'Remarkable' owl seen on Springwatch for first time

The BBC's Springwatch programme has captured an animal never seen before in the show's 20-year run while filming in Derbyshire.

The show is currently stationed at the National Trust-owned Longshaw Estate in the Peak District National Park until 12 June, broadcast live every night.

A family of short-eared owls were captured by the cameras for the first time, with presenter Chris Packham describing them as remarkable.

Co-presenter Michaela Strachan praised the Peak District and said the "habitat variety" made the location a great fit for the programme.

Behind the scenes, the huge production has 100 people working on the show but planning the marathon broadcast begins the year earlier, to assess what wildlife is likely to appear.

Around 30 cameras have been set up around the estate and they are monitored 24 hours a day by teams of two who work in shifts.

Those cameras have showcased a vast array of animals that call the estate home.

Packham said: "We've got our first lot of birds that are fledging the nests, last week we were watching those youngsters develop so we're now on fledge-watch for the first time, which is always nice.

"We saw short-eared owls which have never featured on the programme before.

"They're remarkable birds and are interesting in the way they fledge unsynchronised, so you'll see one big chick and one small chick.

"We've also had the long-eared owl which we've never had live before which was very exciting."

In a new feature, producers of the popular nature programme decided to place hidden cameras in ordinary gardens for the show's 20th anniversary run.

Filming took place on a street eight miles from the Longshaw Estate, in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, where residents had installed "swift bricks" to attract the birds.

The cameras have captured badgers, foxes and hedgehogs as well as the nesting swifts.

"What we see in that street is people have gone that extra mile looking after the wildlife and it is paying dividends," Packham added.

The show first appeared on TV with Bill Oddie and the team in Devon back in 2005.

Strachan said the Peak District was a perfect fit for its 20th anniversary.

"It's a beautiful place," she said.

"But what we look for when we come to a new site is the variety of habitats and the Peak District has a fantastic variety.

"You have oak woodland, you've got moorland, peaks, rivers and all that supports a wide-range of wildlife and that's what we look for."

Despite the incredible animals on show, Packham said the programme has a more serious message.

"We don't mince our words, wildlife is in trouble so part of our remit as a programme is to try and engage people so they develop a deep-rooted affinity for it and they want to look out for it."

Follow BBC Derby on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected] or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210.