All Kinds of Everything. (Springwatch)

Member Name: QueenElf

Product:	Springwatch
Date:	02/06/08 (95 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Wonderful shots of animals in the wild.

Disadvantages: The programme could be longer.

All Kinds of Everything.....!

Excuse the title, but I couldn't find anything more appropriate to this excellent series of wildlife documentary. Though I would prefer to call it an excellent yearly experience.
I started watching this programme some three years ago when a chance look at BBC2 caught my interest. I do like wildlife programmes, but up until that day I had chosen what and where I had wanted to experience the joys of animal and avian life.
It took just one programme to show me up for what I was. I was a wildlife snob, preferring to watch series about endangered species in other countries and ignoring the issues that were literally on my own doorstep.

Can I plead ignorance? Or was it just that programmes about tigers, lions, elephants etc held more immediate interest than that of something happening all around me?
It's not an easy answer because I do genuinely care about animals, avian life, fish, etc. I love plant life as well and the way that each tiny life form contributes to the food chain.
Does that sound a complete contradiction in terms? It may to some people, but the harsh reality is that all animals and plant life are part of the huge food chain that eventually decides whether a certain species lives or dies. In an ideal world the balance of these life forms would be constantly stable. But we don't live in an ideal world and centuries of hunting local wild-life has almost decimated entire species.
However, we shouldn't worry when we have the famous presenters of each year's Springwatch to make us aware of that delicate balance between the whole of the animal kingdom.

Each Year the BBC put together a series of shows designed to show the amateur and professional audience alike what has been happening and what is now happening within carefully chosen parts of the British Isles. The programmes are shown from 8 to 9pm on BB2 from Monday to Thursday with ongoing footage from various "hides" available on the BBC website. The shows presenters are Bill Oddie and Kate Humble, with additional footage from Simon King, who usually covers the more aggressive animals and the loneliest scenery.
This year Bill and Kate are filming mainly bird-life from the Pensthorpe Nature Reserve at Fakenham in Norfolk. Simon is covering the beautiful countryside of Strathspey in the highlands of Scotland, home of the Cairngorm's National Park.
Both are ably assisted by a team of dedicated cameramen who film in all kinds of weather.

Although the programme is called Springwatch, the actual activities that bring nesting birds and young mammals to an age when they start to get interesting is either filmed earlier in the year or (in the case of rarer animals), are shown live on the show itself, though this depends on the species in question. Despite the abdominal weather we have had lately, the hot spell in early May and the lack of any snow in the Winter months has produced some early broods which gives us such joy to see.

Friends often ask me why I watch the show since I don't follow all the wild-life shows on the Geographical channels. I think it's mainly because I love the British countryside and with my health letting me down a bit, I don't get around as much as I used to do. Similarly I can't spend as much effort on my garden as I once could. I was always a keen gardener though, so I still have some mature bushes that have almost become trees. I do have a lilac tree as well, a bird magnet that also attracts squirrels, doves, blackbirds and many smaller birds.
My eight rose bushes attract insects which my bird population feed to their chicks. From as early as April when my garden turned full of greenery, so it became alive with nesting birds, some in the lilac tree. Others under the eaves and some that seem to appear from nowhere, though all through May the activity of these, my feathered friends have gone on almost all day and most of the night.

Since I live in the city, I don't get as many varieties of birds and mammals as there are in the countryside, so I've been watching the nesting birds at Pensthorpe with eager anticipation. So far the series is in its first week and already I've watched the antics of the swallows, the ring plover, the coal tits and that elusive blue tit. The reserve has acres of woodland and rivers, lakes and pools, all swollen by rain lately, but beautiful in earlier photographs. So far no badgers have been seen, but voles and other small mammals are starting to breed in greater numbers. A relief to those of us who cannot imagine the riverside without these small creatures. I suppose it must be something very British, I still remember those nature trips as a child, paddling in thin streams to catch tadpoles in jam jars!
Bill and Kate are so enthusiastic as well, that you can't help but be carried away with their own eagerness. So what if Bill Oddie is something of an eccentric? His love of the wild is so inspiring to young and old alike.

Meanwhile, up in Scotland, Simon King is watching that wonderful bird of prey, the Osprey, caring for newly hatched chicks. The parent birds are old hands at raising chicks, with 18 safely raised over a seven-year period. The father is about fifeteen years old, definitely a dedicated dad! Maybe we should be awarding him "Father of the year?"
It's not easy to raise chicks in the wilds of Scotland, especially with both parents having to leave the nest to swoop down and in a sudden spray of water, catch a fish to take back to the Eyrie. There are other enchanting bird species, but I do love the Ospreys, knowing a bit myself about birds of prey. Several parts of Wales are home to these wonderful birds.

The most fascinating part of the Scottish Springwatch has to be the wildcats though. These elusive cats are feral and rarely seen in the wild. They are not to be confused with other species though, they are larger than the average cat and have several points of reference to allow both the experts and the layperson to help to identify them. In just one week the cameramen have captured footage previously unseen by any of the teams. One female cat was seen and filmed as she carefully ventured out to bring back prey. Whether she has young is not yet known, but what a coup it would be to see a nest of kits?

This is a very rough overview of one of my favourite programmes. To add more would take away that expectation that each new viewer must find out for themselves. Let me assure you though. You are watching nature and the dwindling species of British wildlife as it happens every year. It might not have the enormous impact than the later series, Autumnwatch has, but there are so many wonderful moments when nature displays it's creatures in all their glory, that its hard not to get past that lump in the throat when watching birds massing together.

It's nearly seven pm and my birds are still busy darting back and forth, bringing food to their fledglings. My cat, Kira, has lost any interest in chasing them, their movements are so quick. I have already identified some of my birds from the BBC site that accompanies the series. As yet I haven't been able to film any of them, but maybe next year? Who Knows. In the meantime I anticipate my nightly birdsong, a hymn of praise to the ending of the day.

©Lisa Fuller 1/06/08.

Summary: Great for all the family to watch.