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For most of European history, Ireland was the very edge of the world. A remote green land looking out into the abyss. The great ocean that stretched into eternity. And off Ireland's north and west coasts were the most extreme places of all. Savage islands sought out by a handful of humans looking for God and refuge and by wild creatures in search of shelter and food. Through the storms of winter and the haze of summer, these isolated rocks are now vital sanctuaries for countless wild animals who must conquer four Atlantic seasons to survive.
This is one year in the life of Ireland's wild islands. Winter has arrived in the west of Ireland. It is mid-occtober and while massive seas are not uncommon in this part of the world, this is something else. The tail end of a hurricane. Born in the Caribbean, this storm has crossed 6,000 km open water, and the first obstacles it meets are the islands of Ireland's west coast.
Few creatures can deal with a hurricane, but there are exceptions to every rule. Off the far southwest of Ireland, the Blasets were for millennia the most westerly inhabited islands in Europe. A single family scraped an existence here until they finally abandoned the island in the early 1900s. Winter was just too tough on this lonely Atlantic rock. But in recent years, a whole new tribe has come to live on Inadon. The calls of red deer have echoed across Ireland since the Stone Age 5,000 years ago. These are some of the last survivors of that original bloodline.
Harassed over the centuries to the edge of extinction in Ireland. Only 70 animals survived, all in one national park on the mainland. It was decided to bring some of these precious animals to Ineshwikon, ready to repopulate the mainland if anything ever happened to the native red deer there. 13 animals were brought out here in the 1980s. Since then, they've flourished on their new island home. It's now mid November and the stags are in peak condition. For this is the rut, the time of year that separates the men from the boys as
they attempt to woo the females. Smell plays a vital part in the process. Wallowing in mud helps spread the stag's masculine scent all over his body. The stags don't really want to fight. With full contact, there's a strong chance of injury. So, there's a lot of posturing to see who's going to be this year's king of the island. If they do clash, it's a serious business. In reality, the females are in control of who will father their offspring. The stag with the largest antlers and the stoutest chest.
This age-old drama now unfolds every November among the winds and waves of Inishvikon. winter in this Atlantic Kingdom is not for the faint-hearted, but for some, even in winter, Ireland's islands can seem like paradise. Born in the Arctic, barnacle geese come out of the north for the dark months. Their Greenland homes too inhospitable even for these hardy travelers. Off a remote corner of County Mayo, a favorite winter sanctuary are the Inish Islands. And though the humans may be long gone, the geese still come calling.
But in 1927, a hurricane hit the islands, killing 10 of the men out fishing. A few years later, the broken community abandoned the islands for good. leaving their stone cottages to crumble back into the earth. But as the human voice faded, new life began to echo across the islands. Slowly but surely, nature crept its way back. Every winter, the Inish gays are host to an invasion from the sea of a mammal that was the very first on the planet to get official legal protection. From far and wide, gray seals descend on the Inishes to mol, mate, and give birth to the next generation. These are special days for this mother and pup. Precious moments of intimacy before a hectic life at sea.
Every day she comes and feeds him with extraordinarily rich milk. So rich he can put on two and a half kilograms in a single day. With a final scratch goodbye, she sets off for the sea to fish and replenish her own reserves before she can return to feed him once again. [screaming] Awkward and vulnerable on dry land, in the water, it's a different story. Grey seals can dive to 400 m and stay underwater for an hour or more. They are supreme masters of their underwater world. These short days in mid and late winter are all about the passing on of DNA. As soon as the pups are born, the bulls are looking to mate again with the females.
It may not look pretty, but this is true love in the gray seal world. it's hard to tell if they're fighting or mating. Normally gray seal pups are born on remote beaches, but with no humans on the initial gaze, the cows are happy to give birth high on the shore, often quite a distance from the sea. After a month on dry ground, these pups have discovered a private pool and the joys of swimming. For the first time in their short lives, it must be starting to all make sense. But at barely 6 weeks of age, these young seals must soon face the open Atlantic and learn to hunt and fend entirely for themselves. But with the year turning, such challenges must seem far from their minds as they enjoy some new warmth
creeping into the afternoon sun. Winter will soon be on the way. Just 10 km south of the Inish Gaze, the first flush of spring has come to Akal Island. Akal is the largest island off Ireland's west coast. Facing the open ocean, its cliffs on Kruhan Mountain soar over 600 m high, the tallest in Ireland. In winter, Akala is home to some of Ireland's most spectacular wild birds. White giants that have flown south from Iceland to find sanctuary on the island's lakes and marshes. Year round, the Gulf Stream bathes this coast in warm water and gentle rain, and temperatures rarely fall below zero. For a hardy hooper swan, life doesn't get much better.
But it's now early spring and the Hoopers are preparing to head back to Iceland for the Arctic summer. Fat and heavy. After a winter in the fields, they face 1,300 km across open ocean. The longest non-stop flight by any swan on the planet. For thousands of years, Hoopers have traveled this remarkable journey. With their commanding presence, they've also flown into one of Ireland's most famous legends, the children of Leair. Leair was a sea god who had four children he adored much to his second wife's displeasure. So she turned the children into swans and banished them to roam Ireland for 900 years. For the last 300 years of their banishment, Lir's children roam these
islands and waters of Akal Island and County Mayo. It's a story that connects the past and the present in a way that still resonates today. And as the hoopers disappear over the northern horizon, the winds from the west are warming. Spring is finally on the way. As the days lengthen, out of the deep Atlantic, some of Ireland's most colorful characters return to land. Puffins have spent the winter on the open ocean, traveling as far as America before making their way back to these western islands. After a winter apart, new arrivals are warmly welcomed with billtapping and friendly grunts. Then it's down to business, finding burrows and preparing for the breeding season ahead.
These puffins have chosen wisely an island like nowhere else in the Atlantic. 1,500 years ago, a group of monks set sail from mainland Ireland. Their mission was to live on the very edge of the world, on the most extreme place in all of Christendom. That place was Skeleig Michael. Over hundreds of years, the monks built their staircases to the sky. 600 steps leading up to one of the most magical ancient sites on planet Earth.
The monks lived in these dry stone cells, most still intact after more than a thousand years on this isolated rock. Ireland's early Christian monks were legendary seafarers. sailing their leather boats not only to Skeleig but far beyond. From the mainland just north of Skeleig, St. Brendan the Navigator set off in search of a new world far beyond the edge of the western ocean. On this sixth century journey, some claim he became the first European to reach North America itself 1,000 years before Columbus.
Early in the voyage, Brendan stopped to rest on what he thought was a small island. Lighting a fire, he soon discovered it wasn't an island at all. It was the back of a giant beast. Today, some of the greatest animals on the planet still visit these waters of Skeleig Micro, including the second largest creature to have ever lived on Earth, the fin whale. Big whales like deep water and out here the seabed quickly drops to 100 m or more which is why these fin whales can be seen so close to land.
One minute they dominate the waves. Their loud blows jetting 6 m in the air. Seconds later, they're gone. The ocean empty and silent. At 70 kilometers north of Skeleig lie the Mahari Islands. Low-lying banks of sand and rock guarding the entrance to Trbe. One island Ilon Tanig is also home to an early Christian monastery said to be founded by a Saint Shanuk in the sixth century. Given these early Irish monks were such legendary seafarers, it's somehow fitting that today these islands are host to the greatest travelers in the entire animal kingdom.
Every spring, Arctic and common turns leave the southern hemisphere and fly thousands of kilome north to rare their chicks on the safe grounds of the Mahares. Peerless globe trotters, Arctic turns can travel up to 80,000 km in a single year, right down to the Antarctic and across the Southern Ocean before returning north. The longest migration of any animal on Earth. The adult turns mate in April and May, and the eggs are laid in the days after. brave parents. They are stout defenders of their young and have no problem harassing much larger animals if they get too close.
This oyster catcher seems to be just looking for trouble. But the chick's best survival strategy is to stay well hidden. Their camouflage of brown and gray is well matched to their rocky hideaways. Sand deals are a particular delicacy, even if they're as long as the chick himself. The young turns will spend just a few short weeks on Elantanic learning how to fly and feed themselves. And then someday soon, his great journey will begin.
Barely two months after emerging from the egg, he'll fly tens of thousands of kilometers to the other end of the planet and back next year. No one really knows why Arctic turns travel such vast distances. It's one of the great mysteries of the animal kingdom. As the days lengthen and the sea warms around Ilantanig, some very special creatures move in from deep water. remarkable survivors that have changed very little since dinosaurs ruled the earth. at high tides near the full moon. They come in from the Atlantic to breed, cruising these shallow waters in complete silence. At the very base of the tail is the
barb, the defensive weapon that gives them their name. Their sting is extremely painful, but keep your distance and there's little to fear, for these are shy and gentle creatures, and they're in danger. Worldwide, their numbers are plummeting from over fishing. A sad story for remarkable survivors that have been around for 150 million years or more. It's relatively recent when humans reach these islands on the edge of the world. 4 and a half thousand years ago, stone age pioneers set up home on this isolated rock off the remote northwest coast of Ireland.
120 humans still live on Tory Island, 13 km off North Dunigal, Tori is the most remote of Ireland's inhabited islands. Some welcome warmth is seeping through to these northern latitudes. Spring is well underway. While tourism is one of the islanders main stays, peak holiday season is a while away yet. But some important visitors have arrived and their annual stay has made Tori internationally famous. They've flown in from Africa and will spend the next four months on Tori before heading south again for the winter. Elusive in the extreme, they are rarely seen, but can be heard from far and wide.
The corn crreek is now threatened with extinction in Ireland. When once so many came, they were uncountable. One of their last stands is on Tory Island. 13 males made it to Tory this year to try and find a female and ensure the survival of their kind. Night and day this male calls for a female. But have any made it out of Africa alive? His hard work finally pays off. A female appears. With an elaborate display and some choice gifts, he tries to woo her. So rare and elusive are these birds here that as far as we know, this is the first time their mating behavior has
ever been filmed in these islands. Once mating has taken place, the male moves on to search for other partners, and the female is left to fend and nest for herself. Mowing fields with modern machinery is one of the main reasons for the corn creek's downfall. In past times, hand cutting the meadows later in the season allowed the birds enough time to safely nest and rear their young. Through the short nights of late spring, the corn creek's iconic call echoed the entire length of Ireland's Atlantic seabboard.
Tori is a window into the past, a reminder of what Ireland once had and what it could have again. From Tori, it's a day sail to the dark strip on the northeastern horizon. Malin Head, the northern tip of mainland Ireland. Legend has it that the waters off Malin Head would fill with sea serpents that were so plentiful you could walk over their backs to the islands offshore. And in recent years, there have been curious sightings off Malin Head that suggest there could be some truth behind this massing of monsters. Once haunted to the edge of oblivion, some old voyagers have returned.
Basking sharks have hardly changed in 35 million years. So, they must be doing something right. These are the second biggest fish on the planet. And they survive on some of the smallest life in the ocean. Plankton siving 2,000 tons of water an hour with their giant gills. In spring, they appear like phantoms off the west coast and then slowly work their way northwards through the summer. But very occasionally, for reasons unknown, they get notions. They head for the sky. This breaching behavior is very rarely seen and like so much about them, little understood. It was always thought that basking sharks overwintered out in the Atlantic, but recent research has shone a fascinating light on their hidden lives.
Many spend the winter just off Ireland, but in black water, down 1,000 m or more. Others head west to America or south to Africa and beyond. 10 km north of Malin Head lies the island of Inish Traul. Until 1929, up to 80 people lived here, scraping in existence through farming and fishing. The rocks that make up Inisttraul are a third as old as the planet itself. 1.6 billion years. The oldest rocks in Ireland.
[screaming] In the grand scheme of things, Ireland is pretty small, less than 500 km top to bottom. But it's remarkable what a difference 500 km makes. Up here can feel almost arctic at times. Sail into the setting sun and the next stop is Greenland. At night, the skies here can come alive with the northern lights. The Arctic can bring more than light shows to Inistraul. It also brings life. Iders are arctic birds found all around the world at northern latitudes.
Their calls sound like they're constantly surprised to see each other. In spring, the goddy males display for the ladies attentions, fighting off rivals and showing off their wares to the far less colorful females. From underneath her breast feathers, mother duck produces one of the great treasures of the natural world. Almost nothing beats ID down for warmth, lightness, and durability. After lining her nest with it, she settles in. And the waiting begins. Mother duck will sit on the eggs for the next month and won't feed in that entire time. She may leave briefly to get a drink.
Otherwise, she just sits tight, minding her precious cargo through thick and thin. By the time the eggs hatch, she will have lost a third of her body weight. A huge sacrifice to give her ducklings the best chance of survival. The first day of these little ducks lives is one of their most challenging. Up here, they're vulnerable to predators from the air. As soon as possible, they must get down to the water. iders are social birds and nest in small loose colonies. The parents often coming together to mine their young in little groups or nurseries. On this wild coast, the more eyes watching these precious ducklings, the better. As they head out on their very first summer in the North Atlantic.
halfway down the west coast, summer has also arrived on Akal Island. The Hooper Swans are a distant memory as every evening the sun sets a little further north on its march towards midsummer. Most of Akal is farmland, open bog and high mountains. And while Akal may be magnificent, it is also bare. Once covered in native forest over thousands of years, this was completely cleared, leaving the vast open hills and boglands we see today. But there are some tiny pockets of woodland planted by wealthy land owners in the 1800s. These tiny forests are a different world to the windcoured hills all round.
Home to wood pigeons, blackbirds, and rens. But the calm of a summer's day can quickly change [screaming] when there's a predator about a ball of energy. The Irish sto is always on the move. this mother is collecting moss to keep her kids warm somewhere deep underground. But they will need more than moss to keep them going. Ferocious hunters, stos will tackle all kinds of prey. And in early summer, there's no shortage of young animals to keep them going. Stos are true survivors. All the more remarkable considering how little woodland like this remains in Ireland. Tiny oases of life so important for animals that have been clinging to the margins for centuries. On a remote corner of Akal, Kim Bay is
regarded as one of the world's most beautiful. But it's a bay with a dark side. For millennia, wandering basking sharks have been drawn to this hollow in the mountain. But 80 years ago, this serene looking bay came to host the most successful basking shark fishery in the world. Over 9,000 sharks were killed here in just 15 years during the 1950s and60s. During the height of the hunt, 45 people were employed over three crews and they hunted 24 hours through day and night. The most critical task was to keep away from the tail because that's where the danger was. A huge trashing shark, 9 m long and 4 tons in weight, could sink a small boat in no time.
One shark fisherman described how once the eyes of the shark rolled back and turned white, the job was done. After a few decades of worldwide hunting, the basking shark population collapsed and Akal's fishery disappeared. The very last shark was killed here in 1984. But despite the fact that they were so ruthlessly slaughtered here, they have returned. As if nature wants to wipe the surface clean and forget that bloody history. Whatever it is that draws them here, the plankton, the high cliffs, the curve of the coast. Every summer like clockwork, the sharks come back to Akal Island.
A wonderful seasonal signpost in the eb and flow of an Atlantic year on Ireland's wild islands.
