1
00:00:03,253 --> 00:00:07,090
'A bird's life in Wales
must be wonderful.

2
00:00:07,090 --> 00:00:09,927
'A life made in heaven.

3
00:00:13,430 --> 00:00:15,766
'Anything but.

4
00:00:17,851 --> 00:00:21,897
'Birds have to work from dawn
to dusk to find food and water.

5
00:00:21,897 --> 00:00:24,316
'If they don't, they die.

6
00:00:25,400 --> 00:00:28,070
'They have to battle
with the elements too.

7
00:00:28,070 --> 00:00:34,493
'Survival, especially during
winter, is always difficult.

8
00:00:37,788 --> 00:00:41,250
'And during the spring,
they're busy raising families.

9
00:00:42,668 --> 00:00:45,087
'They also have to put up with us

10
00:00:45,087 --> 00:00:49,007
'and find a way of surviving
in our artificial landscape.'

11
00:00:49,007 --> 00:00:54,388
In this series, I'll be finding
out what a bird's life
is really like in Wales.

12
00:00:54,388 --> 00:00:59,309
I'm going to be discovering the
vast array of species we have here.

13
00:00:59,309 --> 00:01:02,396
And I'm going to be probing
into their secret lives.

14
00:01:42,019 --> 00:01:46,523
'Llandegfedd Reservoir near
Pontypool in South Wales.

15
00:01:47,524 --> 00:01:49,401
'It's late March.

16
00:01:51,111 --> 00:01:54,698
'A male great crested grebe
is courting a female.

17
00:02:02,164 --> 00:02:06,168
'It's difficult to tell the male and
female apart. They look the same.

18
00:02:08,629 --> 00:02:12,216
'But the male is the one offering
nesting material to the female.'

19
00:02:18,388 --> 00:02:21,683
Everybody's got their own
favourite signs of spring,

20
00:02:21,683 --> 00:02:24,686
whether it's the first primrose
or the first swallow,

21
00:02:24,686 --> 00:02:30,442
but for me, it's watching
great crested grebes
in their courtship dance.

22
00:02:30,442 --> 00:02:33,278
There's a pair in front of me here

23
00:02:33,278 --> 00:02:37,866
and they've set up territory
in this shallow little inlet.

24
00:02:37,866 --> 00:02:41,453
At the moment, they're indulging
in a bit of head shaking.

25
00:02:41,453 --> 00:02:44,122
They have been parallel swimming.

26
00:02:44,122 --> 00:02:46,250
And this, more than anything else,

27
00:02:46,250 --> 00:02:51,088
tells me that the long, hard winter
we've just experienced

28
00:02:51,088 --> 00:02:55,300
has now come to an end,
and spring has finally arrived.

29
00:02:57,761 --> 00:03:01,557
'Great crested grebes have the most
complex courtship display

30
00:03:01,557 --> 00:03:03,475
'of any Welsh bird.

31
00:03:05,686 --> 00:03:08,730
'The grebes approach each other
and dance.

32
00:03:22,119 --> 00:03:25,706
'The elaborate ear tufts
only grow during spring.

33
00:03:27,541 --> 00:03:29,918
'The rest of the year,
they disappear.

34
00:03:33,380 --> 00:03:37,467
'The headdress is clearly an
important part of the display.

35
00:03:56,486 --> 00:03:59,114
'Birds court in a variety of ways.

36
00:04:05,037 --> 00:04:06,955
'These are mute swans.

37
00:04:08,790 --> 00:04:10,792
'They, too, dance.

38
00:04:18,550 --> 00:04:22,012
'Black-headed gulls drop
their wings in their display.

39
00:04:31,271 --> 00:04:34,650
'Sandwich terns court
by sharing food.

40
00:04:39,821 --> 00:04:42,741
'But in terms of survival
and raising a family,

41
00:04:42,741 --> 00:04:45,619
'the ability to provide food
is essential.

42
00:04:55,504 --> 00:04:58,966
'On the uplands of
Mynydd Hiraethog in Clwyd,

43
00:04:58,966 --> 00:05:01,510
'another bird uses food
in its courtship.

44
00:05:01,510 --> 00:05:04,513
'This is a male hen harrier.

45
00:05:05,556 --> 00:05:07,474
'And this is a female.

46
00:05:08,475 --> 00:05:10,602
'They look completely different.

47
00:05:12,271 --> 00:05:14,189
'The male is blue-grey.

48
00:05:16,608 --> 00:05:19,987
'The female is brown
and a much bigger bird.

49
00:05:19,987 --> 00:05:23,574
'The difference in size
means that they can exploit

50
00:05:23,574 --> 00:05:26,535
'a wide variety of food
on upland moors.

51
00:05:26,535 --> 00:05:28,954
'They can hunt different prey.'

52
00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:35,586
A male hen harrier has
just come in with food,

53
00:05:35,586 --> 00:05:38,797
probably a meadow pipit or a vole.

54
00:05:38,797 --> 00:05:42,843
She'll sit in the tall heather
down there, just waiting for him,

55
00:05:42,843 --> 00:05:44,970
because he'll be the one who hunts.

56
00:05:44,970 --> 00:05:47,931
He'll bring food for her
and when he gets above her,

57
00:05:47,931 --> 00:05:51,560
he whistles this
low kind of whistle.

58
00:05:51,560 --> 00:05:53,270
Up she then comes.

59
00:05:53,270 --> 00:05:57,357
He'll hold the food underneath him,
she flips under him,

60
00:05:57,357 --> 00:06:01,445
he then drops it last minute,
she takes that food

61
00:06:01,445 --> 00:06:04,823
and goes off to feed,
in what's called the food pass.

62
00:06:04,823 --> 00:06:10,120
When you watch it like this, in an
area like this, it's stunning.

63
00:06:10,120 --> 00:06:12,456
It's absolutely fantastic.

64
00:06:55,624 --> 00:06:57,459
'On the east side of Anglesey

65
00:06:57,459 --> 00:07:00,796
'lies the beautiful quiet bay
of Fedw Fawr.

66
00:07:02,464 --> 00:07:04,591
'Rock pipits are found here,

67
00:07:04,591 --> 00:07:07,970
'as they are all along
the rocky coasts of Wales.

68
00:07:11,849 --> 00:07:13,559
'This is a male.

69
00:07:13,559 --> 00:07:17,729
'He's claimed a thin band of cliffs
as his territory.'

70
00:07:19,690 --> 00:07:24,278
If you're going to live here,
if you're going to establish
a territory here,

71
00:07:24,278 --> 00:07:26,196
if you're going to mate here,

72
00:07:26,196 --> 00:07:29,783
you need to be able to communicate
in a particular way.

73
00:07:29,783 --> 00:07:34,162
Rock pipits haven't got a good song.
They're not colourful birds.

74
00:07:34,162 --> 00:07:36,915
So what they do is they display

75
00:07:36,915 --> 00:07:41,545
and they display by
going up into the air.

76
00:07:54,308 --> 00:07:56,059
'All pipits do this.

77
00:07:56,059 --> 00:08:01,648
'They fly high up in the air,
call, and just drop.

78
00:08:03,734 --> 00:08:08,822
'They'll perform this parachute
ritual over and over again.

79
00:08:10,574 --> 00:08:14,995
'And they'll continue to display,
even when the female has been found.

80
00:08:16,914 --> 00:08:20,501
'The territory and the female
must be kept.

81
00:08:30,552 --> 00:08:32,846
'Having courted successfully,

82
00:08:32,846 --> 00:08:35,807
'the business of raising young
can commence.

83
00:08:55,244 --> 00:08:58,539
'And it's not always
a romantic affair.

84
00:09:12,010 --> 00:09:15,264
'And of course, there's
also a nest to be built.

85
00:09:15,264 --> 00:09:19,434
'I've come to a small patch of
woodland near Newtown in Powys

86
00:09:19,434 --> 00:09:23,814
'and Wales' finest nest builder
has built a home.'

87
00:09:27,442 --> 00:09:30,112
This is a typical
long-tailed tit's nest.

88
00:09:30,112 --> 00:09:35,909
It's tucked out of the way in a real
jungle of thorns and bramble bushes.

89
00:09:35,909 --> 00:09:40,956
They're incredible things when you
consider that every single nest

90
00:09:40,956 --> 00:09:43,709
has got at least 1,000
feathers in it.

91
00:09:43,709 --> 00:09:46,295
Some have even got 2,000 feathers.

92
00:09:46,295 --> 00:09:50,007
The difference depends
on where the nest is.

93
00:09:50,007 --> 00:09:53,677
If it's in a fairly open, exposed
area, it'll have more feathers.

94
00:09:53,677 --> 00:09:57,264
If, like this one, it's in
a nice, sheltered, warm spot,

95
00:09:57,264 --> 00:09:59,349
it'll have fewer feathers.

96
00:09:59,349 --> 00:10:01,476
When the female lays her eggs,

97
00:10:01,476 --> 00:10:04,021
there's enough space
in there for everyone.

98
00:10:04,021 --> 00:10:07,608
But when those eggs hatch and the
chicks are about two weeks old,

99
00:10:07,608 --> 00:10:10,986
like they are in this nest,
there's hardly any room at all.

100
00:10:10,986 --> 00:10:15,657
So what they do is they weave
spiders webs into the nest,

101
00:10:15,657 --> 00:10:19,912
and as the chicks grow,
the nest expands out.

102
00:10:19,912 --> 00:10:24,041
It's a remarkable feat
of engineering really.

103
00:10:32,132 --> 00:10:36,512
'The building abilities of birds
are quite remarkable.

104
00:10:36,512 --> 00:10:38,972
'They're well accomplished
nest builders,

105
00:10:38,972 --> 00:10:41,517
'and they can build
a nest very quickly.

106
00:10:42,809 --> 00:10:46,438
'These are rooks
and they're building nests

107
00:10:46,438 --> 00:10:48,815
'in the centre
of Newtown in Powys.

108
00:10:50,442 --> 00:10:54,112
'They nest early in the year,
usually during late February.

109
00:10:55,739 --> 00:10:59,618
'And different birds have
different techniques.

110
00:10:59,618 --> 00:11:02,037
'Some do it the hard way.

111
00:11:02,996 --> 00:11:06,041
'They break off twigs
to build a nest.

112
00:11:07,584 --> 00:11:09,711
'Others do it the easy way.

113
00:11:09,711 --> 00:11:12,881
'They steal twigs from
other rooks' nests.

114
00:11:16,426 --> 00:11:20,430
'This gold finch is building
a nest at the end of a branch.'

115
00:11:24,059 --> 00:11:26,478
When I see birds building a nest,

116
00:11:26,478 --> 00:11:30,983
it always strikes me that they've
got a small brain and a beak.

117
00:11:30,983 --> 00:11:33,777
I've got two hands
and a large brain

118
00:11:33,777 --> 00:11:39,366
and yet I couldn't do in 12 months
what they do in just a few days.

119
00:11:54,590 --> 00:11:59,219
'This nuthatch is building
a very different kind of nest

120
00:11:59,219 --> 00:12:01,889
'in Coed Crafnant Wood
near Harlech.

121
00:12:03,849 --> 00:12:07,477
'It has commandeered
an old woodpecker's nest.

122
00:12:07,477 --> 00:12:12,441
'A hole in a tree which has
been dug out by a woodpecker.

123
00:12:12,441 --> 00:12:16,778
'But the entrance hole
is too big for the birds,

124
00:12:16,778 --> 00:12:19,740
'so it reduces the size
by filling it with mud.

125
00:12:22,951 --> 00:12:27,956
'It takes the nuthatch pair two
days to achieve the desired size.'

126
00:12:38,175 --> 00:12:43,096
And there it is. They've finished
all the building work now.

127
00:12:43,096 --> 00:12:47,100
Isn't that amazing? They take a
hole that's a little bit too big

128
00:12:47,100 --> 00:12:50,979
and make it the perfect size
by packing it down with wet mud.

129
00:12:50,979 --> 00:12:53,607
That mud is still
a little bit damp up there.

130
00:12:53,607 --> 00:12:56,735
They'll be leaving that now
for a week, maybe two weeks,

131
00:12:56,735 --> 00:12:59,863
for that to dry out. And it's
like concrete, it's so hard.

132
00:12:59,863 --> 00:13:04,201
She'll be lining the nest inside
with bits of bark, oddly enough.

133
00:13:04,201 --> 00:13:06,119
And when that's all done,

134
00:13:06,119 --> 00:13:09,581
it's only then that she thinks
about laying her eggs.

135
00:13:15,879 --> 00:13:18,215
'Not all birds nest in trees.

136
00:13:18,215 --> 00:13:22,886
'Over time, birds have adapted to
the habitat that suits them best.

137
00:13:26,974 --> 00:13:30,644
'We're in the Grwyne Valley
near Abergavenny.

138
00:13:30,644 --> 00:13:32,604
'And this is a dipper.

139
00:13:34,231 --> 00:13:38,193
'A bird that lives along rivers.

140
00:13:38,193 --> 00:13:41,029
'It's collecting food
for its chicks.

141
00:13:42,239 --> 00:13:45,409
'And it's built a nest
on the riverbank.'

142
00:14:02,926 --> 00:14:07,806
This nest blends in so well.
It's just on the bank here now.

143
00:14:07,806 --> 00:14:10,684
The bird itself is dependent
on the river,

144
00:14:10,684 --> 00:14:14,938
completely dependent on the river,
because that's where the food is.

145
00:14:14,938 --> 00:14:16,690
And so is the nest, really.

146
00:14:16,690 --> 00:14:20,319
You always find it
out over water like this.

147
00:14:20,319 --> 00:14:23,739
The reason for that is because
the droppings fall in the river

148
00:14:23,739 --> 00:14:26,158
and get washed away.

149
00:14:31,705 --> 00:14:33,832
'The dipper is our only small bird

150
00:14:33,832 --> 00:14:37,544
'that swims underwater
to look for food.

151
00:14:37,544 --> 00:14:41,256
'It collects insect larvae
from the riverbed.

152
00:14:46,261 --> 00:14:49,306
'The chicks are fed by both parents.

153
00:14:49,306 --> 00:14:53,727
'The male will use the same
nesting site every year

154
00:14:53,727 --> 00:14:57,940
'and his territory extends about
two kilometres along the river.

155
00:15:03,153 --> 00:15:06,740
'No-one really knows why
they bob up and down.

156
00:15:06,740 --> 00:15:08,867
MUSIC

157
00:15:37,938 --> 00:15:41,859
'The Towy Valley between
Carmarthen and Llandeilo.

158
00:15:44,361 --> 00:15:47,948
'The river continually changes its
course along the flood plain.

159
00:15:49,032 --> 00:15:53,871
'As a result, it flows in a
serpentine way down the valley.'

160
00:15:54,913 --> 00:16:00,043
Where you get a wide meander like
this in some large Welsh rivers,

161
00:16:00,043 --> 00:16:04,214
you often get a shingle bank
forming on the far side.

162
00:16:04,631 --> 00:16:08,177
That's where the river's thrown up
pebbles and bits of stone.

163
00:16:08,177 --> 00:16:10,596
To us, it looks quite boring.

164
00:16:10,596 --> 00:16:12,848
It looks uniform and flat.

165
00:16:12,848 --> 00:16:18,228
But it's the perfect nesting site
for a handful of specialised birds.

166
00:16:18,228 --> 00:16:23,817
For one of them, the stronghold
in Wales is here on the River Towy.

167
00:16:29,072 --> 00:16:31,742
'This is a little ringed plover.

168
00:16:33,535 --> 00:16:35,829
'It's a fast little bird.

169
00:16:38,081 --> 00:16:40,125
'A bit of a Road Runner.

170
00:16:43,420 --> 00:16:46,673
'It's a migrant from Africa
and arrives here during March

171
00:16:46,673 --> 00:16:48,967
'to nest along the River Towy.

172
00:16:49,885 --> 00:16:52,763
'This one is sitting on eggs.

173
00:16:52,763 --> 00:16:56,183
'You can hardly detect the nest.

174
00:16:59,394 --> 00:17:02,981
'Both the male and the female take
turns with the incubation

175
00:17:02,981 --> 00:17:06,318
'and during change over,
you can just about see the eggs.

176
00:17:06,318 --> 00:17:08,695
'They're really well camouflaged.

177
00:17:12,449 --> 00:17:15,702
'Little ringed plovers are only
recent migrants to Wales.

178
00:17:15,702 --> 00:17:19,706
'Before the 1960s, they didn't nest
here at all.

179
00:17:19,706 --> 00:17:24,127
'In fact, before the 1930s,
they didn't nest in Britain

180
00:17:24,127 --> 00:17:27,714
'and spread here from Europe
to nest in man-made habitats,

181
00:17:27,714 --> 00:17:29,466
'mainly gravel pits.

182
00:17:33,262 --> 00:17:37,975
'But in Wales, as on the Continent,
they use shingle banks.

183
00:17:42,938 --> 00:17:48,777
'Another recent nester in Wales
can be found on the Newport Levels.

184
00:17:51,905 --> 00:17:53,240
'It's an avocet.

185
00:17:53,240 --> 00:17:57,953
'A bird that has the distinction
of being the emblem of the RSPB.

186
00:18:00,497 --> 00:18:04,668
'It's an elegant bird
with a long, up-curved beak.

187
00:18:06,086 --> 00:18:08,672
'They, too,
are ground-nesting birds.

188
00:18:10,048 --> 00:18:14,887
'They bred here for the first time
during 2003,

189
00:18:14,887 --> 00:18:18,515
'and this is the only breeding
population in Wales.

190
00:18:21,268 --> 00:18:23,812
'The male and female
share nesting duties

191
00:18:23,812 --> 00:18:26,815
'and here they are swapping over.

192
00:18:32,863 --> 00:18:36,283
'They're very aggressive birds and
will chase off any intruder

193
00:18:36,283 --> 00:18:38,452
'venturing close to the nest site.

194
00:19:04,770 --> 00:19:08,607
'We have around 1,500 miles
of coastline in Wales.

195
00:19:08,607 --> 00:19:13,654
'More birds nest in this habitat
than in other parts of the country.'

196
00:19:46,144 --> 00:19:50,774
We're lucky in Wales because we've
got this incredible coastline.

197
00:19:50,774 --> 00:19:54,361
A rocky coast like this is a
fantastic place for birds.

198
00:19:54,361 --> 00:19:58,532
Here you've got gulls dotted
everywhere, some out on the sea.

199
00:19:58,532 --> 00:20:03,245
But you've also got shags, they're
nesting on this cliff facing me.

200
00:20:03,245 --> 00:20:07,332
Shags are like small cormorants.

201
00:20:07,332 --> 00:20:10,669
Usually you see them and
you think it's a blackbird,

202
00:20:10,669 --> 00:20:15,132
but close-up like this with the
sun on them, they are stunning.

203
00:20:17,801 --> 00:20:21,096
'As you'd expect, for a bird
that feeds on fish

204
00:20:21,096 --> 00:20:23,223
'they're great swimmers.

205
00:20:51,668 --> 00:20:55,756
'It's early April and these shags
are nesting on cliffs near Trefor

206
00:20:56,673 --> 00:20:59,593
'on the north coast of the
Lleyn Peninsula.

207
00:21:02,179 --> 00:21:04,848
'These shags are unique in Wales.

208
00:21:06,141 --> 00:21:09,186
'The nest a month earlier
than other shags.

209
00:21:10,771 --> 00:21:12,898
'Nobody really knows why.

210
00:21:14,691 --> 00:21:18,570
'Shags tend to stay close to their
breeding site throughout the year

211
00:21:18,570 --> 00:21:22,991
'and the feeding here may be
particularly good in early spring.

212
00:21:25,369 --> 00:21:28,956
'Cliff-nesting has
its obvious hazards.

213
00:21:29,957 --> 00:21:33,877
'It's important to build on a safe
ledge and away from the waves.

214
00:21:35,921 --> 00:21:38,715
'It's what the experienced birds do.

215
00:21:38,715 --> 00:21:43,178
'Some of the nests have been here
and re-used for decades.

216
00:21:47,850 --> 00:21:50,894
'They use all sorts of material.

217
00:21:50,894 --> 00:21:54,523
'Most of these birds
are sitting on eggs.

218
00:21:54,523 --> 00:21:57,776
'But some are still courting.

219
00:22:01,822 --> 00:22:04,408
'This is a young,
inexperienced pair.

220
00:22:06,034 --> 00:22:11,498
'The males raises his prominent
crest and offers nesting material.

221
00:22:12,791 --> 00:22:16,795
'But the female isn't
particularly impressed.

222
00:22:24,261 --> 00:22:29,349
'Though they may try to breed,
finding nesting space is difficult.

223
00:22:32,978 --> 00:22:35,772
'The spot they have chosen
will not be suitable,

224
00:22:35,772 --> 00:22:38,901
'and they'll probably fail
to raise young.

225
00:22:45,866 --> 00:22:49,786
'The north Pembrokeshire coast,
not far from Cardigan.

226
00:22:52,789 --> 00:22:54,917
'This is Ceibwr Bay.

227
00:23:00,839 --> 00:23:03,634
'The cliffs here are
relatively sheltered

228
00:23:03,634 --> 00:23:08,013
'and during late spring and summer,
house martins nest.'

229
00:23:10,682 --> 00:23:14,061
I remember as a kid, we used
to have house martins nesting

230
00:23:14,061 --> 00:23:16,355
under the eves of the house.

231
00:23:16,355 --> 00:23:18,565
I used to watch them
for hours on end,

232
00:23:18,565 --> 00:23:23,237
and wonder, "Where did house martins
nest before we built houses?"

233
00:23:23,237 --> 00:23:27,199
It took me years before I realised
that it was on cliffs,

234
00:23:27,199 --> 00:23:29,326
like this one here in Pembrokeshire.

235
00:23:29,326 --> 00:23:33,247
They'd build their mud nests
right underneath an overhang,

236
00:23:33,247 --> 00:23:35,916
just like they do
under the eves of our houses.

237
00:23:35,916 --> 00:23:38,335
And now, in the whole of Wales,

238
00:23:38,335 --> 00:23:40,712
there are maybe
half a dozen locations

239
00:23:40,712 --> 00:23:44,132
where they still use
natural sites like this.

240
00:23:47,761 --> 00:23:50,472
'House martins build mud nests.

241
00:23:50,472 --> 00:23:54,101
'They source the mud
from nearby pools and ditches.

242
00:23:57,104 --> 00:24:00,607
'These have found a good supply
by the side of a road.

243
00:24:04,903 --> 00:24:10,868
'They then add grass to the mud,
forming a neat bowl,

244
00:24:10,868 --> 00:24:13,036
'attached to the cliff-face.

245
00:24:14,246 --> 00:24:18,750
'Having completed the nest,
they line it with feathers.

246
00:24:21,545 --> 00:24:24,506
'It'll take up to
two weeks to build.

247
00:24:24,506 --> 00:24:29,386
'And the parents will raise up to
three broods during the summer.

248
00:24:29,386 --> 00:24:31,513
PIANO MUSIC

249
00:24:42,316 --> 00:24:45,027
'Some birds nest underground.

250
00:24:45,027 --> 00:24:48,488
'These are puffins on Skomer island.

251
00:24:48,488 --> 00:24:50,616
'They will use old rabbit burrows,

252
00:24:50,616 --> 00:24:53,869
'or dig their own,
using their feet and bill.

253
00:24:56,663 --> 00:24:59,416
'This one is bringing fish
back to his chick,

254
00:24:59,416 --> 00:25:01,835
'who is deep inside the burrow.

255
00:25:03,921 --> 00:25:06,882
'Nesting underground has a very
clear advantage.

256
00:25:06,882 --> 00:25:11,678
'The chick is hidden,
and safe from predatory gulls,

257
00:25:11,678 --> 00:25:16,266
'who would quickly kill and eat it,
should it venture outside.

258
00:25:22,564 --> 00:25:27,611
'Another bird that nests
underground is the kingfisher.

259
00:25:27,611 --> 00:25:32,616
'This is nesting along a tributary
of the river Severn, near Newtown.

260
00:25:39,248 --> 00:25:42,709
'It's caught a fish,
but the catch is not for him.

261
00:25:50,467 --> 00:25:52,594
'It's for his chicks.

262
00:25:55,222 --> 00:25:57,766
'The nest is a burrow
in the riverbank,

263
00:25:57,766 --> 00:25:59,977
'which he and his partner
have dug out.

264
00:26:01,645 --> 00:26:04,773
'The chicks can eat over
a dozen fish every day,

265
00:26:04,773 --> 00:26:07,484
'so the adults make frequent
visits to the nest.

266
00:26:22,708 --> 00:26:26,962
'Another bird that nests in
riverbanks is the sand martin.

267
00:26:28,922 --> 00:26:32,759
'Sand martins are related
to house martins and swallows,

268
00:26:32,759 --> 00:26:37,639
'but, unlike their relatives,
who nest in and around buildings,

269
00:26:37,639 --> 00:26:40,934
'sand martins nest along rivers,
or inland,

270
00:26:40,934 --> 00:26:43,020
'in any sand or gravel bank.'

271
00:26:45,230 --> 00:26:48,400
'This colony is on
the Towy in West Wales,

272
00:26:48,400 --> 00:26:51,737
'not far from Dryslwyn castle.'

273
00:26:57,618 --> 00:27:02,456
These big sand martin colonies
are impressive places.

274
00:27:02,456 --> 00:27:06,293
There are maybe 150 holes
along the bank, here,

275
00:27:06,293 --> 00:27:10,005
and the adult birds are out,
feeding on insects above the water

276
00:27:10,005 --> 00:27:11,965
and above the meadows over there.

277
00:27:11,965 --> 00:27:15,886
They're back and fore,
constantly feeding the youngsters.

278
00:27:15,886 --> 00:27:19,598
The nests are about a metre,
two meters up off the ground,

279
00:27:19,598 --> 00:27:21,934
and they go into the bank
about a metre.

280
00:27:21,934 --> 00:27:26,063
So they're perfectly safe from any
passing mink or a passing fox,

281
00:27:26,063 --> 00:27:30,609
and really, the biggest threat
to the birds is the river itself.

282
00:27:30,609 --> 00:27:36,907
'Although they dig their nests as
high as possible in the riverbank,

283
00:27:36,907 --> 00:27:40,285
'rivers can suddenly flood
during the summer.

284
00:27:41,537 --> 00:27:46,875
'If that happens, the nests are
flooded and the chicks die.

285
00:27:46,875 --> 00:27:50,087
'Fortunately, this is not
a regular event.

286
00:27:50,087 --> 00:27:54,883
'But when it happens, a generation
of sand martins can perish.

287
00:27:57,052 --> 00:27:59,179
MUSIC

288
00:28:10,899 --> 00:28:14,862
'The variety of nesting birds
in Wales is quite remarkable.

289
00:28:21,285 --> 00:28:25,330
'We're blessed with a wide
range of habitats,

290
00:28:25,330 --> 00:28:29,710
'and these habitats attract
a great variety of birds.

291
00:28:32,880 --> 00:28:35,507
'They also nest on our buildings.

292
00:28:37,426 --> 00:28:41,054
'These ravens have chosen
an old ruin in North Wales.'

293
00:28:43,807 --> 00:28:49,229
This is the old slate mill at
Cwmystradllyn, near Porthmadog.

294
00:28:49,229 --> 00:28:54,693
It's the ideal place for a pair
of ravens to build their nest.

295
00:28:54,693 --> 00:28:59,281
The view they've got from there
must be absolutely fantastic.

296
00:29:00,699 --> 00:29:04,161
And for those young chicks,
as soon as the eggs hatch,

297
00:29:04,161 --> 00:29:08,624
the struggle for survival
starts immediately.

298
00:29:11,210 --> 00:29:14,296
'Raising young is hard work.

299
00:29:15,881 --> 00:29:19,051
'It's also full of hazards.

300
00:29:22,221 --> 00:29:29,520
'Young chicks are very vulnerable,
and they're open to predation.

301
00:29:30,604 --> 00:29:35,108
'Having survived the nest, there are
plenty of other trials in store.

302
00:29:36,985 --> 00:29:41,907
'And even strong adults can die
in harsh Welsh weather.

303
00:29:41,907 --> 00:29:47,371
'Survival will be the subject
of our next Secret Life of Birds.'

304
00:30:05,055 --> 00:30:07,266
Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd.

305
00:30:07,266 --> 00:30:07,391
.