What can we look forward to this series on Winterwatch? Anything in particular you’re excited about?
Winter and all of its wildlife. And we love redressing the fact that many people perceive it as a time of dormancy or disappearance, or even, dare I say it, death. But in fact, winter is very much alive and an enormous amount is going on, lots of preparation for spring and summer. You may think there are no insects but there are winter moths which are very active. You may think that everything hibernates but in fact, we only have three types of mammals which truly hibernate in the UK. We have our bats, our hedgehogs and our door mice. It’s always good to show people that the world continues and there’s plenty to see and hear and encounter if you get out and about in winter. Also, of course, we reach the peak of our numbers of visitors in terms of birds. During autumn they start to arrive, all the birds which are moving further north, as we get vast numbers of wading birds and wild fowl, swans, geese, ducks, etc. Poole Harbour is a perfect place for those, so we’re really excited about that.
Is there anything new that you’re doing on Winterwatch this year?
We hope to have an even higher-grade infrared camera. Technology has moved on an enormous amount. Later this year we’ll celebrate 20 years of Springwatch. During the course of that time, technology has very much driven what we are able to do and how much we’re able to learn about the natural world without intruding. Cameras have got smaller and more accessible. We’ve been able to put them in places and learn a lot more and a lot more quickly. One of the things we never dared dream of 20 years ago is that we would have a camera that can function in total darkness. There’s no light whatsoever and the animals don’t even know that we’re there, and they can be a long way away, and we can zoom in on them and look at their heat signature. That allows us to watch them in a totally unobtrusive way. In the past, we’ve seen fox predating stoat, all sorts of exciting things, lots of birds out in the fields, but we never expected to see them, so that’s really good.
What is some of your favourite wildlife to spot at this time of year and why?
I would say foxes, because as we move into winter, it’s their mating season, so they’re very vocal. And there’s nothing like being out in the woods at night and hearing the sharp bark of a fox to wake you up. So that’s really, really good. And the other thing is the hoot of the tawny owls because at that point they begin courting and in the new year they lay their eggs, in March or sometimes earlier now. So a combination of foxes and tawny owls. And what I like about those is that anyone can access both species, you can hear them in the hearts of our cities, all over the UK, so they’re really accessible.
BBC Winterwatch has come from RSPB Arne, Dorset, for two years. What makes this place such a prime location for wildlife?
It’s a great place because of the diversity of habitats. It’s got everything: it’s got broadleaf woodland, pine woodland, heathland, and grassland, and then, of course, it’s got Poole Harbour, with its salt marsh and mud and everything else, Brownsea island and its lagoon. It’s an incredibly diverse range of habitats with a great range of species. The project of the Super National Nature Reserve continues. They’re continuing to sort of expand and consolidate and instigate resilience in that environment, which is really important. So that’s something we’ve been very keen to support.
How important is it to get young people involved in green spaces? Are there any young voices on winter watch this year?
Yes, there will be. We’ve been making films with young people, which is great. There’s never going to be enough young people on Winterwatch or Springwatch for me. I think it’s really important to give young people, not just a voice, but a chance to make decisions when it comes to their future and the future of the wildlife and the natural landscape that they want to live in, hopefully long after we’re gone. What’s good is that we don’t only have young people working in front of the camera, contributing to our films, but behind the scenes too. We encourage them to come in, and they come to us as story developers and as researchers and we do everything we can to make them welcome and try and encourage their development of their career.
Why should viewers watch Winterwatch and what do you hope they will take away from it?
Because we never know what we’re going to see. We can see something extraordinarily exciting, we can see something new to science. That’s the joy of watching wildlife live. It’s unpredictable, but you know you’re going to see something interesting. Every single series that I’ve worked on, I’ve learned something new, and it’s something that I would have never been able to see in a lifetime of watching, just me and my binoculars, standing outside. So that’s it, basically, it’s the fact that there’s always something new and exciting, and besides which, we’ll be delving around trying to find the newest, exciting science stories and bringing people up to date with everything that we can find. It’s a good catch up. We’ll catch up on what was going on in Springwatch and Autumnwatch. And also, we’re bound to see something new.
Can you remind viewers what they can do in their outside spaces to support wildlife in winter?
The first thing, if they’re fortunate enough to have a garden, is leave it. Don’t cut it all down at this time of year – everything needs some shelter, needs some seeds. If you’ve got balconies, there may well be spiders, there may well be bugs sheltering under those leaves. So, leave it, don’t be tidy. That’s the key thing. Don’t be tidy. Leave some natural spaces for wildlife, and just because it looks dead to you, it doesn’t mean it’s not a resource to something else. My garden is a wildlife garden, there’s no formal garden at all. I’m lucky enough to live in a bit of woodland so there’s native species, all woodland species. People might say that there are dead plants and ask why don’t I cut them down and put them on a compost heap. Well, they’re being used every day. I look out the window and there’s goldfinches on my thistle heads and on my teasels for instance. So my advice to viewers is be untidy. Let nature do its own thing. Still plenty of time to tidy up before all of those resources need to be taken away from wildlife, and things start to grow again.
About
Winterwatch returns to BBC Two & iPlayer with Chris Packham, Michaela Strachan and Iolo Williams bringing viewers the latest news and wonder of winter wildlife, from Tuesday 21 January 2025 at 8pm across four nights.
Live from the heart of RSPB Arne in Dorset, part of the UK’s first Super National Nature Reserve – the Purbeck Heaths Super NNR, the presenters will reveal the stories of this season and viewers will be able to immerse themselves in the beauty and drama of the winter natural world.
With live broadcasts, behind-the-scenes features and beautiful natural history films, the show promises a mix of heartwarming, awe-inspiring, and entertaining, educational content.
Set against the backdrop of Dorset’s stunning heathland, wetlands, and woodlands, Winterwatch will showcase the dramatic challenges and fascinating behaviours of our UK wildlife as they navigate the winter season. Viewers can expect thrilling stories of resilient creatures, from elusive birds of prey to the mysterious, nocturnal movements of deer and foxes.
Adding to the bounty of stories from RSPB Arne, the series will bring pre-filmed, seasonal stories from across the UK with plenty of opportunities for viewers to interact, get involved, and share their own winter wildlife encounters.
As ever, live cameras will be rigged across the site to capture all the drama of the season. Long lens cameras will be poised to capture footage of the local white-tailed sea eagles who patrol the skies over Arne and have been known to head to its shores in winter in search of food.
The programme will catch up with the resident foxes and explore their winter behaviours – and not forgetting our smaller avian characters, our cameras will be set to capture the comings and goings at our bird feeders as we witness which species are taking advantage of the food on offer.
With the RSPB’s Big Garden Bird Watch just days away, we’ll be giving our audience tips on how to get involved themselves and record the species that they see in their own gardens.
Our macro studio will be back so we can shine a spotlight on the miniature marvels that call Arne home and see what amazing adaptations they have evolved to cope with the challenges of the season.
Source
BBC iPlayer
