A POPULAR nature spot is preparing to host a BBC flagship show for the second year running.


Leighton Moss and Morecambe Bay Nature Reserve will be the setting for Autumnwatch when cameras start rolling tomorrow (Tuesday, October 28).


The Gazette spoke to hosts Chris Packham, Michaela Strachan and Martin Hughes-Games about what to expect from this year's show - filmed in 'one of the most diverse areas for wildlife in the whole of the UK'.


For the first time, unmanned drones armed with thermal imaging cameras will fly over the nature reserve to discover more about how the resident deer behave at night.


Martin Hughes-Games said: "This is fantastic in the service of conservation and monitoring deer numbers. It's almost impossible to see the deer because they hide away in the reeds but the thermal camera can look down and show how many deer there are here and what they do during the night."


Viewers can also expect features on urban badgers, migrating swans in Estonia and how anti-depressants in sewerage can dramatically change birds' behaviour.


According to Chris Packham, the main purpose of the show is to overcome 'ignorance' about environmental issues.


"The core problem of environmental care is ignorance and our objective is to overcome that with education," said the former Really Wild Show star.


"We play a vital educational role by telling people more than they already know. The more people know, the easier it is for us to ask them to care for the environment. 


"I realised as a teenager, as an angry young man, to turn that anger into something creative, to use it in a positive way to get even or win."


The Gazette also spoke to Annabel Rushton from the RSPB at Leighton Moss and Lucy Barron from Arnside and Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty who both believe the area was a natural choice to host Autumnwatch.


"There's so much to choose from. There's such a wide range of things and that's why Autumnwatch came here," Annabel said.


"There are wading birds in Morecambe Bay, Seals in Walney Island and two thirds of the flowering plant species in Britain are at the nature reserve- it's one of the most diverse areas in the UK."


The decision to film Autumnwatch at the reserve has had a hugely beneficial impact on the area.


Annabel said: "We had 50% more visitors last year on the back of Autumnwatch - that was 168 thousand people in total. Because 100% of our profit goes back into the nature reserve it has been brilliant."


Lucy said: "It has had a real impact on the local area. It has benefitted the local economy massively."