Autumnwatch is back and will be following grey seal pupping in Scotland
BBC Two's Autumnwatch will return to our screens this October. Autumnwatch will follow the same format as Springwatch 2020, which was filmed in accordance with social distancing guidelines. This means that, instead of all four of the much-loved presenters hosting and documenting wildlife stories from one UK hub (most recently the Cairngorms in Scotland), each presenter will film from a different location. This new set-up was extremely popular in spring, as viewers enjoyed the variety of seeing how a season unfolds across different UK landscapes.
When is Autumnwatch 2020?
Starting on BBC Two on Tuesday 27th October, the series will run every week night for two weeks, bringing us a double dose of live wildlife updates from all over the UK.
Who are the Autumnwatch 2020 presenters?
Autumnwatch 2020 will see the return of Chris Packham, Michaela Strachan, Gillian Burke and Iolo Williams. Michaela was unfortunately unable to join filming for Springwatch this year due to being in lockdown in South Africa, but she has re-joined the team in time for autumn.
“As I’m sure you can imagine it was extremely frustrating not to be part of Springwatch and with the team. I watched it from home and I was really proud of what they had managed to achieve and I thought it was a really great series,” said Michaela in a recent interview.
“I’m in the UK now and doing 14 days of quarantine. I must say I was very anxious about whether I would make it over for Autumnwatch and I can’t tell you how much I’m looking froward to spending over two weeks immersed in British wildlife in a fantastic spot.”
As well as the four lead presenters, this series of Autumnwatch will also welcome back some young wildlife talent and presenters, including Chris Packham’s step-daughter Meghan McCubbin. Chris and Megan will take part in some tricky experiments to see who comes out on top – and who does the washing-up.
“I’m pleased to see that Megan is doing some more stuff, not because she is my step-daughter – that makes it a little challenging – but because she’s 25-years-old,” says Chris. “I’m equally, therefore, pleased to see that we’ve got other young presenters doing things for us again.
"We need younger people coming in. We want as broad an audience as possible and we want young people’s ideas, perspectives and passions. We want them to be role models for other young people who aspire to follow in their footsteps.”
Where is Autumnwatch 2020 filmed?
Chris Packham will be live from where he lives in the New Forest. “I’m on my own patch and I’m very keen to extoll the virtues of my oak hazel beach woodland,” says Chris excitedly. “This is a type of habitat you’ll find all over the UK and many people can access it. It’s all about the surprising little things you happen across when it’s your patch that you take the time to stop and look at. So it could be a dung beetle or something like that because there are so many great stories going on at this time of year.”
Michaela Strachan will be filming grey seal pupping season in the glorious Tentsmuir Forest in Fife. “I’m really hoping that this season of grey seal pupping is going to be a positive one, but there is a part of me that is slightly scared about this because it is a really vulnerable time. My hope is that the seal pups – which no doubt I’m going to get emotionally involved with – are all going to make it,” says Michaela.
Iolo Williams will be at the Centre for Alternative Technology in Wales and Gillian Burke will be live from RSPB Old Moor in the heart of South Yorkshire. “It will be my first journey out of Cornwall since the full lockdown began back in March, so that’s going to be exciting!” says Gillian.
What animals will we see on Autumnwatch 2020?
In the New Forest, Chris is hoping for badgers, foxes, deer, hawfinches, tadpole shrimps, ancient trees, fungi and many many spiders.
Michaela, in Tentsmuir Forest, is hoping for the crowd-pleasing red squirrel, seals, otters, badgers, white tailed eagles, kingfishers, waders and sea ducks.
In South Yorkshire, Gillian is on the look out for bitterns, willow tits, spoonbills, brown hares, barn owls, wading birds and waterfowl.
And as for Iolo, in Wales, pine martens, hawfinches, greenland white-fronted geese, hen harriers, and woodcock are all on the cards.
There will also be a number of pre-filmed specials, including Loch Carron and the Bob Tailed Squid, House Mice Global Success Story, Hedgehog Extinction and Giant Eagles in the Isle of Wight.
Can you watch live wildlife cameras for Autumnwatch 2020?
This series will see two live wildlife hubs from which live streams will be broadcast across the Autumnwatch digital platforms.
The first will be in the New Forest with Chris and his badgers. The second will be on the Isle of May where autumn grey seal pupping season is in full swing.
You can tune in on BBC YouTube, iPlayer or at www.bbc.co.uk/autumnwatch.
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