Autumnwatch

Autumnwatch is back for two weeks! The nights are drawing in, it is getting colder and we could all do with a bit of cheering up, so the team invite you to wrap up in a warm autumn blanket of wonderful wildlife, seasonal beauty and natural wonder. Chris is in the New Forest watching autumn transform his home, Iolo is at the spectacular Centre of Alternative Technology in west Wales, Gillian visits a remarkable wildlife restoration project in South Yorkshire, and Michaela is in Fife at a wonderful NatureScot reserve, where she reports live on a giant grey seal breeding colony on the nearby Isle of May.

Chris Packham, Michaela Strachan, Gillian Burke and Iolo Williams are live from the New Forest, Fife, Yorkshire and Powys. There is more drama from Michaela’s Scottish seal colony, and Chris reveals the latest antics of his multicoloured badger family. There is a magnificent film about Great Orme’s goat rut, and a blizzard of birds takes over the screen, thanks to a camera embedded in a huge flock of wild waders.

Live from their different bases in England, Scotland and Wales, Chris Packham, Michaela Strachan, Gillian Burke and Iolo Williams find out how to connect with nature this autumn. Chris catches up with a mob of hungry teenage white-tailed eagles, released on the Isle of Wight, and shares the surprising science that reveals exactly why getting out into nature is good for us, whatever the weather.

Autumnwatch is inspired by Halloween. Gillian shows off the amazing hydraulic power of spiders’ legs. Iolo has an exclusive update on the remarkable story of a giant vulture that set up home in Derbyshire! Megan and Chris look back at the mouse experiment and their friendly foxes, and Michaela catches up on the highs and lows of the Scottish seal colony.

Autumnwatch returns for a second week. Gillian reveals the surprising wildlife to be found amongst the chimney stacks and industrial ponds of South Yorkshire, Chris and Megan are live in the New Forest reporting on the fox and badger families, Michaela catches up on the latest dramatic developments among the seal breeding colony on the Isle of May, and Iolo tries to track down a wild parrot-like bird in a secret location in west Wales.

Chris Packham, Michaela Strachan, Gillian Burke and Iolo Williams all look at the unseen side of autumn from their four separate locations across the country. There is big news about hedgehogs, a look at one of the cutest and strangest of all our marine predators – the bob-tailed squid - and a fantastic mindful moment capturing the expansive skies and rare wildlife of the Fens.

Chris Packham, Michaela Strachan, Gillian Burke and Iolo Williams focus on the incredible journeys wildlife makes in autumn, whether feather, fin or fur. Megan catches up with some rare whales in the Scottish Highlands, Iolo reveals the super science behind nocturnal mass migration, Chris and Megan light up the New Forest to visualise secret fungal networks, and Gillian reveals that ducks support their own team colours!

In the final episode of the series, Chris Packham, Michaela Strachan, Gillian Burke and Iolo Williams look to the future. Gillian reports on the return of giant blue-finned tuna to Cornwall, gannets take a leap of faith in Yorkshire, Iolo joins leaping salmon in Wales, Michaela says goodbye to the seals, and Chris reminds us that Winterwatch will return for another series in January!