The first episode in the third season of the Tyne Tees Television series on the wildlife of the north presented by Jonathan Morrell. In the first part of the programme a look at the decline in the number of Barn owls and the work being done by Keith Bowey of the Durham Wildlife Trust to reverse this decline by encouraging local famers to install new nesting boxes. Next to Blyth in Northumberland and a journey onboard marine research vessel 'Bernicia' which carries out pollution...

The first episode in the third season of the Tyne Tees Television series on the wildlife of the north presented by Jonathan Morrell. In the first part of the programme a look at the decline in the number of Barn owls and the work being done by Keith Bowey of the Durham Wildlife Trust to reverse this decline by encouraging local famers to install new nesting boxes. Next to Blyth in Northumberland and a journey onboard marine research vessel 'Bernicia' which carries out pollution monitoring research along the Northumberland coast as well as record life on the ocean bed. After the break, a look at the life of the mysterious Mole and a research project into their tunnelling technique by Newcastle University researcher Elanor Beckett. Finally, to the Harewood country estate in North Yorkshire and a Red kite re-introduction programme that is being watched over by Project Officer Doug Simpson who uses radio-tracking equipment to keep in touch with the birds. Jonathan Morrell meets the people who make it their mission to care for wild animals and birds in the North. This programme features barn owls, white-beak dolphins, moles and red kites. Barn owls used to be common in the North's countryside, but now their numbers are dwindling, says Keith Bowey of Durham Wildlife Trust. A survey he did recently showed there were just 35 pairs of barn owls left in Co Durham. To stop numbers falling even further, Keith Bowey has started a project to get schoolchildren in the area to make nesting boxes for barn owls to be distributed to farms where they can be put up in old buildings in the hope that the owls will nest in them. The 'Bernicia' (named after the ancient northern kingdom between the Forth and the Humber) is Newcastle University's marine research vessel. The 27-year-old stern trawler, which is based at Blyth, is skippered by former fisherman Alasdair Simpson. Its job is to carry out pollution monitoring and other scientific work. Sophisticated equipment is carried on board to record life on the ocean bed and one of these sonar devices is believed to have attracted a pod (family) of rare white-beak dolphins to 'play' with the boat on a research trip being filmed for Wild North. The result? Fabulous pictures of the dolphins riding the bow wave. 'They're beautiful, mysterious animals and it was a thrill to see them,' said Alasdair. Moles aren't the most popular of animals, especially when they leave molehills all over people's lawns. But in fact moles are a bit of a mystery. And that's why Newcastle University research student Elanor Beckett has been working on a project to test moles' tunnelling techniques. She's been using a soil probing instrument to try to find out where moles dig their runs, and what conditions suit them best. On the Harewood country estate, between Harrogate and Leeds, a unique bird experiment has been taking place. Red kites, which vanished from North Yorkshire a hundred years ago because of persecution by game keepers, are being reintroduced to the area. Last year 23 were released into the wild and this year a further batch of prey will breed and so establish a new colony of red kites in the North. Project Officer Doug Simpson is using radio tracking equipment to keep in touch with the birds. Credits: Presenter Jonathan Morrell 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 MMI