From http://library.digiguide.com/lib/uk-tv-highlight/autumnwatch-5264/nature/:

Back for another two-week celebration of UK wildlife, Bill Oddie, Kate Humble, Simon King and Gordon Buchanan will reveal what's happening during this crucial time of year for our wild creatures.

Charming red squirrels will be one of the show's big highlights. That's because Oddie and Humble are at Autumnwatch's new home - the wildlife haven of Brownsea Island in Dorset. Here, red squirrels have not been wiped out by their grey cousins. The island is also home to rutting Sika deer and a host of woodland and water birds, many of whom are stopping by in large numbers on their autumn migration. From fungi to finches, beetles to bats, and wood ants to water voles, Brownsea is one of the most varied and important sites for wildlife in southern Britain. Autumn is one of its busiest times.

Daily wildlife reports and film features will also be coming in from other wildlife hotspots nearby - the RSPB reserve at Arne, on the shores of Poole Harbour; the spectacular Dorset coastline; and the New Forest.

Meanwhile Simon King has a new mission. He'll be travelling across the country in search of yet more autumn spectacles and will be trying to unravel some of the season's great wildlife mysteries. He'll visit the annual fallow deer rut - one of the most iconic and beautiful events in the autumn calendar - in the stunning surroundings of Petworth House in West Sussex. Unlike the red deer (where brute strength is all), the fallow deer rut is all about which male makes the best impression on the watching females with a ritualised performance. But what is it that really makes a female fallow deer tick, and what are the rules of the game? Can King - and his high-tech team - bring us closer to the truth?

And wildlife cameraman Gordon Buchanan will be on the windswept Farne Islands off Northumberland, sending in daily reports on the highs and lows of the lives of grey seals and their new-born pups at this crucial - and dangerous - time of year.


From http://m6live.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/autumnwatch/3788055.The_BBC_on_Brownsea/

The BBC on Brownsea
2:10pm Friday 24th October 2008


NO wonder Kate Humble and Bill Oddie are smiling. From Monday, October 27, Brownsea Island will be their hideout for two weeks as they bring us another celebration of UK wildlife.

BBC’s Autumnwatch will be broadcast live from the island in Poole Harbour, which is home to thousands of wading birds and wildfowl as well as voles, bats, deer and a nationally important population of red squirrels.

“While many people haven’t seen a red squirrel, we can 100 per cent guarantee we will capture them on film,” promises Kate.

“In fact, by the end of the two weeks they will probably be on the sofa instead of us!”

Autumnwatch, now in its third year, is the seasonal offshoot of Springwatch.

It’s a popular feel-good combination of live nature footage and infectious – if idiosyncratic – presenting.

“The programme is good to watch if you’re a bit of a wimp and don’t fancy going outdoors,” says Kate. “You can see all this wildlife from the comfort of your own home.

“People also like Autumnwatch because they feel gloomy about the onset of winter, and this is like nature’s last firework display before everything beds down.”

Bill agrees: “To us, autumn isn’t about death, decay and departures. It’s a time of great activity as animals and birds stock up for the winter.”

So what are they hoping to see?

“We never hope, as it can only lead to disappointment,” says Bill. “Sometimes a pleasure doesn’t have to be stumbling on an unseen species.

“There are 1,000 avocets on Brownsea, for example, and when they take flight at the same time it’s a fantastic sight. The whole lot explode together.”

Kate agrees: “The familiar often surprises you. Like when you think you know a person then they do something completely out of character. The familiar can be every bit as interesting.”

Bill elaborates on this: “You know, the other day in my garden I saw a magpie watching blue tits on the feeder. It then tried to copy them by hanging upside down. I’d never seen this before.”

Special feeding stations will be put up on the island and one of the exercises will be to see if there’s a natural pecking order. “Great tits, for example, can be real bullies,” says Bill.

Another task is to see if the red squirrel can match the ingenuity of its grey cousins by completing the Autumnwatch assault course.

Capturing the creatures on film will be down to a team of cameramen who will be out and about using the latest technology.

Mini-cams will be placed in strategic positions to give new views of the island’s wildlife, and microphones hidden accordingly.

Special heat-seeking cameras with thermal imagery will record the red squirrels in their dreys.

Bill says: “Cold things appear blue, and warm things show up red. It’s a strange effect – something like Andy Warhol meets Pink Floyd.”

And as with all live television, especially where nature is concerned, Autumnwatch will be a case of expecting the unexpected.

Kate says: “We have a rough plan and usually change things right at the last minute. You have to be brave about these things, but, of course, at the production meetings, Bill and I are everyone’s nightmare!”

Further challenges will be presented by the logistics of the island itself, as all the technical equipment, including an entire outside broadcast system, has to be transported across by boat.

“I’m a bit worried they won’t be able to get the sofa across,” muses Bill, impishly.

“And a lot of editing will have to be done in the backs of Land Rovers.”

Of course, they wouldn’t be able to make a success of the forthcoming fortnight without the help of the Dorset Wildlife Trust, which manages more than 200 acres of the 550-acre island.

“We always, always need local support,” says Kate. “And you can’t get much more local than the island’s volunteers.”

Brownsea being a preferred location for many people in the production team was one determining factor behind it being chosen for Autumnwatch.

The fact that it’s Bill’s favourite place in the whole of Britain couldn’t have hurt, either. He says: “In terms of wildlife, Dorset has to be the nation’s top county, ahead of Northumberland, Norfolk and Suffolk. And Brownsea is excellent because it is Dorset condensed into a tiny place. All the good bits are re-packaged here.

“There’s great variety in a small area with the advantage of it all being within walking distance.

“I’ve been back at least 15 times, sometimes filming. I think I opened a hide here, didn’t I?” (A member of Dorset Wildlife Trust nods.) “I can’t remember my first Brownsea visit, but I can remember my first trip to Dorset, Portland in 1957, when I was 16. Oh, now you can work out how old I am!”

Although Kate’s visit earlier in the month was her first, she was immediately impressed.

“We are in the middle of one of the world’s busiest harbours, surrounded by luxury houses, and here is this island overflowing with wildlife in an astonishing mix of habitats,” she says.

“Brownsea is an extraordinary place and gloriously eccentric. I just can’t wait to start filming.”