Autumnwatch 28 October - ask the team a question

Dear Autumnwatch



My wife and I recently visited Norfolk and The Stiffkey Saltmarsh reserve, what a special place that is!! - and what a place to be in October

However on this first visit we saw at a distance what I think was Marsh Harrier, it was yellow legged and it looked larger than the Common Buzzard we see regularly.



Is this sighting likely to be correct?



Great, great programme



Best Wishes

Can you tell me why my garden sparrows were trying yo get into my neighbours swallow nest. It was very amusing+interesting to watch, it went on for 15mins

Arran Murray

12

Perth, Scotland

while you're talking eels - are there any burbot left in Britain's freshwaters?

Hi Team,



Why do deer choose to rut in the autumn, rather than any other time of year?



Alex

Can anybody tell me what these jelly blobs are that I'm finding on the fells?

There's a picture on flickr here of one I came across on the moor nearby.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/31813836@N05/6289249411/



Thanks, Dani

I watch the deer rutting in richmond park every year, and i have allways notice that it sounds like the fallow deer are sneezing when they are gathered all together. are they sneezing, if so why?

Hi, I have always wanted to know that if Electric eels are as they say Electric, why don't they electrocute them self in the water!!! Because as most people know, water and electric don't mix!

Matthew Clayman (12) and Daniel Clayman (9) and our 43 year old dad!

Hi Team,

About 3-4 years ago, we planted an acorn which took rather well. We now have a small oak tree, in a pot, which is approximately 2 and half foot tall. I am wondering if there is anywhere which we can safely pot on this tree, within the countryside? Any hints or tips would be much appreciated

Good evening to you all.



We have had this invasion of the Harlequin ladybird over the last couple of years. Recently with the dip in temperatures they have been entering the garden shed.



As they are an invasive species outcompeting the native species should one kill the invaders or leave nature alone ?

What food can I put out to attract fieldfares and redwings?

can you tell me do weassles hibernate . because at my nan and grandads house there is somthing is digging under my grandads shead and we think it is a weassle could it be going under there to hibernate.



thanks eddie

I have noticed a huge number of Lapwings in Southern Scotland and Cumbria. Why are they so numerous at this time of year? Are there more around this year than there have been?

Hi Autumnwatch



I go diving in Cornwall around Easter every year. Are there any migrating creatures to look out for under the waves this time of year that I can look out for besides the resident creatures.



Thanks

Laura 15

I was wondering where all the hawk moths go at this time of year because I study moths occasionally when I go to holme to do ringing and at the moment weve had absolutely none

thanks in antisipation

How big does the British Beaver get?

Hi Autumn-Watch

I have recently put bird feeders out in my garden having recently moved to a new property. As of yet no birds have fed from them. I was just wondering at what point will these feeders be noticed? And do birds have a regular route they use to feed?

Thank you very much, :)

How fast are Ring-necked Parakeets spreading aross the UK?

Dear Autumnwatch



Is the gorgeous hunk of cuteness... namely Martin, taken please?

I love his hair!! SO much nicer than the shaved heads blokes often favour!!



Lucie's Mum xx

We have recently put Niger seeds out to see if we could attract goldfinches to our garden. We previously never got them in our garden, now we have lots...how do they know there is food for them when no gardens in our row have it out for them, and we have not had it out before?!

James and Linzi

When out on location, where do you get a cup of tea?

Hi team,

i just discovered that tree sparrows have arrived in our garden, we already have house sparrows and i was wondering if come the spring they would interbreed?

from josh (15)

I watched a buzzard swoop down into out orchard and carry off a live hedgehog, is this recognised behaviour?

why do animals hibernate ?

As i walked to school this morning i noticed a chaffinch flying above me and as it flew away i caught sight of 2 fast swift like birds.....Could they be? I should also add that i live in farr which is near inverness!

Hi Autumnwatch



Last week you were talking about the speed of Autumn, but what measure is used to establish that Autumn has begun?



Thanks for any answer



Melanie

What's the latest on badger culling to 'prevent' bovine TB? Is it being carried out systematically or randomly and what studies are monitoring affected populations and any impact on rates of bovine TB on neighbouring cattle?

Have u seen a Pallid Harrier this year, We have : ) This seems to be the year for them. 20 odd sightings in UK this year already, Gorgeous

Dear Autumn Watch, I read in The Metro on the train this morning that the "main stag" with a 19 point set of antlers was shot and left to die on Exmoor by poachers. Is this true or like a couple of years ago when the head stag had died naturally unexpectadly?



Thanks.

Hi guys. Keep up the great work of promoting British wildlife. I want to preserve nature & biodiversity, but in all honesty I don't have a good argument for why it's important to our survival to maintain biodiverse ecosystems. We currently thrive off of uniformity e.g. one type of banana, one type of wheat etc. How is it important for humans. I can't make the argument to others myself. Cheers

Hi, guys, We are currently being plagued by ladybirds? Red with back spots, black with red spots, they are everywhere, what's going on? K

I had a photo on the red button link on the bbc of a dear that looked like it was training against some fallen tree. Is this the case or some other reason for this.

Link below of photo and you can show it if you like [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/spazbone/6237508434/%5D[img]https://farm7.static.flickr.com/6047/6237508434_3fbb954d57_m.jpg%5B/img][/url]

[url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/spazbone/6237508434/%5Ddeer-training-on-branch[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/people/spazbone/%5Dwoody-woodpecker2010 - barry jones[/url], on Flickr

My partner was weeding a border in our garden in Guernsey this afternoon and noticed daffodils starting to push through, maybe an example of what happens in a double dip autumn !!

Advice please on which migratory birds to look out for in East Kent? if any? thanks

Oh, Martin! Burt Bacharach DID NOT write "Up, Up, and Away!" It was Jimmy Webb (the "MacArthur Park," "Wichita Lineman," and "By The Time I Get To Phoenix" man, among MANY other platinum-selling songs).



You owe us a correction on air, please!

Hi guys.



Light pollution in the uk is causing the birds to stay up all night singing as they are confused and think its still day time. Does this stress the birds out causing them to decline in numbers? and is there anything we can do about it?



Thanks

Neil Cuthbertson

Dear Autumnwatch team,



Love your show.



We live in a town house with a quiet secluded garden. Can we attract hedgehogs into our garden? And if so, how?



Thanks,



Anna

My 10 year old son wishes to know if any animal is affected by the clocks going back!

Do crows migrate? We saw a flock of about 100 crows (possibly much more) flying very high in the sky... where were they heading? STEVE GOVE in PRAGUE

I am coming across hundreds of solitary wasps hibernating in pallets I need to unpack - where is the best place to move them to!

Dear Team



Do insects hibernate? I saw 18-20 ladybirds huddled together on the protective wiring around the base of a young tree at Dunham Massey early last sunday morning.



Thanks

Gail.

Hi

We think we've found an Asian giant hornet in our garden today.

Is this strange?

We're in Ross on Wye!

is it true that my mum's friendly blackbird is actually a double act, with a summer bird and a winter bird taking turns with a swap at spring and autumn? I suggested it to her and she refused to believe it- is it possible he is resident all year because of the guaranteed food supply from my mum? she lives in Aberdeen, and he hops onto her windowsill to ask for raisins!

Last week you asked why some cock Blackbirds don't have yellow beaks, answer is they simply are this year's youngsters that have just moulted but have yet to fully mature with the yellow beak, that is not required until pairing up commences probably next spring.

Hi Chris, Martin and Michaela



Could you please explain to me, what snakes have in their bodies that means that they convert the heat energyfrom the sun when they bask, to carry out bodily processes?



Thankyou



littleowl95

Having just seen the Bullfinches on Autumnwatch, I wondered what their status was, there seem to be less now than there were a few years ago? I an writing from Dorset.

a couple of weeks ago, i saw 2 sparrowhawks chasing a goldfinch over my back garden, do sparrowhawks hunt in pairs or is this a rare sight ??? great show by the way !!!!!

How close can you get to rutting fallow deer before it charges at you, if they do charge at you?

Do all species of British deer rut. Can it ever be dangerous walking in woods at this time of year?

Will the uncharacteristic warm weather delay the seasonal bird migration?

Dear Autumn Watch, today I saw a large number of lady birds all flying in the same direction are they migrating or where do they go?

We keep finding a Robin in our Conservatory every morning , Is he trying to keep warm, or is he foraging for insects !

I am watching the programme from France and Just wanted to know why recently I am seeing and hearing alot of Skylarks, are these coming over from the UK and heading South like the Ospreys?

Hello autumn watch,

My six year old Riley just asked me a question, he saw you badgers and said:

"why do badgers have stripes on there heads?"

can you please answer this for him, as we do not know this .



many thanks,

Sylvester

Hi team. During some nice warm autumn weather I've spotted butterflies fluttering around my garden. Can you help explain what happens during the forthcoming cold months? In what state do butterflies survive? Cheers



Paul

During walks around woodland areas in Devon this autumn there seems to be much less evidence of fungus than in recent years. Have others noticed the same and is there a reason?

sorry link above did not work https://www.flickr.com/photos/spazbone/6237508434/

Today I saw mandarin ducks diving deep into the canal. What were they after?

What do Green Woodpeckers eat during winter when the ants are not available in the hard frozen ground. What would you recommend as a supplement for them in the winter? Thanks.



PS I am surrounded by badgers here in East Anglia where we have a Slow Badger road sign to warn speeding traffic and often manage to see them foraging for worms.

Whispering Blackbird

Chris

Can you tell me why we have a cock blackbird in our pear tree who sings away to himself for hours on end very very softly?

Thanks

Ian in Compton, Berkshire

I am still desperate to find out how spiders manage to spin their webs in the middle of a six or eight foot gap. Has anyone ever caught the start of this wonderful process rather than the spinning of the web?

We have 2 cats. One is from Yell in Shetland and the other is from Rhu near Helensburgh. It has got me wondering... do animals have regional accents?



Ann

Would love to help and answer some questions if you want to ask. I'm not on the telly but I'm more likely to answer! Tom @NorthDvnNature (Twitter)

With reference to the eel section of your programme i would like to say that 12 years ago i advised the local environment agency that the eel population was falling dramatically on the Walland marsh in Kent and East Sussex due to the new land drainage structures. Basically there was no way that the Elvers could pass through from the salt water to the fresh water to re-populate the Dykes and Sewers. The response from the agency was pretty down beat.

Went for a fabulous autumn walk over the Malvern Hills today and was surprised to see quite a few red admiral butteflies so late in the year. Is this usual or part of the double dip autumn?

The programme shows some beautiful shots of the autumn, birds, animals etc., etc - but why, oh why, do we have to be patronised by presenters speaking as if they were presenting a children's show. The three of us watching all agree!!!!!

We have noticed that we have two chaffinches (1 male, 1 female) who have just appeared this autumn who have white legsand feet. Is this a disease or a variant. They appear healthy, with good plumage, and are feeding well

With Bonfire night next weekend, what should we do to protect any wildlife in the garden. We have alsorts living in our garden and dont want to harm the wildlife.

Dear all,

In Greenwich park deer enclosure last week we saw a red deer stag and fallow deer fighting each other, antlers locked, the full 9 yards! Why would they do this? Practice? Mistaken identity? Seems like a waste of energy to fight with a different species. I would love to hear your thoughts.



Thanks

Hello Autumnwatch

This year I have had two hedgehogs roaming through my garden, often together. One was much smaller than the other. Could the smaller one be the female or a child perhaps? And should I worry that the smaller one will be too light to hibernate. (last seen about a week or so ago).



Thank you



CountryKaren

Dear AutumnWatch team,



isn't it possible that trees produce glucose in red leafs in order to drop them soon on the ground for their roots to absorb nutrients (when there are no leafs left)?



Kind regards and enjoy autumn!

Pascal and Marianne

Can you tell me why birds are not using the nest box which replaced a previously successful one two years ago? I have peanut and seed feeders in my garden, so how can I encourage more birds?

Hi All

While visiting a local lake I came across a goose that I cannot identify. About the size of a Canada goose it had a flatter grey colour, a dark but not black head with the dark patch extending from the top of the head down through the eye to the cheek, with lighter grey patches each side and a white ring around the base of the bill. It also had pink feet. Can you help to identify please?

I have a photo but cannot see how to attach it

What have happened to the Blackbird's in our garden?



We have not seen a blackbird in the garden e the summer they have been in the past a regular vistor (We live in Bookham Surrey near Dorking / Guildford)



David & V

why do we still have tadpoles in our pond???

#38 Steve, do you think what you saw might have been rooks rather than crows because of so many being together? Remember what the presenters said last week about rooks in larger groups than crows?

My husband, Dave, and I live near Ashridge in Hertfordshire. We often drive through and see lots of fallow deer. Around sunset each day we hear distant whistling, on a particular stretch of the road which is half way down a steep hill with thick bracken on either side, and we believe it is the deer. For what reason would they whistle? From Julie Burton

Hello, just a quick question about deer ... Why are red deer stags but roe and fallow deer bucks ?

this week in a grass field in Aberdeenshire I found white jelly (like in frog spawn but thicker) and a string of black eggs (frog spawn size again) beside it. Any ideas?

Hi Guys,



For the first time this year, our resident sparrow family have been feeding regularly on the seed feeders. I've not seen them do this before - any thoughts as to why this may be??

Dear Autumnwatch,

Can you please tell me why I keep finding large wasps in my house. I thought the season for wasps was over but this last week I've found at least one a day coming in when the windows are open. We did have wasps nest in our loft earlier in the year. Is this related to it, and could they be Queen Wasps looking for a warm place to hibernate ?

Many thanks



Andrew (and my brother Thomas who has just found one on his bedroom curtain!)

Please can you say more "absolutely"s and "absolutely amazing"s so that we can play our 'Kate Humble drinking game' again? :-)

We live in Lincolnshir, surrounded by arable fields. We feed the bieds nuts, but we heard that we ought to feed them fruit as well. What fruit, and what birds might we help or attract?



Wendy Goodliff

I recently saw the red deer rut in Creag Meagaidh NNR in the Highlands. One stag was defending a group of around 60 hinds against 5 other stags. Is such a large number of hinds usual for one stag?

Earlier this year my garden was full of small birds and they visited the feeding posts regularly, however after having the pleasure of watching them bring on their young, the birds mostly disappeared for the rest of the summer, can you tell me where they go to prior to their migration south for the winter??

What are the best plants to plant in my garden, to encourge birds into my garden?

Are we sending birds to a premature death ? We're all using fat balls and they gobble them up, but surely they shouldn't be eating animal fat.. don't they get clogged up arteries as well ?

Dear Autumnwatch

I have a hedgehog that comes to my backdoor every evening - to eat cat food and drink water. Is there a point when it should be hibernating? Is there a danger that I'm I 'keeping it awake' too long by providing food/drink? Will it naturally choose the right time to hibernate?

Many thanks

Penny

Hi everyone



after hearing strange noises outside today, I went out to investigate and found birds flying in out of the bird box. Are they nesting? Should I be concerned?



Karen

Out today near Thirsk, saw what we thought was a buzzard flying low cloud, within 5 minutes there were 14 circling above our heads, any ideas what was cause for this it was quite spectacular.

I have a small garden pond which tends to be shady. There are only frogs in it and I get a lot of frogspawn in the Spring but although I do get some baby frogs developing there are often (and there are now) tadpoles left in the pond which never develop into baby frogs. Why is this? Is there something wrong with my pond or the water?

Very grateful for any comments.

Primrose Chamberlin,London.

Hi Chris, Martin and Michaela



What's the latest on badger culling to 'prevent' bovine TB? Is it being carried out systematically or randomly and what studies are monitoring affected populations and any impact on rates of bovine TB on neighbouring cattle?



Keep up the good work!



Stephanie

Dear Autumn watch Can a fly see in the dark. great programme all the best Norman

Hi Guys



Question from my 8 year old son, "why is it that if eggs are laid at the same time, why do they not hatch at the same time?" I didn't know the answer so over to you please!

I seemed to have missed out on why Kate Humble is no longer with the team - can you enlighten me please.



M Maguire

I recently had a wasp nest in the clay ground of my garden; it had been there for a couple of weeks and then it was dug out. The paw/claw marks were obviously badger. What was the badger after? Don't they get stung by angry wasps?

we have seen many Chaffinches in our garden in Billingshurst, west sussex with their feet covered in a white thick crusty substance. can yo please shed any light? much appreciated.

I have slow worms in my garden and was wondering if they will be hibernating yet and if so what kind of places they hibernate in? I'm slowly doing work to my garden and currently have some piles of rubble and fence panels lying around. I don't want to move them if the slow worms are hibernating in them.

Here in the Yorkshire Dales we have been watching skeins of geese flying over us in a South Westerly direction. That seems to make sense - they are presumably heading to warmer spots for the Winter (possibly Slimbridge or somewhere similar?). However on some days recently we have watched skeins of geese flying over us in a North Easterly direction - why would geese be flying that way at this time of year? It surely doesn't make sense for them to be heading to colder climes. Can you explain please?

Well I've been out birdwatching all year and I haven't seen any Treecreepers , is it because of the harsh winter last year that they haven't been able to survive ?

Hellow autumn watch team. This question relates to the carrion crow - which was featured on last weeks program. Im a conservation officer working in west london. I have noticed that large numbers of Carrion Crows congregate in flocks on worm wood scrubs (often 100+ birds). Carrion crows are normally territorial during the breeding season yet at the scrubs large flocks can be seen all year round. I hypothesis that these are birds which have been unable to secure territories and are forming large non breeding flocks. Ive never seen this kind of behavour outside of london. Could this be a adaptation of behaviour as crows move into urban environments where there is an abundance of food and they can prosper but limited breeding territories?



Mark Patterson