Michaela, Chris Packham and Martin

Also new for this year is that we're on the move. For the first four weeks we'll be at the Forestry Commission's National Arboretum at Westonbirt. For the final four weeks, the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust's Slimbridge reserve will be our home. Read more about our new locations here and delve into Westonbirt's fascinating history here.

(Of course, you'll know all this if you watched the first show last Friday. If you didn't, remember it'll be available on iPlayer for two months. If you did, and fancy watching some of the highlights again, we've made them available here.)

We'll be launching our webcams on Friday 14 October, and for the first time they'll be available on BBC Red Button. Firstly our cameras will be deep inside a badger sett in Devon, then we're off to Slimbridge to follow the lives of their Bewick's swans, one of autumn's key species.

Autumnwatch wouldn't be Autumnwatch without you, the audience. So as always, we'd love you to get involved and there are loads of ways to tell us your wildlife stories, ask us those questions that have always puzzled you, share your autumn wildlife photos or just chat about the show. Here's how:

• On the blog: the presenters, producers and team will be blogging regularly about wildlife, our films, our locations, our favourite photos, our contributors and more. So if you have an opinion, a question about any of these, please post a comment there. Look out too for guests on the blog, covering everything from phenology to their wildlife passions
• 'Like' us on our Facebook page for news, chat and more
• Share your photos of autumn fauna and flora on our Flickr group
• Join in the conversation on Twitter with #Autumnwatch
• Messageboard: chat about UK wildlife or about the show itself

And if all this chat leaves you needing a bit of fresh air, try out the BBC's Things To Do to find nature events near you.

We really hope you enjoy the series. Catch us on BBC Two at 8.30pm every Friday until 25 November (followed by Unsprung).

On the road to the UK's iconic wild places

Chris, Michaela and Martin report on the best of the wildlife action as it happens from a different location each week, from the end of summer right through to the start of winter. They'll also meet some of the local people who have unique and insightful relationships with the wildlife on their patch.

Week one: As autumn starts, the first stop on this nationwide road trip will be the spectacular Wye Valley, where we'll explore the River Wye and the woodland world of the Forest of Dean. We're also hoping to investigate the wild boar, visit a breeding colony of bats and reveal nature's wild harvest. With a dry and sunny start to 2011, autumn has arrived early this year. We'll explain the implications for our wildlife.

Week three: We'll then move on to Exmoor to explore this spectacular region's exposed hill tops, wooded river valleys, rugged cliffs and sheltered sandy coves. Along the way, we'll unveil the region's unique wildlife, and take part in the excitement of the annual Exmoor pony round up.

Week four: In the glorious Cotswolds, we'll watch the drama of the fallow deer rut, revel in the beauty of the autumn colours and explore the secrets of the famous Highgrove Estate.

Week five: It's all change as we journey north to the Scottish island of Islay. We'll witness the spectacular sight and sound of thousands of barnacle geese, meet resident otters and golden eagles, and maybe even catch a glimpse of the elusive merlin.

Week six: We'll be delving beneath the ocean's surface for a marine themed show, based in Anglesey.

Week seven: It's on to the urban jungle, where we'll meet the surprising wildlife in our cites and gardens, including intimate views of a pied wagtail roost.

Week eight: The final stop on the journey will be back in Scotland. As winter takes a grip on the far north, we'll explore the ancient Caledonian forests. We'll be hoping to meet red deer, black grouse and pine martens, and see how wildlife is preparing for the long winter ahead.

A new band of Autumnwatch adventurers...

Old friends and new faces will join us with a unique story that they are best placed to tell, and join Chris, Michaela and Martin live in the studio to introduce us to what they've discovered.

Roy Dennis is the world expert on ospreys, one of our most charismatic birds of prey. In June the Springwatch team witnessed the arrival of the three osprey chicks on the Dyfi Estuary, which represent just a handful of these birds to be born in Wales in the last 400 years. Now, for Autumnwatch, Roy is going to satellite tag the birds and follow them on their migration south as autumn progresses. (Read more about the osprey tagging.)

Charlie Hamilton James will be filming one of autumn's greatest spectacles, the Atlantic salmon run. He'll attempt to swim with the salmon underwater as he tracks their migration up river, using high speed cameras to film salmon doing what we love them for best in autumn: leaping up the waterfalls towards their spawning grounds.

Johnny Kingdom is Exmoor - he lives and breathes this West Country landscape. In a series of beautiful films, Johnny will recount his times filming what is by far his favourite season - autumn. As well as the red deer of Exmoor we'll find out what happens to a cast of other characters like the wild boar, the salmon and the kingfisher as autumn progresses.

Leah Gooding is going to get hands on with 25,000 slippery eels! She'll be helping box them up for release into a Welsh lake as part of one of Britain's most ambitious conservation projects. The project is setting out to help save this mysterious fish, whose population is crashing.

Richard Taylor-Jones is on a mission to raise awareness about Britain's least understood grey and common seals - those living in the south-east of England. Ten years ago no one seemed to know they were there, but ongoing research by passionate volunteers has revealed a population of almost a thousand individuals, all living amongst Britain's busiest seaways.

Iolo Williams is on an epic nautical adventure trying to track down the second biggest animal on the planet, the fin whale. These migrating whales pass through British waters every autumn. Iolo will team up with a group of scientists who have been studying the population in the hope of having a first hand encounter.

Liz Bonnin is off to Scotland to explore the Caledonian pine forest - home to red squirrels, wildcats, capercaille, red deer and many more superstars of the wildlife world. Sadly, very little original forest remains, and Liz is going to find out why it's been lost, and what's being done to help.

A new anchor presenter, new guests, new locations, new features and more.. Read more about this year's Autumnwatch Live.

Roger Webb is the Series Producer of Autumnwatch. Autumnwatch Live returns 8.30pm, Friday 7 October on BBC Two.

The Autumnwatch Live team: Michaela Strachan, Chris Packham and Martin Hughes-Games

We're back. From Friday 7 October at 8.30pm on BBC Two, once a week for eight weeks, Autumnwatch Live will be tracking the very best wildlife action from the beginning to the end of this dramatic season. Our presenters and camera teams will be on the road, visiting our most iconic wild places and revealing new and surprising wildlife stories, as they happen. We'll be reporting on the latest wildlife news and encouraging everyone to get out and experience the best of the season for themselves.

We're planning to get unique insights into some of our best loved animals, and each week guest presenters will be bringing us personal reports from each stage of the season. (Read more about the iconic wild places we'll be visiting.)

Autumnwatch Unsprung, on air at 9.30pm after the main show, returns with its unpredictable, eclectic and humorous mix of viewer contributions and expert opinion. As ever, we want to hear from our viewers about what they're seeing, what questions they want answering, what photos they're taking and what amazing video footage they've captured.

For 2011, there are plenty of exciting new changes... a new anchor presenter, new guests, new locations, new features and more...

We are delighted to announce that Michaela Strachan will be joining the presenting team for Autumnwatch Live this year. Kate Humble is completing filming on the major BBC Two series, 23 Degrees.

Michaela is one of TV's best loved and popular presenters, having presented wildlife series such as The Really Wild Show, Orangutan Diary and Elephant Diaries for the BBC, and Michaela's Wild Challenge and Michaela's Zoo Babies for Channel Five. She was also a regular presenter of Countryfile for several years and the UK's wildlife and wild places continue to be subjects close to her heart. Michaela will join Autumnwatch Live presenters Chris Packham and Martin Hughes-Games. Her experience, knowledge and enthusiasm will be a huge asset to the team.

New live locations

Westonbirt Arboretum © Forestry Commission

For the past two years, Autumnwatch has been presented from the BBC Natural History Unit in Bristol. But this year, we're moving to two fantastic new base locations. For the first four weeks we'll be at the Forestry Commission's National Arboretum at Westonbirt. For the final four weeks, the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust's Slimbridge reserve will be our home. These new bases will allow us to explore in depth the beautiful landscapes and the wealth of wildlife in these locations as the autumn action reaches its peak at each.

The National Arboretum at Westonbirt: Nestled at the edge of the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, the Arboretum is a natural treasure. One of the most spectacular tree collections in the world, it's also home to an array of native woodland, grasslands and wildlife. Across the first four weeks, we'll be down in Westonbirt's woods, capturing the stunning autumn colour as the season turns, and watching the wildlife cashing in on autumn's bounty.

Flock of waders flying above River Severn in Slimbridge at sunset. © James Lees/WWT

WWT Slimbridge: Set against the spectacular backdrop of the Severn Estuary in Gloucestershire, Slimbridge is one of Europe's finest wetlands. This year is the 65th anniversary of the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, and Slimbridge is where it all started when Peter Scott realised how important this place is for wildlife. We'll be exploring the wetland animals, from kingfishers to otters, and experiencing the spectacle of 35,000 wildfowl as well as the vast flocks of waders which arrive here during autumn.

We'll be there at the beginning of November, at the start of Slimbridge's main autumn event as the Bewick's swans arrive at the end of their long migration to overwinter at the reserve. These birds are identified as individuals from their beak patterns. We'll be counting them in, finding out more about their lives, and watching them live on the web.

(Read more about the iconic wild places we'll be visiting and the new band of Autumnwatch adventurers.)

Roger Webb is the Series Producer of Autumnwatch

Prepare to be intrigued and amazed by the world at the edges of our human landscape, the places we like to forget about - the apparently empty docklands, the industrial "waste grounds", the seemingly dreary railway embankments and more. Intriguingly, these places provide wildlife with a unique opportunity to survive very close to us, creating a living landscape where humans and nature co-exist in close proximity, often unbeknownst to us.

Liz Bonnin will be exploring the strange world of the places we like to forget

Another surprising wildlife haven the team will be exploring is the micro world of Canvey Wick. An abandoned oil refinery, it's one of our richest insect habitats.

The "edgelands" of our world are truly surprising places to find wildlife in such abundance. Springwatch will reveal just how many wild creatures make a living right amongst us.

Update 13 June: The contrast of Liz's location with our main home at Ynys-hir couldn't be more pronounced, as this photo (courtesy of cameraman Ian Llewellyn) shows.

Roger Webb is the Series Producer of Springwatch, which starts 8pm Monday 30 May, BBC Two

Springwatch camera teams have been on the island since early April when the first puffins, razorbills and guillemots arrive back from their long winter at sea. They'll be filming all these characters setting up home, courting, building nests and laying eggs ... working towards what will be the main event for both them and us - their chicks being born just as Iolo and the Springwatch Adventure Team broadcast live from Skomer.

They'll also go under the waves to reveal the rare sea fans, corals and inquisitive grey seals in Skomer's underwater world, as well as the sand eels that feed and power much of the breeding action back on shore.

How many of these sand eels can a puffin family get though in breeding season? Will we be able to show you the unique Skomer vole? Why is one of the world most spectacular displays of the bluebell - a woodland flower - found on an island with no woods? What happens at a short-eared owl's nest? Can we see puffin chicks hatch out in their underground burrows?

128,000 pairs of Manx shearwaters breed on Skomer every year, a third of the world's entire population of the species and the single largest colony anywhere in the world. Using data downloaded from geolocators, the team will investigate at the amazing annual migration of these birds, who spend the winter 6,000 miles away off the coast of South America.

Our week on Skomer will explore all of these questions and many more as we immerse ourselves in this Welsh wildlife utopia.

Update 6 June: Producer Dan Rees has posted some lovely photos of Iolo and the team getting ready for his live week in Skomer.

Roger Webb is the Series Producer of Springwatch, which starts 8pm Monday 30 May, BBC Two

Charlie Hamilton James

Charlie will also investigate the broader issue of re-introducing beavers and other animals back into our countryside. Why do we do this? Should we be doing this at all? It’s an emotive and controversial subject.

One of the Knapdale beavers

These Scottish beavers may have hit the headlines, but they’ve never been studied on camera in so much detail, with so much technology. Centuries ago, we would’ve all been familiar with beavers in Britain. As Springwatch provides a unique insight into their lives, perhaps we will once again get to know and enjoy these remarkable animals.

Roger Webb is the Series Producer of Springwatch, which starts 8pm Monday 30 May, BBC Two

For 2011 we'll not only be enjoying the wildlife riches of our new base at Ynis-hir in Wales. We'll also be reporting from across the nation from other wildlife hotspots. After the success of our weekly guest presenter slots on Autumnwatch 2010, we're continuing the tradition by inviting back three friends of the series - Charlie Hamilton James, Iolo Williams and Liz Bonnin - for each of the three weeks of Springwatch 2011.

Our guest presenters for 2011: Charlie Hamilton James, Iolo Williams and Liz Bonnin

• Week one: Charlie Hamilton James's Scottish beaver stakeout
• Week two: Iolo Williams' magical wildlife island
• Week three: Liz Bonnin's tales from the edge...

Roger Webb is the Series Producer of Springwatch, which starts 8pm Monday 30 May, BBC Two

 

 

It's a perfect new home for us, complete with a new studio - and new sofa - for Chris, Kate and Martin.

This shed will be magically transformed into our studio

With a new location comes new challenges and this is our most ambitious rig yet. Our fibre optic cables will stretch further than ever before... nearly 40 miles! We're going to cover a wider area with our mini cameras than we've ever attempted, and our presenters will be broadcasting nearly a mile away from some of our nest cameras, which will all be streaming live in glorious high definition.

Something I'm really excited about on personal level is our plan to broadcast live pictures from a heronry of nesting grey herons and little egrets. A Springwatch first!

Ynys-hir redstart © Jane Jones

We'll also be looking out for great and lesser spotted woodpeckers, birds of prey like hen harriers, ospreys and goshawks... and of course we couldn't go to Wales without featuring red kites - so we're planning to get nest cameras on them too.

Red kite © Alshappy 1

The rivers, waterfalls and freshwater ponds in and around the reserve are full of dippers, kingfishers, sedge, reed and grasshopper warblers and the occasional bearded tit. Our bankside cameras will be poised and ready for river inhabitants like otters and grebes.

But it's not just birds and mammals that our camera teams will be tracking down - Ynys-hir is home to 19 species of dragonfly, 26 species of butterflies and over 400 species of moths as well as reptiles like grass snakes.

 

So you can see why we chose it and why I'm so excited about this new chapter in the Springwatch story.

Roger Webb is the Springwatch Series Producer

Springwatch begins 8pm, Monday 30 May on BBC Two

Over in Northern Ireland, Darryl Grimason introduced us to the whooper swan. Flocks of these spectacular birds arrive from Iceland between late October and mid November to spend the winter on our shores.

For me, working on Autumnwatch over the last couple of months has only gone to underline just how dynamic this season is. It's been a fantastic journey and one I'm already looking forward to making again next year (after Springwatch of course).

Unsprung was another packed show full of more of your wonderful videos, pictures and questions. I would like to say a massive thank you for all your contributions over the last eight weeks - it really is your show and without you there simply wouldn't be any Unsprung!

Chris, Kate and Martin will be back with a Springwatch Christmas Special at 6.30pm on Wednesday 29 December on BBC Two. In the meantime, I hope you're able to get out and enjoy our winter wildlife. And if you do why not take a photo for our new Winterwatch photo group!

Roger Webb is the Series Producer of Autumnwatch

Of course the whole show wasn't just about starlings, we were also joined by Iolo Williams. Iolo decided to take on one of the toughest challenges we've ever set a presenter on Autumnwatch: to track down a wild sea trout. He had the local knowledge but would he have that little bit of luck you so often need when searching for some of our more elusive wild creatures?

Unpsrung proved once again to be an entertaining affair. There were lots of your great questions and videos plus a few small and furry special guests (I am of course talking about the dormouse and harvest mice...). Remember to post your questions for Martin and the team on the blog.

This week's show will be the last of the run, we'll be looking at winter and what it means for our wildlife. Chris and Kate have been down on the RSPB's Exe Estuary reserve in Devon checking out the winter wildfowl. Chris manages to get his hands on a woodcock - something he will not stop talking about! In Northern Ireland, guest presenter Darryl Grimason is with 6,000 whooper swans that have recently touched down for the winter.

So wrap up warm and settle in for the final show this Thursday, 25 November, at 8.30pm on BBC Two.

Roger Webb is the Series Producer of Autumnwatch

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The revelations didn't end there. It turns out my blackbird, the one I regularly watch hopping around the lawn, isn't necessarily my blackbird! Indeed, so many of the birds I've long thought of as resident it turns out (thanks to Science Geek) are visitors from places like Sweden and Belgium.

Our guest last Thursday, marine conservationist Maya Plass, took us to her local beach in Devon. With autumn storms stirring things up, the sea reveals its secrets all along our coastline, making now a great time of year to go beachcombing.

Unsprung was another rich mix of your questions, videos and photos – thank you! Please do keep them coming in, as without them we really wouldn’t have a show.

Chris and Kate are now off to Wales to film starlings and guest presenter Iolo Williams won't be far away, searching for sea trout. (Ask Iolo a question about sea trout here.) Martin will be back with more of your stories and his own Welsh report on bottlenose dolphins.

In the meantime, enjoy your garden wildlife and if you get a chance perhaps give those feeders a clean. Please keep your feedback coming in and remember you can catch up with the series on the BBC iPlayer.

Roger Webb is the Series Producer of Autumnwatch

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The wild treats on Mull don't end with sea eagles. It's one of the best places to see otters, golden eagles and hen harriers. Martin and Chris had an amazing encounter with the harrier, made all the more special by the birds' Red List conservation status. The UK has only 749 breeding pairs of the owl-like raptor.

On Dartmoor, Nick Baker introduced us to his tree. This ancient (600 year old) oak is a natural inspiration to him - home to plants and bugs of all shapes and sizes. But Nick's connection with the tree runs much deeper; it's almost soulful.

This week, the team are out and about investigating our garden wildlife. Nick Baker takes us on his own back garden safari and Martin's unpicking the hierarchy at our bird feeders with author Dominic Couzens. Kate meets up with wildlife gardening guru Chris Baines and our own Chris talks us through bird feeder best practice - from hygiene to where to put them.

Unsprung will be back (in its more traditional shape) so please keep posting your questions and ideas.

If you haven't already, please check out the Autumnwatch Flickr group – it has some amazing photographs in it and is turning into a fantastic visual record of the season.

Finally, do continue to feedback about the series. We're always interested to hear your opinions and ideas. Leave a comment below if you'd like to.

Roger Webb is the Series Producer of Autumnwatch

It was great to see Gordon and the grey seals on Orkney - another seasonal highlight. What's really exciting is you can now follow the daily dramas of the seals via the website and the webcams. Gordon's already had his own moments of drama, including that mother giving her pup a swimming lesson during a storm.

Gordon will be back next week with another update on the seals, I just hope for his sake the horizontal hail holds off!

Unsprung was another lively affair. I thought the quiz was possibly the toughest yet - how did you get on? The team will be back next week with special guest “Bug Boy” Nick Baker. Get your questions in for Nick and the team via the blog.

As you may have heard, Kate's not with us next week so I hope the boys behave themselves - they’re off to Mull this weekend to catch up with RSPB warden Dave Sexton and the hugely successful sea eagle project. Nick Baker will be exploring Dartmoor (his local patch) and taking us on a macro journey into the world of the oak tree.

Do keep your comments coming in about the shows and if you’re out and about enjoy the autumn colour and remember to keep your eyes peeled for waxwings. Of course if you get any pictures please do post them on the Autumnwatch flickr site.

Roger Webb is the Series Producer of Autumnwatch

If you can't get to Northern Ireland, the good news is geese are gathering around the UK - at the WWT Martin Mere reserve a record number 40,000 pink-footed geese have arrived and on the Scottish borders, at RSPB Mersehead, barnacle geese numbers are building nicely.

Less accessible but equally spectacular was the beautiful conger eel that decided Kate was the perfect playmate. That individual was a relative youngster and could grow to twice its current size. These animals are often misunderstood and hunted simply because they're big fish... Now classed as "vulnerable" they really do need our help - underlining why protected marine zones like Strangford Lough are so important.

Chris "the wizard of sound" Watson - thank you! Chris's audio journey down the River Coquet was so uplifting - it took me away from the everyday into a completely different dimension. Chris's passion for sound is unique and I was so pleased that he was able to bring us an audio first: the song of a dipper in autumn.

Unsprung once again made me smile - poor Chris and Mrs Bitey the polecat were the talk of Twitter! Please do keep your questions, videos and pictures coming in - the team are always so pleased to hear from you.

Next week we'll be in the woods basking in autumn colour and Gordon Buchanan will be bringing us all the drama from Orkney as the grey seal pupping season gets into top gear. If you have a question about his adventure please ask him on the blog.

In the meantime, please let me know what you think of the series and over the weekend I hope you're able to get out and enjoy this wonderful season. Just make sure you wrap up warm!

Roger Webb is the Series Producer of Autumnwatch

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Whether pure or hybrid, those kittens certainly looked wild - and expert opinion seems to agree. We hope the little bit of work we've done to track down the den and capture those memorable images will contribute in some small way towards the work going on to save these precious animals.

A great example of a conservation success story has to be Brownsea lagoon and the return of the avocet. Chris was on such a high after his visit, blown away by the sheer number of birds. I strongly recommend taking Chris's advice and visiting the lagoon over the coming weeks. You won't be disappointed.

What about the rutting sika deer? A non-native, always an interesting debate, with a range of calls that leave other deer in the shade. I'm not sure I'd welcome a herd screaming outside my bedroom window, but there's no doubting their beauty and elegance.

Unsprung was a tasty affair - all of the presenters were blown away by the "wild" soup! Thanks again to all of you for input - without you, we really wouldn't have a show. None of us could get over the migrant birds all lost at sea, and Chris described eight-year-old Abi's encounter with badgers as his highlight of the series... I have to say it's hard to disagree.

So those were my highlights of the second show, what were yours?

Roger Webb, Autumnwatch Series Producer