OUR WILDEST WINTER YET

Spawning salmon, busy beavers, a glimpse of a golden eagle – they’re just some of the wild wonders in store on this year’s Winterwatch...

Winterwatch presenter Iolo Williams is turning detective in this week’s new series – to uncover the mystery of the missing starling murmurations.

Starlings usually gather in the skies above Aberystwyth Pier, in West Wales, before spectacularly swooping together in formation. But now, for some reason, they have stopped doing it. ‘They’ve been going straight under the pier to roost,’ says Iolo. ‘Nobody knows why the murmurations aren’t happening, but I’m determined to find out.’

That’s not the only challenge the presenters have set themselves during Winterwatch, which features amazing close-up footage of wildlife from all over Britain.

Gillian Burke will be investigating a sudden burst of activity among the inhabitants of the Cornwall Beaver Project. ‘I’m also hoping to catch up with the young beavers born there during the last Springwatch,’ she says.

Coronavirus restrictions mean regular presenter Michaela Strachan can’t fly in from her home in South Africa but she’ll appear via video link. ‘I was planning to be in Tentsmuir Forest in Scotland, so I’ll be talking to Chris Packham about the red squirrels there,’ says Michaela.

Megan Mccubbin will be introducing viewers to creatures she believes deserve more love. ‘I’m going to challenge the reputations of rats, jellyfish, pigeons and slugs, and even swim with jellyfish to try to make people appreciate them more,’ she explains.

Actor Sam West – vet Siegfried Farnon in the remake of All Creatures Great & Small – teams up with sound recordist Gary Moore at RSPB Minsmere in Suffolk to gain a better understanding of the sounds of our winter birds. Live cameras will film badgers near Chris Packham’s home in the New Forest, as well as spawning salmon in Scotland’s River Ness.

Apart from the starlings of Aberystwyth, Iolo Williams will be introducing viewers to a flock of Greenland white-fronted geese, who have taken up residence in

the River Dyfi estuary in West Wales. ‘It’s the only regularly occurring flock of its type in the country,’ explains Iolo.

Wild cats, short-eared owls and golden eagles are among the other species the team are hoping to catch a glimpse of in this series, which also aims to promote good mental health during the pandemic. Katie Maggs will show how she switches

off from the stresses of life through wild swimming, and there’ll be ‘mindful moments’, 90-second sequences of nature footage with no commentary or music. ‘It’s a chance for viewers to immerse themselves in the sounds and visuals of winter wilderness,’ says Gillian Burke. n

Presenters Michaela Strachan and Gillian Burke, and some of the creatures they hope to spot