2017

Season 15 · 2017 · 12 episodes

Episodes

1Episode 1Springwatch returns from a brand new location in the heart of the Cotswolds - the National Trust's Sherborne Park Estate. Chris Packham and Michaela Strachan are joined by Gillian Burke and Martin Hughes-Games to bring an intimate look into the daily lives of the animals we know best - those that live and breed in the heart of the British countryside. The series launches with some old favorites - blue tits in a nest box plus a pair of barn owls. There are also some Springwatch 'firsts' - a jay nest perched precariously on the branch of a spruce tree, and a glorious red kite nest overlooking the whole valley. We also meet a pair of peregrines on a nest with one of the most spectacular views in the country - 200 feet up on the spire of Salisbury Cathedral.
2Episode 2Chris Packham and Michaela Strachan are live in Gloucestershire with the latest from the nest cameras - with dramatic overnight developments from the sloping jay nest and an update on a Spingwatch 'first' - our gorgeous red kites. Meanwhile, Martin Hughes-Games and Gillian Burke are further afield on the Sherborne Estate, using some of the latest drone technology to try to track down an elusive mammal - the brown hare. There are also reports from around the country including a check-in to see how our peregrine falcon is faring high up on Salisbury cathedral, and a scrapyard that one man has allowed nature to reclaim for itself.
3Episode 3Live from their base in the heart of the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Chris Packham and Michaela Strachan share the news from the wildlife cameras over the past 24 hours. The blue tits are in increasing danger from an inquisitive great-spotted woodpecker, the badgers make their first appearance of the series, and a nest full of chiff chaffs fledge into the undergrowth. Gillian Burke is exploring some of the smaller creatures on the estate, Martin Hughes-Games has travelled to Thetford forest to get hands on with a Tawny Owl and Lucy Cooke introduces how a simple object can connect us to the natural world in surprising ways.
4Episode 4At the end of a dramatic first week in Gloucestershire, Michaela Strachan, Chris Packham and Gillian Burke report live on all the latest action from the National Trust's Sherborne Estate. The blue tits are getting closer and closer to fledging, but the greater spotted woodpecker is visiting with increasing frequency. Meanwhile a nest is launched, a buzzard high up in a conifer, and the swallow chicks, only a day old, are growing rapidly. Martin Hughes-Games is in north Wales, where he meets up with Iolo Williams to track down the elusive sand lizard, with an extraordinary live demonstration of autotomy.
5Episode 5Springwatch is back for its second week at the National Trust's Sherborne Estate in Gloucestershire. Chris Packham, Michaela Strachan and Gillian Burke bring updates on the dramatic events that unfolded over the weekend. The blue tits were due to fledge, but did they get out before the woodpecker found them? And there was high drama in the swallows' nest when a rouge jackdaw came to visit. Meanwhile Martin Hughes-Games has travelled to Scotland to track down some ecosystem engineers - a population of beavers. Staying north of the border, we also meet a very special family of pine martens hiding in an attic. There is new science showing how the quality of a dipper's song is related to the quality of its territory, and we drop in on an eight-legged love story, playing out on a small pool on a heath.
6Episode 6Chris Packham, Michaela Strachan and Gillian Burke are live in the Gloucestershire countryside with the latest from the cameras spread all over the Sherborne Estate.
7Episode 7The latest news from our wildlife cameras. High up on Salisbury cathedral, an orphaned peregrine chick is fostered onto the pair that our cameras have been following by the RSPB.
8Episode 8A dramatic week comes to an end in Gloucestershire. Martin Hughes-Games and Iolo Williams go head to head, pitting two birds against each other to see which is the ultimate hunter.
9Episode 9Chris Packham and Michaela Strachan report live from the National Trust's Sherborne Park Estate. They introduce the first in a series of four films about Somerset's egret colonies.
10Episode 10Chris Packham and Michaela Strachan are live in the Gloucestershire countryside. Gillian Burke and Michaela Strachan are live from a special and remote part of the British Isles.
11Episode 11Chris Packham and Michaela Strachan share the latest updates. Plus the latest from our egret family and Martin Hughes-Games goes to meet one of our most rarely seen owls.
12Episode 12In the last of the series, Michaela Strachan and Chris Packham report live from the Sherborne Park Estate. Martin Hughes-Games finishes his tour of the UK.