Chris Packham and Michaela Strachan
On its 20th anniversary year Springwatch, produced by BBC Studios Natural History Unit, returns to BBC Two and iPlayer from Monday 26 May with presenters Chris Packham and Michaela Strachan leading three weeks of wildlife wonder from a new location - the National Trust’s Longshaw Estate in the heart of the Peak District.
Iolo Williams will broadcast live from Northern Ireland as, for the first time on Springwatch, he embarks upon a three-week nature trek through some of the region’s most diverse wildlife hotspots.
An array of live nest-cameras rigged across our springtime location will tell the story of the season alongside a range of pre-recorded films, which have been capturing the magical moments of spring 2025.
With two decades of unprecedented access to nests, badger setts, otter holts and waterways, over this time the series has captured behaviours never seen before. Springwatch has revealed surprising stories that not even the scientists knew were possible. With our cameras recording 24/7, no moment has been missed. And this year will be no exception.
With the best of British wildlife knowledge at our fingertips, Springwatch will continue to reveal insight into the lives of our wildlife, and with 20 years behind it, the programme will build a clear picture of how our wildlife has changed since we began filming as well as make some predictions for its future.
Since the very first programme Springwatch has always been an interactive show with huge audience engagement and the conversations will continue this year with Chris, Michaela and Iolo reacting to questions, stories and UGC films sent in from across the nations.
When is Springwatch 2025 on TV and BBC iPlayer?
BBC Springwatch returns to BBC Two and iPlayer broadcasting live at the following times:
- Monday 26 May – Thursday 29 May 8pm
- Monday 2 June – Thursday 5 June 8pm
- Monday 9 June – Thursday 12 June 8pm
BBC Springwatch 2025 is produced by BBC Studios Natural History Unit and in partnership with The Open University.
The National Trust’s Longshaw Estate
Set on the eastern edge of the Peak District, Britain’s first National Park, Longshaw comes alive at this time of year with its upland habitats showcasing a range of species never before featured on the Springwatch live cameras.
New species could include Red Listed ring ouzels and whinchats, which nest on the moorland slopes. The moorland curlew, one of Britain’s most threatened birds, inhabits these landscapes and the wildlife team will be listening for their distinctive calls hoping to capture rare footage on camera.
Dippers, the world’s only aquatic songbirds, also frequent the estate, whilst the woodcock incubate their eggs in the secluded wooded areas. The team also hopes to record the eerie drumming of snipe that circle across the peatland bogs.
To mark the 20th anniversary, the Springwatch team plan to celebrate some audience favourites, from Longshaw’s resident songbirds to the kestrel and barn owls that nest there.
There’ll be mammals too: an active badger sett is home to an upland badger clan, whilst foxes now use old, disused setts to raise their own families. Eight species of bat have been recorded roosting within the buildings and trees of the estate, so there’ll be plenty of nocturnal activity as the sun sets.
Craig Best, General Manager at the National Trust in the Peak District said: “We are delighted to welcome the Springwatch team to Longshaw for the 20th anniversary of the series. I’m really looking forward to seeing the incredible wildlife you can find in the Peak District become the stars of the show this year.
“The woodlands, grasslands, rivers and moorlands here a huge variety of life and we work hard to care for these habitats to make sure birds, mammals and insects feel at home. The BBC will be able to bring us fascinating footage of the well-known wildlife characters as well as those we know less about, or that are harder to spot. Hopefully that will give us a greater understanding and insight into why we need to protect this special landscape.”
Northern Ireland
Iolo Williams will be celebrating Springwatch’s 20th year, with a three-week nature trek through some of the most diverse wildlife hotspots in Northern Ireland, exploring the bountiful wildlife it has to offer as he embarks upon a travelogue. He’ll broadcast live daily from three different locations:
Week 1 - Belfast
Iolo will start his journey in Northern Ireland’s capital. Despite being a large city, Belfast is home to a surprising amount of wildlife. Iolo will seek out its rich and varied urban characters and meet the people keen to keep Belfast wonderfully wild.
Week 2 - Rathlin Island
Iolo will be hopping on the ferry to Rathlin Island, a biodiversity hotspot and Northern Ireland’s most northerly point. It is a vital breeding ground for a variety of seabirds and home to endemic species such as the mysterious golden hare. Iolo will also hope to hear the call of the rare corncrake.
Week 3 - Mount Stewart
At Mount Stewart, Iolo will introduce viewers to a plethora of diverse wildlife. With 10,000 recorded species, Mount Stewart boasts diverse woodlands, ghost ponds, rough farmland fields, twisting hedgerows, and a tidal lough scattered with green islands.
The cast of characters living in the woodland includes native red squirrels and one of our rarest mammals, the pine marten. Meanwhile charismatic badgers snuffle and play outside their forest setts.
Long-eared owls can be seen drifting over that woodland at twilight, whilst the barn owl, one of Northern Ireland’s rarest birds, is visible along the edges of rough farmland fields, preying on mice and pygmy shrews.
Live Wildlife Cameras
For 20 years, Springwatch has had remote, hidden cameras capturing magical moments in the busy lives of our UK wildlife, and this year is no exception. At Longshaw, the mossy oak woods hum with the sounds of redstarts, wood warblers and pied flycatchers - nests not featured on Springwatch in over a decade.
As the woods give way to the open moorland, Springwatch will meet a cast of characters never before featured on its live nest cameras. Ring ouzel, short-eared owl, curlew, whinchat, golden plover and merlin all make this landscape their home, whilst dippers zip along the tumbling brooks and snipe drum above the bogs.
This landscape features far more than the feathered. These moors host England’s only population of mountain hare, whilst magnificent red deer browse the woodland edge, badgers tunnel beneath drystone walls and adders bask in the heather.
Springwatch Street
In a Springwatch first, the programme will lift the lid on the secret lives of our natural neighbours as we have bugged the gardens of a street in Sheffield to reveal what’s going on in the world just outside our windows. With foxes, badgers, hedgehogs, a nest of swifts and so much more, there are far more residents to Springwatch Street than the ones you might expect.
Longshaw Visitors
For the 20th anniversary year, we will be ed across the series by a host of young naturalists ionate about our UK wildlife and fans of Springwatch since it began.
The Springwatch Team
Lira Valencia
London-based influencer and naturalist Lira will be taking time out to visit the Springwatch team, and she’s on a mission to find a population of parakeets. In her mini film, Lira discusses how the species might have first appeared in her neck of the woods in the South East but has since spread much further north. She’ll be chatting live to Chris and Michaela about how and why that might be.
Jack Baddams
Resident Springwatch researcher and expert ornithologist Jack has been despatched this year to the urban surroundings of nearby Sheffield, where a nature-loving city street has been bugged with cameras to show the local homeowners how their gardens are an oasis for the local urban wildlife. Jack reveals some of the surprising comings and goings on Springwatch Street.
Hannah Stitfall
As well as sharing all the behind-the-scenes extra wildlife moments on our social platforms, Hannah will be dropping into the BBC Two show to share her own wildlife moments at Longshaw with Chris and Michaela.
Megan McCubbin
Megan is back to celebrate the anniversary with the team. Her ion for wildlife welfare has led her to look at some of the UK’s topical conservation stories. This series, she uncovers the unsavoury world of egg stealing/collecting by ing the team fighting to protect our precious birds of prey.
Megan will also be broadcasting live from Haddon Hall, a historic haven for wildlife just 20 minutes from our main Longshaw site. Over two consecutive nights, Megan will reveal how ‘leaving nature to it’ can reap some remarkable results.
Sean Ronayne
Ornithologist Sean Ronayne is on a mission to record the sound of every bird species in Ireland. He has already collected over 10,000 recordings, and his ion has led him to become an ardent advocate for biodiversity. We head out with him to immerse ourselves in his ion for all things ornithological as he reveals some of the incredible avian attributes he’s witnessed out in the field.
Pre-filmed Stories
To celebrate the wildlife stories outside of the Peak District, Springwatch will have a number of pre-recorded films that document the season and the diverse species that inhabit our shores. The programme will also be saluting the ionate people going the extra mile to preserve and protect our threatened wildlife.
Films include:
Freediving
Father and daughter duo, David and Heather take to the waters of the Cornish coastline in search or the numerous species that call the ocean home. Through freediving they explore the seagrass beds and rocky reefs and observe changes in the species that frequent our shores.
The Natural History of Crime
Patricia Wiltshire has carved a career from a ion on the natural world. Through observing and studying the detail of microscopic debris such as pollen, she builds a picture of ecology and habitats and has used this skill to help solve crimes across the length and breadth of the country.
Selfish Snails
Amorous molluscs are on the move in the search of mates. When they find a suitor their courtship can last for hours but all is not as tender as it seems. Each participant is in a biological battle to on their genes and force the other to take a maternal role with a secret weapon to ensure success.
Soaring Swallows
Wildlife Camera man Louis Labrom has filmed everything from lions in Namibia to humpback whales in Hawaii, but there’s an iconic, seasonal bird here in the UK that he has always longed to film in flight. He headed to Dartmoor to witness its return.
Celebration Sea Eagle
Since Springwatch began in 2005 the show has followed the success story of the white-tailed eagle reintroduction project on the Scottish island of Mull. The project celebrates its 50th anniversary this year and one man at the heart of the reintroduction has been Dave Sexton. We him on Mull this year to trace a sea eagle family tree and discover how that dynasty is faring now.
Lethytep
Former farmer Philip Hambly and his wife Faith have spent the past 30 years transforming their 52 acres in Cornwall into a stunning wildlife haven and in May it is the perfect place to celebrate the natural world with hundreds of species of birds, 24 different butterflies and more than 200 varieties of plants.
Mindfulness Moments
In every episode there will be moments when viewers can unwind and immerse themselves in moments of pure natural beauty. Every night the show will offer 90 seconds of wildlife moments with no music and no presenter comments - just natural sound and glorious pictures of our very best wild places.
Twenty Years of Springwatch Magic
Springwatch has been home to some amazing UK wildlife stories over the years. These are just a tiny few.
First Spring: Springwatch bursts onto BBC Two on 30 May 2005, broadcasting live from the Fishleigh Estate, an organic farm in Devon, presented by Bill Oddie, Kate Humble and Simon King. Its ability to shine a light on the little-known world of UK wildlife at the height of spring soon captured viewers’ hearts. Most memorably, Simon King visited a pioneering white tailed eagle re-introduction project on the Isle of Mull. Most famous of those eagles were Skye and Frisa and Springwatch 2025 will be bringing viewers an update on the fortunes of the famous couple.
A Perch for a Kingfisher: Back in 2006, Bill Oddie took up the challenge to stay as still as a statue, camouflaged on a river bank, holding a branch in the hope of attracting a resident kingfisher to perch for a while.
Live Cameras: The jewel in our Springwatch crown must be the unprecedented, round-the-clock access we’ve had to a wealth of wonderful nests. Over the course of our 20 years, we’ve rigged woodlands and marshes, rivers and estuaries, castles and cathedrals as we follow the wildlife dramas playing out in spring, as they happen.
Springwatch Spins Offs: By 2007, the series was gaining momentum – broadcasting a host of spin-off content. Springwatch Nightshift trained the remote cameras on the nightshifters of the animal world, including badgers, bats, owls and anything that comes out after dark. Meanwhile, presenters Steve Backshall and Kirsten O’Brien brought Springwatch Trackers to CBBC.
A New Face: In 2009, naturalist and TV presenter Chris Packham ed the show as it moved to a new location in Pensthorpe Nature Reserve in Norfolk.
Craft Recognition: In 2011, Springwatch was recognised for its creative and technical excellence. Notably, it received a Special BAFTA Award at the Television Craft Awards. This award celebrated the team's outstanding teamwork and innovation in live broadcasting and multiplatform production.
A Dreaming Water Rail: Michalea Strachan ed the show in autumn 2011, and on Springwatch 2012, the team moved to a new location - RSPB Ynys-hir - in Wales. The highlight of the series was a little water rail nest where the resident water rail became a fascinating study as it slept on its nest, appearing to dream.
Minsmere: In 2014, Springwatch moved to RSPB Minsmere in Suffolk, where it stayed for three springs. Each year brought a new revelation. The booming of the bitterns stole the show in 2014, whilst in 2015, a tiny little stickleback - nicknamed “Spineless Simon” because of his lack of spines - stole everyone’s heart as he diligently protected his nest containing precious eggs. He became so famous he even had a Twitter created for him during those weeks.
BAFTA: Springwatch 2020 received the BAFTA for the best Live Event, recognising the show's exceptional programming during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Green Credentials: Since 2021, Springwatch has replaced the traditional diesel-powered generators used historically on outside productions, and in a world/UK first, it has powered its Outside Broadcast Unit by green hydrogen ensuring zero emissions.
Since 2005, Springwatch Digital has led the field in pioneering online and social media content.
This year, Springwatch Digital will continue to provide a wealth of exciting extra content that will celebrate 20 years of live camera streaming, but also look forward with a host of posts from young, up and coming naturalists.
On location with the TV team at the Longshaw Estate, Hannah Stitfall will be presenting a series of LIVE “Watch Out!” shows twice a week at 9pm. They will be full of energetic discussion, behind the scenes moments and exclusive wildlife moments.
Springwatch live wildlife cameras will be streaming across multiple platforms, including TikTok, every day, with tales from nests, feeders and everything in between. Viewers will be able to tune in on iPlayer or at www.bbc.co.uk/Springwatch, where they will also find lots of additional content.
And Springwatch will be showcasing the best of the footage and photos that our viewers send in, tagging @BBCSpringwatch on Facebook and Instagram.
Interview with Rosemary Edwards - Executive producer
Springwatch 2025 will air from two new locations. Can you tell us a bit about them and what viewers can look forward to?
This year, in celebration of our 20th anniversary year, we wanted to broadcast live from two brand new locations that offered new habitats and exciting new wildlife stories.
That ambition has led us to the National Trust Longshaw Estate in the Peak District and to create a live travelogue through the wild spots of Northern Ireland.
Longshaw, where presenters Chris Packham and Michaela Strachan will be based, can be found on the eastern edge of the Peak District. It is alive with activity at this time of year and its upland habitats will offer the opportunity to put hidden cameras on a range of species for the first time, species like the Red Listed ring ouzel and whinchats, and the moorland curlew.
Presenter Iolo Williams will be on a very different journey through Northern Ireland. Starting in Belfast, he will explore the city’s harbourside and unexpected wild spots within the inner city, watching guillemots, terns, swifts, and much more. He’ll then travel to Rathlin, one of Northern Ireland’s richest wildlife islands and a vital breeding ground for many species of seabird, and home as well as the famous golden hare. Iolo will end his journey at the National Trust’s Mount Stewart Estate which boasts 10,000 recorded wildlife species in habitats that range from woodland glades to ghost ponds, hedgerows and a tidal lough.
Filming in new locations is always a challenge, but getting to know the wildlife there and uncovering new, uplifting stories about our native flora and fauna is something that never ceases to excite us.
How has Springwatch changed over the 20 years it’s been on air?
In many ways, Springwatch has not changed over 20 years. It has always been ambitious and always remained true to its initial intentions to provide a festival of wildlife that celebrates the greatest animal stories across the busiest part of the spring season.
Behind the scenes, the way in which we deliver those stories has changed. Over the years, the series has been at the forefront of the ever-increasing digital revolution, pioneering interactive content, streaming cameras live to the web, Red Button and, more recently iPlayer, and all our social media platforms.
Most significantly we have led the way in green, sustainable broadcasting, becoming the world’s first outside broadcast to be solely powered by green hydrogen, replacing the traditional diesel-powered generators normally used in outside productions.
Have you got a favourite moment on Springwatch?
My favourite moment must be the plucky little hero that dominated the three live weeks of 2015. Spineless Si has been the show’s unexpected star. A tiny stickleback played out the greatest scenes of Shakespearian tragedy under the boardwalk of RSPB Minsmere.
Physically, he was a poor specimen, missing some of his dorsal spines, but his determination to find a mate and raise a family stole the heart of the nation.
I found myself glued to the wildlife underwater camera trained on his little nest, hoping every morning that Si had survived the night. And beyond all expectations he did. Despite an otter trampling his nest and a rival stickleback stealing is love interests, Si triumphed. He filled his nest with eggs and on the very last day of our broadcasts, those eggs hatched into tiny little sticklebacks.
It was the perfect Springwatch soap opera.
Interview with Michaela Strachan
What can viewers look forward to on Springwatch this year?
This year, we're at a new site, and that's very exciting because we'll be able to focus on bird nests that we haven't been able to before, like the ring ouzel, the redstart, and the pied flycatcher. But it doesn't necessarily mean we'll get those nests, because Springwatch is unpredictable, and that's what I really enjoy about the programme. It’s the unpredictable stories that nature tells, and then we tell those stories to the viewers.
Can you tell me a bit more about Springwatch Street?
This year is the 20th anniversary, and so one of the things that we're celebrating is Springwatch Street. We’re going to some wildlife friendly gardens in Sheffield, we’re putting cameras up to see what we can reveal. They're terraced houses with normal gardens with a fence around them. I think there will be a lot of surprises: if you're watching your garden in the daytime, you're going to see the birds come, but what comes at night is going to be really interesting for people. And what's going on in their undergrowth. It's the small stuff that is always so interesting and hopefully, that's what we're going to reveal, and that will hopefully inspire people to do even more in their gardens. Our audience, I hope, are already doing things in their gardens to help wildlife but I think we all need inspiration - we'll help to give tips encouraging people to do specific things to help particular insects or worms or caterpillars for instance.
And so that's something that I'm really excited about - this is something that we've never done before and I think that people are going to really enjoy that.
I really hope that anyone watching the Watches does not have their whole garden paved over, or covered with plastic lawns or astro turf, or every tree removed, or every plant removed. I hope our audience is a bit more educated than that, but we may get people coming to the show that have never been into wildlife before. That is an audience that we really want to encourage to watch the show. It means we’re reaching people that have never really thought about being wildlife-friendly gardeners who will change their habits, and those that need a bit of inspiration to do more will also get inspired hopefully.
For the 20th anniversary year we will be ed, across the series, by a host of young naturalists, ionate about our UK wildlife and fans of Springwatch since it began. How important is it to get young people involved in green spaces?
I think it's so important to keep young people connected to wildlife because there are so many other things that are competing for their attention. We want to celebrate young people, and make it cool to be ionate about wildlife. Some kids have friends who are into birdwatching and may think it's uncool and nerdy, but suddenly their mate is on television and they become the hero. So, it's about celebrating and making heroes out of people who are into wildlife and people who are making a difference.
Looking back at your time on Springwatch, what are your highlights?
My first Springwatch was 13 years ago, and there’s been so many great moments. For me it's always the storytelling. That's the bit I enjoy most. I really enjoy the science, and I really enjoy the macro stuff when we show wildlife that most people wouldn't even know is there.
My mind is blown sometimes at what goes on in the insect world. On last year’s Springwatch, we did a piece about bagworms and covered the fascinating story of what a bagworm does to reproduce. The bag of a bagworm is an adorned casing for a caterpillar of a bagworm moth, it's a ludicrous encasement adorned with things like twigs and flowers, and it's dragged behind the caterpillar. The caterpillar basically decorates itself. When ready, it travels upwards and that's when it gets interesting. The male turns into a sweet fluffy micromoth, the female stays in the case and metamorphosises into something that looks like a maggot. She emits a pheromone to attract a male who uses his inflatable abdomen to reach into the female casing and mate. The female then develops eggs inside her own body, she then drops from the case and writhes around to attract a bird who eats her, which seems ridiculous, but then the bird poos out a partly digested female with the eggs intact which hatch having been dispersed by the bird. How bizarre is that? And these are things that you might see on a tree and not even know that it’s something alive in there. You might think “Oh, that's interesting” and walk on. Might not even notice it.
I also really enjoy the storytelling of the nests and what is going on in that season. And it's so often the things that we take for granted that give us the most interesting stories. In Minsmere we had cameras on a blue tit nest box. We’ve had cameras on blue tit nest boxes for many years and they always give us a nice little story. But this was a unique story because the blue tit ended up bringing up great tit chicks. It meant that a great tit had gone in there, laid the eggs, something had happened to the great tit, the blue tit had gone in, laid her eggs, her eggs hadn't survived, she ended up sitting on great tit eggs and then bringing up the great tits. Only one of them survived as, unfortunately, the others were taken by a jay, so we called it Gloria, as in Gloria Gaynor...… “I will survive, as I hold my wings up high…” (sung to the tune of “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor)
I love stories like that. Everybody thought none of the chicks would survive out of that nest. But we had little Gloria come out, and she lived happily ever after.
What has the best thing about working with Chris been over the years?
It's amazing to still be working together after such a long time. It's a unique relationship. Chris and I started working together on the Really Wild Show, in children's television like so many other presenters who have had longevity. It's great to have grown up with someone on telly. Not only are we friends, and we know each other's personal lives, but people have watched us growing up on telly. And people of a certain age love familiarity. Of course, we're very familiar to our audience, and people feel very cozy about that.
We bring out each other's strengths, and we each other. As a team, I think, we work really well. We're so different in many ways but so alike in others, and we get on really well, we really respect each other.
I enjoy his company and his sense of humour. We do have a similar sense of humour, and we love wildlife. I think that's the sort of commonality that brings us together, that we are very ionate about what we do.
Why a series like Springwatch is so important?
I think it's getting more and more important because climate change has changed the world we live in, and there is less and less wildlife. Over the years I've done the show, I've seen it's much harder to find the wildlife to film, even in places that are managed for wildlife. Even in managed reserves we’re sometimes struggling. And I think we need to keep people connected. I think that's what it's all about - it’s getting people connected to wildlife, making people realise how important wildlife is, and making people realise how good it is for their mental health and wellbeing. Intrinsically, we're supposed to be connected to wildlife. And I think by losing that, we're losing part of ourselves as a human species.
Interview with Chris Packham
What can viewers look forward to on Springwatch this year?
This year we’re going to the National Longshaw Estate in the Peak District, an upland area. The species mix there will be very different from what we've been exploring for the last few seasons in the south of England, in the lowland area. In Longshaw, there are some key species that we’ll be hoping to meet like curlew, merlin, and red start, all of which are very exciting. We've not had them on the program before.
Nests that we haven't seen before give us a chance to sort of profile those animals and see a completely different life history that we haven't experienced, and also to talk about any conservation needs that they might have.
And then I think that the very aura of the place will be different, the feel of it. If you imagine it as an oil painting, it’s going to look very different to the one that we might have made in the south of England. It also comes with a local flavour. The community will be different, which is important because we're there to represent all of the UK's wildlife and habitats, which is why we move in the first place.
And it's going to be the things that will surprise us that are even more exciting. It's the unpredictable stuff that brings real joy. So yeah, very excited about being in Longshaw. I've never been there, so from a personal point of view, that adds to the excitement, because it's a new area for me.
Can you tell me a bit more about Springwatch Street?
Springwatch Street is a really good idea. We’ve found one street in Sheffield and we’ve bugged the gardens there with our cameras to record the wildlife. We’re always very keen to build communities where people share their ion for wildlife. So, if they can show it over the garden fence, that's great. The cameras will record what they don't see because they'll be switched on at night. We're hoping that badgers and foxes and hedgehogs, and those sorts of things will turn up. We'll be keen to explore what the residents are doing with their gardens to enhance them for wildlife. And obviously, if the viewers see it and they see it working, hopefully they'll want to emulate that and improve their own spaces for wildlife. It perfectly fits with the remit of the programme - it's about building communities that care more about the creatures that live around them.
Why is it important to get young presenters and young people involved?
I think we haven't done enough to protect the natural world, and the world these people will be inheriting is going to be one that's more difficult than it was when we were their age. I think it's really important that we provide them with a firm foundation to be able to apply their skills, their energies, and their abilities to make a positive difference. And communicating a ion for wildlife, sharing that and making other people generate a real affinity for wildlife, is part of what we need.
Young people communicate in different ways now, and that's why we've invested so much and so successfully in our social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook, where we get great engagement. And I should add that it's not just about young people, it is about a greater degree of inclusivity. We want to reach out to every section of the community that we possibly can.
Looking back at the 20 years of Springwatch, what are your highlights?
Goodness me, too many to mention. I think that the fact that I'm still working on it would be a highlight. I still approach it with some degree of enthusiasm as I did the first one. I love the programme and I love its energy. I love the team that works so hard. That's a great atmosphere to be working in. It's a lifelong lecture; I learn new things every single year, and that's very rewarding from my point of view.
Also, technology has moved on in the time that we've been making the programme, so we now use cameras that simply didn't exist when we started, and they're smaller, cheaper, and they provide better quality pictures. So, we're learning a lot more and a lot more quickly than we did at the outset. And also, 20 years as a legacy, it gives us the chance to look back, to celebrate some of the things that we've seen and discovered, and to talk frankly about some of the things which were maybe common when we started but have disappeared now. So, we have to be pragmatic about that as well.
Any stories that you particularly fond of?
Springwatch is one of those programmes that gives you the opportunity to stop and think about the little things in life that you may not have spent enough time focuon.
I love the things that I didn't know sort of existed. Tree slugs, for instance, I had seen slime trails up trees when I was a kid but I'd never bothered to come up with the answer. And then someone said that these creatures live on the ground in the daytime and they go to the tops of the trees at night, and they felt like a complete revelation.
Last year we had bagworms, small creatures that wrap themselves in debris to hide. And I thought, again, that I'd seen them but I'd never really thought too much about them.
If I had to pick one thing that really encapsulated the program's success, it would be in Minsmere, with Spinless Si, the stickleback, because we managed to turn a five- centimetre small common fish into a national treasure that featured on the news across TV, Radio and national newspapers. And if a program can take something as humble as a little fish like that and get people talking about it to increase their awareness and affinity for wildlife, then there's a program that's worth every pound of our license fee.
20 years on and Springwatch is still very popular with audiences. What do you think is its appeal?
I think its appeal is that we are inclusive and not exclusive. All the things that we feature on Springwatch are in places the public can visit themselves so, if people want to come and see what we've seen, they can do so.
We also deliberately focus upon a lot of back garden wildlife, things that people know, that they already share with their communities, whether that is foxes or hedgehogs, blackbirds or blue tits. And then we show people the intricacies of their life, stories which otherwise they wouldn't be able to see, because we've got the technology to do it.
We also bring them up to date with the latest science on those so we tell them things about them which they may not know. We tend to think that we know everything about the creatures that live around us, but we prove that there's always more to learn.
Also, key to its success, is our focus on audience interaction, in the sense that we constantly catch people’s views, and we ask them to send images in, and we celebrate those on our programme. I hope we generate a sense of community around our shared ion for wildlife.
Why is it so important?
We call ourselves a nation of animal lovers, or nations of animal lovers would be more appropriate, but we are equally one of the most nature depleted set of nations anywhere in the world. We love life and we love wildlife, we love putting it on TV, but there's less of it in our backyard than there is in many other parts of the world. And that's something that we have the capacity to rectify. We’re not doing it rapidly enough and broadly enough, and we won't do it unless people love it and care about it. And that's what Springwatch is all about. It's about making people love and care for the creatures in their own backyard which are in trouble.
What is the best thing about working with Michaela?
Michaela is constantly professional in a very different way than I am, so she will approach the job very differently. We are both determined to do our very best and make sure that we deliver, that we do that in different ways, and that's what makes us complimentary. So, we can always cover for one another if one of those methods isn't working.
The other thing is that we're great friends. We know each other really well, so sometimes we may well disagree about something, and the team may look at us and think, “Oh my goodness, the presenters have fallen out!”. But we haven't fallen out at all. We don't get upset about those sorts of things. We don't have to agree about everything and that counts for nothing. We just move on.
So, the fact that we're great, lifelong, trusted mates helps, but also that we work in very different ways in of way that we approach our job.
Interview with Iolo Williams
This year you will be live from different locations across Northern Ireland. Can you tell me a bit more about where you will be and you’re hoping to see and share with viewers?
I'm really looking forward to going into Belfast to look at some of the urban wildlife there. They’ve got some amazing things and it’s very exciting. They’ve got tern rafts where you've got nesting terns and feeding waders. It's always good when you visit somewhere which has got a big population with wildlife in the middle of it, because
most people now live in towns and in cities. It's great for us to show things like golden eagles and white-tailed eagles and basking sharks, but wildlife for most people is what they see in their gardens or in their local parks or in town.
I'm also really excited about trying out some Irish whiskeys. I like my whiskey. I know my Scottish whiskeys very well and in Belfast, I’m hoping I find a nice little pub and try one or two Irish whiskeys.
We're also going to Rathlin Island and I'm really excited we’re going there. It's a fantastic place - you've got the sea birds, you’ve got the Irish hares, you get the golden hares there. And I'm really hoping that - well not just here - we might get to see and hear a really rare, very elusive bird, the corncrake. It’s a migratory bird which 100, 120 years ago was really common. It’s now declining throughout its range in Europe. It has disappeared from Wales, hanging on in one two places in England, and just hanging on in the wilder parts of the west coast, mainly of Scotland, and it's holding on in Ireland as well.
Looking back at your time on Springwatch, what are your highlights?
I've had some really memorable moments. A couple of them both involved the sea. One was Bass Rock, not far from Edinburgh, diving just offshore from a gannet colony, one of the biggest in the world.
The captain was throwing in mackerel and cameraman Scott Tibbles and I went down about three meters just under the boat, and we saw dozens and dozens of gannets just hitting the water, diving, and getting the fish right around us. That was one of the most amazing things I've ever witnessed.
And the other one has to be the first time I ever saw an orca in 2015. We were up in Caithness, right up off the west coast of Scotland. And just towards the end of one of our first days someone said that there were orcas just offshore. We jumped in the car and we filmed as we went along. And, all of a sudden, looking just offshore, we saw this pod of orcas, and this huge six-foot dorsal fin broke the water. It was the male, the bull orca - a huge animal. We were going on this narrow road trying to keep up with them. They were just cruising. And we got out in a small little harbour with a pier, and they went right past us. Then we jumped back in, parked up at John O'Groats, and then they came round again. We followed them right around Dunnett Head and they started to hunt seals. We watched them on and off, it must have been for about two and a half, three hours. It was one of the most memorable things I've ever seen, not just in the UK but anywhere in the world. The most difficult thing was when they came past the pier, and I was looking at them with my mouth open and I just wanted to go “Oh, wow!”. I kind had forgotten that I was there to talk and to film for the programme, I just wanted to watch them and enjoy them. It was brilliant.
After so many years on the show what remains the hardest part of the job?
For me, the hardest part of the job is knowing what to leave out. There are so many things happening, that you're thinking, “Oh, wow, yeah, we've got to cover that. We got to film that.” Well, no, we've got 12 days of live programmes, and with so much exciting stuff happening on Springwatch, we haven’t got time to show all. So, it’s leaving some of the really cool stuff out because you just haven't got time. That is by far the hardest thing.
20 years on Springwatch is still very popular. What do you think is its appeal?
I think its appeal and its importance role into one. For me, it's the fact that for many years the only wildlife you saw on TV was lions on the Serengeti, jaguars in the Pantanal, sharks in the Great Barrier Reef. It was wildlife overseas, which most people were never going to get to see. On Springwatch we concentrate on British wildlife, and a lot of that is what you see in your back garden, in your local park, in the pond, what you're seeing in your local wood. And it's really important that we do have a series that covers just UK wildlife, and a lot of it is wildlife that is seeable and achievable for most people.
More: Springwatch at 20 - Marking two decades of the UK's biggest yearly survey into the arrival of spring
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