George spots a very rare bird – a Black Woodpecker – and prophesises a plague of twitchers.

Radio Times: George spots a new bird.

Characters: George, Greg, Jack, Lizzie, Lynda, William

• William’s helping George out in the woods and, far from allowing the keeping to get in the way of his revision, he thinks that with Clarrie’s Tracy and Helen-induced bad moods, she’s affecting his revision more! George seems to appreciate his helpfulness and he seems to be picking a lot of the knowledge up. Greg wanders up and thanks George – Greg had previously told George that he would collect newly laid eggs from the pheasants, but he’d not had time and George had done it – it’s a distinctly begrudging thanks and George doesn’t gloat about it. Much.
• Lynda’s brought an aromatherapy oil burner to work, but first Caroline and now Jack suggest that it’s not wholly appropriate. She also declines George’s offer of her becoming tree warden.
• Julia returns full of praise for Camilla and James and “treats” Nigel and Lizzie to dinner at Grey Gables. An unbearable evening for Lizzie follows, firstly her stunning new purchase is admired, but Lynda suggests that she might look better if she wasn’t carrying a little too much weight. Then Julia starts discussing King Lear and his children and how sometimes the ones you rely on aren’t what they could be ….
• George is testing William’s woodland management knowledge when they see a bird, William thought it was a crow and needing shooting, but George thinks it’s a Black Woodpecker, possibly the first one to be seen in England and it seems they aren’t along in the would – the twitchers have already cottoned on. This is disastrous and a battle summit convenes with a sceptical Greg and a worried Jack to plan on how to deal with the inevitable influx of birdwatchers.