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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Springwatch 2016 (1 Viewer)

Peewit said:
Springwatch was fabulous last night. It is getting better by the year and the nesting species are superb!

The female Gooseander sitting in Chris's arms was a treat, and the bird remained cool, and not flustered at all - so different

The Bittern babies Wow, and the the LTT nest great to see

The Gyr Falcon was a treat the night before, and to see it flying in contrast with a Peregrin - the Peregrine was slower - wow!!!

Hey, forget abroad, and enjoy the UK species for what we see on daily basis on our doorstep!!! :-O:-O:-O
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I couldn't agree more - forget abroad! Springwatch on the BBC should be about championing British wildlife. I really enjoy watching the live nests on the red button - views I would never get to see when out birding. It is so relaxing to watch after a days work. I think the accessibility of the species shown is key to the programmes success and in my connection as a viewer with the programme. I really enjoyed watching the rabbits and stoats!

And as for wanting Marsh Tits instead of Blue Tits perhaps we need to consider the logistics here. Michaela Strachan was on BBC Radio 4 Saturday live this weekend talking about how people don't appreciate the amount of work that goes into creating the live broadcasts. And, I guess you can't just put cables etc... anywhere you like in reserves such as Minsmere you have to work with areas that are accessible out of respect for the wildlife.

I think the series just needs to keep up the good work and lets hope the series survives any funding cuts to the BBC. Lets appreciate what we have here.
 
frootz said:
I couldn't agree more - forget abroad! Springwatch on the BBC should be about championing British wildlife. ...... we need to consider the logistics here. Michaela Strachan was on BBC Radio 4 Saturday live this weekend talking about how people don't appreciate the amount of work that goes into creating the live broadcasts.
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There have certainly been some high points this year but I do think the programme is in danger of slipping into a rut. I suspect though that the real problem with a Springwatch style programme outside the UK is the one touched upon by Michaela Strachan. Even so perhaps it's time to stand back and look for a new approach.

I've no objection to it 'championing British wildlife' but in terms of birds what does that mean exactly? In broad terms, 250-270 bird species are regular visitors to the UK of which around 50 are summer visitors, a not too dissimilar number solely wintering birds and somewhat more are passage migrants only. Even the 'core' of supposedly 'resident' birds contains many species that regularly disperse to or from the continent. At the risk of flogging a dead horse, the BBC (and others) seem also very good at championing the wildlife of Africa, Asia, etc leaving our nearest neighbours on the Continent very much the poor relation despite both greater relevance and proximity.
 
Bears, wolves, lynx, elks, wolverines, blue stag beetles, Night herons and others are British wildlife, it just happens there's nowhere for Springwatch to currently film them in the wild in Britain....
 
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Would like to see more from the Golden Eagle camera.It only gets brief coverage.Surely watching the male bring prey In and what different kinds of species of prey,would Interest many.
 
A series from elsewhere in Europe sounds an interesting idea but to set up the programmes requires help from different natural history organisations - for example, last night's featured bird ringers. In the UK these will be well established whereas abroad they'd have to start from scratch, then there might language barriers and other countries may not have as many groups. I hope they got for it though. Yes, it's a good programme but I'm a wee bit tired of following birds on nests.
 
salticus said:
A series from elsewhere in Europe sounds an interesting idea but to set up the programmes requires help from different natural history organisations - for example, last night's featured bird ringers. In the UK these will be well established whereas abroad they'd have to start from scratch, then there might language barriers and other countries may not have as many groups. I hope they got for it though. Yes, it's a good programme but I'm a wee bit tired of following birds on nests.[/QUOTE

Good to see a four-minute clip on the Somme with Frank Gardner on last night's programme. It can be done! There are clearly added difficulties in broadcasting from the continent, but, contra Salitcus's comment above, there are plenty of well established ringing groups abroad and an awful lot of continentals speak decent English.
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davercox said:
Did my ears deceive me, or did MH-G tell us on Monday that Woodlark went extinct in Britain around 1960 ?
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According to the BTO "Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain" 1976, there was a decline in the 1950s and this was not helped by the cold winters of 1961/2 and 1962/3.Certainly very low numbers in Southern England in the 60s but not extinct.
 
Big issue at the end of the programme yesterday with MHG, who has clearly never heard of slow TV and for that matter understood that the wildlife is what people turn on for.

Martin: when you are at the site where a Nightingale is singing intermittently, on a last-gasp attempt to show its wonderful song to the masses, SHUT UP!!!!!

John
 
Farnboro John said:
Big issue at the end of the programme yesterday with MHG, who has clearly never heard of slow TV and for that matter understood that the wildlife is what people turn on for.

Martin: when you are at the site where a Nightingale is singing intermittently, on a last-gasp attempt to show its wonderful song to the masses, SHUT UP!!!!!

John
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I have to admit, I thought exactly the same thing and swore at the tv at that point. I felt really sorry for Gary the soundman. After all that effort!

To give Martin the benefit of the doubt, there was probably somebody in his earpiece telling him to keep talking. I think he should have ignored them though.

Ron
 
Robert Wallace said:
According to the BTO "Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain" 1976, there was a decline in the 1950s and this was not helped by the cold winters of 1961/2 and 1962/3.Certainly very low numbers in Southern England in the 60s but not extinct.
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Quite so Robert (can clearly remember seeing and hearing them in S England in 1960); so what the **** was he blethering about ?

(and yes, I agree whole-heartedly with the recent posts re the singing Nightingale, what a plonker).
 
Was a good Springwatch this year prob my fav part was Sparrowhawk hatching. I just hope for Autumnwatch and next year's Springwatch they bring back the afternoon show 'Extra' with guests. I really missed that.
 
Ben Nevis said:
I think you mean Stoat.
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They have had lots of footage of both Weasels and Stoats this year. There has been the female Stoat feeding her young and killing everything and the man who has been filming a family of Weasels breeding in his garden. Both items have been great.

Ron
 
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It has been a good series will re-watch it if I get chance. MHG talking over singing Nightingale - not surprised! The camera team seem to want to record the presenters reaction to the items rather than the subject itself. When they go out wildlife watching you get a few seconds of the birds and a minute of MHG and/or CP and/or MS footage holding binoculars watching the species in question. I have seen plenty of people holding binoculars before watching wildlife and it is not something that has to be shown to us.
 
That bit with Martin talking over the Nightingale still bugs me. All they needed to do was show Gary Moore the soundman gradually edging closer to the bird and to relay what he was hearing and recording to us. So simple.

On a more positive note, I was blown away by the quality of the nest cameras now. The shots of the Stone Curlew, Golden Eagle and Sparrowhawk, where they kept progressively zooming in, were stunning. When you compare them to the relatively fuzzy images which we used to watch in the first series, the improvement in quality is amazing. The same applies to the night time footage.

Ron
 
Martin posted this on twitter earlier: "The bbc commissioner Tom McDonald has decided my services no longer required on springwatch etc. Sad but it's been brilliant- thank you!!".
 
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