An edition of the Tyne Tees Television series on the wildlife of the north presented by Andrew Friend. In the first report we meet Joanne Chinn who has dedicated her life to the care of injured and abandoned hedgehogs from her home at Chester-le-Street in County Durham. Next, we meet Mike Lowe, a wildflower expert from Durham County Council's Countryside Unit whose job it is to make the counties road verges a riot of colour throughout the summer. Following the break, a report on a...

An edition of the Tyne Tees Television series on the wildlife of the north presented by Andrew Friend. In the first report we meet Joanne Chinn who has dedicated her life to the care of injured and abandoned hedgehogs from her home at Chester-le-Street in County Durham. Next, we meet Mike Lowe, a wildflower expert from Durham County Council's Countryside Unit whose job it is to make the counties road verges a riot of colour throughout the summer. Following the break, a report on a nationwide survey to find out what is the most common garden birds and how bird-lovers from the region are taking part. Next to Chillingham Park near Wooler in Northumberland, the home of the Norths only herd of truly wild cattle to speak with warden Austin Widows about the ancient heritage of Chillingham Cattle. Finally, a look at the Harvest mouse which in in decline in Northumberland and how a tennis ball was used to try and find a way of saving them from extinction. Title: Wild North Andrew Friend introduces the programme and outlines the topics covered in this edition. The first item looks at the work of Joanne Chinn who nurses back to health sick or injured hedgehogs. Joanne works from her home in Chester-le-Street, County Durham, she feeds some very young, abandoned hedgehogs on liquids with a small dropper, eventually cat food will be their main diet before released into the wild. Joanne is also committed to feeding them during the night. Outside she weighs one of her larger hedgehogs on scales and the section finishes as a hedgehog explores part of the garden. The next part of the programme looks at wildflowers growing alongside regional roads in the summer. Mike Lowe is head of Durham County Council’s countryside unit, who aims to make road verges a feature area for wildflowers and wildlife in general. There are 2400 miles of verges in County Durham counting small country lanes as well as motorway verges. As wildlife corridors, verges are important to the local ecology. Verges attract plants of the vetch family which are good source of nectar for insects. Mike Lowe walks along a newly planted verge on part of a road which has been modified just outside Durham City. Plants in flower include vetches, ox-eye daisies, buttercups and a range of grasses. At another site on the east side of Durham, the Wheatley Hill by-pass has been built through a predominantly limestone area, which has given Mike the opportunity to introduce wildflowers which thrive in such an environment. Because the limestone rich soil tends to suppress the growth of some of the grasses, flowering plants that tolerate limestone thrive, plants such as orchids, knapweed and vetches unique to lime rich environments. The programme shows wildflower seed being harvested in another part of the county. Mike Lowe acknowledges the Wheatley Hill project is one of the most successful and attractive plantings in the county. Title: Wild North The second part of the programme begins with a look at the Garden Bird Watch which collects information on birds visiting gardens across the country, in order that declining or thriving species can be identified. Tom Cadwallender from the British Trust for Ornithology outlines the details of the survey. He says it’s the first time they have been able to calculate garden bird populations, so the results will be very important. Tom Charman a local birdwatcher puts out food for birds, then speaks on camera about his personal experience doing the garden survey and the birds he has spotted. Jo Bentley, another home birdwatcher talks about her experience doing the survey, as she has spotted a variety of birds visiting her garden over the years. The survey has helped her learn a lot about each species she identifies. Tom Cadwallender says the people involved in the survey range from committed birdwatchers and ornithologists, to others who just like to watch the birds visiting their garden. The programme moves on to look the wild cattle at Chillingham Park in Northumberland. The park is enclosed by a 700-hundred-year-old wall and because of that there has been no interbreeding. Warden Austin Widows says the cattle are a unique wild breed and have a bloodline that reaches back many centuries. Calves are born all year round but only ever a single calf at a time. The herd of 48 animals is recognised as extremely rare by scientists and conservationists. Ian Bennet of the Chillingham Cattle Association says they are the sole survivors in the world of their breed. Ian says the herd shows us how cattle generally might have survived if man had not intervened. In the 1960’s during an outbreak of foot and mouth disease the association established reserve herd in Scotland, which if needed would be the source for blood or DNA samples. Austin Widows looks after the cattle and visitors who come to see them. He says the cattle tolerate their observation from a distance, and you certainly do not approach the herd if there is a calf present. Austin also describes the birth of a new calf in the herd. A cow ready to give birth wander away from the herd, and then hide the new-born in undergrowth. When the mother thinks the calf is ready to join the herd, she will then introduce it to the others. The king bull will come and meet the mother and assess the calf. Weak calves can be rejected and killed by the herd. After an army career Austin is quite settled in his role as warden of a unique breed of cattle. The endangered harvest mouse may depend on tennis balls for its survival. It is the smallest species of mouse in the country and quite rare in Northumberland. Lisa Kerslake from the Northumberland Wildlife Trust describes their habitat. She shows the camera a small ball of grass which is typical of the size nest the harvest mouse makes. As an experiment make a more attractive environment for the mice, tennis balls were attached to canes in long grass, and a hole cut in them to allow access. However, the mice showed some interest but that were not enthusiastic as Lisa explains, and the experiment not as successful as they had hoped. Lisa thinks the population locally is healthier than it appears, and she encourages people to contact the trust especially in autumn when evidence of harvest mouse activity in the locality maybe more pronounced. Andrew Friend closes the programme. Credits: Presenter Andrew Friend Camera Simon Crouch, Lee Sutterby Sound Postproduction Andy Ludbrook Editor David Hindmarsh Executive Producer Jane Bolesworth Producer Charles Bowden CBTV production for Tyne Tees Television © Tyne Tees Television MCMXCVIII