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Autumn Watch 2010 (1 Viewer)

For the first time I think I enjoyed the Unsprung programme more than the main one last night. Those waxwing photos were superb[ saw them before on a few threads on this forum]. I'm a great owl fan, so the 3 owls were a nice touch. More wild owl shots please. I also like wildlife art, so I thought the sculpture of the deer made from driftwood pretty impressive. Agree with one of the above threads that the main programme was a bit thin on subject matter last night. I hope people aren't going to blame the return of Miss Humble for this!

Si.
 
Agree here - the waxwing photos were amazing (although I'd already seen them as my brother sent me a link earlier this week - check out the video on their blog!) and definitely should become classics as they were stunning. The goldfinch slow-mo footage was just astonishing, I was really blown away by that!

The owls were just brilliant, as Martin would say "I love owls, me.". ;) I've not seen Little Owls yet and it really was a beautiful bird. Can't get enough of Tawnies and Barn Owls too - I went to a wildlife day at my local park in the summer and got to lightly stroke a rescued Tawny (had been hit by a car and had brain damage so couldn't be released) and their feathers are amazingly soft. Surprised they said it's easier to see Barn Owls in the summer from my experiences at north Norfolk in summer and winter but being nothing like an owl expert nor having carried out a scientific study I can't really comment!
 
Norfolk Owls are a law unto themselves though. They don't seem to know the difference between night or day! A bit backward if you ask me. ;););)
 
I dont mind Kate Humble and i do not blame her for the thin subject matter but she appeared exceptionally loud this week. Its like she wanted to make up for last week.

The Waxwing photos were amazing. I have yet to see a Waxwing.

I hope Autumnwatch do manage to go to Wales. Have they ever visited Wales in winter?

Surely they could also htink of one day visiting the Ribble Estuary in Lancashire and the Dee eastuary in Merseyside?
 
Re the appearance of those beautiful owls on Unsprung this week, I recently attended a talk about a swan and hedgehog rescue centre by Wilts Wildlife Trust .

The giver of the talk, Sue Hulbert, brought along photos of rescues, and 2 wild animals recently rescued.

One was a hedgehog, injured on the road, and the other was a lovely young Barn Owl.
Apparently this bird had been bought (over the internet, for £40) by a family with young children, who lived in a flat on a nearby council estate.

The owl was now 6 months old and "wanting to fly" so the mother contacted Sue as otherwise "we'll have to have the owl put down" as she was worried about the danger to her toddlers!!

We were also told of another 2 Barn owls who were rescued from living in the sideboard of a house in London....

Behaviour like that beggars belief....
 
The Waxwing photos were amazing. I have yet to see a Waxwing.

__________________

A flock of between 60-80 in Halifax (King Cross area) yesterday, if you're anywhere near there. They've been in the area for a couple of weeks but difficult to find at times. Keep an eye on Bird Guides for daily sightings.

Sandra
 
The Waxwing photos were fantastic. I have only ever seen Waxwings once before, in Southampton in 2005, and didn't get a photo. There are none here (Isle of Wight) at all.
As for Kate Humble, yes, she can be loud but I like her and I think it's a shame that she comes in for so much criticism and dislike.
 
Last nights episode was very good I have to say I havn't really enjoyed this series of Autumnwatch which had been a surprise to me as I normally love it.
 
I thought the footage of the Starlings under the pier in the dark was brilliant. Very interesting to see the pecking orders being established.

For some reason I was incredibly irritated by Chris's and Kate's exaggerated hand gestures and speech patterns as they were walking along at the start of the programme. Why can't they just walk and talk like normal people and not TV presenters? In fact, they were all at it last night: Martin and even Iolo, to a lesser extent. I have never really noticed it before. Perhaps I was just in a grumpy mood. ;)

Ron
 
Another Autumn Watch over for another year. Watching the whooper swans rounded off the series nicely. Good points. Nice to see regional wildlife presenters showing off their local natural history. Bad points. The show is becoming a little threadbare and repetitive in its format. How long can it sustain itself I wonder?
Couldn't help noticing that the wrens roosting scene on Unsprung was taken from Johnnie Kingdoms recent Life with the Birds programme on BBC4. Not a gripe, just an observation.

Si.
 
I like Autumn watch but is it just me in wishing that man would cut his hair on unsprung. The fact he can't see and keeps pushing it up with his glasses.

I remember what I had intened to say, the snails I find in the trees and bushes in the winter and offer them on the lawn for Thrushes are never eaten maybe because yesterday they said that there was a membrane over the entrance of the shell, very interesting.
 
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It's a little depressing to think that eight weeks of my life have whistled by so quickly. The programmes did seem to be rather light on content this year, although, when they had the resume at the end, they have actually covered a lot of topics. My favourite item last night was the film about the Turnstones. They are personal favourites of mine but I can't remember them being featured in a wildlife programme before. It was also great to see a Woodcock close up and I think Chris was rather impressed by it too! Thursday nights will seem a little quiet for the next few months.

Ron
 
Shirley Roulston said:
I like Autumn watch but is it just me in wishing that man would cut his hair on unsprung. The fact he can't see and keeps pushing it up with his glasses.

I remember what I had intened to say, the snails I find in the trees and bushes in the winter and offer them on the lawn for Thrushes are never eaten maybe because yesterday they said that there was a membrane over the entrance of the shell, very interesting.
Click to expand...

All well and good but as I'm sure you know Song Thrushes don't bother with trying to excavate them, they just smash their shells to bits on the nearest stone or very hard surface. But maybe that membrane is unpalatable and they can't swallow the snail without it, would have been a good thing to ask actually! ;)
 
On balance I've enjoyed Autumn Watch. I think Chris Packham is excellent and is well supported by dare I say it Kate Humble. The programme should be aimed at a wide audience not just keen naturalists, I think it suceeds.

To finish on a trivial note has Kate deserted Swarvoski in favour of Leica?
 
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