A new David Attenborough series which features gulls and puffins in Northumberland will air on Sunday night, the BBC has confirmed.
Wild Isles is a five-part series which aims to highlight the challenges affecting the British Isles and celebrate nature that exists on our doorsteps. Its crew filmed 96 species across 145 locations over 1,631 days, one of those being the Farne Islands in Northumberland.
The renowned wildlife broadcaster will introduce the first episode from Old Harry Rocks in Dorset, and will explain why Britain and Ireland are critical for the survival of species across the globe. As well as new behaviour from killer whales hunting seals and golden eagles scavenging in mountains, we'll see puffins chased by greedy gulls on the rugged granite of the Northumberland coast.
Read more: Visitors banned from Farne Islands as bird flu concerns mount
The four remaining hour-long episodes of Wild Isles will celebrate the UK's four main habitats - woodlands, grasslands, freshwater and marine.
During filming for the series, Sir David was kept away from fledging chicks after an infectious disease expert warned a case of avian flu could be fatal for the 96-year-old, thought that was on Skomer Island. Alastair Fothergill, the series' executive producer made the decision after being told that consequences for the much-loved nature presenter could be serious, despite it being "extremely hard" for humans to catch avian flu.
Despite Britain and Ireland's rich and varied habitats, Sir David will highlights that it is among the most-depleted in the world and asks how we can restore the islands for future generations. Hilary Jeffkins, series producer and BAFTA-winning filmmaker, said: "I hope that after watching this series our audience will be wowed by the wildlife and spectacular places in Britain and Ireland but also that they get a strong sense of how fragmented and fragile they are.
"I want the audience to come away with a sense of pride and hope for the future too. I think that people will be surprised by the wildlife on their own doorsteps and amazed by the behaviour.
"It is quite shocking to think that we have pods of killer whales, top predators, hunting seals in our seas and a large blue butterfly that tricks ants into caring for its caterpillars, by using deceptive sounds and smells. The wildlife that we think we know well still has some extraordinary hidden stories."
Alasdair Fothergill, executive producer of Wild Isles, said: "Ever since I worked on the original Blue Planet, Planet Earth and Frozen Planet series, I have always wanted to cover the British Isles and our natural history with a similarly ambitious and epic approach. I knew that nobody had ever had the opportunity before to really do justice to the spectacular scenery and rich and varied wildlife found at home.
"I hope the audience will be genuinely surprised by the richness of our natural history. At the same time, I hope they will recognise how fragile and precious it is."
Sir David said of the series: "In my long life, I’ve been lucky enough to travel to almost every part of the globe and gaze upon some of its most beautiful and dramatic sights. But I can assure you that nature in these islands, if you know where to look, can be just as dramatic and spectacular as anything I’ve seen elsewhere.
"The British Isles are globally important for nature. In this series we’ll show you why that is so and celebrate the wonders of these islands that we call home."
Episode One: Our Precious Isles will air on BBC One and iPlayer on March 12.
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