Autumnwatch 2014 Location, Presenters and Air Dates Confirmed

Autumnwatch 2014: Martin Hughes-Games, Michaela Strachan and Chris Packham - Image Credit: BBC NHU. Photographer: Jo Charlesworth

Martin Hughes-Games, Michaela Strachan and Chris Packham – Image Credit: BBC NHU. Photographer: Jo Charlesworth

When does Autumnwatch 2014 start?

The air dates for this years series have now been set for the four days of Tuesday the 28th to Friday the 31st of October 2014 on BBC Two.

Autumnwatch Presenters

Returning to host the live shows in their typically informative, yet light-hearted style, will be the now regular line-up of Michaela Strachan, Chris Packham and Martin Hughes-Games. This also happens to be the same trio of experts who brought us Springwatch back in May and June. In addition to speaking to us from a number of outdoor locations, this year the team also have access to a warm and cosy cabin out in the woods.

Sister show Autumnwatch Unsprung will again be presented by naturalist Nick Baker.

Where is Autumnwatch 2014 being filmed?

As with the previous series, this October’s show will be mainly broadcast from RSPB Leighton Moss in Lancashire. Located at Silverdale, just south of the Lake District and by the edge of Morecambe Bay, this nature reserve provides the ideal spot to view some of Britain’s best autumnal wildlife.

Currently celebrating its 50th anniversary, Leighton Moss first became a nature reserve for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds on the 1st of February 1964.

Autumnwatch 2014: Starling in Flight - Image Credit: BBC/Mark Vogel

Starling in Flight – Image Credit: BBC/Mark Vogel

The Wildlife

During this time of year, as the temperatures of northern Europe and the Arctic circle begin to drop, many thousands of birds migrate to this large Lancashire coastal reserve. As you’d expect, due to this massive increase in the local population of starlings and other smaller birds, predators like sparrowhawks, barn owls and peregrine falcons also get drawn to the area.

Away from the vast number of starlings and other birdlife on display, BBC viewers can expect to see a diverse array of animals, including red deer, otters and long-eared bats. Plus there’s the beautiful, transforming scenery of the nearby Lake District to enjoy, as the parks tree’s shed their leaves in anticipation of the coming winter.

Prior to the live nightly broadcasts from Autumnwatch HQ, more of the BBC team will be out filming around Britain, preparing some great footage and intriguing reports, ready to be shown over the four nights. Topics will include: Bewick’s swans vast migratory journey, the rescue of fledgling seabirds from plastic waste on Pembrokeshire’s Grassholm Island, Minsmere’s red deer rut, sonic spider webs, a look at how human anti-depressant pills are finding their way into the systems of starlings, plus much more.