Wild Isles: The book of the BBC TV series presented by David Attenborough

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White-tailed eagles hunting is a behaviour rarely seen in the wild and only snippets of this had ever been filmed before. Capturing the whole story required a co-ordinated team of specialist long lens cameramen and wildlife spotters. This included top wildlife cameramen John Aitchison, Jesse Wilkinson and Hamza Yassin. The white-tailed eagles ranged over vast areas on the island and beyond, so the team had to keep in close communication via walkie talkies, working for long hours in hides positioned at eagle hot spots around Islay. It took several trips and more than 70 days filming to capture the first ever complete sequence of wild white-tailed eagles hunting barnacle geese. And to escape the challenges of the day to day, without even needing to leave their own home, audiences can immerse themselves in Radio 3’s The Sounds of the BBC’s Wild Isles podcast.

The five part series will have an introductory episode, explaining why Britain and Ireland are globally important for nature, while the remaining four episodes will celebrate our isles’ four key habitats - woodlands, grasslands, freshwater and marine. We are still one of least biodiverse countries in the world, making it important that we protect and restore the wildlife we have [Source: Biodiversity Intactness Study] White-tailed eagles hunting geese – first time the whole hunting sequence has been filmed. White-tailed eagles have a two-metre wingspan and are the largest bird of prey in Britain. Formerly extinct in the British Isles, around a dozen now spend winter in Islay. Britain is listed as the worst country in the G7 for wildlife and wild spaces lost due to human activity*, but these eagles are a good example of how the restoration of habitats and the reintroduction of species has enabled us to film behaviours once lost to our isles*.

This book will explore the fascinating relationships within and between species who make their home on our beautiful isles. This is shameful, but it doesn’t come from nowhere. In January, for the third year in a row, the UK government approved the “emergency” use of a banned insecticide on sugar beet; a single teaspoon of thiamethoxam is enough to kill 1.25 billion bees. Britain’s woodlands may be rare and complex, but a 2020 audit by the Wildlife Trusts reported that the environmental cost of the rail network HS2 had been vastly understated, particularly regarding ancient woodlands, which cannot simply be replaced. Beccy Speight, Chief Executive of the RSPB, the UK’s largest nature conservation charity, said: “Wild Isles will be essential viewing at a time when we are facing into a nature and climate emergency. Showcasing the UK’s spectacular places and wonderful wildlife gives us a powerful platform to build the broadest and most diverse movement for nature there’s ever been.” BBC Radio 2 with BBC Children’s and Education, supported by The One Show and others, are launching Let it Grow – an initiative to turn grey spaces into wild and colourful places, with a focus on tempting even the least green fingered to join in. Blue Peter viewers can earn their Blue Peter Green badges by getting involved and there will also be an OZT Goes Wild in Britain special on domestic wildlife. BBC Sport will be highlighting grassroots clubs up and down the country doing great work in preserving and promoting nature – as well as reflecting what is happening at the elite level – challenging more to get involved. In Episode 1 there's a scene where you filmed barnacle geese who come to a Hebridean island in the autumn and are hunted by white-tailed eagles. Can you tell us about how you filmed that scene?

White-tailed eagles are a good example of how the restoration of habitats and the reintroduction of species has enabled us to film lost behaviours [Source: The Wildlife Trusts]Britain and Ireland have some of the most diverse and beautiful landscapes on Earth. We have more ancient oak trees than the rest of Europe put together; sixty percent of the world’s chalk streams flow in southern England; our remaining flower meadows are a vital refuge for breeding birds and butterflies; and our coasts are home to internationally important numbers of seabirds. Yet our wildlife is increasingly fragmented and fragile – this series explains the challenges nature faces today, and what can be done to make our wild isles even wilder in the future. I hope the audience will be genuinely surprised by the richness of our natural history. At the same time, I hope they will recognise how fragile and precious it is. You also filmed Lords and Ladies plants that release a foul-smelling scent to attracts flies, what technology did you use for this scene?