Springwatch presenter Michaela Strachan opened the wildlife programme this evening with an admission of nerves, as she joined co-host Chris Packham at National Trust Crom in Northern Ireland. Chris provided viewers with updates on the upcoming segments, while Michaela confessed, "I am feeling a bit nervous."
As Chris playfully edged Michaela closer to the dock's edge, she explained, "Yes, because I'm awfully close to the edge, and don't you think about it! Iolo Williams has been on the move over the weekend. He is on a boat on the way to the most incredible bird colony, and he has a fantastic wildlife encounter."
Iolo Williams later showcased the bird colony at Bempton Cliffs Reserve, unable to contain his excitement. "I'm on my way to the Bempton Cliffs Reserve, I'm on a boat, and have a look at what I saw just a few minutes ago. A big pod of bottlenose dolphins just as we came out of the harbour, it rode the wave for about 15 minutes. These are big dolphins; it always puts a smile on my face," he shared.
Michaela and Chris then directed attention to the road camera, which had captured a rare sighting of a pine marten crossing a bridge. Chris joked, "Who needs dolphin? We are just a couple of metres away from our fish cam, let's cut to it live now. Iolo, forget it, mate! We've got perch disappearing into the background there. Look at that view of fishy nastiness." Michaela added, "Who needs dolphins, hey?"
Later in the programme, they reconnected with Iolo for updates on the bird colony. He described the scene as "glorious" despite the pungent smell. "It is a mix of different habitats, on the clifftop we have meadows, we have scrub and hedgerows, but the real focus is on these tall chalk cliffs, the tallest ones are over 400 feet high, and they are covered in seabirds. At its peak, it is half a million and as far as I can see, visually, absolutely stunning. We've got gannets, we've got razorbills, guillemots, flying to and from, the sounds of the birds. It's like a choir," he said.
BBC viewers enjoyed the scenes, with one commenting, "Razorbills look fantastic, such clean lines." Another said, "Thankfully, Springwatch is back tonight. Reality TV at its best. I've been so sick of seeing Kim K all weekend on here and Instagram and I don't even follow F1." A third praised Iolo's enthusiasm: "Yes, Iolo, you've told us three times what's there."
