Spring in a Watch

After coming to the UK the 2 birding events which I keep looking forward are BBC Springwatch and the UK Bird fair. Since BBC Autumnwatch is being broadcast this week it would be timely for me to pen my thoughts on this television series. And leave my UK Birdfair experience to a future blog.

Just like Olympics making its appearance every four years, BBC TV has been broadcasting live the best of British wildlife three times in a year every summer, autumn and winter which is appropriately titled - BBC Springwatch, BBC Autumnwatch and BBC Winterwatch. Springwatch is broadcast 4 nights each week for three weeks during May-June every year. Whereas its spinoffs - the Autumnwatch and Winterwatch are broadcast for 4 nights during October (autumn) and January (winter) months respectively.

The program format is very simple & straightforward. The 1-hour live program is presented by some of the most well-known wildlife celebrities from one of the nature reserves in the UK. This is one of the largest outside broadcast events from BBC as more than hundred crew members and 50 cameras, mostly hidden and remotely controlled, capture the fortunes of the British wildlife through the 3 seasons.

Unlike a documentary which generally focusses on a specific species or some location or an event, the hidden cameras in Springwatch takes you through the life and times, struggles for survival, behavior, eating habits, of not only birds or the mammals like foxes, badgers, mice, deer, rabbits, stoats or hedgehogs but also of flowers, butterflies, ants, fish, snakes & many such tiny creatures, which we do not even think about. Only yesterday I learned that there is an Earthworm society in Britain to promote and support scientific research for earthworms and their environment!! The series also highlights the good work being done by various people across Britain towards conservation. 

What hooked me onto Springwatch last year was the story of the Golden Eagle chick from the Scottish highlands. And when the golden eagle chick finally fledged I was also amongst the hundreds who enjoyed that moment. Each of the stories presented in the series is not only informative in nature but also presented in an entertaining manner which will thrill and move any viewer. I felt like crying when the Eurasian Jay preyed on the blue tit chicks one by one from the nest.  And it gives me goosebumps every time when an update is provided about the latest location status of a migrating bird. Almost every series has some unique field experiments/tests on the wildlife which brings out the behavior of a particular specie. A case in the point was the mouse experiment in the food maze in the Winterwatch 2016. Absolutely brilliant!!

It is like watching a reality TV show but here the stars are all the other cohabitants of Planet Earth, apart from humans.

British TV has been blessed to have Live Natural History TV programs like Badgerwatch, Birdwatch, Reefwatch, Beachwatch and such other shows since the 1970s.  And the rich history and presence of matured audience have helped Springwatch to evolve into a beacon for spreading nature education and conservation in the UK. As per TV ratings, every episode of Springwatch 2017 was watched by an average 2.2 million people.  It has a strong social media presence with the BBC Springwatch official website offering video content allowing viewers and program makers to interact through the message board, blogs, Facebook and Twitter accounts. And I have seen thousands of twitter feeds & social media posts which keeps the public engaged.

With all this going around, a thought comes to me - why have we not attempted a Live Natural History program in India, which has a fabulous & diverse wildlife flora and fauna. We have the biodiversity, passionate wildlife experts/ naturalists, dedicated conservationists, iconic organizations like BNHS /other natural societies, researchers, brilliant filmmakers, highly effervescent media and a large market. And above all, there is a need to protect India’s nature and wildlife which is under threat every minute as I type this. I know there will be challenges like liaising with government agencies and getting permission to shoot in forest/reserves. Another major deterrent will be the huge costs involved in producing such a series even on a modest scale. But I am hoping we will have a #Indiawatch soon live on Indian TV for Indian audience charting the fortunes of Indian wildlife.

Like all good things, BBC Autumnwatch 2017 will come to an end - the 4^th and final episode will be broadcast tonight. And now for Winterwatch – January I am Waiting.