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While many species are simply trying to stay alive at this challenging time of year, others are focusing on the next generation. Iolo Williams looks back at some of the best seasonal stories of reproduction featured on the watches over the years.

He begins with an autumn visit to Skomer Island, where a globally important colony of Manx shearwaters breed in burrows underground. The parent birds have already left on their mammoth migration to South America, but their chicks are left to fend for themselves until they are ready to fledge. Under the cover of darkness, dozens of chicks clamber up Iolo and scientist Tim Guilford to gain as much height as possible for their maiden flight. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience for Iolo as chicks launch themselves from his head before setting off on a daunting journey to cross the Atlantic. With no parents to guide them, these remarkable birds rely on instinct to navigate thousands of miles across the ocean.

It’s not only animals that reproduce at this time of year. Oaks are laden with acorns, each with the potential to grow into a mighty tree – but only if they avoid being eaten and can find a good spot to take root. Fortunately, the oak’s forest friends, squirrels and jays, unwittingly give a helping hand. Both animals bury acorns, caching them to eat at a later date - but many are forgotten. Jays are particularly helpful, as they bury acorns at the perfect depth for germination and often carry them far away from the parent tree to open areas with less competition for young oak saplings.

In Teifi Marshes, rutting red deer compete for the right to mate – roaring usually establishes a hierarchy, but sometimes a young contender challenges the dominant stag to a fight. Ultimately, it’s the females that decide when theyare ready to mate and, in the meantime, the stag tries to keep them rounded up and fend off intruding males.

As winter subsides, ponds across the country become a hotbed of action as toads jostle for a partner. First they must travel from wherever they hibernate to their breeding grounds, and it can be a treacherous journey crossing busy roads and man-made obstacles. To ensure they grab a mate, males will often jump on a female’s back before she has even reached the water - an extra burden for her to carry. Males wrestle for a chance to mate, with the ultimate prize of fathering the next generation.

Other creatures have more elaborate courtship rituals. In the centre of Cardiff, photographer Andy Rouse films pairs of great crested grebes as the mating season begins. On urban ponds and lakes in the centre of the city, these elegant birds grab some pondweed in their beaks before rising up and performing an exquisite dance that strengthens their partnership. A few weeks later, the result is clear as tiny black and white chicks ride around on their parents’ backs.