First visit to Northern Ireland for BBC-TV's Winterwatch team on four evenings next week

                                 

The BBC team will be looking out for Brent Geese, Curlew and other wetland birds on the shores of Strangford Lough ( photo: Christopher Heaney/ National Trust Images)

REDWINGS, Long-eared Owls, Linnets, Reed Buntings and wetland bird species are sure  to feature in the 14th series of  BBC TV's Winterwatch, starting next week.

Filming is set to  take place in and around a National Trust property, Mount Stewart, which lies on the banks of Stranford Lough, Britain's largest sea inlet in County Down, Northern Ireland.

Says Toby Edwards, who is the ranger at Mount Stewart: “Our woodlands include native red squirrels, and one of our rarest mammals, the pine marten. 

"We also have badgers, Long-eared Owls and Barn Owls, a rare species in Northern Ireland

"I am looking forward to telling some of the amazing wildlife stories of recovery and restoration that we’ve been working on over the past 10 years on this biodiverse working landscape."

The first episode of Winterwatch is on BBC-2 at 7 pm on Tuesday January 20, with further episodes on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of the same week.

                                 

The trusty team of Chris Packham, Michaela Strachan and Iolo Williams will be hosting the programme (photo: BBC/ Jo Charlesworth)