A new BBC series that will see Sir David Attenborough explore Scotland is set to premiere this week.
The series, Wild Isles, will debut on Sunday, March 12, following three years of filming. The five-part documentary programme is intended to highlight the challenges impacting the British Isles, as well as celebrate the nature that is right on our doorsteps.
In one episode, the biggest colony of northern gannets in the world will be shown migrating to the east coast of Scotland. Barnacle geese will also be seen travelling to the west coast attempting to avoid the white-tailed eagle.
Sir David, 96, will make an appearance on Old Harry Rocks in Dorset to introduce the first episode of Wild Isles, which is titled Our Precious Isles. The broadcaster and naturalist will explain why Britain and Ireland are critical for the survival of species across the globe.
The first episode will also showcase newly seen behaviours, including killer whales hunting seals, golden eagles scavenging in mountains, puffins chased by greedy gulls, and sinister plants holding unsuspecting insects hostage.
Obtaining the first-ever full sequence of hunting white-tailed eagles, which were previously extinct in Britain, took over 70 days. It saw wildlife cameraman and 2022 Strictly Come Dancing champion Hamza Yassin on the job.
Episode one of the series will also call attention to the British Isles' varied geology, from the chalk formations of southern England to the limestone pavements of Yorkshire, as well as the rugged granite of Northumberland and the volcanic basalt of the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland.
Sir David will explain that the habitats on Britain and Ireland are some of the most depleted on the globe, and discuss how we can restore them to their former glory for the sake of future generations.
Series producer and BAFTA award-winning filmmaker Hilary Jeffkins commented: “I hope that after watching this series our audience will be wowed by the wildlife and spectacular places in Britain and Ireland but also that they get a strong sense of how fragmented and fragile they are.
“I want the audience to come away with a sense of pride and hope for the future too. I think that people will be surprised by the wildlife on their own doorsteps and amazed by the behaviour.
“It is quite shocking to think that we have pods of killer whales, top predators, hunting seals in our seas and a large blue butterfly that tricks ants into caring for its caterpillars, by using deceptive sounds and smells. The wildlife that we think we know well still has some extraordinary hidden stories.”
The remaining four hour-long episodes of Wild Isles will celebrate the isles’ four key habitats – woodlands, grasslands, freshwater and marine.
Sir David will appear in Richmond Park to introduce the Woodland episode; a hay meadow in Dorset for Grassland; a chalk stream in Wiltshire for Freshwater and a green bridge on the Pembrokeshire Coast to introduce Ocean. He will sign off from Skomer Island at the end of the Ocean episode.
Across the five episodes, the Wild Isles crew filmed in 145 locations and 96 species which took 1,631 days to film.
Series producer Alastair Fothergill stated: “Ever since I worked on the original Blue Planet, Planet Earth and Frozen Planet series, I have always wanted to cover the British Isles and our natural history with a similarly ambitious and epic approach.
“I knew that nobody had ever had the opportunity before to really do justice to the spectacular scenery and rich and varied wildlife found at home. I also have a personal passion for our natural history.
“I hope the audience will be genuinely surprised by the richness of our natural history. At the same time, I hope they will recognise how fragile and precious it is.”
Episode One: Our Precious Isles will air on BBC One and iPlayer on March 12 at 7pm.
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