildlife.
17:59We know that the climate is warming up.
18:02So they're looking at which plants, both native and non-native, are going to be most tolerant to these changes.
18:10This section, mainly native, you see willow growing at the back over there.
18:15We've also got, look at this, elder here.
18:19Elderberries won't be long coming through.
18:21Nice purple elderberries after a while.
18:23Then, if we skip along here, you'll see why it's been positioned here, because it's much hotter.
18:29You've got all kinds of paving.
18:31You've got the glass back there, which creates a hotter temperature.
18:34Now, this red valerian, already escaped into the wild all over the UK.
18:39Brilliant for all kinds of pollinators.
18:41You've got dark mullein.
18:43Earlier it was a little bit warmer.
18:44This was full of bumblebees here.
18:47You've got different herbs.
18:49You've got fig over there.
18:51And this research is going to be vitally important because this will look at the resilience of these plants and
18:58you never know.
18:59By about 2050, we might have these plants growing in our garden if the temperature continues to increase the way
19:09that it's going now.
19:11Let's leave the hustle and bustle of London and head up to the Pennines in the north of England and
19:18see the courtship display of one of my favourite birds.
19:21The magnificent black grouse.
19:26Early morning on the uplands of the Pennines.
19:31A curious dawn chorus.
19:41The bubbling of male black grouse.
19:45The bubbling of male black grouse.
19:49They gather every day to lekka this ancient arena.
19:53Engaging in competitive displays.
20:00For generations they've focused their lives on this specific small patch of moorland.
20:07With an even smaller goal.
20:11The centre.
20:14Just a few square metres of open ground to us.
20:18But to them, it's a prize worth fighting for.
20:22Because maintaining control of this inner circle over time shows they are the fittest, strongest birds on the moorland.
20:30With the best genes to pass on.
20:38They square up like heavyweights.
20:42Heads low.
20:43Tails raised.
20:46Wings poised.
20:49They bubble.
20:52And lunge.
20:56Each trying to stake his claim and become the dominant male.
21:22Until now, these competitions have been purely for the boys.
21:27Contests judged by the contestants.
21:31But on this misty April morning, something is different.
21:40Above their eyes, blood-engorged wattles burn brighter against the heather.
21:46Their lyre-shaped tails flare wider, flashing white petticoats beneath.
21:52Whilst their black plumage catches the dawn with a blue sheen.
21:58The bubbling intensifies.
22:03Because today, they're visited by the only judging panel that really matters.
22:12Grey hens.
22:14The females, who only show up for a handful of days a year, are quieter birds.
22:23And like many species of birds, black grouse do not form pair bonds.
22:29Instead, the female raises her offspring completely alone.
22:33So here, for these few hours, the hens are not choosing a partner.
22:39They're choosing genes.
22:41As each female only wants the best.
22:49The males in the center haven't wandered there by chance.
22:54They've spent their entire year battling for this position.
22:58Because the hens will choose from those in the heart of it.
23:03Their tails tell a story.
23:06If those long feathers are clean and intact, he has come through the battles without losing the very ornaments he
23:14needs to display.
23:17His voice matters too.
23:23That bubbling call signals the male's competitive ability.
23:30A male that can posture, fight and return to this arena day after day is showing he still has energy
23:39to spend.
23:42The female has made her decision and moves in closer.
23:49The showing off steps up a level.
23:53Tail fanned, he circles her.
24:04Mating, the culmination of a year's work, is short.
24:09And even now, hard fought.
24:19But it's over.
24:21The grey hen slips back into the heather to raise her chicks alone.
24:26For the dominant male, who may have spent five years rising to the top, victory can come at a cost.
24:34As this will likely be his last year.
24:37But he's achieved his goal.
24:39His genes have been passed on.
24:42And he can be confident that his descendants will return to contest their position on this prized patch.
24:50What an extraordinary sound.
24:52It really is.
24:53I mean, if you saw the bird and you were going to invent a sound for its lecking behaviour, you
24:58wouldn't come up with that.
24:59And it's got these air sacs in its throat that produce that bubbling.
25:03And although it sounds quiet, in fact, you can sometimes hear it from four kilometres away.
25:09Amazing.
25:10That is astonishing.
25:11That is a long way, isn't it?
25:12Now, I am taking you into something that is so magical.
25:17I love this place.
25:19I mean, this is all of these branches, these tangled branches, and all of this foliage belongs to a pair
25:25of yew trees.
25:26And they're called the chrome yew trees, and they're cojoined.
25:31And yew trees are dioecious, which means that there's a male and a female.
25:35So this is the male, and it will produce the flowers and the pollen.
25:39And then over here, this absolutely beautiful tree is the female.
25:46And the seeds will then be pollinated by the pollen from the male tree.
25:52And if we go up above and look at how these trees have spread out, then they cover a circumference
25:59of 150 metres.
26:01Now, we don't know how old these trees are, but they think they're probably between about 400 and 1,000
26:08years old.
26:10They were actually here when they built the castle.
26:13So we know that they were definitely here in 1611, but they could have been here long before that.
26:18But, you know, in yew tree terms, that's quite young.
26:21Although, Chris, this pair of trees are the oldest trees in Northern Ireland.
26:26But that is young, because then if we look at the oldest tree in the UK, it is a yew
26:33tree.
26:34And it's the Fortingle yew tree in Perthshire.
26:38And that is 3,000 to 7,000 years old.
26:43It's just amazing.
26:44I know. It germinated in the Stone Age.
26:47I know.
26:47It's incredible, but they're so beautiful, aren't they?
26:50I know.
26:50Listen, there are a couple of old trees.
26:52They're about 2,000 years old, near where I live.
26:54And I sometimes go and sit under those trees just to be humbled by them, to be put in my
26:58place.
26:59Because when you think about it, we're just a tiny blip in the life of this organism.
27:03I mean, if this tree could speak, even at 1,000 years old, if it could speak.
27:08I know.
27:08Those ones that are 7,000 years old, just think of all the stories that they could tell us.
27:13But if it humbles you, while you go on, I'm going to sit under the tree then and be humbled.
27:17Okay, does that mean I have to be humbled too?
27:19No, you can stay standing if you want.
27:20Okay, you be humbled.
27:21Okay.
27:21Now, last week we were talking about the history of woodland in Ireland.
27:25And at the end of the last ice age, when the ice retreated, about 80% of Ireland was covered
27:30in trees.
27:30By 1925, it was just 1%.
27:33But it's lucky that we're here at Crumb, because Crumb holds the largest remaining body of oak wood in Northern
27:41Ireland.
27:41And it's got some fantastic old oak trees here.
27:44Now, I've got to tell you, they're nowhere near as old as these ewes.
27:48Oak trees can live up to 1,000 years, not the 5,000 years of the ewes.
27:54And they become ancient trees at about 400.
27:57But of course, as they progress with that growth, they change their form.
28:01And as you can see, there are lots of dead boughs, there are lots of splits, nooks, crannies, cracks, crevices.
28:07They become great surfaces for life.
28:10And as there are species that have been growing here in the UK for such a long period of time,
28:16then a lot of life has had the opportunity to adapt itself to live on those trees.
28:22And we know that they provide for the largest number of species of any of the trees that we have
28:28in the UK.
28:28All sorts of different things can live on them.
28:32In fact, studies have shown that no less than 2,300 species can be surviving on an oak.
28:39And 326 of those are dependent.
28:42Plenty of epiphytes, the mosses, the ferns, the lichens.
28:47And then, of course, all the things that feed on those, those insects.
28:51And as you've seen, the predators that will come to eat those.
28:54The caterpillars, which at this time of year are munching their way through this fresh leaf salad.
29:01And then, of course, all of the birds which come to eat those.
29:04And sometimes the bigger birds that eat the smaller birds.
29:06In a way, an old oak tree is a sort of an ecosystem on its own.
29:12We went out and looked in the woods here to see if we could find any special species here in
29:17Crumb.
29:18And we found these.
29:19Now, this is a thing called a striped oak bug.
29:24They're not unique to this area, but a nice animal to find.
29:29Plenty of looper caterpillars.
29:31And these are from the geometric moths.
29:34These are the things that are getting taken into the tits' nests.
29:37These are, this is called a blunt stretch spider.
29:40When it gets distressed, it stretches its front legs forward and tries to hide.
29:45And then lastly, this is the platted door snail.
29:48The larger of the two is the platted door snail.
29:51And we were very pleased to find that one because that is an animal which is rare in Ireland.
29:56And this in Fermanagh is the place where you can find most of them.
30:00So those oak trees are playing a fantastic part when it comes to the ecology of this whole region.
30:05It is incredible just how much life lives in an oak tree, isn't it?
30:09Astonishing.
30:10Absolutely astonishing.
30:11I'm really enjoying sitting down here.
30:12Are you sure you don't want to enjoy it?
30:13Oh, okay.
30:14Go on then.
30:14I'll be humbled.
30:15I can be humbled.
30:16It's not only feeling humbled.
30:18It actually makes you feel incredibly calm under here.
30:22I'm liking it.
30:22It's magical.
30:23It's calm.
30:24It's beautiful.
30:26Okay, yeah.
30:27Are you agreeing with me?
30:28Yeah, no, I can feel calm.
30:29Fast bathing.
30:30I mean, you know, forest bathing when we're doing live TV.
30:33I'm not sure I can muster that.
30:34But, you know, in my own time with two poodles in the woods, yeah.
30:36Because you're supposed to do it absolutely naked.
30:39And that is not going to happen right now.
30:41What do you mean you don't do forest bathing naked?
30:44I thought that's what you're supposed to do, isn't it?
30:47Anyway, from creatures that rely on trees.
30:49If you go down to the woods today, you're sure of a big surprise.
30:52I can tell you.
30:54Strachan, naked.
30:55Under a tree forest bathing.
30:57Oh, no.
30:57From creatures that rely on trees to one specific creature that relies on one specific plant for its survival.
31:06And a farmer here in Northern Ireland who's doing everything he can to protect not just the species, but also
31:12the plant.
31:19Feijin is 90 acres of farmland overlooking Loch Earn near Enniskillen.
31:24And George has been farming it for the last 27 years.
31:33You can't buy that in the shops.
31:40It's very peaceful.
31:42And if you want to come and think, this is the place to come.
31:47When you're up here, you're as close to God as you'll ever be.
31:57I was never an intensive farmer.
32:00I love farming and I love wildlife.
32:03So you have to strike a balance.
32:06There was a bit of fencing done 25 years ago.
32:09But other than that, it's basically the way it's been for the past hundreds of years, you know.
32:17It's never got any fertilizer.
32:19There's no use of chemicals at all.
32:23If it had been, there'd be nothing here.
32:27It'd be just green grass.
32:33The cattle keep it grazed down.
32:35The rushes are kept mowed every year in early March.
32:40That encourages all the flowers to come up.
32:45Not only do orchids thrive on George's farm,
32:48the conditions are just right for Devil's Bit Scabious.
32:53A vital food plant for the rare marsh fritillary butterfly.
32:58There's one of the wee lads there.
33:00That's a marsh fritillary caterpillar in all of splendour.
33:06There's a lot of places where they've just disappeared
33:09because of modern farming methods.
33:13Whereas here, this would be one of the strongest populated sites for them,
33:19that I know of anyway.
33:22Now, even by butterfly standards,
33:25the marsh fritillary is particularly beautiful.
33:28And it has a remarkable life cycle too.
33:32They lay their eggs on the underside of the Devil's Bit Scabious.
33:38These wee lads then hatch out.
33:41They make a web, like a spider's web only, it's more concentrated.
33:47That takes teamwork.
33:50Sure, one caterpillar can't do that.
33:52They all have to have a hand in it.
33:54They have to live in that wee community for months.
33:59They are amazing little critters all right.
34:05Now, in mid-April, the caterpillars have come out and dispersed around the fields.
34:11Their next stage will be to move deep down into the grass to pupate.
34:17And they'll emerge as butterflies in June.
34:24So far, the signs are pointing to a bumper year.
34:30Ulster Wildlife done a count last year, and I think they got over 700 individual webs.
34:37And so that's colossal.
34:39For just one small parcel of land.
34:43Lots of things, largely weather-related, could still go wrong.
34:48But everyone has their fingers crossed.
34:51Hoping for a good summer.
34:53Lots of sunshine.
34:54It's good for the farmers and good for the butterflies.
35:03They have a right to live too.
35:05You know.
35:06And it's generally mankind that does the harm to anything that's declining.
35:13So, it's nice to have this wee piece of successfulness.
35:22We have helped to preserve something that was on its way out, and they're making a comeback now, especially here.
35:30And it does warm your heart, yeah.
35:43Lovely place.
35:44Lovely bloke.
35:46Yeah.
35:46Proper farmer, proper farming there, with all that wildlife.
35:50Absolutely fantastic.
35:51Top, top, top work, George.
35:53That was really, really good.
35:54We couldn't resist going back to see whether that crop of caterpillars came to any fruition.
35:59So, this is what we found.
36:02Yes.
36:02It's the flight period for the adults now.
36:04So, we went back to his beautiful farm, and there they are, fluttering around, the one and only Marsh Fertilleries.
36:11There you can see one of the pupil cases has split open, and here's one of the insects freshly emerged
36:16and pumping up those brightly coloured wings.
36:20I always think they look a bit like a section of a Persian carpet, the Marsh Fertillery.
36:25They are a fragile species.
36:27They live in what we call meta-populations.
36:29So, you get small areas with dense populations, but they can be quite far apart, and these insects don't move
36:35far.
36:36Generally, on average, 50 to 100 metres max.
36:39So, if one of those small populations die out, it's difficult for it to be recolonised, and that's one of
36:45the reasons why they have been struggling.
36:48But with people like George on the case, and look at this, this is a bunch of males hanging around,
36:52a freshly emerged female, getting ready to mate with her, then certainly in this part of Ireland, they have a
36:59future.
36:59So, so good. I love that.
37:01I love seeing George, you know, such a passionate person making a difference.
37:05And for one passionate person to another, Robert Fuller, who's a wildlife artist and filmmaker who spent decades filming the
37:12wildlife around his home in Yorkshire.
37:14But recently, he's set himself a bit of a tricky filming challenge.
37:25Not far from where I live, there's a wild and wonderful nature reserve, which I'm always drawn to in spring.
37:32It's not the easiest habitat to navigate, but these channels have been carved out by the local swans, making it
37:39much easier for me to get around.
37:43There's so much wildlife hiding amongst them, seeking safety, and I'm on a mission to find one species in particular.
37:57That amazing song you can hear is the reed warbler. They've arrived from Africa, and they'll be building their nests
38:03in these reeds.
38:05They're only just starting the process, and they're busy gathering the materials they need.
38:13So I'm hoping to find and film a few of them.
38:18Oh, I've got a nest in here.
38:20Now this one's fairly well built.
38:23I'll just get a photograph.
38:27Yeah, the nest is almost complete, but there's no eggs in there yet.
38:31A stunning little structure. This has been built in a matter of days.
38:35So this is the first warbler nest I've found.
38:41But what I really want to find is a nest under construction.
38:50Just got a start of a nest in here.
38:53And this is what I've been looking for when they first start trying to tie some reeds together.
38:58This is going to be a good one to film.
39:05So that one's nest two.
39:08The following day, I carefully rigged the nest with one of my remote cameras,
39:12so I can monitor the live feed from a nearby hide.
39:17It's here already.
39:18And I think this one's the male.
39:24On the mates in the background here.
39:28Yeah, that's the male.
39:29A little bit redder.
39:31Got his crest up, and this is the female.
39:40And just look at the way they're actually weaving the nesting material around these reeds.
39:48This is just incredible, and it's only when you see them building nests like this,
39:51you realise how they're actually making the nest stay up on these reeds,
39:56because the reeds are very slippery.
39:57They're actually using these leaves to hold the nest in place.
40:01The leaf node is the anchor to all of these beautiful little nests.
40:09From the hide, I can see how busy they are collecting nest material.
40:17We've got moss in there.
40:19And this white here, that's actually the down from a pussy willow flower.
40:24And all this structure is done with just its beak.
40:28Just doing a little dance in the nest.
40:32Creating a cup shed, ready for the eggs to be laid in there.
40:40The reason these nests are suspended over the water is to protect them from predators.
40:47But what a privilege it is to sit here and see this process.
40:54With nests two nearly complete, they should be laying eggs any day now.
40:59So I'll leave them to their finishing touches for a couple of days,
41:03before returning to see their progress.
41:12I'm just waiting for the warblers to come back.
41:16It's not long before they return.
41:19And by the way she's looking at the nest,
41:21she could have laid an egg first thing this morning.
41:25And look at that, she's got her first egg.
41:31They'll lay one a day, until by day four, the clutch is complete.
41:38All being well, they'll incubate the eggs for around 12 days.
41:46But where reed warblers nest, there's always a chance that one of nature's greatest tricksters will follow.
41:53And that evening I heard it.
42:01The cuckoos were back.
42:04This could be bad news for the reed warblers here,
42:07as the cuckoos paradoxise their nests.
42:10But it's a springtime phenomenon that I'd absolutely love to capture on film.
42:15So my next mission will be to scour the reed bets
42:18in the hopes of finding a cuckoo chick.
42:25Now, I'm not a gambling man, but I'm prepared to bet you a pound
42:28that a cuckoo lays its egg in that nest.
42:31That would be so cool.
42:33Hey, but what about Rob Fuller?
42:34I mean, he's great, isn't he? Cuckoos.
42:36He's bought us all sorts of other things before.
42:37Kestrels, barn owls, stoats, weasels.
42:40He can certainly deliver.
42:42But we're delivering too.
42:43We're delivering too.
42:44Let's take a look at our live nest that we've got there now.
42:48Without further ado, let's go live to the grebe.
42:51And there's one of the adults sat on that mound of rotting vegetation
42:56which served as their nest whilst they were incubating the eggs.
42:59And I'm continuing to talk because I'm hoping that one of the three youngsters
43:03that's nestled under her wings will put its little head out.
43:06There's fidgeting going on.
43:08There's flinching.
43:09But there is nothing there.
43:11It is a favourite nest because it is so gorgeous.
43:15The chicks are absolutely adorable.
43:16We've been enjoying watching them and so have our nest watchers.
43:20And so when you...
43:21Oh, look!
43:22When you watch them for hours on end, you notice things like this.
43:26That red patch on the top of the chick's head.
43:30It's on their crown patch.
43:31And if you look closely, you can see also the feathers get pumped up and down,
43:36up and down.
43:38And our researchers have noticed that it's linked to it begging for food.
43:43It seems to do it when it's begging for food.
43:46And this has been observed in other grebe species.
43:49And they've noticed that that's exactly right.
43:51It is begging for food.
43:53The more the chick begs, the brighter the spot becomes.
43:56As I say, this has been studied in other grebes.
44:00And maybe that's because there's an increased blood flow to the area.
44:04Maybe it's a visual cue to the parents.
44:08Feed me, feed me.
44:10What do you think?
44:11Do you think that's the theory?
44:12Is that why it's being red?
44:14Well, in some of the other grebe species, it's a naked spot.
44:16So there's no feathering on it whatsoever.
44:19And it's very obvious.
44:20And what they see is that the brighter it is, the more begging that goes on.
44:23But once they've got fed, it decreases in its redness.
44:26So it could also be a signal to the parents that that chick has been fed.
44:29And when it's making a choice as to which chick to feed,
44:32then it can tell them apart by the brightness.
44:34And the one that's still bright red gets the food.
44:37Maybe that's the case.
44:37Maybe it needs more study.
44:39More research.
44:40Sign yourself up for a PhD.
44:41Yeah, I know.
44:42Never too late.
44:43Dr Strachan.
44:44Let's go from Northern Ireland over to London,
44:46where Yolo Williams is by the Natural History Museum.
44:50And it's looking very nice.
44:54It is looking very nice.
44:56It is looking wonderful.
44:57It really is a beautiful building and a great place to be as well.
45:03And we sent our wildlife camera operator, Steve Phillips, over a few days ago.
45:07And they actually filmed some interesting behaviour.
45:10Now, this might look to most people like a spider's web, but it's not.
45:16It's a larval web created by moth caterpillars.
45:20The spindle ermine moth, to be exact.
45:23They create these protective webs just so that they can feed undisturbed.
45:28And then, eventually, they create a silken thread.
45:31They rappel down, head for the ground, where eventually they will make their way
45:38to look for some leaf litter where they pupate.
45:43Not an easy thing to do on a busy street here in London.
45:48And let's have a quick look at the adult moth.
45:50It's quite a smart little thing.
45:52White with black spots all over it.
45:55For those of you mothers, it looks like a small white ermine moth.
45:59Absolute beautiful little moth there.
46:01Now, follow me over here, because I'm delighted to say
46:04that I am now joined by Dr Erica McAllister,
46:08who is an expert on invertebrates, a curator here at the museum.
46:13Erica, I have to say, what an advert this green space is for urban wildlife.
46:18Yeah, it's amazing.
46:20I mean, we've been working on the garden for quite a long time now.
46:23So it was established when the museum was built.
46:26But they didn't really do much about it until the 80s.
46:29And then they were like, let's turn it over to ecology.
46:31Let's start monitoring it and studying it.
46:33And then a couple of years ago, you see this amazing revamp.
46:37And all that time, they've been monitoring all the wildlife here.
46:40And we've identified three and a half thousand species from this area,
46:46which is about a quarter of all the described species in Greater London.
46:50And yet it's 77 times smaller than that size.
46:55So it just shows you how much wildlife is around us.
46:59That is phenomenal. But it's not the only site you're looking at, is it?
47:03No. So I've just been working for five years looking at a little urban nature garden in Streatham,
47:09which is like, you wouldn't think that's very exciting.
47:11But we are turning up all sorts of new records there.
47:14We found these forage, these tiny little flies.
47:17And then we have a new record that is only being just identified.
47:21And it's the first time we found it in the UK in this little urban garden in Streatham.
47:27And then we can go north to like East Hackney and an allotment.
47:31And again, one of these forage, these tiny little black fly, it's a new species to science.
47:36So in a really described urban environment, we're still turning up all sorts of exciting things.
47:41Right. OK. Now, you've bought three very, very, very small samples here.
47:47No, they're not small. We've had a chat.
47:48They're minute.
47:49These for insects are quite big. I don't know what you're talking about.
47:52So we've got here, we've got a bug.
47:54So this is quite exciting.
47:56So Max, my colleague who worked here, he was really excited because this turned up last year.
48:01And this is new to the UK.
48:03So this has only been seen in Southern Europe and whatever.
48:06So it's like, oh, it's lovely. It's turned up here.
48:08This is a little ladybird.
48:10And again, it was like one of the new first places it was found in the UK that was here.
48:15So these are coming up and they're quite good.
48:17But more excitingly, it's this little fly here.
48:21And it's a beautiful little, like little chunky fly.
48:24It's got massive antennae. It's like all hunched up.
48:28And this is a cryptocheted fly.
48:31And not only was this the first time this species has been recorded in the UK from this garden.
48:36It's the first time this family has been recorded in Europe.
48:39So this is from Australia.
48:41It's got over to California and it's now turned up here.
48:44And it's really exciting.
48:45So the garden is great for monitoring what's happening across the UK.
48:51Why is it so important to study intensively a garden like this and the effects that it has on the
48:58wildlife?
48:59Because we need all this long term monitoring.
49:02So gardens like this where we've had these people looking for a long time now, we can see the changes.
49:07We can see the impact of climate.
49:09We can see urbanisation and how it impacts them.
49:12And we can also see the resilience in our species.
49:15You know, if they can survive here, they can survive all over.
49:17And it's really good to see that.
49:19Now, your passion, I know, is flies.
49:22How on earth did you get into flies?
49:25Startly.
49:26I'm curious about nature.
49:28And, you know, I trained as an oncologist and I loved insects.
49:31And if you really want any questions to be answered, it's the flies.
49:34Because they get their little tarsi in every habitat.
49:37So they're the world's explorers.
49:40They're the most ecologically diverse.
49:42You name it, they eat it.
49:44I mean, they're amazing to look at and study.
49:46And there's thousands of species in the UK.
49:49So you can go out and you can find all these amazing things without really having to go far.
49:55I have to say, Erica, your enthusiasm is infectious.
49:59You've talked me into it.
50:00I'm now going to give up the birds, give up the mammals.
50:03It's flies.
50:03So, Chris, Michaela, the future is bright.
50:08The future is flies.
50:10I love flies.
50:12I'm a fly fan too.
50:13I used to love it as a kid, lying on the carpet, watching those house flies buzz around the lamp
50:17like that.
50:17And then you've got those giant tabanid flies.
50:20Volley of cellars and other species.
50:22Do you know what I love?
50:23I love the fact that different personalities get drawn to different niches.
50:27And that's how we know so much about so much wildlife.
50:31What are you saying about me and Erica?
50:32Like we're some weird fly folk or something.
50:35Well, slightly nerdy if you don't mind me saying.
50:38Now, Yolo is in the city and he's looking at urban wildlife.
50:41And if you live in a city or town, you'll know that sometimes if you're lucky and you've got a
50:44garden, you will get some urban mammals coming into your garden.
50:48Things like foxes and hedgehogs.
50:50And if you have a garden security camera, you might catch some hedgehogs on it like William did.
50:56Now, these are three hedgehogs, two males, and they're beginning to fight.
51:00And they fight by putting their heads down first and then the spines go up and then the subordinate one
51:07will be pushed by the dominant one.
51:10In the flanks, it will get barged away and eventually it will go into a little ball and get rolled
51:15away.
51:16And in fact, it wasn't the only person that saw that happen.
51:20Look at this, because this also happens on one of the security cameras.
51:23This is Helen.
51:24And a little hedgehog running in there, sees another male, immediately gets it into a ball.
51:34And, well, it's a little bit of football dribbling going on there and doing quite a good job of moving
51:39it out of the way.
51:41So why do they fight?
51:43Well, it's unlikely that it's territorial.
51:46I mean, you often see many hedgehogs in your garden happily sort of using that space.
51:52So we don't think it's territorial.
51:56We probably think it's about food or a mate.
52:00You know, hedgehogs are individually specific when it comes to ranging behaviour.
52:04Some will wander with no specific abode.
52:07Others will stay in one place for about months or years.
52:10So, as I say, not about territory.
52:12It's more likely that it's about food or a mate or breeding.
52:17And, of course, when they are fighting, even if they're hedgehog to hedgehog, then those spines offer a degree of
52:23protection.
52:24But, really, they're protected by those spines because they're predated by lots of larger animals.
52:29Now, they have between three and five thousands of those spines on their back and they're hollow, modified hairs.
52:35But the key thing is they weigh 35% of the hedgehog's body weight.
52:39That's a serious investment in material when it comes to protection.
52:42So you've got to make it work.
52:44Look at this.
52:44This is a hedgehog in the process of rolling itself up.
52:49You see, the thing about the hedgehog, when you think about it, is all of those spines are spread across
52:53its back, leaving it with a very soft underbelly, an unprotected area.
52:58So, to cover that soft underbelly, it has to roll into that ball.
53:03How does it do it?
53:04Well, Lucy Lapwing has come up with an extraordinary prop which allows us to show you that.
53:09So, here we are.
53:11Here's the hedgehog.
53:12Thanks, mate.
53:12Across its back here are all of those spines.
53:15And underneath that, it's got a loose-fitting, fibrous skin which is full of collagen and elastin.
53:23So, it's quite tough but it's also very flexible.
53:25And it also has a muscle which runs across its back here called the paniculus carnosis.
53:31And if I peel off the hedgehog here, then we can see the anatomy underneath.
53:38Here's the musculature, the legs of the animal on its head here.
53:41This is that muscle, the paniculus carnosis.
53:44And it's quite a complex system.
53:46But when it contracts, it essentially...
53:49Hold on, I'm just going to expand the hedgehog to make it like that.
53:51When it contracts, it pulls down over the hedgehog like that and begins to roll it into a ball.
53:58But, as you can see, the nose and the feet are still sticking out.
54:02So, it has a second muscle, excuse me, here, which runs around the rim of that first one, around its
54:10body there.
54:11And this one is called the orbicularis muscle.
54:14And then this one tightens up rather like pulling the drawl squint on a sports bag.
54:20And if I sort of help, I can just sort of push his nose in a bit there like that
54:24and the legs.
54:24And they all get pushed in like this.
54:26Hold on, just a bit of assistance.
54:28And there we are, the perfectly secure hedgehog.
54:33It's so cute, that.
54:35So, it's down to those couple of muscles that it's evolved the capacity to roll itself into a formidable ball
54:40that will keep out all but the most tenacious predators.
54:44That's very adorable, isn't it?
54:46But you know what?
54:47I'm now going to draw my drawstring in and get myself all cuddled up onto this seat, declutter my mind
54:54and get ready for a mindful moment.
54:56And this is the beautiful sounds and sights of a chalk stream.
55:28I know it's not really cool because I don't know what you're seeing in the building.
55:44So, you know, it's around.
55:44Let's go.
56:36Beautiful chalk stream, and I'll tell you what, it's a bit chilly out here.
56:38I wish I was a hedgehog and had that little drawstring and I could snuggle up into a ball.
56:42Carry on.
56:43Yes, I'll carry on. We are coming to the end of the programme, thank goodness.
56:48Take a look at this. This is a very, very beautiful insect, isn't it?
56:51This is the coppery click beetle. Extraordinary.
56:55Now, they're called click beetles because they have a hinge between their thorax and abdomen
56:59which they can flex and click very quickly, which catapults the body off of the leaf
57:05and away from any potential predator.
57:07And typically, you'll see oak clipped beetles at this time of year.
57:10They're like this, but they're simply brown all over and nowhere near as exciting.
57:15I've never seen one of those.
57:15That's beautiful. The colour.
57:16I know.
57:17The violet colour.
57:18Sensational.
57:19Absolutely lovely.
57:19Well, that is all we've got time for tonight. We'll be back again tomorrow.
57:23I'm going to be going on the hunt for one of those pine martens out and about in the wood
57:27to see if I can get close up to that creature.
57:29And we will be celebrating a rather misunderstood creature. Not everyone's favourite, but it's
57:36fascinating, the hornet.
57:40And I'll be amongst the high-rise buildings of Canary Wharf and looking at the wildlife
57:46that lives there.
57:48And remember, you can watch our cameras from 10 in the morning until 9.30 at night.
57:53Plenty of activity there. We've got those black caps, of course, the house muttons, universal
57:57first with those. And the greaves. They won't be here for much longer, so keep your eyes
58:01on those. They're likely to be moving out into the reeds at any moment. Do sign up to
58:05our social media, Facebook and Instagram in particular. Lots of extra stuff going on
58:10there every single day. I think you might be joining Hannah, 12.30 tomorrow.
58:14I'm indeed, 12.30 tomorrow on Instagram.
58:15Instagram live. Instagram live. Other than that, of course, we'll see you again at 8 o'clock
58:20tomorrow night for some more fascinating science. And we'll keep you up to date with all
58:24of our creatures. And we're ending just perfectly at the white time, because it's about to start
58:27raining. Good night!
58:57.
58:57.
58:58.
58:58.
58:58.
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