Pears, Corncrakes and Cow Calling

It’s the time of year when we celebrate leaves as Autumn unfolds. Mark meets up with leaf expert Professor Jonathan Silvertown who’s written a book about them called Nature’s Magicians. Did you know that way back when there were no leaves on trees at all? Rachel’s been to the Carse of Gowrie to find out about the ancient pear orchards of the area, and the attempt to bring back Scottish pear varieties that have largely been forgotten. Neil Clapperton of Buglife is her guide Mark meets some of those taking part in a recent international translocation conference on a field day in the Cairngorms. He hears from delegates from Australia, Kenya and UK about translocating everything from mosses to rhinos Mark visits the St Cyrus National Nature Reserve near Montrose where he finds out about their brand new bird hide. Corncrakes were once common in Western Europe. Now their populations are mostly confined to the Western Isles and Skye. Shelagh Parlane of the RSPB describes how they've been advising crofters on how to adapt their land management techniques to encourage these rare birds to nest. Phil Sime and Morven Livingstone visit a youth club with a difference. In Alness, the club sits in the middle of two acre field. Jannette Douglas is the club coordinator And most people who have livestock will have their own unique way of calling them in. In Finland it is an art known as kuhning. Rachel finds out more from Finnish storyteller and Highland cow breeder Riika Palonen ahead of the Scottish Storytelling Festival.