Autumn is here and Autumnwatch is just round the corner
Let me introduce myself - my name's Stephen, and I've recently joined Autumnwatch as Series Editor. One of my jobs will be writing a regular blog - of which this is the first instalment. I'll be doing weekly updates until I get on location in a couple of weeks time, then daily ones (more frequently if something really exciting happens!) after that.
So have you noticed those subtle changes in the weather, light and landscape that signal the coming of autumn? I always think autumn creeps up on you more than spring - but in the last few days, as the temperature has dropped, I'm seeing classic signs of the season at my Somerset home: flocks of starlings are whizzing overhead at dawn; more birds coming to our seed feeders; and outside our office window in Bristol, we're enjoying the annual invasion of that gorgeous bird the jay.
With just nineteen days to go until Autumnwatch goes live on air, the office is astonishingly calm. Not that we haven't had the odd hiccup in the past few weeks. Producer-cameraman Richard took two days to get onto the last week, once again because of the autumn gales that threatened to disrupt Simon King's visit this time last year. Meanwhile Martin, producer of Simon's outside broadcast, is racking his brains on how to get his team from Anglesey to Dorset, overnight - without resorting to helicopters!
But to the Autumnwatch team, especially the veterans of all three series so far, these little local difficulties are just par for the course. If live wildlife television was easy everyone would be doing it - and they aren't! So I'm sure we'll have a few more setbacks before we finally get on air, at 8pm on Monday 27th October....
Last week we had a really productive day on the magical island which will be our HQ for this year's Autumnwatch - in Poole Harbour. Bill and Kate also joined us, along with a gaggle of national and regional journalists, many of whom were visiting Brownsea for the very first time. Everyone who comes here falls under the island's spell, and Kate was no exception - after being shown round by warden Chris Thain and our wildlife producer Nigel, she can't wait to be back for the live event.
Bill has been here before - first, back in the 1950s as a young birder, and then in the 1990s with me, filming for the second series of . This truly is one of Bill's very favourite places in Britain. As he says, "If Dorset is one of the best counties to watch wildlife, and Brownsea is one of the best places in Dorset, then it ranks pretty high in the Premier League of UK wildlife hotspots!"
I first visited Brownsea as a wet-behind-the-ears ten-year old, more years ago than I care to remember. I can still recall being astonished by the sheer number of wading birds on the lagoon, and even more excited by seeing my first ever rarity - a snow-white perched in a tree above the lake.
It was a rarity then, but now it's so common that visiting birders don't give this beautiful bird a second glance - there were at least thirty egrets on the lagoon last week! In fact the very first little egrets to breed in Britain did so on Brownsea, back in the mid-1990s.
And there's much, much more to see on the lagoon. Several hundred , a picture of elegance as their sweep their upcurved bills from side to side to feed; a host of other wading birds, including on their epic migration from Siberia to West Africa; and ten stately , who according to our wildlife cameraman Graham were using the twigs of a tamarisk bush to clean their enormous, spatula-shaped bills!
By the time we get on the air some of these may have departed on their long journey south; but there place will be taken by all sorts of new arrivals - watch this space!
So what wonderful wildlife do we plan to bring you? An awful lot! As well as the island's famous (100% guaranteed, according to Bill), we have a whole range of other stuff to tempt you... And of course during the two weeks we're on air we'll constantly be on the lookout for anything new and unexpected.
'New and unexpected' are also Simon King's watchwords - aren't they always?! Check out his planned route, which includes some of the most ambitious live wildlife broadcasts ever attempted, from places as diverse as in West Sussex, Birmingham Airport, Anglesey and the Dorset coast. The last location involves a 'live dive' in search of underwater giants - !
Meanwhile, Gordon Buchanan is hoping to spend the two weeks on the - and hoping he and his crew can get off at the end. Fingers crossed for good weather...
On a personal note, I'd like to say it's really good to be back. I helped launch our first live UK wildlife show, , back in 2003, and produced the first Springwatch in 2005; since then I've been off working on other projects. But anyone who's ever worked on live television knows it just can't be beaten - as someone once said, it's a bit like skiing naked down Mount Everest with a carnation between your teeth - not that I've actually tried...
So I hope you now feel as fired up as we do about the prospects of another Autumnwatch - from such an exciting new location. Before we go on air do let me know how your autumn is going - have you noticed any interesting animal behaviour, seen any unusual creatures, or just had some wonderful autumnal experiences. In the meantime, enjoy this lovely weather while it lasts!
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