he was trying to "simulate not stimulate!" a cow. Once again, Oddie is given the chance to do a bit of birding, watching whooper swans at WWT Martin Mere: I was just on my way home, and I couldn't resist stopping to look!. Speyside in Spring 19 January Species seen: mountain hare, rock ptarmigan, common chaffinch, brambling, siskin, great tit, coal tit, crested tit, male capercaillie, wolves, wild cat, pine marten, black grouse, red ant and Eurasian otter. Despite being filmed in mid-April, Oddie is walking on a mountain in thick mist and snow. Dr Adam Watson who showed us dotterel in the first series of Birding with Bill Oddie, is back to take Oddie to see mountain hare and ptarmigan. Oddie was always saying how the one bird he hasn't yet seen is a male capercaillie, his 'bogey bird'. This time he does get to see one, although it was only on a TV screen 'live from the lek'. When they filmed the shots of the otter the crew had all retired to a little café in the village and ordered their fish and chips when the owner of the café came and told them that there was an otter that frequented the shore there – they were far more interested in getting their fish and chips until the woman said, "Oh yes, he sometimes comes right up onto the beach – oh, there he is now......" and the crew and Oddie were out of the door before she'd finished the sentence. They'd filmed all sorts of stuff in Scotland and were looking for an ending to the show, and used the otter scene. Merseyside in Early Spring 26 January Species seen: plants (ferns, Buddleia, Oxford ragwort), ravens, mussels, prawns, intestinal seaweed (or 'gutweed'), shrimps, shore crab, breadcrumb sponge, Korean sea squirts, peregrine falcons, urban fox, sand martins, great crested grebes, black-necked grebes This episode provided an excellent insight into how close wildlife can be to cities and motorways. black necked grebes at Woolston Eyes nature reserve, right next to the M6 motorway, peregrine falcons nesting on buildings in Birkenhead, and sponges and Korean sea squirts in the docklands (no sign of Richard or Judy). The ash cliffs created by Fiddler's Ferry power station are home to sand martins, and old clay pits support great crested grebes. Oddie explains how Oxford ragwort has made its way to a wall