大象传媒

2. Valley. When Brett Westwood began a wildlife diary at the age of 15, little did he think that he'd still be writing notes, nearly 40 years later about the same local patch in North Worcestershire.
In this series Brett returns, diaries in hand, to different areas of his local patch and compares notes from the past with the landscape and wildlife of today. There are genuine shocks and revelations.
In this programme, Brett visits the valley. Since Brett started visiting his local patch, the landscape here has been changed more radically than any other area in the patch, not as a result of management, but of nature taking its course. The valley is a sandstone dip between two horse pastures and its steep sides have deterred any cropping or grazing. As a teenager, this is where Brett soaked in the scents of basil and thyme which carpeted the banks. Young hawthorn saplings attracted whinchats and tree pipits. Turtle doves nested here in summer. Knowing that if the hawthorns became too vigorous they would shade out the ground cover and become too dense for the whinchats, Brett did a little judicial pruning from time to time - but it was a battle he lost. Today the hawthorn cover is complete and many rare flowers have been shaded out. Ash and birch trees have grown up and the whinchats, tree pipits and cuckoos have gone. Instead fieldfares and redwings roost in the thorns in winter and in summer chiffchaffs and blackcaps are commoner than ever. Ravens and Buzzards are often heard overhead. And on one winter's eve he had an unforgettable close-encounter with a sparrowhawk.
The series underlines the importance of keeping a diary as a valuable document of change which is measurable from decade to decade. Wildlife sound recordist: Chris Watson, Producer: Sarah Blunt.