Springwatch with Bill Oddie

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Springwatch with Bill Oddie is a live BBC TV nature programme, presented by Bill Oddie, Kate Humble and Simon King. As of 2006, there have been two Springwatch series which followed on from other nature shows in previous years with the same presenters.

Oddie and Humble are based at a working farm near to Dartmoor in Devon, England (the same farm used for Britain Goes Wild with Bill Oddie), while King is mostly on location. They spend one hour each evening describing wildlife and presenting live action from a number of hidden cameras in or near nest boxes or animal burrows. The birds include or have included Tits, Jackdaws, Pied Wagtails, Finches etc. Animals followed include Badgers and their sett and, in 2006, European Otters in the Shetland Islands with King. Short, pre-filmed documentary pieces are also included.

Contents

[edit] 2005 Series

This ran between 30 May 2005 and 16 June 2005 with Oddie and Humble at the Devon farm and King on location. For the first week, King was on the Isle of Mull observing a family of White-tailed Eagles, for the scond week he was at the London Wetlands Centre where he also observed a family of Peregrine falcons), and for the third week he was in the Farne Islands observing the resident seabirds.

In addition to the programme itself, Springwatch invited viewers to participate in a survey of the first springtime sightings of various animal and plant species across the British Isles to aid in phenological research.

[edit] 2006 Series

Springwatch 2006 was similar to 2005. It ran from 29 May 2006 to 15 June 2006, Monday to Thursday, at 8pm on BBC Two. Oddie and Humble presented from the farm, while King was on the Shetland Islands.

On the farm, there were more than 50 secret mini-cameras and miles of fibre-optic cable around the farm allowing viewers to keep an eye on animals raising their young.

In the Shetland Islands, to the north of the Scottish mainland, King followed the stories of several animals, European Otters, Grey Seals, Great Skuas, Oystercatchers, Puffins and more.

The animal and plant survey was repeated.

Viewers were able to follow other animal family dramas beamed in live via webcam daily from around the country. These included Ospreys at Loch Garten in Scotland, Red Kites at Rockingham Forest in the East Midlands and Bats in Cornwall.

Springwatch 2006 also followed the story of "Super Geese", tracking Brent Geese on their journey from Strangford Lough in Ireland to their Canadian Arctic breeding grounds in the Queen Elizabeth Islands , via stopping points at Iceland and Greenland. In Autumnwatch, the team are due to follow the geese back via their satellite transmitters.

There was also a series of Springwatch on the CBeebies Children's Channel, presented by Justin Fletcher, along with characters from various Cbeebies programmes, such as PC Plum from Balamory, and on BBC One on the Friday of each week of Springwatch a special CBBC The Really Wild Show program waas broadcast for younger viewers, starring Nick Baker and Michaela Strachan.

On December 26, 2006, a special edition of Springwatch was broadcast, featuring highlights from Springwatch and Autumnwatch 2006.

[edit] Characters featured in 2006 series

[edit] Book

A book covering the various series, "Springwatch and Autumnwatch" (ISBN: 0007247060), is due for publication by Collins in April 2007/

[edit] Music

The theme music used in the 2006 series is called 'Britain Goes Wild' and was commissioned by the BBC from independent musician David Poore, who has also produced music for wildlife documentaries by the BBC, RTÉ and other broadcasters.

[edit] External links

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