Wild Isles S01 complete (plus E06, special) (1280x720p HD, 50fps, soft Eng subs)  

Extraordinary. Dramatic. Beautiful. Sir David Attenborough celebrates the wonders of British wildlife. It's our home, as you've never seen it before.

E01 Our Precious Isles
Sir David Attenborough celebrates the rich variety of habitats that exist on our doorstep, proving that wildlife in the British Isles is every bit as dramatic and spectacular as anywhere else on the planet. This episode looks at the wildlife that exists in our unique landscapes, from the micro world of bumblebees to the high-speed life of the kingfisher. Filmed in extraordinary detail, killer whales hunt for seals in our seas, golden eagles scavenge in snowy Scottish mountains, sinister woodland plants take pollinating insects hostage, and puffins are chased by greedy gulls that try to steal their hard-won catch. One reason for Britain’s natural wealth is its geology, which is among the most diverse on the planet. It ranges from the chalk formations of southern England to the limestone pavements of Yorkshire, and from the rugged granite of Northumberland to the volcanic basalt of the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland. Another reason our isles are so diverse is the great range in temperature, from the subtropical conditions in the south to the frozen Arctic conditions of the Cairngorms in the north. From the varied rocks and minerals across our fluctuating isles, unique habitats have arisen. Britain is also a crucial destination for tens of thousands of migrating birds that come to breed and feed in our summer season. Our fish-rich seas support 65 per cent of the world’s gannets, 75,000 pairs of which arrive on Scotland’s Bass Rock every year to nest, forming the biggest colony of northern gannets in the world. On Scotland’s west coast, abundant food and a mild climate attract enormous flocks of barnacle geese to Islay to feed on the lush grass, but they must watch out for the sea eagles that have learnt to hunt them down. Although rich in places, Britain as a whole is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world. From a busy puffin colony, Sir David highlights the issue and asks how we can restore our wild isles for future generations.

E02 Woodland
Sir David Attenborough explores the incredible diversity of Britain’s woodlands, taking us on a seasonal journey through our forests, and revealing a host of spectacular animals and the hidden dramas that rule their lives. In an ancient pine tree in the Cairngorms, two eagle chicks are on the verge of fledging their gargantuan nest. In winter in the Forest of Dean, the reintroduction of wild boar has given the robin a lifeline. As they root through the thick snow, the boar unearth the worms with their snouts, which the robins otherwise couldn't find. Back in Scotland, a male capercaillie displays to gathering females. These birds are on the edge. With only around 500 left, they are some of the rarest and most threatened in the British Isles. In a beech woodland outside London, the deciduous trees burst to life in spring, and huge colonies of wood ants awaken and go looking for food. Also looking for sustenance is a female roe deer. With no large predators left in our woods, the deer are free to browse on new growth to the extent that they can damage the woodland itself. In Sussex is an ancient-looking landscape, but one that has only been recreated in the past 20 years. This is the wood pasture of Knepp, created by using old grazing methods that generate a mix of scrub, open areas and ancient trees. In the Scottish Highlands, red squirrels battle it out for access to ripe pine cones at the top of a tree. It’s an acrobatic and energetic encounter, with more than a little cunning required to win the day. As the summer finally fades, we encounter a honey buzzard nest, where two chicks feast on wasp grubs, squabble between themselves and grow up before our eyes. Autumn brings the fallow deer rut. The woods resonate with their calls, and bucks fight for supremacy. The season also brings colour, both in the leaves but also in the fungi that fruit at this time of year. The mushrooms are just a tiny part of their story, however, and we travel underground to see how the wood-wide web connects the whole forest together.

E03 Grasslands
David Attenborough explores Britain and Ireland’s grasslands, revealing the creatures that create them and the extraordinary stories they hide. From the coastal flower meadows in the Scottish Outer Hebrides to the rich open landscapes in the mountains of southern Ireland, we enter surprising and dramatic worlds. In southern England, we meet an extraordinary bee that lives in chalk grassland, one of our rarest habitats, laying her eggs in empty snail shells. Meanwhile, in the colourful machair of the Hebrides, ringed plovers and lapwings strive to rear their families of tiny fluffy chicks and to save them for marauding gulls. We travel back in time to explore the vast wild grasslands once found throughout our isles, before meeting herds of semi-wild horses, where males battle fiercely for the females. Today, they are helping to turn some of this land back to wilderness. And in our precious remaining pockets of flower-rich meadow, a remarkable conservation success story plays out. Once extinct in our isles, England now has the largest known populations of large blue butterflies. Their survival relies on a game of deception with red ants, which are tricked into adopting the butterfly’s unassuming but predatory caterpillars. Our story then journeys to the mountains. Each morning in early spring, feisty male black grouse battle for prime position on their frozen breeding grounds. Their sole mission is to impress a female. Meanwhile, on south-facing scree slopes, dozens of adders emerge from hibernation to perform a surprisingly delicate courtship routine. The episode concludes with a mighty battle in the wild mountains of County Kerry. This is the scene of an epic and spectacular rut between the largest land mammals in Britain and Ireland, red deer. The grasslands of Britain and Ireland are under threat. We have lost 97 per cent of our species-rich meadows in the last century, as modern agriculture replaces these precious habitats. This episode shows just how important different types of grassland are to the species which call these islands home.

E04 Freshwater
From highland burns in the Scottish Cairngorms to vast mudflats in Norfolk, David Attenborough takes us on a journey from source to sea, following the course of our fresh water as it journeys through our landscapes. Along the way we meet a host of wildlife that lives in, on and around our rivers, lakes, and lochs. Determined Atlantic salmon battle their way upstream in one of the greatest migrations on the planet - fighting against the flow and the odds to get back to their breeding grounds in the uplands. Beavers slow the flow down with their dam building, in the process creating habitat for creatures such as raft spiders that thrive in these slow-moving watercourses. Our chalk streams are some of the rarest and most precious types of freshwater system in the world, and above them millions of mayflies hatch, dance and mate for just a few days each summer. On the riverbank, a secretive small mammal, the water shrew, lives life in the fast lane. Its high metabolism drives a constant, frenetic search for food, both above and below the surface. At night our rivers come alive too, providing hunting territories for Daubenton’s bats that skim their prey from on and above the surface. It’s easy to see how they have earned their common name of ‘water bats’. Darkness is also when our toads migrate, moving en masse to their traditional breeding grounds every spring. A few months later, the resulting toadlets must make their way out of the ponds and back to their woodland home - the most dangerous journey of their young lives. As our rivers slow, they spread out, and huge areas of reedbed form. Hobbies, small agile birds of prey, swoop low and fast to catch dragonflies acrobatically in the summer sun, and in early spring great crested grebes pair up in one of the most complex and beautiful courtship ceremonies in the natural world. Where our freshwater reaches the sea, vast mudflats can form, full of rich earth carried down by the river. These habitats are a magnet to hundreds of thousands of overwintering wading birds, migrants that come to fuel up on the hidden food below the mud. But they attract their own predators too. Peregrine falcons visit our coasts every year, and these migrants are on their menu.

E05 Ocean
Sir David Attenborough explores the surprisingly vibrant seas that surround the British Isles. The vast watery wilderness around us is over three times the size of our land mass, and yet to many, our oceans remain a mystery. Full of colour and teeming with life, the seas of Britain and Ireland are crucially important to a range of wildlife. This episode goes beneath the waves to uncover the thriving habitats that exist along our 22,000-mile coastline.
In winter, clear evidence of the ocean’s abundance can be seen on a beach in Norfolk. Thousands of grey seals congregate on the shoreline to give birth. Britain and Ireland are home to 40 per cent of the world’s grey seals, and the number being born on our shore rises every year. Once the newly born pups are weaned, the females are ready to breed again, and heavyweight males enter violent, bloody fights to win a stretch of beach, and the females along with it. Beyond the beach, the vibrant shallows contain several important habitats. Rich beds of seagrass are nurseries for a range of animals, while also acting as very important carbon storage areas. They are also home to one of the strangest fish in our waters, the seahorse. We follow a male and female as they perform a balletic mating dance in the water, delicately entwining their tails. The stakes are high, as these animals mate for life. In deeper water, patterned cuttlefish prowl the water on the hunt for food. When night falls, tiny algae floating in the water alert the cuttlefish to nearby prey. The bioluminescence allows the cuttlefish to snatch their victims, even in the dead of night.
Some animals, like the spider crab, undergo a mass migration along the shallow seabed. For just a few days every year, thousands of crabs march together, forming a huge mass of bodies. Others, like the slow-moving royal flush sea slug, have a more mesmerising way of migrating. They use the water currents to carry them to new and food-rich areas, using their bodies like wings to swim upwards and drift. At the most northerly point of the British Isles are the Shetland Islands. The undisturbed coastline here is a stronghold for more than a thousand otters. We follow a fearless young otter as it dives to the sea floor, turning up rocks in search of fish and crabs. They need to catch enough prey to keep warm in the frigid northern water. Thankfully, the pickings here are rich. The Corryvreckan whirlpool off Scotland's west coast is the third-largest whirlpool on the planet. Clashing currents recycle nutrients up to the surface, and the waters become a rich soup of tiny floating algae that serve as food for a group of alien-looking animals called the zooplankton, which are in turn a crucial food for our largest fish, the basking shark. Herring and mackerel form huge swirling shoals as they too feed on plankton, and this attracts the attention of aerial hunters. Gannets dive at speeds of more than 60 miles an hour to snap up the fish. As they hit the surface, they fold their wings back to avoid them breaking on impact. In a touching piece to camera, Sir David bids a fledging Manx shearwater chick farewell as it embarks on a 6,000-mile journey across the oceans to South America. There is no better example of how important the British Isles and its abundant seas are to the survival of wildlife worldwide.

E06/Special - Saving Our Wild Isles
In a special documentary commissioned by the RSPB, WWF and the National Trust and inspired by Wild Isles, we hear the real stories of passionate people who are trying to restore biodiversity to the British Isles. Britain is globally important for wildlife, but it is also one of the most nature depleted countries in the world. Restoring nature can have far-reaching benefits for our wild isles and for ourselves. In this programme we meet the inspirational people trying to make a difference and some of the wildlife they are trying to protect.

First broadcast:  March-April 2023  
Duration:  1 hour per episode    
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