Autumnwatch 2017

Returning to the National Trust’s Sherborne Park Estate, Autumnwatch will revisit some of the key characters from Springwatch, and have cameras positioned at hotspots around the estate to pick up new and developing stories as they happen.

Chris Packham, Michaela Strachan and Martin Hughes-Games will be based at Sherborne, where they will explore how our UK wildlife is coping with the onset of autumn this year; while Gillian Burke will be live from the south coast getting to know a unique family of foxes.

As well as the live reports, Autumnwatch will celebrate the season across the country with a series of short films covering the very different ways in which our UK species prepare for the winter months.

The Sherborne Park Estate

The Sherborne Park Estate was chosen as ‘the watches’ first ever year-round location for the fantastic variety of habitats and wildlife to be found there, and because its mix of woodland, farmland and parkland make it a microcosm of the British countryside, of the kind accessible to most people in the UK. 

This accessibility meant that the dramas that played out at Sherborne really caught the public imagination this spring, and by returning for Autumnwatch viewers will have an opportunity to catch up with many of those characters, as well as getting to know many new animals we hope to feature this autumn.

Some of the characters making a return include: the barn owl family, who when we left them were growing fast but still a few weeks away from fledging. We will find out if all three chicks, including the runt, fledged successfully over the summer, and go live to the barn where we hope the parents will still be in residence.

High up in the village church our kestrel also had a runt - did its story end on a high note, or did it fall from grace?

And, since Madonna the badger gave them the run-around throughout Springwatch, the team has redoubled its efforts to track her down.

Meanwhile, as the estate prepares for autumn, the camera team is busy setting up to capture some new characters. In the woods the fallow deer are coming into their rutting season, and among the trees we hope to get a glimpse of their frantic and spectacular world at this time of year. The woodland will be bugged in our continuing search for the elusive badgers.

In the village several of the local gardens are being rigged with cameras to watch the comings and goings as the wildlife makes the most of the autumn bounty. By day we expect a whole host of birds and insects to make the most of the fallen fruit and bird feeders, whilst at night the small mammals are likely to make an appearance, perhaps followed by their bigger mammalian predators.

Down on the Sherborne Brook the trout are on their autumn migration, and we hope to catch them and some of the more surprising underwater life, such as lamprey and crayfish, with a brand-new infrared underwater rig. We will be trying to track down the elusive otters once more and hoping to spot the endangered water vole along the banks.

In the open the rabbits will be as active as ever, and our specialist burrow cameras have been busy all summer. Once we plug back in we will get rare and fascinating views of what they get up to underground. We also hope to have a red kite feeding station, allowing us to see how these glorious birds clean up the countryside.

And finally, underground in an old mine, is a winter roost of lesser horseshoe bats. We will be finding out how they will survive as the temperatures drop during winter and looking back to their breeding cycle, which took place over the summer months.

NC2

Planned Sherborne cameras

These will include:

Barn Owls: Remote cameras installed in spring will continue to monitor the barn owl parents to see how they are faring as the colder months approach.

Badgers: We are monitoring two distinct badger setts to give ourselves the biggest chance of getting to know the local residents.

Garden feeding stations: Continuing the theme of accessible wildlife, we will be rigging cameras in two gardens to follow the 24-hour cycle of activity as some familiar creatures make the most of the available food.

River cam: An underwater river camera will allow us to delve into the world of the inhabitants of the Sherborne Brook. From trout to lamprey, the night mode should reveal some surprising details.

Rabbit cam: During Springwatch we got unique views or rabbits yawning, stretching and doing a lot of sleeping. As the nights draw in they will be spending even longer underground and we will be watching to see what they reveal.

Fox feeding test: Using a specially constructed box, designed in collaboration with scientists, we will be testing out Sherborne foxes against their urban counterparts. Who will learn the test quickest to find the food first?

Chris Packham and Michaela Strachan will be at the heart of the live action in Sherborne, and Martin Hughes-Games will also be exploring the local area, finding out what happens all over the estate, and in the wider Cotswold countryside.

Martin’s Missions

Trout
In the spirit of Autumnwatch, Martin journeys along Sherborne Brook, face down with a snorkel and mask, looking for wild trout! He investigates what they are up to in autumn, and unpacks how keeping the rivers healthy for trout can support a host of other species.

Fallow Deer
The fallow deer population at Sherborne are shy and secretive - except for during the rut in autumn. Martin heads into the pockets of woodland with the estate’s stalker to catch a glimpse of these impressive animals in action, as the males scrape, thrash and bellow to attract a mate.

Lesser Horseshoe Bats
Sherborne is home to several species of bats, and Martin will be focussing in on the lesser horseshow bats that call this place home. Over the summer we have been recording mothers and their young in their maternity roost, but at this time of year they are moving to their winter roost, and Martin goes underground to pay them a visit and to listen in to their social calls.

Worm Grunting
As the weather gets wetter, it is the perfect time to try the very particular pastime of worm grunting! Without giving too much away, Martin will be attempting to charm the worms from the very soil they call home - and explaining why this strange technique is so effective at bringing them to the surface.

Gillian Burke's Urban Fox Adventure

Gillian Burke is on a mission this autumn, reporting live from Bournemouth where the greatest concentration of urban foxes in the UK is to be found. Setting up in the garden of some extraordinarily dedicated fox fans, Gillian will be treated to close-up and intimate views, getting to know the individuals and unraveling what happens at this tricky time of year for the younger animals.

She will also be setting the foxes a test in direct competition with those at Sherborne. Using specially designed boxes and working with scientists at the University of Brighton, we will be testing the intelligence of the urban animals against their countryside compatriots in the Cotswolds. Will they both solve the puzzle? And who will be fastest?

Related BBC Links

• Springwatch 2017