Original subtitles

Late spring.

The sun has finally started to warm the land.

This is the loveliest time of year in Wales.

The whole country bursts with new growth

and new life.

For wildlife, this should be the start of the good times.

But in the coming weeks, the growing young will keep demanding more...

..and predators will intensify the hunt.

For many animals, this will be the most critical time of the year.

Wales...

..a land of mountains and rugged shoreline...

..where lush meadows border ancient forests...

..and where you're never too far from wildlife.

Home to 50,000 species -

the spectacular and the surprising.

Each season brings its own challenges -

finding a mate,

raising a family...

..or simply surviving.

Filmed over a year of extremes...

..through storms...

..and drought...

..and wonder...

..welcome to the Land of the Wild.

Just off the western tip of Pembrokeshire are the sea bird

havens of Skomer and Skokholm.

Here on Skokholm, spring has transformed

the land into a blaze of pink thrift and white sea campion.

And deep in the burrows that riddle the island, new life is stirring.

These proud puffins have just become parents.

Sheltered underground, their single precious egg has finally hatched.

Mum and dad will need to work hard

to bring enough food for their growing chick.

Astonishingly, the chick needs to eat its own

weight in fish every day.

It's time for this parent to get to work.

At this time of year,

the waters around Skokholm are swarming with small fish.

Most of these, including the puffin's favourite,

sand eels, are many feet below the surface.

Puffins are good divers.

They can hold their breath for nearly two minutes...

..and reach depths of more than 160 feet.

While foraging, they spend more than a third of their time underwater.

And dad has done well.

With a bill full of sand eels, it's time to return to his hungry chick.

High on the cliff, someone else is yearning for fish.

A herring gull.

Compared to a puffin, it's a poor fisherman,

so this one has resorted to thievery.

As puffins return to their nests, they must run the gauntlet.

They'll even rob puffins at their own front door.

Our parents' burrow is stalked by a mugger.

Puffins are always vigilant when returning with sand eels.

Dad's spotted the danger and turns back.

His neighbour is unaware of the threat.

He's about to get into big trouble.

A herring gull is more than twice the size of a puffin.

And any puffin that tries to hang on to its fish

is given a brutal lesson.

These attacks can be fatal.

Our dad has been waiting for his chance.

He has a clear run back to his burrow.

These puffins will have to run this gauntlet at least six times

every day for the next seven weeks,

until their chick fledges.

But as long as there are fish in these rich waters,

they have every chance of succeeding.

On land, the pace of life is frenetic.

Underwater, things are much more sedate.

A female grey seal.

She's pregnant, but not due until the autumn.

Right now, her developing baby is around three months old.

It's about a foot long and weighs less than a bag of sugar.

Food is plentiful.

She can take life easy.

Grey seals will even take naps underwater,

staying down for up to 13 minutes.

But when the weather is fine, they seek the warmth of the sun.

And where better to sunbathe than here, on the coast of Pembrokeshire?

Around 5,000 grey seals live here,

the highest concentration anywhere in southern Britain.

In mid-May, as the waters around Wales start to warm up,

swarms of jellyfish appear.

These are barrel jellyfish.

They can grow as wide as a dustbin lid

and weigh more than five stone, or over 35 kilos.

They come in from the open sea to feast on the great

flush of plankton now appearing all around the Welsh coast.

They catch their tiny prey with thousands of stinging cells

that line their tentacles.

They are, fortunately, harmless to humans.

The same plankton blooms also benefit fish.

And these, in turn, draw in bigger predators.

Common dolphins.

They live in the rich waters of the Celtic Sea, which lies

between the Irish Sea to the north and the Bay of Biscay to the south.

But in spring, they come close to shore, to hunt.

Wales is surrounded by sea on three sides.

So, all life here is affected by the ocean.

Vast quantities of moisture-laden air blow in from the Atlantic.

This moisture crosses Wales's 1,700 miles of coastline,

as cloud and mist.

Westerly winds push this air inland towards the mountains,

where it rises and cools,

and then, it falls.

Downpours can be intense.

In the most mountainous areas,

there can be almost 10 feet of rain a year,

more than in many tropical rainforests.

Only the hardiest animals, like these Welsh mountain goats,

can survive here.

And in a few of the wettest and remotest corners of Wales,

you can still find magical places.

The Celtic rainforest.

This fragment lies on the western slopes of Snowdonia.

Even in May, the driest time of the year in Wales,

it remains damp and humid.

Parts of this wood have remained untouched for 10,000 years.

This extraordinary time capsule

shelters an incredible variety of outlandish plants.

67 species of rare mosses and lichens live here.

Some are relics of the last Ice Age and are found nowhere else.

All the rain falling in the mountains

eventually makes its way downhill.

On its journey,

it carves out some of the most beautiful scenery in Britain.

Wales's mountain streams feed some of the largest rivers in Britain.

The next three months will be amongst the driest on record

and these waterways will become lifelines.

Of the 48 major rivers born in Wales,

the Wye is among the most beautiful.

Its clear waters run 134 miles...

..from its source high in the Cambrian Mountains

to the Severn Estuary.

Many small tributaries run down the Wye's steep banks.

In these cold, fast-flowing waters lives a very special animal.

And behind this waterfall, it makes its home.

A dipper.

Wales is a stronghold for these extraordinary birds,

which are found on almost all of the country's rivers.

These dippers are parents.

Their chicks hatched three weeks ago.

They've been working hard to feed their hungry brood.

And they do this by diving.

But this is the behaviour that gives dippers their name.

They're the only songbirds that can dive and swim underwater.

They have excellent underwater vision

and easily locate insect larvae and small fish.

At peak demand, these parents make ten or more deliveries

to their brood every hour.

It's a big day for this dipper family.

A chick inspects the dangerous outside world for the first time.

And takes its first flight.

Its sibling is a little more cautious.

Mum's unaware they've left the nest.

Newly fledged chicks don't know how to catch their own food

and still rely on their parents.

In just a few weeks, they'll have to learn to forage for themselves.

So they'll have to get used to cold water.

For now, at least, they still have mum and dad.

It's late May

and creatures of the ocean depths have moved up into the Wye.

These four-foot-long monsters may look like eels,

but they come from a far older lineage of jawless fish,

dating back over 500 million years.

Sea lampreys.

In the ocean, they're blood-sucking parasites of fish,

but they stopped feeding as soon as they entered the Wye.

They've come here, near the village of Bochrwd, to spawn.

They have a big job ahead of them.

They need to lay their eggs in a bed of fine gravel.

And that means some heavy lifting.

They've cleared their first patch of gravel.

The male embraces the female.

She releases thousands of microscopic eggs

and he covers them with his sperm.

But they're not done yet.

The female has more eggs. They need to clear more stones.

The couple spawn again.

They continue to work.

They must prepare the ground for the female's remaining eggs.

They are relentless.

The stress of their long migration

and hard work begins to take its toll.

Both male and female are showing signs of injury.

A final embrace.

She releases the last of her eggs.

And now, she is literally spent.

This is the last thing they ever do.

They die together.

By returning to their spawning grounds,

they've ensured the best possible start for their offspring.

Just a few miles from the lampreys lives an animal

that has not been seen wild in Wales for more than 500 years.

It has been busy felling trees...

..and piling up branches.

A European beaver.

This one is captive and part of a programme

that might eventually introduce them back into the Welsh countryside.

For thousands of years,

these huge rodents were Wales' natural engineers.

By building dams, they create nutrient-rich pools

that would have been common in Wales' ancient landscape.

Neither this beaver nor its mate

will ever be released from this enclosure.

But their young might.

And thanks to them, Wales may become a little wilder yet.

Far from the beavers' pools,

the River Wye eventually flows into the sea.

Here on the coast, life is governed by the cycle of the sun and moon.

Twice a day, the tide ebbs and flows.

South Wales has one of the highest tidal ranges in the world,

nearly 50 feet at its peak.

Rhossili beach.

This particular morning in late May

is one of the lowest tides of the month.

The retreating sea has left thousands of rock pools.

Each pool becomes an isolated little world...

..rich in marine life.

All the bigger predatory fish have gone with the tide.

It's time to come out of your shell.

A common hermit crab.

Its body is soft, so it uses an old snail shell for protection.

The shell looks heavy.

In fact, it's a bit of a drag.

This crab, on the other hand,

has the latest lightweight model.

Shells are essential for a crab's survival, and worth fighting for.

Usually, hermit crabs will fight to win a larger shell

when they outgrow their current one.

They size each other up.

Our crab has taken a fancy to this lighter but smaller shell.

Its owner doesn't want to give it up.

Gotcha!

But he's not budging.

A few knocks might help.

If all else fails, there's always the old pincer move.

A perfect fit.

But his opponent is left naked.

This is awkward!

He seems reluctant to move into the big shell.

But he's vulnerable and has little choice.

All he can do is watch as his prized shell is taken away.

For this hermit crab, defeat really is a heavy burden.

It's the end of May.

Far to the north of Rhossili,

along the coast of Cardigan Bay,

is a very special place.

The Dyfi Estuary.

This mosaic of salt marshes, mudflats and water meadows

is one of the most productive habitats in Wales.

And a great place to raise a family.

A lapwing.

This couple's chicks hatched a few days ago.

Mum and dad have brought them to the best feeding spots,

where the ground is soft and wet.

And there is an abundance of insects and other invertebrates.

At this age, the chicks can't fly

and are very vulnerable.

A carrion crow.

An egg thief and chick predator.

A whole murder of crows.

LAPWING CRIES

A warning call from mum

and the chicks take cover.

But crows are sharp-eyed, clever and persistent.

Unless the parents do something, their chicks are doomed.

Adult lapwings are half the size of the crow,

but this pair doesn't hesitate for a moment.

Our parents' manoeuvrability gives them the edge in the air.

They are relentless.

While the parents are distracted,

one crow launches a covert ground attack.

It moves into the chicks' feeding ground.

The chicks are now in real danger.

The parents have spotted the threat.

LAPWING CRIES

By calling, and dive-bombing the crow,

they drive it away from the chicks.

It's had enough.

Worryingly, the chicks are nowhere to be seen.

IT CALLS

CHICK CALLS

This little family is safe for another day.

Much of Wales is sparsely populated

and it's easy to see how wildlife thrives here.

But some parts of the country are very crowded.

In the valleys of South Wales,

more than 1,000 people are packed into each square mile.

But among the towns and industrial estates,

there are surprising oases of wildlife.

A wild flower meadow just half a mile away

from the old mining town of Aberbargoed.

It's now early June.

The weather is getting hot and the orchids are in full bloom.

They're rich in nectar and attract a distinctive visitor.

A marsh fritillary, one of Wales' rarest butterflies.

This adult will only live for two weeks.

It's morning, and this male is drinking nectar

and warming his body in the sun.

He's preparing for the most important task

of his short life - finding a mate.

He's in luck.

The female will only mate once in her life.

Copulation can last for hours.

When they finally finish,

the male seals her up with a special secretion,

making it impossible for her to mate again.

The female now embarks on her own critical mission

to find a place to lay her eggs.

Finding the right location is key for her offspring's survival.

Many plants will be poisonous for her caterpillars.

Here, under a leaf of the strangely named devil's-bit scabious,

she has found the perfect spot.

She carefully lays up to 350 eggs.

Though she will not live to see these eggs hatch,

she has done her best to ensure their survival.

Her mission is complete.

All this happens a short walk from what used to be

the largest colliery waste tip in Europe.

Proof that in Wales, you are never too far from wildlife.

This June is so dry, it's turning into a drought.

The ground is baked and hard.

And for some animals, this is a problem.

Fortunately, the wildlife here in this suburban garden

is getting a helping hand.

A banquet of dog treats with a side order of bread.

But the guests for this dinner party won't turn up until nightfall.

A badger.

Earthworms are the mainstay of a badger's diet.

But the ground is so dry, they are now much harder to dig up.

Such hand-outs are hotly contested.

This fox would love to get a share,

but he wouldn't dare challenge a badger.

You would think that family would be welcome.

THEY SNARL

But these big bullies don't want to share their dog biscuits.

The little one gives it another go.

SNARLING

Badgers don't usually fight over food,

but when you're hungry,

the usual rules no longer apply.

The small one is muscled out.

But all is not lost.

He's found the side order of bread.

Across Wales, the sunny, dry weather continues.

This June is turning into the hottest on record.

The early heat wave drives people to the coast to cool off.

But it's not just humans seeking relief from the sun.

This pond in a wild suburban garden on the south coast

has become a refuge...

..for frogs.

With the surrounding land so dry, ponds like this are a sanctuary.

Close by, a very different animal

is soaking up the late afternoon rays.

A female grass snake.

It's been a while since she's been able to take on any fluids.

She's thirsty.

She heads for water.

The pond might even be a relief

after spending so long in the hot sun.

She drinks, pumping in water using muscular contractions

in her mouth and throat.

But now she needs something more.

Food.

Time to hunt.

A favourite prey is frog.

This pond is alive with them,

so catching one should be easy.

But with so many eyes watching,

creeping up unnoticed is almost impossible.

She's out of luck.

She's cold-blooded

and as she loses heat, she becomes less active.

She's using up her store of energy

and with the sun getting low,

she's running out of time.

She needs to hunt quickly.

But the frogs are incredibly wary.

That was her last chance.

But in the coming days it will get hotter

and the pond will get smaller.

The odds will soon be in her favour.

In the last few weeks,

Wales' animals have made it through a challenging time.

They've provided food for their young...

..defended their families...

..and given the next generation a fighting chance.

But now, summer is here.

And this is when things really start to heat up.

To capture Wales' animals in all their glory,

the team had to travel the length and breadth of the land.

From the highest peaks...

..to the rugged coast.

And the most remote locations of all

were the neighbouring islands of Skomer and Skokholm

off the western tip of Pembrokeshire.

Thousands of birds come here to breed every year.

To capture the frenetic activity of late spring,

the crew took to the sea.

Skokholm is a two-mile journey from the mainland

and there is only one boat

that sails just twice a week.

Luckily for the crew and a dozen tourists,

the sea conditions were perfect.

The crew had to bring enough provisions for seven days

and they also brought half a tonne of equipment.

Cameraman Pete McCowen lost no time

in getting set up in the puffin colony.

The puffins didn't seem at all scared of him.

Nesting in remote places free of land predators,

they've never evolved a fear of mammals.

So Pete was able to get very close.

Soon, the puffins set off to sea to fish.

To tell the full story, the crew needed shots of puffins at sea.

So they enlisted the help

of underwater cameramen Jack Perks and Dave Miller.

Finding rafting puffins was easy, but they're more wary at sea

and the real challenge was how to get close to them.

Look at them! They're saying, "Come on in".

Luckily, Jack and Dave had a plan.

The hope is with this to sort of hide the profile,

the profile of my face.

Involving home-made camouflage.

I've sort of made a ghillie suit,

hoping it's going to work really well.

And their secret weapon?

Two pairs of cunning decoys.

We've got one that's just going to float near the camera

and another one...

that goes on your head.

That's going to make all the difference!

I'm up for serenading a puffin today. Yes!

THEY IMITATE PUFFIN CALLS

Local skipper Len Bateman wasn't sure what to make of it all.

It was a bit strange.

I don't see people going in the water dressed up in camouflage.

Normally, divers have got tanks on their back.

Finally, Jack and Dave were in position.

The decoy was deployed.

It wasn't long before some puffins arrived,

but they kept their distance.

The decoy remained sadly ignored.

Just when the team were thinking of giving up,

the decoy received its first curious visitor.

More and more came to investigate...

..until the crew was surrounded by puffins,

giving Jack and Dave a front row seat.

As well as 30,000 puffins, the rich waters around the islands

attract many other breeding sea birds.

Nesting lowest on the cliffs are the razorbills.

Higher up, crammed into every crevice, are the guillemots.

More than 4,000 of them.

Close to the top are the sleepy-looking fulmars.

And above them all are the gulls.

But by far the most abundant bird on Skokholm

nests up on the grassy top.

There are tens of thousands of them all across this landscape,

yet not a single one is visible.

They're arguably Wales' most important bird,

but most people have never even heard of them.

They're so important that Skokholm's wardens

have been monitoring them since the 1950s.

They are Manx shearwaters.

Half of the world's population nests right here on Skokholm

and the nearby islands of Skomer and Middleholm.

Like puffins, Manx shearwaters nest underground

and lay just a single egg.

But their eggs won't hatch for another month.

Lots of eggs, which is always a good start.

Last year, 80% of pairs that laid an egg went on to fledge a chick,

which is really good.

At peak season, there are up to 150,000 Manx shearwaters

on this island alone.

They normally pair with the same partner each year

in exactly the same burrow as they used last year.

Remarkably, Manx shearwaters travel to Skokholm

from their winter feeding grounds up to 6,000 miles away

in the southern Atlantic Ocean.

There's no introduced land predators on Skokholm,

which means these birds that would be very vulnerable to rats, to cats,

have somewhere safe to nest,

so their only predators are the great black-backed gulls.

Great black-backed gulls are the largest gulls in the world

with a wingspan of more than five feet.

They're formidable predators

and have a huge impact on the Manx shearwaters' behaviour.

It's because of them that the shearwaters only come out at night.

To avoid disturbing the shearwaters,

the crew switch to an infrared camera.

And producer Adrian Seymour was right there amongst them.

BIRDS CALL

The sound of the Manx shearwaters on this island

is absolutely incredible.

There are calls coming from

every part of the island.

I can't actually see many birds, but I can hear them everywhere.

Their legs are placed far back on their bodies,

which makes them great swimmers.

But on land, they can barely walk.

It's easy to see how vulnerable they would be to the black-backed gulls.

After long fishing trips out at sea,

Manx shearwaters use the cover of darkness

to relieve their hungry partners from incubation duty.

Even the faint light of the moon would be enough

to guide the great black-backed gulls to their prey.

The moon rose about five minutes ago

and the whole island has gone silent.

To avoid an onslaught,

the Manx shearwaters have simply disappeared.

By dawn, they're all underground

or far out to sea.

You would never know that they were still here

and that these islands are home to Wales' best kept wild secret.

Next time, it's mid-summer.

It's scorching

and time for some of Wales' more unusual creatures to shine.