Fersiwn Gymraeg ar gael yma
SPOILER ALERT! Do not read if you haven't watched BBC's Wild Isles - Our Precious Isles - yet!
So, the series we’ve all been waiting for, Wild Isles, hit our screens tonight, ending years of excitement and exceeding already sky-high expectations. The sheer majesty of these species, captured so intimately and beautifully, was for all to see and we hope the episodes to come will only build on this incredibly strong opener.
We’re already aware of the power of television when it comes to telling the stories of our planet’s nature – Blue Planet and Frozen Planet, for example, were instrumental in not only raising awareness on the challenges that our planet faces, but inspired thousands if not millions worldwide to learn more about the magnificent creatures featured, big and small. When it comes to Wild Isles, many of the birds, animals and habitats featured will be familiar to us, as the series focuses on the wildlife the British Isles has to offer. After all, we’re more likely to see a Puffin than a Great White Shark! We hope the programme not only will have informed viewers about them but also build an understanding and a want to help the wonderful wildlife which grace our little part of Earth.
The first message of this programme is that these islands can be some of the most fascinating when it comes to nature - “if you know where to look”. While at first it may seem that many of these creatures inhabit parts of these isles which are out of our reach or sight – the truth is that they may not be so far away as you might think.
So, let us guide you to a few places in Wales where you can see some of the stars of the first episode - Our Precious Isles.
Seals of approval
Grey Seals were the subject of the first scene, showing how they use routes through shallow water to manoeuvre safely. And while we can’t offer any orca sightings off Welsh coasts, you should be able to witness the wonderful seals from afar across the west coast of Wales at the moment, along with RSPB Ramsey Island.
We saw the dormouse make use of ancient oak trees and learnt that their numbers have decreased vastly due to loss of habitat. We are very fortunate here in Wales to have several ancient woodlands, one of which graces our very own RSPB Ynys-hir reserve. Walk among the oaks, looking and listening out for the creatures who have made such use of these centuries-old trees. We also saw colourful carpets of bluebells in the shady floors of these forests – you can experience this purple paradise with your own eyes over at RSPB Lake Vyrnwy.
When showing the extraordinary processes followed by flowers and pollinators both, it also showed the simple benefits of Nature Friendly Farming; cutting meadows rich with wildflowers later in the summer gives our pollinators the best chance of making the most of them; meadows of which we have lost so many over previous decades. More than 80% of Wales is farmland, and we really hope that this programme shows that simple acts of farming with nature like this must be the way forward if we are to restore and increase biodiversity before it’s too late.
The Kingfisher shone brightly in this episode, its bright blue and orange plumage glimmering unmistakeably. That these brilliant fishers need to collect half their weight in fish a day to survive - and then some more if a chick is involved – is quite the task; if you venture to RSPB Newport Wetlands this spring, you’ll be able to sit in the café and watch the resident Kingfisher in action on the lake, focusing in on prey almost robotically before diving with pinpoint precision. Coffee, cake and a Kingfisher – sounds good, doesn’t it.
See-birds in Wales
As we saw in tonight’s episode, Britain and Ireland are invaluable when it comes to seabird colonies, with a coastline more than 22,000 miles long and some of the world’s richest seas. We saw the large Gannetry of Bass Rock, off the coast of Scotland, believed to be the largest Gannetry in the world. Wales’ coastal islands also hold a vital importance to Gannets; Grassholm Island holds the third biggest number of northern Gannets in the world - over 36,000 breeding pairs - only behind the aforementioned Bass Rock and St Kilda in terms of numbers.
From one seabird to another – and it is fair to say that the Puffin is one of Wales’ favourite birds, with its colourful beak and adorably quirky charisma. But what many may not know is that Wales plays a massive part in hosting Puffins, and other seabirds, over the summer months. Along with the island of Skomer, we cannot recommend RSPB South Stack enough as somewhere to take a binoculars and witness Puffins hopping around humorously and flying back and forth from the waters, taking Sandeels to their burrows.
We can’t wait for the second episode of Wild Isles, focusing on the wonders found in our woodlands – and we look forward to helping you explore the parts of Wales where you may be able to see some of them with your own eyes!
Wild Isles is a ground-breaking BBC documentary series produced by Silverback Films, with the RSPB, WWF and the Open University as co-producers. You can watch all the episodes on BBC iPlayer