0:00:11 > 0:00:15The west coast of Ireland for millennia was really, I guess,
0:00:15 > 0:00:17the edge of the known world.
0:00:21 > 0:00:25Our ancestors had no idea what lay beyond the horizon.
0:00:25 > 0:00:29The vast Atlantic was a place of complete mystery.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42My name is Colin Stafford-Johnson.
0:00:42 > 0:00:46I've spent 30 years working as a wildlife cameraman around the world
0:00:46 > 0:00:49and I've seen some of the most beautiful places on Earth,
0:00:49 > 0:00:54but somehow I'm always drawn back to the west coast of Ireland.
0:00:57 > 0:00:59This is where I now call home.
0:00:59 > 0:01:02Once you've lived by the sea for part of your life,
0:01:02 > 0:01:04it's very hard to leave it behind.
0:01:09 > 0:01:13I love its isolation and its wildness.
0:01:19 > 0:01:24I've always wanted to travel the length of Ireland's Atlantic coast,
0:01:24 > 0:01:27seeking out its secret places and wild creatures.
0:01:27 > 0:01:29SEALS SNARL
0:01:32 > 0:01:34So much of life is, sort of, timetabled
0:01:34 > 0:01:38and when you don't have a timetable, you can't be late.
0:01:38 > 0:01:42When you don't have a destination, you can't get lost.
0:01:50 > 0:01:55I suppose, in ways, I'll be wandering up the west coast...
0:01:56 > 0:01:59..and if my journey has any direction,
0:01:59 > 0:02:01I guess it's roughly north.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07And I think it's going to change my view
0:02:07 > 0:02:10of the island that I've lived on for much of my life.
0:02:57 > 0:02:59PUFFINS SQUAWK
0:03:00 > 0:03:05Up till now I've spent most of my life very much really a land-lover,
0:03:05 > 0:03:08but travel 100 metres from the shore
0:03:08 > 0:03:11and the soundscape changes completely.
0:03:12 > 0:03:14You leave the world behind.
0:03:22 > 0:03:24When you think about going on a journey,
0:03:24 > 0:03:26you've got to think of a place to begin
0:03:26 > 0:03:31and when I thought of what it would be like to paddle up the west coast,
0:03:31 > 0:03:34where will I begin, there was really only one place.
0:03:46 > 0:03:51For me, the Skelligs, it's such an icon for the west of Ireland,
0:03:51 > 0:03:52I guess.
0:03:52 > 0:03:56Isolated, wild, desolate place.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10Two jagged pyramids of sandstone,
0:04:10 > 0:04:14one of them home to the second largest colony of gannets
0:04:14 > 0:04:15in the world.
0:04:17 > 0:04:21Come spring, some 70,000 individuals arrive on Little Skellig.
0:04:22 > 0:04:24GANNETS SQUAWK
0:04:37 > 0:04:40They're constantly scouring the ocean looking for food
0:04:40 > 0:04:45and any fish that's within their range has very little chance.
0:05:03 > 0:05:05They're doing really well here.
0:05:05 > 0:05:08Year on year, this colony is getting bigger.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14There's no place for another nest, it seems to be now.
0:05:14 > 0:05:16This rock is now full.
0:05:31 > 0:05:35There's really nowhere in the world quite like Skellig Michael.
0:05:36 > 0:05:41No wonder it's a World Heritage Site, because it's truly unique.
0:05:42 > 0:05:46It was a monastic settlement 1,500 years ago.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49How they survived, it's just hard to imagine.
0:05:53 > 0:05:55With an extraordinary decision to make,
0:05:55 > 0:06:00to sail off in a boat from the west coast of Ireland to come here.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03We may only be 12 miles offshore
0:06:03 > 0:06:06but they can be 12 very dangerous miles.
0:06:15 > 0:06:19It's just hard to imagine the effort to construct these beehive homes
0:06:19 > 0:06:21and churches.
0:06:21 > 0:06:26They must have been a special kind of people though,
0:06:26 > 0:06:29because this wouldn't have been everyone's cup of tea.
0:06:33 > 0:06:36And the monks who chose to build this monastery here
0:06:36 > 0:06:40thought this place was the very edge of the world.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44It was the edge of the known world for European man at that time.
0:06:54 > 0:06:58The ocean, to them, was just vast and endless.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01This endless void.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11And the people who came here
0:07:11 > 0:07:13came here to contemplate life...
0:07:14 > 0:07:17..and I can't think of a better place to do it.
0:07:17 > 0:07:21Tough place to do it - physically hard and challenging.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29All they had to keep them company were the elements.
0:07:30 > 0:07:32And the sea birds in summer.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43Every year, puffins just arrive out of the blue.
0:07:44 > 0:07:48They've spent the winter out in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean
0:07:48 > 0:07:51being tossed around in storms and it always amazes me
0:07:51 > 0:07:53how they actually arrive unscathed.
0:08:02 > 0:08:07They look perfect, extraordinary little birds, constantly busy,
0:08:07 > 0:08:11constantly moaning and groaning and chatting to each other.
0:08:26 > 0:08:30Every place you go on this island in summer,
0:08:30 > 0:08:33little puffins waddling all over the place.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39When they start bill tapping, a way of reaffirming the bond
0:08:39 > 0:08:42is to do this little bill tapping ceremony,
0:08:42 > 0:08:44and it's just something that you never tire of.
0:08:53 > 0:08:56Some of the younger non-breeding birds,
0:08:56 > 0:09:00they literally loaf around over these rocks, called loafing rocks,
0:09:00 > 0:09:03where the young, non-breeding birds gather.
0:09:03 > 0:09:06And they will just arrive and, sort of, strut around the place,
0:09:06 > 0:09:08maybe with fish in their mouths
0:09:08 > 0:09:11as if showing to potential future partners,
0:09:11 > 0:09:13"Look, I can fish. I know this place."
0:09:20 > 0:09:23One thing puffins can do, which is remarkable,
0:09:23 > 0:09:28the bill is designed to catch and hold multiple fish.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31While on the bill, it's got these little grooves, so as soon as
0:09:31 > 0:09:34they catch the first one between the bill and their tongue
0:09:34 > 0:09:38they can just, kind of, store it there and then open their bill
0:09:38 > 0:09:41and catch a second one, so it's all pretty clever.
0:09:45 > 0:09:49There's just one single puffling born every season
0:09:49 > 0:09:52and for three months their parents' only goal
0:09:52 > 0:09:54is to keep them safe and well fed.
0:10:00 > 0:10:02It's only when you look at them closely you realise
0:10:02 > 0:10:05that they're not just comical little guys
0:10:05 > 0:10:08but they're actually constantly looking out for predators.
0:10:15 > 0:10:19Here, the biggest predators are the black-backed gulls
0:10:19 > 0:10:21and the herring gulls.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34There are thousands of burrows on this island.
0:10:34 > 0:10:38The puffins, they find sanctuary underground.
0:10:41 > 0:10:43It doesn't seem it on the surface,
0:10:43 > 0:10:45but it really is a jungle out here, you know?
0:10:45 > 0:10:49The gulls are responsible for the puffins being pretty much
0:10:49 > 0:10:51on tenterhooks all day long,
0:10:51 > 0:10:54even though a puffin never really looks like it's on tenterhooks.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20At night, then everything changes completely.
0:11:20 > 0:11:24The day birds have now pretty much stopped calling
0:11:24 > 0:11:28and the island goes strangely quiet just after sunset.
0:11:44 > 0:11:46But out at sea there are birds gathering
0:11:46 > 0:11:49and they're waiting to come ashore.
0:11:49 > 0:11:51It's only safe for them to come ashore
0:11:51 > 0:11:54under cover of darkness - complete darkness.
0:11:58 > 0:12:00LOUD SQUAWKING
0:12:10 > 0:12:13This is really a very Irish sound
0:12:13 > 0:12:17because Manx shearwaters breed on the west coast of Ireland
0:12:17 > 0:12:19in really big numbers.
0:12:23 > 0:12:26There are thousands of burrows on this island
0:12:26 > 0:12:29and there's great competition for those burrows,
0:12:29 > 0:12:33so much so that some of the shearwaters have actually started
0:12:33 > 0:12:36nesting above ground in these old beehive huts.
0:12:36 > 0:12:38SHEARWATERS SQUAWK
0:12:39 > 0:12:43They're calling to let their mates know that they're on their way.
0:12:46 > 0:12:49You will also then hear the response coming from underground.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52It's as if their mate underground has said, "Look, I'm here,
0:12:52 > 0:12:54"you're in the right area,
0:12:54 > 0:12:57"and I'm going to lure you into this very spot."
0:12:57 > 0:12:59SHEARWATER CALLS
0:13:00 > 0:13:02It's incubation time.
0:13:02 > 0:13:06The partners of these birds have been sitting patiently underground,
0:13:06 > 0:13:09waiting for their mates to return from the sea.
0:13:23 > 0:13:25They love the darkness.
0:13:25 > 0:13:29This is what protects them from predators like gulls.
0:13:29 > 0:13:31They are so poor on land.
0:13:31 > 0:13:35Their feet are set very far back on their bodies
0:13:35 > 0:13:38and they really are very ungainly.
0:13:44 > 0:13:47If you're a shearwater, you really want to land
0:13:47 > 0:13:49as close to your nest as possible.
0:13:56 > 0:13:58Sometimes, if there are bright nights,
0:13:58 > 0:14:02the poor old bird sitting on the egg will be there for days on end,
0:14:02 > 0:14:05waiting for their mate to relieve them of duty.
0:14:07 > 0:14:10And they'll spend some time in each other's company, you know?
0:14:10 > 0:14:12Other birds, I've often found,
0:14:12 > 0:14:16they will just literally swap over without making any contact.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19As soon as one arrives, the other one leaves.
0:14:19 > 0:14:21Not the case with shearwaters.
0:14:24 > 0:14:26SHEARWATER SQUAWKS
0:14:30 > 0:14:33They start preening each other and bill tapping
0:14:33 > 0:14:36and it seems like they're delighted to see each other.
0:14:36 > 0:14:41Perhaps romance is not just confined to the human world.
0:14:47 > 0:14:49LOUD SQUAWKING
0:15:02 > 0:15:06The shearwaters spend all winter travelling around the Atlantic,
0:15:06 > 0:15:10flying over as far as Brazil in search of food
0:15:10 > 0:15:14and then they make their way back and find the very same burrow
0:15:14 > 0:15:16that they nested in last year.
0:15:17 > 0:15:21And they'll do that for possibly decades
0:15:21 > 0:15:24because they're a very long-lived bird.
0:15:24 > 0:15:27And this is where they find sanctuary,
0:15:27 > 0:15:29like the monks did long ago.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46Ireland looks really like an island from out here.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49I think that's the thing about the coastal journey.
0:15:49 > 0:15:52It makes you see a country in a whole new light.
0:15:56 > 0:15:58The land has changed.
0:15:58 > 0:16:02Human influence tends to mould the land
0:16:02 > 0:16:05but that doesn't change the surface of the ocean.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08That just, sort of, defines itself in some way.
0:16:08 > 0:16:10It can't be tamed, as such.
0:16:21 > 0:16:25Even when you set out for a day at sea by yourself,
0:16:25 > 0:16:29you're never alone for long, not on the west coast of Ireland.
0:16:29 > 0:16:34Even when you stop, it's not long before the common dolphins find you.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37They seem to just love company.
0:16:38 > 0:16:40And I love theirs.
0:16:46 > 0:16:49There's something very reassuring about seeing
0:16:49 > 0:16:53such a concentration of mammals along this coast
0:16:53 > 0:16:57because it means there must be plenty of life left in the sea.
0:17:07 > 0:17:12My favourite places in Ireland have got to be these offshore islands.
0:17:12 > 0:17:16And when you come to these places, that's where you get a real sense
0:17:16 > 0:17:20of wildness and a real sense of what the whole coast must have been like
0:17:20 > 0:17:21once upon a time.
0:17:21 > 0:17:24You really feel like you're on the very edge of Europe.
0:17:25 > 0:17:29Nothing to stop the waves between here and America.
0:17:35 > 0:17:39The Blasket Islands may be only 20 miles north of the Skelligs
0:17:39 > 0:17:42but they feel like a totally different world.
0:17:47 > 0:17:51These west coast islands would once have been intensively farmed.
0:17:52 > 0:17:55The old ruins of the houses are still here
0:17:55 > 0:17:57but they won't last forever.
0:17:58 > 0:18:01I'm sure in another hundred years or so
0:18:01 > 0:18:04there will hardly be a sign that man was ever here.
0:18:14 > 0:18:18So many of the islands off the west coast have been deserted by people
0:18:18 > 0:18:23in the last, you know, 60, 70, 80 years
0:18:23 > 0:18:25and wildlife has moved in.
0:18:25 > 0:18:27FIRE CRACKLES
0:18:38 > 0:18:41If you come to the Great Blasket at the right time of year,
0:18:41 > 0:18:45you'll see a sight that few people have ever witnessed.
0:18:45 > 0:18:48Certainly, the islanders who lived here once
0:18:48 > 0:18:51would have been very familiar with these creatures
0:18:51 > 0:18:54but they never would have seen them in numbers like this.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08These animals are only here now because man has left this place.
0:19:08 > 0:19:10This was the main beach in front of what would have been
0:19:10 > 0:19:13a bustling village once upon a time.
0:19:21 > 0:19:24It's lovely to see them all lying side-by-side.
0:19:24 > 0:19:27It's more like a sight you'd see on a...
0:19:27 > 0:19:30A Subantarctic island or something like that.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34SEALS GRUNT AND GROWL
0:19:35 > 0:19:40This must be the greatest gathering of mammals in Ireland.
0:19:45 > 0:19:49Some days you can see over a thousand grey seals
0:19:49 > 0:19:51all hauled out on the beach.
0:19:52 > 0:19:54It's their island now.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03For centuries they were hunted and harassed
0:20:03 > 0:20:05and the numbers have plummeted.
0:20:05 > 0:20:09But grey seals, in fact, were the first protected animal in the world.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12The numbers have come back but we still have a duty
0:20:12 > 0:20:14and responsibility to look after them here.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28They're not built for land, that's for sure.
0:20:34 > 0:20:38You've got to feel sorry for them because there's nothing worse
0:20:38 > 0:20:40than having an itch you can't scratch,
0:20:40 > 0:20:43and if your arms are only a foot long, it's not easy getting to
0:20:43 > 0:20:46all the bits of the body that you've got to get to.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57Sometimes you need a neighbour to lend a hand.
0:21:16 > 0:21:21They're supreme swimmers. They can dive to depths of 600 feet.
0:21:24 > 0:21:26And snoozing underwater?
0:21:26 > 0:21:27Not a problem.
0:21:37 > 0:21:40At breeding time there's loads of aggression.
0:21:40 > 0:21:43Females are barking at females
0:21:43 > 0:21:45and the bulls have come to mate
0:21:45 > 0:21:48so they're very aggressive towards each other.
0:21:48 > 0:21:51Everyone's, sort of, trying to protect their patch.
0:21:51 > 0:21:52SEAL GROWLS
0:21:55 > 0:21:59The entire year is spent building up to this time.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02They're doing all this on an empty stomach too.
0:22:02 > 0:22:05They're being driven by hormones.
0:22:09 > 0:22:12And this fighting can be difficult to watch.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15It can be extremely aggressive
0:22:15 > 0:22:18and they can inflict serious damage on each other.
0:22:25 > 0:22:28If you become the dominant male of a patch of beach,
0:22:28 > 0:22:32that means you will have access to all the females that lie therein.
0:22:52 > 0:22:55Mating, for grey seals, is not a very elegant process.
0:23:09 > 0:23:12The male's got to keep away other males at this time
0:23:12 > 0:23:16and he's also thinking that as soon as he's finished with one female
0:23:16 > 0:23:18he's got to get on to the next one.
0:23:38 > 0:23:42When they leave here they will spend the next six months or so
0:23:42 > 0:23:44just wandering, on their own,
0:23:44 > 0:23:49because they can travel from here all the way up as far as Scotland
0:23:49 > 0:23:53or down to the Bay of Biscay, wandering around foraging.
0:24:02 > 0:24:05So much of Europe's coastline has been developed
0:24:05 > 0:24:10and undisturbed places like this are becoming rarer and rarer
0:24:10 > 0:24:11in the world now.
0:24:41 > 0:24:44For great stretches of the west coast,
0:24:44 > 0:24:47mountains drop straight into the ocean
0:24:47 > 0:24:49and travelling just a few miles inland
0:24:49 > 0:24:53can transport you to a completely different world.
0:24:58 > 0:25:02These are the MacGillycuddy's Reeks, Ireland's greatest mountain range.
0:25:19 > 0:25:24There's somehow always like a dull roar coming from the sea,
0:25:24 > 0:25:26but that's absent here.
0:25:27 > 0:25:30The lake doesn't have that same kind of energy.
0:25:31 > 0:25:35Still waters like this, such a different experience.
0:25:46 > 0:25:50Last night was a perfectly clear night
0:25:50 > 0:25:56and as a result this seems like the coldest morning of the year so far.
0:25:56 > 0:25:59There's a real chill the air.
0:26:08 > 0:26:10DEERS CALL
0:26:13 > 0:26:18These mountains and these valleys have borne witness to this sound
0:26:18 > 0:26:20for thousands of years.
0:26:24 > 0:26:28These are the calls of male red deer...
0:26:30 > 0:26:33..proclaiming their territories.
0:26:36 > 0:26:38The rut has begun.
0:26:46 > 0:26:48And that voice...
0:26:49 > 0:26:52..it's telling the other males to stay away.
0:26:52 > 0:26:54Don't mess with me.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03Some of them have been rolling in the mud.
0:27:03 > 0:27:07Sometimes you'll get them with grass attached to their antlers
0:27:07 > 0:27:11and that's all about making themselves look bigger.
0:27:15 > 0:27:19The only thing that these guys have on their mind right now
0:27:19 > 0:27:21is fatherhood.
0:27:21 > 0:27:23It's fatherhood or failure.
0:27:23 > 0:27:25It's all they live for
0:27:25 > 0:27:28and if you're not strong enough and powerful enough,
0:27:28 > 0:27:31then you will never become...
0:27:31 > 0:27:33a father.
0:27:43 > 0:27:45Biggest land animal in Ireland.
0:27:51 > 0:27:56And there are several big stags displaying this morning,
0:27:56 > 0:27:59but there's one of them who is just...
0:28:01 > 0:28:04..bigger and more powerful than all the rest
0:28:04 > 0:28:07and he's the one that's got all the females.
0:28:10 > 0:28:13Once a stag has gathered a harem,
0:28:13 > 0:28:16he's got to keep a very close eye on them.
0:28:19 > 0:28:22Sometimes one of them will slip away,
0:28:22 > 0:28:25perhaps attracted by other calls,
0:28:25 > 0:28:28and as soon as he spots her
0:28:28 > 0:28:31he goes back and retrieves her in no uncertain manner.
0:28:44 > 0:28:47He's gone to all that trouble gathering them.
0:28:47 > 0:28:49LOUD CALL
0:28:50 > 0:28:52He's not for sharing.
0:28:59 > 0:29:02Now, stags will do whatever they can to avoid conflict
0:29:02 > 0:29:05because it's dangerous for both parties.
0:29:05 > 0:29:09Those calls and that posturing is normally enough
0:29:09 > 0:29:11to keep rivals apart.
0:29:12 > 0:29:15But when you have two males of similar size,
0:29:15 > 0:29:19sometimes neither of them will back down.
0:30:07 > 0:30:09LOUD CALL
0:30:13 > 0:30:16The loser looks utterly exhausted.
0:30:16 > 0:30:20Everyone has seen that he's been beaten.
0:30:20 > 0:30:24The females have seen it, the males have seen it,
0:30:24 > 0:30:27and so he will not be feared again.
0:30:33 > 0:30:37It's the sole purpose of their lives, I guess, is to...
0:30:38 > 0:30:42..become fathers, and they will put all their energies into doing that.
0:30:43 > 0:30:46And there are some winners but more losers.
0:31:04 > 0:31:07And it seems like Stone Age man
0:31:07 > 0:31:11brought this herd here 5,000 years ago,
0:31:11 > 0:31:14and they've been here ever since.
0:31:14 > 0:31:18They've been hunted and harassed for millennia.
0:31:19 > 0:31:23But it's something very reassuring that they're still here.
0:31:25 > 0:31:29They are such powerful animals and somehow
0:31:29 > 0:31:32a real symbol of ancient Ireland.
0:31:59 > 0:32:04Just 20 miles north as the crow flies is the Dingle Peninsula.
0:32:08 > 0:32:11When you wander the dunes here by day
0:32:11 > 0:32:13you have this wonderful soundscape
0:32:13 > 0:32:16of skylarks and stonechats and linnets
0:32:16 > 0:32:21and those sounds slowly disappear with the setting sun.
0:32:23 > 0:32:25TOADS CROAK
0:32:28 > 0:32:32This is a sound that you only hear in this part of the country.
0:32:35 > 0:32:37Wonderful sound.
0:32:37 > 0:32:40Almost seems otherworldly to me, or certainly...
0:32:41 > 0:32:44..it's hard to believe sometimes that you're in Ireland.
0:32:50 > 0:32:54Here in Ireland we've only got three different kinds of amphibians.
0:32:54 > 0:32:58We've got a newt, we've got a frog and one toad.
0:32:59 > 0:33:02For some reason the natterjack toads ended up here
0:33:02 > 0:33:04and no-one quite knows how.
0:33:04 > 0:33:08Some funny anomaly from the Ice Age, maybe,
0:33:08 > 0:33:11and a little population got left here.
0:33:16 > 0:33:19Right now there are lots of male natterjack toads
0:33:19 > 0:33:20in the ponds, hidden.
0:33:25 > 0:33:28And they're calling for one purpose and one purpose only
0:33:28 > 0:33:32and that is to lure the females in from the surrounding dunes.
0:33:46 > 0:33:50They've been waking up from their winter slumber and they're...
0:33:51 > 0:33:55..listening to these calls now and I wonder what they're thinking.
0:34:03 > 0:34:06But the females could be well spread out.
0:34:06 > 0:34:08They could be several hundred metres away,
0:34:08 > 0:34:12which doesn't sound that far but if you're only a couple of inches long
0:34:12 > 0:34:13it's quite a long journey.
0:34:13 > 0:34:15TOADS CROAK
0:34:20 > 0:34:22LOUD CROAKS
0:34:29 > 0:34:33These little males have been waiting for this event all winter long.
0:34:35 > 0:34:39It's probably the loudest natural sound in Ireland
0:34:39 > 0:34:40when they all get going.
0:34:40 > 0:34:44You can hear them, I reckon, a mile away on a calm night.
0:34:48 > 0:34:51And those little females that are stirring on the dunes right now,
0:34:51 > 0:34:55they're going to become crawling laden with eggs.
0:35:03 > 0:35:08As soon as a female arrives on the edge of this pond and is spotted...
0:35:09 > 0:35:12..there's going to be a little bit of a frenzy
0:35:12 > 0:35:14to see who can get to her first.
0:35:32 > 0:35:35Once he actually gets into what's known as amplexus,
0:35:35 > 0:35:38when he tucks his arms under her,
0:35:38 > 0:35:41he will not let go for love or money.
0:35:41 > 0:35:45He'll stay with her right through the spawning process.
0:35:53 > 0:35:57They lay these long strings of eggs and the male fertilises them
0:35:57 > 0:35:59as they emerge.
0:35:59 > 0:36:01And that's it done.
0:36:04 > 0:36:06CROAKING
0:36:12 > 0:36:15This is what this little corner of Ireland has sounded like
0:36:15 > 0:36:17for thousands of years.
0:36:19 > 0:36:23You could almost be by a water hole in Africa or something like that.
0:36:23 > 0:36:26That's what it sort of reminds me of.
0:36:34 > 0:36:38Just to be in a place with natural sounds.
0:36:40 > 0:36:44You somehow feel that this is what the world should be like.
0:37:12 > 0:37:15You feel very small out here sometimes.
0:37:19 > 0:37:21My boat is a currach.
0:37:21 > 0:37:23It's a traditional boat that would have been used
0:37:23 > 0:37:26right along this coast for hundreds of years.
0:37:27 > 0:37:30They were often made just from scrap wood and canvas.
0:37:30 > 0:37:33It's the perfect way for exploring this coast
0:37:33 > 0:37:35because it was designed here.
0:37:35 > 0:37:37It was designed for these conditions.
0:37:49 > 0:37:52There's a wonderful story from these parts.
0:37:52 > 0:37:55It's said that there were a group of men
0:37:55 > 0:38:00rowing their currach back to their home on the Blasket Islands.
0:38:00 > 0:38:05And as they rowed, they heard this very strange sound -
0:38:05 > 0:38:09sounds that they had never heard before in their lives,
0:38:09 > 0:38:13that seemed to come from the very ocean itself,
0:38:13 > 0:38:15through the skin of their boat.
0:38:20 > 0:38:22Now, one of the fellows on the boat was a musician
0:38:22 > 0:38:27and when he got home that night, he started composing a piece of music
0:38:27 > 0:38:30based on the strange sounds that he had heard.
0:38:30 > 0:38:35Now, that piece of music became a very famous Irish tune.
0:38:37 > 0:38:39MUSIC: Port Na Bpucai
0:38:45 > 0:38:49In the Irish language it was known as Port na bPucai.
0:38:50 > 0:38:52The Song of the Fairies.
0:38:57 > 0:39:00And years later, someone was listening to it
0:39:00 > 0:39:03and when they thought about it, they realised
0:39:03 > 0:39:06that it reminded them of the song of the humpback whale.
0:39:16 > 0:39:20People said there was no way they could have heard a humpback singing.
0:39:22 > 0:39:26You just didn't find humpback whales in these waters.
0:39:45 > 0:39:47Amongst the dolphins, we have a visitor
0:39:47 > 0:39:50and it's wonderful to see them back.
0:39:57 > 0:40:00I love the sounds of their breathing.
0:40:07 > 0:40:12When I was growing up, I remember I had that sort of iconic photograph
0:40:12 > 0:40:15of a humpback fluke on my bedroom wall and I remember thinking,
0:40:15 > 0:40:18I'd love to see one of those one day.
0:40:18 > 0:40:20Well, never in a million years did I think
0:40:20 > 0:40:23I'd be watching sights like this here.
0:40:28 > 0:40:32This is now a relatively common sight off the west coast of Ireland.
0:40:32 > 0:40:35These are almost resident humpback whales.
0:40:39 > 0:40:43And the locals recognise one male humpback
0:40:43 > 0:40:45that's been coming here for years.
0:40:45 > 0:40:48He comes back so often, they call him Boomerang.
0:40:56 > 0:41:01It seems that once one creature finds a bowl of food, a big bowl,
0:41:01 > 0:41:05all the other creatures are, sort of, called in.
0:41:31 > 0:41:37They could be anywhere in the whole ocean but they choose to be here.
0:41:38 > 0:41:40It makes you feel a bit special.
0:41:45 > 0:41:48Humpbacks have developed their own unique hunting method.
0:41:48 > 0:41:51They blow circles of bubbles to frighten and corral
0:41:51 > 0:41:53a shoal of the fish.
0:41:57 > 0:41:59And then swallow the lot.
0:42:08 > 0:42:11They're the only whale that has developed this particular
0:42:11 > 0:42:15hunting technique and it seems to work incredibly effectively.
0:42:20 > 0:42:22When they've had a good day's foraging,
0:42:22 > 0:42:25what better way to end the day
0:42:25 > 0:42:30than to lie on your back and just flail your limbs around?
0:42:30 > 0:42:31Sure, why not?
0:42:35 > 0:42:37Hello.
0:42:45 > 0:42:47There's something youthful about them.
0:42:47 > 0:42:51It's almost as if they're just enjoying themselves.
0:42:51 > 0:42:55I'd like to think that other animals can be happy.
0:43:07 > 0:43:13So many whale species just briefly visit the surface when they have to
0:43:13 > 0:43:17to literally pick up air and disappear into the depths again
0:43:17 > 0:43:21but humpbacks seem to, sort of, enjoy that transition
0:43:21 > 0:43:25between sea and air, between those two dimensions.
0:43:31 > 0:43:34It seems like cessation of whaling
0:43:34 > 0:43:38has been a massive conservation success story
0:43:38 > 0:43:41and it's taken a few decades for the numbers to come back
0:43:41 > 0:43:44but the whole coast of Ireland is a whale sanctuary now,
0:43:44 > 0:43:46so they're safe here.
0:43:55 > 0:43:59So isn't it a wonderful thought that maybe...
0:44:00 > 0:44:03..just maybe, all those years ago,
0:44:03 > 0:44:08as this group of men were paddling themselves out to their island home,
0:44:08 > 0:44:11there was a humpback hanging in the water
0:44:11 > 0:44:14and that there was actually, somehow their craft,
0:44:14 > 0:44:16the skin of their currach,
0:44:16 > 0:44:20had somehow managed to pick up these calls of the humpback.
0:44:50 > 0:44:5350 miles north of Kerry,
0:44:53 > 0:44:57County Clare is home to one of the most unique landscapes in Ireland.
0:44:57 > 0:44:59BIRDS SING
0:45:02 > 0:45:04A dawn chorus.
0:45:06 > 0:45:10At this time of year, it seems to hardly stop all day sometimes.
0:45:10 > 0:45:12It's at its strongest early in the morning but...
0:45:13 > 0:45:16..it seems to keep going for hours.
0:45:21 > 0:45:23The weather is nice.
0:45:23 > 0:45:26The birds just seem to sing all day long.
0:45:29 > 0:45:32What a beautiful place to raise a family.
0:45:45 > 0:45:47There are five chicks here this year.
0:45:47 > 0:45:50That's a lot of chicks for ravens.
0:45:53 > 0:45:56It just shows how productive the whole area must be.
0:45:57 > 0:45:59Over here in the Burren,
0:45:59 > 0:46:03there's such a variety of, sort of, habitats for them to...
0:46:03 > 0:46:04to find food.
0:46:04 > 0:46:07There's the seashore and there's little woodlands
0:46:07 > 0:46:10and then the open limestone landscape as well.
0:46:10 > 0:46:12There's no end of food
0:46:12 > 0:46:15and I guess that's why they're so successful here.
0:46:21 > 0:46:24Ravens will stay together for life
0:46:24 > 0:46:26and then every individual raven is different.
0:46:26 > 0:46:29They're amazing birds. They're so smart.
0:46:31 > 0:46:33They probably know me.
0:46:33 > 0:46:36They come here a few times, then they go up, back to your mam.
0:46:36 > 0:46:40"Yeah, that's the short little fellow in the blue shirt again.
0:46:40 > 0:46:41"He's harmless."
0:46:45 > 0:46:48The people who built this place
0:46:48 > 0:46:50obviously needed security.
0:46:50 > 0:46:54And they built it here because they could obviously feed their community
0:46:54 > 0:46:59and the raven family has chosen this site for that very same reason.
0:47:03 > 0:47:05They are the kings of the castle now.
0:47:43 > 0:47:46When you sit in a place like this on the Burren,
0:47:46 > 0:47:48you can't help but think about change and how...
0:47:49 > 0:47:55..the very landscape and nature just changes and adapts all the time.
0:47:55 > 0:47:59All that exposed limestone was once at the bottom of an ocean.
0:47:59 > 0:48:02This seabed moved up here from the equator,
0:48:02 > 0:48:04got pushed up into mountains
0:48:04 > 0:48:06and now...
0:48:06 > 0:48:09you've got this extraordinary landscape.
0:48:17 > 0:48:20A place that, from a distance, may look sort of barren
0:48:20 > 0:48:23and lifeless and almost like a moonscape
0:48:23 > 0:48:25but it's far from it.
0:48:25 > 0:48:27This place is full of life
0:48:27 > 0:48:31but it's life that's not always immediately obvious.
0:48:44 > 0:48:47Reptiles really don't want to live in Ireland.
0:48:47 > 0:48:49We only have one native species here.
0:48:49 > 0:48:51That's the common lizard.
0:48:54 > 0:48:58But the females, in summer, have young developing inside them
0:48:58 > 0:49:01and they can be really big at this time of year.
0:49:03 > 0:49:06Most lizards in the world lay eggs
0:49:06 > 0:49:08but for these ones it's not an option.
0:49:08 > 0:49:11It's too cold here so the females give birth to live young.
0:49:11 > 0:49:14I guess it's an adaptation to northern climes.
0:49:21 > 0:49:23Her job as a mother is at an end.
0:49:23 > 0:49:25She looks literally deflated.
0:49:25 > 0:49:28But as soon as she's given birth, that's it.
0:49:28 > 0:49:32She pays no attention to the youngsters she's left behind at all.
0:49:32 > 0:49:35They are completely on their own.
0:49:38 > 0:49:40Some transition.
0:49:49 > 0:49:52They're born within a membrane and their first job in life
0:49:52 > 0:49:55is to fight their way out of that membrane.
0:50:05 > 0:50:09They've got to learn to hunt and to feed themselves from day one.
0:50:09 > 0:50:13They've got to find places to get warm. That's really important.
0:50:13 > 0:50:16They're going to have to learn the geography
0:50:16 > 0:50:18of the territory that they take up.
0:50:22 > 0:50:24But they do well here.
0:50:24 > 0:50:27There's no competition from other lizards, I guess,
0:50:27 > 0:50:30and the land is still in good condition.
0:50:30 > 0:50:34There's a lack of pesticides so there's lots of little insect food.
0:50:34 > 0:50:37It's amazing what instinct can do.
0:51:02 > 0:51:04Looking down on the...
0:51:05 > 0:51:07beautiful old abbey,
0:51:07 > 0:51:10it must have been such a hive of human activity once upon a time.
0:51:12 > 0:51:15The people who built it could never foresee the day
0:51:15 > 0:51:18when it would be abandoned and just overtaken by birds.
0:51:36 > 0:51:39Great foraging to be had in this landscape.
0:51:39 > 0:51:41Good place to be a kestrel.
0:51:45 > 0:51:49They'll deliver all sorts of things back to the nest.
0:51:49 > 0:51:51Little mice, birds.
0:51:52 > 0:51:53Even reptiles.
0:51:53 > 0:51:57They're a regular on the dinner table for kestrels.
0:52:11 > 0:52:15You'd wonder how the kestrels managed to gain a foothold here
0:52:15 > 0:52:17this year at all.
0:52:17 > 0:52:22But my guess is there must have been a pretty determined female involved.
0:52:26 > 0:52:30Not easy to nest amongst these jackdaws. Not easy to find a space.
0:52:30 > 0:52:34She must have just been lucky to be in before the jackdaws arrived
0:52:34 > 0:52:36and got too territorial.
0:52:37 > 0:52:40Somehow, she managed to...
0:52:40 > 0:52:44hold her ground, because there's big competition for space here.
0:52:47 > 0:52:50JACKDAWS SQUAWK
0:52:50 > 0:52:51Noisy neighbours.
0:52:52 > 0:52:55But still a good place to be a kestrel.
0:53:04 > 0:53:07They fix the ground with such a gaze.
0:53:22 > 0:53:27Kestrels perceive the world in a very different way than we do.
0:53:29 > 0:53:31When they're scanning a patch of ground
0:53:31 > 0:53:34they can actually sometimes see little urine trails
0:53:34 > 0:53:36that have been left by rodents.
0:53:36 > 0:53:40A lot of the rodents leave trails and that can be their undoing.
0:53:40 > 0:53:43Because then kestrels are not just looking at a patch of grass,
0:53:43 > 0:53:47they're actually looking at a system of little, sort of, rodent highways.
0:53:47 > 0:53:51They follow them and look for movement.
0:54:00 > 0:54:04It looks like this family are going to do pretty well now this year.
0:54:09 > 0:54:14So what more would anyone want but a family, security...
0:54:14 > 0:54:15and food.
0:54:17 > 0:54:20That's what we have in common with all creatures, I guess.
0:54:42 > 0:54:44There's something about rowing.
0:54:44 > 0:54:49It's just so gentle on the water, gentle on the planet.
0:54:49 > 0:54:52And you're much more connected with the ocean
0:54:52 > 0:54:54when you're in a rowing boat.
0:54:54 > 0:54:56You really, sort of, appreciate and you can imagine
0:54:56 > 0:54:58what's going on underneath.
0:55:00 > 0:55:03All the creatures drifting in the tide.
0:55:14 > 0:55:17The west of Ireland has always, sort of, attracted
0:55:17 > 0:55:20these lone individual dolphins.
0:55:20 > 0:55:23Some of them have lived for 30 years or more on their own.
0:55:25 > 0:55:29This is Dusty and she lives her life off the coast of Clare.
0:55:37 > 0:55:41She's a bottlenose dolphin and it's always bottlenose dolphins
0:55:41 > 0:55:44that become these, sort of, lone individuals.
0:55:44 > 0:55:46No-one quite knows why.
0:55:46 > 0:55:49They're probably misfits in some way.
0:55:49 > 0:55:53Don't know if they get lost or maybe they were thrown out of the pod.
0:55:54 > 0:55:58For some reason they didn't fit in in some way, but they don't like
0:55:58 > 0:56:02being on their own and they soon seek out human company.
0:56:09 > 0:56:12Dolphins make such great travelling companions...
0:56:13 > 0:56:18..and they've such an aura of real intelligence and almost compassion.
0:56:27 > 0:56:29But soon she leaves me behind.
0:56:31 > 0:56:34She's got her home and I've got mine.
0:56:52 > 0:56:54This is where I now call home.
0:56:54 > 0:56:58I first discovered Clew Bay, I guess, about 12 years ago or so.
0:56:58 > 0:57:01I was moving up and down the west coast of Ireland
0:57:01 > 0:57:03and, sort of, looking for a place to settle
0:57:03 > 0:57:05after years of travelling.
0:57:10 > 0:57:14I remember just thinking there was something very restful
0:57:14 > 0:57:16and peaceful about this place.
0:57:22 > 0:57:25This is really my halfway point.
0:57:25 > 0:57:29I see Clew Bay as the halfway point along the west coast of Ireland.
0:57:30 > 0:57:33Everything changes north of here now.
0:57:36 > 0:57:40North of here is somehow, sort of, wilder, less tame, less visited.
0:57:40 > 0:57:43Lots of little islands. I don't know it well.
0:57:43 > 0:57:45I'm looking forward to getting to know it better.
0:58:01 > 0:58:03Look at this.
0:58:03 > 0:58:07What an extraordinary beautiful creature that is.
0:58:11 > 0:58:15It feels like I've, sort of, landed on some tropical paradise.