The sub-zero temperatures and snowy hills of the Brecon Beacons provide the perfect backdrop for Chris Packham, Kate Humble and Martin Hughes-Games to reveal how the UK's wildlife is faring this winter. In a one-off, winter special the Springwatch and Autumnwatch team celebrate the best of our winter wildlife and discover how it survives through these harsh months.

Chris, Kate, Martin and friends have been out and about across the country, from freezing mountaintops, icy lakes and stormy seashores, to bring you the most dramatic and remarkable seasonal stories. They show that winter is far from dead and boring - in fact, it's a time of fascination, beauty and spectacle so they urge you to get out and see for yourself.

We might be feeling the cold, but for millions of birds from northern and eastern Europe our shores are positively tropical so vast flocks of waders and wildfowl migrate to Britain every winter. Chris and Martin visit the south coast to discover why so many birds find our estuaries irresistible and enjoy the stunning spectacles these winter gatherings provide.

Meanwhile, Michaela Strachan reports from South Africa, where millions of swallows have arrived from the UK and beyond to escape the northern winter altogether. Charlie Hamilton James finds out why otter cubs are around at this time of year and finds them in a rather unusual place whilst Kate heads to an idyllic Welsh river to enjoy great views of dippers. Maya Plass shows Martin that our coastline and beaches can be fascinating spots to explore in winter and helps to solve a curious marine mystery on a Devon beach.

The team also report on a surprising influx of owls, find out why the ptarmigan could be the UK's toughest bird and encourage everyone to listen to the dawn chorus in their garden at this time of year. As the very first glimmers of spring emerge, Chris looks at how certain plants are uniquely adapted to emerge early and capitalise on the first opportunities of spring's arrival. As always, the team answers viewers' questions, feature some of their spectacular wintry photos and provide some top tips on helping our wildlife at this time of year.

The team prove that, if you wrap up warm, there's plenty to see and do in our countryside this winter. If you know how - and where - to look, winter can be truly glorious... and spring is closer than you might think!

Winterwatch: Wednesday 22nd February 2012 at 9pm on BBC Two and the BBC HD channel.

Tim Scoones is the Executive Producer of Winterwatch

Do you have any specific ideas about who, what or where we should feature? Are there any themes, concepts, or debates we should bring up and discuss? If so, please post your comments below.

As we've done for the last two series we'll be 'on the road' across eight weeks of autumn, allowing us to really 'watch' the full season, throughout October and November. We hope to showcase the very best of the UK's autumn wildlife, featuring a different region of the country each week.

Where should we go? What should we cover? Which autumn stories should we follow? Over to you. Get posting below. We're all ears. Thank you!

Tim Scoones is Executive Producer of Springwatch and Autumnwatch

Many thanks to all of those who have contributed to the series, including the wonderful wildlife people we have met on this series, from adder experts to bee-saving heroes. We've been inspired by the stories of a huge range of people who have a unique connection to nature, from farmers and surfers.

Huge thanks to the many wildlife organisations who support us with information and advice throughout the series, allowing us to give you the very latest news, views and cutting edge science. Special thanks, of course, go to our hosts this year - the wonderful RSPB team at the Ynys-hir reserve, who have made us feel so welcome, as well as the great team at the Scottish Beaver Trial in Knapdale, Scotland, the Wildlife Trusts team on Skomer and the landfill team from Pitsea in Essex.

We'd also like to thank you, our wonderful audience, for getting involved as you always do. Thank you for all of your discussions and questions on the blog and messageboard, for your incredible home movies and for those tens of thousands of simply awesome Flickr photos. We really appreciate it. Keep them coming! The telly may be over, but this website will be here for you throughout the summer until we meet again in the autumn.

Do come back to this website for news, views, ideas, inspiration and information whenever you need. And if you are looking for something to do near you and you are into nature, we highly recommend you simply put your postcode into the BBC's new Things To Do website and find out what our many wildlife partners are up to near you - places to go and events to join. It's so easy to use and there are so many events on there.

All of this will be available to you all of the time. Why not have the Springwatch website in your "web favourites" list on your browser? And how about signing up for our BBC Nature newsletter?

Do you know someone who would love to do all of this lovely webby stuff but doesn't feel confident using the internet? If so, you can click here for information about the First Click campaign to get more people online. Or please give them this number 08000 150 950 (calls are free from most landlines. Some networks and mobile operators will charge for these call) and get them to phone someone who can help them enter the wonderful and empowering world of the internet with all of the support and courses they will need. We'd love to see them on the Springwatch site soon!

Don't forget to let us know your thoughts about this year's Springwatch below, or click here to give us your ideas for Autumnwatch.

Tim Scoones is the Executive Producer of Springwatch and Autumnwatch

Find out more about Springwatch 2011:

• Why we chose RSPB Ynys-hir, our new home
• Behind the scenes photos of Ynys-hir
• Week one: Charlie Hamilton James' Scottish beaver stakeout
• Unsprung's back every Wednesday at 8.30pm. Martin and the team want your questions, stories and photos
• Red Button gallery of the best photos from our Flickr group

But Springwatch wouldn't be Springwatch without you the audience, so please do get involved - tell us your wildlife stories, ask us those questions that have always puzzled you, share your spring photos or just chat about the show. Here's how:

• On the blog: the team will be blogging regularly about our films, our big themes, our favourite photos, our contributors and more. So if you have an opinion about any of these, please post a comment there
• Messageboard: we have three different forums where you can chat about UK wildlife, about the webcams or about the show itself
• 'Like' us on our Facebook page for news, chat and more
• Share your photos of spring fauna and flora on our Flickr group
• Join in the conversation on Twitter with #springwatch

We really hope you enjoy the series. Join us!

Catch us on BBC Two at 8pm Mondays, Tuesdays & Thursdays (7.30pm Wednesdays followed by Unsprung)

Tim Scoones is the Executive Producer of Springwatch and Autumnwatch for the BBC Natural History Unit

Right in the thick of peak preparation, we've had the most unexpected and delightful interruption... Springwatch just won a BAFTA!

The 2010 Springwatch team at Pensthorpe

The citation reads "... the award is given to Springwatch in recognition of its outstanding creative and technical teamwork and the role it has played in developing technical standards both behind the camera and online ...". Creative and technical teamwork, on TV and online - that's Springwatch all over.

For more details (and a film about us), check out the BAFTA website. You can also see the official BBC press release with quotes from our commissioner and from BBC Two. And a few of us have been blogging on a special BAFTA blog as preparations for Springwatch get going in earnest.

This is an award for the behind-the-scenes teams on the show - people you rarely see on screen but without whom the show and its wider impact would never happen. It's a huge tribute to the literally hundreds of unsung heroes backstage who have worked so hard and who have constantly stuck their necks out technically and creatively to keep Springwatch fresh and focussed on what you - our dear audience - want to see, hear and get involved in. I am sure you will join me in congratulating them for an amazing achievement.

Chris Packham and I spoke at the awards (see the video clips and web article on the BAFTA website) and we were at pains to say that Springwatch has always been made for our audience... and is now increasingly being made BY our audience. This is a big award and we simply could not have done what we've done without YOU. We think you are the best audience in the world and BAFTA are inclined to agree. So there's a bit of the BAFTA we won on Sunday that's yours too - you are our army of supporters and contributors, messageboarders and Flickr photographers. So CONGRATULATIONS to you too!

We do hope you like the new series, and we know you'll step up and get involved like you always do. We love you for that.

Keep an eye on the website - the activity is already building... And everything's due to go nuts towards the end of the month!

Here's to BAFTA, to Springwatch and to one of the most stunning springs we've had in this green and pleasant land for many years!

Here we go again... there's no going back now...!

Tim Scoones is the Executive Producer of Springwatch and Autumnwatch for the BBC Natural History Unit

Also known as the anglerfish, monkfish have recently become very popular as a meaty fish. They are large bottom-feeding fish which are slow growing and slow to reproduce - only starting to breed when about 10 years old. Beam trawling for bottom-dwelling fish has been known to cause damage to the sea bed, particularly when an area is beam-trawled for the first time, so this remains a controversial technique around which there is ongoing debate and research.

Netting for monkfish can also be problematic because their broad heads make it difficult for young fish to pass through some nets. If they reach the fishing boat young monkfish are likely to die before any attempt to throw them back in. Therefore, responsible and sustainable harvesting of monkfish needs to be done with extreme care. These factors make them especially vulnerable to overfishing and the Marine Conservation Society has therefore give them an "eat with caution" rating in their Good Fish Guide (which is available as a downloadable PDF).

Whilst there are real concerns for monkfish coming from outside the UK (particularly the Iberian population, and possibly those from Brazil, for which there is poor data), British fishermen have been working hard to ensure that their fishery is sustainable. Their efforts have enabled scientists to keep a close eye on monkfish numbers and, by introducing quotas, ensure that we know what's going on beneath the sea.

Although monkfish are currently in decline in the North Sea, both fishermen and scientists are working in partnership to reverse this trend. Meanwhile, in the south-west of the UK, fishermen from Devon and Cornwall have ensured that, through sustainable fishing practices, their stock is stable and in some places growing.

It's good to see that the monkfish in British waters being responsibly fished and monitored. However, we should remember that there are populations in decline in other parts of the world. So, if you do choose to buy monkfish, please ensure that you know that your monkfish has come from one of the sustainable fisheries.

We hope this helps clarify the current situation. Springwatch, Autumnwatch and the Nature UK website will continue to stay across this ongoing situation and will give you updates as and when things change. You can, of course, have your say right now by posting a comment below.

Thanks Tim,

Does your dog or cat hunts with deadly efficiency? Or have you seen a pigeon take the tube?

Please share with us YOUR wild stories about our capital city. We'd love to hear from you at wildlondon@passion-pictures.com

Thanks

Gaby

>>

Passion Pictures are keen to hear direct from you, so we've turned off comments on this blog. And hopefully we'll follow up when the show airs on TV next year.

]]>It therefore gives me immense pleasure to announce that Autumnwatch is back! Autumnwatch returns to BBC TWO on Thursdays (yes, Thursdays, not Fridays, this year) from 7th October at 8.30pm to 9.30pm, immediately followed by Autumnwatch Unsprung (hoorah!) every Thursday from 9.30pm to 10pm. Once a week for eight weeks, we'll be watching autumn with you from the beginning to the end of this exhilarating season.

(Update 30th September: Please tell Martin and the Unsprung team about your wildlife stories, observations, questions, photos and videos here.)

Autumnwatch is back. Join Chris and Kate from 7th Oct on BBC Two, Thursdays, 8.30pm.

The presenters and specialist camera teams will be back on the road, tracking the key events of autumn across the UK, visiting new places, and revealing new and surprising wildlife stories, as they happen. Each week, we'll be giving you all the latest news and views and encouraging you to get out and enjoy autumn's wildlife treats for yourself, whether you live out in the wilds or in the depths of the city.

And of course we want to hear from you about what you're seeing, what questions you have, what photos you're taking and what amazing video footage you've captured. As in previous series, what you tell us - through surveys, debates, the blog and the messageboard - will be at the heart of what we do on TV and on our website. It's your show, so we're really looking forward to hearing from you.

 

Much of what we are doing this year follows a similar pattern to our re-format of Autumnwatch in 2009... though of course nature always writes us a different script and contributions from our viewers constantly add surprise and variety. Chris Packham and Kate Humble will be off on autumnal adventures in a different part of the country each week, whilst Martin Hughes-Games will be keeping a close eye on what the viewers are up to, chasing down topical stories each week and, of course, hosting Autumnwatch Unsprung, our viewer-led, informal gathering at the end of each Autumnwatch.

However, there are a few key changes to announce this time. Simon King has announced that he is leaving the Springwatch/Autumnwatch presenter team to pursue other interests. Simon is a legend in his field, of immense skill and experience. He's been an integral part of the team for the last six years and we wish him well in his future ventures.

So, new for this year, each week we'll get an expert view of autumn in a set of special feature reports appropriate to each stage of the season. Delving deeper into some of autumn's key characters, events and experiences, this will be an intimate and personal view, brought to us by people who know it the best. Look out for some old friends and some new faces. Gordon Buchanan's back, as is Charlie Hamilton-James (now of Halcyon River Diaries fame) and our sound-wizard Chris Watson; Nick Baker joins us for a week; our Welsh viewers will recognise their very own Iolo Williams and those from Northern Ireland will welcome Darryl Grimason.

More on these and other special guests and friends of Autumnwatch - on this blog over the coming days. Look out also for details of Chris, Kate and Martin's upcoming adventures, from the heart of London and the stunning coast of west Scotland, to the glories of an autumn woodland and the wilds of Northern Ireland; and our famous live webcams will be back, this time in the Orkneys in northern Scotland, bringing you all the family dramas of the grey seal pupping season. We have a veritable feast for you!

We're delighted to announce that we'll be continuing with our regular live link to our friends at the BBC Weather Centre who will give us our very own wildlife-watching weather forecast. Weather has a huge effect on migration - one of the great spectacles, and natural wonders, of the autumn - with an incredible 60 million birds on the move around the UK. In a weekly "Migration Watch" report, we'll give you the latest news on our migrants, explain how to track these arrivals and departures, and what to expect where. You can start following this autumn's migration news on our website right now, courtesy of our friends at the British Trust for Ornithology.

What has this year of extreme weather - from snow to floods and drought - meant for our wildlife around the UK and how will all of this shape autumn 2010? Back in August, our friends at the Woodland Trust were suggesting that our late spring is likely to shunt our autumn a bit later this year. Experts at the Forestry Commission, looking back at records of similar years, have been hinting at the possibility of a good year for autumn colour. And just today, the National Trust are predicting a bumper year for the wild autumn harvest of nuts and berries due to favourable conditions at the right times during the summer. How will the autumn turn out? We'll be there to find out and we hope you'll join us.

Autumn is one of the most dramatic, spectacular, beautiful times of the year. Photo: autumn mist by Darrell Jordan

There's already lots of stuff on the Autumnwatch/Nature UK website to get you in the mood, and there'll be more coming as we approach the start of the series. We've suggested our top 20 autumn nature activities; early signs of autumn to look out for; a celebration of all things rotting and decaying in your garden, as well as some of our favourite fungi photos and gorgeous early autumn photos from our already active BBC Autumnwatch Flickr Group.

So what are you looking forward to most this autumn, and in this year's Autumnwatch? Do tell us below.

More from me and the Autumnwatch team soon, as our rapidly-evolving plans emerge and as nature begins to declare its hand.

Bye for now...

Tim Scoones, Autumnwatch Executive Producer

]]> Tim Scoones Tim Scoones https://bbcbreakingnews.pages.dev/blogs/natureuk/2010/09/announcing-autumnwatch-2010.shtml https://bbcbreakingnews.pages.dev/blogs/natureuk/2010/09/announcing-autumnwatch-2010.shtml Autumnwatch Wed, 22 Sep 2010 10:13:15 +0000