well, steve stuttard, who lives in salford quays, realised he had to quack the problem of how to gett get into a flap — he found a solution to fit the bill — and became a social media sensation, as ian haslam reports. this is mrs mallard, who has unwittingly become the most famous star on social media. her time spent nesting on steve suttard's balcony has been seen by millions thanks to an accompanying twitter thread and video from steve's daughter emma. i just wrote a few tweets, wrote the thread, went off and made a cup of tea and came back and the ticker was going. and i was like, 0k, and then it went crazy. and the loveliest thing about this is that there are people all over the world who know how great he is now and adore him too. operation mallard is to begin. what are the odds of this duck nesting on your balcony, what with you being a twitcher and everything? a million to one. i can't believe what has happened over the last 18 months now. it is unbelievable. for an ornithologist like me, a twitcher, it is the perfect scenario. as a former royal navy survival specialist, steve

well, steve stuttard, who lives in salford quays, realised he had to quack the problem of how to getthe most famous star on social media. her time spent nesting on steve suttart�*s balcony has been seen by millions thanks to an accompanying twitter thread and video from steve�*s daughter emma. ijust read a few tweets, wrote the thread, went up and made a cup of tea and came back and the ticket was going. and i was like, ok, then it went crazy. the lovely thing about this is that there are people all over the world who know how great he is now and adore him too. 0peration mallard to begin. what are the odds of this duck nesting on your balcony, what with you being a twitcher and everything? a million to one. i can�*t believe what has happened over the last 18 months now. it is unbelievable. for an ornithologist like me, twitcher, a it is the perfect scenario. as a former royal navy survival specialist, steve is adept at looking after people. but ducks are a different proposition. from when i wake up in the morning, i have to tiptoe around the apartment. i check if showers on the nest

well, the mother duck was so happy on steve stuttard's balcony that she returned to raise another familys and the mother, which could happen if she couldn't hear them at any point during theirjourney. now it's time for a look at the weather with carole. hello. in some parts of the north of scotland we woke up to a covering of snow. although it will rise through the course of today, tonight it will be back down again. we continue with the showers across scotland, some of those wintry in the hills. showers across northern ireland, wales and south—west england. some of those could also be wintry. showers across eastern england. in between, sunshine with gusty winds and temperatures below par for the time of year. through this evening, and overnight, many showers fade but further wintry showers in scotland, leaving as far south as the borders. a widespread frost to start the day and a bit more cloud coming in across south—west england. some rain will arrive. that rain clears quite quickly on thursday, remaining unsettled with sunshine and showers and feeling cool until the weekend when we se

well, the mother duck was so happy on steve stuttard's balcony at salford quays that she returned to reak the bond between the ducklings and the mother, which could happen if she couldn't hear them at any point during theirjourney. you're watching bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with carole. hello again. today we are looking at a mixture of sunshine and showers. some of the showers will be heavy and thundery with hail, and wintry on the tops of the hills and mountains. the low pressure system that brought all of this inclement weather has moved away to the near continent but the wind around it is still coming from a chilly direction, the north or north—west. you can see that quite nicely indicated by all the blues moving across the uk, that snow i was talking about came down to 150 metres in scotland this morning. it will come back down again tonight. we've got further showers across northern ireland, wales, south—west england, moving eastwards through the day. some of those heavy and thundery with hail mixed in and some showers coming in across eastern england. gust

well, the mother duck was so happy on steve stuttard's balcony at salford quays that she returned to her 11 ducklings. and if you're wondering why he didn't use the lift, it's because he didn't want to break the bond between the ducklings and the mother, which could happen if she couldn't hear them at any point during theirjourney. well, that has cheered me up, no end. i don't know about you. i don't know about you. now it's time for a look at the weather, with tomasz. another day of showers, and as the word suggests, they can be on and off, fleeting, some of them cold, some of them bringing hail and thunder as well. of course where the hail falls, thunder as well. of course where the hailfalls, it's pretty dramatic, but hailstorms tend to be pretty local. they might be a mile across or so, so further down the road there could be nothing at all. this is the pattern on the satellite picture, you can see the speckled cloud here, that is the current of cold air coming in from the north. these are arctic winds. it is the story of the last few weeks, which is you keep getting these shots o

they were so happy on steve stuttard's balcony that they returned to raise another family this year. so operation mallard — the sequel swung into action. with the help of a friend, steve carefully lowered the chicks in a bucket to the ground below. despite howling wind, the mission was successful and mrs mallard was reunited with her 11 ducklings. i wonder if they will come back next year. yean they year. hey probably year. they probably will. he said he had to be careful and quiet while she is on the nest to looking after them. and a bucket ready to rescue them. now the weather with carol. the weather was really something. you did warn us. good morning, how cute were the ducklings. today we are looking at sunshine and showers. some showers will be heavy and thundery and wintry on higher ground and it will feel cold, although the wind will not be as strong as the past couple of days. we start with frost in parts of scotland and northern england. and pockets in northern ireland and rural areas. and there will be mist in parts that will lift. snow in the north getting down to hundred a

well, that's what happened to steve stuttard, at his home right here on salford quays.ote the i daughter emma. ijust read a few tweets, wrote the thread, - daughter emma. ijust read a few tweets, wrote the thread, went i daughter emma. ijust read a few| tweets, wrote the thread, went up and made a cup of tea and came back and made a cup of tea and came back and the ticket was going. and i was like, 0k, and the ticket was going. and i was like, ok, then it went crazy. the lovely thing about this is that there are people all over the world who know how great he is now and adore him too.— who know how great he is now and adore him too. operation ballard to beuin. adore him too. operation ballard to begin- what — adore him too. operation ballard to begin. what are _ adore him too. operation ballard to begin. what are the _ adore him too. operation ballard to begin. what are the odds _ adore him too. operation ballard to begin. what are the odds of- adore him too. operation ballard to begin. what are the odds of this i begin. what are the odds of this duck nesting _ begin. w