Springwatch - Season 16 / Year 2020

A new format of the annual wildlife series in keeping with Covid-19 lockdown conditions, which sees the presenters broadcasting live from locations around the UK. Chris Packham is in the New Forest, Iolo William is in the heart of west Wales, and Gillian Burke is at the Beaver project near her home in Cornwall. In this first episode, they are joined by guest presenter Steve Backshall at his home on the banks of the Thames. Plus, Michaela Strachan calls live from South Africa to present some of her favourite moments from past series.

Chris Packham, Gillian Burke and Iolo Williams are live again close to home in the New Forest, West Wales and Cornwall, and cameras follow the fortunes of bird families in the Somerset levels and in the wild and rugged Brecon Beacons. With no boat traffic on the Thames, Steve Backshall witnesses beautiful aquatic insect hatches providing food for a host of birds such as swallows and red kites, while intrepid sound recordist Gary Moore records the incredible Urban Dawn Chorus of songbirds which have been such a feature of Spring 2020.

Live from their home bases in the New Forest, Cornwall, West Wales and the River Thames, Chris Packham, Gillian Burke, Iolo Williams and Steve Backshall share the latest stories from the wildlife cameras. Chris reveals how fish have more ways of making sound than any other vertebrate on the planet, Iolo discusses the intimate secrets of the bird families he has been following in his own back garden, and Michaela Strachan relives the dramatic story of a very skilful stoat in Minsmere in 2016. There is also the extraordinary spectacle of the firework sea anemone, and a rare reef made by beautiful peacock worms.

The team reviews the extraordinary events that have taken place during the week, as Gillian Burke looks back at her time with the Beaver family in Cornwall, Chris Packham reveals the extraordinary transformation young salmon perform and Iolo Williams reveals the latest findings about the mysterious migrations of Short Eared Owls. Plus, Steve Backshallintroduces his young two-year-old son to a local family of swans.

The team examines the mental health benefits of nature, and follows the fortunes of Choughs in West Wales. Gordon Buchanan focuses on Scottish Ospreys in Loch Lomond National Park, while Chris Packham shares an extraordinary story of how a love of birds united English POWs and German Officers during the Second World War.

Chris Packham, Gillian Burke, Iolo Williams and Gordon Buchanan share more seasonal stories from Spring 2020. Gillian reveals the extraordinary camouflage tactics of some rock pool inhabitants, Chris reveals how snails can use their shells to help them remember, and naturalist Brett Westwood celebrates the diversity of insects in his back garden including an egg shooting fly.

Hedgehog champion Beryl Casey starts training a young apprentice to help her with the 30 hogs in her care. There is a trip down memory lane with Michaela Strachan as she celebrates Spineless Si the stickleback, and Iolo Williams looks at white-tailed eagles, as many more are now being sighted up and down the land.

Chris Packham, Iolo Williams and Gillian Burke are live from their home patches, joined by presenter and natural history cameraman Gordon Buchanan who looks back on his epic wildlife week in Scotland. The team reveals a unique story of habitat rewilding taking place on the Knepp Estate in West Sussex where white storks are breeding in the wild, while Chris is on a mission to explain why people should all love wasps.

Chris Packham, Iolo Williams and Gillian Burke present the latest updates from the cameras set up across the country, including a portrait of the Lake District. Ecologist Ellie Harrisonshares wildlife stories live from her home in the Cotswolds, and nature cameraman Raymond Besant encounters otters in the Orkney Islands.

Chris Packham, Gillian Burke, Iolo Williams and Gordon Buchanan share more seasonal stories from Spring 2020. Iolo shares his own personal stories about the wildflowers growing in his local hedgerows and cameraman Sam Oakes documents the fortunes of two very different long tailed tit nests.

On the storm-lashed Cornish coastline, a pair of shags struggle to rear their chicks, while a young female pine marten prepares to rear her young on a remote Scottish peninsular. Plus, there's a moment of magic as the team celebrates the epic beauty of Dartmoor. Presented by Chris Packham, Gillian Burke and Iolo Williams.

Chris Packham, Michaela Strachan and Ellie Harrison reflect on an unprecedented year and nature's power to help people cope with such challenging times. Wildlife sound recordist Gary Moore searches for a `lost" dawn chorus on the Knepp Estate in West Sussex, where numbers of rare songbirds like the nightingale are beginning to recover. Gillian Burkeexplains how she has been helping with a survey of one of Cornwall's much-loved mammals, the grey seal.