Reporting for BBC Savings Species

I had an early start today but on a plus side managed to hear the full dawn chorus from my flat as I got ready! Blackbirds and robins were blasting away! I got picked up by Andrew Dawes, BBC at 6am and we travelled down the RSPB's Pulborough Brooks to record the release of some very rare insects, field crickets. It was a brilliant morning and I spent it interviewing contributors involved with the translocation project and met some very nice and passionate people at the same time. I hadn't realised it at the time but I released the very first field cricket at Pulborough for the first time in history!! An awesome moment indeed! The piece is aired on BBC Radio 4 on Tuesday 11am and again Thursday 9pm. www.bbc.co.uk/savingspecies

Meanwhile, a cuckoo called and flew nearby, the scratchy songs of whitethroats could be heard and great spotted woodpeckers drummed throughout the morning.

We then moved on to another RSPB site where we released some more field crickets, including two full adult females - the have a beautiful golden sheen! It was wonderful seeing them being translocated and successfully released.

Here is an adult female field cricket just after release - she's as rare as gold dust, which also looks like what has been sprinkled over her body! This translocated individual was soon looking for somewhere to live in the soft, spongy grass/soil.