OK,
OK, team,
OK, team, spruce yourselves up, get
the
the nibbles sorted and have a good
stretch.
stretch. Lovely. Now stop fidgeting,
make
make yourselves comfortable. Eyes
forward,
forward, because it's time for
Autumnwatch.
Hello
Hello and
Hello and welcome to the final
Autumnwatch 2021, coming to you live
from
from Norfolk. It's the end of our
week,
week, just four programmes this
year.
year. But
year. But we have been doing our
very
very best
very best to bring you the best
British
British wildlife and a vision of the
future
future here from wild Ken Hill. We
have
have the
have the whole area covered in
infrared
infrared cameras to unobtrusively
observe
observe the wildlife. We have seen a
lot,
lot, goshawk. The stoat yesterday.
We
We had
We had the throw is swirling not.
Gillian
Gillian and Megan coming up later on
have
have had
have had some real treats from
Northern
Northern Ireland and the Isle of
Mull.
Mull. One
Mull. One species that we had rather
hoped
hoped to
hoped to see while we were here and
it
it was
it was proving very elusive until
last
last night. And then it appeared.
The
The left-hand side of your screen,
sneaking
sneaking in almost under the water,
was
was one
was one of our beavers. There are
only
only four
only four adults here, including one
kit,
kit, in
kit, in a
kit, in a 55 acre enclosure. A bit
of
of a
of a beaver in a haystack, but it's
busy
busy handling that tree that it
failed.
failed. It's interesting, when a
beaver
beaver Fells a tree at one city fall
in
in the
in the water where it can safely
access
access it
access it away from predators. It
isn't
isn't a
isn't a random process, they are
accomplished lumberjacks. The trees
fall
fall into
fall into the water. Looking at the
way
way beavers felled trees, we know
they
they fell
they fell them directly in the
direction
direction of the dam they are
building.
building. That's pretty clever. It
means
means they have easy access to the
tree
tree and
tree and they don't have to
transport
transport the wood they are using to
build
build the
build the dam as far. Here is a
beaver
beaver in
beaver in action, not just chewing
down
down the
down the tree but modifying the
landscape. They are ecosystem
engineers, building biodiversity.
Fish,
Fish, amphibians, reptiles, insects
and
and birds. Already inside their
enclosure
enclosure they have enriched Wild
Ken
Ken Hill
Ken Hill in terms of a multitude of
different
different species. Flood resilience
is
is another thing they help with,
re-wetting the environment. They are
a
a tremendous asset in the landscape
and
and that's why they are here as part
of
of the
of the rewilding project at Wild Ken
Hill.
Hill. Amazing to see that beaver
drank
drank the
drank the huge branch across. I
imagine
imagine that's hard work. -- drag
the
the branch across. At this time of
year
year the
year the trees will also provide
them
them with
them with food. In the summer it's a
different
different diet. Aquatic plants,
grasses
grasses and shrubs. Then they switch
to
to woody
to woody plants in the autumn and
winter.
winter. They were not just drag them
and
and eat
and eat them, they will take a lot
of
of them
of them down to their cache. A lot
of
of that
of that is under water. Scientists
have
have found something really
interesting, it's possible they
choose
choose a
choose a tree species to match their
specific
specific nutrient value. Hazel and
ash
ash trees
ash trees are high in sodium. Plum
and
and poplar trees are high in
phosphorus. This is a birch that our
particular beaver is dragging.
That's
That's its choice of food at the
moment.
moment. But as we say, we have four
beavers
beavers in the enclosure, and one
kit.
kit. We
kit. We were hoping to find out if
it
it was
it was just one kit. Possibly three
or
or four.
or four. Unlikely to be just one but
we
we will
we will follow them in Winterwatch
as
as well.
as well. Look what I found, Chris.
This
This is
This is out of the beaver area and
it
it has
it has been ignored by the beavers,
taking
taking off the park and chewing the
end.
end. --
end. -- it has
end. -- it has been gnawed. They use
the
the teeth
the teeth at the perfect cutting
angle.
angle. But they have to keep their
teeth
teeth are
teeth are sharp so every ten minutes
they
they will
they will stop to grind their bottom
incisors
incisors with the top to sharpen
them
them up.
them up. I want to have a look at
that.
that. I'm
that. I'm delighted. I don't need a
fluffy
fluffy cat, I want a beaver log.
It's
It's like
It's like connecting to the beavers
out
out in
out in the dark and the woods, you
can
can feel
can feel where the teeth have gnawed
the
the bark
the bark off. You will treasure
that.
that. I
that. I am. I have heard we have a
live
live tawny owl. In the open as well.
Very
Very nice. It is still tonight so
they
they will
they will be able to hear very
clearly.
clearly. That is a lovely view.
Yesterday
Yesterday we saw a tawny owl live on
the
the show
the show but it was really hidden,
so
so it
so it is
so it is fab to get it out in the
open.
open. It's above the pond. No doubt
that
that tawny owl will be out hunting
for
for the
for the rest of the night.
Sensational. Really good. Not the
only
only bird
only bird we've seen after dark
here.
here. Last night, using our thermal
camera
camera we
camera we spotted something pretty
special.
special. We have been looking at
waders
waders out on the wash but this is
the
the woodland waiter, the woodcock,
roosting
roosting during the day, and going
out
out into
out into the field during the night,
and
and using
and using that long bill to probe
into
into the
into the soil principally after
earthworms. It has a super-sensitive
tip
tip and
tip and they can detect the
electrical potential in the worms
and
and find
and find that chemical sensor. The
eyes
eyes are
eyes are on top of the head, ideal
for
for spotting predators but placed on
the
the school in such a way they can't
even
even see
even see their own bill. Look at
that,
that, the
that, the woodcock. -- placed on the
skull.
skull. But they have declined in the
UK
UK in
UK in some places buy us much as
86%.
86%. I'm
86%. I'm having this for my
collection. Beaver Sound woodcock at
the
the start
the start of the show. -- beavers
and
and woodcock. All of those have been
seen
seen at
seen at Wild Ken Hill this week.
Gillian,
Gillian, what have you got in
Strangford Lough in Northern
Ireland?
Ireland? It's our last night at the
castle
castle but it's a chance to catch up
with
with the
with the underwater world and a
group
group of
group of underwater divers known as
the
the Seasearch divers who do marine
surveys
surveys around here and see some
remarkable creatures, like these
sorts
sorts of
sorts of things. This is a bobtail
squid,
squid, a
squid, a small little thing, up to
six
six centimetres, but it has bags of
character. Normally seen under the
sea
sea bed
sea bed with the eyes peeping out.
But
But this
But this is a spiny squat lobster,
not
not much
not much bigger than the bobtail
squid,
squid, with its tail under itself.
And
And a
And a candy stripe flatworm gliding
effortlessly over the sea bed. There
are
are plenty of wonderful diving sites
around
around Strangford Lough and the
surrounding coastline and divers
flock
flock here because at that amazing
green
green life we have just seen. --
amazing
amazing marine life. But one species
has
has a
has a really big personality,
Britain's
Britain's biggest blenny, the tompot
blenny,
blenny, growing up to 30 centimetres
long,
long, with a large head and large
eyes.
eyes. You
eyes. You can't miss those
extravagant tentacles. They are
sometimes
sometimes likened to antlers but
they
they don't use them to literally
lock
lock horns. They actually use them
to
to display. But their behaviour is
every
every bit
every bit as dramatic as a dear.
They
They are
They are reliable wildlife
encounters because they are
territorial and site faithful so
divers
divers like them for that. Marine
biologist
biologist Paul Naylor has been
examining
examining tompot blennies for years
and
and he
and he has built up this portfolio
of
of knowledge. There is a tompot
blenny
blenny that Paul has been struggling
for
for about
for about five years called Brett.
Brett
Brett is
Brett is a real bolshie little
blenny.
blenny. He is Mark charging Paul's
camera,
camera, holding his territory,
holding
holding his ground. -- mocked
charging.
charging. He is going for that
coralline
coralline seaweed, showing what he
is
is capable of. Impressive and so
territorial. Paul has noticed in the
autumn,
autumn, at this time of year, they
have
have a
have a really interesting switch and
a
a change
a change in their behaviour from
this
this territorial behaviour to
something
something quite different. Let's
look
look at
look at what they do at this time of
year.
year. You
year. You have an individual there
in
in the
in the foreground, kind of rolled
over
over like
over like he has keeled over. He is
OK.
OK. Looking in the background behind
you
you will
you will see a much larger tompot
blenny
blenny emerge from the crevice. That
one
one is
one is holding its territory, it
comes
comes out
comes out and charges towards the
little
little one. The little one rolls
over
over to
over to its side and that, Paul
thinks,
thinks, is a submissive behaviour.
The
The large
The large tompot blennies will stay
upright
upright and stand their ground and
the
the smaller ones will roll over and
be
be submissive. What he thinks is
happening
happening at this time of year is
that
that all
that all the tompot blennies are
starting
starting to establish a pecking
order,
order, and this is what it looks
like
like when
like when they get up to this
pecking
pecking order behaviour. You see a
couple
couple there who are sizing each
other
other up.
other up. The one on the left starts
to
to look
to look a
to look a little bit unsure of
itself.
itself. The other turns to face it
and
and besides, I'm off. Off it goes,
swimming
swimming away. It encounters another
tompot
tompot blenny. This time the one on
the
the left
the left rolls over, clearly feels a
lot
lot smaller, and slinks off before
any
any more
any more encounters happen. Now that
one
one looks
one looks emboldened and decides to
go
go back
go back to challenge territory
again.
again. Maybe it feels like it stands
a
a chance.
a chance. It does a little mock
charge,
charge, no reaction, tries again,
and
and it
and it doesn't take much for it to
roll
roll over. I think it pretty
unceremoniously swims off in a
little
little sideways action. Brilliant
behaviour. The pecking order at this
time
time of
time of year is about being able to
hold
hold territory so they can stay in
that
that territory, in the nooks and
crannies
crannies in the rock, is stay safe
from
from that
from that inevitable winter storm.
Megan,
Megan, have you seen anything like
that
that before? You are a keen diver. I
never
never have, in all my time diving I
have
have never seen a blenny like that.
They
They always look like something
drawing
drawing out of your imagination
because
because they are so beautiful,
gorgeous
gorgeous little faces and an amazing
sight
sight to
sight to see. I am in north-west
Scotland
Scotland on the beautiful island,
the
the Isle
the Isle of Mull, famed for its
Eurasian
Eurasian otters. Some like the
freshwater environment and others
prefer
prefer the marine. We have a female
mother
mother here
mother here with two pups and if you
look
look closely, into her jaws, it's a
beautiful
beautiful sight. Females generally
have
have between two and three pups.
Stunning
Stunning to see and typically they
stay
stay with
stay with her for between 12 and 15
months
months and we think based on their
size
size that
size that the pups here are between
eight
eight and
eight and ten months old so it won't
be
be long
be long before they are out and
about.
about. You might have noticed in the
jaws
jaws of
jaws of that female was an octopus.
We
We know
We know young otters would prefer to
choose
choose easier prey so they go along
the
the shoreline and pick out things
like
like crabs and octopus, and I
imagine
imagine an incredibly intelligent
cephalopod is quite tricky so that
female
female is
female is probably quite
experienced. They feed on different
types
types of
types of marine life. This is what
they
they feed
they feed on the majority of the
time.
time. This is a butter fish. Spraint
analysis
analysis from around the Isle of
Mull
Mull tells us it's a huge part of
their
their diet at this time of year.
They
They also
They also feed on other things. It's
filling
filling its jaws there, having a
lovely
lovely time. In the autumn and
winter
winter their diet shifts to race and
snails
snails and sea urchins. We think
they
they like
they like sea urchins at this time
of
of year
of year because the gonads of the
sea
sea urchins become firmer and
larger,
larger, more nutrients, so the
otters
otters are like them more at this
time
time of
time of year. A small proportion of
their
their diet is also called a pipe
fish.
fish. They don't eat it very often
it
it seems
it seems but it has been recorded
before.
before. You can see one being
consumed
consumed here. Pipefish live in
shallow
shallow water, around 90 metres
deep,
deep, and
deep, and they live in seaweed and
rocks
rocks and
rocks and are incredibly well
camouflaged. I have to thank the
Isle
Isle of
Isle of Mull aquarium for this
because
because they have kindly lent me
this
this beautiful pipe fish. Look at
that,
that, the
that, the detail, the eyes,
incredibly elongated and that's
because
because it is conspicuous, really
well
well camouflaged in the sea bed. A
really
really stunning thing. Otters are
apex
apex predators, on top in this type
of
of environment. But being on top has
its
its downfall because of something
called
called bioaccumulation. Essentially,
if
if you
if you are eating so many different
types
types of
types of prey items, you build up
chemicals
chemicals in your body and a study
in
in August
in August of 2021 actually showed
they
they are
they are building up something
called
called PFAs. This study looked at
raptors
raptors and different types of
predators
predators but they found in otters
there
there were high concentrations of
PFAs,
PFAs, synthetic chemicals we started
to
to use
to use in
to use in the 1940s. They are used
in
in stain
in stain replacement, textiles and
furniture
furniture and all kinds of things we
have
have in
have in our homes. A lot of the time
it
it runs
it runs into freshwater ecosystems
and
and we
and we think, based on animal
studies
studies that it could have a
deterrent
deterrent effect on the hormones
they
they use
they use for reproduction and
signalling. But there are no studies
to
to come
to come on that hopefully in 2022.
But
But the
But the otters here on the marine
side
side are
side are not reliant on the
freshwater ecosystem where the
concentration of PFAs is higher so
they
they are
they are out of danger as far as we
know
know for
know for now, but we know,
hopefully, that there are otters now
in
in every
in every single county around the
UK,
UK, which
UK, which is incredibly exciting but
goes
goes to
goes to show we have to protect our
freshwater ecosystems massively.
Now
Now of
Now of course when it comes to
conservation, we need to be telling
the
the really important stories, and in
order
order to
order to do so need to employ a
whole
whole host of different techniques,
whether
whether that be music, whether that
be
be art,
be art, or sometimes even a little
bit
bit of
bit of poetry as Izzy will tell us.
I
I am
I am a
I am a mash up. Lyricist and
naturalist, wordsmith and zoologist.
I
I am
I am the
I am the boy who chases squirrels
and
and the
and the man who writes about it. I
scrape
scrape and stylised words for the
screen
screen and stages, I follow Foxes
and
and they
and they creep into my pages,
turning
turning over leafy sheets to find
newness
newness amongst the litter. I
scribble,
scribble, like songbirds quibble,
bringing
bringing order on paper to mental
noise.
noise. I
noise. I style words with my pen and
make
make them
make them dance with my voice.
There
There are
There are a couple of reasons why I
wanted
wanted to
wanted to come to the Lake District.
There's
There's lots of water, and I am a
bit
bit of
bit of a
bit of a water baby, whether it
still
still or
still or whether it's flowing, it
just
just has
just has a very calming effect on
me.
me. My
me. My second reason, it has one of
my
my favourite British animals, and
that
that is
that is the Red Square, and I am
hoping
hoping that I will a glimpse of that
little
little red rodent. -- the red
squirrel.
squirrel. I am a born and bred city
boy,
boy, so
boy, so being out here is pretty
much
much the
much the polar opposite of where I
currently
currently live.
currently live. So I am on the
lookout
lookout for a badger. Apparently it
turns
turns up
turns up here fairly regularly. Used
to
to live
to live in Essex, and I saw wild
badgers,
badgers, but it was a whiz at night,
and
and they
and they usually crossing the road,
there
there very fleeting. So if we get
one
one to
one to come down this close, that
would
would be
would be absolutely mind blowing. --
it
it was
it was always at night. Please show
up!
up! LAUGHTER
Oh,
Oh, yeah.
Oh, yeah. I my gosh. Snuffling
around.
around. So cool! This is really
super
super special. It's quite unusual
she
she is
she is by
she is by herself as well, because
the
the reasons badgers are quite social
animals,
animals, they are usually in groups
called
called clans, so she has made the
trip
trip out
trip out here by herself, no other
clan
clan members, just getting her
dinner,
dinner, just getting it done.
Whatever
Whatever goodies are in there,
she'll
she'll find them. Grubs. Gosh, look
at
at that
at that strength. It just feels
really
really special to see such a
mysterious, very mystical looking
animal
animal just doing its thing. I feel
very
very blessed.
Rivers
Rivers and pools call me, and I pick
up
up the
up the message. Slow down, be still
and
and reflect. So I listen. I listen
to
to become
to become like water does, a source
of
of unforced life-giving, for there
is
is healing and its wetness, its
paper
paper and
paper and its essence. It cleanses
my
my skin,
my skin, my lungs and my psyche,
crashing
crashing waves on my lullaby, and
green
green streams soothe me.
So
So the
So the absolute highlight would be a
wild
wild red
wild red squirrel. To see several
wild
wild red
wild red squirrel is, I would just
lose
lose my
lose my mind.
Come
Come on,
Come on, I know you're in there! I
always
always had a soft spot for rodents,
and
and small, vulnerable prey animals,
so
so mice,
so mice, squirrels. I did my masters
thesis
thesis on
thesis on more rats. In the tree, I
just
just got
just got a flash of red and
twitching
twitching tale. Wow. That's my very
first
first glimpse of a wild red
squirrel.
squirrel. Oh my days. This is the OG
British
British squirrel.
British squirrel. It feels like I
just
just saw
just saw a wood elf or a sprite. It
wasn't
wasn't too dissimilar to the first
time
time I
time I saw a different species of
squirrel
squirrel in Nigeria, where I grew
up.
up. They
up. They look nothing like the red
squirrel,
squirrel, they are much smaller and
they
they actually have stripes, but a
very
very similar experience, they were
very
very quick, very fleeting, very
elusive,
elusive, it was like see it for a
few
few seconds, and then it's gone.
This
This land
This land has left me chilled and
thrilled,
thrilled, the microclimate of
violent
violent waters and calm, rolling
hills,
hills, larger than life rainbows,
heavy
heavy rains give way to flooded
thrills.
thrills. This district is both
strict
strict and generous with its
treasures, hiding in ligaments and
mysteries, secrets held close to its
green,
green, leafy chest, not revealed
easily.
easily. Flashes of fiery red tails
printing
printing through trees, green masked
excavators clearing the scene,
elusive
elusive often heard before the
scene.
scene. This place is not what I
expected.
expected. What I did not expect
where
where these huge mountains. I mean,
are
are you
are you sure we're not in Canada?
This
This is
This is amazing. I'm really glad I
made
made the
made the trip up here. What a cool
guy,
guy, and
guy, and what a beautiful use of
words
words to
words to describe the natural world.
Really
Really evocative. I love that. I
did,
did, very
did, very much. Let's look at our
live
live cameras. Here we go, look at
that.
that. We've got a spider. I think
that
that is
that is actually on the lens. It is
a
a grass
a grass spider of some kind. It has
one
one of
one of those sort of narrow, it is
not
not an
not an abdomen, the back part of the
spider's
spider's body, it is called an opera
stoma.
stoma. And we have a mouse, we have
a
a lot
a lot of
a lot of mouse action, we have goals
on
on the
on the day, mice in the evening.
What
What have
What have we got there, Chris? There
is
is a
is a Hay
is a Hay in the foreground and 3D
are
are behind. All week we've been
trying
trying to
trying to decide whether we have
Muntjac
Muntjac deer, whether we have
Chinese
Chinese water deer, so what is your
bet
bet tonight? It so hard, and now
they've
they've gone. We are going to
reserve
reserve judgment on that, then,
aren't
aren't we? CHUCKLING
We
We have
We have not just been watching deer
and
and spiders and mice though, we had
one
one cameo
one cameo of bats along the side of
this
this hedgerow and in the shelter of
that
that hedgerow, these bats, the
little
little white spots you can see
gyrating
gyrating there have come to feed on
aerial
aerial insects. And here a couple of
them
them start interacting, chasing one
another
another around in the dark. This
amazing
amazing thermal camera gives us the
ability
ability to see things we honestly
never
never otherwise see. In terms of
which
which species of bat, well, it's
quite
quite tricky, because without a bat
detector
detector to give us any clues, it is
hard.
hard. We
hard. We had seen door Bentons,
typically
typically what we call the water
butt,
butt, flying over the screen -- the
stream.
stream. Because they are often out
later
later in
later in the year then any of the
other
other paper straws, I am going to go
for
for soprano Pepper straws. And here
is
is a
is a drawing of it, except that this
is
is a
is a rather gross exaggeration, in
terms
terms of
terms of its size, because if there
were
were sopranos flying round this big
I
I don't
I don't think I would go out. This
is
is a
is a life-sized one, this is the
size
size they
size they really are, so they are a
tiny,
tiny, tiny little fat, weighing
about
about six
about six or seven g, out there
catching
catching all of those last few in
sects
sects before they hibernate for the
winter.
winter. A
winter. A bat on the stick
especially for Halloween. Now rather
a
a serious
a serious story to tell you about, a
distressing wildlife story that has
hit
hit the
hit the headlines in recent months
and
and it
and it centres on two of our iconic
sea
sea birds, and they are these.
Razorbills and guillemots. Now, we
feature
feature them regularly on the
Watches,
Watches, beautiful, Hardy sea birds.
Normally
Normally this time of year they tend
to
to be
to be feeding off shore, so we don't
tend
tend to
tend to see them. These views are in
the
the breeding season where you see
hundreds
hundreds if not thousands of them
nesting
nesting on the cliffs. But this
year,
year, something has gone horribly
wrong.
wrong. Yes, from early August, they
have
have been
have been reports of guillemots,
particularly, and razorbills as well
being
being washed up on the east coast of
England,
England, as far north in fact as
Scotland
Scotland come up in the Orkneys.
Then
Then people started seeing them
coming
coming closer to shore. These were
some
some shots that we picked up this
week
week off
week off of Norfolk, and you can see
these
these birds, which this time of year
should
should be
should be far out at sea, have come
close
close to
close to shore, and as many as 2000
of
of them
of them have been washed up along
the
the shore. Now the focus for those
birds,
birds, those down here in Norfolk,
they
they have
they have also been seen in Belgium,
the
the Netherlands and Norway too, so
clearly
clearly there is a problem here. The
initial
initial analysis has shown the vast
majority
majority of them have died of
starvation. I am trying to find out
precisely
precisely why they have died of
starvation but it is a little more
tricky,
tricky, and at the moment there are
six
six or
six or seven different agencies all
investigating this phenomena and try
to
to come
to come up with an answer. They have
ruled
ruled out
ruled out avian flu, which actually
interestingly is a problem with sea
birds
birds in
birds in South Africa, on the other
side
side of
side of the world, so who knows? It
is
is really
is really worrying, but recently in
the
the last
the last few days, we have had
another
another rather worrying story and
this
this is
this is about crustaceans. If I read
you
you this
you this from Tony Collum, there has
been
been a
been a lot of chat on social media,
and
and he
and he says depressing sight,
thousands
thousands upon thousands of dead and
dying
dying crabs and lobsters along the
tide
tide line
tide line between Redcar and
Saltburn,
Saltburn, on the north-east coast,
just
just below Hartlepool. I mean, look
at
at that.
at that. And he wasn't the only one,
there
there has
there has been a lot of talk on
social
social media, just take a look at
this
this photo. It really does show the
scale
scale of
scale of it. And that is from Sharon
Bell.
Bell. I
Bell. I was reading just today that
it
it said
it said it could be anoxia, which is
a
a lack
a lack of
a lack of oxygen, but at this stage
of
of course
of course we can only speculate.
They
They have
They have got to really look at the
details
details and do data and analysis,
and
and if
and if we
and if we find anything out about
those
those stories, we will...
those stories, we will... Sometimes
animals
animals can ingest toxins, and they
stop
stop them
stop them from feeding, that might
have
have impacted both the crustaceans
and
and those
and those sea birds as well. We
can't
can't implicate climate change at
this
this stage, although the warming of
the
the water
the water does tend to lead to more
of
of that,
of that, as I say at once but it
investigation but it does show the
fragility
fragility of our marine system and
how
how important it is that we look
after
after it,
after it, not just for its own sake,
as
as it
as it were, for all that array of
life
life that
life that live there, but from our
point
point of
point of view, because I read today
on
on one
on one of
on one of the BBC News sites that
lobster
lobster and crab fishermen in the
north-east were now struggling to
fill
fill their boxes because there were
hardly
hardly any crabs there as well. But
from
from a
from a temporarily we help -- hope
and
and healthy marine system to one of
the
the finest ever real -- anywhere in
the
the UK,
the UK, Strangford Lough, where
Gillian
Gillian is forced up let's hope it
is
is a
is a bit
is a bit happier and healthier over
there.
there. Obviously those are worrying
images,
images, but thankfully we are really
grateful
grateful that the wildlife does seem
to
to be
to be doing really well here and
that
that is
that is thanks largely to
organisations like the wildfowl and
wetlands
wetlands trust that manage the site
here
here at
here at Castle Espie. They do that
because
because this area here, Strangford
Lough,
Lough, represent one of the most
important
important wetland habitats in
Northern
Northern Ireland, and we have, I've
got
got to
got to say, this week, I've been
treated
treated to some lovely scenes. It
has,
has, I
has, I got to say, rained a lot, but
that
that hasn't put us off and certainly
hasn't
hasn't put the wildlife. We have
seen
seen plenty of stuff, things like
hooded
hooded Crow, which I think the
people
people in
people in the south of the UK is
actually
actually quite a novelty. I know
they
they are
they are much more familiar to
people
people up
people up north, but here and
oystercatcher, whatever the
wildlife,
wildlife, they are using this as a
refuge,
refuge, this important habitat, not
just
just to
just to bathe, but the food. And
this
this heron here has caught a
sizeable
sizeable fish, I would say,
struggling a little bit, knowing
what
what to
what to do with that and how to
actually
actually swallow it there. It's not
going
going to
going to give up, though, that is a
good
good decent sized catch and
eventually get it down its gullet.
But
But we
But we have also seen birds like
egrets.
egrets. They are relative newcomers
to
to the
to the UK
to the UK scene in the last 30 years
but
but they
but they are doing pretty well over
here
here at
here at Castle Espie and Strangford
Lough.
Lough. Obviously feeding, but we see
them
them before, around dusk, gathering
out
out on
out on the mud flats, having a last
feed
feed before flying in and landing in
the
the tree
the tree tops. Those trees are right
here
here on
here on the reserve, and that is
their
their roost.
They
They have
They have been doing really well.
Five
Five years ago about 60 birds were
using
using the
using the roost. Now they reckon
there
there are
there are about 100 roosting here at
Castle
Castle Espie. It's a glorious sight.
It's
It's a
It's a primeval scene that we get
treated
treated to every single evening just
before
before we
before we go on air. The wetlands is
a
a vital
a vital habitat for wildlife and
does
does another very important thing,
it
it is
it is a
it is a natural carbon store. And
now,
now, more
now, more importantly than ever, we
need
need to
need to restore these wetlands and
that's
that's exactly what WWT are doing in
Somerset.
Somerset. We caught up with the
senior
senior conservation manager to find
out
out how
out how they did it. The landscape
has
has changed and transformed
massively
massively since when I first
started.
started. The land was sold farmland,
there
there was
there was no sea water, no
freshwater on the reserve, no
greenery.
greenery. In September to 14 we
actually
actually cut a hole in the bank and
let
let the
let the tide in. The transformation
actually
actually started instantly. That
following
following spring we had our first
salt
salt marsh plants establishing and
colonising. At the same time you get
the
the build-up of silt so we have seen
a
a rise
a rise in
a rise in the ground levels as well.
From
From then
From then on a net has been year on
year,
year, getting more diversity and a
greater
greater abundance of species. And we
are
are getting greater bird numbers
with
with this
with this sort of habitat. The site
is
is very
is very close to my heart. To see
the
the salt
the salt marsh established, not only
brilliantly but quicker than
expected
expected is fantastic. Personally,
it
it feels
it feels like a really exciting
thing
thing to
thing to be part of.
It
It is
It is an
It is an exciting project and WWT
have
have worked with Manchester
Metropolitan University to measure
how
how much
how much carbon is stored in those
newly
newly regenerated salt marshes
there.
there. The results were out just
last
last week. What they found is that
the
the results are absolutely blown
previous
previous estimates out of the water.
They
They store carbon away in that mode,
where
where that wildlife is enjoying the
habitat,
habitat, the carbon being stored in
the
the mud
the mud below. What's amazing is
they
they are
they are storing 18 times more
carbon
carbon in
carbon in this wetland habitat than
they
they previously thought. That's the
extraordinary power of these wetland
habitats.
habitats. Let's find out exactly how
it
it happens, how it works. What we
have
have here
have here is a very lovely
rendition, a little example of a
mini
mini wetland habitat. This is
supposed
supposed to be the dry land, and it
transitions away across the mud
flats
flats to
flats to an intertidal zone. Some
basic
basic biology, plants, when they
photosynthesise capture CO2, Carbon
dioxide,
dioxide, from the atmosphere and
store
store it
store it in their plant tissue and
release
release oxygen. When a plant dies,
under
under normal circumstances, the
plant
plant matter and tissue degrades and
breaks
breaks down and releases that carbon
dioxide
dioxide back into the atmosphere.
However,
However, in a wetland habitat where
there
there is
there is not much oxygen in the mud,
the
the carbon starts to get locked into
the
the system because the plant doesn't
degrade
degrade as quickly when there is not
enough
enough oxygen in the soil. Add to
that,
that, the
that, the action of the incoming
tide
tide and
tide and outgoing tide, and that
very
very gently and gradually starts to
bury
bury the
bury the plant under the sediment
and
and eventually it locks the carbon,
and
and that's where it remains. That's
what
what we
what we mean when we talk about
that.
that. That's why this is an
important
important habitat. Now over to
Megan,
Megan, who will be listening out for
animal
animal sounds in the sea. I love
using
using all
using all my senses to find out
where
where animals are. My eyes, ears and
the
the underwater acoustic world is one
filled
filled with fascination. The waters
around
around the Isle of Mull are brimming
with
with life
with life at this time of year in
October
October when the herring, here in
huge
huge aggregations because it is
their
their pre-spawning ground. Wherever
you
you get
you get lots of prey you attract big
predators. This is a minke whale.
Look
Look at
Look at this! Lunge feeding, using
so
so much
so much power in the caudal tail and
the
the flukes to push itself out into
the
the aggregation of herring, scooping
up
up a
up a big
up a big mouthful before it dives
back
back down. What about that? That
footage
footage was only taken about a week
ago
ago off
ago off the coast of Scotland.
Absolutely incredible stuff. The
wail
wail and
wail and conservation trust have
been
been looking at the numbers because
the
the Hebrides have been found to be a
critical
critical place for them because the
same
same individuals return every year.
So
So far
So far they have been able to
identify
identify 250 different individuals.
How
How do
How do you tell a minke whale apart?
It's
It's all
It's all about photo identification.
They
They are
They are looking at the dorsal fin.
Here
Here you
Here you can see two different
Wales.
Wales. On
Wales. On the left, there are two
different
different notches and on the right,
that's
that's quite small. Minky Wales do
have
have small dorsal fins for their
body
body size
body size but the fact there are 250
individuals around here, and you can
tell
tell from
tell from pigmentation and scarring
and
and all
and all those different things how
critical
critical the water is. Minky Wales
are
are quite
are quite big and obvious to see.
Some
Some species are harder to identify.
This
This is
This is a
This is a hub of porpoise. They come
to
to the
to the surface quickly and are quick
to
to go
to go back down into the water.
These
These are
These are the most common we have
around
around the UK but they stay away
from
from people so hard to find. The
Hebridean
Hebridean Whale and Dolphin
Conservation Trust wanted to analyse
them.
them. Instead of observing them from
the
the top,
the top, they got acoustic devices
to
to listen
to listen below and what they were
looking
looking for were these low emission
clicks,
clicks, echolocation. It sounds kind
of
of out
of out of
of out of this world. Echolocation
is
is employed by all different types
of
of animals like whales, dolphins and
porpoises, enabling them to find
their
their prey items. They are emitting
those
those clicks that travel outwards
and
and bounce off objects, bounce off
of
of prey
of prey items in particular and it
enables
enables them to track, follow, find
and
and successfully attacked their
food.
food. It
food. It is a brilliant sound,
absolutely fantastic. But the
research
research looking into population and
feeding
feeding has uncovered some real
incredible statistics. They are
constantly foraging day and night.
They
They very
They very rarely stop. They have
found
found 550
found 550 small prey items every day
and
and they
and they need to eat 10% of their
own
own body
own body weight every day to keep up
their
their metabolic rate, which is
unbelievable. They will eat about 20
different
different species of prey through
the
the course of their lifetime. It
goes
goes to
goes to show that these waters are
so
so critically important and they are
relying
relying on sound. When we go out
into
into the
into the water we emit all sorts of
anthropogenic human made noises,
ships,
ships, jet skis, whatever it might
be.
be. We
be. We are still learning about the
impact
impact of
impact of all of that but we know it
has
has an
has an impact on those animals so we
need
need to
need to look at that and be more
careful.
careful. Time to go from one animal
which
which is
which is incredibly sensitive to
hearing
hearing to another. We can go up to
North
North Uist where the short eared
owls
owls are
owls are doing pretty well.
North
North Uist, an island characterised
by
by peat
by peat bogs and small lochs and
miles
miles of
miles of unspoiled sandy beaches
stretching along the coastline. Few
people
people live here, but wildlife
thrives
thrives among the Ireland's unusual
ground
ground landscape. -- among the
island's
island's unusual landscape. In
autumn
autumn the bird populations boom.
Numbers
Numbers are boosted by juveniles and
those
those migrating through who arrive
in
in the
in the Outer Hebrides for winter.
Alongside
Alongside the waders and wildfowl
are
are the
are the raptors. And North Uist is a
stronghold for a raptor that has
seen
seen its
seen its breeding population
dramatically declined throughout the
rest
rest of
rest of the UK.
rest of the UK. With its luminous
golden
golden eyes, dramatic black eye
shadow
shadow and mottled feathers, the
short
short eared owl brings glamour to
this
this landscape.
In
In flight, it's long, paddle like
wings
wings are
wings are evident.
wings are evident. Owls are
predominantly bird of twilights and
darkness.
darkness. But this species is
unusual.
unusual. It can be diurnal, hunting
out
out in
out in the open during the day,
where
where it
where it can be seen quartering low
over
over the
over the ground. Or perching on
posts
posts in
posts in search of prey.
posts in search of prey. Why is
there
there such a stronghold on North
Uist?
Uist? Whilst populations are under
pressure
pressure elsewhere? The answer lies
below
below in
below in the grassland.
below in the grassland. Short tailed
field
field voles are prolific here. Yet
they
they are
they are absent from nearby Lewis
and
and Harris, which accounts for why
those
those islands have fewer short eared
owls.
owls. These voles are the owl's
favourite
favourite food. And one has just
been
been spotted.
This
This is
This is a
This is a creature superbly adapted
for
for hunting small rodents. Watching
silently
silently until the time for the fast
approach.
And
And the
And the moment of truth.
The
The problem with hunting by day is
that
that you
that you can attract unwanted
attention. There are other hungry
birds
birds around. But there are plenty
of
of voles
of voles here so it's always worth
trying
trying again.
This
This time
This time it pays off.
With
With owls, some of what goes down
always
always comes back up again. With
pellets
pellets of undigested animal parts,
sometimes
sometimes looking as big as what
went
went in.
As
As winter
As winter creeps towards us, the
short
short eared owls will continue to
hunt
hunt in
hunt in the light. But as the days
shorten,
shorten, this adaptable owl will
shift
shift towards more nocturnal
activity.
activity. We can go from owl to owl
because
because while you are watching that
film
film about the short eared owl, we
were
were watching this here on our live
cameras
cameras at Wild Ken Hill. It's a
barn
barn owl
barn owl hunting. We have seen barn
owls
owls before. They are out most
evenings.
evenings. The interesting thing is,
they
they did
they did not breed here this year.
We
We thought initially it's because
there
there were not enough voles, they do
respond
respond to that number, and if there
are
are virtually next to none and they
will
will skip
will skip a year. But we are not
entirely
entirely sure why. Here it goes down
and
and down,
and down, listening for any rustling
down
down in
down in the grass and quartering
backwards
backwards and forwards and hoping
for
for a
for a role to make a mistake,
sneezing
sneezing and the grass before the
owl
owl goes
owl goes down to take it out. It is
a
a perfect
a perfect night for a nocturnal bird
to
to be
to be hunting, which is more than
can
can be
can be said for last night. We
showed
showed you a tawny owl last night,
and
and we
and we showed you it earlier in the
programme. It was sitting in a tree
ready
ready for
ready for a good night of hunting
and
and then
and then the wind picked up. For a
bird
bird that
bird that hunts in the dark, they
use
use their
use their hearing to pinpoint their
prey.
prey. If
prey. If it is a really windy night,
not
not only
not only do the feathers get
buffeted,
buffeted, but their hearing is
hampered
hampered as well and that's probably
why
why this
why this tawny owl is down on the
grass
grass and
grass and not either up in the air
or
or in
or in a
or in a tree listening out. It knows
it
it will
it will not have a great night of
hunting.
hunting. It has been bothered by a
hare
hare and
hare and off it goes. But they are
opportunistic so it will not go
hungry
hungry for the night. It is looking
around
around for what else it can get. If
it
it doesn't get a mouse or a vole
variant
variant will look for something that
will
will maybe not fill it up but be a
snack.
snack. And it goes and gets a worm.
So
So that
So that tawny owl didn't have a good
night
night last night it should have a
better
better night and are, the wind picks
up.
Early
Early in
Early in the week, we're went out on
a
a little
a little fungus foray and you liked
what
what we
what we saw because of the
extraordinary growth forms,
fascinating life histories, the
colours,
colours, so you have sent us lots of
different
different photographs of the Fang
Gao
Gao you
Gao you have been finding this week.
We
We will
We will twin them with that piece of
mycological techno. So here are some
of
of your
of your fungal foray results.
They
They really are such amazing shapes
and
and colours, aren't they? People
were
were getting so ended on the other
day
day when
day when we were talking them. But
it
it is
it is not
it is not only us that Lasse Fang
Gao,
Gao, some
Gao, some animals love eating them
too.
too. This
too. This is what we got on some of
our
our cameras. This is a Muntjac deer
chewing
chewing away at this Fang Gao, which
fly
fly agaric. If we ate that whole
thing
thing we
thing we would be extremely sick.
Clearly
Clearly the Muntjac deer is really
enjoying
enjoying the little nibble. I'm not
sure
sure if
sure if it affected in any way. It's
interesting they only take a little
bit
bit of
bit of it, maybe it makes them feel
good,
good, who
good, who knows? But this is
anecdotal
anecdotal evidence, they...
Anecdotal, reindeer like to eat
them,
them, but
them, but after they eat a lot of
fly
fly agaric, they tend to go a bit
happy
happy in
happy in debate doolally and they
jump
jump and
jump and frolic all over the place.
So
So this
So this is where folklore comes in.
Folklore
Folklore says that they then eat
loads
loads of
loads of them, and they jump so high
that
that they
that they end up flying, which is
what
what led
what led to them being Santa's
reindeer.
reindeer. So Santa's reindeer, so
they
they can
they can fly around the world... Day
off
off their
off their Christmas trees! They have
eaten
eaten a
eaten a lot of fly agaric. This is
how
how fly
how fly agaric got their name,
because
because of the hallucinogenic
qualities
qualities of the mushroom, what
these
these to
these to do is they used to pop it
up
up into
up into a
up into a dish, add some milk to
attract
attract flies, the flies would come,
drink
drink the
drink the milk in which where the
hallucinogenic compounds, it would
stupefy
stupefy them and they would fall
into
into the
into the milk and dive. It was the
earliest
earliest form of flytrap in the
house.
house. Really? That is fascinating.
What
What about how quickly these
fruiting
fruiting bodies appear? Sometimes
you
you go
you go out and look down on the
floor
floor of
floor of the woodland and there will
be
be none,
be none, come back the next day and
it's
it's covered in mushrooms, how does
that
that work? How do, sometimes in a
day
day or
day or just one or two days? When
plants
plants and animals grow, rely upon
cell
cell division. You produce a lot
more
more cells to produce a lot more
bulk.
bulk. But
bulk. But that's quite an
energetically expensive business, so
it's
it's a
it's a slow one. Fungi fruiting
bodies
bodies like this don't rely on cell
division,
division, they rely on cell
expansion. So if you take the small
tiny
tiny little mushroom and you count
the
the number of cells, when it reaches
a
a really
a really large size, same number of
cells,
cells, they have just swollen with
an
an enormous influx of water.
Sometimes
Sometimes the more water that's
available
available to them, the quicker they
grow.
grow. But
grow. But what's the point of
growing
growing the first place was not the
vast
vast majority of that organism is
underground, spreading over huge
areas.
areas. Most typical fungi spore,
they
they dispersed their spore by the
wind,
wind, but
wind, but what happens if there
isn't
isn't any
isn't any wind? This is where a
really
really neat trick comes in. You can
see,
see, those are the spore in slow
motion
motion being dispersed by wind. But
as
as I
as I say,
as I say, if there isn't any wind,
some
some of
some of them create their own wind.
The
The release water vapour, which
cools
cools the
cools the air around the fungus
which
which causes air currents to form.
They
They are
They are minute currents but there
are
are enough to carry spores away,
potentially tens of centimetres into
the
the air.
the air. That would clarify why
mushrooms
mushrooms need such high amounts of
water
water filter that is filmed in slow
motion.
motion. It's the spores that you see
but
but it's
but it's really rather beautiful
watching
watching that, isn't it? It is, in
vast
vast quantities of sport. You and I
standing
standing here in a temperate forest
at
at this
at this time of year, in one cubic
metre
metre of
metre of air there is somewhere
between
between 1000 and 10,000 microscopic
fungal
fungal spores. We are constantly
breeding
breeding them and, as we are
stunning
stunning here. I hope none germinate
inside
inside me, I have enough problems
going
going on!
going on! But the other way they can
spread
spread their sports is not using
wind
wind but
wind but by using rain. Take a look
at
at this,
at this, these are bird's nest
fungus.
fungus. Very small, sometimes four
millimetres up to a centimetre
across.
across. Initially covered with a
membrane
membrane which shrinks away.
Revealing
Revealing these, the eggs. They are
called
called period dolls. When the rain
splashes
splashes into the cup, it knocks
them
them out.
them out. Sometimes they will travel
over
over a
over a metre across the floor.
Filled
Filled with those tiny spores.
Sometimes
Sometimes it is rain that can knock
them
them out
them out like that. Another couple
of
of fungal
of fungal spore facts for you. Every
year
year across the world, 50 million
tonnes
tonnes of
tonnes of microscopic fungal spores
are
are produced, which means every
square
square millimetre of the Earth's
surface
surface can become covered in 1000
of
of them.
of them. When they're catapulted out
of
of the
of the gills, they're catapulted out
at
at 25,000
at 25,000 G, sugar concentrations.
This
This little mechanism catapults them
out.
out. Another thing that is important
is
is they
is they start rain. In the tropical
forest
forest where there is a lot of fungi
come
come up
come up above the first all of those
spores
spores floating around form the
seeding
seeding points for raindrops. So one
of
of the
of the reasons the rainforest is
rained
rained upon his those fungal spores.
That
That it
That it is astonishing. There are so
much
much to
much to learn about fungi. To be an
expert
expert must take years and years of
study.
study. We
study. We were talking about the
other
other day
other day and I said if I discovered
a
a new
a new mushroom, I would like to name
it
it a
it a limp
it a limp licorice. Look what
summary
summary has sent in for us. This is
the
the picture sent in by Pauline and
Ian.
Ian. And
Ian. And that, come on, shall I tell
you
you what
you what its name is? Twisted
licorice.
licorice. Dark purple earth tongue.
If
If I
If I had
If I had found that, that could have
been
been twisted licorice. A really cool
name.
name. Pootle's revenge? Now, they
didn't
didn't find out. But somebody took
the
the trouble to send that in, thank
you
you very
you very much. Time to slow things
down,
down, it
down, it is our mount for this
moment,
moment, that period of time where we
allow
allow a
allow a minute and a half of just
natural
natural sounds to study one little
part
part of
part of the country or one species
that
that are
that are tonight we are going to
show
show you
show you a lot of waders and
wildfowl
wildfowl which at this time of year.
To
To the
To the year -- to the UK, making it
incredibly special. But just listen
to
to the
to the sounds.
BIRDS CALLING
WATER SPLASHES
BIRDS CALLING
Time
Time to
Time to show you a quick photograph
that
that somebody has sent in.
Especially for Halloween. A little
Ville
Ville picking out at that pumpkin, I
love
love that. Sadly we have come to the
end,
end, just
end, just one week of programmes for
you
you for
you for this year's Autumnwatch. We
will
will be
will be back for one to watch but I
think
think we
think we have brought you some
wonderful
wonderful autumnal wildlife from
around
around the country. What has been
your
your favourite from the Isle of
Mull?
Mull? A
Mull? A tricky one but it has to be
the
the icons
the icons of Mull themselves, the
Sea
Sea eagle
Sea eagle and the otters. And
interacting together as well. I have
to
to thank
to thank the fantastic team handled
incredible wildlife for putting on
such
such an
such an amazing show. Gillian, what
about
about your favourite? My favourite
has
has got
has got to be the light bellied
brent
brent goose. The smallest goose in
the
the UK
the UK but a tough long-distance
fire.
fire. I
fire. I have to thank all the staff
here
here at
here at Castle Espie for making us
feel
feel so
feel so welcome. Michaela, how about
you?
you? I'm
you? I'm going to go for a local
autumnal
autumnal spectacle, which is then
not,
not, hundreds of thousands of birds
come
come to
come to this part of the world and
you
you say
you say that swirling, absolutely
stunning.
stunning. I'm like a stuck record,
and
and going
and going to go back to the
beginning
beginning and see the male
sparrowhawk wedding. All the time I
spent
spent going through the woods in my
life
life I've
life I've never come across this
happening
happening in a puddle, probably
making
making too much noise. But a massive
thanks
thanks to
thanks to Wild Ken Hill, the
rewilding
rewilding is paying dividends, it's
a
a pleasure to be here so thank you
for
for hosting us. It's not over yet,
we
we have
we have a
we have a Facebook live coming up
now,
now, after the end of the programme
where
where we
where we will review the highlights
of
of all
of all are nocturnal cameras so
don't
don't miss that. And of course, we
will
will be
will be back for winter watch at the
end
end of
end of January. Until then, enjoy
some
some of
some of the season's highlights.
Goodbye.
Goodbye. Bye-bye. Autumn. A time of
change.
change. When nature splashes all its
colours
colours across its canvas. A time of
contemplation, where there is beauty
and
and melancholy. As growth turns to
decay.
decay. But there is still a busy
circle
circle of
circle of life underfoot.
circle of life underfoot. Our hedges
blush
blush with Perry's, a seasonal
feast.
feast. Birds and insects devouring
the
the fruits. And sometimes each
other.
Autumn
Autumn brings with it a wealth of
wildlife
wildlife spectacles. As the sky
fills
fills up
fills up with feathered migrants.
Some
Some applause for a pit stop, others
stay
stay throughout the season. But all
enjoy
enjoy a
enjoy a feast of muddy meals offered
by
by the
by the changing tides. It's the
season
season of
season of roosting and routing.
Dashing
Dashing in caching. Hoarding and
hibernating. Anticipating what lies
ahead
ahead as
ahead as we move towards winter.
We
We are
We are at
We are at a time of crucial
decision-making for the entire
planet.
planet. We have some momentous
choices
choices to make. With nature very
much
much at
much at their heart. We are all
striving
striving for solutions. Because
frankly,
frankly, we wouldn't want to lose
all
all of
all of this.