Springwatch with Bill Oddie
Encyclopedia
Springwatch and Autumnwatch Live are annual BBC
television series which chart the fortunes of British wildlife during the changing of the seasons in the United Kingdom
. The programmes are broadcast live from locations around the country in a primetime evening slot on BBC Two
and BBC HD
. They require a crew of 100 and over 50 cameras, making them the BBC's largest British outside broadcast events. Many of the cameras are hidden and operated remotely to record natural behaviour, for example, of birds in their nests and badgers outside their sett.
Springwatch begins on the Whitsun
bank holiday and is broadcast four nights each week for three weeks. After the success of the first Springwatch in 2005, the BBC commissioned a one-off special, Autumnwatch, which became a full series in 2006. The Springwatch brand has expanded to incorporate further TV spin-offs and specials, and also has a strong online presence. The BBC Springwatch website offers further video content and allows viewers and programme makers to interact through a message board
, Flickr
photography group, blog
s and the @BBCSpringwatch Twitter
account.
The executive producer of Springwatch and Autumnwatch is Tim Scoones and the score was composed by David Poore
. It is made by the BBC Natural History Unit
, but was originally commissioned by BBC Learning
with the aim of getting viewers to actively participate in wildlife conservation.
From 2005 until 2008, the regular presenters were Bill Oddie
, Kate Humble
and Simon King
. Oddie left after the 2008 programmes (he made a guest appearance in the penultimate episode of the 2010 series) and was replaced by Chris Packham
. Martin Hughes-Games
, formerly a Springwatch producer, also joined the team. In early September 2010, King announced he was leaving the Springwatch/Autumnwatch presenting team to pursue other projects. Humble was not involved in Autumnwatch 2011 (she was replaced by Michaela Strachan
but expects to return to Springwatch in 2012).
Other regular contributors include cameraman and presenter Gordon Buchanan
and sound recordist Chris Watson
, who has occasionally appeared on-screen to describe his working methods.
programmes began as live outside broadcasts on BBC television in the early 1950s, when West Region's only television equipment was a mobile camera unit. The origins of Springwatch can be traced back to the 1970s, when the development of image-intensifying cameras enabled animals to be filmed in the dark. In May 1977
, two remote-controlled cameras and a series of infrared
lamps were installed outside a badger sett in the Cotswolds
. The Natural History Unit
broadcast the first live images of wild badgers during a week-long television event called Badgerwatch.
Although each instalment of Badgerwatch was only 10 minutes long, it created the template on which Springwatch and all the intervening series have been based, a format which has developed and expanded as technology has improved.
Badgerwatch was followed by Birdwatch, broadcast annually throughout the 1980s and presented by Tony Soper
, initially from locations around Britain including Slimbridge
, Minsmere, the River Exe
, the Farne Islands
and Martin Mere
. Later series were filmed in Florida
, the Netherlands
and the Camargue
.
In 1988
, Reefwatch became the first ever live underwater broadcast, transmitted on British and American television. It was anchored by Soper, with divers Martha Holmes and Mike DeGruy presenting during the Red Sea
dive using bubble helmets (another TV first). The BBC broadcast further live series from Africa
with Africawatch (1989
) and Flamingowatch (1995
).
Bill Oddie and Simon King joined forces for the first time to present A Bird in the Nest (1994
), featuring 35 live instalments from nestbox cameras. King also co-presented Beachwatch, a day of live broadcasts from a stretch of Norfolk
coastline, which aimed to show how wildlife responded to the changing tide.
The live format was rested until 2003
, when it was resurrected with Oddie, King and Kate Humble for Wild In Your Garden
. The following year, the show evolved into Britain Goes Wild with Bill Oddie
, and was identical to the later Springwatch and Autumnwatch series in all but name.
. Viewers were encouraged to record key events indicating the passage of spring, including the first sign of frogspawn, blossom on hawthorn trees and the arrival of swift
s. By comparing the results with previous years, the surveys established that spring was arriving sooner than average. The BBC are no longer involved in the annual survey (now called Nature’s Calendar) but the results are still reported on the programme. It remains the largest survey of phenology
in the world.
A similar survey exists for Autumnwatch, with the timing of the first oak leaf tint, the ripening of blackberries
and the dropping of conker
s all being recorded.
The BBC-led Breathing Places campaign was launched during Springwatch 2006. Awards are made to small projects across the country which aim to create small areas of wildlife-friendly habitat, particularly in cities. In the first three phases of the campaign, over £
8.5 million of National Lottery
funding has been awarded. Local councils and Wildlife Trusts are also involved in the partnership. Breathing Places evolved from an earlier BBC campaign called Make Space for Nature, launched in 2004 to coincide with Britain Goes Wild with Bill Oddie.
(the same location had been used for the previous year’s Britain Goes Wild with Bill Oddie). Animals filmed included swallow
s nesting in the barn, blue tit
families in nestboxes and great spotted woodpecker
s visiting bird feeders. Simon King visited three locations across the country; firstly, the Isle of Mull
to watch white-tailed eagle
s on a nest; secondly, the London Wetland Centre to observe peregrine falcon
s and red fox
es; and finally, the Farne Islands to view the sea bird colonies and grey seal
s.
The series was judged a success, In addition, over 150,000 sightings were reported in the Springwatch survey.
s and dabchick
s. The badgers only made a single live appearance in the whole three weeks. Pre-recorded films featured mole
s, capercaillie
s and earwig
s. On the Shetland Islands
, Simon King followed a family of otter
s and a host of birds: puffin
s, great skua
s, oystercatcher
s, merlin
s and red-throated diver
s. Springwatch also tracked brent geese
on their spring migration from Strangford Lough
in Northern Ireland
to their breeding grounds in Canada
's Queen Elizabeth Islands
, via stopovers in Iceland
and Greenland
.
Live webcam
s around the country enabled viewers to follow animal stories on the Springwatch website. These included osprey
s at Loch Garten
in Scotland, red kite
s at Rockingham Forest
in the East Midlands
and Pipistrelle bat
s in Cornwall
.
Spin-off programmes for children were screened on the CBeebies
channel and as special editions of The Really Wild Show
on the CBBC
channel. The presenters were Justin Fletcher
, Nick Baker and Michaela Strachan
.
wetland reserve in Lancashire
, where they awaited the arrival of local wild swan
s and the return of the brent geese to Northern Island. King watched the red deer
rut on the island of Rùm
. In addition, cameraman Gordon Buchanan
filmed a nightly grey seal diary from the Monarch Islands. British viewers could submit their sightings of natural autumn events on the Autumnwatch website, and the findings were developed into an online map showing the progression of autumn events across the country. This showed a correlation with temperature.
A compilation programme featuring highlights from both 2006 series was screened on Boxing Day
.
, Bill Oddie and Kate Humble were once again based at the Devon farm. Birds filmed live on their nests included swallows, buzzard
s, jays
, barn owls and jackdaw
s. Oddie had close encounters with an otter and a kingfisher on the River Torridge
, which runs through the farm. Simon King travelled to the Hebridean
island of Islay
, where he filmed local specialities such as red-billed chough
s, corncrakes, hen harrier
s, golden eagle
s and common shelduck
s.
The series also featured barn owl chicks at Cornwall's Lost Gardens of Heligan
, and cameras captured the moment when one chick killed and ate its younger sibling. Gordon Buchanan filmed urban red foxes in Glasgow
for a pre-recorded nightly diary segment.
The 2007 series spawned more spin-offs on other BBC television channels, radio stations and the internet. Springwatch Nightshift broadcast two hours of live footage of badgers, owls and bats on BBC Two each night, and a half-hour weekly review programme aired on Friday evenings on BBC One
. Children's programmes returned to CBeebies and Springwatch Trackers was launched on CBBC. Presented live from the farm each morning by Steve Backshall
and Kirsten O'Brien
. The Children that were hired to do the show was Charlotte Chapman who was spotted after various modeling and acting jobs, also Michael Smith a young child actor and George Bain who was in various children programs, the children were set tasks by Simon King.
CBBC's Springwatch Trackers also featured an online database and game created by Playniac. The database featured 48 UK wildlife animals in 12 different habitats and allows users to explore the animals, browse by criteria and print off handy reference cards to take out and about with them. The game simulated tracking animals in the wild and had the player looking for clues against the clock, unlocking video when they find an animal.
A live outside broadcast from the Springwatch farm featured on Terry Wogan
’s BBC Radio 2
breakfast show on 13 June, and on BBC Radio 4
, a special edition of Nature
on 11 June answered listeners' questions about spring.
which had taken place earlier in the season.
in Norfolk
due to a change of ownership at the Fishleigh Estate farm. It was broadcast on BBC Two from 26 May to 12 June. Bill Oddie and Kate Humble watched local birds on the nest, including little ringed plover
s, goldcrest
s and reed bunting
s, all new species for Springwatch. Swallows, blue tits, great tit
s, greenfinch
es, pied wagtails and robin
s were amongst the returning species. Simon King was based in the Cairngorm National Park, where he brought viewers footage of ospreys with chicks, pine marten
s, Scottish wildcat
s, ptarmigan and crested tit
s.
The week after the main series ended, four Springwatch Specials were screened. Humble presented a programme on marine life, Oddie looked at garden wildlife, King focussed on spectacular British wildlife events and Gordon Buchanan met people who have interesting relationships with wildlife.
, one of the few places in southern England
where red squirrel
s can still be seen. King visited a variety of locations around the country, beginning with three days watching fallow deer
at Petworth Park
and muntjac
at Birmingham Airport. He then followed up sightings of otters in a Walsall
canal, but although his team found traces of the animals, they didn't manage to film them. During the second week he watched raven
s on Anglesey
and made two live dives off the south coast of England, managing to find and film a conger eel
.
Gordon Buchanan travelled to the Farne Islands to film the grey seal colony during the pupping season. Attempts to communicate with Oddie and Humble via a live satellite link, were thwarted on several occasions by bad weather conditions.
Additional content was made available on the Autumnwatch website, including live webcams, extra videos and a blog.
Springwatch returned for its fifth series, broadcast from 25 May to 11 June 2009. Bill Oddie, who had left the programme for personal health reasons, was replaced as the series' co-anchor by Chris Packham
. He joined Kate Humble for the show's second year based at Pensthorpe. Simon King toured locations across north and mid Wales
, viewing Anglesey
's seabird colonies, goshawks and red kite
s. His main challenge was to find and film a wild polecat
. Wildlife cameraman Gordon Buchanan was based at a badger sett in Essex
. Former producer Martin Hughes-Games
also joined the team to present a regular feature on conservation holidays, as well as co-hosting the spin-off Springwatch Unsprung programmes. The Springwatch website continued to host regularly updated blogs, message boards and webcams, as well as wildlife information.
Packham made a game of inserting the titles of songs by The Smiths
into the script for each episode.
Three new Springwatch Specials aired after the main series had finished; King revealed some of the "tricks of the trade" of a wildlife cameraman in "Close Encounters"; Hughes-Games revealed Britain's best wildlife locations in "Holidays"; and Buchanan presented a compilation of viewers' videos in "Home Movies".
group. The series ran from 2 October to 20 November 2009. Packham and Humble were based at the BBC Natural History Unit
headquarters in Bristol
, but owing to the late hour of broadcast, all wildlife footage was prerecorded.
Highlights from both 2009 series were shown in a Springwatch Christmas Special broadcast live on Christmas Day.
.
, aired on 17 May. Others were shown on 19 and 20 May. The BBC supported the series with a Twitter account, @bbc_springwatch, using the hashtag #springwatch. Packham used a reference to The Cure
in each episode. Brett Westwood
was among the participants in the series' bird race, and Bill Oddie made a guest appearance in the penultimate episode of the series.
The series was followed on 20 June by a two-hour, live charity appeal tie-in, Wild Night In. Broadcast from London Zoo
, it was fronted by Humble, Packham and Hughes-Games, with pre-recorded segments, some featuring David Attenborough
.
in Bristol. Simon King did not participate, and was replaced by a variety of reporters who took his slot each week.
The full series, presented by Kate Humble, Chris Packham and Martin Hughes-Games, started on Monday 30 May 2011 at 8pm on BBC 2 from a new venue, RSPB Ynys-hir in mid Wales
. During the first week Charlie Hamilton James presented daily updates on the reintroduction of beavers to the United Kingdom. At the end of week one Charlie was set the task of filming beavers live; he succeeded. During week two, Iolo Williams broadcast from Skomer Island. He was filming Puffins and during the week introduced a new webcam. The presenter for week three was Liz Bonnin, at Pitsea Landfill site, filming foxes. She was set the task of filming live foxes, and succeeded. The series closed with a montage of clips of the cast "singing" the Tom Jones
song It's Not Unusual
, whose lyrics had been surreptitiously inserted into the script over the three week run.
, and for the final four weeks, the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust's Slimbridge reserve, by Michaela Strachan
, Chris Packham and Martin Hughes-Games. Each week there was a guest presenter who focused on one particular aspect of the British countryside. These included Bill Oddie. Kate Humble did not participate, but is due to return in Springwatch 2012.
in April 2007, and features content from all the regular presenters to that date.
, and was nominated for a Royal Television Society
award in 2007. David has also produced music for many documentaries by the BBC
, ITV
, Channel 4
, National Geographic, Disney RTÉ
and other broadcasters.
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
television series which chart the fortunes of British wildlife during the changing of the seasons in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The programmes are broadcast live from locations around the country in a primetime evening slot on BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
and BBC HD
BBC HD
BBC HD is a high-definition television network provided by the BBC. The service was initially run as a trial from 15 May 2006 until becoming a full service on 1 December 2007...
. They require a crew of 100 and over 50 cameras, making them the BBC's largest British outside broadcast events. Many of the cameras are hidden and operated remotely to record natural behaviour, for example, of birds in their nests and badgers outside their sett.
Springwatch begins on the Whitsun
Whitsun
Whitsun is the name used in the UK for the Christian festival of Pentecost, the seventh Sunday after Easter, which commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Christ's disciples...
bank holiday and is broadcast four nights each week for three weeks. After the success of the first Springwatch in 2005, the BBC commissioned a one-off special, Autumnwatch, which became a full series in 2006. The Springwatch brand has expanded to incorporate further TV spin-offs and specials, and also has a strong online presence. The BBC Springwatch website offers further video content and allows viewers and programme makers to interact through a message board
Internet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...
, Flickr
Flickr
Flickr is an image hosting and video hosting website, web services suite, and online community that was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and acquired by Yahoo! in 2005. In addition to being a popular website for users to share and embed personal photographs, the service is widely used by bloggers to...
photography group, blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
s and the @BBCSpringwatch Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
account.
The executive producer of Springwatch and Autumnwatch is Tim Scoones and the score was composed by David Poore
David Poore
David Poore is a British independent musician, who has composed and produced music for over 200 films by the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Disney, PBS, National Geographic, RTÉ and other broadcasters.-Education:...
. It is made by the BBC Natural History Unit
BBC Natural History Unit
The BBC Natural History Unit is a department of the BBC dedicated to making television and radio programmes with a natural history or wildlife theme, especially nature documentaries...
, but was originally commissioned by BBC Learning
BBC Learning
BBC Learning can refer to the following:* A department within the BBC , part of BBC Vision* The portal website created by BBC Learning* A website created by BBC Worldwide-BBC Worldwide:...
with the aim of getting viewers to actively participate in wildlife conservation.
From 2005 until 2008, the regular presenters were Bill Oddie
Bill Oddie
William "Bill" Edgar Oddie OBE is an English author, actor, comedian, artist, naturalist and musician, who became famous as one of The Goodies....
, Kate Humble
Kate Humble
Katherine 'Kate' Humble is an English television presenter, mainly for the BBC, specialising in wildlife and science programmes...
and Simon King
Simon King (television)
Simon Henry King OBE is a British television presenter and cameraman, specialising in nature documentaries.King has been working in the field of natural history film making for over 30 years...
. Oddie left after the 2008 programmes (he made a guest appearance in the penultimate episode of the 2010 series) and was replaced by Chris Packham
Chris Packham
Christopher George "Chris" Packham is an English naturalist, nature photographer, television presenter and author. He is the brother of fashion designer, Jenny Packham...
. Martin Hughes-Games
Martin Hughes-Games
Martin Hughes-Games is a natural history programme producer and presenter. He graduated in Zoology in 1978 with a 1st Class honours from Reading University, and has worked in television for 30 years. He is passionate about wildlife and an active conservationist – even going so far as planting his...
, formerly a Springwatch producer, also joined the team. In early September 2010, King announced he was leaving the Springwatch/Autumnwatch presenting team to pursue other projects. Humble was not involved in Autumnwatch 2011 (she was replaced by Michaela Strachan
Michaela Strachan
Michaela Evelyn Ann Strachan is an English television presenter.-Personal life:Strachan attended Claremont Fan Court School, Esher, a Christian Science school. Later, while at college, she briefly held jobs as an Avon lady and as a kissogram...
but expects to return to Springwatch in 2012).
Other regular contributors include cameraman and presenter Gordon Buchanan
Gordon Buchanan
Gordon Buchanan is a Scottish wildlife film maker noted for his contributions to Big Cat Diary, Springwatch, Natural World and the 'Lost Land of the...' series.-Life:Buchanan grew up on the Isle of Mull...
and sound recordist Chris Watson
Chris Watson (musician)
Christopher Richard Watson is a Sheffield-born musician and sound recordist specialising in natural history. He was a founding member of the musical group Cabaret Voltaire, and Watson's work as a wildlife sound recordist has covered television documentaries and experimental musical collaborations.-...
, who has occasionally appeared on-screen to describe his working methods.
Forerunners
Natural historyNatural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
programmes began as live outside broadcasts on BBC television in the early 1950s, when West Region's only television equipment was a mobile camera unit. The origins of Springwatch can be traced back to the 1970s, when the development of image-intensifying cameras enabled animals to be filmed in the dark. In May 1977
1977 in television
The year 1977 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1977.For the American TV schedule, see: 1977-78 American network television schedule.-Events:...
, two remote-controlled cameras and a series of infrared
Infrared
Infrared light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength longer than that of visible light, measured from the nominal edge of visible red light at 0.74 micrometres , and extending conventionally to 300 µm...
lamps were installed outside a badger sett in the Cotswolds
Cotswolds
The Cotswolds are a range of hills in west-central England, sometimes called the Heart of England, an area across and long. The area has been designated as the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...
. The Natural History Unit
BBC Natural History Unit
The BBC Natural History Unit is a department of the BBC dedicated to making television and radio programmes with a natural history or wildlife theme, especially nature documentaries...
broadcast the first live images of wild badgers during a week-long television event called Badgerwatch.
Although each instalment of Badgerwatch was only 10 minutes long, it created the template on which Springwatch and all the intervening series have been based, a format which has developed and expanded as technology has improved.
Badgerwatch was followed by Birdwatch, broadcast annually throughout the 1980s and presented by Tony Soper
Tony Soper
Tony Soper is a naturalist, author and broadcaster from Plymouth in England. Born 10 January 1929, he was educated at Hyde Park Elementary School and at Devonport High School, both in Plymouth...
, initially from locations around Britain including Slimbridge
WWT Slimbridge
WWT Slimbridge is a wetland reserve managed by the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust at Slimbridge, Gloucestershire, England. Slimbridge is halfway between Bristol and Gloucester on the estuary of the river Severn. The reserve was the first WWT centre to be opened, on 10 November 1946, thanks to the...
, Minsmere, the River Exe
River Exe
The River Exe in England rises near the village of Simonsbath, on Exmoor in Somerset, near the Bristol Channel coast, but flows more or less directly due south, so that most of its length lies in Devon. It reaches the sea at a substantial ria, the Exe Estuary, on the south coast of Devon...
, the Farne Islands
Farne Islands
The Farne Islands are a group of islands off the coast of Northumberland, England. There are between 15 and 20 or more islands depending on the state of the tide. They are scattered about 2.5–7.5 km distant from the mainland, divided into two groups, the Inner Group and the Outer Group...
and Martin Mere
WWT Martin Mere
WWT Martin Mere is a wetland nature reserve managed by the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust at Tarlscough, Burscough, Lancashire, England, on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, from Ormskirk and from Southport...
. Later series were filmed in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and the Camargue
Camargue
The Camargue is the region located south of Arles, France, between the Mediterranean Sea and the two arms of the Rhône River delta. The eastern arm is called the Grand Rhône; the western one is the Petit Rhône....
.
In 1988
1988 in television
The year 1988 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1988.For the American TV schedule, see: 1988-89 United States network television schedule.-Events:-Debuts:...
, Reefwatch became the first ever live underwater broadcast, transmitted on British and American television. It was anchored by Soper, with divers Martha Holmes and Mike DeGruy presenting during the Red Sea
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
dive using bubble helmets (another TV first). The BBC broadcast further live series from Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
with Africawatch (1989
1989 in television
For the American TV schedule, see: 1989–90 United States network television schedule.The year 1989 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1989.-Events:-Debuts:-1950s:...
) and Flamingowatch (1995
1995 in television
The year 1995 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1995.For the American TV schedule, see: 1995-96 United States network television schedule.-Events:-Debuts:-1950s:...
).
Bill Oddie and Simon King joined forces for the first time to present A Bird in the Nest (1994
1994 in television
The year 1994 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1994.For the American TV schedule, see: 1994-95 United States network television schedule.-Events:-Debuts:-Miniseries:...
), featuring 35 live instalments from nestbox cameras. King also co-presented Beachwatch, a day of live broadcasts from a stretch of Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
coastline, which aimed to show how wildlife responded to the changing tide.
The live format was rested until 2003
2003 in television
The year 2003 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 2003.For the American TV schedule, see: 2003-04 United States network television schedule.-Events:-Debuts:-1940s:...
, when it was resurrected with Oddie, King and Kate Humble for Wild In Your Garden
Wild In Your Garden
Wild In Your Garden was a live BBC television show, broadcast in 2003.Presenters Bill Oddie, Kate Humble and Simon King presented live action from a number of hidden cameras in or near nest boxes, badger setts and the like. Short, pre-filmed documentary pieces were also included...
. The following year, the show evolved into Britain Goes Wild with Bill Oddie
Britain Goes Wild with Bill Oddie
Britain Goes Wild with Bill Oddie was a live BBC TV show, broadcast nightly, Monday – Thursday, from May 31, 2004 to June 17, 2004.Following on from the previous year's Wild In Your Garden, presenters Bill Oddie, Kate Humble and Simon King spent one hour each evening, describing wildlife and...
, and was identical to the later Springwatch and Autumnwatch series in all but name.
Surveys and Campaigns
From 2005 until 2007, the BBC ran a Springwatch survey in conjunction with the Woodland TrustWoodland Trust
The Woodland Trust is a conservation charity in the United Kingdom concerned with the protection and sympathetic management of native woodland heritage.-History:...
. Viewers were encouraged to record key events indicating the passage of spring, including the first sign of frogspawn, blossom on hawthorn trees and the arrival of swift
Common Swift
The Common Swift is a small bird, superficially similar to the Barn Swallow or House Martin. It is, however, completely unrelated to those passerine species, since swifts are in the separate order Apodiformes...
s. By comparing the results with previous years, the surveys established that spring was arriving sooner than average. The BBC are no longer involved in the annual survey (now called Nature’s Calendar) but the results are still reported on the programme. It remains the largest survey of phenology
Phenology
Phenology is the study of periodic plant and animal life cycle events and how these are influenced by seasonal and interannual variations in climate...
in the world.
A similar survey exists for Autumnwatch, with the timing of the first oak leaf tint, the ripening of blackberries
Blackberry
The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by any of several species in the Rubus genus of the Rosaceae family. The fruit is not a true berry; botanically it is termed an aggregate fruit, composed of small drupelets. The plants typically have biennial canes and perennial roots. Blackberries and...
and the dropping of conker
Conker
Conkers is a traditional English children's game played using the seeds of horse-chestnut trees – the name 'conker' is also applied to the seed and to the tree itself...
s all being recorded.
The BBC-led Breathing Places campaign was launched during Springwatch 2006. Awards are made to small projects across the country which aim to create small areas of wildlife-friendly habitat, particularly in cities. In the first three phases of the campaign, over £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
8.5 million of National Lottery
National Lottery (United Kingdom)
The National Lottery is the state-franchised national lottery in the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man.It is operated by Camelot Group, to whom the licence was granted in 1994, 2001 and again in 2007. The lottery is regulated by the National Lottery Commission, and was established by the then...
funding has been awarded. Local councils and Wildlife Trusts are also involved in the partnership. Breathing Places evolved from an earlier BBC campaign called Make Space for Nature, launched in 2004 to coincide with Britain Goes Wild with Bill Oddie.
Springwatch 2005
The first series of Springwatch debuted on BBC Two on 30 May 2005, and finished on 16 June. Bill Oddie and Kate Humble were based at Fishleigh Estate, an organic farm in north-west DevonDevon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
(the same location had been used for the previous year’s Britain Goes Wild with Bill Oddie). Animals filmed included swallow
Barn Swallow
The Barn Swallow is the most widespread species of swallow in the world. It is a distinctive passerine bird with blue upperparts, a long, deeply forked tail and curved, pointed wings. It is found in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas...
s nesting in the barn, blue tit
Blue Tit
The Blue Tit is a 10.5 to 12 cm long passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is a widespread and common resident breeder throughout temperate and subarctic Europe and western Asia in deciduous or mixed woodlands...
families in nestboxes and great spotted woodpecker
Great Spotted Woodpecker
The Great Spotted Woodpecker , Dendrocopos major, is a bird species of the woodpecker family . It is distributed throughout Europe and northern Asia, and usually resident year-round except in the colder parts of its range...
s visiting bird feeders. Simon King visited three locations across the country; firstly, the Isle of Mull
Isle of Mull
The Isle of Mull or simply Mull is the second largest island of the Inner Hebrides, off the west coast of Scotland in the council area of Argyll and Bute....
to watch white-tailed eagle
White-tailed Eagle
The White-tailed Eagle , also known as the Sea Eagle, Erne , or White-tailed Sea-eagle, is a large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae which includes other raptors such as hawks, kites, and harriers...
s on a nest; secondly, the London Wetland Centre to observe peregrine falcon
Peregrine Falcon
The Peregrine Falcon , also known as the Peregrine, and historically as the Duck Hawk in North America, is a widespread bird of prey in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-gray back, barred white underparts, and a black head and "moustache"...
s and red fox
Red Fox
The red fox is the largest of the true foxes, as well as being the most geographically spread member of the Carnivora, being distributed across the entire northern hemisphere from the Arctic Circle to North Africa, Central America, and the steppes of Asia...
es; and finally, the Farne Islands to view the sea bird colonies and grey seal
Grey Seal
The grey seal is found on both shores of the North Atlantic Ocean. It is a large seal of the family Phocidae or "true seals". It is the only species classified in the genus Halichoerus...
s.
The series was judged a success, In addition, over 150,000 sightings were reported in the Springwatch survey.
Autumnwatch 2005
The success of Springwatch led to the BBC and the Woodland Trust collaborating once again to launch an appeal for sightings of the approach of autumn. The results of the first Autumnwatch survey were presented by Bill Oddie in a one-off programme in November.Springwatch 2006
The second series of Springwatch was broadcast from 29 May to 15 June 2006. Bill Oddie and Kate Humble again presented from the Fishleigh Estate farm, where more than 50 secret cameras were rigged up to film the day-to-day dramas of nesting birds including pied flycatchers, barn owlBarn Owl
The Barn Owl is the most widely distributed species of owl, and one of the most widespread of all birds. It is also referred to as Common Barn Owl, to distinguish it from other species in the barn-owl family Tytonidae. These form one of two main lineages of living owls, the other being the typical...
s and dabchick
Little Grebe
The Little Grebe , also known as Dabchick, member of the grebe family of water birds. At 23 to 29 cm in length it is the smallest European member of its family. It is commonly found in open bodies of water across most of its range.-Description:The Little Grebe is a small water bird with a pointed...
s. The badgers only made a single live appearance in the whole three weeks. Pre-recorded films featured mole
Mole (animal)
Moles are small cylindrical mammals adapted to a subterranean lifestyle. They have velvety fur; tiny or invisible ears and eyes; and short, powerful limbs with large paws oriented for digging. The term is especially and most properly used for the true moles, those of the Talpidae family in the...
s, capercaillie
Capercaillie
The Western Capercaillie , also known as the Wood Grouse, Heather Cock or Capercaillie , is the largest member of the grouse family, reaching over 100 cm in length and 6.7 kg in weight. The largest one ever recorded in captivity had a weight of 7.2 kg....
s and earwig
Earwig
Earwigs make up the insect order Dermaptera, found throughout the Americas, Africa, Eurasia, Australia and New Zealand. With 1,800 species in 12 families, they are one of the smaller insect orders...
s. On the Shetland Islands
Shetland Islands
Shetland is a subarctic archipelago of Scotland that lies north and east of mainland Great Britain. The islands lie some to the northeast of Orkney and southeast of the Faroe Islands and form part of the division between the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the North Sea to the east. The total...
, Simon King followed a family of otter
European Otter
The European Otter , also known as the Eurasian otter, Eurasian river otter, common otter and Old World otter, is a European and Asian member of the Lutrinae or otter subfamily, and is typical of freshwater otters....
s and a host of birds: puffin
Atlantic Puffin
The Atlantic Puffin is a seabird species in the auk family. It is a pelagic bird that feeds primarily by diving for fish, but also eats other sea creatures, such as squid and crustaceans. Its most obvious characteristic during the breeding season is its brightly coloured bill...
s, great skua
Great Skua
The Great Skua, Stercorarius skua, is a large seabird in the skua family Stercorariidae. In Britain, it is sometimes known by the name Bonxie, a Shetland name of unknown origin.-Description:...
s, oystercatcher
Eurasian Oystercatcher
The Eurasian Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus, also known as the Common Pied Oystercatcher, or just Oystercatcher, is a wader in the oystercatcher bird family Haematopodidae. It is the most widespread of the oystercatchers, with three races breeding in western Europe, central Eurasia,...
s, merlin
Merlin (bird)
The Merlin is a small species of falcon from the Northern Hemisphere. A bird of prey once known colloquially as a pigeon hawk in North America, the Merlin breeds in the northern Holarctic; some migrate to subtropical and northern tropical regions in winter.-European and North American...
s and red-throated diver
Red-throated Diver
The Red-throated Loon or Red-throated Diver is a migratory aquatic bird found in the northern hemisphere. It breeds primarily in Arctic regions, and winters in northern coastal waters. It is the most widely distributed member of the loon or diver family. Ranging from in length, the Red-throated...
s. Springwatch also tracked brent geese
Brent Goose
The Brant or Brent Goose, Branta bernicla, is a species of goose of the genus Branta. The Black Brant is an American subspecies. The specific descriptor bernicla is from the same source as "barnacle" in Barnacle Goose, which looks similar but is not a close relation.-Appearance:The Brant Goose is...
on their spring migration from Strangford Lough
Strangford Lough
Strangford Lough, sometimes Strangford Loch, is a large sea loch or inlet in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is separated from the Irish Sea by the Ards Peninsula. The name Strangford is derived ; describing the fast-flowing narrows at its mouth...
in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
to their breeding grounds in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
's Queen Elizabeth Islands
Queen Elizabeth Islands
The Queen Elizabeth Islands are the northernmost cluster of islands in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, split between Nunavut and Northwest Territories in Northern Canada.-Geography:...
, via stopovers in Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
and Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
.
Live webcam
Webcam
A webcam is a video camera that feeds its images in real time to a computer or computer network, often via USB, ethernet, or Wi-Fi.Their most popular use is the establishment of video links, permitting computers to act as videophones or videoconference stations. This common use as a video camera...
s around the country enabled viewers to follow animal stories on the Springwatch website. These included osprey
Osprey
The Osprey , sometimes known as the sea hawk or fish eagle, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and across the wings...
s at Loch Garten
Loch Garten Osprey Centre
Loch Garten is a large Highland freshwater loch near Boat of Garten, in the Strathspey area of the Cairngorms National Park, in Scotland. It is surrounded by the tall pine trees of the Abernethy Forest, a large area of which is an RSPB nature reserve...
in Scotland, red kite
Red Kite
The Red Kite is a medium-large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards, and harriers. The species is currently endemic to the Western Palearctic region in Europe and northwest Africa, though formerly also occurred just...
s at Rockingham Forest
Rockingham Forest
Rockingham Forest is a former Mediæval royal hunting forest in the East Midlands region of England; most of which was in the county of Northamptonshire but also extended slightly into the neighbouring counties of Leicestershire and Lincolnshire .The forest originally stretched from Stamford down...
in the East Midlands
East Midlands
The East Midlands is one of the regions of England, consisting of most of the eastern half of the traditional region of the Midlands. It encompasses the combined area of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Northamptonshire and most of Lincolnshire...
and Pipistrelle bat
Common Pipistrelle
The Common Pipistrelle Pipistrellus pipistrellus is a small pipistrelle bat whose very large range extends across most of Europe, North Africa, southwestern Asia, and possibly into Korea. It is one of the most common bat species in the British Isles....
s in Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
.
Spin-off programmes for children were screened on the CBeebies
CBeebies
CBeebies is the brand used by the BBC for programming aimed at children 6 years and under. It is used as a themed strand in the UK on terrestrial television, as a separate free-to-air domestic British channel and used for international varients supported by advertising, subscription or both...
channel and as special editions of The Really Wild Show
The Really Wild Show
The Really Wild Show was a long-running British television show about wildlife, broadcast by the BBC as part of their CBBC service to children. It also runs on Animal Planet in the USA.The show was broadcast continuously since January 21, 1986...
on the CBBC
CBBC
CBBC is one of two brand names used for the BBC's children's television strands. Between 1985 and 2002, CBBC was the name given to all the BBC's programmes on TV for children aged under 14...
channel. The presenters were Justin Fletcher
Justin Fletcher
Justin Fletcher, MBE is an English children's TV personality in the United Kingdom.Fletcher is most associated as a presenter and actor on the BBC pre-school television channel CBeebies, both speaking and performing in various often self-created roles.-Biography:Born in Reading, Berkshire, he is...
, Nick Baker and Michaela Strachan
Michaela Strachan
Michaela Evelyn Ann Strachan is an English television presenter.-Personal life:Strachan attended Claremont Fan Court School, Esher, a Christian Science school. Later, while at college, she briefly held jobs as an Avon lady and as a kissogram...
.
Autumnwatch 2006
For 2006, Autumnwatch was extended to a two-week series, broadcast from 2–12 October. Oddie and Humble were based at Martin MereWWT Martin Mere
WWT Martin Mere is a wetland nature reserve managed by the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust at Tarlscough, Burscough, Lancashire, England, on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, from Ormskirk and from Southport...
wetland reserve in Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, where they awaited the arrival of local wild swan
Swan
Swans, genus Cygnus, are birds of the family Anatidae, which also includes geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Sometimes, they are considered a distinct subfamily, Cygninae...
s and the return of the brent geese to Northern Island. King watched the red deer
Red Deer
The red deer is one of the largest deer species. Depending on taxonomy, the red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Asia Minor, parts of western Asia, and central Asia. It also inhabits the Atlas Mountains region between Morocco and Tunisia in northwestern Africa, being...
rut on the island of Rùm
Rùm
Rùm , a Scottish Gaelic name often anglicised to Rum) is one of the Small Isles of the Inner Hebrides, in the district of Lochaber, Scotland...
. In addition, cameraman Gordon Buchanan
Gordon Buchanan
Gordon Buchanan is a Scottish wildlife film maker noted for his contributions to Big Cat Diary, Springwatch, Natural World and the 'Lost Land of the...' series.-Life:Buchanan grew up on the Isle of Mull...
filmed a nightly grey seal diary from the Monarch Islands. British viewers could submit their sightings of natural autumn events on the Autumnwatch website, and the findings were developed into an online map showing the progression of autumn events across the country. This showed a correlation with temperature.
A compilation programme featuring highlights from both 2006 series was screened on Boxing Day
Boxing Day
Boxing Day is a bank or public holiday that occurs on 26 December, or the first or second weekday after Christmas Day, depending on national or regional laws. It is observed in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and some other Commonwealth nations. In Ireland, it is recognized as...
.
Springwatch 2007
For the third series of Springwatch, broadcast from 28 May until 14 June 2007 on BBC TwoBBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
, Bill Oddie and Kate Humble were once again based at the Devon farm. Birds filmed live on their nests included swallows, buzzard
Common Buzzard
The Common Buzzard is a medium to large bird of prey, whose range covers most of Europe and extends into Asia. It is usually resident all year, except in the coldest parts of its range, and in the case of one subspecies.-Description:...
s, jays
Eurasian Jay
The Eurasian Jay is a species of bird occurring over a vast region from Western Europe and north-west Africa to the Indian Subcontinent and further to the eastern seaboard of Asia and down into south-east Asia...
, barn owls and jackdaw
Jackdaw
The Jackdaw , sometimes known as the Eurasian Jackdaw, European Jackdaw or Western Jackdaw, is a passerine bird in the crow family. Found across Europe, western Asia and North Africa, it is mostly sedentary, although northern and eastern populations migrate south in winter. Four subspecies are...
s. Oddie had close encounters with an otter and a kingfisher on the River Torridge
River Torridge
The River Torridge is a river in Devon in England. It was the home of Tarka the Otter in Henry Williamson's book. The Torridge local government district is named after the river....
, which runs through the farm. Simon King travelled to the Hebridean
Hebrides
The Hebrides comprise a widespread and diverse archipelago off the west coast of Scotland. There are two main groups: the Inner and Outer Hebrides. These islands have a long history of occupation dating back to the Mesolithic and the culture of the residents has been affected by the successive...
island of Islay
Islay
-Prehistory:The earliest settlers on Islay were nomadic hunter-gatherers who arrived during the Mesolithic period after the retreat of the Pleistocene ice caps. In 1993 a flint arrowhead was found in a field near Bridgend dating from 10,800 BC, the earliest evidence of a human presence found so far...
, where he filmed local specialities such as red-billed chough
Red-billed Chough
The Red-billed Chough or Chough , Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax, is a bird in the crow family; it is one of only two species in the genus Pyrrhocorax...
s, corncrakes, hen harrier
Hen Harrier
The Hen Harrier or Northern Harrier is a bird of prey. It breeds throughout the northern parts of the northern hemisphere in Canada and the northernmost USA, and in northern Eurasia. This species is polytypic, with two subspecies. Marsh Hawk is a historical name for the American form.It migrates...
s, golden eagle
Golden Eagle
The Golden Eagle is one of the best known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. Once widespread across the Holarctic, it has disappeared from many of the more heavily populated areas...
s and common shelduck
Common Shelduck
The Common Shelduck is a waterfowl species shelduck genus Tadorna. It is widespread and common in Eurasia, mainly breeding in temperate and wintering in subtropical regions; in winter, it can also be found in the Maghreb...
s.
The series also featured barn owl chicks at Cornwall's Lost Gardens of Heligan
Lost Gardens of Heligan
The Lost Gardens of Heligan, near Mevagissey in Cornwall, are one of the most popular botanical gardens in the UK. The style of the gardens is typical of the nineteenth century Gardenesque style, with areas of different character and in different design styles.The gardens were created by members of...
, and cameras captured the moment when one chick killed and ate its younger sibling. Gordon Buchanan filmed urban red foxes in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
for a pre-recorded nightly diary segment.
The 2007 series spawned more spin-offs on other BBC television channels, radio stations and the internet. Springwatch Nightshift broadcast two hours of live footage of badgers, owls and bats on BBC Two each night, and a half-hour weekly review programme aired on Friday evenings on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
. Children's programmes returned to CBeebies and Springwatch Trackers was launched on CBBC. Presented live from the farm each morning by Steve Backshall
Steve Backshall
Steve Backshall is a British naturalist, writer and television presenter, best known for BBC TV's "Deadly 60'. This series sees Backshall travelling the world in search of predators that are, "Not just deadly to me, but deadly in their own world"...
and Kirsten O'Brien
Kirsten O'Brien
Kirsten O'Brien is an English television presenter and stand-up comic.She is known for presenting SMart, and presented Smile and Totally Doctor Who alongside Barney Harwood on CBBC....
. The Children that were hired to do the show was Charlotte Chapman who was spotted after various modeling and acting jobs, also Michael Smith a young child actor and George Bain who was in various children programs, the children were set tasks by Simon King.
CBBC's Springwatch Trackers also featured an online database and game created by Playniac. The database featured 48 UK wildlife animals in 12 different habitats and allows users to explore the animals, browse by criteria and print off handy reference cards to take out and about with them. The game simulated tracking animals in the wild and had the player looking for clues against the clock, unlocking video when they find an animal.
A live outside broadcast from the Springwatch farm featured on Terry Wogan
Terry Wogan
Sir Michael Terence Wogan, KBE, DL , or also known as Terry Wogan, is a veteran Irish radio and television broadcaster who holds dual Irish and British citizenship. Wogan has worked for the BBC in the United Kingdom for most of his career...
’s BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
breakfast show on 13 June, and on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
, a special edition of Nature
Nature (radio programme)
Nature is a long-running documentary programme on BBC Radio 4, covering wildlife and environmental matters.It is broadcast on Mondays at 21:00-21:30 and repeated on Tuesdays at 11:00...
on 11 June answered listeners' questions about spring.
Autumnwatch 2007
Autumnwatch was broadcast slightly later in the year than the previous series, from 5 – 14 November. Oddie and Humble were based at Martin Mere as for the previous year, but this time King toured some of Britain's best places for viewing wildlife. There were daily pre-recorded sequences from the deer rut in RumRum
Rum is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane by-products such as molasses, or directly from sugarcane juice, by a process of fermentation and distillation. The distillate, a clear liquid, is then usually aged in oak barrels...
which had taken place earlier in the season.
Springwatch 2008
For the fourth series of Springwatch, the production team moved to a new location at the Pensthorpe Nature ReservePensthorpe Nature Reserve
The Pensthorpe Nature Reserve is located at Pensthorpe, Norfolk, England about one mile from Fakenham and close to the A1067 road. The reserve covers , with the River Wensum running through the site, is a designated Special Area of Conservation . The reserve was the location of the BBC programme...
in Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
due to a change of ownership at the Fishleigh Estate farm. It was broadcast on BBC Two from 26 May to 12 June. Bill Oddie and Kate Humble watched local birds on the nest, including little ringed plover
Little Ringed Plover
The Little Ringed Plover is a small plover. Adults have a grey-brown back and wings, a white belly, and a white breast with one black neckband. They have a brown cap, a white forehead, a black mask around the eyes with white above and a short dark bill...
s, goldcrest
Goldcrest
The Goldcrest, Regulus regulus, is a very small passerine bird in the kinglet family. Its colourful golden crest feathers gives rise to its English and scientific names, and possibly to it being called the "king of the birds" in European folklore. Several subspecies are recognised across the very...
s and reed bunting
Reed Bunting
The Reed Bunting, Emberiza schoeniclus, is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae....
s, all new species for Springwatch. Swallows, blue tits, great tit
Great Tit
The Great Tit is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is a widespread and common species throughout Europe, the Middle East, Central and Northern Asia, and parts of North Africa in any sort of woodland. It is generally resident, and most Great Tits do not migrate except in extremely...
s, greenfinch
European Greenfinch
The European Greenfinch, or just Greenfinch, Carduelis chloris, is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. The genus Carduelis might be split up and in this case, the greenfinches would be separated in their old genus Chloris again.This bird is widespread throughout Europe, north...
es, pied wagtails and robin
European Robin
The European Robin , most commonly known in Anglophone Europe simply as the Robin, is a small insectivorous passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family , but is now considered to be an Old World flycatcher...
s were amongst the returning species. Simon King was based in the Cairngorm National Park, where he brought viewers footage of ospreys with chicks, pine marten
Pine Marten
The European Pine Marten , known most commonly as the pine marten in Anglophone Europe, and less commonly also known as Pineten, baum marten, or sweet marten, is an animal native to Northern Europe belonging to the mustelid family, which also includes mink, otter, badger, wolverine and weasel. It...
s, Scottish wildcat
European Wildcat
The European Wildcat is a subspecies of the wildcat that inhabits forests of Western, Central, Eastern and Southern Europe, as well as Scotland, Turkey and the Caucasus Mountains; it has been extirpated from Scandinavia, England, and Wales. Some authorities restrict F. s...
s, ptarmigan and crested tit
Crested Tit
The Crested Tit, Lophophanes cristatus , is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is a widespread and common resident breeder in coniferous forests throughout central and northern Europe and in deciduous woodland in France and the Iberian peninsula...
s.
The week after the main series ended, four Springwatch Specials were screened. Humble presented a programme on marine life, Oddie looked at garden wildlife, King focussed on spectacular British wildlife events and Gordon Buchanan met people who have interesting relationships with wildlife.
Autumnwatch 2008
For Autumnwatch 2008, broadcast from 27 October – 6 November, Oddie and Humble were based at Brownsea IslandBrownsea Island
Brownsea Island is the largest of the islands in Poole Harbour in the county of Dorset, England. The island is owned by the National Trust. Much of the island is open to the public and includes areas of woodland and heath with a wide variety of wildlife, together with cliff top views across Poole...
, one of the few places in southern England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
where red squirrel
Red Squirrel
The red squirrel or Eurasian red squirrel is a species of tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus common throughout Eurasia...
s can still be seen. King visited a variety of locations around the country, beginning with three days watching fallow deer
Fallow Deer
The Fallow Deer is a ruminant mammal belonging to the family Cervidae. This common species is native to western Eurasia, but has been introduced widely elsewhere. It often includes the rarer Persian Fallow Deer as a subspecies , while others treat it as an entirely different species The Fallow...
at Petworth Park
Petworth House
Petworth House in Petworth, West Sussex, England, is a late 17th-century mansion, rebuilt in 1688 by Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset, and altered in the 1870s by Anthony Salvin...
and muntjac
Reeves's Muntjac
The Reeves' Muntjac is a muntjac species found widely in southeastern China and in Taiwan. They have also been introduced in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Ireland by 2008. It feeds on herbs, blossoms, succulent shoots, grasses and nuts, and was also reported to eat trees...
at Birmingham Airport. He then followed up sightings of otters in a Walsall
Walsall
Walsall is a large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. It is located northwest of Birmingham and east of Wolverhampton. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Walsall is a component area of the West Midlands conurbation and part of the Black Country.Walsall is the administrative...
canal, but although his team found traces of the animals, they didn't manage to film them. During the second week he watched raven
Common Raven
The Common Raven , also known as the Northern Raven, is a large, all-black passerine bird. Found across the northern hemisphere, it is the most widely distributed of all corvids...
s on Anglesey
Anglesey
Anglesey , also known by its Welsh name Ynys Môn , is an island and, as Isle of Anglesey, a county off the north west coast of Wales...
and made two live dives off the south coast of England, managing to find and film a conger eel
European conger
The European conger, Conger conger, is a conger of the family Congridae, found in the eastern Atlantic from Norway and Iceland to Senegal, and also in the Mediterranean and Black Sea. It is sometimes seen in very shallow water by the shore but can also go down to depths of 1170 m...
.
Gordon Buchanan travelled to the Farne Islands to film the grey seal colony during the pupping season. Attempts to communicate with Oddie and Humble via a live satellite link, were thwarted on several occasions by bad weather conditions.
Additional content was made available on the Autumnwatch website, including live webcams, extra videos and a blog.
Springwatch 2009
Chris Packham
Christopher George "Chris" Packham is an English naturalist, nature photographer, television presenter and author. He is the brother of fashion designer, Jenny Packham...
. He joined Kate Humble for the show's second year based at Pensthorpe. Simon King toured locations across north and mid Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, viewing Anglesey
Anglesey
Anglesey , also known by its Welsh name Ynys Môn , is an island and, as Isle of Anglesey, a county off the north west coast of Wales...
's seabird colonies, goshawks and red kite
Red Kite
The Red Kite is a medium-large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards, and harriers. The species is currently endemic to the Western Palearctic region in Europe and northwest Africa, though formerly also occurred just...
s. His main challenge was to find and film a wild polecat
European polecat
The European polecat , also known as the black or forest polecat , is a species of Mustelid native to western Eurasia and North Africa, which is classed by the IUCN as Least Concern due to its wide range and large numbers. It is of a generally dark brown colour, with a pale underbelly and a dark...
. Wildlife cameraman Gordon Buchanan was based at a badger sett in Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
. Former producer Martin Hughes-Games
Martin Hughes-Games
Martin Hughes-Games is a natural history programme producer and presenter. He graduated in Zoology in 1978 with a 1st Class honours from Reading University, and has worked in television for 30 years. He is passionate about wildlife and an active conservationist – even going so far as planting his...
also joined the team to present a regular feature on conservation holidays, as well as co-hosting the spin-off Springwatch Unsprung programmes. The Springwatch website continued to host regularly updated blogs, message boards and webcams, as well as wildlife information.
Packham made a game of inserting the titles of songs by The Smiths
The Smiths
The Smiths were an English alternative rock band, formed in Manchester in 1982. Based on the song writing partnership of Morrissey and Johnny Marr , the band also included Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce...
into the script for each episode.
Three new Springwatch Specials aired after the main series had finished; King revealed some of the "tricks of the trade" of a wildlife cameraman in "Close Encounters"; Hughes-Games revealed Britain's best wildlife locations in "Holidays"; and Buchanan presented a compilation of viewers' videos in "Home Movies".
Autumnwatch 2009
In a change from the usual format, the 2009 series of Autumnwatch was broadcast once a week every Friday for eight weeks. Executive producer Tim Scoones attributed the change to the popularity of the series' multiplatform formats, such as its FlickrFlickr
Flickr is an image hosting and video hosting website, web services suite, and online community that was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and acquired by Yahoo! in 2005. In addition to being a popular website for users to share and embed personal photographs, the service is widely used by bloggers to...
group. The series ran from 2 October to 20 November 2009. Packham and Humble were based at the BBC Natural History Unit
BBC Natural History Unit
The BBC Natural History Unit is a department of the BBC dedicated to making television and radio programmes with a natural history or wildlife theme, especially nature documentaries...
headquarters in Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, but owing to the late hour of broadcast, all wildlife footage was prerecorded.
Highlights from both 2009 series were shown in a Springwatch Christmas Special broadcast live on Christmas Day.
Snow Watch
The BBC commissioned a special programme to show how wildlife was affected by the coldest winter weather for 35 years. The programme was created in just five days, and was broadcast on 13 January 2010 in place of a scheduled edition of Natural World. The Points West studio was used for the indoor portion of the show and the normal theme music was replaced for the end credits with the song "Walk Out to Winter" by Aztec CameraAztec Camera
Aztec Camera were a Scottish New Wave band from the Glasgow suburb of East Kilbride, formed in 1980 and centered around teenage singer-songwriter, Roddy Frame. Their album Love was among the nominations for Best British Album at the 1989 BRIT Awards....
.
Springwatch 2010
The sixth, three-week, 2010 edition of Springwatch began airing on BBC Two beginning on 31 May. It was preceded by three special editions, the first of which, Chris Packham's Signs of Change, about climate changeClimate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
, aired on 17 May. Others were shown on 19 and 20 May. The BBC supported the series with a Twitter account, @bbc_springwatch, using the hashtag #springwatch. Packham used a reference to The Cure
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
in each episode. Brett Westwood
Brett Westwood
Brett Westwood is a radio presenter and author, specialising in natural history. He regularly presents episodes of BBC Radio 4's series Living World and Nature, as well as his own short series, several of which are available in Real Audio format from the BBC website...
was among the participants in the series' bird race, and Bill Oddie made a guest appearance in the penultimate episode of the series.
The series was followed on 20 June by a two-hour, live charity appeal tie-in, Wild Night In. Broadcast from London Zoo
London Zoo
London Zoo is the world's oldest scientific zoo. It was opened in London on 27 April 1828, and was originally intended to be used as a collection for scientific study. It was eventually opened to the public in 1847...
, it was fronted by Humble, Packham and Hughes-Games, with pre-recorded segments, some featuring David Attenborough
David Attenborough
Sir David Frederick Attenborough OM, CH, CVO, CBE, FRS, FZS, FSA is a British broadcaster and naturalist. His career as the face and voice of natural history programmes has endured for more than 50 years...
.
Autumnwatch 2010
The 2010 series was broadcast every Thursday from 7 October at 8.30pm, for 8 weeks. It was once again based at from the BBC Natural History UnitBBC Natural History Unit
The BBC Natural History Unit is a department of the BBC dedicated to making television and radio programmes with a natural history or wildlife theme, especially nature documentaries...
in Bristol. Simon King did not participate, and was replaced by a variety of reporters who took his slot each week.
Springwatch 2011
A Springwatch Easter Special was aired on BBC2 at 8pm on Easter Monday, 25 April 2011 and featured the return of Bill Oddie to the presenting team.The full series, presented by Kate Humble, Chris Packham and Martin Hughes-Games, started on Monday 30 May 2011 at 8pm on BBC 2 from a new venue, RSPB Ynys-hir in mid Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. During the first week Charlie Hamilton James presented daily updates on the reintroduction of beavers to the United Kingdom. At the end of week one Charlie was set the task of filming beavers live; he succeeded. During week two, Iolo Williams broadcast from Skomer Island. He was filming Puffins and during the week introduced a new webcam. The presenter for week three was Liz Bonnin, at Pitsea Landfill site, filming foxes. She was set the task of filming live foxes, and succeeded. The series closed with a montage of clips of the cast "singing" the Tom Jones
Tom Jones (singer)
Sir Thomas John Woodward, OBE , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer.Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records...
song It's Not Unusual
It's Not Unusual
"It's Not Unusual" is a song written by Les Reed and Gordon Mills, first recorded by a then-unknown Tom Jones after having first been offered to Sandie Shaw. Jones recorded what was intended to be a demo for Shaw, but when she heard it she was so impressed with Jones' delivery that she declined the...
, whose lyrics had been surreptitiously inserted into the script over the three week run.
Autumnwatch Live 2011
Autumnwatch returned with a new name, Autumnwatch Live on 7 October 2011. For the first four weeks it was presented from the National Arboretum at WestonbirtWestonbirt Arboretum
Westonbirt, The National Arboretum is managed by the Forestry Commission. Westonbirt Arboretum is located near the historic market town of Tetbury in Gloucestershire, England, and is perhaps the most important and widely known arboretum in the United Kingdom.Planted in the heyday of Victorian plant...
, and for the final four weeks, the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust's Slimbridge reserve, by Michaela Strachan
Michaela Strachan
Michaela Evelyn Ann Strachan is an English television presenter.-Personal life:Strachan attended Claremont Fan Court School, Esher, a Christian Science school. Later, while at college, she briefly held jobs as an Avon lady and as a kissogram...
, Chris Packham and Martin Hughes-Games. Each week there was a guest presenter who focused on one particular aspect of the British countryside. These included Bill Oddie. Kate Humble did not participate, but is due to return in Springwatch 2012.
Book
A book Springwatch and Autumnwatch, was published by CollinsHarperCollins
HarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide...
in April 2007, and features content from all the regular presenters to that date.
Music
The theme music was commissioned by the BBC from independent composer David PooreDavid Poore
David Poore is a British independent musician, who has composed and produced music for over 200 films by the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Disney, PBS, National Geographic, RTÉ and other broadcasters.-Education:...
, and was nominated for a Royal Television Society
Royal Television Society
The Royal Television Society is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present and future. It is the oldest television society in the world...
award in 2007. David has also produced music for many documentaries by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
, Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
, National Geographic, Disney RTÉ
RTE
RTÉ is the abbreviation for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the public broadcasting service of the Republic of Ireland.RTE may also refer to:* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 25th Prime Minister of Turkey...
and other broadcasters.
Awards and nominations
- Best Pre-school Live Action Series awarded to CBeebies Springwatch at the 2006 BAFTA Children's Awards.(Producers: Clare Bradley & Tony Reed, Director Aliex Yuill).
- Springwatch nominated for Best Title Theme at the Royal Television SocietyRoyal Television SocietyThe Royal Television Society is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present and future. It is the oldest television society in the world...
Awards in 2007 (Composer: David PooreDavid PooreDavid Poore is a British independent musician, who has composed and produced music for over 200 films by the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Disney, PBS, National Geographic, RTÉ and other broadcasters.-Education:...
) - Cbeebies Autumn Watch nominated for Best Children's Live-Action Series at the 2007 BAFTA Children's Awards.(Producers: Clare Bradley & Helen Darrington, Directors Lotte Elwell & Susannah Udall).
External links
- Official Website
- BBC Autumnwatch blog - Confirmation of Simon King's departure
- Feature article in The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...