Episode 2 Hebrides - Islands on the Edge

On the edge of the Atlantic lies a world of rock and water.

Wind-scoured and rugged,

yet full of grace and beauty.

Exposed to a restless ocean and Europe's wildest weather,

the animals of these islands face challenge after challenge.

For a year, we'll follow life

in this magical, but unpredictable, place.

Revealing secret lives

and mysterious worlds...

..rarely seen and never filmed here before.

Here, on Scotland's wild west coast.

Here, in the Hebrides.

The Inner Hebridean Isles of Mull, Coll and Tiree

are truly islands on the edge.

They're fully exposed to the power of the sea.

It's late winter and the lords of the Isles are searching for food.

Everywhere the eagles fly,

animals are doing whatever it takes to survive.

Summoning the last of their strength, holding out for spring.

In any year, their lives are hard, but once in a generation,

when the spring reaches these islands,

it proves even more testing than the winter.

And then, it will be the power of the sea

which makes the difference between life and death.

But despite their immense size and strength,

even the eagles will have to work hard to survive until then.

Here, on the Isle of Mull, where this eagle and his mate live,

scavengers have gathered,

hoping something edible's been washed ashore.

And he wants to know what they've found.

It's just a shell.

For 60 years, white-tailed eagles were gone from these islands,

exterminated by people.

But since the 1970s they've been reintroduced.

The gulls hadn't missed them.

They're old enemies.

But since the eagles came back to Mull, they have ruled this bay,

and they make sure they always get the best of whatever washes up.

Later, in the spring, this pair will need all the strength

and skill they can muster, when they start a family.

Close by, on the mainland, the sea cuts deep into the coast.

Narrow lochs, lined with woods,

leafless and quiet, for now.

There's little food,

but red squirrels have made provisions for the winter.

They bring a dash of colour and life into the woods,

collecting the last of the nuts they buried here in the autumn.

But as the light fades, they pause.

These woods are not safe after dark.

It's going to be a windy night.

And as the light has ebbed away, so the tide falls.

A deer leaves the safety of the trees.

And an enterprising pine marten comes to search the shore.

On a calmer night,

she'd be hunting for squirrels or birds in the treetops.

A young marten's joined its mother, her kit from last year.

It's old enough to go it alone, if it can just get through this storm,

perhaps the last one of the winter.

RENDING WOOD

CREAKING, SPLINTERING

CRASHING

Beside the martens' coastal woods, a river runs down to the sea.

Here at last, Scotland's west coast shows its milder face.

A short-eared owl.

Unusually for an owl, he's not shy of the daylight.

In fact, he's relishing the warmth of the sun.

And hidden in the heather, his mate has started to lay their eggs.

For the next month, she'll scarcely leave her nest

and he will feed the entire family.

The eagles' lives have moved on too.

Their home, on the Isle of Mull, is an ideal blend of coast,

open hill and mountain.

No wonder that almost a third

of Scotland's white-tailed eagles live here.

And conifer plantations by the sea

are among their favourite places to nest.

It takes real skill to build such a large one

and some are better at it than others.

It's time for the female to take over,

but first she needs to find yet another stick.

There isn't really room for them both at once.

Not much is certain in the Hebrides.

Even for such powerful birds, raising young here is hard.

But with luck, they'll soon become parents.

In the oak forests of the west coast,

spring has come and the trees are being transformed.

In a cottage in the woods,

a female pine marten has found a safe place to sleep.

All around her, the trees are filling with life.

The oaks draw on their reserves,

turning stored energy into new leaves.

It's the start of an easier time for everyone.

She can afford to dream.

And, if she's pregnant,

this attic could soon become a den for a new family.

The forest is full of song.

This male redstart weighs no more than an airmail letter,

but he's just flown 6,000 kilometres from a tropical forest in Africa.

He's come because all these new leaves

are feeding a host of insects.

But on this coast, spring, and the food supply, can be fickle.

He must find a hole to nest in as fast as he can.

No good.

But low down in this alder tree, he's found the perfect place.

And there's a female.

She looks interested.

A quick look around

and she approves.

On land, the pace of spring is unstoppable

but in the sea alongside, it's a different story.

The fallen tree, which so nearly killed the martens,

now has fish in its branches.

There's no spring warmth in this oak.

The sea is colder now than when it fell

but some are preparing for spring.

Animals fixed to rocks have a real problem - how can they spread?

But these minute polyps have a magical solution.

Each transforms itself,

casting off minute, brand-new moon jellyfish,

just two millimetres across.

They're starting a dangerous journey

travelling down their quiet loch,

towards the open sea...

..where they have an appointment with the spring.

Far offshore from the sea loch and its woods,

lie the Isles of Coll and Tiree.

Coll is rocky and hard to farm.

But Tiree is an island built of sand, famous for being fertile.

People have farmed here for thousands of years.

Even its name means "land of corn"

and there are wild animals here which are famously fertile too

and their fortunes depend on the sea.

Most of these hares are males, looking for a mate.

But female hares are fussy.

She wants the best father for her young

and she's prepared to wait for Mr Right.

She joins the group to test the boys

and off they go!

Several males in hot pursuit.

Now, she'll judge their speed

and how they deal with her other suitors.

She doubles back and leads them on a merry dance.

Some of the males fall behind.

But this one's found her scent.

And there she is, taking a rest

while the others chase their own tails.

They've lost her completely.

But she's not quite ready for him.

He still has one rival left.

That's him dealt with.

And, at last, she's not running away.

But she's scent-marking again, to attract more males!

Talk about playing hard to get!

It must be frustrating sometimes, being a male hare.

But if you are, Tiree is a great place to live.

And the hares owe much of their comfort...to this.

The remains of countless shells,

ground by the sea into Tiree's pale sands.

Blown inland, they fertilise the island's fields.

And the sea around these islands is unusually fertile too.

But in bad weather, these are dangerous waters.

RADIO BULLETIN: '..And now, today's weather forecast

'for the Inner Hebrides. And in the islands,

'it's a lovely day with settled weather. Coll and Tiree again...'

Just now something strange is going on.

'..but much further out there's some really low pressure developing.

'Nothing to worry about yet,

'but if it comes this way, I'll keep you posted.

'So, make the most of the sunshine!'

The storms in winter mixed oxygen and nutrients throughout this water.

So, it's perfect for tiny plants to grow.

Plankton, too small to see, but ready to burst into life,

and become food for everything.

All they need now is light.

And then,

towards the end of spring,

giants will come.

The owls' chicks have hatched.

There are four and their mother thinks her mate should go hunting,

but he just stands there, preening his feathers.

In the Gaelic there's a phrase for that -

"Beauty won't boil the pot".

He flies into the breeze,

his wings soft-feathered and silent,

listening for faint stirrings in the grass.

Every day now, he must catch at least five voles

for her and their growing chicks.

Straight back to it. He seems to have got the point.

It makes good sense to hunt as much as he possibly can,

while the good weather lasts.

On Mull, the eagles should also have chicks in their nest,

but it seems lifeless.

There is a chick.

Two. They have twins.

Newly-hatched chicks can chill quickly

but so far they've been lucky, despite the annoyance of the midges.

Their first days have been warm and comfortable.

This larger one's a female.

Her life won't stay this easy for long.

For the eagles, the owls and the redstarts,

living here, exposed on the edge of Europe,

with the whole ocean stretching beyond,

what happens out there will determine their families' future.

And thousands of miles away,

tropical heat is warming the ocean

and a major storm is developing.

But there's no sign of it yet where the eagles nest.

It's a courtship chase.

They're harbour seals,

and unlike their grey seal cousins which breed in autumn,

they give birth in late spring.

So, any pup from this union won't be born until next year.

Other females are pregnant with this year's pups,

but they're biding their time, staying safely in the water

and, at last, it's warming up.

And with the warmth,

the sea blooms

but these spring flowers are not all they might seem.

In just two places on the west coast of Scotland,

there are reefs found almost nowhere else in the world.

Reefs like fairytale castles built by worms.

They extend their gills into the current like nets,

as deadly as they are beautiful.

The reef is home to many animals.

But there's much more food in the faster current above the seabed,

and to reach it, you must scale the castles' turrets.

Like this hermit crab

or this delicate spider crab.

It's the solid anchorage

and the shelter offered by these uniquely Scottish reefs

that make them so full of life.

And now the young jellyfish are being swept down the sea loch

and they're fast approaching the reef.

Any minute, their journey might end.

They're small enough to fall straight into the worms' nets.

The climbing crabs are heavy-footed and the worms' gills are delicate.

The worms have lightning reactions,

and for the jellyfish, it's just as well.

The young jellyfish are safe.

And now, it's time to take their chances in the open sea,

and it's looking good.

For weeks, the weather's been clear and sunny,

and light has poured into the water.

It's set off an explosion of life in the plankton.

And now, the puffins are coming home!

They haven't set foot on land since last summer.

In the Hebrides, it's what you'd call a ceilidh.

Only the island's rabbits aren't joining in.

They've had their burrows to themselves all winter.

And for the next few months, they won't have a moment's peace.

So far, it's been a good spring.

But in the Hebrides you must take nothing for granted.

After a long calm spell,

the islanders say, "A wave will rise on quiet water."

Soon, those puffins might be glad of their burrows.

The weather forecast was right - a serious spring storm is coming.

And on Mull, it's already threatening lives.

But it seems there's worse to come.

-RADIO BROADCAST:

-'This is the Shipping Forecast issued by the Met Office

'on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency at 0505,

'today, Tuesday, the 22nd of May.'

'A deepening Atlantic low will move across north-west Scotland

'during Monday afternoon

'and bring gales or storm force winds to northern areas.'

This is no time to be at sea.

'There are warnings of gales in Shannon, Rockall, Malin,

'Hebrides, Bailey, Fair Isle, Faeroes and south-east Iceland.'

It's time to find shelter wherever you can.

'The area forecasts for the next 24 hours.

'Rockall, Malin, Hebrides - south-westerly,

'increasing severe gale nine to violent storm 11.'

It's the worst storm in a generation

to strike the Inner Hebrides in the spring.

Violence, all the more shocking because it's out of season.

And this storm is only the first of a whole string of others

rolling over the Hebrides, full of rain.

The coastal oak woods have suffered most of all.

Many trees have lost their leaves to salt and wind-burn.

And now the woods are silent.

There are fewer caterpillars here for the birds.

But in their nest, the redstarts now have seven chicks,

and they're in trouble.

At any time, the pine marten could turn their nest hole

into a death trap.

It'll be a race to get out, and into the woods before they're discovered.

The storm is threatening the young eagles too.

When it rains this much,

the hunters suffer most,

and the chicks are hungry.

It's been raining for days and neither parent can hunt.

She would be better off saving her energy.

But for the male owl, it's even worse.

He can't feed his family.

And his mate can't even move

without condemning their chicks to a wet, cold death.

It's a test of their resolve.

How much longer can they go hungry?

How much longer before he can hunt?

But in the woods, the oak trees need the rain.

Fresh water, washing away the salt,

giving the trees the strength to grow new leaves,

and, gradually,

the woods are reborn.

Day after day of rain like this

makes life harder for the pine marten too.

But fortunately for her, this cottage belongs to an old friend.

For years she's put out food,

and when times are tough, it really helps.

Martens are usually shy in daytime, but she's really hungry.

She's gathering some of it to take with her.

She must have a hungry youngster hidden away.

And at least for now, she's overlooked the redstarts,

but soon she'll be hunting further afield.

They're only ten days old

and in a few more, they'll be ready to leave.

But it might not be soon enough.

For the owls though, the worst has already happened.

Defeated by the relentless rain the male has gone.

And unable to protect the chicks and feed herself,

the female too has been forced to abandon them.

In such a harsh spring,

even the most resilient cannot always survive.

And for the owl chicks, it's too late.

Against all the odds, the redstarts have made it this far.

Now, it's time to throw caution to the winds.

The parents call

and hold tempting insects in view of the chicks.

Until now, this little hole has been their entire world.

None of them has ever been outside.

But someone has to go first

and the food looks so tempting.

A reward from Dad for being the first.

And now the others can see it's better out than in.

But this last one is a bit downier than the others, not as well-grown.

And it's a big world outside.

It tries again.

But the nest still looks inviting.

It just isn't the same on your own.

Its parents aren't coming any more.

It's no time to be left behind.

But where are they?

Silence would be safer,

but it calls,

and here is Mum

to show it the way into these special woods beside the sea.

On Mull, the eagle chicks have managed to survive the endless rain

but they're still very short of food.

In the sea below their nest,

the expectant mother seals can wait no longer,

but where should they give birth?

They have to choose carefully.

Their bellies ripple as their pups move inside them.

They seem so uncomfortable but, strangely,

water births haven't occurred to seals.

Now, her contractions are starting,

so strongly that she's expressing some milk.

It won't be long.

And from their nest, the eagles watch everything.

They are having a hard year.

They have aggressive neighbours, buzzards,

who'd attack their chicks if they left the nest unguarded.

And the chicks are growing fast, building wing muscle

and new flight feathers, like their father's.

It all takes energy and they're hungry,

especially the bigger female.

Moss can't keep her alive.

This spring, life is proving very hard on the land,

but these are sea eagles

and now they need the sea to be full of food,

and it is!

The vast plankton bloom is feeding millions of fish.

Common dolphins come to the Hebrides just for the summer,

timing their journeys to arrive here now, when the sea is at its richest.

They're joining from all directions.

It's a huge group, a superpod,

almost a thousand strong,

and they're chasing the fish straight towards the coast

where the eagles live.

But it makes no difference how many fish are swimming down there.

For now, they're too deep for her to catch...

..and the female chick is fading.

But fishing in deep water is no problem for seals.

The large shoals are one reason so many give birth here.

And from their nest, the eagles can see the new pups.

Surely soon they'll find something to feed their chicks.

This one's a bit different from the rest.

Its mother has misjudged the tide

and her pup is running out of time to feed.

It can't drink underwater.

But as she tries to help, she moves just out of reach.

This is why the pup won't follow.

Its mother hasn't bitten through its umbilical cord

and the placenta is like an anchor, dragging it down.

And now it's stuck in the weed.

She doesn't understand why her pup won't come with her.

So, she tries sweeping her flipper under it, untangling the weed...

..and the pup climbs onto her back!

Like this, it can swim without being snagged.

For the moment, a piggy-back from its mother has saved the pup's life.

But it still hasn't fed

and the longer it spends in the water,

the more chilled it's becoming and the more tired.

She has to get to shore before it drowns.

The chicks are begging for food.

The adults can see the crisis is near, but still they wait.

The mother can easily manage,

but the rock is too slippery for the pup.

It's barely an hour old.

It's been struggling in the sea for almost its whole life,

with the placenta dragging it down.

And it can't climb out.

So close, but it just can't do it.

At last, she sees what's wrong...

..and she bites the cord.

But it might be too late.

The pup has never fed and it no longer has the energy to move.

The gulls have seen the floating placenta

and they grab their chance,

and so do the eagles.

With nothing to hold it back, the pup has reached its mother,

but both eagles are here.

The gulls scatter ahead of her...

..but the male has seen something else.

The threat of his mate has drawn the other gulls away,

freeing him to choose his target.

It's not the pup he wants. He wants the afterbirth.

It's full of nutrition for the chicks

and with so many seals pupping now,

for once, the chicks have more than they can eat.

And so, the sea's richness is transformed into a young eagle.

This pup's a lucky one -

what a first day -

and at last it gets its feed.

Perhaps it will live to see the summer after all.

It's not far away now.

And the giants are almost here.

At the cottage in the woods,

the pine marten mother is checking for danger.

She knows this dog, and it's quite safe.

There's a bond of trust, established over the years.

And so tonight, she's brought her kit here for the first time,

to show it what to do.

But the kit still has lots to learn. Everything is new.

For Mum, it's easy, but she was a nervous, clumsy kit too,

when she first came here.

And now her own youngster must learn to reach the same high windowsill.

The owner's put a log there especially.

It wasn't too bad.

But how is she going to get down?

It's almost summer and the sea is filled with light and warmth

and food.

Life in the Hebrides is all about the sea

and what better proof of its richness could there be

than this?

The giants have arrived off Coll and Tiree.

It's a basking shark.

The largest can reach 11 metres long.

Their jaws open a metre wide,

and of all the fish in the world,

only the whale shark grows larger.

You'd think that seeing this coming towards you

would be a reason to keep clear,

but the seals have nothing to fear

because basking sharks' teeth are tiny.

Instead, they feed by sieving plankton from the water,

filtering the volume of an Olympic-sized pool every hour.

And once it has a good mouthful,

the shark pauses to gulp it down.

The plankton collects around areas of cooler water,

which show up as calm lanes in the sea.

This is where the sharks concentrate.

And it's where they used to be harpooned

for the oil stored in their immense livers.

But now they can feed here in peace.

Much about their lives is a mystery.

But it has just been discovered that some of these sharks

could have crossed the Atlantic to be here now.

For weeks, the young female eagle has been exercising her wings

and today is the most important day of her life.

It's a dangerous moment.

Other young eagles have died, taking their first flight from this nest.

Her father leads the way

and she goes!

At first, she'll practise flying close to home

and then, she'll really spread her wings.

Over the next few years,

she'll travel the length of this coast,

exploring the islands,

meeting and playing with other young eagles.

And one day, perhaps she'll reclaim an ancestral nest site of her own,

here among the islands.

The white-tailed eagles of the Hebrides

are truly back where they belong.

And so are the sharks,

with the sea around the islands so productive

that it sustains even their enormous bodies

as it sustains the eagles and everything else living here.

Here, at the edge of an ocean.

Here, at the edge of a continent.

Here, in the Hebrides.

Next time - high summer comes to the islands on the edge.

The mighty seabird cities of the Outer Hebrides hit rush hour...

..as gannets and puffins race to raise their chicks

while avoiding the pirates.

Lapwings, skylarks,

and a host of colourful insects

throng the flowering meadows of the Uists.

And storms give way to drought,

causing big problems for the king of fish - the Atlantic salmon.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd