Four seasons... and plenty to do!
STOP PRESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Due to the American elections BBC Two are running a special programme at 8pm on Wednesday 5th November - which means AUTUMNWATCH WILL BE ON AT 7 PM... Tuesday and Thursday still on at 8 pm as usual...
It's sometimes said that in Britain you can experience four seasons in a day - and here we've certainly had what feels like four seasons in a week! After the bitter winds and chilly nights of last week, today has been mild and occasionally bright - almost spring-like at times. The red squirrels are bounding across the forest floor, the lagoon is packed with feeding birds, and little flocks of goldcrests and long-tailed tits are twittering in the trees all over Brownsea Island.
So what's been going on here at the Autumnwatch production office? Well, today we suddenly realised that we had a golden opportunity to rehabilitate some of our least popular birds - the various members of the crow family. Simon has already begun to reveal the secrets of the Welsh ravens on Anglesey, with some truly fascinating stuff in Monday night's show, and more to come on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Bill has taken a trip to the mainland, where the local crows have learned to drop shellfish on the hard surface of the Poole Quay car park, in order to break open the shells and feast on the contents. We realised this was a golden opportunity to show some fabulous archive footage of 'clever crows' (see my earlier blog if you have clever crows in your neighbourhood!)
Only one problem - all the material Simon and his team need is in Bristol, while we're in Dorset and Simon is in Birmingham. Enter our heroine Alex, former producer on Springwatch, who managed to get the stuff together at double-quick speed, and (by some miracle of technology I don't quite understand) sent it up to Simon's team... All to appear on Tuesday night's show...
What else have we got? More squirrel assault course of course (one failure, one success, so a one-all draw between Jo and the squirrels). The first of three great sea eagle films, following the fortunes of a new pair of chicks from our dependable eagle couple, Skye and Frisa, and starring our old friend RSPB warden David Sexton, the eagle man of Mull. And Bill is doing a review of what may turn out to be the best year ever for American vagrant birds blown across the Atlantic to Britain.
This week we are going large on the Marine Bill. As many of you will know, the marine environment has been woefully neglected until quite recently, despite the very best efforts of conservation organisations to raise its profile. It seems it really is a case of 'out of sight, out of mind'. But as Kate's seahorse encounter showed on Monday night, the waters around our coasts are packed with extraordinary creatures, and habitats that really do need our protection.
On Tuesday's show Kate revisits a wreck, the Scylla, off the Devon coast - and finds a wonderland of marine life just four years after the boat was sunk. And now you have the chance to help save your favourite offshore location - check out our link to the Marine Conservation Society website where you can have your say...
Gordon has a really dramatic story building on the Farnes - as National Trust warden David Steele reveals on his blog, the bulls are back!
And of course you can continue to submit your photos via our Flickr site, and (we hope - fingers crossed) upload your videos as well.
Must rush - lots to do!
Stephen
© MMIX~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~06~RS~)
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WE LIVE ON THE OVERCLIFF AT SOUTHBOURNE.IN OUR GARDEN WE GET CARRION CROWS AND TODAY WE FOUND A TENNIS BALL IN THE GARDEN THAT HAD BEEN USED BY A DOG. SO I PUT IT IN THE ROADSIDE GUTTER AND BEFORE I GOT BACK INDOORS A CROW HAD PICKED IT UP AND DROPPED IT IN THE GARDEN AND HAS DONE SO EVERT TIM E WE REMOVE IT
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Ok i'll spread the word about tomorrow if bill and kate don't say anything.
Watchin the show now
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It was lovely to see our sea eagle chicks on Mull on Autumnwatch - the white tailed sea eagle is a magnificent bird and certainly take your breath away when you come across one soaring high! Great stuff
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HI wildfreckle
I agree they are GREAT BIRDS but I would rather see them without the computer straped to them. surely there are smaller tracking divices than that.
wonder if a small branch got caught under the strap would the bird be stuck or worse.
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I am a fan of the squirrel assault course and remember watching the Squirrel Daylight Robbery programme created by the BBC and aired in 1995 (shown on YouTube). Although these programmes were filmed in the USA with grey squirrels, it proves just how smart our furry friends are. I think Jo should try out some of the obstacles in Autumnwatch to see if red squirrels can be as clever!
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Just to say first that the Springwatch and Autumnwatch programs are some of the very best on TV.
My comment is concerning the seahorse programme, in which the issue of possible damage to the seahorse colony at Studland by anchoring boats was discussed.
As someone who very much enjoys anchoring in the beautiful Studland Bay, I am perturbed by the implication given that anchoring is a bad thing and must be stopped for the good of the seahorses. Personally, I am very supportive of all efforts to conserve wildlife and agree that the seahorse colony should be protected in some manner. No details were given as to the depths at which the seahorses live, or whether they are confined to a small area of the bay.
Surely the matter should be discussed with the RYA and other maritime organisations, and some mutually agreed system worked out that will allow boats to responsibly anchor at Studland. The idea of mooring buoys is abhorrent and would completely spoil the main attraction of the bay to passing boats. This is that Studland Bay is a very important passage anchorage for boats and yachts making for the West Country or Cross Channel in the Summer months. It is very important as a point of refuge and/or rest. There could never be enough moorings to deal with the visitors, as well as who would pay for and police it.
A further point which was not mentioned during the programme was what evidence was there that an anchor causes any permanent damage to the colony, and, what happens in winter when hardly any boats use the Studland anchorage. The very fact that the colony is in apparently healthy existence at this time (2008) surely shows that the anchoring, which has gone on for hundreds of years has not been a problem.
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Hi izahappy1 - just to respond to your question about the sat tags - if you read Dave Sexton;s blog at
http://blogs.rspb.org.uk/mulleagles/archive/2008/11/03/Peace-and-tranquility_2E002E002E00_restored.aspx
it explains about the tags - they use a special webbing which eventually weathers away - these birds are huge - the chances of them catching on a branch is very slim - when they sit in a tree tends to be a fir and quite high up so branches arent usually an issue Hope are reassured
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