Living The Wildlife

Returning to the glens and hillsides of the garden of Ireland, Colin is in search of a creature that is seldom encountered: the goosander – a rare fish-eating duck that makes its nest high up in the trees overarching fast-flowing rivers. As the plucky chicks hatch and make their way into the world, Colin is determined to observe and capture the action. Local knowledge will be essential, so Colin enlists the help of a local expert – Parks and Wildlife Ranger, Anne Fitzpatrick. With tree hollows – where the ducks normally nest – in short supply, Anne has installed a series of nesting boxes for a female goosander and her brood. As the female flies off to feed, Colin seizes the opportunity to peek gingerly inside the box. To his delight, he discovers a clutch with twelve eggs. Wasting no time, he installs a tiny camera to capture – for the very first time – exactly what goes on inside in a goosander nest. It’s a tense wait but finally the camera captures incredibly rare footage of the goosander chicks as they hatch and take their first leap out into the world. From the minute these robust little chicks catapult from their nesting box into the river below, they find themselves on an extraordinary journey fraught with danger. In a totally unexpected move, the mother quickly leads the chicks into the river rapids and Colin immediately gives chase along the bank.

This week Colin goes in search of basking sharks in the stunning blue waters off the Inishowen peninsula of Donegal This week Colin hitchs a ride with Parks and Wildlife Ranger Emmet Johnson and his team of researchers in the stunning blue waters off the Inishowen peninsula of Donegal where, for the last few years, an increasing number of basking sharks have been gathering during the summer months. Using innovative marine technology, Emmet and his team are attempting to chart the unique migratory patterns of these illusive giants to discover the reason for their recent visits. Identifying each shark is of utmost importance and, after waiting for days for the basking sharks to surface, the team finally strike gold. With eagle-eyed Colin on the case, a number of basking sharks are spotted in the distance. Basking sharks are the biggest fish in the Atlantic and tagging them is no mean feat but thanks to the efforts of Emmet and his team, over 400 of these gentle creatures have been successfully tagged and recorded in the last five years. As the sharks only feed on surface plankton for about fifteen minutes, the pressure is on to record as much data as possible while conditions are right. With no time to spare, Emmet manages to successfully tag one shark and mount a specialised underwater camera to track his movements over the course of 12 hours.

This week Colin is on the trail of the magnificent great crested grebe and the elusive otter It’s May and Colin is on a mission to track down of one of Ireland’s most magnificent birds – the Great Crested Grebe. Nesting snugly among the dense reeds on the edges of rivers and lakes, these birds can be very difficult to find. With more than a square kilometre to traverse on the lookout for nests, Colin has his work cut out. Luckily, the water levels are perfect for wading and it’s not long before he spots a male adult grebe returning to its nest. Wasting no time, Colin gets his camouflage net into position, ready for filming. In the past, Great Crested Grebes were nearly hunted to extinction for their spectacular plumage and so it’s an amazing and rare privilege to see these stunning birds and their chicks in such close proximity. It’s high summer in Kerry and – typically – it’s bucketing down with rain. For the last few years, something has always gone wrong when Colin’s gone otter spotting – but he has high hopes of success this time. Picking his way along the sodden river bank, Colin heads off in search of this elusive creature. But, yet again, he draws a blank. It seems the swollen river has swept away all trace of the tracks he needs to follow. Determined and intrepid as ever, Colin pushes on and, as luck would have it, discovers an active holt hidden among the twisted tree roots about fifteen feet from the river. Drafting in some high-tech help, Colin sets up an array of nifty infra-red spy cameras to capture any nocturnal action and is rewarded with some extraordinary footage of a mother and cub.

This week Colin visits the Skelligs, one of Ireland’s most beautiful world heritage sites for a truly unique filming opportunity. In this episode, Colin visits one of Ireland’s most beautiful world heritage sites for a truly unique filming opportunity. Peppered with ancient beehive dwellings, this remote monastic outcrop off the Kerry coast is home to brightly-coloured puffins, elusive Manx shearwater, predatory gulls and the biggest gannet breeding colony in Ireland. Puffins spend only four months of the year on the island, taking to the open seas in winter. Timing his visit to coincide with theirs, Colin gets a rare opportunity to observe these unusually monogamous creatures as they prepare to hatch and raise their only chick in the island’s honeycomb of underground burrows. At night, the island becomes a fascinating and eerie world where the haunting calls of the Manx Shearwater pierce the air. These nocturnal creatures normally breed in the same warrens as the puffins but, on this island, Colin has discovered something quite remarkable. In an extremely unusual move, one plucky shearwater couple have set up home in one of the beehives, giving Colin a unique opportunity to film a rare and magical sight.

In this programme, Colin explores the fascinating biodiversity of Tipperary woods where ruthless empire-building and fierce colonial war is a feature of daily life. In this programme, Colin explores the fascinating biodiversity of Tipperary woods where ruthless empire-building and fierce colonial war is a feature of daily life. With the expert guidance of Professor John Breen from the University of Limerick, Colin learns about a myriad of intrepid woodland creatures that predate, compete and battle to survive life on the forest floor: from woodlice and centipedes to earthworms, slugs, spiders and beetles. What appears to be a heap of earth and sticks at the foot of an old tree trunk is actually a vibrant nest of over 100,000 wood ants, serving queen and colony in hundreds of ways: from garbage disposal, security and nursery duty to hunting bumblebees, wasps and ladybirds. Switching to a specialized macro lens, Colin closes in to capture extraordinary footage of these industrious workers as they navigate their way across the forest floor using patterns of polarised light and shadows cast by neighbouring trees. As Colin discovers, these hardy wood ants are no pushover and while he does get bitten, he is lucky not to have formic acid squirted in his face – a favourite weapon of these aggressive little creatures. Having avoided one soaking, he stumbles right into another – showered with honey-dew shower while observing wood ants who are running a protection racket within the local aphid community.

(Originally scheduled for March 25) Returning to one of his favourite childhood haunts in the heartland of county Wicklow, Colin meets up with Angus Tyner who has spent the last fifteen years creating an extraordinary wildflower meadow and dragonfly pond in the corner of his garden. A beautiful summer’s day offers ideal conditions for spotting the delicate iridescent insects as they flutter about. Using a handy identification card from the Biodiversity Centre in Waterford, Colin discovers the near imperceptible differences between 21 dazzling species including the Common Blue and Azure Damselflies. The dragonflies are more than mere eye-candy. These are highly adept aerial hunters, swooping down to prey on unsuspecting insects. As the Four-Spotted Chaser males guard their territory fiercely, the females deposit fertilised eggs into the fresh water. For Colin, the highlight is spotting the gorgeous Emperor dragonfly – a recent arrival from the UK – which wasn’t around when Colin used to visit the area as a child. In 2002, thanks to Angus, this very pond became the first confirmed breeding site in Ireland. Angus’s 12- year old daughter Zoё has a special passion for the bumblebees that inhabit the nearby colourful asters and can easily distinguish between 18 different species of Bumble Bee including Bombus hortorum, Bombus lapidarius and everything in between. Trusting Zoё to pick the non-stinging males from the females, Colin holds one in his hand to show how gentle they are. This beautiful garden is bursting with native wild plants and was created without using fertiliser, herbicides or pesticides and just proves that if you create the right conditions, wildlife can come to you.

(Originally scheduled for March 25) Returning to one of his favourite childhood haunts in the heartland of county Wicklow, Colin meets up with Angus Tyner who has spent the last fifteen years creating an extraordinary wildflower meadow and dragonfly pond in the corner of his garden. A beautiful summer’s day offers ideal conditions for spotting the delicate iridescent insects as they flutter about. Using a handy identification card from the Biodiversity Centre in Waterford, Colin discovers the near imperceptible differences between 21 dazzling species including the Common Blue and Azure Damselflies. The dragonflies are more than mere eye-candy. These are highly adept aerial hunters, swooping down to prey on unsuspecting insects. As the Four-Spotted Chaser males guard their territory fiercely, the females deposit fertilised eggs into the fresh water. For Colin, the highlight is spotting the gorgeous Emperor dragonfly – a recent arrival from the UK – which wasn’t around when Colin used to visit the area as a child. In 2002, thanks to Angus, this very pond became the first confirmed breeding site in Ireland. Angus’s 12- year old daughter Zoё has a special passion for the bumblebees that inhabit the nearby colourful asters and can easily distinguish between 18 different species of Bumble Bee including Bombus hortorum, Bombus lapidarius and everything in between. Trusting Zoё to pick the non-stinging males from the females, Colin holds one in his hand to show how gentle they are. This beautiful garden is bursting with native wild plants and was created without using fertiliser, herbicides or pesticides and just proves that if you create the right conditions, wildlife can come to you.