Springwatch comes to Mount Stewart 2025

Springwatch broadcasting live from Mount Stewart

We are delighted to welcome the BBC Springwatch team to Mount Stewart.  This year is the 20^th anniversary of this special series which has beamed live images of UK wildlife into our homes, bringing the highs and lows of various species over the years to viewers everywhere.    

We’re looking forward to seeing the cameras getting up close and personal with the unique range of wildlife that lives in and around the grounds of Mount Stewart.

Springwatch 2025 is set to bring some magical moments of nature watching from 26 May.  For three weeks viewers will be able to enjoy stories from our colleagues at Longshaw- National Trust, Rathlin Island and from the 9 June highlights from Mount Stewart.  You can expect to hear about some of the wonderful wildlife which rely on the mixture of important habitats in our landscapes, including stories about the recovering population of Red Squirrels and Pine Marten, Brown long-eared bats, Ghost Ponds and how recent major storms have created surprising opportunities for nature and wildlife at Mount Stewart.  

When to watch

There’ll be plenty of excitement from nests, setts, burrows and roosts from across the demesne and we can’t wait! The programme will be broadcast on BBC Two and iPlayer on Monday through to Thursday from 26 May until 12 June at 8pm, Mount Stewart will feature from 9 -12 June. 

BBC Springwatch returns to BBC Two and iPlayer broadcasting live at the following times at the following times:

• Monday 26 May – Thursday 29 May 8pm
• Monday 2 June – Thursday 5 June 8pm
• Monday 9 June – Thursday 12 June 8pm

Rosemary Edwards, Executive Producer, Springwatch said:

“This year, in celebration of our 20th anniversary year, we wanted to broadcast live from two brand new locations that offered new habitats and exciting new wildlife stories.

That ambition has led us to the National Trust Longshaw Estate in the Peak District and to create a live travelogue through the wild spots of Northern Ireland.

Longshaw, where presenters Chris Packham and Michaela Strachan will be based, can be found on the eastern edge of the Peak District. It is alive with activity at this time of year and its upland habitats will offer the opportunity to put hidden cameras on a range of species for the first time, species like the Red Listed ring ouzel and whinchats, and the moorland curlew.

Presenter Iolo Williams will be on a very different journey through Northern Ireland. Starting in Belfast, he will explore the city’s harbourside and unexpected wild spots within the inner city, watching guillemots, terns, swifts, and much more. He’ll then travel to Rathlin, one of Northern Ireland’s richest wildlife islands and a vital breeding ground for many species of seabird, and home as well as the famous golden hare. Iolo will end his journey at the National Trust’s Mount Stewart Estate which boasts 10,000 recorded wildlife species in habitats that range from woodland glades to ghost ponds, hedgerows and a tidal lough.

Filming in new locations is always a challenge, but getting to know the wildlife there and uncovering new, uplifting stories about our native flora and fauna is something that never ceases to excite us.”

Wildlife Stars of the show

The woodlands, gardens, lake and coastline at Mount Stewart support a wide range of wildlife. Red squirrels can often be seen in the trees, the elusive Pine Marten has returned to the woodlands, while otters are occasionally spotted along the shores of Strangford Lough. The area is also home to bats, badgers, and a variety of amphibians such as frogs and newts. Bird species including buzzards, swans, woodpeckers and treecreepers are regularly recorded, along with many types of insects and butterflies.

We don’t yet know exactly what the wildlife camera crew will capture during their visit, but their footage will help us learn more about the species that live here and how they use the landscape.

Be a wise wildlife watcher

Wildlife watching can be so rewarding, but it’s important to do it in a way that doesn’t disturb the species you want to see or damage the landscapes that they need for food and shelter.

Here are 3 top tips to help you see more wildlife and look after the places they live.

1. Keep your distance – don’t get too close to whatever species you are watching. Your presence could scare them and stop them in their tracks or frighten them away.
2. Activate your stealth mode –  silence is golden and the aim is to go unnoticed by the wildlife you are watching so go quietly and don’t hang around in one place for too long.
3. Leave no trace –  make sure you are not damaging the spaces that our species call home, and everything they need to live and thrive.  Leave plants and vegetation intact, take your litter home and don’t light fires or barbecues.

The estate begins to shake off its winter coat at the end of March and as you walk the trails you will start to see Celandine, Primrose and Daffodils starting to appear and decorate the woodland floor and banks. In later Spring, the carpets of Bluebells spread through the woodland, follow the red trail to the Folly and take a moment to lie on the forest bathing logs to soak up the atmosphere.

Discover the many Pond habitat ‘scrapes’ which have been restored and have become a great places to spot frogs, newts and freshwater invertebrates (broad bodied chaser and common darter dragonflies, common blue and blue tailed damselfly and beautiful and banded demoiselle).

Spot some Mediterranean visitors who begin to arrive in Spring. See a “gulp” (the collective noun) of Swallows flying around near buildings where they will be busy building their nests. Chiff Chaff can be spotted in the woodlands and Willow Warblers prefer scrub land and listen out for the Black Caps who will be singing their songs in gardens everywhere.

From March keep an eye out for emerging pollinators (bumble and solitary bees) and butterflies (Orange tip butterfly, small tortoiseshell, meadow brown). Young red squirrels become active around the estate having left their dreys to explore.