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What can viewers expect from the show this year?
Michaela StrachanThe delight of Springwatch is that we never know! We tell the stories nature gives us. We’re in a new location – the National Trust’s Longshaw Estate in the Peak District – so we’ll be tracking wood warblers and curlews.
Chris Packham There will be a different ecology in the Peak District; the habitat looks like heathland but it’s moorland. This year some of our more common bird species have started to nest earlier due to this warm, dry spring, which means they’ll have probably fledged by the time we’re on air. We’re expecting redstarts, pied flycatchers, wood warblers and ring ouzels.
Tell us about the innovation of Springwatch Street — rigging cameras in gardens in Sheffield.
Chris It’s about encouraging people to love the community of animals they live with, including nocturnal ones like badgers, foxes, rats and hedgehogs.
How will you mark Springwatch’s 20th birthday on screen?
Michaela We’re not going to spend the whole season looking back, but we’re the only programme that has followed British wildlife for two decades. Scientists have learnt things from us because our cameras film around the clock.
You have worked together for a long time now — how would you describe your on-screen chemistry?
Michaela I’m a menopausal woman and Chris is an autistic bloke! He’s a delight to work with. We’ve known each other for 30-odd years so we play to each other’s strengths; he’s got the science background [a BSc in zoology] and I’m the storyteller. I used to feel inadequate because his knowledge is unbelievable. Now I’m comfortable with what I bring to the show.
Chris Menopausal and autistic – what a combination! She’s grown up with my quirks. I’m not a sociable person, so Michaela has to invite herself to my house in the New Forest, where she’s always welcome. We have a compatibility through difference. We’d never let one another down.
What challenges does Springwatch face in the age of streaming?
Michaela We have great production values, even though our budget has been cut. There are positives to streaming, too; you can watch Springwatch on catch up!
Chris We’ve invested in our Facebook, TikTok and Instagram pages and get massive hits. Springwatch will always be needed; the UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world and wildlife is going to hell in a handcart.
What’s your most memorable moment from the show?
Michaela Once Chris wasn’t feeling well and just as we were about to broadcast, he started throwing up. He said he could still go on air, but he obviously couldn’t.
Chris My answer is broader. I’d choose the advancement of technology. AI is enormously useful because it allows identification of species and analysis of data. Of course we have concerns about the misuse of AI, but if used appropriately, it’s incredible.
What are your thoughts on Tony Blair saying net zero policies were “doomed to fail”?
Chris I take my guidance from scientists. Our hope is that Springwatch can cut through all the mistruths, as we share a deep-rooted affinity with the natural world with our audience.
Is there one way we can all help?
Michaela Don’t put paving stones or plastic grass in your gardens! Make a wildlife-friendly garden and you’ll be amazed by how much wildlife appears and how easy it is to maintain.
Chris Give young people opportunities, as we do on the show. We show their films, engage with them on social media – anything to give them a platform to pick up the mantle.
Springwatch wildlife researcher Jake Baddams on bugging a whole street
What is Springwatch Street?
We’ve featured people’s gardens over the past 20 years, but we’ve never bugged a street to see how urban gardens connect. It’s a way of looking at insects, invertebrates, the mammals who sneak into your garden and of course birds, which people are more familiar with if they have feeders.
Why now?
We first discussed it before the pandemic, but the idea was put on hold until we looked at Sheffield. My favourite bird, the swift, is declining in numbers but there are still big colonies in Sheffield — they nest in houses. I did a recce of a street of terraced houses where swifts nest and residents told me there were other unexpected comings and goings. One lady has heavy boulders around her pond and one morning she found them in the pond. The only animal strong enough to do that is a badger! Another neighbour saw a badger crossing the road. You wouldn’t expect badgers in an urban setting.
How does a badger get into a fenced garden?
They are incredible diggers, but we’ve got footage of them climbing walls at hip height. There is footage — not ours — of badgers climbing trees to access bird feeders. They’re more determined and athletic than you’d think.
How did you persuade residents to take part?
I resurrected my newspaper round days and put leaflets through every door saying we were interested in talking about the wildlife in their garden. When people emailed us, we checked out their gardens and set up camera traps. We’ve got a nice cluster of houses in a very long street so we can work out how the animals are moving between gardens.
What do you hope Springwatch Street will ultimately achieve?
Apart from footage of badgers scaling things, we hope people will put cameras in their gardens. Anyone can create a mini-nature reserve in their green space, however small. If you know what’s in your garden, you will be more inclined to protect it. We hope the street can be replicated anywhere in the UK in future series — unless badgers destroy our cameras!
IN THE BEGINNING
Naturalist and author Stephen Moss was the show’s original series producer
Imagine putting on a show. You’ve hired the very best technical team and found a stunning setting in the heart of the countryside, an organic farm in Devon. The clock ticks down to 8pm and there’s only one worry – instead of actors, we’re working with wildlife. And as every naturalist knows, nature never follows the script! That’s what I felt on a May bank holiday evening in 2005 as the first series of Springwatch went live on air. It dawned on me that the BBC had taken a huge leap of faith in both us and the wildlife.
As Bill Oddie, Kate Humble and Simon King introduced the show, I somehow knew it would be a hit. Yet back then, none of us realised just how big Springwatch would ultimately become. Two decades on, it’s a national institution, reaching millions of viewers and converting them to a lifelong love of the natural world.
The turning point came during the first week, when someone in the BBC’s audience research department realised that we were getting well over three million viewers – far more than Big Brother and Celebrity Love Island. They put out a press release, describing Springwatch as “genuine reality TV”. For, unlike human-based reality shows, where producers can manipulate the contestants’ relationships, we simply couldn’t control the wild creatures at the heart of our series.
What really appealed to the audience was that its subjects were familiar and quintessentially British. We showed blue tits and badgers – creatures our viewers knew and loved, and could see in their own garden. And if sometimes we ended up with what one cynic described as “hours and hours of badgers doing bugger all”, then they enjoyed that too – because it was real!
Twenty years on what’s Springwatch’s future? BBC budget cuts have affected its scope, but it attracts a loyal audience and showcases uplifting conservation stories. Everyone involved in the show – then and now – should be proud of what we’ve achieved. And the real stars – blue tits and badgers – can take a bow, too!
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