Secret Garden (2026) s01e05 Episode Script

Across the British Isles there are
magical places.
Our pride and joy - our gardens.
Yet, many of us are completely unaware
of the wild world
..right under our noses.
Amazingly, some British gardens are
almost as diverse
as a tropical rainforest.
And when our backs are turned
..they come alive.
From the wilds of Scotland
..to a metropolitan oasis
..in each episode, we will reveal the
extraordinary dramas
playing out within a single garden.
Welcome to a hidden world right on our
doorsteps.
On the west coast of Scotland
..in a remote and sheltered glen
..a garden offers sanctuary.
Homeowner Matt Wilson does all he can
to help protect animals
from the worst of the weather.
- I enjoy making these boxes.
I'm always just making extra sort of
homes and refuges and things
for all the different species that
come into the garden.
- Matt is a naturalist
who has dedicated his life to working
with Scottish animals.
And he has spent nearly 40 years
turning his garden
into a haven for wildlife.
- When I moved in, this was all rough
grassland.
No trees.
Now, there's everything here, from bog
to woodland.
- With his children having left home,
the garden has taken on an even
greater value for him.
- It's funny, you look at the trees,
and rather like when you look at your
children,
you realise they've grown.
- As the garden has matured, it has
acquired a life of its own
..and Matt doesn't know what will
happen from year to year.
Winter in Scotland can hit hard.
For the animals that live here,
survival is a daily battle.
RADIO:
- The Met Office says Altnaharra in
Sutherland
saw temperatures fall to minus 18
Celsius last night,
the coldest January night in the UK
for 15 years.
- The harsh weather brings a
formidable predator
into Matt's garden.
A female buzzard.
Buzzards are the most widespread bird
of prey in Britain
..but to have one land in your garden
is a rare treat.
With snow making hunting tough
..the female is close to starvation.
Matt offers her a lifeline.
A hunk of venison may seem like
extreme bird-feeding
..but it could make all the
difference.
Still, a prize like this
won't stay secret for long.
With eyesight three times sharper than
our own
..she can spot trouble coming from a
mile away.
But she can't keep watch and eat at
the same time.
The female pins down the aggressor, a
young male.
Buzzards are known to kill each other
with their razor-sharp beaks and
talons.
Her greater size gives her the
advantage.
But she holds back.
The male is likely to be her son.
But this is her territory
..and he's no longer welcome.
Now, he must find a place of his own.
To get through the winter,
she will need Matt's hand-outs all for
herself.
When spring eventually arrives,
the garden is visited by one of
Britain's rarest mammals.
A pine marten.
A cat-sized member of the weasel
family.
They are cautious around people
..and Matt has yet to see his garden's
new arrival.
Their natural habitat is mature
woodland.
But by the early 20th century,
all but 5% of Scotland's forests had
been cut down
..and pine martens were hunted almost
to extinction.
The Western Highlands have always been
one of their strongholds.
And although the forest here has
become fragmented,
they have found an alternative.
Gardens.
Such as this one down the road from
Matt.
Without trees, the pine martens use
what they can
to hone their climbing skills.
These youngsters have grown up here.
Generations have been coming to this
garden for the last 20 years
..becoming bolder and bolder.
Up to 16 pine martens may visit in a
single night.
But the pine marten that visits Matt's
house is much more cautious.
This new arrival, a female, less than
a year old
..is searching for a territory of her
own.
Matt doesn't want her to lose her
natural caution around humans
..but maybe his garden can provide the
food and shelter that she needs.
For four decades,
Matt has kept a meticulous diary of
the animals in his garden.
Every morning, he brings it
up-to-date.
While he can't record everything
that's happening,
he can report on one typically
secretive garden resident.
Barn owls are found across Britain
..but there could be fewer than 1,000
pairs in Scotland.
The cold, wet climate makes this the
northern limit of their range.
To give them a better chance, Matt has
built a special retreat
..sheltered from the elements
and inaccessible to predatory pine
martens.
Remarkably, Matt now sees his female
barn owl almost every day.
- She's got a nice nature, a nice,
easy nature
and is very approachable.
She will come out and have a look at
you during the day,
which is rather nice.
She's nice to have around. She's got a
softness about her.
- But Matt is worried.
She's a five-year-old mother
who has successfully raised ten owlets
in the garden.
But after a run of good years, her
luck may have turned.
Just as spring has arrived
..her partner has disappeared.
Barn owls can hunt up to three miles
away from their nest
..and bad weather could have prevented
him from getting home.
It rains here on more than 200 days a
year,
making it among the wettest places in
Britain.
And while most birds' feathers are
rain resistant
..barn owls have sacrificed
waterproofing
to ensure that their wings are silent
for hunting.
So he may have been grounded.
Finding a new mate now would be hard.
All she can do is wait.
This far north, spring temperatures
can suddenly plummet
..forcing one of our best-loved
mammals into gardens
in search of food.
The red squirrel.
Across most of Britain, these charming
and inquisitive animals
have been displaced by American grey
squirrels.
But they've held on in parts of
Scotland.
Their fluffy coats and tufted ears
keep them warm,
so they're well adapted to the
climate.
Although, at this time of year,
coping with cold isn't the only
challenge.
Autumn's nuts and berries are long
gone
..but red squirrels know that gardens
can offer a lifeline.
Although they have yet to reach
Matt's.
But there is one very special animal
that he can help.
The young female pine marten is still
very cautious
..and only approaches when Matt is out
of sight.
Peanuts are a welcome supplement, high
in calories and fat.
But pine martens are omnivores, with a
taste for meat.
Soon, there will be a chance to hunt.
By late March,
the daytime temperature climbs to a
balmy nine degrees.
It's good news for the garden's
cold-blooded inhabitants.
Slow worms
..and common lizards.
They have survived the winter by
hibernating underground.
Now, on warmer days, they emerge to
bask.
The hardiest of them all comes out at
night.
A common toad.
He left the garden as a tiny toadlet
nearly three years ago.
Now, as an adult, it's time to head
back
to the only pond in the glen,
in search of a mate.
RUMBLING
But he is not the only toad with
surging hormones.
Males are arriving from every
direction.
Some have already paired up.
He must hurry.
But between him and the pond
RUMBLING
..there's a road.
Every year, tens of thousands of toads
are killed
en route to their breeding grounds.
But driven by the need to breed
CAR APPROACHES
..this toad is determined.
Safe!
His timing is perfect.
A female has also found her way to the
pond.
Their thousand or so eggs
will hatch in ten days' time.
Then their tadpoles will need to grow
up fast.
Up here, summer is short.
Ten nights after her mate left to
hunt,
the female barn owl is still alone.
OWL SCREECHES
One calm night, she hears a familiar
sound.
OWL SCREECHES
We'll never know what kept him.
But it's still the breeding season
..and he only has one thing on his
mind
..wooing her back.
Perhaps surprisingly, she doesn't
accept his advances.
He is going to have to prove once
again that he is a worthy mate.
ANIMAL SQUEAKS
His peace-offering -
a plump vole.
But she remains unimpressed.
ANIMAL SQUEAKS
How about a mouse?
It's going to take more than that.
He brings back gift
..after gift
..after gift.
Eventually, he wins her over.
Just in time, if they're going to
raise a family.
MUFFLED SCREECHING
A few nights later
..the female has laid four eggs.
A decent-sized clutch.
But rearing them won't be easy,
unless both parents do their bit.
The open hill and rough grassland
surrounding Matt's home
are productive hunting grounds.
And just as well -
the pair may need to catch a thousand
small mammals
in the next three months.
Pine martens also need plenty of prey.
They usually hunt in the forest,
and can roam over five miles a night.
INSECT BUZZES
But in spring, a new opportunity
arrives
..in a bank at the bottom of Matt's
garden.
Sand martins.
These intrepid birds have flown around
3,000 miles
from their wintering grounds in Africa
to take advantage of Scotland's longer
days
..and gorge on swarms of flying
insects -
essential food for raising a family.
BIRDS CHATTER
They set about digging a burrow, about
a metre long,
so that they can nest out of the reach
of predators.
It's a mammoth task.
After a promising start,
this male is hoping to attract a mate.
BIRDS CHIRRUP
But this female is not impressed.
Another male seems to be making better
progress,
and she helps him dig.
Without a deep nest,
they will be dangerously exposed.
BIRDS CHATTER
ANIMAL SCREAMS
All this activity has attracted
attention.
Pine martens have an excellent sense
of smell.
But these sand martin nests are out of
reach.
Strong claws and rotating ankles
work well on the vertical face.
But the bank is unstable
..so she tries to flush out the adults
instead.
CHATTERING
Her persistence pays off
..providing the meal she needs.
ANIMAL CALLS
Safely out of reach,
the owl family is growing fast.
30 days after the eggs were laid,
the first owlet hatches.
Over the next few days,
two more emerge.
A good start.
CHICK SCREECHES
But each owlet will need
up to four meals a day.
So now the hard work really begins.
The owlets should double their weight
every ten days.
They stand a good chance of doing
so
..as long as the weather holds.
CHICK HISSES
BIRDSONG
Some years in this Highland garden,
it barely feels like summer at all.
But when the sun does shine,
everyone takes full advantage.
MOTOR WHIRS
Crossbills move in to feed on Matt's
pines
..using their twisted beaks
to extract ripening seeds from the
cones.
House martins hurry their young out of
the nest.
And in the warm compost heap,
the slowworms take their chance to
mate
..while they can.
Four months after the toads abandoned
their little eggs,
something is stirring in the pond.
A tiny toadlet,
no bigger than a human fingernail.
Only around one in 500 toad eggs
develops into an adult.
So this newly emerged toadlet
has a long way to go.
His very first sight above water?
A giant!
Matt is thinning the plants at the
edge of his pond
..to encourage the sundews that grow
in his bog.
These bizarre-looking plants thrive
here,
even in the poor soil
..and provide a useful service
..bug control.
Like Venus flytraps, sundews are
carnivores.
Their sticky tentacles trap unwary
victims.
Then they release enzymes
to digest their prey.
INSECT GULPS
The toadlet is heading straight
through them
..but he's strong enough to get past.
He's developing his own hunger for
insects,
but only those that are alive.
Soon he will head out into the hills,
helping to keep the local midges in
check.
Until, with luck,
one spring night,
he will return to Matt's pond to
breed.
In the race to grow up,
the owlets are a little behind.
It takes weeks to replace fluff with
feathers.
But two months after hatching,
they're fully grown.
Now they must learn to fly.
A wing workout is a good start.
It will take a few nights to build
flight muscles
and confidence.
But with no more gifts from their
parents,
hunger is urging them on.
Matt's nestbox
has kept them safe and dry.
OWLS SCREECH
Now it's up to each of them to find a
new home.
Only one in four barn owls survive
their first year.
For now they will stay close by
..learning to hunt for themselves.
With the youngsters gone, their mother
can reclaim her home.
Matt has now seen this female
raise a remarkable 13 owls.
And he's still hopeful for more.
WIND HOWLS
At the end of August,
the autumn gales sweep in.
Matt never knows what the changing
seasons will bring
..but a few things are certain.
His native trees and shrubs will come
into fruit
..providing food for locals and
visitors alike.
Some, such as redwings,
are escaping even tougher conditions
in Europe's far north.
As temperatures fall,
garden animals seek shelter.
SNUFFLING
Strange bedfellows come together
to escape the cold winter ahead.
DOOR CREAKS
The pine marten also needs a place to
den.
Somewhere safe.
Preferably high off the ground
..away from foxes.
But she can't find a cosy nook in this
shed.
Matt decides to lend the pine marten a
helping hand.
He builds a carefully designed den.
And he knows just where to put it.
There's a gap under the eaves where
she could get in,
and a ladder will lead the way.
But it will be up to her to find it
for herself.
BIRD OF PREY CRIES
As winter approaches,
red squirrels are on the move.
SQUIRREL CHATTERS
This year's youngsters may travel some
ten miles
in the search for a territory of their
own.
They come to the ground to find and
store food,
but they prefer the safety of the
trees.
For years, red squirrels have been
absent from the area
around Matt's garden.
But just a few miles from him,
they're being reintroduced,
and are using gardens as stepping
stones
to reclaim their former range.
As Matt's own trees mature
..perhaps one day,
like the pine marten
..red squirrels will find their way
here.
WEATHER FORECAST:
- We're widely well below freezing out
there,
and the northerly winds aren't helping
today,
as this particular cold snap continues
to bite.
- As the young female pine marten
faces her second Highland winter
..Matt does all he can to help her
survive.
His supply of peanuts will give her
the fat reserves she needs
for the months ahead.
Remarkably, when she's focused on
food,
she momentarily loses her fear.
Even after 40 years of encouraging
wildlife into his garden,
this is a special moment for Matt.
And it's about to get even better.
The fact that the garden now has
multiple pine martens
suggests that there could be young
next year.
But there's one more thing that the
female needs
..somewhere to hide.
Matt's specially built box,
furnished with comfy bedding.
And it's above the lounge,
so it is nice and warm too.
It's the perfect place to see out the
winter.
And perhaps next spring,
she'll give birth to her first litter
of kits.
Over a lifetime of dedication,
Matt has created a welcome shelter
for all kinds of Scottish wildlife.
BIRDSONG
BUZZING
- I feel privileged to have been able
to create this garden
for all the animals that visit and use
it.
- MATT CHUCKLES
- It's their garden, not mine.
But it gives me huge pleasure just to
be able to share it with them.
- Filming one of Britain's most
secretive animals -
the pine marten -
in a Highland garden,
presented a formidable challenge to
wildlife cameraman Simon King.
- I'm used to spending a lot of my
life in wilderness areas,
and being in a garden may sound like a
domestic exercise,
but it's every bit as wild.
I'm under no illusion that this is
going to be an easy task.
- At least Simon can expect a warm
reception.
- I've probably known Simon for over
30 years now.
Yeah, we just hit it off.
There was a mutual interest about
nature.
- Even with Matt's help,
Simon will need all his experience
to capture the pine martens on camera.
He'll need to be ready before they
emerge after dark.
MIDGES BUZZ
- Oh, it's pretty midgey out here.
- Yeah, a few midges about tonight.
I'll be thinking of you!
- SIMON CHUCKLES
- Have fun.
- Cheers, bud.
- No-one likes seeing an old friend
draw the short straw.
- Aye, rather him than me, eh?
- Pine martens are extraordinary
creatures
and armed with the most acute senses,
so filming them is challenging.
Their hearing is fantastic.
Even switching the camera like this,
I'm going to
- QUIET CLICK
- That clunk, that tiny little sound,
they'll pick it up.
They're very familiar with everything
in their neighbourhood.
Even putting a hide up like this
runs the risk of slightly affecting
their behaviour.
It can be a very, very long wait.
Sometimes you get absolutely nothing.
- HIGH-PITCHED BUZZING
SIMON SIGHS
- Oh, the midges are getting a bit
bad.
- Plenty of bites,
but no sign of pine martens.
- That's it. There's so much light in
the sky,
I don't think we're likely to see a
pine marten.
I'm going to get some sleep.
- Simon just has to put in the hours.
Several long, midgey nights later
SIMON WHISPERS:
- Oh, here we go, here we go.
- ..the light spilling from Matt's
kitchen
is enough for Simon's ultra-sensitive
camera
to capture the first magical shots.
- Yes.
That is a great view.
Well, that was a wait of about six
hours.
But it lights up the night, just their
charisma, their
..their presence.
Very, very special neighbours.
- It's a start.
But to find out what this pine marten
is up to,
Simon rigs the garden with an
assortment of kit -
camera traps,
remote cams,
and den cams.
Simon and Matt check the footage every
few days.
They're slowly building a picture of
the pine marten's movements.
Matt is keen to see where she hunts.
All the clues point towards the sand
martin colony
at the end of the garden.
- Yeah, the material's all been pulled
out here.
There's feathers there as well, look.
- Yeah.
- And scuff marks.
Yeah, definitely had a pine marten
there not that long ago.
- Then, more definitive evidence.
- OK.
- Classic remains.
- There you go. That's an adult wing.
- Must have grabbed that one in there.
- Time to set up yet more cameras
..and wait.
Now, it's the moment of truth.
- Oh, oh.
- OK, there we go.
Coming across the top, look.
Not successful though. Just shows,
doesn't it, that they are
..working that colony.
- It's like a cat.
Just agile, eh?
- Mm.
- GASP
- Oh!
- Just as well these holes are three
feet deep.
- Yep.
Oh, there we go! Oh, that was close!
- That was a flush out.
- And got one!
- Yeah, yeah.
- Definitely.
This is the first time we've had this
view
of this sort of hunting behaviour.
- No-one has ever filmed this before.
But it's not an easy watch.
- Heart in mouth stuff, isn't it?
Because the sand martins are such a
charming feature,
but, then, so are the pine martens,
and the two coming together.
- Everything's interlaced, eh?
- It's rare to have a predator like
this living in your garden.
But thanks to Matt's wildlife-friendly
approach,
it's just one of an enchanting cast of
animals
whose secret lives Simon has revealed.
- It's been great having Simon here.
All this intimate views of the
creatures round the house
has given me a better understanding
and appreciation.
And all the species that will keep on
coming in.
It's an exciting thing.
- Discover the wildlife on your
doorstep
with the Open University's
Secret Garden interactive experience.
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