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  • 5/27/2025
Springwatch 2025 episode 2

Category

🐳
Animals
Transcript
00:00New series of Springwatch.
00:03I know you're out there, sprinting, scowling,
00:07peering out on the world, brooding,
00:09but whatever!
00:10It's time for all of you long-eared owls
00:12to put a smile on your face and cheer up!
00:15It's Springwatch!
00:30Hello!
00:39And welcome to Springwatch 2025,
00:41coming to you from the beautiful National Trust Longshore Estate
00:45in the Peak District National Park.
00:47And guess what's happening tonight?
00:50It's drizzly and mizzly and damp.
00:53And listen, I said, shall I put my thermals on?
00:56And you said, no, don't be ridiculous, it's June.
00:59I know you've got no sympathy, viewers at home,
01:01but it's actually very, very cold here.
01:03But nevertheless, we're not dispirited
01:05because we got off to a cracking start last night.
01:07The talk tonight, though, is about another new nest
01:10and some fantastic science about dragonflies' wings.
01:15So stay tuned for that.
01:16Let's have a look at exactly where we are, though,
01:19because you can see in this shot,
01:20you can see our production village.
01:22And then as we pull out, you can see we're surrounded
01:25by the Peak District.
01:27Lots of different habitats,
01:29but I don't want your eyes to be drawn
01:30to this lovely singing white throat.
01:32I want it to be drawn to that blue sky.
01:34Do you remember that from last week when the sun was out,
01:37the rays were on the flowers,
01:39they were shining on the wings of the butterflies,
01:42and then the wind came.
01:43Yes, at the weekend and on Monday, the wind came.
01:46The herd of deer looking very unimpressed
01:48as they looked to the skies and the clouds gather
01:51and the rain started to pour,
01:54especially for our first programme yesterday.
01:57Of course, water birds don't mind it.
01:59Ducks are very used to getting wet,
02:01so they were happy in the rain.
02:03But after the rain, we had a rainbow,
02:05and you know what you find at the end of the rainbow?
02:08You find a treasure chest,
02:10and that's what we're going to bring you.
02:12We're going to bring you the jewels of British wildlife
02:14in our treasure chest of a programme tonight.
02:17Do you like that?
02:20Yes, let's dive immediately into our treasure chest tonight,
02:25and we can show you our live cameras
02:27that we've got up and running here.
02:29So we've got a selection of nine there.
02:31My eye is drawn again, as it was last night,
02:33to the one in the centre, which is our short-eared owl.
02:37Look at that. Oh, that's fantastic.
02:40She's doing everything she can to try and cover...
02:44There were four of the six youngsters
02:46still left in the nest area at the moment,
02:48and look at that.
02:49She's got her wings out, trying to wrap them up
02:52and keep them out of that cold drizzle.
02:55And you can see one of them in the background there,
02:57just preening.
02:58They're not quite small enough to fit under her,
03:00but what a mother. What a mother.
03:02Absolutely fantastic.
03:03And, of course, although she's looking pretty damp now,
03:06we've been watching her throughout the course of the day.
03:09This is the habitat.
03:10She's up on the top of the moorland there,
03:12standing up to reveal two of those youngsters,
03:15peeping around for the male.
03:16But listen to this.
03:17Listen.
03:19Yeah.
03:20Never heard that before.
03:22The sound of a young short-eared owl,
03:24and it's weird.
03:26You can see...
03:28Yeah.
03:29What's it about, I wonder, that particular sound?
03:31That sound, we know what that's about.
03:33That's her calling to the male
03:35that's just about to drop some food into the nest area.
03:39And, yep, there comes the male
03:42with another filled vole.
03:46Now, the smallest young are still at the stage
03:48that they need it to be torn up so they can swallow it.
03:52And you can see her dismembering that vole here.
03:55But then, of course,
03:57they always get a bit overambitious, don't they?
04:00Look at this one.
04:01I mean, this is truly grotesque.
04:03You've got one of the ugliest birds in the world
04:06with the back end of a vole sticking out of its mouth,
04:09and you're probably having an early supper or a late tea.
04:12I apologise for that, but, I mean, yeah,
04:14that's what it's about, isn't it?
04:15Look at that.
04:16But it gets it down.
04:17It gets it down.
04:18And if you look into the background there,
04:20you can see some of these youngsters have moved some distance away.
04:23Well, I say some distance.
04:25They will go 50 metres.
04:27They'll go 200 metres away from the nest
04:29when they're mobile like this.
04:31And, of course, that's, you know,
04:33a predator avoidance strategy.
04:35But I had no idea they went that far.
04:37They make little runs through the vegetation
04:39so they can scuttle back when the food appears.
04:42And look at that, just a close-up to leave you with.
04:45That was the foot of one of the young owls,
04:47and it's already got little feathers on it.
04:50And we know that owls have feathered feet
04:52to keep them silent when they're flying and hunting their prey.
04:55And they're feathered already at that stage.
04:56Aren't they amazing?
04:57No, I love that nest.
04:59I love that shot when all four of them were in a row,
05:01and you could really see the difference inside.
05:03The noise, that noise.
05:04No, absolutely amazing.
05:05They're not the only owls that have a live camera on the nest.
05:08We've also got a tawny owl nest.
05:10Here it is, big contrast.
05:12There's only one chick in this nest,
05:14and it's not on the ground.
05:16It's in a nest box.
05:18But look at it, a very contented single chick.
05:22Why is it contented?
05:24Because it's being fed an awful lot.
05:26It's obviously taking all the food,
05:28doesn't have any siblings that it needs to share it with.
05:32Bit of a dirty box there, as you can see.
05:34Bit of a poo on the back.
05:36Both the male and the female are bringing in food,
05:38although it's only the female that actually goes into the box
05:41and bringing a ripe variety of food.
05:44We get a closer look at what it's bringing in this time,
05:47and that's a cockchafer.
05:49That just doesn't look like it's going to fill it up.
05:51I mean, no-one wants a cockchafer in a nest.
05:53And also, I don't know if you've tried them,
05:55they're really tough and chewy.
05:56No, I haven't tried one.
05:58Wing cases and sticky-out legs and stuff.
06:00But then, look, it's bringing in worms.
06:02As Chris said yesterday, with this rain,
06:04those worms are going to be nearer the surface,
06:06they're going to be easier for them to get and bring them in.
06:10And then we got...
06:11Look, that's a...
06:12It really dumbles over, it's such a big meal.
06:15Scoffs that down.
06:16So, as I say, there's a real variety of prey being brought in to this chick.
06:21Doesn't end there.
06:22The next thing that comes in, it's a bit like your short-eared owl
06:26trying to get it down in one.
06:28This is a frog.
06:30Oh, shame, I mean, look.
06:31Look at those legs sticking out the end.
06:34And then it decides just to pull little bits off.
06:37What a diet.
06:39Beetles, worms, rotten frogs and shrews.
06:43I mean, it's slightly better than cigarettes and alcohol,
06:45but only just, isn't it?
06:46I mean, it's pretty bad.
06:47But that was quite comical because, you know,
06:49the parent bird came in and it was almost a panto moment
06:52where it's behind you and then it turns around and,
06:55oh, yeah, there you are.
06:56But, you know, they start branching.
06:58This is the age that that chick would be branching,
07:01but, of course, it's in a nest box,
07:03so it's going to be interesting to watch
07:05to see exactly when it does come out of the nest box
07:08and start to branch out.
07:09Will it go back in the nest box?
07:11Well, I think it's going nowhere at the moment,
07:14but it will get out onto that box
07:15and then it will, you know, get up into the tree, I think.
07:18Yeah.
07:19By the end of the next week, I imagine it'll be out of the box.
07:21But it's going to grow quickly because it's the only one
07:23and it's clearly being fed a very good diet.
07:26New nest time.
07:27We promised you a new one.
07:28What about this?
07:30Another top bird.
07:32Curlew. Curlew.
07:35What about that?
07:36What an absolutely superb view of these birds.
07:39Now, we typically see a lot of Curlew on Winter Watch
07:42when there's about 150,000 of these birds around the coast
07:45and on our estuaries.
07:47This is the first time, I think,
07:48that we've ever had a camera on one in the summertime.
07:51Only about 30,000 of pairs of these birds breeding in England
07:55and here we've got one of them sat on the nest.
08:00We've been watching it, of course, throughout the course of the day.
08:03It's nesting right up on the tops of the moorlands.
08:06I mean, these were a bird that you would find on the lowlands too
08:09but spring cutting for silage, I'm afraid,
08:11macerated loads of them and their populations crashed.
08:14But we've still got 25% of the global population of these birds
08:18nesting in the UK.
08:20It's really important that we look after them.
08:22They're really robust.
08:23You can see she's been out there in all of the rain today.
08:26Not a problem at all.
08:27But just look at this.
08:30What a view.
08:32We've never seen a curly like that before.
08:35The eye, the sensitive tip of the bill.
08:38Typically, we see them a long way off,
08:40probing down into that mud,
08:42withdrawing invertebrates, crustaceans, whatever they're eating.
08:45But then again, look at this.
08:46We've never seen this before.
08:47This morning, this bird gets up.
08:50Look in the base of the nest.
08:52Yeah.
08:54The first hatching.
08:55Four eggs in there.
08:56This was the first one to hatch this morning.
09:01Look at that.
09:02And I can tell you that just before our programme started this evening,
09:06the sitting bird, could have been the male, could have been the female,
09:09stood up and the second egg has hatched too.
09:12Now, they are precocial young and typical with waders.
09:16As soon as they've all hatched,
09:17they make their way from the nest and scatter into the undergrowth.
09:21But with curlies, it's slightly different.
09:23They stay in the nest sometimes for three or four days.
09:27Nevertheless, do keep your eyes peeled on that one,
09:30because when they do hatch,
09:31they will presumably start to move away pretty quickly.
09:34And you can do that by following our cameras on iPlayer
09:37from 10 o'clock in the morning until 10 o'clock at night
09:39throughout the course of the week.
09:41Lots going on.
09:42That's what we're seeing here at Longshore.
09:44But let's have a look at what you're seeing this spring.
09:47We've had some great photos sent in.
09:49You'll like this one because you love kestrels.
09:51George Varley.
09:52And look, I mean, it looks like an angel,
09:55unless you're a vole looking up and then it's the angel of death.
09:59Good photo, though.
10:00Well, it's up in the sky, but it's not quite symmetrical, is it, George?
10:04I mean, it's twisted its head to one side.
10:06I like that, though.
10:07I like that, because who wants it to be symmetrical?
10:10Well, people who like order and symmetry.
10:12You do.
10:13What about this one?
10:14Because I know birders throughout the UK were very excited this year
10:18to see hoopoos.
10:20Now, this is a vagrant blown across from the breeding grounds
10:23in France and Spain, but we had an influx of them this year.
10:26I mean, in one day, March 23rd,
10:28ten of them on the same day were seen in St Martin's in the Isles of Scilly.
10:33But just look, that's an interesting photo, isn't it?
10:35Because what is that that's just about to go in the beak?
10:38Something horrid, isn't it?
10:39It's a grub of some kind that's already been half-chewed up, isn't it?
10:42Great picture, but just look at the head and you can see the feathers.
10:45They're sort of going backwards.
10:47But then when it wants to impress, the hoopoo erects those feathers
10:51and it starts to look like that.
10:54Now, that's very much a breeding display,
10:57which is a little bit reminiscent of a certain teenager
11:01from the sort of 80s, a Mr Chris Packham, with his erected crest.
11:06Look at that.
11:07Did you manage to attract any females with that, Chris?
11:10Well, I didn't then, but I'm still trying now.
11:13No, it's not working.
11:16Let's move swiftly on to this fantastic photograph
11:19taken by Isabel Smith of a fox in a buttercup field.
11:22Look at that. What an absolutely stunning image.
11:25This one is, well, almost symmetrical there.
11:28Look again, you know, looking straight down the bowel.
11:31What a beautiful animal in a beautiful spot.
11:33Top photo.
11:34Yeah, we've got some really good photos,
11:36so keep sending them in because we really enjoy seeing them.
11:39Right, let's go over to Northern Ireland to join Yolo.
11:43He got wet yesterday, didn't he?
11:45Soaked.
11:46Let's hope you're somewhere a little bit drier today, Yolo,
11:49or at least you've got an umbrella or something.
11:53Yes, indeed, welcome to Belfast.
11:55I'm pleased to say that yesterday's rain has pushed through.
11:58It's dry for now, and look at this.
12:00I have my very own knight at the museum.
12:02It's the Ulster Museum, the biggest one, the whole of Northern Ireland,
12:06and this is one of the storerooms, not the main exhibit,
12:09and I've not come to show you that.
12:11I've come through onto the balcony here.
12:13I've come to show you this.
12:14This is Friar's Bush graveyard.
12:17It is the oldest graveyard in the whole of Belfast,
12:21so old, in fact, that it actually predates Belfast itself.
12:27It is right in the heart of the city,
12:30surrounded by roads and tall buildings,
12:33and it's an oasis.
12:35It's got historical interest, and the name Friar's Bush,
12:39well, the bush refers to a small hawthorn tree
12:43found right in the middle there,
12:46and the friar, well, the friar's long gone,
12:48and we have no written history about him.
12:52Now, believe it or not, it's less than two acres in size,
12:56but look at it.
12:57Isn't it beautiful?
12:58And it's jam-packed, full of all kinds of wildlife.
13:03Part of the reason for that is that it's no longer used for burials.
13:07It is managed, but the gates are locked,
13:10and so that means that in a lot of the areas,
13:13wildlife has now taken over.
13:15It's got flowers, shrubs, trees, mature trees,
13:19all kinds of invertebrates.
13:21This means that it's good for birds, of course.
13:24A lot of them at the moment are breeding,
13:26so they're collecting all kinds of caterpillars and small insects.
13:31A lot of chicks have just fledged as well.
13:33It is a fantastic place.
13:35It's like a mini nature reserve right in the middle of Belfast,
13:39like a green lung.
13:41And just about a week and a half ago,
13:44we were tipped off by staff here at the museum
13:47that it actually holds a lot more than just birds,
13:51so I went to investigate.
13:54Something's obviously been following a trail here regularly.
14:08It's a very strong, very distinctive smell right here.
14:12That's fresh.
14:15Yeah, there's been a lot of activity around and inside this stump,
14:20and the animals have even gathered all kinds of human debris,
14:24foil and plastic.
14:28Unmistakable signs of foxes.
14:35Yes, indeed, the sights that we're seeing
14:38are the signs of foxes.
14:42Yes, indeed, the sights, the smells and the signs of a fox.
14:47And for the last three springs,
14:49a vixen has brought up her cubs here in the graveyard.
14:54And I'm pleased to be able to tell you that she's back.
14:58This is something we filmed just a few days ago.
15:01There she is, obviously very confident within this graveyard.
15:04She knows the area very well.
15:06She looks very fit, very healthy-looking animal as well.
15:10And she's been coming now for three years.
15:12This is her fourth year,
15:14which is remarkable because the life expectancy of an urban fox
15:17is just 12 to 18 months,
15:20half that of a rural fox.
15:23Most of them die on our roads, of course.
15:26But foxes, well, they are incredibly adaptable.
15:30They can adapt to virtually any habitat,
15:32whether it's rural or urban.
15:35And in here, in the graveyard, she is very safe,
15:39which is just as well.
15:42Because just over the weekend, we filmed this.
15:46Yes, she has got cubs.
15:50She's got two cubs, two beautiful little fox cubs.
15:54Don't they look stunning? Just look at that.
15:56Aren't they amazing-looking things?
15:58Now, fox cubs are born March to April time,
16:02and then they're in the earth for four or five weeks.
16:06So we reckon, with the timings and looking at the size of these two,
16:10that they are probably seven, maybe eight weeks old.
16:15Now, they start to eat solid foods at seven to ten weeks,
16:19something like that.
16:21So these will still suckle.
16:23She's a very, very patient mother.
16:25She just puts up with them there.
16:27She looks after them.
16:29And there they are, suckling away.
16:32Honestly, we've been standing here watching the foxes,
16:38more or less off and on all day.
16:40Now, the acid test is, we have Steve, our cameraman here.
16:45Steve, do we have live foxes?
16:49I've had no luck ever with live badgers.
16:51Do we have live foxes?
16:53Anything at the moment?
16:56No, no, no.
16:58There's been a lot of activity by that old stump.
17:01But at the moment, nothing at all.
17:03But don't worry, we'll keep our eyes on that.
17:05We will be back again later on.
17:07I'll try to bring you live foxes.
17:09But in the meantime, let's enter the weird and magical world of the acorn weevil.
17:22Trees are home to an enormous range of life.
17:26But there's one particular tree that can sustain over 2,000 species.
17:33The mighty oak.
17:37The UK has more ancient oak trees than any other European country.
17:43So it won't come as a surprise that one indigenous invertebrate
17:47has evolved to take advantage of them.
17:56There's a stirring in the leaf litter.
18:08After two years developing underground, curious creatures emerge.
18:22Acorn weevils.
18:26Distinguished by their incredibly long mouthparts, called a rostrum.
18:33In some species, these can be 17 millimetres long,
18:37which is more than the length of the weevil's own body.
18:44It gives them a striking look that could be straight out of a child's imagination.
18:51And it's a secret weapon.
18:54The serrated tip allows the weevil to cut through even the toughest plant material.
19:01Boring through woody outer tissue to get to the soft, nutritious flesh inside.
19:12But in spring, it's not just food they must find.
19:17This female is searching for a partner.
19:22Males have considerably shorter rostrums than females,
19:25but even so, when it comes to selecting a mate, size matters.
19:32Her critique begins.
19:35Too short.
19:40Nope, too bent.
19:43Nope, too bent.
19:45Next.
19:48Now, that's a bit more like it.
19:57He flies to a secluded spot.
20:04And she follows.
20:08For a discreet liaison.
20:13For a discreet liaison.
20:21With mating over, the female must find somewhere safe to lay her eggs.
20:28And, with a little patience, the oak tree will provide the perfect solution.
20:37Acorns appear in late summer.
20:40They're tough little capsules, protecting the tree's genetic material with an impenetrable shell.
20:48Well, almost impenetrable.
20:52Because, of course, the acorn weevil has the tools for the job.
20:58Her two sensitive antennae help her find a suitable spot.
21:04And when she's found it, she begins to bore.
21:10This is why the female's rostrum is so much longer than the male's.
21:19She must perform a heist in reverse, cracking the nut.
21:24Not to take treasure out, but to put it in.
21:34Specialised pads on her feet allow her to grip the acorn's smooth surface.
21:44And once the hole is complete, she can lay her eggs.
21:51Using her long ovipositor to place them into position.
21:57Her work here is done.
22:01Now it's the acorn that takes over rearing her young.
22:05Over time, the acorn seals the hole.
22:10Inside, the eggs hatch into grubs, and they feed on that acorn.
22:18And within three weeks, they're ready to emerge.
22:22The acorn browns and falls to the forest floor.
22:27A signal to the grub to use its now-powerful jaws to escape its nursery.
22:36It chews through the shell and out onto the forest floor.
22:40Now it will find a safe refuge in the soil.
22:45Until, in two years' time,
22:48it pupates and emerges in the warm spring sunshine.
22:52And the story begins again.
22:57Come on.
22:58I know, I love that weevil.
23:00That's so fascinating and so weird-looking.
23:03I know. It's extraordinary, isn't it?
23:05Absolutely extraordinary. What a remarkable little creature.
23:08And it's only apt that we're standing here beneath an oak tree.
23:11In fact, the oak trees here are one of the most beautiful trees in the world.
23:16In fact, the oak trees here are one of the reasons that we've come to the Longshore Estate.
23:20And that's because of the upland oak woodland.
23:23That means oak woodland over 250 metres in height.
23:26It's not just oak. You get birch, holly and rowan and hazel in there too.
23:30And the understory can be bluebell, bracken and bramble,
23:33depending on what's grazing or browsing it.
23:35Now, up until the 1800s, a lot of it was coppiced.
23:38Sadly, between the wars, a lot of it was felled.
23:41Meaning that we've only been left now with 30,000 or 40,000 hectares.
23:45Which I know that sounds a lot, but in the grand scheme of things, it isn't.
23:49And that's why the oak woodland here is very precious and being looked after.
23:53And also because it attracts a particular suite of very, very tasty birds.
23:58It does indeed. It's a precious habitat for nesting birds at this time of the year.
24:03One of them we showed you yesterday is the redstart.
24:06And we've got a camera on a nest there.
24:09This is a perfect example of a cavity nester.
24:13Actually, it's a good place to be when it's raining, isn't it?
24:16Inside a tree trunk.
24:17Here are the redstarts. This is the female.
24:19Not as striking as the male, but it's doing that tail quivering,
24:24which is very charismatic of a redstart.
24:26There's the handsome male. Much redder chest.
24:30Black as well.
24:32Doing the tail quivering too.
24:34And there you've got the six chicks inside.
24:37They're being fed very well.
24:39In and out they go.
24:40They don't know why they do that tail quivering,
24:42but one of the theories is so that they look energetic and fit enough not to be predated.
24:49Not sure about that theory, are we?
24:50But anyway, it's a theory.
24:52We like theories, don't we?
24:54But it might be something that's a complex of reasons, not an individual reason.
24:59But let's go to another whole nester that we've been following now.
25:02The pied flycatchers.
25:04They're not in a natural cavity. They're in a nest box.
25:06We put nest boxes up because sometimes there aren't enough natural cavities.
25:10There are six youngsters in here.
25:12Here's a view of them live, and they're being fed by both of the parents,
25:16the male and the female.
25:19Extremely busy, bringing in a great range of different invertebrates.
25:24Look at that, the male feeding the birds here.
25:27You can see they've already got their feathers in pin on the wing.
25:31A bit of exercise.
25:32They're not going to stay young for very long.
25:35They're going to be out within about 15 days of hatching.
25:39And do you know, today, I wondered how long a pied flycatcher might live.
25:44You know, the longest ever.
25:45What do you think?
25:46Oh, eight years.
25:48Sixteen years.
25:49No way!
25:50A female was rung in wiles in 1996,
25:53and she was still going strong, breeding in a nest, in 2012.
25:58So one of those little chicks there could have 16 years ahead of it.
26:02But, of course, they are migrants.
26:03They don't stay here in the UK,
26:05so there's lots of perils facing them before they get back to breed.
26:08And we think that this pair here are first-time breeders,
26:11so they were last year's young that have come back
26:13and started to breed for the first time.
26:15But it's not just live cameras on birds in the wood.
26:18We've also got badgers.
26:19Now, when we first arrived here, we did see a badger set,
26:22and so to find out whether it was active or not,
26:25we put some trail cameras out,
26:27and we were pretty pleased because this is what we saw.
26:31There was a lot of action, a very active set.
26:35Six adult badgers.
26:37They all came out.
26:39This is typically what they would do
26:40when they first come out before they go foraging.
26:43They'd start sniffing each other, scratching, stretching, playing,
26:48generally being very active before they spend the night out.
26:52So we put live cameras out.
26:53This is our live camera.
26:55Let's see if there's anything on it at the moment.
26:57There isn't, but you can really see the set there,
27:00and you can see the entrances.
27:01There'll be a few of those entrance holes,
27:04and that's where the badgers have been coming out
27:06probably a little bit early for them.
27:08We've been seeing them a little bit later on come out.
27:12But they really have been very, very active
27:15when they do start to come out,
27:17sniffing around the tree, playing a bit of peekaboo,
27:21and then they do this sort of dominance copulation,
27:25just getting on top of each other.
27:27You often see it with your dogs as well, running about.
27:31But then have a listen because they...
27:35Listen to that noise.
27:42Interesting noise, isn't it?
27:44I love that noise.
27:45I mean, you love badgers.
27:46You must have heard that noise so many times.
27:48It gets louder and louder the more active they get.
27:51I love it.
27:52What did we have yesterday?
27:54We had a badger drinking yesterday.
27:56Noisy.
27:57In the past, we've had a badger eating an apple.
27:59Noisy.
28:00And now we've got badgers doing dominance copulation
28:03and making a lovely noise.
28:04Noisy.
28:05Noisy.
28:06So we'll keep our eye on the badgers,
28:08but we're having lots of activity.
28:10Very pleased that Megan McCubbin is joining us now.
28:13She's going to be looking at a relic of our countryside
28:15which has escaped the ravages of change.
28:18Not too far from here, Megs.
28:22No, not too far at all.
28:24I'm just 10 miles south of Longshore
28:26at the amazing Haddon Hall.
28:28It's my first time visiting,
28:30and it is a remarkable place.
28:33It's a Norman fort that was built in the 12th century,
28:36one of the oldest houses anywhere in the country.
28:39And it has a mosaic of habitats that surround its 400 acres.
28:44And what makes this incredible landscape so unique
28:47is that about one third of the total area
28:50has remained pretty much untouched by agriculture
28:53for 900 years.
28:56It is this ancient relic of natural regeneration,
29:00and it is the most spectacular place to be.
29:03The Bird Song has been gorgeous,
29:05and I fangirled big time earlier
29:07because I heard that this was the set for The Princess Bride,
29:10which is one of my all-time favourite movies.
29:12I was very excited about that.
29:14But it's been home to Lord Manners throughout the generations,
29:17and we spoke to him earlier
29:18because he's not just looking back at medieval sets and film,
29:21he's looking forward to the future of ecology
29:23with a very special regeneration project.
29:27Been in our family for nearly 1,900 years now.
29:30Each generation faces different issues,
29:32and I think my generation.
29:34Climate change is a massive issue, obviously.
29:37We don't think short-term, that's for sure.
29:40You know, we can think intergenerationally.
29:43Really what this project is about is about building resilience,
29:48a thriving, busy habitat.
29:53They're manlets.
29:54Their intention is to essentially create
29:56this natural regeneration of open pasture
29:59that would have been seen 700 years ago.
30:02And there's a lot of work that goes into doing that.
30:04They've been planting lots of native trees, of course,
30:06things like oak and ash.
30:08But they're also enlisting the help
30:10of some rather impressive herbivores.
30:12We've got the English longhorn cattle.
30:14Now, these are browsers, they're not grazers,
30:17and there's a really important distinction.
30:19Browsers are more selective in terms of the plants that they eat.
30:23They also move around a lot more than other herbivores would,
30:27creating less pressure of overgrazing.
30:30They disperse seeds in their poo,
30:33as well as, of course, putting their hoofs into the ground,
30:35generating disturbance that actually encourages
30:38the growth of grassland,
30:39which is so important for habitats here.
30:42And in that grassland,
30:43you can see some of my all-time favourite species,
30:45including the brown hare.
30:47Now, we've had some glimpses of brown hare
30:49whilst we've been here.
30:51And, wow, they're one of the most enigmatic mammals
30:54that we've got.
30:55Of course, iconic with that black tip on their ears.
30:58Now, they are sometimes seen in what would be exposed habitats,
31:01but they don't dig burrows like their relative, the rabbit, does.
31:05Of course, they're both lagomorphs.
31:06But they shelter in what's called forms,
31:08these depressions in the ground that they nestle in
31:11into the grass and settle in.
31:14But sadly, there's an 80% decline in brown hares across the UK
31:18from things like habitat loss and hunting,
31:21which is why grassland and places like this,
31:23thinking forward to the future, are ever more important.
31:26Now, one of the other habitats here at Haddon Hall
31:29is the Derbyshire River Wye.
31:31It is absolutely spectacular
31:33and one of the most healthy rivers anywhere in the country.
31:36And we've got our wildlife cameraman, Mark,
31:38who's having a look if there's anything live.
31:40What have we got? Anything, Mark?
31:42Come on.
31:43I know we had a goose and a flyby quickly earlier.
31:46Not much, but it does look beautiful.
31:48We've got lots of mayflies there,
31:50which leads me on perfectly to talk about the insect life.
31:53Now, this river runs through limestone,
31:55a really important nutrient-rich source,
31:58and it's great for invertebrates like the mayfly.
32:02There are 51 species of mayfly in the UK,
32:05about 3,000 worldwide,
32:08and they are fundamental as an indicator species
32:11because nymphs that live under the water,
32:13they live there for about two years before emerging as adults,
32:16they're very sensitive to oxygen concentrations.
32:18And the moment pollution is put into those waterways,
32:21oxygen decreases and they don't survive as well.
32:24So to have mayflies like this that emerge as adults after two years,
32:28coming out and breeding in a frenzy,
32:30is pretty spectacular.
32:32But what makes the mayfly so unique
32:34is that they are completely different
32:36to other freshwater invertebrates
32:38in that they go through two adult stages.
32:40They go through two molts, which is incredibly rare.
32:43The first form is the sub-emargo,
32:45then they go into the emargo phase.
32:48And when you're in a frenzy like that,
32:50well, how on earth does the male find the females
32:53when you're up in the air?
32:54Because they mate, of course, on the wing.
32:56How do they know who's who and who they can mate with?
32:58Well, this is new science for 2025,
33:01and it is so cool, so spectacular,
33:04I'm really excited about it.
33:06And to demonstrate it, I have my female mayfly.
33:09Now, in the sub-emargo phase,
33:11both the male and female look pretty similar.
33:14And as UV rays come down from the sun,
33:16rather than being absorbed like a sponge into the wings,
33:19it is reflected out.
33:21But as they go through their second molt as an adult,
33:24and they go into their emargo stage,
33:26where they are sexually mature,
33:28well, then the females' wings change
33:30and become different from the males.
33:32And if I can add a bit of sunlight there,
33:34can you see how that is glistening?
33:36Well, they've got these waxy cuticles, the females,
33:39which basically reflect UV light
33:42in a much more sensitive manner.
33:44Mayflies have compound eyes,
33:46they're able to see in UV,
33:48and this reflection of really high UV light
33:51is at the utmost range of the male's compound eyes,
33:55meaning that the males are able to identify the females
33:58in a mating frenzy.
33:59I don't know what you think about that,
34:01but I think that's pretty cool.
34:03Very excited by that.
34:05But to be honest, I'm running a little bit late,
34:07because over in this direction,
34:09there is a absolute amazing spectacle with bats
34:12that I just have to see.
34:14So I'm going to run over there now, film that,
34:16and we're going to show you all about it tomorrow.
34:19But for now, from this ancient landscape,
34:21over to another with Yolo.
34:26Are you calling me an ancient landscape or what, Megs?
34:30I'm not quite sure what you mean by that,
34:32but yes, ancient building there full of bats,
34:35fantastic for wildlife, of course,
34:37but we have an ancient cemetery here,
34:40Friars Bush Cemetery,
34:42the oldest one in the whole of Belfast,
34:45and home to a vixen and her cubs.
34:48Now earlier, we showed you the vixen with two cubs,
34:52but a few days ago, we had a real surprise,
34:55a third cub.
34:57Yes, we found a third cub.
35:00Now that is not that unusual, I'm sure you'll find,
35:03but what is unusual is that this cub
35:07is actually in a different den
35:09over the other side of the cemetery,
35:11so the female has separated her litter.
35:15Two cubs in one den and two cubs in another,
35:18and it's not that unusual in foxes.
35:20It's called den splitting.
35:22Now why do they do it?
35:24Several possible reasons.
35:25Could be that one of the dens has been disturbed.
35:28It could be that there's a large predator,
35:31and if there is, of course,
35:33what you don't want is for the predator
35:35to kill all of your litter,
35:37but I believe, because it's quite a safe environment here,
35:40I believe what's happened here
35:42is that there was enough room for all three cubs
35:45when they were young, but as they've grown,
35:48they're now seven, maybe eight weeks old.
35:50The female has led one away to another den,
35:54but she's a wonderful mother.
35:56She's feeding all of them equally,
35:59and they are getting on for eight weeks old now,
36:02so they spend a lot of time outside the den,
36:06sunbathing, chasing each other around,
36:08and what we would call playing,
36:10but Chris Parkham will tell you
36:12there's no such thing as playing in the animal world.
36:15It's all part of their development.
36:17They're honing their skills.
36:19They're strengthening their muscles,
36:21muscles in their legs, in their bodies,
36:24they're biting muscles,
36:26and they're honing their skills
36:28for when they have to go out and hunt for themselves.
36:33And of course, if a fox will dangle a tail above another fox,
36:37well, that's an open invitation for the fox to bite that tail.
36:41It is lovely to watch them developing,
36:44and what I like to call, doesn't matter what Chris Parkham says,
36:47lovely to watch them actually play.
36:50Fantastic things.
36:52Now, there's very little known, actually,
36:54about urban foxes in Ireland,
36:57so the Irish Urban Fox Survey
37:00has been running since October 2025.
37:04So far, they've had over 3,000 records,
37:06almost 100 of them from here in Belfast,
37:10so if you've got any fox sightings
37:13and you'd like to send them in,
37:15then please visit our website
37:18and follow the links to the Irish,
37:20the Urban Irish Fox Survey.
37:22And actually, if you've got any interesting photos
37:25or videos from Belfast or beyond,
37:28please send those in too.
37:30We love to see them.
37:32Right, one last chance for Steve over here
37:36to redeem himself.
37:38Steve, I know I've raised my voice,
37:40I've probably scared all the foxes away.
37:42Have you got anything live for us?
37:45No, I don't think...
37:47No, not at the moment.
37:49But it doesn't matter, because earlier,
37:51just the last of the golden light,
37:54we saw this.
37:56These are the two cubs together
38:00in the tall grass,
38:02developing, what Chris would call
38:05developing their hunting techniques.
38:07Isn't that fantastic?
38:09We watched them for about half an hour in all
38:12because, as always happens,
38:14when we came live, they've gone.
38:16I'm getting no luck with this live mammal business, am I?
38:19No badgers, no foxes for you.
38:21I'm sorry about that.
38:23But there is one mystery with these foxes.
38:25Come over this balcony and have a look down there.
38:28Have a look at that wall.
38:30That's the outside wall there,
38:32and that wall is at least 14, maybe 15 feet tall.
38:35That's over four metres.
38:37I know a fox can jump,
38:39but surely it can't jump that high.
38:41So how on earth does the vixen get out
38:45and then back in to bring food back for those cubs?
38:49Well, earlier today, I went into detective mode.
38:54And I took with me what every detective needs,
38:57camera traps.
38:58Yes, I looked around to try and find trails
39:02where the foxes were leading to the wall,
39:05and then I set up the camera traps,
39:08hoping that we can catch the fox coming back,
39:12maybe even bringing back a little bit of food,
39:15and we might even be able to identify the food.
39:17If we get anything, I will report back to you tomorrow.
39:22Now, the call or the song of a bird,
39:25I find them very evocative.
39:27If I hear the little bit of bread and no cheese
39:30of a yellow hammer or the bee wit of a lapwing,
39:33it takes me back to being a child
39:36growing up in Mid Wales all over again.
39:39But to Sean McCormack and his father, Ted,
39:43it's the call of a bird that is so rare and so threatened,
39:47it's extremely difficult to find.
39:50And to hear it, they had to go all the way over
39:53to the west coast to Tory Island.
40:01Just one generation ago,
40:02the rasping call of the corn crake
40:04was a familiar sound across much of the Irish countryside,
40:07a bird often heard but very rarely seen.
40:13It's a sound that my father recalls fondly from his childhood,
40:17but it had disappeared from much of Ireland
40:20by the time that I was born.
40:23The fact my dad has never been able to share
40:26that once familiar sound with me
40:28is something that has always troubled him.
40:30So we've come to one of their last remaining strongholds
40:33to try and put that right.
40:35And here on Tory Island, there's really only one way to get around.
40:41After you.
40:46But our first challenge is tracking down the secretive birds.
40:52They prefer to nest in messy meadows and hay fields,
40:55something which Tory Island has stacks of.
40:59So we're off to a site where two males have been heard calling.
41:05That's what we're lucky enough to hear.
41:07Fingers crossed.
41:12Now, let's see if you...
41:17Let's settle down and be quiet.
41:19Yeah.
41:20So it's, what, 60-odd years since you first heard them as a boy, yeah?
41:24That's right, yeah, yeah.
41:25I couldn't wait to get my summer holidays.
41:28I used to go to my grandfather's place,
41:30and the first thing I'd do is I'd go looking for corncrakes.
41:33It was very, very difficult to see them,
41:35but it was a lovely sound to hear.
41:38The corncrakes have just returned from their African wintering grounds,
41:42so this is the best time to try and hear them.
41:45And we didn't have long to wait.
41:49Oh, you hear that? Listen.
41:54Oh, wow.
41:55First corncrake.
41:57Good on you, good on you, yeah.
41:59Wow. That was incredible.
42:03Listen.
42:04Just behind us? Yes.
42:06They're calling to each other, basically, saying, what, stay off my patch?
42:10Stay off my patch, this is my territory.
42:13Corncrakes like farmland with lots of cover,
42:16such as nettles and thistles, through which they can move unseen.
42:21Traditionally, Irish fields were cut using horse-drawn mowers,
42:25but this changed with the rise of tractors during the 1960s.
42:29The faster-moving machines inadvertently trapped the corncrakes,
42:33with disastrous results.
42:36Every field that was cut, every meadow that was cut,
42:41you found dead corncrakes.
42:43I cried over those parts, yeah, it was terribly disappointing.
42:47What was the change then when you noticed they were getting less frequent?
42:51By the time 1970 came, when I was 17 or 18 years of age...
42:56It was silent. Silent, gone.
42:58Gone, yeah.
43:02Tory Island has offered a lifeline to corncrakes,
43:05as the smaller fields here are unsuitable for tractors,
43:08so traditional methods of farming continued.
43:11Now, across the country,
43:13the National Parks and Wildlife Service are offering incentives
43:16to farmers who accommodate corncrakes.
43:19And it's working,
43:21with numbers of males reaching a 25-year high in 2024.
43:26But even with so many on Tory Island,
43:29with the sun setting, we still haven't managed to see one.
43:34All right.
43:36But we aren't giving up yet.
43:38We've come back the following day at the crack of dawn
43:41after a local tip-off of an unusually showy corncrake nearby.
43:46There's apparently quite a territorial male up here.
43:50He has been known to come out into the open to fend off other males.
43:55Very, very close, in the weeds just here, yeah?
43:58So I'd expect to see a little head peeping off.
44:04There he is, yeah.
44:06There he is, yeah.
44:10Oh, yeah, he's there, he's there. Yeah.
44:12Look at him.
44:14Hey, he's beautiful. Oh, my God, amazing.
44:17Yeah. It's a lovely bird, beautiful bird.
44:20I can't believe it.
44:22There he goes.
44:26Fantastic.
44:29That's incredible. You didn't know he's bouncing back up the hill?
44:32Yeah.
44:34He's gorgeous.
44:36All the, like, subtle kind of grey colour in his face.
44:38Yeah. That's what you came here for?
44:40I'm so thrilled I've seen one.
44:42Yeah. That's incredible.
44:44I've been hearing the stories of my dad's memory of this bird, the corncrake,
44:48since I was a boy.
44:50I just didn't think that I would ever get the chance to see them so close
44:54and see them with Dad as well.
44:58It's been a real kind of full-circle moment.
45:02I thought that this was a lost sound in Ireland's soundscape.
45:06They were in terminal decline.
45:08But what joy it brings, you know, to hear this nostalgic sound.
45:13It's a real story of optimism, of hope,
45:17and to hear them coming back in such good numbers here
45:20is just a really, really positive thing to witness.
45:24I love that.
45:26The sound and sight of a rare bird gave them so much pleasure.
45:31I know.
45:32I mean, Sean and his father Tom,
45:34I think Yolo might have called him Father Ted.
45:36Father Tom.
45:37Father Ted. No, it's Father Tom.
45:39You know, they were so delighted.
45:41I mean, the corncrake was their little treasure box
45:44at the end of their rainbow, wasn't it?
45:46Oh, my goodness me. Move swiftly on, please.
45:49Anyway, here's something that's a little bit easier to see
45:52at this time of the year, because they're pretty widespread.
45:55Dragonflies.
45:57So if you're near water,
45:59then just take a moment to really look at a dragonfly,
46:02because they are beautiful.
46:05Now, this is a broad-bodied chaser,
46:07and this is a female with that bronze broad body.
46:11But just look at the wings.
46:13They're so beautifully beautiful.
46:16Just look at the wings.
46:18They're so beautifully delicate.
46:21And this is what you so often see them do over a pond.
46:24They find a reed to perch on,
46:26and they keep going back to the same one while they look for prey,
46:30and then they fly off again.
46:32But they are stunning, aren't they?
46:34When you see them in the sunshine...
46:36Oh, do you remember that, the sunshine?
46:38Yeah, just the iridescence of the wings.
46:40I mean, they're just lovely.
46:42They are astonishing and aerially accomplished.
46:45They're not supersonic,
46:47but they can fly at speeds in excess of 30 miles an hour.
46:50They could get a speeding ticket going down most suburban streets,
46:53and they are extraordinarily manoeuvrable.
46:56So how do they do it?
46:58Well, we're going to demonstrate that with this exquisite model
47:01fabricated by the one and only Lucy Lapwing.
47:04The first thing to say is that they've got two sets of two wings,
47:08two at the front here, the forewings,
47:10and then the hind wings here.
47:12They have no muscles in the wing at all.
47:15All of the muscles are in the body of the animal here.
47:19That's a means of keeping the weight down.
47:22Minimising weight is absolutely essential for these things.
47:25The other thing they can say is that they can move all of these wings
47:29independently of each other at the same time.
47:33So, keeping the weight down and keeping them strong.
47:36How do they do that? Are you OK?
47:39You're doing very well to try and conceal a sneezing bit over there.
47:42OK, this just keeps going like this every time you sneeze.
47:45Right, hold it steady now.
47:47So the key thing is, to keep the wing strong,
47:50first of all, it has a much thicker edge along here called the costa.
47:55It's that that's facing into the wind.
47:58Then it's got all of these veins here.
48:00Now, those veins there are important for keeping the strength
48:04and also allowing the wing to remain flexible.
48:08But then if you look carefully here,
48:10you can see that Lucy has made the wings corrugated.
48:13That means that, again, it can increase the strength
48:16but without needing to add any material.
48:19Therefore, it makes them stronger but without making them heavier.
48:23Think of corrugated iron.
48:25It's the same gauge of iron, but when it's corrugated, it's stronger.
48:30So that is a means of keeping these ultra lightweight wings
48:34strong and flexible.
48:36But as Chris was saying, you don't want these wings to be heavy
48:39but they also can't be too light
48:41because then it's like a piece of paper.
48:43If you throw up in the wind, it just flutters.
48:46So it needs to stabilise.
48:48So the side of each of the wings, each wing has one of these.
48:51You see the black mark there?
48:53That's a stigma and that's slightly weighted, slightly thicker
48:58to stabilise the wings enough so that it doesn't flutter.
49:03OK, you might be wondering what all of these spots are on the wing here.
49:06These represent sensors.
49:09These green are the strain sensors.
49:12The strain sensors measure any flex that's going on in the wing
49:17whilst the dragonfly is flying.
49:19And they're so manoeuvrable sometimes that they're turning so quickly
49:22they don't want to damage those wings, they need to regulate that.
49:25So they need to feel, if you like, how those wings are moving.
49:29But what's exciting is that we recently discovered
49:32that they have these sensors here marked in orange
49:35particularly focused around the front edge of the wing
49:37and these are flow sensors.
49:40They're measuring the flow of the air over the wing
49:43which again allows them to respond in real time
49:46to how that wing is being pushed and is cutting through the air.
49:50Those sensors are absolutely tiny, they're 0.03mm.
49:54But let's have a look at them in close-up.
49:56This is what some of those sensors look like.
49:59It's a bit like a dorsal fin with a sort of hook at the end.
50:03It's called a bristle bump complex
50:06and it monitors the airflow over the wing
50:09and that means that the sensors can give the dragonfly
50:12as much info as possible so that they can make adjustments.
50:16And they've got so many of them.
50:18I mean, it's mind-blowing how much information is on the wing
50:23that then goes to the brain of this tiny insect.
50:27They've got these axons, neural tissue,
50:29that run all the way from the tip of the wing here
50:32along through that wing and then into the brain of the insects.
50:36In fact, we think that this nervous material
50:38is amongst the longest that we find in any contemporary living insects.
50:42So look, that's how it works. Let's see it in action.
50:46Don't worry about which species of dragonfly these are.
50:49Just look at the way that they're flying.
50:51Look at the way that the wings are moving independently,
50:54both the forewings and the hindwings,
50:56and then changing as the dragonfly alters its position in the air,
51:01moving backwards and forwards and up and down.
51:04And I can tell you that when they're flying,
51:07they sometimes can accelerate so fast in a straight line
51:10that they can pull 4G and when they're in a turn, they can pull 9G.
51:16And that's the same as a fighter pilot experiences in a top-rate fighter jet.
51:21These are the top guns.
51:23I mean, they can maverick your goose every day of the week.
51:27Remarkable things, these dragonflies.
51:29You will never look at a dragonfly in the same way again.
51:33I mean, that is mind-blowing stuff, isn't it?
51:37That all of that engineering is going on in the wings of this little insect.
51:43Fantastic stuff.
51:45I'm sure you need to just digest some of that
51:47because it is an awful lot of information, I say.
51:49It is mind-blowing.
51:50So I think it's time for a mindfulness moment.
51:53And all you have to do now is sit back and enjoy the sights and sounds of a wetland.
52:15Water sounds
52:25Water sounds
52:35Water sounds
52:45Water sounds
52:55Water sounds
53:05Water sounds
53:15Water sounds
53:29Look at those beautiful colours.
53:31I mean, I don't know about you, but that's made me feel very mindful.
53:35Isn't that glorious, wasn't it?
53:36Let's stick to a watery theme, though.
53:37Stopped you sneezing, I say.
53:38Yeah, stopped me sneezing.
53:39I don't know what happened there.
53:40But let's stick to a watery theme and have a look at the river that runs through Longshore.
53:45This is the River Derwent.
53:46Obviously, very picturesque.
53:48Lots of tributaries going off and coming into it.
53:51Obviously, great place for ducks.
53:53And at this time of the year, lots of little ducklings.
53:56You've got mallards.
53:57You've got mandarins as well.
53:59Very cute.
54:01Brilliant place for wildlife other than just the ducks.
54:05Lots of water birds.
54:06Lots of insects.
54:08And a very special bird as well that we've got a live camera on.
54:11Yes, the only aquatic songbird that we have in the UK.
54:14Any guesses?
54:15It's the one and only dipper.
54:17Here it is.
54:18And guess what it's doing?
54:19Dipping.
54:20We're not entirely sure why they dip, but quite a lot of the birds that live in this fast-flowing water environment,
54:26like wagtails, dippers and common sandpipers, do do that bobbing.
54:29And here you can see one of them flying along the river.
54:34They are specially adapted in all sorts of ways.
54:37And we will have time to go into that later in the week.
54:40But here you can see one of them peeping beneath the surface.
54:43They've got little nictitating membranes, like contact lenses.
54:46They pull over their eyes, which allow them to see beneath the water and protect themselves.
54:51And there you go.
54:52There's one there that's done a great job of catching what looks like a small fish,
54:55like a loach or something like that.
54:57I like a dipper.
54:58I like a dipper.
54:59And I'm really pleased to say that we do have a live camera on a dipper's nest.
55:02It's in an interesting place.
55:04First of all, look at the nest itself.
55:06There it is.
55:07Gorgeous-looking nest.
55:09But as I say, it's in an interesting position that you can't really tell quite where it is on the live camera.
55:15But have a look, and you can see that it's in a drainage tunnel underneath the train line.
55:21And that drainage tunnel takes the rainwater from the moors to the river.
55:26I've got to say, though, Chris, it's quite noisy under there.
55:29I mean, not only do you get the trains going over the top, you can hear that it's quite echoey with that water.
55:36It's not going to get flood insurance, either.
55:38I know. You do wonder about that, don't you, with all this rain that we've had.
55:41I wonder how much rain you'd have to have for that to actually start flooding.
55:45Let's hope not, anyway.
55:46But great to have that nest.
55:49Let's have a look at some of our other live cameras.
55:51Let's see what we've got.
55:53Shall we finish off with the old short-eared owl?
55:55Because every time we've gone to the short-eared owl, it just looks fabulous.
55:59So there we go.
56:00Well, I guess, though, because it's cold and it's been wet, you can't really see the chicks.
56:06It's got those wings out.
56:08I mean, it's incredible to think that all those chicks are snuggled under there because some of them are quite big, aren't they, Chris?
56:14Yeah. Yeah. Look at that.
56:15That's showing all of the duty it requires to be a good mother.
56:18And there's one peeping out underneath there now.
56:21You've been sending us in some photographs.
56:23What about this one?
56:24This is a bit of a cracker, isn't it?
56:25Look, a hobby.
56:27Thomas Miller took this, and it's taking a mayfly.
56:31I know what you're going to say, Mick.
56:32Is it worth the effort?
56:34Well, is it?
56:35I mean, that's not going to fill it up, is it?
56:36But mayflies are packed full of nutrients, proteins, and particularly fats.
56:41What about this one, though?
56:43This is an incredible picture.
56:45Andrew Moorcott.
56:46You can't quite see what it is, but it's a stoat predating a rabbit.
56:51But look, I think it's amazing the way it's jumped up like that.
56:54And I've just said we've got live badger.
56:56We've got a few seconds.
56:57We might be able to show you.
56:58There we are.
56:59Yolo Williams.
57:00There's your live mammal, mate.
57:04Having a good old scratch, which is what they do.
57:07Fantastic.
57:08That's all we've got time for, I'm afraid, today.
57:10We'll be back tomorrow when Megs will be out and about in search
57:14of a spring spectacle of some note.
57:20And I'll be going in search of some of Belfast's urban swifts.
57:26Of course, you can watch the live cameras on the website
57:29and on the iPlayer from 10am tomorrow.
57:32And keep watching because Hannah Stipful will be doing Watch Out
57:36on the iPlayer as well.
57:38And she's got Jack Baddon's on the show.
57:40Now, Jack Baddon's did our Springwatch Street.
57:43He's one of the guys that's been on this team for a very long time
57:46and his knowledge is unbelievable.
57:48So that should be absolutely brilliant.
57:50And we will see you tomorrow at 8 o'clock with all our live nests.
57:54Will we have a treasure trove tomorrow?
57:57No, we're going to have the sun, I'm telling you.
57:59I'm going to promise you the sun.
58:01See you tomorrow.
58:06The Open University have designed an interactive online hike
58:10which allows you to explore some of the habitat changes
58:13that have taken place since Springwatch first aired.
58:16To find it, scan the QR code on your screen now
58:19or visit bbc.co.uk forward slash springwatch
58:23and follow the links to The Open University.
58:47The Open University
58:52Springwatch
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