Living The Wildlife

The Island of Ireland is surrounded by an incredible coastline and at a combined length of 1,400 km is visually one of the most spectacular to be seen anywhere in the world. It is also home to a diverse array of wildlife; in particular a rich assortment of seabird life. Travelling first to the beautiful Cliffs of Moher, Colin introduces us to the ‘Chough’ or ‘Sea Crow’. With a glossy black plumage and crimson red bills and legs, this noisy bird is simply unmistakable. Meeting up with experts such as Mike Twebury, and climbing right in amongst the caves in which they nest, Colin gets up close and personal, and gives us a view of this seabird that is seen by few! With birds in mind he goes to visit a family of seabirds known as the ‘Tubenoses’. Camping on an island that has not been inhabited for the past 500 years, Colin gets the opportunity to film the Fulmer, a bird reminiscent of a seagull, that has a nasty surprise for any predators or nosey observers that come their way! As well as this, Colin uses some unusual methods of technology to get within touching distance of the rare Storm Petrel. Filmed in pitch black via night vision cameras, we get to see this beautiful bird in action, even if Colin doesn’t! Whether it be scrambling along cliffs, sticking his head in nesting holes, or even climbing on top a tractor in a farmers shed, Colin goes to all lengths to get the best shots of nature, we often scarcely get to see.

Colin sets about capturing a Pine Martin and finds out how destructive the greedy Grey Squirrel has been to the Red Squirrels chances of surival. Centuries ago, Ireland was an island covered in trees. Animals would realm the woodland across the country and never touch the ground. However as the years have passed, this landscape has disappeared, and the appaearance of the country is now very much open. In the second episode of Living the Wildlife, Colin Stafford-Johnson takes a journey into the country’s remaing isolated pockets of woodland, and discovers that while some creatures have adapted to this new landscape, there are those that are really struggling. Travelling first to Waterford, Colin sets off to find the Pine Martin. With an appearance resembling that of a cross between an otter and a fox, it is rarely seen by human eyes and as a result it has been difficult to determine how many of them inhabit our woodland areas. Peter Turner who is an expert on the creature has only seen one during his lifetime! Using some extremely novel methods, Colin, Peter and a team of dedicated experts attempt to track down and film these fascinating creatures, while establishing just how many of them now roam our woods. Another animal on the decline is The Red Squirrel. Making his way to Beleek Woods, in Ballina, Co. Mayo, he meets the locals such as Cyril Cusack who are on a mission to repopulate the woods with this native creature. With the Red Squirrel on the verge of disappearing forever- thanks to the introduction of their greedy cousin, the Grey Squirrel – it becomes evident that efforts like this are essential if they are ever going to have a future. Getting into camouflage mode, Colin manages to capture them on film, while in the process showing us why these little guys are so worth saving.

Colin takes to the sea in search of the Humpback whale, the Fin whale and makes some unlikely friends on his travels! When you comprehend every animal that has ever lived on this planet, it is extraordinary to think that the 2nd largest creature to have ever existed can be seen right here on our doorstep. Second only to the Blue Whale, the Fin whale is longer than two London double decker buses, and weighs between 50 and 70 tons. These things are massive! In this spectacular third episode of Living the Wildlife, Colin boards the ‘Holy Joe’ and along with his pal Colin Barnes, takes to the seas in search of this truly awesome creature. With experts such as whale specialist Padraig Wholly on board, and Andrew Malcom keeping watch from vantage points on the nearby cliff side, it isn’t long before they run into what they are looking for! With some expert manoeuvring, they manage to get right up close to the whales, and capture some sensational footage of what’s known as the ‘Greyhound of the Sea’. While getting some unexpected company in the form of a pod of Common Dolphins, the team also set out in search of another of the Oceans true Bohemians: The Humpback Whale! Again getting as close as possible to this mammoth mammal, they succeed in capturing some rare yet stunning and unusual behaviour on film. A variety of whales, blowing, feeding and tail slapping; Dolphins chasing after boats – its all here in this remarkable episode of ‘Living the Wildlife’.

Colin takes a close look Ireland's hedgerows and discovers a staggering amount of wildlife while doing so! Irish hedgerows are absolutely teeming with wildlife! Insects, plants, mammals, birds – they all share this incredible habitat that just screams diversity! And the best thing is that they are all around us. In this episode of Living the Wildlife Colin Stafford-Johnson takes a close up look at our hedgerows, and discovers a staggering amount of wildlife…some old and some new. Travelling first to Donegal, he meets up with Stuart Dunlop who has been photographing his hedgerows for the past few years. Since Stuart started observing his local hedgerow, he has set up a website to log his findings and discovered an incredible 1,501 different species. Colin takes a look at this wonderous world of wildlife, and spots such insects as the solider beetle with its military uniformed appearance, and also the mimicing hoverfly that tricks its predators into thinking it’s a wasp. As well as insects, he meets some fascinating creatures such as Irelands smallest mammal, the Pygmy Shrew, the common wood mouse and the cute bank vole. He also gets to witness Ireland’s newest mammal since the 60s, the elusive Greater White Toothed Shrew. While looking at hedgerows, Colin also goes in search of an enemy to these natural habitats, the Rhododendron plant, and doesn’t have to look far! It quickly becomes evident, that this plant is really taking over our countryside, and needs to be addressed sooner rather than later!

On this week's Living The Wildlife, Colin introduces us to a whole range of creatures existing in the Dublin waters When you think about the variety of wildlife that exists in Ireland today, its pretty safe to say that Dublin is not the first location that comes to mind. Dublin waters host a huge range of creatures of all shapes and sizes, especially in its bays and waterways. In this episode, Colin Stafford-Johnson attempts to banish the old notion of polluted Dublin waters and introduces us to a whole range of wildlife that many of us have never seen before. Making his first stop in Dublin Bay, Colin meets up with Dave Tilly; an expert on wildlife that lives in the waters and beneath the surface of the mud, silt and sand. With Dave’s help, Colin manages to find the huge slimy King Rag, as well as the Common Shore Crab and the Hermit Crab, which come into the estuary to shed their shells whilst trying to avoid becoming a tasty treat for any lurking predators. When walking on a beach, have you ever wondered what the squiggly piles of sand dotted about the place are? Well each one is a worm and with Daves help Colin gets to see one up close and personal. The Lug Worm is just one example of the amazing wildlife that’s exists in this bay and it doesn’t end there. We get to see an array of birds, fish and crustaceans all coming to our capital to find food and breed. But it’s not just Dublin Bay that can lay claim to being a thriving hub of nature. Colin stops by the Grand Canal and finds that its now clear waters are the perfect place for wildlife to thrive. Along with Ken Whelan, Colin finds not only fresh water insects such as Boatmen and Sedge flies but learns that it’s a perfect location for Bats to feed off the surface of the river. It becomes clear that our capital city really is alive with nature!

Colin discovers the incredible lengths that the European Eel goes to migrate and takes a trip on the Shannon to listen to Dolphins Our planet is home to some incredible examples of nature that can often travel mind boggling distances throughout life – in search of food, breeding and maturity. Tonights program features one of these creatures. On this episode Colin Stafford-Johnson discovers the incredible lengths that the European Eel goes to migrate; and it’s seemingly all down to instinct! Hatching in the Saragosa Sea near the Caribbean, the Eel picks up the scent of fresh water as it drifts across the ocean and enters European waters. One such place is the Burishoole River in County Mayo, and along with expert Russell Poole, Colin goes in search of this great traveller along its banks. However it soon becomes very evident, that the European Eel may be coming to a shocking and alarming end very soon! While learning more about this endangered battler, Colin gets to see the efforts being made by conservationists such as Russell, as they attempt to collect data in a unique way to try and determine the rate of decline for this special creature. As well as getting to know Eels better, Colin takes a trip to the Shannon Estuary and discovers that this industrialised area is home to a very special and popular mammal – the Bottle Nose Dolphins. But Colin hasn’t actually come to see the Dolphins. He’s come to listen to them! Along with Simon Berrel, we learn that Dolphins live in an acoustic world which provides us with a whole world of information about these amazing creatures. Whilst trying to figure out what it all means, Colin also heads out to our clifftops to try and catch a glimpse of them in action.

Colin shows us how a simple walk on the beach can be fascinating. Colin shows us how fascinating a simple walk on the beach can be with your kids if you keep your ears and eyes open! Searching the beach can be fun, there is always something to find. He also visits the Atlantaquarium in Galway where he meets with Sarah Varian who displays mermaid’s purses that have been collected and informs Colin that she is asking the public to keep and eye out for the egg sacks of the skate and dogfish. We also follow Noirin Burke to Carrow Holly school in Westport where she shows us all how easy it is to have a temporary saltwater aquarium.

In the final episode of Living The Wildlife, Colin Stafford Johnson tracks the hen harriers and learns more about the Burren in Co. Clare Tim and Barry O’ Donaghue, from Co. Kerry, are part time farmers and NPWS rangers and from an early age Barry has been fascinated with hen harriers – majestic birds of prey. Despite the terrible weather of last summer Colin Stafford Johnson tracks mother and chicks as they feed and shelter their chicks. We get a closer look as Barry tags them and tells us how his hen harriers have been spotted all over the country! Colin explains that for animals like these to survive we have to take care of our uplands. We visit the Burren in Co.Clare to hear about Burren life. Brendan Dumford explains how it is farmed unlike the rest of the country. Animals graze the uplands in the winter and leave it to the wild orchids and wildlife in the summer. We also meet Gordon Darcy, and Colin smells the sulphur of a 3 billion year old sea – when Ireland sat on the equator. Finally Colin takes us with his girls to look for Ireland’s most snake like creature – The Slow Worm. The slow worm looks surprising like a snake. It is more common in Britain than in Ireland but it can be found in the Burren.