native wildlife. As a consequence, many birders are put off from spending time birdwatching on farmland. Farmland occupies vast tracts of our countryside and is still home to many bird species, and especially where farming practices are sensitive to the needs of wildlife, the birding can be very rewarding. 3. Dorset and the New Forest in May Species seen: Dartford warbler, Cetti's warbler, Montagu's harrier, great spotted woodpecker, redstart, spotted flycatcher, stonechat, linnet, tree pipit, nightjar, mute swan, chaffinch, reed warbler and Sandwich tern. With a rich variety of habitats and a mild climate, the counties of Hampshire and Dorset offer a wealth of birdlife. Sites visited include Radipole Lake and Brownsea Island. 4. Bill's Beginnings Species seen: northern shoveler, common teal, northern lapwing, snipe, goldcrest, collared dove, Eurasian wigeon, pink-footed goose, Egyptian goose, black-tailed godwit, grey phalarope, robin, brambling, twite, brent goose and Pallas's warbler. In a departure from the usual format, Bill spent this programme revisiting some of his earliest birding haunts, including the infamous Bartley Reservoir in Birmingham, Upton Warren, Dungeness bird observatory (using the Heligoland trap), Cley next the Sea and Blakeney Point. 5. London Bill looks for birds in the capital in late February. Species seen: great crested grebe, grey heron, goldeneye, goosander, smew, bittern, song thrush, black redstart, water pipit, feral pigeon, Canada geese, ruddy duck, mandarin duck, rose-ringed parakeet, gadwall, coot and red kite. Despite the acres of concrete, hundreds of thousands of motor vehicles, and more than ten million people, London still boasts many excellent birding sites. Bill visits Trafalgar Square, Regent's Park, Lee Valley country park, Wraysbury gravel pits, Rainham Marshes and the Chilterns. 6. Trinidad and Tobago Species seen: bananaquit, palm tanager, blue-grey tanager, spectacled thrush, ruddy ground dove, yellow oriole, least grebe, southern lapwing, white-winged swallow, pied water-tyrant, golden-headed manakin, bay-headed tanager, white-bearded manakin, laughing gull, royal tern, large-billed tern, cattle egret, black skimmer, common potoo, scarlet ibis, white-necked jacobin, tufted coquette, oilbird, red-legged honeycreeper, tropical kingbird, red-crowned woodpecker, rufous-vented chachalaca and red-billed tropicbird. Just ten miles off the coast of Venezuela, the islands of Trinidad and Tobago have a well-deserved reputation as an excellent introduction to the birds of South America. A fortnight's birding should produce around 200 species, covering almost the whole range of neotropical bird families. Series 3 (2000) Broadcast Fridays 18 February – 31 March 2000, Preceded by a repeat run of Series 2. 1.