Welcome to Blue Peter. We are your new presenters. It is Winterwatch so
we have taken over and we will bring you loads of wildlife action. It
will be amazing because we are way better than Barney! This is our
show. You do yours, we will do ours. . It will be amazing because we are
way better than Barney! This is our show. You do yours, we will do ours.
Today is going. It will be amazing because we are way better than
Barney! This is our show. You do yours, we will do ours. Today is
going to be "Snow" good. Don't start!
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE Welcome, we are here in the
Scottish Highlands, behind the scenes as BBC Twos Winterwatch. I
can reveal it is officially minus 2 degrees, we are below freezing. It
is chilly isn't it guys? Yes, over the next half an hour we are live
behind the scenes. Later on we will catch up with Chris, Martin and Mick
la, the Winterwatch team. Until then I am joined by this lovely lot.
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE Now, we are wrapped up nice and warm
for winter, on today's show we will look at how animals stay warm in the
winter weather. Barney is going to be tracking some squirrels as shechs
for the perfect photograph. Radzi, aim so jealous, he is catching up
with baby seals as a rescue centre, and we will be joined by two very
special guests, some golden eagles. How cool is that? They are excited.
I am too. If you are into nature and wildlife you will love today's show.
Of course, we are here at Winterwatch, so we want to hear from
you. Tell us what is your favourite thing do in winter time. And why?
Head to the website. Get in touch and at the end of the show we will
read out as many comments as we can. You may have noticed that Radzi is
not here. He is on his holiday, but I have a sneaky feeling Barney is
having a snoop round. You know me, when it comes to leaning behind the
scenes, I am the one. Everyone is fine. Don't panic. You can see the
set of Winterwatch. Everyone is rehearsing. It is a huge show that
creates incredible footage. They have had to take over this estate.
It is called Mar Lodge. It is an unbelievable place. So many people
are involved putting this together. 15 cameras, over 80 production crew
and this room in here is probably one of the most important on the
show. This is Adam. He is in charge of story developing. Let us talk
about what you do. We observer all the live camera, we have seven
cameras all over the site S we are watching for any activity that
happens. So it is a 24/7 job. If something happens you have to record
it. Absolutely. Exactly. I like gadgets and I can see buttons and
sticks. Why don't you have a go. You are going to interview yourself
here. Let us say we want to see something, how about down here? If
you select the camera here. Press number eight. If you select it on
the screen here as well. Press it again. And then, you can basically,
pan and tilt, using this. Zoom using that and focus using that. Anything
that has the word turbo on it I want one. Let us see if there is otter
action. This is your job, looking round to see nothing happening.
Yeah, but you have to be on stand by for something happening. We had an
otter last night. I could spend all day here. I don't want to take any
of your time up. Up. Thank you very much. While that is being put
together, and if, Rob, you are having a shocker. Help him somebody.
The footage gets edits and they come out here. It is dark out here mate.
All the cables there, they hook everything together. All that
footage that goes into the back of the truck. It looks normal but it is
not. Inside this sort of portable building is a talented team of
people who from producer, the directors, the guys in charge of the
video, sound. If you come through here. The guy in the middle is James
Morgan, the director. He is in charge of making sure the show looks
incredible. I feel like I am in a headmaster's office in there. It is
an amazing show to be part of. We are glad they have let us come here.
He is so cheeky. Which are out on the outdoor part where the
presenters can get close to wildlife. That is what we are doing.
Later on when we catch up with golden eagles. How cool is that?
That is cool. Earlier this week, Winterwatch introduced us to some
very cute baby seals. Radzi, being Radzi, he wanted to get in on the
action. Blake anyPoint is on the Norfolk coast. Because of the
record-breaking breeding seasons it is hope to one of the largest seal
colonies anywhere in Britain. You can find two types of seal here. The
common seal and the grey seal. The grey seal has only been breeding
here since 2001. They spend most of their time in the water. But one
reason they return to land is to give birth to some rather special
cute pups. George from the National Trust is
here to tell me a bit more about this seal colony.
We are here, can you tell me about the area? Yes it is on the Norfolk
coast. It is a massive nature reserve. But what makes this place
great for the pups it is quiet, the beaches are gentle so a lot are born
here. How many are born here? This year we had over 2400 pups and that
is over one thousand more than last year. Pups spent about three weeks
on the beach. They suckle from their mother, and they gain a lot of
weight. Once they have weaned they are ready to go in the water. But
they will stay on the beach for another week or so once they realise
they are hungry and have to fend for themselveses they will get into the
so once they realise they are hungry and have to fend for themselveses
they will get into the sea and head off. So once they realise they are
hungry and have to fend for themselveses they will get into the
sea and head off. -- them selves. System aren't that lucky. Sometimes
maybe a storm will come in to the coast and will separate the pup from
the mother. They won't be reunited. United. It is not bad news.
Specialists rescue some of them and take them to a wildlife hospital,
which is where we are going to next. This Wildlife Centre is caring for
50 seals. Alison is the manager of the centre and is going to show me
the different stages involved in getting them back in to the wild.
What do you do here? We were set up for seals in 1988. We take all
British wildlife now. Seals are hard work. Is there anything I can do to
help with them today? You can. We are going to feed these guys here.
Make sure you don't throw them at the seals. We are trying to get them
away from this end and then we will throw the rest of the bucket in.
They are on to us! They are. Good stuff. Let us see the grey seals
now. Some seals can be too young to feed themselves so Alison and her
team have to use difficult feeding techniques to make sure they survive
We have a couple who are young. We will feed them this lovely mixture,
which is fish soup. It is liquidised mackerel and a rehydration solution.
They get fed every three hours. This is the milk replacement. It is high
in fat content and it is good at getting a bit of weight on which
their mum's milk would do. Here we go.
Hello. We don't talk to them if we can
manage it. We don't want them on the tame and we don't them to know what
their name is. Keep your end up. Hold it the other way. Come down
with the syringe, thank you. That is it. We do it as gently as possible.
And it has lubricant on. Right, so you can plunge but slowly. Is that
slow enough. Keep going. All the way down, that is it. This seal was
rescued from the Point and is just over three weeks old. That might
have looked uncomfortable but it is the only way they can care for them.
The centre also cares for injured seals.
I thought you might like to see these guys. They have got into some
sort of trouble with probably another seal, either a female or a
male on the beach. That is when they got their bite wound. The little
white ones should be this size. Look at the difference. How would that
happen? Their mum feeds them on milk. The milk is so fatty they put
loads of weight on. This is how they should look when their mum leaves
them. It just shows what a difference this
type of care can do in helping rescued seals gain the weight and
feeding sills they need to survive. Finally, I get to feed one last
seal, who is very much on the road to recovery. You can feed megatron
and I will feed Harry. What is its name? Megatron. Hello megatron.
Don't talk to him! Make sure they get their own feed. You will focus
on Megatron. I will feed Harry over here. Try mainged sure row don't
throw them on their heads, and just keep them working so they have to
work hard and get their fish. Just me and Megatron. There is Megatron.
There you go. Simple as that. . Just don't talk to him! Can't talk to
him. Can't talk to him. It is hard. I had no idea what to expect when
came today. But thankfully it is work at places just like this that
is help keeping the seal population round the country thriving.
You can see the look of excitement on his face. Megatron is his
favourite word ever. Imagine if there had been a Whopperon the. We
have been to see the team. Can we perch. You make it so cosy where
ever you are. We are not stupid! It is Winterwatch. Let talks about the
show, how has its been going? Really well. We have come up to investigate
the strategies these animals have to get through the winter. It is a
testing time. But we thought we would offer them a few more tests,
so we came up with an experiment to see which of the squirrel species is
the least curious and fastest to learn. A bit of a surprise, we have
tested some rodents. Only one species of mouse hibernates. The
rest are active. So they have to be finding food. That I have to make
the right choice. We offered them a choice of diet. Grape, cheese, and
peanuts. You better watch later. Stay up to
watch to see what it is. What has been your favourite Winterwatch
spot? Definitely right at the top of the mountain. It wasn't right at the
top but on one of the peaks where went to look for Godane eagle, we
were so lucky, went up with a tame one we were going to fly, and just
as we were doing that, we saw a, a wild golden eagle. It was fabulous.
We weren't expecting to see that. I enjoy it when we brought the little
owl in, and we showed a film which was filmed at an aerodrome. It has
two little owl, they were so cute. They look like little Squadron
Leaders. They are very light on their feet. You never know what is
going to happen, is there anything you haven't seen you would like to?
Yes, the bear. I am well up for that! There isn't a bear really.
Otterers we didn't see them until last night. Don't give it away. It
is the last episode. We are sad about it but what can we look
forward to? I am out down by the river and I am looking at hares.
They look gorgeous, they have lovely, beautiful furry coats. They
change to white in the winter to disguise themselves, so I will be
looking at them. Thank you for that. I have to say what you do, you make
it look so easy, that is because you are legendary, when it came to last
Saturday, I tried to track one of this area's most famous residents.
They do make it look easy. Watch this.
It's a very cold Saturday morning. I've come down to the set of
Winterwatch to try and find something very special. Now, it's
red, it's furry, it's a trick little character and it's very, very hard
to find. I'm not talking about Lindsey. The red squirrelel a
beautiful creature. It's under threat from its close cousin the
grey squirrel. It is endangered in the UK. Three quarters of the total
population of red squirrels in Britain live in Scotland. One of the
best places to spot them is here in the Scottish Highlands. This is why
I'm here, wearing five jumpers and can't feel my toes. I love taking
photographs. I will try and get a picture of a red squirrel. I can't
see any. When I find one I have to get close enough to take a
photograph without scaring them away. I'm going to need help. Ben is
perfect for the job. How do I know? Well, his surname is McNutt.
Really! He is a tracker and wilderness survival expert. I will
need his skills to find a squirrel and stay warm in these freezing
temperatures. Need until a haystack springs to mind. It's a huge area.
How do we find them? The tracks will be the first give away. Look where
they have been by looking at the snow. Yes. We will look for feeding
signs and their homes. Just another day in the office. It isn't long
before we spot signs of red squirrel activity. So, great news. We've
found tracks. The problem is, squirrels all seem to wear the same
size boots. They are like mine. I think you'll find, Barney, these are
the squirrel tracks, not these. I was joking! Of course I knew that.
These are definitely squirrel tracks, how do we know? You can tell
because if you look at the number of toes, you will discover that the
rear feet have got five toes on each foot. We have 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. If you
look at the four feet, there is only four toes in evidence. That tells
you it is definitely a squirrel. What you're seeing there is the
squirrel moving where he is putting his feet down. And his feet coming
through. Off he goes again. You know he is moving in that direction?
Yeah. Let us check it out. Bute. . I hope we get to see one. As we
continue to search for them, we are starting to find red squirrels
everywhere. -- beautiful. We look at how strong squirrels are. Sometimes
they push trees over... I'm joking. What are we looking at here? What we
have here is a squirrel runway. To save energy, instead of sinking into
the snow, he is using it as a path so he doesn't sink. You have tracks
everywhere. What is neat, if you look here, this is squirrel feeding
signs. These have come off a pine cone. You can see the core of the
cone here. Amazing. If this was a mouse that would be chewed clean
like corn on the cob. It has the bits, because they are not as fussy.
He is after the seeds. That is the evidence. A dinner plate for a
squirrel? A squirrel table is the term for it. Brilliant. We are on
the right track, again, literally. Is that why you say - you're on the
right track? Quite possibly. I've learnt something again. I'm enjoying
myself. We have tracked them down and we can see their nests. I think
that is where he is. No self-respecting red squirrel will
show themselves while I'm around. We need to build a hide. From stuff
that is lying around. It will make us feel cosy. I'm really excited
about this. That is a proper shelter, isn't it? It will keep the
breeze off. Best of luck. Thank you. I will send you the photo if I get
one. I hope I get one. See you later. Cheers. All I have to do is
wait. And wait. And wait... You never know when they're going to
appear... There is one. I've got one. This is amazing! What a shot.
I've got it. I've got it. Worth it. I've been sat here for nine days.
There it is. Right in front of me, the red squirrel.
Here it is in all of its glory. Show us the picture. The red squirrelment
isn't he amazing everybody? Is that red squirrel. ? It's a toy. They are
so hard. I came here on Saturday. Nick, a round of applause, he was
having food. I said I've come to see red squirrel. You said, no you're
not. He is the expert. I went out after you and saw two. You have been
having a go, we invited you to send foe owes in. This is Will, he sent a
picture of a deer. What do you think of that? Immediately I thought.
Thought it looked like the cutout out there. Where was this taken? Not
sure. It was down in Dorset you might find a seeker deer. It has the
spots of a fallo deer. I think it's a seeker. Lovely photograph. Well
done. This was taken on the Isle of Wight. Look at that. It's a red
squirrel. Even she can do it! Congratulations. They are hard to
track? They are. Much shyer than grey squirrels. You have to spend a
lot of time out there or be lucky. Sitting down in a stand of conifer
trees where the cones are ripe. Especially when it's frozen, animals
are trying to find it consistently. If you hear they krachg that is them
running up the trees. I heard laughing. If we head over to our
wall. This is from Sofi. You might be able to know what bird it is.
What is wonderful. I saw this morning. I thought it was a
photograph. It is that good. That is a cold tit. Fabulous bird. A
specialist of the Pinewood lands here. They will be sitting up in the
trees behind us as we speak. Brilliant picture. Well done. We
have Toby and Edie's picture of a seal. There is a factsheet too. He
is at a famous place for grey seals. It has the American spelling of
grey! Thank you very much. You have earned a Green Badge. Now you can go
to nature club. Amy goes. What do you do? We learn about the animal or
insect we are finding about. We find it and then play games at the end.
Callum, what is the best thing you have seen? We detected some bats
with a bat detector. They flew out from under beams. We saw quite a few
of them. Thank you very much. Why don't you jump onto the website to
hear more about that or want to know more about our special Project
Petra. It gives you the chance to be a CBBC Intelligence Officer and go
behind-the-scenes at MI5, the organisation that protects the UK.
Can we enter? We are too old. You can enter. Would you like to know
how? Watch this. You have opened Project Petra. Security protocols
verified. Access, granted. This mission is to find the brightest and
best young people in the country. We're looking for people who work
well in a team, but have great individual skills of communication
and observation. Eight candidates will be selected to attend CBBC Spy
School. They will face a series of tests in the field to find out if
they've got what it takes to be a CBBC Intelligence Officer. Only
three will ultimately succeed and be selected for the very special Petra
assignment. Blue Peter has been authorised to take television
cameras where none have ever been allowed before. Inside MI5
headquarters, Thames House in London. And, as CBBC intelligence
officers, you will get to join them. MI5 is the security service which
protects the United Kingdom against threats to national security. In
real-life spies are called Intelligence Officers. It's a highly
skilled and top secret job, keeping the country safe. To apply to be a
CBBC Intelligence Officer, visit the BBC website, click on Project Petra,
and your mission begins. Download and complete the application and
return by post before 12 noon on Monday, 7th February. Project Petra
is now fully operational. Remember, only three can be choosen for the
role of CBBC Intelligence Officers. Will it be you? Is Wow. That really
is an incredible opportunity. If you want to apply, head to the website
and remember to attach a photograph with your name on the back. If you
wonder why you can't see my left arm, we need to reveal this
beautiful bird of prey, who golden eagles looked after by Barry and
Roxanne. Thank you for joining us on the show. If we talk about these
creatures and what is special about them. They are well adapted for
their environmental. They have incredible eyesight to help them
catch their prey. They are also immensely powerful flyers, which
makes them very, very efficient at what they do. It's cold here today
much we can see our breath, can't we, they seem relaxed. They seem to
like the cold, is that right? That is right am they do well in cold
weather. It's as if they have a fleece and jacket on, with a thick
layer of Downey flailers, underneath the anyway feathers you see to keep
them insulated in the cold -- feathers. How good is their
eyesight? It's absolutely brilliant. He is powerful. Amazing. Stanley,
thank you. He wants a hot chocolate. Compared to the way we see the world
they see it two-and-a-half times larger, it's like we look at an old
TV made when I was born. They see the world like a flat screen HD, TV.
Much better eyesight. They are incredibly heavy. What is the weight
of Stanley and the female over there. Sorry... Stanley is around
seven-and-a-half pounds. The females are always a third larger. Ten tins
of baked beans. A heavy bird. The wind has been up to 90mph. Flat
today. Do they like the wind? You could see them stretching out their
wings. Do they enjoy it? They capitalise on the wind really well.
If the wind is blowing hard, hits the Hillside, it's forced upwards.
The big wings and rise up on the updrafts of wind from up high, on
the wind, using fantastic eyesight, they can see over an enormous area.
That is where they will find their food. They can catch their prey in
powerful stoops. OK. If we go to emails. I will leave you to say
goodbye. We asked you to let us know what your favourite thing is to do
in winter and why. We have one from Rose, my favourite thing is making
snow angels with my shorts on. That sounds chilly. Next week will be
good. It's about you. We are celebrating the Purple badge. The
show will be designed using your suggestions. That is cool. We are
joined by the cast of the Dumping Ground. They will play a game of
truth or dare. We will have a jump Roper formance like you've never
seen before. Watch Winterwatch tonight. Guys for now, goodbye.
Goodbye everyone. Hot chocolate time!