Autumn gathers pace... Highlights of Autumnwatch show three
Post categories: Autumnwatch
| 20:20 UK time, Friday, 22 October 2010
Firstly, thank you Northern Ireland for a fantastic autumn spectacle - from 30,000 geese to dancing conger eels! Both Chris and Kate couldn't speak more highly of their trip across the water, and the good news is we're going back for our last programme of the series. Local naturalist and broadcaster, Darryl Grimason, will be telling the story of the whooper swans and how their arrival from Iceland signals the end of autumn and the beginning of winter.
So what of last night's show? Watching it, I got a real sense of autumn gathering pace with the arrival of the geese and the departure of our swallows and martens. On the shoreline of Strangford Lough, Chris was in geese heaven - the sheer beauty and spectacle of all those birds is just one of the sights and sounds that makes autumn such a special time of year.
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If you can't get to Northern Ireland, the good news is geese are gathering around the UK - at the WWT reserve a record number 40,000 pink-footed geese have arrived and on the Scottish borders, at RSPB , barnacle geese numbers are building nicely.
Less accessible but equally spectacular was the beautiful conger eel that decided Kate was the perfect playmate. That individual was a relative youngster and could grow to twice its current size. These animals are often misunderstood and hunted simply because they're big fish... Now classed as "vulnerable" they really do need our help - underlining why protected marine zones like Strangford Lough are so important.
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Chris "the wizard of sound" Watson - thank you! Chris's audio journey down the River Coquet was so uplifting - it took me away from the everyday into a completely different dimension. Chris's passion for sound is unique and I was so pleased that he was able to bring us an audio first: the song of a dipper in autumn.
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Unsprung once again made me smile - poor Chris and Mrs Bitey the polecat were the talk of ! Please do keep your questions, videos and pictures coming in - the team are always so pleased to hear from you.
Next week we'll be in the woods basking in autumn colour and Gordon Buchanan will be bringing us all the drama from Orkney as the grey seal pupping season gets into top gear. If you have a question about his adventure please ask him on the blog.
In the meantime, please let me know what you think of the series and over the weekend I hope you're able to get out and enjoy this wonderful season. Just make sure you wrap up warm!
Roger Webb is the Series Producer of Autumnwatch
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