0:00:03 > 0:00:04My name's Steve Backshall!
0:00:06 > 0:00:09And this is Deadly Pole To Pole.
0:00:09 > 0:00:11Ohhh!
0:00:11 > 0:00:13From the top of the world to the bottom...
0:00:13 > 0:00:15Whoa!
0:00:15 > 0:00:20..deadly places, deadly adventures, and deadly animals.
0:00:21 > 0:00:24And you're coming with me every step of the way!
0:00:26 > 0:00:27Argh!
0:00:31 > 0:00:33Our Pole to Pole journey has crossed the planet
0:00:33 > 0:00:35and is finally reaching its grand finale.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38We're heading south down to Bird Island on this boat -
0:00:38 > 0:00:39the Hans Hansson.
0:00:39 > 0:00:43We're going to be at sea for a month in the roughest seas on the planet.
0:00:43 > 0:00:47This is one of Deadly's most ambitious trips ever.
0:00:47 > 0:00:50We'll need to take just about every bit of kit we own.
0:00:50 > 0:00:53Where we're going, there are no hotels,
0:00:53 > 0:00:56shops or mobile phone reception.
0:00:59 > 0:01:01Over 1,000 kilometres from the Falklands,
0:01:01 > 0:01:04Bird Island is a long way from anywhere.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07Rugged and remote, it's rarely visited by humans.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13But, during the summer months, this tiny speck of land
0:01:13 > 0:01:15has more wildlife crammed onto it
0:01:15 > 0:01:18than just about anywhere else on the planet,
0:01:18 > 0:01:22with a bird or seal for nearly every square metre of land.
0:01:24 > 0:01:25The shoreline becomes packed
0:01:25 > 0:01:29with some of the most bad tempered animals you'll ever meet,
0:01:29 > 0:01:31all jostling for the best spot on the beach.
0:01:34 > 0:01:39But, to get to it, you'll have to endure four days of hard sailing.
0:01:40 > 0:01:42The notoriously big waves of the Southern Ocean
0:01:42 > 0:01:44make for some tough days at sea.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19Oh, this is like hell on Earth.
0:02:20 > 0:02:25Any distraction from the constant rocking and rolling is most welcome.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31A boat far from land becomes a real focal point for wildlife,
0:02:31 > 0:02:33particularly for birds.
0:02:33 > 0:02:36It is such an extraordinary spectacle,
0:02:36 > 0:02:40it's well worth coming out here and braving the waves and the wind for.
0:02:45 > 0:02:46Just standing here now,
0:02:46 > 0:02:48there could be as many as 15 different species
0:02:48 > 0:02:50just around the boat.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53I mean... Oh, that's a giant petrel, that bird there!
0:02:53 > 0:02:57We've got... The dark birds are white chinned petrels
0:02:57 > 0:02:58and sooty shearwaters.
0:02:58 > 0:03:01And the smaller birds, these little ones here,
0:03:01 > 0:03:03they're almost like bats flapping around behind me.
0:03:03 > 0:03:05Those are prions.
0:03:05 > 0:03:07We're going to be seeing an awful lot more of those.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10But the really big birds, those are the albatross,
0:03:10 > 0:03:14the ancient mariners, the true wanderers of the open ocean.
0:03:15 > 0:03:17These are birds that people would cross continents
0:03:17 > 0:03:21and travel thousands of miles to see, and they're coming to us.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27The increasing number of winged wonders
0:03:27 > 0:03:31is a sure sign we're nearing our destination - Bird Island.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44We've finally got our first sighting of land.
0:03:44 > 0:03:45It looks really sinister,
0:03:45 > 0:03:48it looks like a land that time forgot,
0:03:48 > 0:03:52but this is one of the finest spots for wildlife on the entire planet.
0:03:57 > 0:03:59Although incredibly remote,
0:03:59 > 0:04:02Bird Island is not uninhabited.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05Since the 1950s, there's been a base here
0:04:05 > 0:04:07so that the wildlife can be studied.
0:04:09 > 0:04:12Though these islands have no permanent human population,
0:04:12 > 0:04:14there are a few hardy scientists that work here,
0:04:14 > 0:04:16some of them right through the winter.
0:04:16 > 0:04:20I'm guessing they're going to be glad to see a few new faces.
0:04:22 > 0:04:23Hello, hello!
0:04:23 > 0:04:25The wildlife here is highly cherished
0:04:25 > 0:04:28and bio security is strict.
0:04:28 > 0:04:30So, after a thorough boot wash,
0:04:30 > 0:04:34we can go in search of one of the island's fiercest inhabitants -
0:04:34 > 0:04:36the Antarctic fur seal.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42Aggressive and highly territorial,
0:04:42 > 0:04:45fur seals are the bully boys of Bird Island.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49Lion-like teeth are used both for fighting other seals
0:04:49 > 0:04:52and chasing down anything that gets too close.
0:04:57 > 0:05:00It's hard to believe, when you see this amount of animals,
0:05:00 > 0:05:05that these fur seals were almost hunted to extinction by human beings.
0:05:06 > 0:05:08As many as 112,000 of them were killed
0:05:08 > 0:05:10every single year for their fur,
0:05:10 > 0:05:13but they have made a dramatic recovery,
0:05:13 > 0:05:14and now these beaches,
0:05:14 > 0:05:17where they haul out ashore and come to breed,
0:05:17 > 0:05:20are bawdy, noisy,
0:05:20 > 0:05:22and they smell like a sewer.
0:05:23 > 0:05:27Fur seals have to come ashore to breed and give birth to their young.
0:05:30 > 0:05:32Once the pups are born, the females go on feeding trips
0:05:32 > 0:05:34lasting up to two weeks.
0:05:36 > 0:05:38When the females return,
0:05:38 > 0:05:40the pups suckle rich, high energy milk
0:05:40 > 0:05:43before the mother has to head out to sea again.
0:05:43 > 0:05:47During this short time ashore, the pups double their weight
0:05:47 > 0:05:49and are weaned at around four months,
0:05:49 > 0:05:53after which they have to be able to fend for themselves.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59The pups are just ludicrously cute.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02It's kind of hard to believe, sat in front of this lot here,
0:06:02 > 0:06:05that they're going to turn into, at least some of them,
0:06:05 > 0:06:07these massive intimidating males.
0:06:07 > 0:06:10Right now, I guess it's high time for them.
0:06:10 > 0:06:12They're not having to go out to sea and feed themselves -
0:06:12 > 0:06:14they're still being fed by their mothers milk -
0:06:14 > 0:06:17so they've got loads of time to just play around in the surf,
0:06:17 > 0:06:19to learn how to swim, but they're also learning
0:06:19 > 0:06:22all those skills that are going to be so essential for them in later life
0:06:22 > 0:06:25when they turn into fully grown predators.
0:06:26 > 0:06:30This big guy in front of me here is a mature male.
0:06:30 > 0:06:35All of these smaller seals off to the side are his harem of females.
0:06:35 > 0:06:37He'll command a territory up here on the beach,
0:06:37 > 0:06:40fighting off other males for many months at a time,
0:06:40 > 0:06:42so he has to lay down lots and lots of fat reserves
0:06:42 > 0:06:46so he can stay here without having to go out to sea to feed.
0:06:47 > 0:06:49The males fight for the best spots
0:06:49 > 0:06:52so they can attract as many females as possible.
0:06:54 > 0:06:56These fights can be brutal.
0:06:59 > 0:07:03Many males die from exhaustion as they're so busy
0:07:03 > 0:07:07defending their territories that they don't feed during these months.
0:07:16 > 0:07:18But it's not their fighting with each other
0:07:18 > 0:07:20that makes them so lethal.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23It's their skills as hunters of the open ocean
0:07:23 > 0:07:25that makes them so interesting to us.
0:07:25 > 0:07:27Some of the males might go down to 150,
0:07:27 > 0:07:29perhaps even, in extreme cases, 200 metres
0:07:29 > 0:07:31to catch their prey,
0:07:31 > 0:07:36and the way they find it is with a rather exquisite set of senses.
0:07:38 > 0:07:40Have a look at this fella here.
0:07:40 > 0:07:44He's got big, dark soulful eyes, which suck in the light,
0:07:44 > 0:07:48and also that rather fabulous drooping moustache of whiskers
0:07:48 > 0:07:49which is incredibly sensitive.
0:07:49 > 0:07:52It can sense not just the presence of fish in the water,
0:07:52 > 0:07:55but the wake they leave behind after they've swum away.
0:07:55 > 0:08:00They are, it has to be said, despite their sometimes cute appearance,
0:08:00 > 0:08:03one of the most ferocious of all marine predators.
0:08:09 > 0:08:13To prove my point, and see this animal at its best,
0:08:13 > 0:08:15I really need to get kitted up
0:08:15 > 0:08:18and prepare for a chilly plunge into the ice cold water.
0:08:21 > 0:08:24All the way down this coastline are hundreds and hundreds
0:08:24 > 0:08:26of Antarctic fur seals.
0:08:26 > 0:08:28There's very little diving if any done here,
0:08:28 > 0:08:31so these animals will never have seen
0:08:31 > 0:08:32a human being underwater before.
0:08:32 > 0:08:34How they react to me is anyone's guess.
0:08:34 > 0:08:36They might think I'm a predator and all leap out onto shore,
0:08:36 > 0:08:39but they are naturally very inquisitive animals,
0:08:39 > 0:08:42so I'm hoping they're going to want to play.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48The water here is just above freezing,
0:08:48 > 0:08:52which is OK if you've got a good layer of blubber.
0:08:52 > 0:08:54But I'm going to start to suffer the effects
0:08:54 > 0:08:56of the cold water almost instantly.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12Oh, it came in like a bullet!
0:09:21 > 0:09:25The speed these animals are travelling at is simply phenomenal.
0:09:29 > 0:09:30Oh!
0:09:30 > 0:09:33How beautiful is that?!
0:09:34 > 0:09:36As they're swimming,
0:09:36 > 0:09:39they're leaving a trail of silvery bubbles behind them.
0:09:39 > 0:09:41It's beautiful.
0:09:45 > 0:09:47Oh-ho-ho!
0:09:49 > 0:09:51This is one of the pups.
0:09:51 > 0:09:54You can see it's a good deal smaller than the others...
0:09:55 > 0:10:00..and also definitely more interested in us.
0:10:02 > 0:10:03Hello, little guy.
0:10:05 > 0:10:10This must be a totally, totally new experience for this little one.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13It's probably no more than three months old.
0:10:16 > 0:10:20In water like this, which is so murky,
0:10:20 > 0:10:22it's almost like pea soup,
0:10:22 > 0:10:26I guess you get more of an idea of why this animal
0:10:26 > 0:10:28is such an effective predator.
0:10:29 > 0:10:33Antarctic fur seals will dive down
0:10:33 > 0:10:36to as much as 200 metres below the surface
0:10:36 > 0:10:38to search for their prey.
0:10:38 > 0:10:42At that depth, it's dark, you can't see anything at all,
0:10:42 > 0:10:46so they have to sense their prey using those big long whiskers.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51And it's so effective that they can manage to catch fish,
0:10:51 > 0:10:53even fast moving squid.
0:10:57 > 0:10:59But the majority of their diet
0:10:59 > 0:11:02is made up of shrimp-like animals called krill.
0:11:02 > 0:11:05One of the most abundant animals in the Southern Ocean,
0:11:05 > 0:11:08these small creatures are a major food source
0:11:08 > 0:11:10for birds, whales and seals alike.
0:11:13 > 0:11:17They're elegant, agile, feed on squid and fish,
0:11:17 > 0:11:20way down in the depths of the oceans.
0:11:20 > 0:11:22Fur seals are deadly.
0:11:25 > 0:11:29These bad tempered bully boys of the beach
0:11:29 > 0:11:32have sharp teeth used for fighting each other
0:11:32 > 0:11:35and agile, streamlined bodies.
0:11:37 > 0:11:39The formidable Antarctic fur seal.
0:11:45 > 0:11:47But this is Bird Island,
0:11:47 > 0:11:49so it's time to find some winged wonders.
0:11:51 > 0:11:55By far the most numerous bird here is one that's rarely seen.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58It's called the Antarctic prion.
0:11:58 > 0:12:0222 million pairs of these birds nest on these islands.
0:12:02 > 0:12:06To see them, we'll need to spend a night out on the hillsides.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12This is where we're going to be spending the night.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15I think it's going to be quite a relief not to be on the boat
0:12:15 > 0:12:17going up and down all the time.
0:12:17 > 0:12:19The only problem is going to be getting to sleep
0:12:19 > 0:12:21with all that penguin noise.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24CONSTANT DRONING SOUND
0:12:24 > 0:12:28Our hut is right next door to a colony of penguins.
0:12:29 > 0:12:34So these are our noisy neighbours, the macaroni penguins.
0:12:34 > 0:12:36There are absolutely thousands of them,
0:12:36 > 0:12:40and unfortunately it kind of seems that they never shut up
0:12:40 > 0:12:42and they are right on our doorstep.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45They're not actually named after pasta,
0:12:45 > 0:12:48but a colourful 18th century hat
0:12:48 > 0:12:51on account of the bright yellow plumage on their heads.
0:12:51 > 0:12:53But they're not the birds we're here to see.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57So, it's back to the hut to cook up some culinary delights
0:12:57 > 0:12:58and wait for night fall.
0:13:00 > 0:13:02It's surprisingly cosy in our little hut,
0:13:02 > 0:13:04especially now we've cut out all the wind.
0:13:04 > 0:13:07I reckon we've probably got about an hour and a half until
0:13:07 > 0:13:10it gets dark and the animals that we're here to find start arriving,
0:13:10 > 0:13:13so it's time to make ourselves some dinner.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26With a bit of warm food in our bellies,
0:13:26 > 0:13:31before we knew it, it was time to head out into the cold dark night.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58OK, so I've got the crew filming me in red light,
0:13:58 > 0:14:01because animals don't tend to see so well in red light
0:14:01 > 0:14:03and it doesn't put them off their stride.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06I've got my thermal imaging camera here
0:14:06 > 0:14:10and you can see some of my camera crew.
0:14:10 > 0:14:12Can you see the only bits that really stand out
0:14:12 > 0:14:15are the bits that are warm?
0:14:15 > 0:14:20And just over here is a giant petrel chick.
0:14:20 > 0:14:24It's very well insulated,
0:14:24 > 0:14:26but you can still see the heat
0:14:26 > 0:14:29coming in around the eyes and the beak.
0:14:29 > 0:14:35And then over the back there, towards our hut, and beyond it,
0:14:35 > 0:14:37is the macaroni penguin colony.
0:14:37 > 0:14:42And it looks like the lights from an enormous city behind it.
0:14:42 > 0:14:47But, once I look up into the air,
0:14:47 > 0:14:50there's a very strange sight.
0:14:50 > 0:14:55Look at that. Little white shapes on the wing.
0:14:56 > 0:14:58They're almost like little fairies.
0:15:00 > 0:15:05Like thousands of Tinkerbelles just flying around our ears.
0:15:05 > 0:15:08These are Antarctic prions.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11They're probably the most numerous bird in these islands.
0:15:11 > 0:15:14There could be 40 million of them.
0:15:14 > 0:15:16And they're coming in now to nest.
0:15:19 > 0:15:22This vegetation is called tussock grass
0:15:22 > 0:15:27and, at the bottom of it, is a lattice work of burrows.
0:15:27 > 0:15:30Now, inside there, in this one here,
0:15:30 > 0:15:32it's quite fresh looking,
0:15:32 > 0:15:35it could well be inhabited. There's probably a chick in there.
0:15:35 > 0:15:37Despite its unusual behaviour,
0:15:37 > 0:15:40it's not really the prion I'm interested in.
0:15:40 > 0:15:43The animal I'm after feeds on these birds.
0:15:45 > 0:15:47Because the reason they only come ashore at night
0:15:47 > 0:15:50and have their defenceless chick hidden deep inside a burrow,
0:15:50 > 0:15:54is because of the presence of a rather aggressive predator.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01To get a good look at the prion predator,
0:16:01 > 0:16:03I need to set up a rather gruesome experiment
0:16:03 > 0:16:05to tempt it out into the open.
0:16:06 > 0:16:10This is just one of the many fur seal carcasses,
0:16:10 > 0:16:13the dead bodies, that you'll see over the beaches here on Bird Island.
0:16:13 > 0:16:16It's still relatively fresh, there's plenty of meat here.
0:16:16 > 0:16:21I have a couple of small cameras here and here,
0:16:21 > 0:16:24so hopefully we'll get a close up view
0:16:24 > 0:16:27of everything that comes in here to feed.
0:16:27 > 0:16:30Within seconds, our suspects turn up,
0:16:30 > 0:16:33and among them is the bird eating monster
0:16:33 > 0:16:36that stops the Antarctic prions coming home until nightfall.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43The most numerous birds here are Antarctic skuas.
0:16:43 > 0:16:47Those are the brown birds like this one just coming in to land now.
0:16:47 > 0:16:53Once the skuas get stuck in, they really don't mind me being in close.
0:16:53 > 0:16:57I mean, their wing feathers are brushing against my face.
0:16:57 > 0:17:01And they just don't seem to care. They are so focused on food.
0:17:01 > 0:17:03It's easy to turn your nose up,
0:17:03 > 0:17:08but actually they serve an incredibly important role in the ecosystem.
0:17:08 > 0:17:10Without them, carcasses like this would build up
0:17:10 > 0:17:13just about everywhere and spread diseases.
0:17:13 > 0:17:16But by far the most impressive bird here at the carcass
0:17:16 > 0:17:19is this massive creature,
0:17:19 > 0:17:21the giant petrel.
0:17:21 > 0:17:26It really is like some kind of flapping dinosaur.
0:17:26 > 0:17:30I mean, it has this reptilian bluey green eye,
0:17:30 > 0:17:33and then that massive, huge beak.
0:17:33 > 0:17:37Their sense of smell is much more potent than most birds
0:17:37 > 0:17:40and they can find a dead, decaying, rotting carcass like this
0:17:40 > 0:17:41from miles away.
0:17:42 > 0:17:45And it's unbelievably grotesque in the way
0:17:45 > 0:17:48it just plunges its head into that carcass
0:17:48 > 0:17:50getting caked with dried blood.
0:17:50 > 0:17:54There is no doubt who dominates the carcass.
0:17:54 > 0:17:59So, one of these two species of bird is the prion predator.
0:17:59 > 0:18:01But which one is it?
0:18:01 > 0:18:03The petrel might be the king of the carcass
0:18:03 > 0:18:06but the killer I'm after is the skua.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12These skuas may here be scavenging on meat,
0:18:12 > 0:18:16but they're the very reason that the prions choose to come in at night.
0:18:17 > 0:18:20Although happy to scavenge,
0:18:20 > 0:18:23these birds are accomplished hunters.
0:18:23 > 0:18:27Some specialise in raiding the burrows of birds like prions,
0:18:27 > 0:18:30scoffing down their young chicks.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36Others will pick on defenceless penguin chicks,
0:18:36 > 0:18:38who, without the protection of their parents,
0:18:38 > 0:18:40are vulnerable to the skuas,
0:18:40 > 0:18:44especially when they gang up together.
0:18:44 > 0:18:46And with strength in numbers,
0:18:46 > 0:18:49skuas will even try to take on young fur seal pups.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58With a bad attitude and a big appetite,
0:18:58 > 0:19:00don't underestimate the skua.
0:19:00 > 0:19:02Guilty as charged.
0:19:04 > 0:19:06Armed with a stabbing beak...
0:19:08 > 0:19:13..this bird gobbling predator will team up to overcome bigger prey.
0:19:15 > 0:19:18The opportunistic, pugnacious killer from the sky.
0:19:23 > 0:19:28These islands feel so exposed, constantly hammered by winds,
0:19:28 > 0:19:31perhaps a thousand miles from the nearest continent.
0:19:31 > 0:19:35But there's one magnificent creature that thrives in these elements.
0:19:35 > 0:19:38They live their whole lives in the gales and the storms,
0:19:38 > 0:19:41and I'm hoping to find some just over this ridge.
0:19:43 > 0:19:46As I head into a land that time forgot,
0:19:46 > 0:19:48I can feel my excitement levels rise.
0:19:50 > 0:19:52As you look around the tussock grass,
0:19:52 > 0:19:56you can see these intense little white dots.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59Well, they look little from a distance,
0:19:59 > 0:20:03but when you get up close, they are not small at all.
0:20:03 > 0:20:06We're in the presence of giants.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11These are wandering albatross -
0:20:11 > 0:20:15the largest of the seabirds, living to more than 50 years old.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18There are little more than 6,000 breeding pairs
0:20:18 > 0:20:20of these birds left on the planet.
0:20:20 > 0:20:23They spend the majority of their life at sea,
0:20:23 > 0:20:25only coming ashore to breed on a few islands,
0:20:25 > 0:20:27of which Bird Island is one.
0:20:28 > 0:20:32It's only when they turn front on like that
0:20:32 > 0:20:36and spread those wings that you get any sense of scale.
0:20:38 > 0:20:41This is the biggest wingspan of any bird.
0:20:41 > 0:20:46It can be three and a half metres - that's double my height.
0:20:46 > 0:20:50There are special mechanisms in these wings
0:20:50 > 0:20:53that mean, when they're out, fully extended,
0:20:53 > 0:20:55they lock in place
0:20:55 > 0:20:58and they can't come above the height of the shoulders.
0:20:58 > 0:21:02It means that they can soar and glide over the waves
0:21:02 > 0:21:04without any expenditure of energy.
0:21:04 > 0:21:07The wings are just locked there in place.
0:21:07 > 0:21:12These birds are so well adapted to soaring and gliding.
0:21:12 > 0:21:17Perhaps the only part of their lives which isn't so easy is landing.
0:21:17 > 0:21:19HE LAUGHS
0:21:19 > 0:21:22It's not surprising when you weigh that much
0:21:22 > 0:21:25and have wings that long. It's really not easy.
0:21:27 > 0:21:31Albatross don't get much practice at landing on solid ground.
0:21:31 > 0:21:35They can go for more than five years out on the open ocean
0:21:35 > 0:21:37before returning to land.
0:21:39 > 0:21:44Albatross spend their lives out at sea hunting.
0:21:44 > 0:21:48The majority of their diet is made up of things like squid
0:21:48 > 0:21:52and krill, and it's all caught with that massive mighty beak.
0:21:54 > 0:21:59Because of the size of their wings, albatrosses are not great divers.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02It's very difficult for them to get under the water,
0:22:02 > 0:22:04so they can't swim down in search of prey.
0:22:04 > 0:22:08Instead, they just have to stick that long neck and beak down
0:22:08 > 0:22:12and snatch squid and krill from below the surface.
0:22:14 > 0:22:16It's during these long feeding trips
0:22:16 > 0:22:19that the albatross faces its biggest threat -
0:22:19 > 0:22:23getting caught up with hooks from the long line fishing industry.
0:22:23 > 0:22:25And over the last few decades,
0:22:25 > 0:22:29numbers of wandering albatross have been in steep decline.
0:22:30 > 0:22:34But how far do these birds really wander while feeding out at sea?
0:22:35 > 0:22:37Sailors have known for many centuries
0:22:37 > 0:22:41that wandering albatross cover extraordinary distances.
0:22:41 > 0:22:42But over the last few decades,
0:22:42 > 0:22:45scientists have started applying satellite transmitters
0:22:45 > 0:22:47to particular individual birds,
0:22:47 > 0:22:50and some of the journeys are just insane.
0:22:51 > 0:22:55This here is one feeding journey from an adult bird.
0:22:55 > 0:22:57It left here in Bird Island
0:22:57 > 0:23:00and then it's gone all the way up the coast of South America
0:23:00 > 0:23:04as far as Brazil, and then done an enormous great big loop,
0:23:04 > 0:23:05come all the way back
0:23:05 > 0:23:08to land at exactly the same place on Bird Island.
0:23:08 > 0:23:12In this movie here, you can see several different birds -
0:23:12 > 0:23:14each one of these has a colour -
0:23:14 > 0:23:17and you can see the journeys they're undertaking.
0:23:17 > 0:23:20They're all staying south of the Equator,
0:23:20 > 0:23:24but covering just the most ludicrous distances.
0:23:24 > 0:23:30Individual birds have been tracked travelling 5,000 miles in a week,
0:23:30 > 0:23:33and they could circumnavigate the entire globe in a month.
0:23:33 > 0:23:36That would have to be one of the greatest journeys
0:23:36 > 0:23:38undertaken by any animal on Earth.
0:23:40 > 0:23:44Their huge wings and ability to lock them in place
0:23:44 > 0:23:47enable them to soar endlessly over the seas,
0:23:47 > 0:23:51travelling as much as one and a half million miles in their life time.
0:23:51 > 0:23:55But they also use a technique known as dynamic soaring,
0:23:55 > 0:23:58where the birds swoop up and down over the waves,
0:23:58 > 0:24:01using differences in wind speeds to help propel them along.
0:24:05 > 0:24:09This, and the updrafts created by the huge waves of the Southern Ocean,
0:24:09 > 0:24:13mean the albatross can soar effortlessly hour after hour,
0:24:13 > 0:24:15day after day.
0:24:20 > 0:24:24To imagine what life must be like for a wandering albatross...
0:24:24 > 0:24:28It would seem so lonely to be out at sea for all those years
0:24:28 > 0:24:31without ever seeing another member of your own species.
0:24:31 > 0:24:33But then, when they come back to land to breed,
0:24:33 > 0:24:38they just perform this extraordinary, beautiful duet.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42They are so glad to see each other again.
0:24:44 > 0:24:46LOUD SCREECHING
0:24:46 > 0:24:48This is called sky pointing.
0:24:48 > 0:24:52It's one of the most joyous sights and sounds
0:24:52 > 0:24:54you'll hear from any bird.
0:24:54 > 0:24:58And I think, essentially, it's just saying, "I'm pleased to see you."
0:25:05 > 0:25:07If they're lucky enough to attract a mate,
0:25:07 > 0:25:10wandering albatross will pair for life.
0:25:10 > 0:25:13One pair are known to have been together over 18 years,
0:25:13 > 0:25:18returning to the same island to raise over six chicks.
0:25:19 > 0:25:23On land, they build a nest made out of mud, grass and moss
0:25:23 > 0:25:25into which they lay a single egg.
0:25:27 > 0:25:30After two months, this hatches and the parents take it in turns
0:25:30 > 0:25:33to feed the chick, returning every two to three days,
0:25:33 > 0:25:37although it can go several weeks between meals.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40The chick remains on the nest through the cold, harsh winter,
0:25:40 > 0:25:42not fledging until eight months after it hatched.
0:25:45 > 0:25:48By their first flight, they weigh more than their parents,
0:25:48 > 0:25:52which may help explain why they have so much trouble getting airborne.
0:25:58 > 0:26:00But once up and away,
0:26:00 > 0:26:02they might not return to land for five years.
0:26:02 > 0:26:04It's an incredible existence.
0:26:08 > 0:26:13They live their lives in one of the most extreme, inhospitable,
0:26:13 > 0:26:18hostile of all environments, out on the waves and the sea,
0:26:18 > 0:26:21constantly blown by the gales of Antarctica.
0:26:21 > 0:26:24But these birds are more than just beauties,
0:26:24 > 0:26:28they are true emperors of the skies.
0:26:28 > 0:26:30Wandering albatross are deadly.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35The largest wingspan of any bird...
0:26:35 > 0:26:38harnessing the wind for effortless flight.
0:26:38 > 0:26:41Hooked beak for picking prey off the surface of the sea.
0:26:42 > 0:26:46The wandering albatross - bigger is undoubtedly better.
0:26:51 > 0:26:53Bird Island has been a fantastic adventure,
0:26:53 > 0:26:56and more than lived up to expectations.
0:26:56 > 0:27:00The rocket propelled fur seals that hunt in the icy seas.
0:27:00 > 0:27:04Oh! How beautiful is that!?
0:27:04 > 0:27:08Feisty giant petrels and opportunistic skuas.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15And, of course, the one animal that makes Bird Island what it is -
0:27:15 > 0:27:18the truly wonderful wandering albatross.
0:27:20 > 0:27:22Our time here on Bird Island may be done,
0:27:22 > 0:27:26but our adventure in the chilly south is only just beginning.
0:27:26 > 0:27:29We're heading over there, to South Georgia,
0:27:29 > 0:27:32one of the greatest spots on the planet for wild wonders.
0:27:34 > 0:27:37Join me next time for more incredible deadly adventures.
0:27:39 > 0:27:41Wow!
0:27:45 > 0:27:47Hey! I've got one, I've got one!