Happy Halloween
OK, so it's a day early, but as it's our last show this week - tonight's the one with the Halloween theme!
The studio has been dressed with pumpkins and props, which have been generously donated from the edit van (pictured right) our webteam have made home.
Bill has made a lovely film about the natural explanation for ghost stories and we've our very own 'shower scene' complete with screaming woman (Nikki from the production team doing a fine impression of Janet Leigh).
Content wise, things just keep on coming - tonight we have a leap into the unknown by the red squirrels, Bill's tale of the little egrets (and the new kids on the block, cattle egrets), and Kate's early morning quest to get up close and personal with the sika deer.
Talking of deer, check out my last blog if you have muntjac in your neighbourhood. Tonight Simon is on the track of otters in the suburbs of Birmingham, while Gordon is battening down the hatches for some storm-force northerlies.
Make sure to check out a great blog from the National Trust's Farne Islands' warden David Steel. It'll be updated all weekend while we're off the air, so that's the place to go for the latest info from Gordon's team.
A huge thank you to all of you who are uploading your videos and photos of autumnal events and wildlife - we are currently number three (out of about 11000) Flickr groups - thanks to YOU!
So enjoy tonight's programme, get out and do one thing for autumn this weekend, see you on Monday and Happy Halloween.
Stephen
© MMIX~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~07~RS~)
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On tonight's show Bill said that Dartford Warbler is the only British warberler that doesn't migrate. However Cetti's Warbler is also resident in Britain.
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Isn't there a show tomorrow?
Its 8:16 and behind Bill and Kate there seems to be smoke where is that from?
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Did anyone else immediately have a vision of the crows from 'Dumbo' when the photo of the two cattle egrets and the crow came on?
Fantastic picture - loved it and the otter shots.
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Well.... No!
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Happy Halloween, love the pumkins Bill and Kate, where's Simon's?
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We have seen egrets with cattle in the Helford area in cornwall for aboat 12 years.
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Happy Halloween.
On weds 29th Mr Oddie commented on the rather clever actions of the carrion crow which was trying to break open a whelk by dropping it from some height. However this kind of behaviour is not unique. I try to encourage as much wildlife as I can to my rather small garden. I have feeding stations a bird table, three bird baths, a pond, a couple of piles of logs and tend to leave the edges to grow relatively wild so that I get lots of different animals to watch. One day I had put some feed out which included some bread and as I was watching from the window I noticed a pair of crows fly down and peck at the food left out then to my amazement they flew up to the bird bath and dunked the bread, obviously to soften it, then they proceeded to eat it. This amused me so I fed them each day and they became regular visitors. They would also bring their own bread from elsewhere to dunk! This pair were a breeding pair & I was soon delighted to see them fly into the garden bringing with them three young ones. During the course of the next couple of weeks I had the pleasure of watching this pair teach their young how to dunk bread, which was often hilarious. So you see you don't have the monopoly on clever birds!
Your doing a fantastic show once more so please keep up the excellent work. Best wishes, Neil.
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I was very intrigued by the pigs that Kate Humble watched being turned out into the New Forest for "pannage". What breed are they? I guessed Old Spot/ Saddleback cross.
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hi we have a spookie night at cranford park toinght bodies bats coffines hang man and lots more for children tonight all around the old stables and church yard
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Hi to all the autumnwatch team and viewers.
Its a wonderfull program, thanks.
As a resident of Dorset I have seen Munkjac deer in lower Broadstone beside the A31 near the The Mill pub.
We frequently travel along the M3 to and from Kent and on three occasions have seen a Munkjac stag grazing on the verge beside the motorway. On each occasion we have seen him on the south bound side just before Fleet service station near to where the new houses have been built. Each time it has been between 3pm and 5pm.
Regards Ken Whiddett.
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muntjac seen at Rushcliffe Golf course yesterday.we are on the lies/nottm border this is my first siting in this area
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Happy Halloween!
Thought yesterdays show was very good, i hope the pups are going to be ok!
I was just wondering how you chose the places to base the programme in. I have heard that Lower Mill Estate, in the cotswalds has beavers and I would love it if you could do a show there!
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Oh and i have seen deers on the Lower Mill Estate to, both muntjac and a normal one (a tempory mind blank to the name!)
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Watching Gordon's footage of the potentially disastrous seal pup scenario made me wonder if there would ever come a point in programmes such as this or even in situations being observed where intervention would be considered.
I doubt if I personally could stand back and watch a tragedy unfold without trying in some way to avert it and wonder how these occasions impact on such as Gordon?
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Nothing to do with Muntjac deer. Today there was a an unexpected visitor on the lake at the back of my parents house(Balderton, Notts), a lone Black Swan. Where would he/she have come from? There is a breeding pair of mute Swans on the lake, this is the 1st time in 20yrs I can recall another variety of swan on the lake.
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Hi There, I live in southern Spain and watch theprograme everyday it is great.Fortunaly we live in a remote area and the wildlife we have is wonderful from boar and linx to alsort of birds Local and migants and birds just passing through.For the last 2years we have had a Dartford Warbler using a sparrows roost in at night.This year it has found a mate and now they are both in sparrows nest. Is this normal.
Bindura
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Hi BILL/KATE - I've got an 'ALTERNATIVE' name for HOPALONG............
TRIPOD!!!!!!!!! Somebody I used to be friends with had a THREE LEGGED CAT named TRIPOD - so I thought it might be a good name for him - HOPE you like it!!!!!!!!
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I used to live within WALKING DISTANCE of a section of the THAME VALLEY RIVER (about 5 miles NORTH of B'HAM CITY CENTRE) I used to walk my dog in the PARK that had that stretch of river running through it. It's FANTASTIC to think that there was once OTTERS living in WALSALL - not exactly a MILLION MILES AWAY FROM that area I'm talking about - MIND YOU - with ALL the CANALS in BIRMINGHAM & the BLACKCOUNTRY - there's an AWFUL lot of 'HIDEY HOLES' for them to live/exist - I reckon it's LOVELY!!!!!!!
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I am just loving the squirrels on their assault course, it's just amazing what these lovable animals can do and the lengths they go to to get their feed, I could watch them all day, there is one thing I'm puzzled about -that is that on one programme I was sure I caught a glimpse of a red with a tinge of grey in it's coat am I mistaken or is there a chance of cross-breeding ?
Jolly Lee Travis
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On Autumn Watch you asked for sightings of muntjac deer. I daily see muntjacs in Rendlesham Forest Suffolk. I live on the edge of the forest and they come right up to the garden fence,however once they sense you are looking at them they very quickly disappear into the undergowth.
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