Your ideas: Winterwatch and the Springwatch Christmas Special

Glad to hear it we dont all go to sleep all winter! BTW I have heard a vixen this week, there are flowers on blackberrys and straberries still just about ripening on the allotments - what is happening with this weather!?

I'd love to see a look at how wildlife in the various estuaries and firths survive through the winter. Also I often see a lot of wildlife out the train window (carlisle to glasgow line) in winter, presumably because the tracks are kept clear and the action of the trains keep the cuts and embankments are slightly warmer than the surrounds. How about a look at that?

up here in hull on the bank of the humber we have wonderful desplays of the starlings in early evening

How about how to make Fatballs that don't melt when it gets a little warmer?

Is kate coming back for winter watch??? I think Michaela is fab but really miss kate!!!:)

really looking forward 2 it as i love the show and it will make the next months until springwatch easier lol :)

I'm pleased there's gonna be a Christmas edition from spring and autumnwatch team,because I love it!I love animals and nature in general,last years Christmas edition was very good,carry on bbc making these brill progs!

Always love to see robins; how beavers are coping with the cold; lots about waxwings; itchy and scratchy having christmas lunch;

I'm so pleased to hear that there will be a couple of 'Specials' to fill in the gap between Autumn and Springwatch. I love the programmes and look forward to them. I would like to see some film of winter wildlife in the fens, and also garden wildlife. Long may these programmes continue.

Hurray! - wish Unsprung was on weekly all year round! Really enjoy the informality and chat - and education! Thanks to the team.

I hate poodles. Poofy animals.

Hi Guys

Great show as always, plenty of variety makes you proud to live in such a wonderful country with so much beauty and incredible wild life!

Looking forward to the Winter Special very much. Here’s an idea I think would work very well and make fascinating viewing:-

I loved watching your piece on autumn salmon, got me thinking that a piece on the Grayling would be so interesting. And in particular the Grayling in the river Clyde, the stretch which flows through the beautiful Clyde Valley. Once described by Sir Walter Scott as “ probably the most beautiful place in Scotland”!

I think this would work very well as it would give great opportunity to tell the most fascinating story of this little known of our fresh water fishes “The Lady of the stream” famed for her beauty and her peak condition during the hard frosty winter months. The fact that the Grayling will only thrive in water of extremely pure condition shows how the Clyde, a once dead river due to industrial abuse is now thriving and teaming with life both in the water and on its glorious banks.

Ah...... what wonderful tale, I can see it now and would love to participate!

Please let me know what you think? and keep up your wonderful work, the way you present the show, is a breath of fresh air “ pardon the pun” so inspirational in such a mad uncertain world!

With much appreciation, Paul

Big fan of the show and have watched all of the current series plus Unsprung - mostly thanks to iPlayer. Chris Packham rocks! But you can have too much of a good thing and I think the breaks between series help make it special. Not that Christmas and Winter special will be too much though. Looking forward to them already.



One person I'd like to see on the show as a guest is David Lindo - the Urban birder. He seems to have total passion for his subject and has a great voice too. And more on urban wildlife would be good too seeing as that's where most of the UK population lives.

As an idea for Winterwatch, could you do an article on how the reduction in sea temperatures affects our marine life? I'm a seaswimmer you see, so every Sunday I have to feel the effects of a colling sea too...

My wife (Teresa) and I are great fans of your programme, here in Cork. But imagine our huge disappointment on your section about whales - off the south coast of Ireland with nary a mention or reference to our great waters of the south Atlantic and no reference to this fair island!

Your team were in Ardmore, Co. Waterford which is a beautiful tourist and fishing village, and the excitement there was palpable, especially for my mother-in-law who is from there!

Bill Oddie could appear as Father Christmas, what with the beard.

Our rescue chicken produced its first egg last night.

Just been out for a walk near some local woodland in Calverton, NOttingham and seen a huge flock of redpolls..there must have been 50 birds at least..not sure if it was a mixed flock but all I could identify was redpolls. They were hanging upside down from the branches and then every now and again would all rise up and swirl over our heads before landing back in the trees again..it was great!!

How about broadcasting Winterwatch from WWT at Martin Mere. The team could cover the Pinkfooted Geese as they gather at the reserve, before migration back to Iceland.

By the way, congratulations on another excellent series. I've been glued to the iplayer every week.

Our rescue chicken laid another egg. We had them for breakfast.

And a third. Orders for Christmas being taken.

Hi, could you film a Harrier roost for one of the winter shows? Preferably a Hen Harrier site but there is the big Marsh Harrier roost in the Broads.



And please keep Michaela as presenter!

I am so happy that you are going to do a Christmas special and a Winterwatch, can't wait. Thank you .

Got a fourth egg today. Not that anybody here cares.

christmas and winterwatch will be superb, but really it should run continuously through all four seasons, summer watch ;-)

Is it really winter?

Today I photographed an Alpine Strawberry.

The seasons are crazy.



https://www.flickr.com/photos/jo92/

We have lemons getting bigger on our little lemon tree, and the fuchsia bushes are still green with flowers on them. I think this time last year we were snowed under! Everything is confused with the mild autumn we've had!



It's a great idea having the two specials. I'm always sorry when Autumnwatch finishes, and this will help keep us going till Spring. And it's surprising how much activity there still is during winter!

I'd love to see a proper feature about Bramblings on the Winterwatch Show. We always hear a lot about Redwings, Fieldfares and Waxwings, but this gorgeous little visitor barely gets a mention. We had 10 in our garden all last winter and they were a joy...the Clarice Cliff of the birdworld!

Our chicken is now up to eight eggs. Didn't want you al holding your breath waiting for an update.

I'm really looking forward to the show - it'll bridge the gap nicely between Autumn and Springwatch, and give us a chance to see what happens to the wildlife during the hardest months.



You should definitely check out Elmley Marshes and Oare Marshes reserves (RSPB and Kent Wildlife Trust) in Kent, as they are teeming with brilliant winter wildlife. I visited Elmley the other day, and over the day we saw peregrines, common buzzards, good numbers of hen and marsh harrier and short eared owls everywhere we turned, brent geese, merlins, green sandpipers, thousands of lapwing, a large flock of stock doves, brent geese, great views of great white egret and a number of hunting barn owls. Had a great day, and couldn't believe how many birds we got to see and how close we were able to get to them.

really looking forward to Christmas Special and Winterwatch. When will Christmas Special be on ??

Ten eggs now...

Can you please give us an update from Slimbridge as to whether Winterling, the oldest Bewick Swan made it back this time? Thanks very much.

I'd like to know more about how/why some animals change their fur to white in winter: hares and stoats always do in the north of Scotland, but we saw a white stoat last winter in East Yorkshire for the first time; is it bred into them from many snowy years, or can they adapt within a generation? NB hope Michaela continues as a presenter!

Twelve...

I'd like to learn more about insects and other invertebrates in winter. Which ones are still active? How have they adapted to winter? (Cold, finding food, etc.) What life stage are the non-active ones at? Where are they hiding? What dangers do they face?

I'd love to see a short film covering this and explaining how these hidden insects contribute to the explosion of life come springtime.

My question is that I was always told as a child "bushes red with hip and haw, weeks of frost without a thaw" - the number of berries and nuts being a predictor of a long harsh winter. In the autumn the hedges and trees were laden with berries and nuts, yet so far it's been quite mild and wet. Do the team think this is just an old wives' tale, a country legend that may or may not be true? Or is there some basis in scientific fact?

I would like to congratulate "davmcn" on the dozen eggs collected thus far.... I have trespassing poultry that manage to find ways into my garden,despite efforts to prevent them from doing so....they eat my homemade bird food,dig up spring bulbs and ignore the bed of straw I hoped they may use as "place to lay eggs" Anyway......hugely looking forward to Winterwatch but could you ensure that Chris and Michaela are kept apart,please.....they squabble and pout like toddlers.Cheers.

During Springwatch we have seen Kestrals bringing small birds back to the nest to feed young but how does the Kestral catch these birds? I take it that it's not the same technique as a Sparrow Hawk.

How about an Itchy & Scratchy watch, those dogs are hilarious.

Do any or all birds have a sense of smell?........From Karen Hingley in Somerset.

I just wanted to say well done to DAVMCN's chicken on laying all those eggs!!! What an achievement and she must be really happy now she has been rescued. :)

We still have marrigolds out in the garden and they must have been shocked today when we had our first snow which didnt settle for long but stayed about an hour.

....just noticed "davmcn" left coments re poodles being"poofy"....well,a pal of mine has a poodle working as a gundog...I do not condone this shoddy behaviour,being anti bloodsports and a paid up member of League Against Cruel Sports....but,I do think that it shows poodles can be quite butch...? Also,I have a question....do sparrowhawks "people watch?" I am convinced that I am being spied upon as I feed my garden birds and they are then taken as prey!

Wow, somebody actually reads and replies to posts here. I thought I only got that on a forum I use.



hjj66 39, zilly 43 It is now 19 eggs. Yes, the chicken tears up the garden.



hjj66 45 I only said it because of Chwis.

Why not have a 'what are thesesnow tracks section' for example I have some photographs of tracks in the snow but I don't know what they are.

A local pond in my area was completely covered in ice and fish and frogs where floating as if they where dead under the ice. Are they actually dead because of lack of oxygen or are their bodies in shutdown mode until spring.

AA 47, Probably cars.

Will they leave it on the iPlayer long enough for us to catch it? I missed the last episode of Autumn Watch because they removed it so quickly.

I would like to ask about the behaviour of bluetits regarding nest boxes. I have just made a nest box it has been located where the old one was and they did nest last season. will they return in the coming spring to my new box? I have been enjoying the watch programs that have been produced, and what a pleasure not having those awful advertisements every ten minutes or so.regards John.

Please could you do a piece for Winterwatch on how the more obvious garden birds (i.e the ones I can spot - Blackbirds, Robins, Sparrows etc.) survive the winter. I remember watching a Robin in last years snow and wondering how it would make it through the freezing temperatures of the night. Thanks.

Darren Woodhead is an excellent local wildlife artist here in South-East Scotland. I have been privelaged to witness Darren working at first hand and he is amazing as he does all of his waterclour paintings in the field applying paint directly, no sketching. He has been shown on BBC landward in Scotland, and I think a film about him would be excellent. His current exhibition is on at the Scottish Ornithological Club at present.



https://www.the-soc.org.uk/photo-viewer.htm?images/dwoodhead2011.jpg?Poster%20for%20Darren%20Woodhead%20art%20exhibition

It would be nice to see some visits to peoples gardens - an opportunity to see the huge variety of birds on feeders from one end of the country to the other and also the effort being made by ordinary people to make their gardens as supportive as possible for wildlife.

Good suggestion Steve....would be really interesting.



I just found the first brave little snowdrop in my garden ! Does this mean Spring really isn't that far away?



Looking forward to Christmas and Winter Specials...thanks hardworking team.

mousekiwi - Birds do have a sense of smell. Sea-birds, especially albatross, shearwaters and petrels can smell food from many miles away.

I just saw a Red Admiral Butterfly in an urban area in Edinburgh City Centre!!! It was lovely to see, however very unusual! The met office explained that temperatures had increased due to winds coming from the tropics. Its a shame really as insects etc will be confused and there is little for them to eat.

Had anyone else seen anything unusual? Tamar

All this user's posts have been removed.Why?

While i was walking my dog back in august near a stream where i live, i was lucky enough to spot a kingfisher. I'm curious of how many there are in this country & where do they go in winter.

from patrick tadd aged 11

A sign of spring around Arbroath? One daffodil which fully opened on Christmas Day and two others opening up.

On Christmas Day at about 12.30 lunch time I just spotted a Red Admiral butterfly fly by my kitchen window. I called my wife and daughter to confirm that it wasnt just the red wine but indeed it was a butterfly!!



Global warming or what?

By the way the Red Admiral that I saw was just west of Newcastle upon Tyne.

Is the water boatman the water version of the cricket

Just watched the Christmas special..how great was the surfer dude?? And lovely to see Kate again. And thank God for Martin in sensible clothes!!!

Liked your feature on mistletoe - but it was awesomely generic, covering the same ground as numerous mistletoe in orchards features in winter tv countryside programmes over many years. Can I modestly suggest (as a mistletoe specialist) that covering bird vectors and what they actually do, on camera (mistle thrushes feeding and excreting, and the results, blackcaps feeding and wiping, and the results) would be far more interesting. Plus there's the whole story of the overwintering blackcap population being 'new', and possibly altering mistletoe spread (also that population being genetically distinct from other blackcaps). And how mistletoe actually grows - the germination process is entirely a late winter and spring thing - and dead easy to find and comment on. Plus mistletoe flowering and pollination - also a late winter thing and an excellent early insect pollinator story. Plus the whole issue of mistletoe management in remaining orchards (and gardens too, where it is often recklessly neglected and left to take over a small tree - so of much wider interest). All so much more interesting than the generic piece in your Chrimbo special. All reviewed in the Oct issue of British Wildlife if you want more info and want to go beyond the everyday mistletoe feature.

watching last years vixon giving 2 dog fox run around

Just watched the Christmas spring watch special,really enjoyed it as usual,nice to see Bill again,will he be involved more in the future?

Just one point of correction(maybe)it said this year was the first time that Ospreys had bred in Wales,thats not correct, there is a breeding pair near Tremadog in north west Wales,they have been breeding there for 5 or 6 years.

Also saw Red Admiral butterfly in my garden yesterday, we are in Keyworth near Nottingham

View From A Tuffet:



I’m not afraid of spiders

That sit in webs and wait

For fat annoying bluebottles to land upon their plate.

I’m very fond of visits,

Foretelling cash to come,

From money spiders when I’m feeling poor and somewhat glum.

And as for those in jungles,

With evil deadly bite,

I’m fine, if they’re on telly and my teddy’s snuggled tight.

But hairy booted beggars

That scurry ‘cross my floor,

Whilst stealing walnuts from my bowl, I’d rather show the door.



... Did you see the size of that spider's fangs ???

9oclock last night cold wet and windy perfect conditions for a spot of rural fox filming.

Springwatch Unsung?



I very much enjoyed Autumnwatch and particularly, the Autumnwatch Unsprung programmes this year. Unsprung gives the presenters the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and expertise, but what has impressed me too, is the excellent work done by many keen and "amateur" wildlife enthusiasts. I particularly remember the starling murmuration footage and mouse/vole/shrew interractions in the last programme.



What about spotlighting some of these "unsung" wildlife heroes in a Springwatch Unsung feature in 2012? There's a lot of interesting work done "behind the scenes" in studying our natural history and in encouraging others to take an interest. It would be good feature some of this and it may perhaps, help encourage others to get involved.

We leave food out for a fox that visits our garden most nights ,this one is a beige/cream colour looks like one of this years young ones ,is this colour common ?

ive noticed the colour of fox's can vary.they are much lighter if there earths are in sand.were as those that come from earths in ashes tend to be darker.also there coulor changes with age.

Having watched the Christmas special on New Years eve, (I woke today 1st Jan 2012) to find two Blue Tits investigating the two bird boxes in our garden, we have never had Blue Tits, but Great Tits come back yearly to these bird boxes. Tried to get a picture but they hid from me.

Always watch your programs,if possible can you show footage of stoats and Mink in winter

Hi to everyone.I have been watching a collerd dove in my garden for a few days which looked poorley and noticed that the other doves were picking on him.went in the garden this morning and found him sitting behind a bush but sadley he was dead.dose anyone know if their is a illness going around doves at all as i didnot see any injuries on it although his beak looked weird.thanks denise

Well here we are, having stumbled into 2012 with all the excitement of crimbo and new year out off the way for another twelve months. I find myself wondering what on earth are the team at Springwatch going to put into the lunch box of



televisual delights this year... Are we going to be bedazzled with the same old chestnuts, bird on a stick, bird in the scrape, seal on a rock, otter spotter, starving chick in the thicket or, dare I say it, a badger... Or are we going to be



given a pick'n'mix bag of interesting 'stuff' from around the counties. Over the last few years, as Spring and Autumn watch have grow in popularity with the general public, I've noticed a very worrying trend in viewer behaviour. The very



next day after a transmission has gone out, say regarding a 'natural spectacle' that 'must be seen before you die'... The population declares death immanent and races from all corners of the nation to see what all the fuss is about... This



wouldn't be too bad if they just used a bit of common sence...fat chance of that though. Now... as you guys are all too aware, having four or five hundred vehicles turn up at a reserve, packed with would-be weekend naturalists all trying



to get as close to the action as possible, is sadly the last thing the wildlife needs. I know you guys have your magnetic maps of where to go and what to see. eg Starling murmurations up and down the country, but if you don't tell Joe



public that there are 'other things' in any given county to see, of equal or greater interest, then they don't look any further. As an example. I went to shoot (with a camera) a Great white Egret at Ham wall reserve the day after you mentioned starling roosts on Autumnwatch. To my horror, the car park was full and gridlocked... And... there were parked cars backed up for two miles around the reserve, needless to say I didn't stay and drove to another local reserve. The thing is, the other reserves in the area don't get a look in, which is a shame as it would relieve the pressure on all the other Ham wall wildlife that people haven't come to see... I will expand on this... Catcott Lows: 5-6K lapwings, 1K Golden plover and other plovers, Mixed Godwitt and other waders, Bewicks and Hooper's,1K plus teal wigeon, pintail, shoveller and some rare ducks too... raptors all over... Greylake Reserve: As above plus hundreds of snipe and visits from Common Cranes and even more raptors plus thousands of SBJs finches etc. West hay Reserve: as a

Continued: West hay Reserve: as above plus bittern and egret and more Otters than you can shake a stick at...( brilliant for Hobbies in the spring with 100 plus birds munching sand martins and dragonflies )... Shapwick reserve: all of the above plus flocks of breaded tit and it's a Osprey feeding stop over... Pawlett hams great for short eared owls and hundreds of waders, like avocet,and Brent geese, Spoonbill Goosander etc... Stert point reserve: 15-20k plus mixed waders and sea ducks and indeed raptors peregrine, merlin SEOs etc etc... just to mention a few within a stones throw of Ham Wall reserve... and you hardly see a living soul for miles in all directions... Why, cos they are all stuck in the car park at Ham wall hoping to see a murmuration that on nine times out of ten doesn't happen or its moved again to a part of the marshes that unless you've got the Hubble space telescope you are going to see little or nothing.... Do you see what I'm getting at here... spread the load, these other reserves need investment too and that only comes with visitors... Please tell the population what's what and where, and don't hope they'll trawl around your web site links to find things, cos it's not working on the ground...



Right... that's covered just covered birds near Ham wall in the autumn and winter. I could go on about what can be found in the way butterflies that are on the red list like large blues and indeed Chalk hill blues in the spring and summer, not to mention mammals, reptiles and amphibianes that are so thick on the ground here, you have to watch where you put your feet. But Martin HG and Mr King should know all this,as they are local boys...



It has always struck me as odd, that you have such a hard time finding things to film, sending crew out all over the place to shoot stuff, when I see more on a two hour dog walk than you cover in an entire year of programs. Maybe it's all about location.... Anyway Somerset. Maybe you should have a chat with Simon about it. :@)

Did anybody else watch Chris Packham on Natures Weirdest Events?

yesterday thursday 5jan,while walking on my local river,the calder in lancashire,I saw a male comorant in full breeding plumage,is this early or is this the norm,I know they breed in april,can anybody help.thanks.

Hi, We have a nesting box and it looks like Blue Tits have taken up residence, it also looks they are feeding, is this too early for the little ones to survive?

Over the last few days, I have seen Woodpigeons mating and nest building in my garden! Just seems incredibly early and wondered if anyone knows anything about this. Is this very unusual behaviour for early January?

I have just seen a Red Admiral in our garden - how bizarre is that!

Down in the nearby woods, where i take the dog in the early morning, when my torch caught the bushes before Christmas there was an awful lot of flapping of bird wings and squawking thinking there must be a large number of somekind of bird in there roosting. So over Christmas we were down there just before dusk and it turns out that they are redwing and fieldfares. There must be between 5-10 thousand birds roosting. Seeing them come in on their final approaches so to speak, wave after wave but they come in so quick but with the sparrow hawks lurking its not surprising. It would be lovely to get night vision cameras in to watch from within.

We live Aylesford near maidstone and today on our washing line we saw a cabbage butterfly! is this a record? Brenda Cook

My husband Bill and i like to feed the birds so we made some of your bird mix in plant pots ,we mixed oats,crushednuts,seed,biscuits,and lard heated up and mixed all together.we tied it to the bird table but for 2 days no birds would come near they all stayed in the trees a little way off,you could tell the wont to but seemed afraid as this was something new,they have now come back on the nuts and seed but still will no touch the mix, what have we done wrong hope you can help, shirley Garbett

For the past few evenings we have seen a pair of bats swooping around our muck heap. Is this just another sign of the unusual winter we are having?

We put washing on our washing line today. Is that a sign of the warmer winter? Is it a record?

hello fox lovers every were. 2 vixons turning up to be filmed now. magic. any chance of mink on film at night on your next program please. am finding them hard to lokate

I have also seen a Red Admiral in my garden today and primroses in bloom at a local wood. Lots of Blue tits and Great tits looking in the nest boxes,I can't wait to see if any nest again this year.

I've been supporting a group on facebook that live near the Plym Valley (Plymbridge Woods to be more precise) because I have cycled up and down it quite a lot. It has catered for cyclists by having a rail line now converted to a walking and cycling path. The issue is that the National Trust want to make more money out of the area by constructing mountain bike tracks through the meadows and wood on either side of the old trail. Kingfishers breed in the valley and there's a Peregrine nesting site. Other lovely birds like woodpeckers, herons, bullfinches live in the woods, as do badgers, squirrels, grass snakes etc. The 'Friends of Plymbridge Woods' want to stop the over exploitation of the area but have a fiercely determined group of bikers and National Trust employees determined to build the mountain bike tracks as well a a 'hub' that will consist of a bike rental building. They want also to extend the large parking area further. All this, in spite a covenant that the National Trust signed when it took custody of the land from generous people that had bought it to protect it from develoment. Help us! https://www.facebook.com/#!/FriendsofPlymbridgeWoods

Lots of House Sparrows on the bird table this morning, but one of them looked different - like a Spanish Sparrow but with a grey head instead of a chestnut one. (I realise it's not a Spanish Sparrow, unless it's here on a package holiday). Lots of black/white mottling underneath, unlike the others, with a bit on the back, too. The colouring was very strong. Can anyone help explain this odd fellow? Is he just a variant?

got 2 rescue battery hens last weekend.got my first egg of them this morning. lots of long tailed tits on my bird table. still filming vixon most nights she looks in cub to me.hope so.

v 93 We have now had 42 eggs from the hen we 'rescued' from a local pub a couple of months ago.

Make that 43.

I have seen, today, a Blackbird gathering sticks for its nest! Seems way to early. I hope we get cold weather before they start laying and will stall them

Yesterday (28/1/12) I watched a group of about eight mallard diving in the Shropshire Union canal and staying fully submerged for up to about four seconds. I have only previously seen them upending to feed. Is this considered normal behaviour for this species? Many of the mallard in this area (Tarporley, Cheshire) show signs of cross-breeding with domestic ducks but these appeared (to a layman) to be the genuine article. I recorded a short low-resolution video of the behaviour on a Nikon Coolpix digital camera.

Underwater cameras on pike in winter would be fascinating and as they often feed in the margins might be possible to film

Hi All, I've just finished submitting my Big Garden Birdwatch results and wonder just how they do the sums. Anyone know? If we all just pick any hour to do our count how do the RSPB know that the same group of birds haven't been counted by somebody else during another hour?



Incidentally, I was watching the blue tits and great tits on the feeder when I realised the great tit I was watching didn't have the black stripe down his front. In fact when I checked my field guide it must have been a sombre tit (don't think it was siberian as it was very "neat" with a clear line between his black head and body). I've never noticed them before but now I think about it it looked just like a very big coal tit but without the white patch on his head!

Why was there a stick insect on my garage door in the middle of december?