Published: 12:00 am, 14 January 2025
Updated: 08:31 am, 16 January 2025
Winterwatch returns to BBC Two & iPlayer with Chris Packham, Michaela Strachan and Iolo Williams bringing viewers the latest news and wonder of winter wildlife, from Tuesday 21 January 2025 at 8pm across four nights.
Live from the heart of RSPB Arne in Dorset, part of the UK’s first Super National Nature Reserve - the Purbeck Heaths Super NNR, the presenters will reveal the stories of this season and viewers will be able to immerse themselves in the beauty and drama of the winter natural world.
With live broadcasts, behind-the-scenes features and beautiful natural history films, the show promises a mix of heartwarming, awe-inspiring, and entertaining, educational content.
Set against the backdrop of Dorset’s stunning heathland, wetlands, and woodlands, Winterwatch will showcase the dramatic challenges and fascinating behaviours of our UK wildlife as they navigate the winter season. Viewers can expect thrilling stories of resilient creatures, from elusive birds of prey to the mysterious, nocturnal movements of deer and foxes.
Adding to the bounty of stories from RSPB Arne, the series will bring pre-filmed, seasonal stories from across the UK with plenty of opportunities for viewers to interact, get involved, and share their own winter wildlife encounters.
As ever, live cameras will be rigged across the site to capture all the drama of the season. Long lens cameras will be poised to capture footage of the local white-tailed sea eagles who patrol the skies over Arne and have been known to head to its shores in winter in search of food.
The programme will catch up with the resident foxes and explore their winter behaviours - and not forgetting our smaller avian characters, our cameras will be set to capture the comings and goings at our bird feeders as we witness which species are taking advantage of the food on offer.
With the RSPB’s Big Garden Bird Watch just days away, we’ll be giving our audience tips on how to get involved themselves and record the species that they see in their own gardens.
Our macro studio will be back so we can shine a spotlight on the miniature marvels that call Arne home and see what amazing adaptations they have evolved to cope with the challenges of the season.
FS
Stories filmed across the UK
As usual, Winterwatch has produced a series of pre-recorded films covering the length and breadth of the country and reflecting the great diversity of wildlife on offer across a multitude of different habitats. There are also some stunning, seasonal stories shared by nature lovers and wildlife experts across the country.
These films will include:
Buff-tail bumble bees
Mahonia lines the streets of our towns and car parks. A prickly, unloved non-native shrub, which thrives in cold temperatures. Now, as UK winter temperatures warm and insects awakening earlier, this much maligned plant is providing our invertebrates with a lifeline.
A buff-tailed bumblebee queen is awake and needs to collect nectar to build her colony. And with winter flowers few and far between, it is the Mahonia that proves a magnet for her. But this plant has a clever strategy to ensure it doesn’t lose all its nectar in one visit.
Winter invaders
It’s mid-winter at a wildlife friendly farm, where nature is flourishing amongst the grasses and hedgerows, providing food for many different species. The bountiful food supplies are attracting fierce competition.
Three resident kestrels normally dominate the skies, hovering and diving on unsuspecting voles. However, the arrival of the colder weather brings an influx of European visitors, keen for a share of the spoils: short eared owls. It’s resident verses the invader, and the battle commences.
The Lone kayaker
Rupert Kirkwood has clocked up over 32,000 miles in his kayak over the past 20 years. Nicknamed “The Lone Kayaker,” he spends most of his days on the water.
In that time, he has met humpback and minke whales, leatherback turtles, basking sharks and many other incredible marine species.
Recently, one unexpected visitor has turned up alongside his kayak, a huge fish breaking from the waves off the shores of Devon: blue fin tuna.
For Rupert this is a new kayaking thrill as the species disappeared from our shores completely during the 1960’s but now they are back and that is something to celebrate.
Rock & Roll birder
Matt Spracklen has two major passions since he was young – music and birding.
Now known as the “Rock ‘n Roll birder”, he’s combining his two loves in a bid to encourage everyone to appreciate the natural world.
As the Big Garden Bird Watch approaches, Matt invites viewers into his garden to show how absorbing bird watching can be and how our local avian visitors can be as diverse as the music we listen to.
Otter man
Former Newcastle doctor Christopher Wren has always loved nature and, since his retirement 12 years ago, his local nature reserve has become his home from home.
Frequent trips to Gosforth Nature Reserve with his trail camera resulted in a magical moment when Christopher saw his first image of an otter on the riverbank.
Five cameras later and Christopher has captured some magical moments of the resident group of otters because, as he says, they rarely disappoint.
Bittern Hunt
Winterwatch birding expert Jack Baddams has studied, filmed and officially ringed thousands of birds in his time. He joined his first local bird group at ten and was a licenced bird ringer by the age of 16.
But one elusive bird has always evaded him. Jack has never seen a bittern. Can he change all that this winter? The Winterwatch cameras join Jack as he goes in search of this secretive member of the heron family.
Walthamstow Winter Wonderland
Walthamstow wetlands ranger Lira Valencia is passionate about the wildlife that can be found in urban areas across the UK. Winter is her favourite season with the influx of avian migrants. She takes us on a tour of the reserve sharing her love, and knowledge, of waterfowl.
Lira believes that ducks are often overlooked which is something she wants to change. With behind-the-scenes access to areas closed off to the public, she shares her insight into their behaviour and gives us the tips to distinguish the divers from the dabblers in this diverse family.
Marvellous Moths
Butterfly Conservation youth panel member Leanna Rohini Fernandez is on a mission to find some seasonal specialists that, not only survive but, thrive throughout winter: moths.
Leanna explores Aberdeenshire in Scotland*, looking for the aptly named December moth, a species that she is yet to see for herself. She also hopes to witness the breeding behaviours of another, the winter moth. We join her on this journey and learn the different strategies and adaptations that these inventive invertebrates use to endure the colder temperatures and harsher conditions that winter brings.
*Updated on 16/01/25 to correct filming location
Winterwatch Digital
Our live wildlife cameras will be streaming ten hours a day, offering viewers the chance to enjoy the winter antics of a range of Dorset animals even when the BBC Two programme is not on air.
Live streams will be available from 10am – 10pm on iPlayer and the Winterwatch website. Viewers can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram, where the live cameras will stream at intervals across the week.
Our amazing audience are our eyes and ears as the season sweeps across the country, and we want to see what they are seeing! We'll be showcasing the best of the footage and photos that our viewers send in on Facebook, Instagram and X.
Q&A with Chris Packham
What can we look forward to this series on Winterwatch? Anything in particular you’re excited about?
Winter and all of its wildlife. And we love redressing the fact that many people perceive it as a time of dormancy or disappearance, or even, dare I say it, death. But in fact, winter is very much alive and an enormous amount is going on, lots of preparation for spring and summer. You may think there are no insects but there are winter moths which are very active. You may think that everything hibernates but in fact, we only have three types of mammals which truly hibernate in the UK. We have our bats, our hedgehogs and our door mice. It's always good to show people that the world continues and there's plenty to see and hear and encounter if you get out and about in winter. Also, of course, we reach the peak of our numbers of visitors in terms of birds. During autumn they start to arrive, all the birds which are moving further north, as we get vast numbers of wading birds and wild fowl, swans, geese, ducks, etc. Poole Harbour is a perfect place for those, so we're really excited about that.
Is there anything new that you’re doing on Winterwatch this year?
We hope to have an even higher-grade infrared camera. Technology has moved on an enormous amount. Later this year we’ll celebrate 20 years of Springwatch. During the course of that time, technology has very much driven what we are able to do and how much we're able to learn about the natural world without intruding. Cameras have got smaller and more accessible. We’ve been able to put them in places and learn a lot more and a lot more quickly. One of the things we never dared dream of 20 years ago is that we would have a camera that can function in total darkness. There’s no light whatsoever and the animals don't even know that we're there, and they can be a long way away, and we can zoom in on them and look at their heat signature. That allows us to watch them in a totally unobtrusive way. In the past, we've seen fox predating stoat, all sorts of exciting things, lots of birds out in the fields, but we never expected to see them, so that's really good.
What is some of your favourite wildlife to spot at this time of year and why?
I would say foxes, because as we move into winter, it’s their mating season, so they're very vocal. And there's nothing like being out in the woods at night and hearing the sharp bark of a fox to wake you up. So that's really, really good. And the other thing is the hoot of the tawny owls because at that point they begin courting and in the new year they lay their eggs, in March or sometimes earlier now. So a combination of foxes and tawny owls. And what I like about those is that anyone can access both species, you can hear them in the hearts of our cities, all over the UK, so they're really accessible.
BBC Winterwatch has come from RSPB Arne, Dorset, for two years. What makes this place such a prime location for wildlife?
It's a great place because of the diversity of habitats. It's got everything: it’s got broadleaf woodland, pine woodland, heathland, and grassland, and then, of course, it's got Poole Harbour, with its salt marsh and mud and everything else, Brownsea island and its lagoon. It’s an incredibly diverse range of habitats with a great range of species. The project of the Super National Nature Reserve continues. They’re continuing to sort of expand and consolidate and instigate resilience in that environment, which is really important. So that's something we've been very keen to support.
How important is it to get young people involved in green spaces? Are there any young voices on winter watch this year?
Yes, there will be. We've been making films with young people, which is great. There's never going to be enough young people on Winterwatch or Springwatch for me. I think it's really important to give young people, not just a voice, but a chance to make decisions when it comes to their future and the future of the wildlife and the natural landscape that they want to live in, hopefully long after we're gone. What's good is that we don't only have young people working in front of the camera, contributing to our films, but behind the scenes too. We encourage them to come in, and they come to us as story developers and as researchers and we do everything we can to make them welcome and try and encourage their development of their career.
Why should viewers watch Winterwatch and what do you hope they will take away from it?
Because we never know what we're going to see. We can see something extraordinarily exciting, we can see something new to science. That's the joy of watching wildlife live. It's unpredictable, but you know you're going to see something interesting. Every single series that I've worked on, I've learned something new, and it's something that I would have never been able to see in a lifetime of watching, just me and my binoculars, standing outside. So that’s it, basically, it's the fact that there's always something new and exciting, and besides which, we'll be delving around trying to find the newest, exciting science stories and bringing people up to date with everything that we can find. It’s a good catch up. We'll catch up on what was going on in Springwatch and Autumnwatch. And also, we're bound to see something new.
Can you remind viewers what they can do in their outside spaces to support wildlife in winter?
The first thing, if they're fortunate enough to have a garden, is leave it. Don't cut it all down at this time of year - everything needs some shelter, needs some seeds. If you've got balconies, there may well be spiders, there may well be bugs sheltering under those leaves. So, leave it, don't be tidy. That's the key thing. Don't be tidy. Leave some natural spaces for wildlife, and just because it looks dead to you, it doesn't mean it's not a resource to something else. My garden is a wildlife garden, there’s no formal garden at all. I’m lucky enough to live in a bit of woodland so there’s native species, all woodland species. People might say that there are dead plants and ask why don’t I cut them down and put them on a compost heap. Well, they're being used every day. I look out the window and there's goldfinches on my thistle heads and on my teasels for instance. So my advice to viewers is be untidy. Let nature do its own thing. Still plenty of time to tidy up before all of those resources need to be taken away from wildlife, and things start to grow again.
Q&A with Micheala Strachan
What can we look forward to this series on Winterwatch?
I'm really looking forward to Winterwatch, as always. It'll be great to return to Arne which we explored in depth in Springwatch. It's always interesting to see the changes in different seasons. It's difficult to know exactly what we will see and the weather is a big factor. Obviously, it's a tough time of the year for wildlife – it’s either desperately trying to find enough food to survive or it has completely slowed down to conserve as much energy as possible.
My favourite part of any Watches are the live cameras. Every season they bring something to suprise us, something we weren't expecting, something unscripted and I always love that.
We're hoping to see the resident white-tailed eagles as they hunt for winter food, the resident foxes who will be active at this time of year and all the birds of prey that call Arne their home. And all the more familiar garden birds that are seeking out the feeders as we encourage everyone to take part in this year's Big Garden Bird Watch.
So, Chris, Iolo and I will be looking forward to getting our thermals, woolly hats, scarves and boots ready, for another great winter season.
Anything in particular you’re excited about?
One of the features I always enjoy is our macro studio where we can indulge in the detail and behaviour of creatures that many people don't even notice, the wee beasties, that are usually utterly fascinating.
I also love the pre-recorded films with nature lovers and experts. It's so inspiring to see what wildlife passions people follow. From “The Lone Kayaker” witnessing marine life seldom seen along the coastline, to the “Rock ‘n Roll birder”, who celebrates bird watching and music. In this series we celebrate ducks with a passionate duck enthusiast, as well as moths, bitterns, otters and plenty more.
Why should viewers watch Winterwatch and what do you hope they will take away from it?
The beauty about Winterwatch is that it brings the natural world into people's living rooms at a time of year that people are cosying up indoors. Hopefully it also encourages and inspires people to layer up and get out into nature.
Q&A with Iolo Williams
What can we look forward to this series on Winterwatch? Anything in particular you’re excited about?
I'm really looking forward to being on Arne because last winter I was down there but I was more roving. I spent quite a bit of time on Brownsea Island, which is beautiful. So it’ll be nice for me to have a proper look around the RSPB Arne reserve in winter. Whenever I go in my own time is invariably spring or autumn, so it’ll be lovely to be there for winter.
What is some of your favourite wildlife to spot at this time of year and why?
At this time of year, I'm really looking forward to seeing some of the birds in the shallow bay there, all kinds of waders and wildfowl. But also, I'd love to get really nice views of the local white-tailed eagles. That would be great. We saw them in Springwatch, but it was a fairly distant view. It’d be lovely to be able to watch them hunting out over the shallow bay.
BBC Winterwatch has come from RSPB Arne, Dorset, for two years. What makes this place such a prime location for wildlife?
I think it's the fact that you have so many different habitats in a relatively small area. You've got a fantastic heathland, where in spring and summer, of course, you've got all six reptiles - grass snake, smooth snake, common lizard, sand lizard, adder and slow worm. They'll all be hibernating now. You’ve also got some scarce birds. You've got the woodland there, and the woodland should be fantastic now that the leaves have gone and it's much easier to see some of the birds there. You've got some really nice hedgerows, really thick hedgerows, a great place to see firecrests in the winter for instance - quite a scarce bird in the UK. And then you've got the lagoons, the sort of shallow bay, and some of the lagoons are full of waders and wildfowl, and on top of that, you've got some nearby reed beds. So it’s this mix of habitats, I think, in a relatively small area.
How important is it to get young people involved in green spaces? Are there any young voices on Winterwatch this year?
Yes, there are young voices. A lot of young voices. It's vitally important to engage young people because we need the next generation up there and fighting for our wildlife. And the way to do that is to get them very early on. If you can hook them very early, then that love and respect for wildlife never really goes away.
Why should viewers watch Winterwatch and what do you hope they will take away from it?
What I like about the Watches is the fact that it's all about UK wildlife. You don't get many shows, hardly any at all actually, that just concentrate on UK wildlife, Much of what we show, people can see in their own back gardens, in their own park, in their own local woodlands, their own bit of coast. So, I'm hoping that we give people ideas, that they think “Do you know what? We should do that. Let's go out and do that now.” So that's what I'm hoping people will take away, that what we see they can also see, as long as they get outside.
Can you remind viewers what they can do in their outside spaces to support wildlife in winter?
If everyone does maybe half a dozen simple little things. If you have a garden, big or small, it doesn't matter, allow some areas to go wild. Do not use chemicals, toxic chemicals. Please don't use those. Maybe plant a few fruit trees. You don't have to have a big garden. I've got a smallish garden here, it's a meadow now, more or less with nine apples trees. Plant native whatever you possibly can and make sure that there are flowers available all through the year for pollinating insects. And put out food. Put out food for the birds and other wildlife, a mix of food. I put out suet balls, I put out peanuts, I put out mixed seeds. And a pond. It doesn't matter if it's a big pond or a small pond. It can be an upturned bin lid and an old washing up bowl, just anything like that is brilliant for all kinds of wildlife, and provides water as well at the time when, when our wildlife needs it. And actually, if you're going to cut some of the little bushes, some of the apple trees, you need to prune them back in the winter sometimes, leave what you prune in a pile in the corner of your garden. That's going to be invaluable for all kinds of creatures, from invertebrates to newts to toads, maybe even a hedgehog, if you're lucky enough. And of course, talking about hedgehogs, make hedgehog highways if you've got a fence or a wall, leave holes there for the hedgehogs to go from garden to garden. If it’s a balcony, you can still have some fruit trees, you can still get one of those bird feeders, attach it to the window, watch the birds come in. You can still put a little bit of water there. You can still do these things even if it’s a balcony.
