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The Living World

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Natural history programme which aims to broadcast the best, most intimate encounters with British wildlife

logo for The Living World - 06/06/2010
The Living World - 06/06/2010

In spring, the air of the Cumbrian coast is filled with the ear-splitting calls of Natterjack Toads. William Shaw of the ARC Trust reveals their precarious lifestyle.

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logo for The Living World - 11/03/2007
The Living World - 11/03/2007

Lionel Kelleway visits Brownsea Island off the Dorset coast. Along with its rich history, Brownsea Island hosts a treasure trove of wildlife including herons and red squirrels.

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logo for The Living World - 13/06/2010
The Living World - 13/06/2010

Accompanied by the woodland chorus, John Walters and Lionel Kelleway immerse themselves in the sweet songs and displays of the Wood Warbler, Redstart and Pied Flycatcher.

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logo for The Living World - 28/11/2010
The Living World - 28/11/2010

Lionel Kelleway travels to Herefordshire to marvel at the Old Masters of the British countryside - ancient trees including the oldest oak in Britain.

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logo for The Living World - Adders
The Living World - Adders

Naturalist Lionel Kelleway meets veteran adder watcher Sylvia Sheldon on her local patch in Worcestershire, learning about some interesting facets of the snakes' biology.

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logo for The Living World - Ancient Orchards
The Living World - Ancient Orchards

Lionel Kelleway is guided by two National Trust experts around a 100-year-old orchard in search of creatures that can only be found among the old fruit trees.

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logo for The Living World - Autumn Crickets
The Living World - Autumn Crickets

The classic sound of the summer makes an untimely focus for Lionel Kelleway as he heads to Dartmoor to get close to the rhythmical autumnal chirping of grasshoppers and crickets.

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logo for The Living World - Autumn Ivy
The Living World - Autumn Ivy

Lionel Kelleway explores the important benefits of ivy: in the autumn its flowers provide a late source of nectar for insects, and its evergreen leaves are a haven for wildlife.

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logo for The Living World - Badger Behaviour
The Living World - Badger Behaviour

Lionel Kelleway joins Chris Newman of Oxford University in an experiment to understand how badgers organise their families' living space.

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logo for The Living World - Bat Highway
The Living World - Bat Highway

Bat Highway: Lionel Kelleway observes a colony of greater horseshoe bats in Devon.

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logo for The Living World - Beavering
The Living World - Beavering

Beavers were hunted out in Britain 400 years ago, so what is a family of beavers doing in a Scottish Loch? Lionel Kelleway finds out, in the company of Sir John Lister-Kaye.

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logo for The Living World - Catch The Pigeon
The Living World - Catch The Pigeon

Lionel Kelleway meets Chris Armstrong, who is researching the mysteries of pigeon navigation. They take the pigeons to a release site and track their progress home.

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logo for The Living World - Cave Spiders
The Living World - Cave Spiders

The cellars of Witley Court in Worcestershire are home to some of our largest British spiders, as Lionel Kelleway discovers when he goes in search of damp-loving cave spiders.

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logo for The Living World - Crayfish
The Living World - Crayfish

Lionel Kelleway travels to Somerset to investigate the plight of our largest freshwater crustacean and to see a project to try and save the crayfish in the wild.

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logo for The Living World - Cuckoos
The Living World - Cuckoos

Lionel Kelleway heads to Dartmoor to get close to a juvenile cuckoo and its unwitting foster parents.

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logo for The Living World - Culm Grassland
The Living World - Culm Grassland

Lionel Kelleway discovers the Culm Grassland water meadow in Devon, a rare habitat believed to be unique in Europe.

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logo for The Living World - Dartford Warbler
The Living World - Dartford Warbler

Lionel Kelleway visits the Arne RSPB reserve in Dorset in an attempt to see the rare Dartford warbler for himself.

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logo for The Living World - Dragonflies
The Living World - Dragonflies

Dragonflies: Ruary McKenzie Dodds takes Lionel Kelleway to Thursley common in Surrey to explore the lives of these strange creatures.

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logo for The Living World - Ferns
The Living World - Ferns

Ferns: Without seeds or flowers, ferns have managed to seduce naturalists and gardeners with their delicate beauty, shapes and colours for centuries. Lionel Kelleway investigates.

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logo for The Living World - Fieldfares in a Winter Orchard
The Living World - Fieldfares in a Winter Orchard

Fieldfares in a Winter Orchard: Lionel Kelleway joins bird ringer Stephen Dodd to survey the numbers of fieldfares visiting an orchard in Worcestershire.

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logo for The Living World - Gothic Bats
The Living World - Gothic Bats

Gothic Bats: Lionel Kelleway meets Roger Ransome at Woodchester Mansion in Gloucestershire, home to six of Britain's native species of bats.

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logo for The Living World - Grass Snakes
The Living World - Grass Snakes

Lionel Kelleway tries to get close to the grass snake and find out a little more about its private life. Grass snakes grow to five feet long and are Britain's largest native snake.

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logo for The Living World - Grassland Meadows
The Living World - Grassland Meadows

Britain's geology makes for diverse grassland meadows and with it wild flowers, as Lionel Kelleway discovers.

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logo for The Living World - Great Bustards
The Living World - Great Bustards

Lionel Kelleway finds out about a programme to re-introduce the Great Bustard to the British countryside from a captive-born stock of animals.

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logo for The Living World - Harbour Seals
The Living World - Harbour Seals

Lionel Kelleway is on Dartmoor, finding out how Mark Lawrence is able to locate hundreds of birds' nests each Summer amongst the bracken and gorse.

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logo for The Living World - Heath Fritillary
The Living World - Heath Fritillary

Lionel Kelleway heads to a valley near Dunkery Beacon in the north of Exmoor National Park in search of one of Britain's rarest butterflies.

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logo for The Living World - Herons
The Living World - Herons

Lionel Kelleway travels to the RSPB's Ham Wall nature reserve in Somerset in an attempt to see all five species of heron which currently breed in the UK.

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logo for The Living World - In Search of Dippers
The Living World - In Search of Dippers

In Search of Dippers: Lionel Kelleway joins Steve Ormerod from Cardiff University on a Welsh riverbank to observe the dipper, the world's only truly aquatic passerine bird.

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logo for The Living World - In Search of Sea Lampreys
The Living World - In Search of Sea Lampreys

In search of Sea Lampreys: Lionel Kelleway visits the River Ure in Yorkshire and with the help of naturalist Brian Moreland, has a once in a lifetime encounter with the Sea Lamprey.

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logo for The Living World - Isle of Man: Beeflies
The Living World - Isle of Man: Beeflies

On the northern Manx shore is a large expanse of dune dominated by lichen heath. This special habitat is the scene for one of Lionel Kelleway's most unusual quests.

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logo for The Living World - Isle of Man: Hen Harrier
The Living World - Isle of Man: Hen Harrier

The island is the UK's hotspot for the bird of prey with sulphur yellow legs. Lionel Kelleway enjoys the closest of encounters near a nest with three thriving chicks.

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logo for The Living World - Isle of Man: The Natural History of the TT Race
The Living World - Isle of Man: The Natural History of the TT Race

Lionel Kelleway joins two TT race fanatics and naturalists on a trip around the famous 37-mile course. They observe the local wildlife, including cave spiders, lampreys and orchids.

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logo for The Living World - Isle of Man: The Rocky Shore
The Living World - Isle of Man: The Rocky Shore

Lionel Kelleway enjoys a highly productive day along a coastline full of variety. He finds lobsters and fiddler crabs and learns about the pressures on the island's shores.

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logo for The Living World - Johnny Rook - A Lovable Rogue
The Living World - Johnny Rook - A Lovable Rogue

Lionel Kelleway travels to the Falkland Islands in pursuit of Johnny Rook, the cara cara, which has returned from near extinction and plays a unique role in the islands' ecology.

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logo for The Living World - Junipers
The Living World - Junipers

Enjoy a gin and tonic while you can - rabbits are threatening the long term survival of gin-flavouring juniper at a key site near Salisbury. Lionel Kellaway investigates.

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logo for The Living World - Marsh Harriers
The Living World - Marsh Harriers

Lionel Kelleway gets very close to the marsh harrier, an icon of the East Anglia marshland.

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logo for The Living World - Migrating Moths
The Living World - Migrating Moths

On the most southerly point in mainland Britain Lionel Kelleway visits moth expert Mark Tunmore at the old lighthouse station, where they spend the evening looking for moths.

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logo for The Living World - Mollymawk Manor
The Living World - Mollymawk Manor

Lionel Kelleway travels to the Falkland Islands in search of the mollymawk, the local name for the black-browed albatross.

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logo for The Living World - Mosses
The Living World - Mosses

Mosses: Lionel Kelleway explores the luxuriant mosses to be found in a Shropshire woodland with bryologist Mark Lawley.

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logo for The Living World - Mud Matters
The Living World - Mud Matters

Mud Matters: Lionel Kelleway explores the Wash, the largest expanse of mudflats in the UK and a mecca for over 300,000 migrating wader birds every year.

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logo for The Living World - Native Hedgerows
The Living World - Native Hedgerows

On a farm in Devon Lionel Kelleway visits hedgerow ecologist Rob Walton, where they explore the value of hedges for wildlife and search for a dormouse along the way.

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logo for The Living World - Nest Finder of Dartmoor
The Living World - Nest Finder of Dartmoor

Lionel Kelleway is on Dartmoor, finding out how Mark Lawrence is able to locate hundreds of birds' nests each summer amongst the bracken and gorse.

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logo for The Living World - Netting at Snettisham
The Living World - Netting at Snettisham

Netting at Snettisham: Lionel Kelleway presents a second programme from the Wash. He joins RSPB conservation officer Sarah Dawkins to track the waders' migratory patterns.

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logo for The Living World - Peat Bog Gremlins
The Living World - Peat Bog Gremlins

Among the bracken of Scotland's blanket peat bogs, insects had better watch out. Carnivorous plants abound, and use a range of ingenious strategies to ensure their sticky end.

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logo for The Living World - Pike
The Living World - Pike

Mike Ladle joins Lionel Kelleway on the banks of the River Frome in Dorset to catch the river's most successful predator, the pike.

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logo for The Living World - Rare Reptiles
The Living World - Rare Reptiles

Lionel Kellaway heads to Town Common near Bournemouth, home to all six of Britain's reptile species. With Roland Griffin of the ARC Trust as his guide, how many will he find?

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logo for The Living World - Reed Warblers
The Living World - Reed Warblers

Lionel Kelleway visits Rostherne Mere in Cheshire in search of reed warblers. He joins warbler expert Malcolm Calvert as he rings the adults and searches for nests in the reed beds.

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logo for The Living World - Rockhopper Penguin
The Living World - Rockhopper Penguin

Lionel Kelleway encounters a colony of 5,000 Rockhopper penguins in the midst of their breeding season in the Falkland Islands.

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logo for The Living World - Rooks and a Winter Roost
The Living World - Rooks and a Winter Roost

Rooks and a Winter Roost: Lionel Kelleway watches an extraordinary spectacle as tens of thousands of rooks gather together to roost for the night.

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logo for The Living World - Salisbury Plain Honey Bees
The Living World - Salisbury Plain Honey Bees

Honey bees are part of the natural ecology of Salisbury Plain, an area used for training by the British Army and RAF. Lionel Kelleway meets MOD bee expert Chris Wilks.

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logo for The Living World - Sea Lion Island
The Living World - Sea Lion Island

Lionel Kelleway travels to the Falkland Islands in search of amorous marine mammals on Sea Lion Island, a temporary home for sea lions and elephant seals.

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logo for The Living World - Sika Deer
The Living World - Sika Deer

Lionel Kelleway heads to Purbeck in Dorset to experience the sights and unusual sounds of sika at the start of the rutting season.

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logo for The Living World - Southern Sea Shores
The Living World - Southern Sea Shores

Lionel Kelleway travels to the Falkland Islands to find out how marine life in the Southern Atlantic compares with beachcombing back home.

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logo for The Living World - Stalking Cranes
The Living World - Stalking Cranes

Lionel Kelleway joins Norfolk Wildlife Trust and the National Trust to witness the night roost of the crane, Britain's largest wading bird.

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logo for The Living World - Starfish
The Living World - Starfish

Marine biologist Peter Heyward leads Lionel Kelleway through the rock pools at low tide on the Gower Peninsular in search of starfish.

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logo for The Living World - The Deer Park
The Living World - The Deer Park

Lionel Kelleway learns about the history and wildlife of Bishop Auckland Deer Park from naturalist Phil Gates, and discovers a metropolis of meadow ant hills.

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logo for The Living World - The Dormouse and the Vet
The Living World - The Dormouse and the Vet

The Dormouse and the Vet: Lionel Kelleway joins Sue Tatman from Cheshire Wildlife Trust on a day out looking for dormice. The reintroduced population is being monitored.

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logo for The Living World - The Duck Pond
The Living World - The Duck Pond

The Duck Pond: Lionel Kelleway joins Ciaran Nelson at the RSPB Reserve at Snettisham in Norfolk. Sat in a hide overlooking a lagoon at the reserve, they compare notes on ducks.

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logo for The Living World - The Late Arrivals
The Living World - The Late Arrivals

Lionel Kelleway travels to Lulworth Cove in Dorset, where he witnesses the small bands of Red Admiral butterflies that migrate from mainland Europe.

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logo for The Living World - The Miniature World of Slitt Wood
The Living World - The Miniature World of Slitt Wood

The Miniature World of Slitt Wood: Lionel Kelleway joins botanist Phil Gates in his open-air laboratory in Weardale and discovers a fascinating miniature forest.

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logo for The Living World - The Potter Wasp
The Living World - The Potter Wasp

The British Isles are home to 6500 species of wasp and bees. Lionel Kelleway travels to Devon in the hope of seeing a potter wasp bringing paralysed caterpillars to the pot.

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logo for The Living World - The Underwater Architects
The Living World - The Underwater Architects

The Underwater Architects: Lionel Kelleway joins expert Ian Wallace at Lake Windermere to observe the caddis fly. At the larval stage, these creatures build amazing structures.

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logo for The Living World - The Vernal Lantern Fish
The Living World - The Vernal Lantern Fish

The Vernal Lantern Fish: Lionel Kelleway goes in search of this beautiful luminescent creature which is beginning to appear around our coast due to rising sea temperatures.

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logo for The Living World - The World's Largest Slug
The Living World - The World's Largest Slug

Lionel Kelleway visits the Dart Valley in Dartmoor in search of the elusive Ash Black Slug, which can measure as much as 30 centimetres in length.

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logo for The Living World - Too Good to Tread On
The Living World - Too Good to Tread On

Lionel Kelleway travels to Portland Island in Dorset to see one of Britain's rarest and smallest plants, a bryophyte.

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logo for The Living World - Tufty of Thirlmere
The Living World - Tufty of Thirlmere

As the autumn colours of the Lake District intensify, Lionel Kelleway sets off to find his own autumnal 'tufty' red squirrel in the mixed woodlands of Thirlmere.

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logo for The Living World - Water Voles
The Living World - Water Voles

Water Voles: Lionel Kelleway is joined by Louise Wells of the London Wildlife Trust to observe these traditionally rural creatures which are gradually spreading into our cities.

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logo for The Living World - Wild Boar
The Living World - Wild Boar

Wild Boar: Lionel Kelleway visits the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire on the trail of a shy and evasive animal that was wiped out in Britain but has now been re-established.

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logo for The Living World - Winter Ravens
The Living World - Winter Ravens

Lionel Kelleway travels to Shropshire where the raven is recovering from years of persecution by recolonising much of its old breeding areas, and where a large roost now exists.

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logo for The Living World - Wintering Warblers
The Living World - Wintering Warblers

Wintering Warblers: Lionel Kelleway joins Greg Conway of the British Trust for Ornithology to find out how our milder winters are helping species of warbler survive.

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