0:36:26 > 0:36:28Just after 8:30am.
0:36:28 > 0:36:30I'm straight off the ferry.
0:36:30 > 0:36:34There are harbour seals sitting in the distance.
0:36:34 > 0:36:36Eider ducks swimming past them.
0:36:36 > 0:36:40There's a red-breasted merganser in among those eider ducks.
0:36:40 > 0:36:43That's a fish-eating duck with quite a sharp beak on him.
0:36:44 > 0:36:46Oh, look, that's a shelduck.
0:36:46 > 0:36:49It has to be a shelduck right in the corner.
0:36:49 > 0:36:51That's a real bonus.
0:36:51 > 0:36:55Red-breasted merganser, shelduck and eiders really, really close to me.
0:36:55 > 0:36:59Normally I use my spotting scope and look out to sea to see them, but they're right here!
0:37:01 > 0:37:05This, for me, is the best wildlife hotspot
0:37:05 > 0:37:08possibly on this entire island.
0:37:08 > 0:37:10I REALLY love this place.
0:37:20 > 0:37:23'The best way to see Rathlin is with a local,
0:37:23 > 0:37:26'and Liam McFaul is an islander born and bred.
0:37:26 > 0:37:29'He knows this place like the back of his hand.'
0:37:33 > 0:37:38That's such a beautiful scene lying there in the sunshine, scratching themselves and yawning.
0:37:38 > 0:37:44- These are harbour seals? - Yes, there's commons there, and there's a grey in there as well.
0:37:44 > 0:37:47- So a common seal is the same as a harbour seal?- Yeah.
0:37:47 > 0:37:52And the grey seals, there's one I can see on the edge. There's three together there.
0:37:52 > 0:37:55There's one looking at us there, which is a common,
0:37:55 > 0:37:58and then the one next to it
0:37:58 > 0:38:00lying really lazily,
0:38:00 > 0:38:04you'd think it's using the other one as a pillow!
0:38:04 > 0:38:08The grey seals have this kind of long Roman nose.
0:38:08 > 0:38:13That's one of the telltale signs. We were here a few minutes ago and we were watching them porpoising,
0:38:13 > 0:38:17leaping clear of the water. It looked like they were just playing.
0:38:17 > 0:38:19I've seen boats there
0:38:19 > 0:38:22and they follow the boats at the same speed just keeping going.
0:38:22 > 0:38:26You think they're looking at you saying, "I can go faster than you!"
0:38:26 > 0:38:29This is always my first port of call whenever I come to the island.
0:38:29 > 0:38:33I want to see the seals and then I want to have a look at the birds.
0:38:33 > 0:38:37But for years now, I have been trying to see chuffs,
0:38:37 > 0:38:38a beautiful crow here,
0:38:38 > 0:38:42and there's the last breeding pair in Northern Ireland right here.
0:38:42 > 0:38:47- Any chance that I'm going to see that today?- Well, we can go and have look and hopefully we'll be lucky,
0:38:47 > 0:38:51but they're hard to find - they're there one minute and gone the next.
0:38:51 > 0:38:54But I know the area that they're actually using
0:38:54 > 0:38:56so we can go there and have a look and see.
0:38:58 > 0:39:02We're still on the hunt for the chuffs,
0:39:02 > 0:39:05but after a really short walk, how many species of birds have we seen?
0:39:05 > 0:39:09- I think that's 22 now.- 22! - Just since we've left the harbour.
0:39:09 > 0:39:13But what we weren't expecting to find is these birds,
0:39:13 > 0:39:17Irish Brent geese. These birds should probably be in Iceland by now.
0:39:17 > 0:39:21They're quite late. It's amazing to see those four sitting there.
0:39:21 > 0:39:23- Aren't they just beautiful? - Beautiful.
0:39:23 > 0:39:27Really gorgeous birds, and for me, I can never see them,
0:39:27 > 0:39:29but I have to say, savour this!
0:39:33 > 0:39:36There you go, look, look! Hares.
0:39:38 > 0:39:40Gingery-coloured face.
0:39:40 > 0:39:42Beautiful creature.
0:39:42 > 0:39:44The sun's shining on them nice.
0:39:44 > 0:39:48This is like THE iconic Irish animal, you know?
0:39:48 > 0:39:51Genetically pure, isolated,
0:39:51 > 0:39:55come to Rathlin, see just wonderful creatures like that.
0:39:55 > 0:39:57No chuffs, mind you, but we'll keep looking.
0:39:57 > 0:39:59A year, two years, three years,
0:39:59 > 0:40:02you could go half a lifetime and not see one
0:40:02 > 0:40:05on the mainland as you call it, in the rest of Northern Ireland.
0:40:05 > 0:40:08Hardly ever see one on the mainland, to be honest.
0:40:08 > 0:40:13Fermanagh and some areas of County Armagh are good for them, but nothing like this.
0:40:13 > 0:40:18- It'd be very unusual if you came here, walked up the length of the island and not see a hare.- Yeah.
0:40:37 > 0:40:40We've entered up to Rathlin today
0:40:40 > 0:40:43to call in here where there's a fair bit of activity.
0:40:43 > 0:40:45What kind of birds are these?
0:40:45 > 0:40:49At the moment, we have guillemots, razorbills, some black guillemots,
0:40:49 > 0:40:52kittiwake on the ledges.
0:40:52 > 0:40:57They'll fly in and out for a few weeks to locate their nest sigh. They'll be laying their eggs soon.
0:40:57 > 0:41:00Those eggs are very well trained,
0:41:00 > 0:41:03because they know not to roll towards the water!
0:41:03 > 0:41:05Yes, I was telling you before, they lay one egg,
0:41:05 > 0:41:09and it's got a pointy end on it, and it's designed in such a way
0:41:09 > 0:41:11that it never rolls off the edge of the cliff,
0:41:11 > 0:41:15cos you can imagine here sometimes, a large storm, a big swell
0:41:15 > 0:41:18blows in and the wind picks up, and the egg could have blown off,
0:41:18 > 0:41:21but in the majority of cases the egg stays on the ledge
0:41:21 > 0:41:24and happily hatches into a chick.
0:41:24 > 0:41:27But I have to say, if I were a sea bird,
0:41:27 > 0:41:30I think I would just stay here and forget about Rathlin.
0:41:30 > 0:41:32Yeah, well, maybe these are the smart ones!
0:41:32 > 0:41:35It's quiet here, smaller numbers, but as I say,
0:41:35 > 0:41:37when we get to Rathlin, it's spectacular.
0:41:37 > 0:41:39We have thousands of them out there.
0:41:47 > 0:41:50So we're just underneath the west lighthouse here,
0:41:50 > 0:41:53Ian, and this is what I call a colony of sea birds.
0:41:53 > 0:41:57Yeah, it's the West End, OK, of the sea bird world.
0:41:57 > 0:42:01They've just spent nine months out at sea, and have come in,
0:42:01 > 0:42:03and this is really their first week on the rocks.
0:42:03 > 0:42:06And they'll be nesting in the next few days.
0:42:06 > 0:42:09There must be thousands and thousands.
0:42:09 > 0:42:11Yeah, there's tens of thousands.
0:42:11 > 0:42:15Last week there was very few here, but they're in in big numbers today.
0:42:15 > 0:42:17What about jostling for position, though,
0:42:17 > 0:42:20how difficult is it for them to pick out the wee bit that they want?
0:42:20 > 0:42:24It does look a bit mad at times, but they all know their little patch.
0:42:24 > 0:42:27And the amazing thing is, when they lay an egg or have a chick later on,
0:42:27 > 0:42:29they can actually come back to it again,
0:42:29 > 0:42:32and you wonder how they find an egg in the middle of all that.
0:42:32 > 0:42:35You'll get most of the razorbills up near the top,
0:42:35 > 0:42:38and the guillemots are on the ledges and the middle bits,
0:42:38 > 0:42:41and the black guillemots are along the bottom
0:42:41 > 0:42:42and the puffins on the grassy banks.
0:42:42 > 0:42:45So they all have their own little area to breed on.
0:42:45 > 0:42:49But of all the places they could choose to come to, they have got
0:42:49 > 0:42:53very good taste, cos they've picked Rathlin year after year after year.
0:42:53 > 0:42:55It's the sort of habitat they look for,
0:42:55 > 0:42:58there's food in the sea, and as long as there's food,
0:42:58 > 0:43:01the birds will keep coming here. The cliffs are an idea habitat,
0:43:01 > 0:43:04there's no predators here, they're safe.
0:43:04 > 0:43:07Now, they're belting backwards and forwards
0:43:07 > 0:43:09and they're heading out to find food?
0:43:09 > 0:43:12Yeah, these birds will all sit on the surface and dive down,
0:43:12 > 0:43:13and they can almost fly under the water.
0:43:13 > 0:43:17The guillemots can go down to maybe 150ft in places
0:43:17 > 0:43:20to catch little sardines, little fish.
0:43:20 > 0:43:22Some of the puffins and that, maybe not as deep,
0:43:22 > 0:43:25but they all have their depth and feed under the water.
0:43:25 > 0:43:27And this is non-stop, this is continuous,
0:43:27 > 0:43:30cos they don't go to bed at 9pm or 10pm at night, do they?
0:43:30 > 0:43:32It never stops. If you're out here at midnight,
0:43:32 > 0:43:35the birds are still feeding and coming and going in the dark.
0:43:35 > 0:43:37And how healthy is the population?
0:43:37 > 0:43:40The numbers do go up and down a little bit some years,
0:43:40 > 0:43:42but overall it's still a pretty healthy colony here.
0:43:42 > 0:43:45As long as there's food in the sea for them,
0:43:45 > 0:43:47the birds will be here for a long time.
0:43:47 > 0:43:51There's something about seeing these cliffs from sea level, Ian,
0:43:51 > 0:43:54and I do feel very lucky to be able to do this today with you,
0:43:54 > 0:43:57because most people don't get to see it from this angle.
0:43:57 > 0:43:58No, I think we are lucky.
0:43:58 > 0:44:01We're looking from the sea up towards the cliffs,
0:44:01 > 0:44:04where most people come to the platform above us
0:44:04 > 0:44:07at the lighthouse and look down. It really is spectacular.
0:44:07 > 0:44:09You have to do this before you die.
0:44:09 > 0:44:11It's one of those things you have to do, yeah.
0:44:28 > 0:44:32What you're looking at here is a plant called pyramidal bugle,
0:44:32 > 0:44:35and this is actually the rarest plant in Ireland.
0:44:35 > 0:44:38And Rathlin is one of only two places
0:44:38 > 0:44:40that it occurs in the whole of Ireland.
0:44:40 > 0:44:45That is fantastic. I know bugle, like most people will, from other areas.
0:44:45 > 0:44:46It's very different.
0:44:46 > 0:44:49It's a pyramidal shape, much tighter to the ground.
0:44:49 > 0:44:53Yeah, it's very squat, as you say, and it has these lovely little
0:44:53 > 0:44:56blue flowers just in the ribs, up the sides.
0:44:56 > 0:44:58Very delicate. Very rare.
0:44:58 > 0:45:02It really is. And, do you know what, just while we sit here, Liam,
0:45:02 > 0:45:04the other stuff that I know like tormentil,
0:45:04 > 0:45:06really bright yellow again.
0:45:06 > 0:45:10Free-range egg yolk yellow.
0:45:10 > 0:45:13And there's a beautiful blue flower there. I don't know that, though.
0:45:13 > 0:45:17This little one here, it's a very lilac and star-shaped,
0:45:17 > 0:45:22a long stem, and this one's spring squill.
0:45:22 > 0:45:24That's a new one on me. I haven't seen that one before.
0:45:24 > 0:45:26Yeah, it is quite an uncommon one as well,
0:45:26 > 0:45:29but in some places you get absolute banks of it,
0:45:29 > 0:45:32there's a couple of places that's absolutely amazing for this.
0:45:32 > 0:45:35You come to a place like this, you see the beauty
0:45:35 > 0:45:36of the wider environment.
0:45:36 > 0:45:38But get down, close and personal,
0:45:38 > 0:45:44get at a child's eye level, and there is just treasure underfoot.
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