Countryfile - Orca Watch
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AnimalsTranscript
00:00Look at this. I've just seen two fulmars displaying to each other. There's Razorvilles,
00:17there's Guillemots. Everything's happening and I absolutely love it. You know, some places can hold
00:26a real promise sometimes, like something's about to happen. I can feel it in the air.
00:56I've come to the most northern edge of mainland Scotland, the Caithnes coast, and it doesn't
01:10get more dramatic than this. We've got towering cliffs, crashing waves, and the ocean below
01:17is full of wildlife. The stretch of coastline from Dunnit Head to Wick in Caithnes looks
01:27out over some of the UK's richest waters for wildlife, the Pentland and Murray Firths.
01:35And up on these cliffs, a different kind of spectacle is about to unfold. Each year, this
01:40wild corner of Scotland becomes a gathering point, and I'm here to join it. Orca Watch.
01:48During the event, survey sites are dotted all along this coastline, across headlands, harbours
01:54and cliff tops. And eager volunteers position themselves to watch for one of our ocean's
01:59most awe-inspiring predators. Orcas. I'm excited to be part of such a big citizen science project,
02:11and to meet others along this coastline looking out for nature.
02:19You've got the youngsters just starting out. We might have one here. Can you see that little
02:24dot? That blue one there? You are joking me. That is practically a grain of sand. And those
02:30whose passion has grown into a lifelong legacy. I think I was about 10. I decided I was going
02:36to do a painting of all the birds that I'd love to see from my window. 50 years on, it turned
02:41into a reality. But for others, the thrill is in the chase.
02:46All right. There's an orca. There's an orca. Can you believe it? One of Cath's friends just
02:52shouted, orca, John O'Croats, right next to the pier.
03:06The orca, or killer whale, is the ocean's top predator. It's the largest of the dolphin family,
03:13and its striking black and white markings are unmistakable. And when one appears off the coastline
03:19here, it sets pulses racing.
03:31I'm here to meet the local people and experts who share a passion for this area's special wildlife
03:38and love of this rugged landscape.
03:40Orca Watch is a 10-day citizen science event held across the coasts of Caithnest, North Sutherland,
03:51Orkney and Shetland. Volunteers take part in scheduled watches, all helping to collect data on whales,
03:59dolphins and other marine mammals or cetaceans in the Orca Watch area. It's people power in action.
04:07And just like everyone else here, I'm hoping to get a glimpse of the iconic orca.
04:18The event is organised by Sea Watch Foundation, a national marine conservation charity.
04:25They are dedicated to protecting whales, dolphins and porpoises in UK and Irish waters.
04:30Simone Evans is their sightings officer, tracking species and collecting data to help protect them.
04:40You must get a lot of people helping you out and volunteering for Orca Watch.
04:45Oh, it's amazing to see this, just everybody's so enthusiastic about it. I mean, if you just have a
04:50sighting, everybody just, yeah, just gets so hyper and excited about it. So I'm working with the local
04:55community and the people that live here. It's just, it just builds all the data that we need.
05:02For the people who are helping you with the sightings, where do all the sightings get reported?
05:07So we have information recorded from various platforms and organisations, but we use our Sea Watcher app.
05:12And then all that data feeds in our database that is then available on our map viewer. So the app is free
05:18for anybody to use and sightings immediately available. Can I see the app? Of course you can.
05:24So yeah, you can submit a sighting, just a casual sighting, or you can do surveys from land or from sea.
05:29And this can be anywhere in the UK. You can get on this app and report something in.
05:34Yes, you can. And we've expanded it now actually from all over the world.
05:38Right. Okay. And it doesn't have to just be Orcas.
05:40No, all cetacean species, sharks, turtles, anything you want.
05:44So over the last couple of years, there was a lot of more Orca babies born actually.
05:49And with the data that's collected, we can match with the Scottish ID catalogue,
05:54the different individuals that are seen in our sightings. So immediately as it happened,
05:59people can check the ID catalogue and then identify them. The pod 169 was spotted yesterday at work as
06:05well. That's handy. And there was a baby. Oh, amazing. So even if you're an amateur wildlife camera
06:11person, you can take a photo, submit it in. And if that Orca has got a name, you'll be able to know
06:17that. Yes, if they've been ID'd. Yeah.
06:21I leave Simone to her Orca watch duties and suddenly a pod of more familiar wildlife comes into view.
06:28I've just spotted not Orcas, but Orca Watchers. How are you guys doing?
06:32Lovely to meet you. Keeping well? Yes, thank you.
06:34G'day. So what have we spotted?
06:36We've seen puffins this week. Puffins? Seals. Fishing. Seals fishing?
06:42Seals fishing. And I've managed to catch a photo with it in its mouth. I was ecstatic.
06:48We're online. We're on the WhatsApp. We're on the Facebook. We're going around and regularly
06:53talking to each other. Local community. Local community are keeping us in touch with what's
06:58happening around as well, because they're obviously the experts. Well, four days into Orca Watch,
07:02have you guys seen an Orca? No. Not this year. Not this year? Not this year. Okay.
07:07Still plenty of time left though.
07:12Next, I'm heading the short distance along the coast to Duncansbury Head,
07:16one of the most popular Orca Watch sites.
07:21Kath Bain works for Whale and Dolphin Conservation and is also a marine mammal medic instructor.
07:28She's been coming to Orca Watch for nine years and volunteering for the last six.
07:35I can't wait for this. I'm going to be surrounded by like-minded people who love nature.
07:40Kath? It is. Hello. How are you doing? Good, thank you.
07:44You all right? Yeah. Right, you lead the way.
07:47This is going to be an amazing day. Yeah, it should be good.
07:49Kath's Orca Spotters are in position and at the ready.
07:53But even before my tripod has hit the ground, a shout goes out from one of the team.
07:58Right. All right. There's an Orca. There's an Orca. Can you believe it?
08:03We've just landed and one of Kath's friends just shouted,
08:07Orca, John O'Kroth, right next to the pier.
08:10So hopefully, once I get my camera set up, we'll have an Orca on camera.
08:14See, this is why I love citizen science.
08:17Citizen science is the best thing because it only takes a few people and then the word spreads.
08:24So to know that we can spot them from here, we wouldn't have been paying attention.
08:28We're looking in that direction and all of a sudden we see Orca.
08:32Have you spotted where they are yet? No, not yet.
08:34Okay.
08:36These are Kath's friends and they've all got a little app that they communicate with each other.
08:41And it's lovely to be able just to see that all along this coastline, people are gathering together.
08:48It's a community and they come from all over the world, not just Scotland.
08:53Have you spotted them yet?
08:54No. Apparently they were heading west about 15 minutes ago.
08:58Okay. This is exciting.
09:00Yeah, definitely.
09:02Does this always happen like this?
09:04Yeah, it does. It can come out of the blue any time.
09:06Sadly, there's no sign of Orcas, but we're all keeping our eyes firmly out to sea.
09:12Now, I know that there's a few numbers associated with Orcas. You've got the 19s, the 27s.
09:17Yeah.
09:18How do these numbers come about?
09:20So there's the Scottish ID catalogue.
09:22Okay.
09:23And they give numbers to the Orca and the pods are led by the lead female, the matriarch.
09:29And so the number of the pod is her number.
09:32Right.
09:32So the 19s are led by number 19, whose name is Musa.
09:36I love the wealth and knowledge that you have. What was your best encounter of an Orca?
09:42Actually, that was last year at Orca Watch, the last evening before we all went home the next day.
09:48And we managed to track them along the coast until we got to John O'Groats, got out on the harbour.
09:54And there were three Orca, three members of the 27s.
09:57It was amazing. And they were hunting a seal in that little area next to the harbour.
10:01Did they get the seal?
10:02They didn't get the seal, but I did get some amazing footage. Would you like to see?
10:07I would love to. Wow. That's pretty close.
10:10Yeah, the youngster came probably within three or four metres of the shore hunting the seal.
10:15And you're pretty low to the water here.
10:17Yeah, so I was literally sitting cross-legged on the end of the harbour wall.
10:22This is amazing. Can you please organise a few walkers for me to just get shots exactly like that?
10:28I will do my best.
10:31The thing that I love the most about this place, it's the people.
10:37And one in particular, Kath. Kath is so excited and passionate about Orcas.
10:44And the patience that she's developed over the years of watching Orcas has led to that incredible footage she showed me.
10:52And they're getting a lot of scientific data out of this.
10:55So this is right up my street. This is the thing that I love the most.
11:02Next, I'm heading 20 miles south to Nos Head Lighthouse, another favourite location for the Orcas spotting community.
11:09Karen Munro is a wildlife photographer and a key contributor to the Scottish killer whale photo ID catalogue.
11:22It's a beautiful patch. How are you doing, Karen?
11:25Hello. How are you getting on? How's that?
11:26Keeping well?
11:27Yeah, good.
11:28What do you normally see from here?
11:30Well, if we know the Orcas are coming, that's when we'll normally come up here.
11:33But sometimes on a calm day, we'll do a watch.
11:35Yeah.
11:35You'll also get Rissos dolphins, harbour porpoise are two of the commons.
11:39You'll sometimes see monkey whale.
11:40Humpback whales have also started to become a bit more common, especially in March.
11:44Yeah.
11:45And we've just had some memorable sightings here over the years.
11:48And unfortunately, I missed the most memorable, well, in my opinion, is the most memorable one.
11:53Which one's memorable for you?
11:55We'd spent the whole day following a famous pod on the 27s coming up from Helmsdale.
11:59Yeah.
12:00I got to the village just down there called Staxigo, and I thought I needed to go to Tesco's to get the shopping for tomorrow.
12:06And my friend had a photograph of my favourite orca, number 72, jumping out the water with a porpoise in his mouth.
12:13You're joking.
12:14No.
12:15But that's okay.
12:16Them eating porpoises is part of their diet.
12:18I know that, but when you're a cetacean watcher, you do like porpoise too.
12:22Nature can be cruel sometimes.
12:24Yeah.
12:25Karen is keen to show me another great vantage point that overlooks dramatic cliffs with views north to Duncan's Behead.
12:32That's the mate, look at the birds.
12:34Yeah, the razor bells.
12:36Gillimots.
12:37Fillmore is my favourite seabird.
12:39Wow.
12:40Whenever you're watching orca, there's always a film we're normally flying around the cliff for you somewhere.
12:45This is beautiful.
12:47Absolutely incredible.
12:48You guys are lucky to be able to have this just on your doorstep.
12:51I think so.
12:52Yeah.
12:52Some people maybe miss the shops or things like that, but no, give me a clifftop any day.
12:57And you've been taking pictures or you've actually put a catalogue together.
13:00It's a big collaborative of everybody in the public.
13:03So if I get a photo of an awesome orca, the best image you've ever seen in your life, obviously,
13:09what can I do to learn about that particular orca?
13:12Well, you could download the catalogue.
13:14Okay.
13:14It's on the internet for anybody to download.
13:16Free?
13:17Free.
13:17Okay.
13:18Yeah.
13:18And the first thing you'd look for is any really identifiable marks in its dorsal.
13:23Those are the animals we can tell just looking at, even when we're watching them in view.
13:27Yeah.
13:28But then it comes down to your saddle patches, you know, all these black marks and the shapes
13:34and then the eye patches. And the eye patches actually become more valuable because these saddles,
13:38as animals grow and we don't see them between years, can change quite a bit.
13:42Right.
13:43Whereas the shape of the eye patch, even from a youngster, doesn't change that much.
13:47And that's like a fingerprint for them.
13:48Yeah.
13:48Okay.
13:49And it's become a valuable tool in recent years.
13:52Humor me this.
13:53If an orca appears just now, do you still have that same buzz?
13:58Every time.
13:59Same time as the first time you've ever seen them?
14:01Every time. And I don't know why.
14:03And I sometimes think there's something wrong with me.
14:06Because I will shout and I mess up my photos.
14:09Yeah.
14:09That's good to know.
14:11Because the excitement, the adrenaline, it gives you an adrenaline kick.
14:15Right.
14:15And the joke is I couldn't run up a hill ordinary day, but there's these hills I've managed to just
14:20go, we're straight up. And it is. It's just...
14:23Yeah. They give you a boost.
14:24They give you a real boost.
14:25But to be fair, they give more people a boost than they don't when they see them,
14:29because they are magnificent.
14:30Yeah.
14:31And the size, the apex predator, I don't know.
14:34It's hard not to get swept up in the buzz. The excitement for the orcas is infectious.
14:52But it's not all about spotting them. People are also working hard protecting them
14:57by cleaning up the coast.
15:00Plastic pollution is a serious threat.
15:04Orcas and other marine animals can get tangled in it or swallow it.
15:11And once it breaks down, it can end up in the food chain.
15:21Taking local action is husband and wife duo Dorcas and Alan Sinclair.
15:26They have spent much of their lives dedicated to cleaning up the Caithness coast.
15:31So we find very strange things on the beach, from full face masks to dog balls.
15:37We find lots of dog balls on the beach. So we've got the dog ball libraries and we put them in those.
15:43So we've got the dog balls.
15:46These are unusual.
15:48These are actually mussel spikes to stop the mussels falling off of the rope when they're taking them in
15:55for the mussel farms.
15:56And anything you can imagine can be found on a beach, sadly.
16:04Today, Dorcas and Alan are joining a litter pick on their local beach, Dunnet Bay.
16:09We love the beaches. We've always been involved in water.
16:16We used to dive, some aqua diving. I used to surf.
16:20In our spare time, we would go for a walk along the beach.
16:23And we were tripping over plastic. We were tripping over ropes and buckets and fish boxes.
16:28Sometimes we find birds or other animals that have been affected by the plastic.
16:35We see seals with ropes around them as well. It's so sad. It really is sad and there's no need.
16:41And to be out somewhere so beautiful and to be tripping over plastic, it was just awful.
16:47And I kept saying to Alan, we should record this. We should do something about it.
16:51And eventually I bit the bullet and bought some scales and some litter pickers.
16:55And that was it. We took off from there.
16:57They began sharing their findings on social media and rallied local volunteers to form the
17:04Caithness Beach Cleans Group.
17:07We started the group in March 2019 and we actually cover about 100 beaches altogether
17:15over the north of Scotland. And we have people in all these areas that do bits as well. So it's
17:22not just Alan and I, you know, there's lots of people doing it. And we've taken 72 tons
17:29of plastic off of the beaches since that. We've got about 30 active volunteers in the group.
17:37So yeah, it's good. We've got people that go out every day without fail.
17:43It is really important. I mean, I'm so glad that we've got the group,
17:47you know, that Dorcas set it up. Stormy weather, especially from the north or northwest,
17:54I'll bring it all in. And it is quite heartbreaking in the winter because you walk along the beach and
17:59a walk that would normally take me 10 minutes can take you an hour and a half. And I'll have these
18:05two bags will be absolutely full to bursting.
18:14Their work doesn't end here. After the volunteers have done the sweep of Dunnett Bay,
18:19their bags of litter get weighed by Alan.
18:22Are you ready? Yeah. That's it.
18:27I'm a law school, so it's pounds.
18:2826 pounds, 58. And the next step is to process the plastic for recycling.
18:40The creel hooks you've been collecting, that's how they normally come in. So we give them a
18:44one-super with a wire brush and tidy them up a bit. We try and reuse as much as we can. Creel hooks,
18:51we turn them into wheelie bin closers. So if the bin blows open, we don't have to come and pick it up
18:56off the beach. Plastic pipes from fish farms are used to make polytunnels. Rope gets sent off down
19:06to Cornwall to be recycled. A company that makes boxes for the back of the car, sunglasses, things
19:12like that. We recycle everything that we can.
19:15Away from the beach, Alan keeps busy with his own upcycling projects.
19:29We were finding so much rope on the beach. We were worried about what to do with it. So we made up a mat
19:36for our back door and it was all right. So we made up another one for a friend and she liked it. So we kind of went from there.
19:50What we do find is after a big storm, the bottom of the dunes will be washed out and we'll get a lot of
19:58stuff that's been buried in the past and it's rearing its ugly head again. It's surprising how much comes
20:07in really. Sometimes you get a big lump that, you know, it's knee high and it takes two people to
20:13throw it into the back of the car or into a trailer. So we're at the finished height. We'll give it an extra
20:21tamp down just for the sake of it and then we take it off and start to get rid of these bars out the
20:37middle. We've got a lot of the big lumps of rope off the beaches now and so we're sort of moving down
20:45scale and picking up more and more of the little stuff, you know, little frayed bits of rope, you
20:53know, this size and smaller. They're just difficult to pick up but it's still breaking down. It's still
21:00putting plastic into the environment so once this stuff's in the sea it can go anywhere. It's such a
21:06shame because we had a whale on the local beach a few years ago and it was tangled in a piece of rope
21:12and the poor thing, I mean it was cut to pieces, it was horrible. I mean we've found sadly dead birds,
21:20a couple of gallets both went for the same piece of rope, probably had fish in it or something and so
21:26they were kind of beak to beak and they just perished like that. I found a pair of live seagulls,
21:33both had caught a piece of fishing line and they were okay. I was able to unhook them and they were so
21:39grateful they actually gave me a little kiss on my hand and drew blood. There we go, finished project,
21:51apart from we'll take it outside, we'll take this big hammer and flatten it all down and that's it,
22:02ready for power washing. Thanks to the dedication of volunteers like Alan, Dorcas and the Caithnest
22:12Beach Cleans Group, things are starting to improve. Volunteering on something like this is extremely
22:19important and Dunnet Beach on the whole is pretty good now. People come up to me and comment on how
22:26good this beach is. So that's really nice, that makes me feel good.
22:45Caithnest is a real hot spot for a lot of things. The scenery, the ocean, the cliffs,
22:55the wildlife. This place is beautiful, majestic, dramatic, absolutely amazing.
23:11And when you're here you feel like you're at one with nature and it doesn't get any better than this.
23:19In my eyes I love birds and to be able to see them here during the breeding season is just wonderful.
23:35I'm really hoping in this trip to see something that I've never ever really captured on camera before,
23:42which is some of the resident pods of orcas, also known as killer whales, that we have here in Scotland.
23:53My first ever memory of seeing a cetacean was the west coast pod of dolphins.
24:01And I remember going out with my Scottish father's boat and I've never really seen a bottlenose dolphin
24:07before until one of them just pops up right in front of us. And it was huge. I will happily say four
24:15metres long, stayed with us for about five, ten minutes, played around and then moved off. And honestly,
24:23that sticks in my mind till the day I die. I get asked all the time, what's it like being a wildlife
24:32cameraman? And to me, it's having the world's best job. I get to go on safari, I get to travel the world,
24:42but more importantly, I get to come back with memories. Memories that are in my mind
24:46and memories that are on a card that I can look back to.
24:54One of the best things when I am busy rushing around, my mind is all scrambled.
25:01I love just going out. Go to a place like this where you see the wildlife and see what happens
25:08to your mental health. I feel like someone's gone through and just cleared my mind of all the clutter
25:16and I'm at peace. I am meditating. Being in nature just stops time. And before you know it,
25:24it's at the end of the day and the sun's going down. And I've had an absolutely fantastic day.
25:38From cliff tops to tree tops, I head to Dunnett Forest, the most northerly community managed woodland
25:47in Scotland. And it's located in an exceptionally stunning area. Just a stone's throw from Dunnett Bay.
26:00This special spot is home to the UK's smallest butterfly,
26:04the small bloom. It's listed as near threatened by Butterfly Conservation UK.
26:19But a project in Caithness is working hard to protect it.
26:25Louise Senior is from Species on the Edge. It's a team effort between eight organisations,
26:32working together to protect some of our rarest coastal and island species.
26:39This looks like butterfly weather. Fingers crossed. How are you doing? Good, thank you. Are you?
26:43Yeah, very good, thank you. Tell me about the community project that you guys have got here.
26:48This is the small blue butterfly project in Caithness. There's only 80 colonies of small blue
26:54butterflies left in the whole of Scotland and three of them here. So this is the kind of north easternmost
26:59edge of their range. If someone wants to spot a small blue, what should they look out for?
27:07First of all, the small blue is not very blue at all. It's got quite dusky upper wings. The male has a
27:14wee sprinkling of blue close to its body and the underwing is a lighter grey blue colour. Yeah.
27:19And they're absolutely tiny. How tiny? They're about the size of my fingernail.
27:23Wow. And that's fully grown? Absolutely. That's small. The UK's smallest butterfly.
27:31Have you seen a decline in the small blue? Yeah, small blue numbers have been declining
27:37drastically. So we've lost about 40% of their distribution over the last 40 or so years.
27:43And that's due to habitat loss? It is, yeah. Their caterpillars feed solely on the kidney
27:49vetch plant. So they're real habitat specialists. And as things like dunes, where kidney vetch normally
27:55grows, start to stabilise, the vegetation creeps in and the kidney vetch can't get a hold.
28:01And we're losing habitat for the small blue butterflies.
28:04Tell me about the people that have made this project come alive.
28:08You'll meet Daniel today. He's one of the really special, amazing young men that we've worked with.
28:14He comes in every week and he counts the butterflies that he sees. He counts eggs. He has been talking
28:21to people about them. So he's really adept now at kind of leading a group of people and explaining
28:25all the work that has been going on here and sharing it with people.
28:29He's become like a species ambassador. Absolutely.
28:32Daniel sounds like a pretty cool kid. Is he around?
28:34He'll be up ahead at the butterfly bank. He's always up there.
28:38Thank you very much. Bye. Bye.
28:4015-year-old Daniel has dedicated his time to build, maintain and monitor sandy habitats for the small
28:50blue, known as butterfly banks. Populated with its key food source, the kidney vetch plant.
29:01Daniel. Hello.
29:02Keeping well?
29:03Good, thanks.
29:04What have we got here?
29:05So we have a small blue just there. That little body there.
29:09Oh, no way.
29:10Yep.
29:11That is very, very small. How did you spot that?
29:15So when there's loads on the bank, they tend to flutter around and you can see them when they're
29:18flying. But sometimes when they're sunbathing, they just sit in there. They're quite easy to spot
29:22because they keep their wings out with their wings of quite a dark colour. So against the sand,
29:26that's quite obvious. They're like cormorants. They keep their wings open to get the sun.
29:30Oh, radiation.
29:31Yeah.
29:32Like little mini solar panels.
29:33Yeah.
29:33That is so cool.
29:37Adults are on the wing from May to August. During this time, the males claim sheltered spots
29:44and form small colonies, sometimes with up to 30 butterflies.
29:49The kidney vetch, which is their food plant that we've planted on the bank, the parents feed on the
29:54flowers. And then they lay their eggs on the flower heads. Now you can only have one egg per flower
30:01because when the babies hatch, the caterpillars, they cannibalize each other, which isn't great
30:05when you're trying to save them from the brink of extinction.
30:07No.
30:08No.
30:08So they have one per flower head. And then when the flower heads dry out and go into the seed stage,
30:14the caterpillars eat the flower head. And they drop down and burrow into the sand and then go into
30:19their pupae stage for the winter. And then they hatch out in the spring as the adult butterflies.
30:23Fantastic.
30:24There might be an egg on the bank we could have a look at.
30:26Um, no way.
30:28Because now this is when they start to lay them in the flower heads.
30:31Would you want to have a look?
30:32Yes, please. Yeah. You lead the way.
30:42We might have one here. So you can actually see that, there it is, right. Can you see that little dot?
30:48Oh, oh, oh, oh, that blue one there.
30:50Yep.
30:51That green blue. You are joking me.
30:53That's it. Can you see that?
30:54That's the tiniest little.
30:56So they look a lot like grains of sand, which isn't very helpful.
30:59That is practically a grain of sand.
31:01Yeah. But they've got like a bluey tinge.
31:03So that's how you recognize them.
31:04Yeah. And you've got to do this.
31:06You've got to search this area. Out of the whole place here, you are literally looking for a grain of sand that is blue in colour, that is on a plant.
31:18It's like looking for a needle in a haystack, literally.
31:20I think that's more like looking for a needle in a field that is full of haystacks.
31:24Yeah.
31:24That is absolutely amazing, my man.
31:27Absolutely amazing.
31:29I tell you what, buddy, that is dedication for you to be able to find that.
31:37And what happens there then?
31:38So it comes out, starts eating on the flower.
31:42And then, yeah, it will get nice and big and head into the sand and put it into a butterfly.
31:49My man, that is something that I am going to remember forever.
31:54This occasion right here has just blown my mind.
31:57Your hard work is phenomenal.
31:59You should be so proud of yourself.
32:05Why not like horses or red deer or big animals?
32:11Why the small blue?
32:12Why is it so special to you?
32:14I find seeing a small blue flying past the same as I would a Bengal tiger walk past me or something.
32:19You know, I know that everybody in the world sees the tigers and things,
32:23and they're more obvious to you because they're there.
32:25But I love things like trees and insects because they're harder to find.
32:29They're just as precious and special and beautiful.
32:31It just takes a little bit more to get into their world.
32:34What's it like knowing that you're making a real good impact
32:38to allow these small blue to actually thrive here?
32:41It's a very satisfying and encouraging feeling to
32:44know that I'm potentially helping to save a species on the brink.
32:47Yeah.
32:47And yeah, it's just the most beautiful little creature on the planet.
32:56Meeting Daniel has put a smile on my face beyond all measures.
33:02It's, it fills my soul knowing that he's around looking after the natural world
33:09and seeing those butterflies.
33:10God, they are just so beautiful.
33:14I can go from here knowing that the future is in safe hands.
33:27Many young people up and down the UK are trying to improve the environment they live in.
33:31But do you know anyone deserving recognition?
33:35Here's Adam.
33:42Countryfile is in search of a young countryside champion
33:45for the BBC Food and Farming Awards 2025.
33:48You could be a young farmer innovating to increase yields.
33:53Or embracing environmentally friendly farming practices.
33:56A young naturalist protecting our wildlife.
34:00Or a volunteer raising awareness of the opportunities in the countryside.
34:04However a young person is making a difference, we want to hear about it.
34:08So if you or someone you know is aged between 16 and 24
34:12and passionate about improving the British countryside, then please get in touch.
34:17To nominate for the Countryfile Young Countryside Champion,
34:21or in any other categories, go to bbc.co.uk forward slash food awards,
34:27where you can also find the terms and privacy notice.
34:29You know, sometimes we get the good old British weather hitting us liquid sunshine, as I call it.
35:00And there's only one thing you can do, and that is jump into a car
35:06and hunker down while this squall goes past.
35:15I am an adult that has a childlike wonder when it comes to Mother Nature.
35:22I find it so fascinating that the more I learn, the more I know I actually don't know that much.
35:30And I've got so much more learning to do.
35:32And that's the beautiful thing. There's always something new to learn.
35:35I love my job, but there's some downsides, as well as the mosquitoes, the midges, the hot weather,
35:46the cold weather. If you're sat in a hide and the weather's like this,
35:51you do sometimes get a little bit lonely. You have to be comfortable with being on your own sometimes.
36:02A lot of people tell me, oh, you must be very patient.
36:04Believe it or not, the patience was very thin at the beginning,
36:08but you build it up throughout the years. You learn what the wildlife does, you learn their strategy,
36:14and over time you realise you're spending more and more time outside.
36:17You know, we can go years and years of trying to get a particular shot. And to most people,
36:29it becomes insanity. Why are you going to wait years to get a five second, six second shot?
36:35But it all pays off once you see that shot on the big screen. And that for me,
36:41that's my tick. That's what keeps me going. Listen to that. That's the soundtrack of Mother Nature.
36:56This is what, as a young kid growing up in Sudan, these are the sort of sounds that will put me to
37:03sleep hearing the pitter-patter of the rain on the roof. And I love it. It just is incredible. It's
37:10better than listening to music sometimes. You know what? It's all a mind game. Same as when
37:19you're waiting for wildlife. Just got to sit and wait, be patient. Because it's a waiting game.
37:30And wait I will, to see if I can catch a glimpse of that telltale dorsal fin of an orca.
37:40I'll see if I can catch a glimpse of that.
37:43These waters are also alive with seabirds. Many of them nesting and breeding along the rugged coasts
37:50and islands.
37:55A short flight from the Pentland Firth, some of these birds swap the open sea for the sheltered haven
38:01of St. John's Pool. It's the creation of local artist Julian Smith and his wife Rosemary.
38:10Quite a good aerial shot here. So you imagine you're a migrating bird flying over. This is the bay,
38:17which is salt water. A large loch, which is quite deep. No feeding edges around the side of it.
38:24Maybe birds that are going to land in the loch don't find anywhere. And then they come into the pond.
38:30People sometimes ask, why this is here? Does it belong to a national organisation?
38:36And when we explain that, no, it's actually our black garden.
38:40It's just the furthest. People are slightly bemused.
38:44St. John's Pool Bird Reserve began back in 1989 as a small private project to attract migrant birds.
38:59Since then, it's grown into a one-of-a-kind bird-watching haven, with over 200 species recorded so far.
39:06And it's not just any bird. This special site has become one of the largest sandwich-turn colonies in
39:15Scotland. And large numbers of Arctic terns nest here too. Both of which are amber-listed species,
39:22and in need of protection. Rosamy and I have just come down to check the Arctic terns, see if they've
39:28laid any eggs yet. And also watch the oyster catcher with its chicks. 27th of September 1988 we moved in.
39:40The place looked nothing like this. It looks like it's been here forever. But this was just a grass field.
39:47Everything that you see here has been either brought in, moved by hand, or built on site.
39:56Every single facet of it needs some kind of annual regeneration. It's our back garden and we're just
40:06keeping it tidy. The volunteers who come here a couple of times a year are really much appreciated.
40:15But probably my biggest volunteer is my wife, without whom I could not have done this.
40:24Yeah, it's a huge amount of work.
40:25It's a huge amount of work. Yeah, it's been a bit of a roller coaster ride.
40:29I think it's been really interesting though, just seeing the numbers. Black Padded Gold Colony,
40:35probably one of the biggest in Cape Ness now. Whereas it used to be all over the hillsides, didn't it,
40:39in the past. And so it's really brilliant. So we've probably got 550 pairs here.
40:45It's such a small space. So I suppose it just shows that you create the right habitat. Birds will come.
40:54There's a godwit over there on the left-hand side of the main island.
40:57Are you just to the left? Well spotted.
41:00Yeah, I do. It's good.
41:05One of the most beautiful things that you can see is when they are all starting to fly and they're
41:11practicing flapping their rings and then the other birds go up in the air like as a celebration,
41:18especially when the little ones first take off. And it's almost like the colony is absolutely
41:23delighted to see them flying. It's just beautiful.
41:33As well as being an avid bird watcher, Julian often spends time watching and sketching birds
41:39from any one of his four hides around the reserve.
41:47The way I prefer to work is in the field and do sketches, which can maybe at some point be
41:54incorporated into a bigger picture. I prefer working in ink because you can't rub it out.
42:01You have to leave your mistakes and it looks a lot better with a few mistakes.
42:06I get a great deal of pleasure of sitting down there. Never ever get bored. There's always something
42:13to draw and paint. In these hides you actually feel like you are in the moment, in the middle of the
42:22colony. Sitting here for a whole day, which I do occasionally, you can feel completely immersed
42:31in the experience and you don't have to think about anything else, which I think is very, very relaxing.
42:40This one hectare site, about the size of a football pitch, is a hive of bird activity,
42:46giving bird watchers a great chance to gather valuable data. Julian has logged most of his sight
42:54in since the reserve began, contributing to a broader understanding of seabirds and their movements.
43:02The data that we've got back from just some of the birds that have been here has been very, very valuable.
43:09You know, we've worked out the ages of lots of birds. We've worked out that some of these birds are seen
43:15in places like Namibia in the winter. And because we're so close and you don't have to go and disturb
43:21the birds, we've got a great view of the productivity, the clutch size, how many chicks hatch, how many chicks
43:29don't make it to fledging and how many do fly. And all that can be done without disturbing any of the birds on the island.
43:37Back at home, Julian transforms his sketches and his love for bird spotting emanates from his pieces.
43:58This is my studio, things which have been in progress for maybe 20 years in the case of a couple of
44:04pictures. Others are just quick sketches. My dad gave me a copy of the Collins Field Guide for my
44:12eighth birthday. I just absolutely love the illustrations. I was hooked. That was it.
44:18The Bird Watcher for Life. Terminal Ornithology, I think they call it.
44:22I can just show you this original painting I did. Circa 1967. I think I was about 10. And it's an imaginary
44:35scene which actually happened because I decided I was going to do a painting of all the birds that
44:40I'd love to see from my window. Fifty years on, it turned into a reality.
44:52The weather here in the north coast has been four seasons in one day.
44:56But if you're wondering what's in store for the week ahead, here's the Countryfile weather forecast.
45:00Hello there. Good evening. Well, it's been an interesting weekend of weather. On Friday night,
45:14we saw some thunderstorms with frequent lightning and some very heavy downpours across parts of Kent
45:19and East Anglia. Nearby Manston in Kent saw as much as two inches of rainfall within just a few hours.
45:26And that, of course, led to some flooding. But that's it. In terms of significant rainfall,
45:30pretty much all of us as we head through the coming weeks. Certainly, it is looking dry for the
45:35vast majority. The dry weather could continue after that as well. The heat will also be building by day
45:41and by night. It will start to feel really quite humid, too hot for some. And of course, this is the
45:46highest temperature of the year so far. Also recorded on Friday in Santam Downham in Suffolk,
45:51just over 29 degrees Celsius. It's quite likely that we'll see 30 degrees Celsius as we head into
45:57next weekend somewhere across the far south and east of England. So high pressure is building in
46:03from the Azores. That's the reason for the dry, settled conditions really from now on. We're starting
46:09to see some outbreaks of rain, though, still edge into parts of northwestern areas of Scotland as we
46:13head through tonight. That's going to bring a bit more cloud to the region, some cloud down through
46:17western coast as well, but generally clear skies. And this is how we'll start off Monday morning
46:22between 10 and 14 degrees Celsius. So for Monday, then, we'll start off on a dry, sunny note. There
46:27will be some outbreaks of mostly patchy rain, a bit more cloud out towards the far north and west,
46:31but for the vast majority of this, completely dry, a bit more convective cloud bubbling up here and
46:36there across many parts of England and Wales, perhaps Northern Ireland too, as we go through the
46:40afternoon. But these will be the temperatures, 22 degrees in eastern Scotland, 26 perhaps across
46:45southeast England, eastern England in general. And along with that strong June sunshine comes
46:50some very high or high grass polar levels as well. Now you can see this weather front slowly drift its
46:56way further southwards as we head through Tuesday, but as it bumps into the area of high pressure,
47:01it's just weakening. So there'll be some cloud, perhaps a few outbreaks of light patchy rain and
47:06drizzle maybe across parts of North Wales into Northern England as we head through the afternoon.
47:10To the north of the front, there'll be some sunshine. It's cooler here. To the south of the front,
47:16again, some sunshine and really quite high temperatures, 24 to 27 degrees Celsius. Again,
47:21most likely somewhere across southeast England or East Anglia. Let's take a look at Tuesday into
47:27Wednesday then. So high pressure, very firmly established, slowly drifting its way further eastwards.
47:32Our weather front is now just a mass of clouds, so there won't really be any rain on it at all. It's
47:37really very weak, but it is introducing some cloud across southern areas of England. A bit more cloud
47:41too across the north, but the dry conditions remain. There'll be some sunshine around, particularly
47:47across parts of the Midlands, Northern England. Again, we could see temperatures quite widely in
47:51the high teens towards the north, but the low to the mid, even the high twenties are further south. And
47:57then by the time we get to the end of the week, look at the high pressure start to drift its way even
48:01further eastwards, just blocking all of these weather fronts. We're tapping into this very warm air from the
48:06south of Europe. In fact, the heat is going to be widespread across the whole of the continent,
48:10particularly out towards the west at 37 degrees Celsius in Madrid. And of course, underneath that
48:16area of high pressure, all of the heat is just going to get trapped. So we'll start to see some
48:20humid, more humid nights develop. And by day, well, it's completely dry. Temperatures in the low twenties,
48:27the high twenties, of course, further south. You can check the forecast for your local area,
48:32of course, on the BBC weather app. Bye for now.
48:44Each year, volunteers gather for 10 days on Scotland's northern edge for Orca Watch,
48:50documenting the whales, dolphins and porpoises spotted off our coast.
48:56Have you spotted where they are yet? No, not yet. Okay.
48:59But it's not just Orcas being champion in these parts.
49:04It will get nice and big and head into the sand and plupé and turn into a butterfly.
49:10My man, that is something that I am going to remember forever.
49:15I've been here a while now, and I'm still hopeful that we'll see an Orca or two.
49:28But at the moment, just a few seals.
49:37Spotting Orcas in the vast open sea is tricky at the best of times.
49:41But for some, that challenge is even tougher.
49:48I am meeting Beth Klein, who's a marine officer for Wild Space,
49:53a group working to make wildlife watching accessible to everyone.
49:58How are you doing, Beth? Hello, how are you?
50:00You keeping well? Yes.
50:02It's lovely to see you. How are you?
50:03Yeah, very good, thank you. Tell me, what is it exactly that you do with Wild Space?
50:09So, we are a charity. We run to make nature accessible for everyone.
50:13No matter how old they are, how young they are, their ability, what they're into, where they live,
50:18how much money they have. When you say accessible, what do you mean?
50:22So, some people find it very hard to kind of pinpoint where we're looking at.
50:25Yeah. If you can't hold the binoculars.
50:27So, we've got clamps that can go onto railings, tables, wheelchairs, that can hold the binoculars for you.
50:36Right, yep.
50:37We've also got the grips that can go onto the handle of the scope.
50:40Ah, yes.
50:40So, that can easily move the scope around a little bit more if you've got MS or arthritis, anything like that.
50:46I can see you smiling when you're talking about helping people. Is it a fulfilling job?
50:55It really is.
50:57Wild Space, working with Orca Watch, has brought together a group of people to give Orca Spotting a go.
51:05I'm keen to find out how better accessibility and specialised equipment is helping people like Helen and Kevin.
51:11Now, tell me about Beth Charity. How beneficial is this for you?
51:19That would be absolutely brilliant because I can't stand for ages holding binoculars.
51:26Yeah.
51:26But something like that on the scooter, what a difference it would make, wouldn't it, Kevin?
51:33Yeah.
51:34To think that I could sit here, even for a day, with binoculars and see them would be amazing.
51:42It was lovely meeting you, Helen. Absolutely lovely meeting you.
51:44Thank you very much. You too.
51:45Yes.
51:48As Helen keeps watch at John O'Groats, the Pentland ferry sets sail from Gills Bay on the mainland to St. Margaret's Hope on the Orkney Islands.
51:59Heading across the Firth gives passengers the opportunity to spot wildlife around the Caithness coast.
52:05This particular ferry also offers Sea Watch surveyors free access to collect data for local research projects, including Orca Watch.
52:16I think two days ago they did see a fin.
52:25We had sightings on the Monday.
52:27Yeah.
52:27And we had sightings on the Wednesday.
52:30So, we're hoping today's one of the seeing them days.
52:33Okay, that's a good one.
52:34Yeah.
52:34Yeah.
52:34Yeah.
52:37Sea Watch Foundation's Scottish officer, Sally Tapp, is joined by six volunteers from across the UK
52:44to spot and survey marine animals in the area.
52:51In 2019, I saw Orca just off the coast here at Duncosbury Head, which was amazing.
52:56We spent the whole week, there was nothing, and then on the last night, we finally saw about seven or eight Orca,
53:02which was just a magical experience. It was dusk and it was just beautiful.
53:05Volunteers go through a training process before they start. Every single behaviour that they might see,
53:12we train them on. We'll have our volunteers on either side of the boat and some on the bridge,
53:18and we'll be watching out for anything we might see, and then that gets recorded and put into our database.
53:27This is a dream for me, to come up here and to spot the Orca. I haven't spotted them yet, but I'm hopeful.
53:34I think it's an opportunity for us to, as volunteers, to be able to see the Orcas as well and contribute.
53:43As a volunteer, you get so much out of it. I'm really new. This is my first year with Orca Watch.
53:48I'm addicted already. Every day, there's something that we're learning.
53:53We have actually seen Orca. It was on Monday and I woke up early and I thought,
53:58oh, I'll just go and have a look out the window because we have a room right on the harbour.
54:05And they were right there in the pool of sunlight. And I just thought, oh my god, they're there.
54:10They were very active, moving very quickly and soon disappeared.
54:16But just for those few moments, it was really quite something.
54:19Volunteers are the lifeblood of everything we do. Without our volunteers, we couldn't,
54:26we wouldn't have anywhere near the amount of data we've got. It means that we can have this huge
54:30database that would not be possible without the input of these people.
54:36The ferries have been running for 24 years and the crew have their own connections to the Orcas,
54:42including local deckhand, James Worthington.
54:49Definitely one of my favourite things about working here would be speaking to, like,
54:54such a large variety of people from all over the world, different places who come up to see Orkney.
55:00And then quite often people are wanting to see Orcas too. I've seen Orcas on board the boat
55:05and I've seen them at home as well. It feels something special about it when you see them,
55:09because you know that in the whole of the ocean they could be anywhere and they're right there
55:15in front of you. And sometimes it's like they're showing off, which is quite funny to see.
55:25On dry land, I am back with Beth and I'm super excited to try out an incredibly handy device,
55:32a pocket-sized thermal imaging camera.
55:34This is some pretty cool tech, Beth.
55:39It's a bit like a monocular, but basically everything cold will come up black,
55:43but the heat sources will come up white.
55:46This will help you pinpoint anything that's out there.
55:50You can see, like, a little white dot.
55:53Yes.
55:53That is the goal that we're looking at.
55:59Yeah, you can see something flying past now.
56:01Wow. That is so cool. Look at that.
56:08That's amazing.
56:08It helps pinpoint what you're looking at, especially if you imagine if it's a rougher day,
56:12you've got them white caps on the ocean and a goal is going to look just like us.
56:19Do you know the thing that I love?
56:20If I can't hold the thermal imaging, I can watch what you're doing.
56:27So if someone physically can't use their hands, you can operate that,
56:31but they can still get a really good view of the wildlife.
56:33Yeah.
56:34Yeah.
56:34And you're visually impaired.
56:36You're finding it difficult.
56:37Yeah.
56:37You can actually pinpoint it quite quickly.
56:38Yes, because not a lot of people can gauge distance.
56:41No.
56:41Anything like that.
56:42It's very difficult.
56:43Even I find it difficult.
56:45This can help where you're looking and then usually when you bring it down,
56:48then you can get your binoculars out and it's a lot easier to kind of see what you're looking at.
56:53This is such a cool tool.
56:57All this amazing tech is helping to give people of all abilities the chance to spot an orca.
57:03And that's an exciting prospect.
57:05John O'Groats, Caithness coastline.
57:21Beaches that look like the Caribbean.
57:24This is phenomenal.
57:27Yes, I didn't see an orca, but that's okay because it means I just get to come back again another year.
57:32But do you know the thing that's impressed me the most? It's the people here. It's the community.
57:37They shared with me some of their most interesting and fascinating stories and I absolutely love it.
57:44It just means I have to come back again because this place, it's magical.
57:52Next week, Sammy and Matt are in Seaton in Devon.
57:58What a way to see the wetlands.
57:59Oh, look.
58:02Wow.
58:02There's three chicks here.
58:04This is the first time we've seen it.
58:05Oh, right.
58:06It's like here?
58:07Yep.
58:08That's good.
58:09So that's a working wheel now.
58:11Wow.
58:11I've made a working wheel.
58:14After about five years of protection, we started seeing lots of these little pink sticks.
58:20So these are baby pink sea fans.
58:23That's next week at 5.25.
58:25Hope you can join us then.
58:28Bye-bye.
58:29Bye-bye.
58:40Breaking down the best.
58:42From Bob Dylan to the Beach Boys, new podcast Long Player with Stephen Rainey now on Sounds.
58:47And did you know the T-Rex had an even faster, more agile relative?
58:51Meet the Albertosaurus when we go walking with dinosaurs.
58:54To be continued...
59:10To be continued...