Best of Natural History Radio Folgen

The famous evening murmuration, fantastic formations of huge flocks of starlings coming in to roost, brings hundreds of visitors to the levels each winter. But far fewer people see the spectacle of the dawn eruption when the starlings take off en masse to start their day foraging in the surrounding fields. Brett Westwood relives programmes from The Living World archives. This episode from 2014 sees Trai Anfield immerses herself in a starling spectacle many people have never seen. Each year the reedbeds of the Somerset Levels become the winter home for hundreds of thousands of starlings. Making their way from across the UK and Europe these birds have found a safe haven to roost with plenty of food nearby. Simon Clarke of Natural England talks Trai Anfield through the spectacle on Shapwick Heath. When it is all over and three quarters of a million starlings have departed for the day, thoughts turn to the reedbed and the effect the presence of so many birds has on their winter roost site and the animals they share it with.

The famous evening murmuration, fantastic formations of huge flocks of starlings coming in to roost, brings hundreds of visitors to the levels each winter. But far fewer people see the spectacle of the dawn eruption when the starlings take off en masse to start their day foraging in the surrounding fields. Brett Westwood relives programmes from The Living World archives. This episode from 2014 sees Trai Anfield immerses herself in a starling spectacle many people have never seen. Each year the reedbeds of the Somerset Levels become the winter home for hundreds of thousands of starlings. Making their way from across the UK and Europe these birds have found a safe haven to roost with plenty of food nearby. Simon Clarke of Natural England talks Trai Anfield through the spectacle on Shapwick Heath. When it is all over and three quarters of a million starlings have departed for the day, thoughts turn to the reedbed and the effect the presence of so many birds has on their winter roost site and the animals they share it with.

There are 19 species of the wild snowdrop in the world, all in the genus Galanthus. Wild snowdrops are found across much of Europe from Spain to the Caucasus , with Turkey being a hot spot for these 'milk flowers', but they are not found in Britain. What we think of as British wild snowdrops which herald the beginning of spring, are an introduced species or escapees from garden collections. Over the centuries gardeners have selected over 1000 distinct cultivars and that number is increasing every year. And so it takes a certain special kind of person to become a galanthophile, or a lover of snowdrops.Brett Westwood relives programmes from the Living World archives and in this episode from 2004 Brett himself travels to Somerset to explore the fascinating world of snowdrops with one such galanthophile Christine Skelmesdale. They start by discussing the snowdrop cultivars in Christine's garden before moving on to 'Snowdrop Valley' (or the more correctly called Avill Valley) on Exmoor. Christine explains the origins of UK snowdrops as imports from abroad, and that far from being native, snowdrops are a naturalised alien, though wonderful, plant.