We should expect to see wildlife wherever we are

look at how it can be managed in a sustainable way.

“Unfortunately, a lot of people look outside, see it’s green and think it’s OK. But I’m afraid it isn’t,” says Chris.

“The exciting thing is that we have the knowledge and technology to make changes. But we can’t do it without public support and awareness.

“We want viewers to take a second look at the countryside, to recognise the good bits and ask for more.”

Fortunately, Sherborne has plenty of good bits... “We wouldn’t go to some agricultural desert in East Anglia with an overgrazed monoculture,” scoffs Chris.

Michaela hints that the typically over-critical Springwatch film crew are already getting uncharacteristically over-excited about what’s in store for the next few weeks.

Nest boxes have been erected around the site, with the hope remote cameras will deliver live footage of barn owl chicks. Swallows and buzzards are also likely to have starring roles, while a river cam aims to capture footage of otters and water voles.

But there’s one avian species that roving reporter Martin HughesGames is desperate to encounter. “For the last three years, I’ve tried to see lesser spotted woodpeckers, which I now think are made up,” he admits with frustration.

“It’s a woodpecker the size of a sparrow... apparently.”

Chris, of course, has seen several in his time and assures Martin luck may be on his side this season.

While he and Strachan hold fort at Sherborne, Martin will be travelling up and down the UK, filming pine martens and beavers in Scotland, meeting reintroduced red squirrels in the Scilly Isles, and tagging jellyfish. “I had no idea you could do that!” he admits.

The former producer, who is now part of the Springwatch furniture, has been overwhelmed by his growing fan base.

Last year, when rumours hinted he might be dropped from the show, a furious Twitter petition was launched to keep him on screen.

He jests it may have had some bearing on his continued employment, although the BBC insists there was never any question mark hanging over his role.

“The real story is he was never going to be kicked off – he was just feeling unloved,” says Michaela mischievously. “He wanted his ego massaged!” The team’s relative newbie Gillian Burke has also been out and about on location creating animal diaries, and says filming emperor moths on Dartmoor was a reminder she has one of the best jobs in the world.

“I got completely absorbed,” she gushes, recalling the recording of the UK’s only silk moth in breeding season.

“Hang on Gilly,” says Chris, interrupting her momentary idyll. “You were working with our best crew, the moths turned up and did their thing and it didn’t rain. You’ve just got lucky so far!”

It’s typical Chris tongue-in-cheek sarcasm.

The quick-witted 56-year-old presenter is well-known for his on-screen game playing, going off on a tangent and inserting song lyrics into conversations.

“I thought I might do it again this year,” he muses.

“The problem is my interest in music is relatively narrow in its scope, so there are lots of bands which I could do but no one else would know.

“I did run through a few where I thought there was sufficient crossover between my music and that of the wider public.

“Now we’re left with just a few bizarre indie bands. So I might do film titles...”

Music references will still appear in this Springwatch edition, though.

One of Chris’s projects on the show is to collar badgers and foxes with the help of Dr Dawn Scott from the University of Brighton.

“The collars will last at least until the end of Winterwatch, so we’ll get some consistency throughout the year and we’ll know them as individuals,” he enthuses.

“We’ve started naming them. I’ve gone for pop icons, and the first badger I’ve named is Madonna.

“It was that or Gaga, and I thought I’d start with a more senior figure.”

So the Springwatch fascination with badgers continues.