Cows wearing hatracks

One of the odder things about my time in England so far was becoming hooked on the strangely compelling Autumn Watch - a BBC programme that ran for two weeks with an hour each night of live tv on the seasonal changes that Autumn brings to the UK's wildlife. Not something I can really imagine happening anywhere else. Especially as it was presented by Bill Oddie - ne'er has there been a more appropriate surname.

The show followed the progress of particular animals at this time of year - tracking geese as they fly from Canada, watching squirrels hide nuts and magpies stealing them, all the things that can kill baby seals, and the stars of the show: red deer. They spend this time of year bashing horns together to compete over who gets to mate with who.

The seasons seem to make more dramatic shifts a lot faster here which I guess makes that kind of programming a lot easier, but the English do seem to love animals A LOT. But it is definitely the best use of reality television that I have seen so far.