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ΒΆΒΆ
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MAN: There aren't many really
wild places left in Ireland.
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But on the Shannon River,
you still get that feeling
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no one's ever
been there before.
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I want to see this river
in all its moods
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in every season --
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not just how it looks,
but how it sounds,
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how it feels --
I want to find the hidden places
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and the hidden creatures
living there.
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I'm going to have
no fixed agenda,
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just want to wander.
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Wander and explore.
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This river is a lifeline for
countless creatures
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who shelter in and around
its waters.
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I'm going to follow them,
see where they take me.
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[Birds singing]
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[Soundtrack playing over]
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[Paddle stirring water]
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MAN: Early mornings for me are
some of the best times.
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The dawn chorus comes
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and the reeds are
full of birdsong,
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and it's a wonderful,
happy time.
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It's a great time
to be on the Shannon.
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It's a time to find food,
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'cause you've been building up
an appetite all night.
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Time to find a mate...
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A time to declare
your intentions.
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This is still my patch,
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this is my part of
this riverbank.
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It's a wonderful,
peaceful time of day.
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And the light!
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If you're out there
at sunrise,
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sometimes the light
is so, so special.
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Spring on the Shannon --
the great awakening.
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And there's such a sense
of purpose in the air.
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The orange tip butterfly is
one of the first of the season,
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and it's a real sign
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that spring is here.
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Just a couple of months ago,
all this was under water.
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And then the water recedes
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and they sort of appear
out of nowhere
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and colonize these
watery meadows.
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They're the most perfect
little creature --
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their wings are
so delicate
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and the colors are so rich.
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These must be some of
the most beautiful
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natural wildflower meadows
left in the country.
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Never seen herbicides
or pesticides --
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it's just the way this rough
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grassland/farmland
used to look in Ireland.
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The landscape really
hasn't changed,
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but there is something missing.
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This place should be resounding
to the cries
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of the wading birds --
the lapwing and the curlew
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and the ringed plover,
the red shank...
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But they've all gone.
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They've all disappeared
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within about the last
20 or 30, 40 years.
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Some people blame the mink
for this emptiness.
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Ground-nesting birds,
their little chicks and the eggs
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have no protection against
a predator like that.
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But you know,
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nature tends to be
more complex than that.
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The real reason sometimes for
the rise and fall
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of different creatures can be
very hard to identify.
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Our countryside
has changed dramatically
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in the last few decades,
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and I guess the river is just
reflecting that change.
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Now, you can travel for
mile upon mile on this river
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and never hear the sound
of the curlew,
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t t call of the lapwing,
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or the whistle
of the redshank.
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t t call of the lapwing,
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It's all gone.
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It's very, very few
and far between.
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There are one or two places
left in the river
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where they still
nest successfully.
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These low-lying fields
are known as the Callows.
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This is exactly what birds like
curlew and redshank and lapwing
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need to breed,
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and that...is the warning call
of a redshank.
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He says I'm too close.
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[Calling]
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And it's a call
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that just says,
"Potential danger,
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await further instructions."
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Now, if I was to get close,
if I was to get out of the boat,
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you'd hear a very different
call, and that other call
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is the real warning -- it says,
"Not only have we
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spotted danger,
but we actually have to
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react to it right now,"
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00:07:03,841 --> 00:07:05,941
and it's a particular call
they make,
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it's sort of a lovely,
flutey whistle.
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And that tells the chick
to go straight for cover.
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They're relying completely on
the parent's vigilance.
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People sometimes call them
the guard dogs of the Callows.
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I have a friend who lives s st
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of the west of Ireland that,
the only way to get to his house
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is on foot,
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and he can always tell if there
are visitors on the way
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because he'll hear
that redshank calling,
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and he'll know
there'll be a knock on his door
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ten minutes later.
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So...
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I don't see this as
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a journey from source to sea,
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I see it very much as a wander
around the entire system.
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I want to be on different
parts of the river
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at different times
of the year.
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I've lived in Ireland
most of my life,
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and I guess the Shannon
is something
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I feel I've
taken for granted.
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I mean, this is the longest
river in Britain and Ireland,
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and it divides
our country in two,
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from sort of the wilder west
to the gentler east.
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You have this feeling of
crossing the Shannon,
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you know you're going to another
part of the country.
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You learn in
your geography books
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it's something over
200 miles long,
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but it's much more
than that.
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The tentacles of
the river fan out,
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and it's all the little streams
and rivers that make it up.
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They come from
all over the country,
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feeding into
this central basin.
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This river has such a great
sense of history.
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There are signs of our past
all over
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this water system.
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It reminds you of
how time passes
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and the lives
that were once here,
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and you have to sort of wonder,
what will we leave behind?
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Will the monoliths
of the Celtic Tiger
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look as romantic as
the castle ruins?
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I don't think so.
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[Animal calling]
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[Squeaking]
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Bats are one of the most
unappreciated of creatures.
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There are so many nasty stories
associated with bats.
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When you hear these stories
and you see the movies,
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it's always about vampires,
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and giving them
a bad reputation.
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And that somehow seems to get
ingrained in our consciousness.
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They are utterly harmless to
human beings --
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absolutely harm--
and they're not just
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harm less to us,
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they really benefit.
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I mean, any --
any creature that goes round
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scooping up midges in their
thousands is a friend of mine,
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because some nights
on the river,
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you wish you'd had an entire
swarm of bats
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accompanying you
every place you went.
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We have about 30 mammals
in Ireland,
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and ten of them
are bats.
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If only we could totally reverse
the way that many of us see them
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and look at them as
the incredibly well-adapted,
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sort of, ancient creatatates
that they are.
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These are
Daubenton's bats --
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they're known commonly as
water bats,
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and that's because
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they are perfectly adapted for
life on the river.
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If you look really closely,
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you can see the odd one just
flitting by really fast.
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And what they are doing is
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they are hunting over
the water's surface --
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they are looking for
little insects
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which are caught
on the top of the water.
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As they struggle to
free themselves
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from that surface tension,
they make little ripples.
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And what the bats are doing now,
they are echolocating,
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finding where those little
ripples are coming from,
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and they can sort of
scoop up the insects --
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either with
their tail
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or with their feet.
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They have extra-big feet,
and they use those to just
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lift the struggling insect from
the surface of the river.
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Flitting back and forth there.
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The bats themselves
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live, I guess,
in a different world.
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They perceive the world
in a different way to me.
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Although their eyesight
is as good as mine,
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it's not much good to you when
you're flying about in the dark.
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So, as they fly
up and down the river,
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they have their mouths
wide open,
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and they're effectively,
sort of,
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screaming at the water
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and waiting for
that echo to come back.
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And that's how they discern
their environment,
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that's how they see
where they're going.
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Incredible creatures.
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Beautiful creatures.
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This weather is really tough
on the creatures
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that live off the river.
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This wind has been really
continuously blowing now
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for over a month.
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Not quite what I had
in my mind's eye
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when I set out on --
on this journey --
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I imagined those
lovely, fine,
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April evenings as the days
start to lengthen,
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just listening to
the birds singing,
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maybe sitting by
a little campfire.
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But for the last
four or five weeks,
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I've just been huddled down like
all the other creatures,
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waiting for
this spell of weather
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to pass on.
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This year, this weather came at
just the wrong time.
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There should be
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great hatches of insects --
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and not just
for the birds,
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but for the fish
and everything, too.
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They -- you know, everything is
feeding voraciously
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at this time of year.
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For nesting birds, it's not just
that the parents
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might not be able to supply
their chicks with enough food,
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00:14:29,653 --> 00:14:32,887
but the chicks get
actively hammered
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by the wind and the rain.
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[Calling]
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But then it'll be amazing
if the conditions do pass,
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and the first sunny morning,
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the whole place will just
come alive again.
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There's nothing like
traveling on the river,
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there's just that feeling of,
sort of,
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peace and tranquility.
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You can kind of drift in and out
of animals' lives,
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and they don't even know
you've been there.
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You don't disturb them.
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When I'm paddling my canoe,
I'm just wondering
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what's happening beneath me.
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That whole cycle of life,
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things meeting and mating
and breeding,
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and thing killing
each other --
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that's all happening
in the water,
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but it's something
that's hidden to us.
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There's one fish that's found
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throughout this river system,
seldom seen,
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but at this time of year their
presence becomes obvious,
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and that's because
it's mating time.
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People call them
the barracuda of the Shannon.
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It's very much the creature
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that, if you were a fish,
you'd want to avoid.
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They're superbly adapted
for their environment.
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They can move very, very fast
if they have to.
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Any fish that comes within
striking range
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has no chance whatsoever.
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Some people look at predators
as being
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cruel and this sort of thing,
but that's really not the case.
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If you were an animal
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that's been injured
in nature,
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be you a deer in the forest --
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if you've got a tiger round,
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the tiger will
kill and injure deer --
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if it breaks a leg,
instead of dying slowly,
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a tiger will spot it
and kill it.
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And the pike are sitting there
at the bottom of the lake,
253
00:18:05,135 --> 00:18:07,568
they're just not randomly
chasing any fish --
254
00:18:07,570 --> 00:18:10,872
they're looking for the ones
which are moving a bit slowly
255
00:18:10,874 --> 00:18:13,508
or aren't doing so well,
so, they're, um,
256
00:18:13,510 --> 00:18:15,276
maybe sort of like
an anesthetic --
257
00:18:15,278 --> 00:18:17,145
they put people
out of their misery --
258
00:18:17,147 --> 00:18:18,813
they put fish
out of their misery.
259
00:18:30,092 --> 00:18:32,960
People are always talking about
climates and changing,
260
00:18:32,962 --> 00:18:35,630
and these are changing,
and that sort of thing --
261
00:18:35,632 --> 00:18:37,365
the natural world
doesn't lie.
262
00:18:41,303 --> 00:18:44,906
You can see an increase
in temperature.
263
00:18:44,908 --> 00:18:46,574
Things are moving
264
00:18:46,576 --> 00:18:48,676
north and west
all the time,
265
00:18:48,678 --> 00:18:50,778
because they're able to tolerate
266
00:18:50,780 --> 00:18:53,614
living in those sort of
warmer conditions
267
00:18:53,616 --> 00:18:55,449
that are
now on offer there.
268
00:19:00,923 --> 00:19:03,324
So, you'll get this gradual
influx in species,
269
00:19:03,326 --> 00:19:05,493
and the Shannon is going to,
you know --
270
00:19:05,495 --> 00:19:08,029
things are going to start
being able to live here
271
00:19:08,031 --> 00:19:11,065
that couldn't
live here before.
272
00:19:33,789 --> 00:19:35,590
I remember the first time
I saw egrets,
273
00:19:35,592 --> 00:19:38,559
it was in the south of Spain,
and I thought they were
274
00:19:38,561 --> 00:19:40,728
the most exotic thing
I'd ever seen.
275
00:19:40,730 --> 00:19:42,430
I was walking up in the hills
276
00:19:42,432 --> 00:19:44,699
and I came over by
this little lake,
277
00:19:44,701 --> 00:19:48,102
and there were these beautiful,
pure white birds
278
00:19:48,104 --> 00:19:50,438
wading around
in the shallows.
279
00:19:50,440 --> 00:19:52,707
And I couldn't quite believe
what I was seeing,
280
00:19:52,709 --> 00:19:55,376
and little did I know that,
within, I suppose, 20 years,
281
00:19:55,378 --> 00:19:57,478
that those birds would have
made it to Ireland,
282
00:19:57,480 --> 00:19:59,413
and they're breeding alongside
our herons.
283
00:19:59,415 --> 00:20:01,315
That's something
I never thought I'd see.
284
00:20:01,317 --> 00:20:06,053
[Birds calling]
285
00:20:06,055 --> 00:20:07,555
There's something
about herons, too,
286
00:20:07,557 --> 00:20:09,090
when you see them
sort of hunched-up,
287
00:20:09,092 --> 00:20:10,725
they can look sort of
a little bit angry,
288
00:20:10,727 --> 00:20:12,360
a little bit, sort of,
fed up with life.
289
00:20:12,362 --> 00:20:15,129
The egrets are like,
290
00:20:15,131 --> 00:20:17,531
the new, beautiful cousins
have just come along,
291
00:20:17,533 --> 00:20:20,001
and they're kind of taking their
limelight or something.
292
00:20:20,003 --> 00:20:21,769
And they seem to
put up with them.
293
00:20:21,771 --> 00:20:24,405
And the egrets, I guess,
are just so much more elegant.
294
00:20:31,213 --> 00:20:32,813
Everything seems
295
00:20:32,815 --> 00:20:34,382
very calm --
it's as if they've been
296
00:20:34,384 --> 00:20:35,816
living together
all their lives.
297
00:20:35,818 --> 00:20:39,086
The two species seem to,
sort of,
298
00:20:39,088 --> 00:20:41,956
accept each other's presence...
even though they must be
299
00:20:41,958 --> 00:20:45,726
in competition for feeding sites
and nesting sites.
300
00:20:45,728 --> 00:20:49,230
My guess is there's so many fish
in the river
301
00:20:49,232 --> 00:20:52,600
that there's no big competition.
302
00:20:52,602 --> 00:20:55,770
[Birds calling]
303
00:21:01,310 --> 00:21:04,712
Great sounds.
304
00:21:04,714 --> 00:21:07,548
One of the parents
has just come in
305
00:21:07,550 --> 00:21:10,351
and they're all just
going for it.
306
00:21:10,353 --> 00:21:15,356
It's a real
survival of the fittest.
307
00:21:15,358 --> 00:21:18,693
All the chicks have to be
on their feet, as it were,
308
00:21:18,695 --> 00:21:21,395
and scrambling for food,
and that's what it's --
309
00:21:21,397 --> 00:21:23,698
it's known as
"scramble competition" --
310
00:21:23,700 --> 00:21:25,633
you've got to make
your presence
311
00:21:25,635 --> 00:21:28,169
known to your parents
so that you'll be fed,
312
00:21:28,171 --> 00:21:30,371
because if the parent
doesn't spot you
313
00:21:30,373 --> 00:21:32,673
and you start missing out
on your meals,
314
00:21:32,675 --> 00:21:35,176
you'll end up getting weak
and not making it.
315
00:21:46,855 --> 00:21:50,691
My fear is that little guy
has no chance,
316
00:21:50,693 --> 00:21:52,927
no future.
317
00:21:58,700 --> 00:22:01,736
It's sad.
318
00:22:01,738 --> 00:22:05,639
Nature can be tough.
319
00:23:00,629 --> 00:23:02,630
[Bird calling]
320
00:23:02,632 --> 00:23:06,567
That's a sound now that's really
rare in these parts.
321
00:23:06,569 --> 00:23:09,003
That's a corncrake.
322
00:23:09,005 --> 00:23:10,237
[Calling]
323
00:23:10,239 --> 00:23:12,740
I remember the days when they
were so common,
324
00:23:12,742 --> 00:23:15,643
they were found in pretty much
every field in Ireland.
325
00:23:15,645 --> 00:23:17,178
And I used to listen to them
326
00:23:17,180 --> 00:23:19,447
just a few miles from
Dublin city center
327
00:23:19,449 --> 00:23:22,116
when I was growing up,
but now they've really
328
00:23:22,118 --> 00:23:24,552
disappeared from
so much of the country.
329
00:23:24,554 --> 00:23:29,290
When you cut silage, you cut it
early in the season.
330
00:23:29,292 --> 00:23:30,991
So, when you have
331
00:23:30,993 --> 00:23:33,828
a bird like the corncrake
that nests in long grass,
332
00:23:33,830 --> 00:23:36,797
it's just gotten to the stage of
finding a mate
333
00:23:36,799 --> 00:23:39,400
and the female's sitting on
their nests,
334
00:23:39,402 --> 00:23:40,734
sitting on her eggs,
335
00:23:40,736 --> 00:23:43,337
and that's when
the grass cutters arrive.
336
00:23:43,339 --> 00:23:45,639
So, they don't have time
to raise their young,
337
00:23:45,641 --> 00:23:47,575
so year on year,
corncrakes have just
338
00:23:47,577 --> 00:23:49,443
disappeared
all over the country --
339
00:23:49,445 --> 00:23:51,045
and it happened
very quickly.
340
00:23:51,047 --> 00:23:52,913
And here on the Shannon
they've been making
341
00:23:52,915 --> 00:23:54,882
a bit of a stand down on
the Shannon Callows,
342
00:23:54,884 --> 00:23:59,019
probably because that land was
used a little less intensively
343
00:23:59,021 --> 00:24:01,455
than other parts
of the country.
344
00:24:01,457 --> 00:24:05,526
And unfortunately, they've done
really badly the last few years,
345
00:24:05,528 --> 00:24:07,128
and I've heard this year
346
00:24:07,130 --> 00:24:11,999
that there's actually just one
male left calling.
347
00:24:12,001 --> 00:24:15,102
[Calling]
348
00:24:15,104 --> 00:24:18,672
He's calling to establish
a territory,
349
00:24:18,674 --> 00:24:22,443
but to let a female
know that he's about.
350
00:24:22,445 --> 00:24:24,145
Because if you're a corncrake
351
00:24:24,147 --> 00:24:26,313
wandering round
in the deep grass,
352
00:24:26,315 --> 00:24:27,848
you can't find each other.
353
00:24:27,850 --> 00:24:30,384
So, it's up to him to call in
the female.
354
00:24:30,386 --> 00:24:33,120
And if there's a receptive
female in the area,
355
00:24:33,122 --> 00:24:35,523
she should come and have
a look at him.
356
00:24:35,525 --> 00:24:38,559
But it seems very likely,
very possible,
357
00:24:38,561 --> 00:24:40,895
that there's no one
out there for him.
358
00:24:40,897 --> 00:24:43,764
[Corncrake calling in distance]
359
00:24:43,766 --> 00:24:46,333
When I go to sleep tonight,
360
00:24:46,335 --> 00:24:47,935
there's a good chance
361
00:24:47,937 --> 00:24:50,104
when I wake up
in the morning
362
00:24:50,106 --> 00:24:53,207
that little guy is still
going to be calling,
363
00:24:53,209 --> 00:24:56,277
because the only thing
on his mind right now
364
00:24:56,279 --> 00:24:58,579
is finding a mate --
that's why
365
00:24:58,581 --> 00:25:00,881
he's flown here
all the way from Africa.
366
00:25:00,883 --> 00:25:02,183
He doesn't know that
367
00:25:02,185 --> 00:25:03,751
there aren't any other
corncrakes here.
368
00:25:03,753 --> 00:25:07,555
He doesn't know that
there aren't any females.
369
00:25:07,557 --> 00:25:10,991
Poor little guy
out there alone.
370
00:25:10,993 --> 00:25:14,461
[Corncrake calling]
371
00:25:14,463 --> 00:25:18,332
He'll be calling
all night.
372
00:25:18,334 --> 00:25:22,469
All day, too, probably,
if he doesn't have any luck.
373
00:25:33,915 --> 00:25:38,686
Shannon's going to flow through
this area, now,
374
00:25:38,688 --> 00:25:41,589
and not hear that call again.
375
00:25:41,591 --> 00:25:45,025
[Calling]
376
00:26:39,748 --> 00:26:42,016
It's like being in
another world.
377
00:26:42,018 --> 00:26:44,551
Very peaceful,
378
00:26:44,553 --> 00:26:48,188
just the sounds of
the reeds themselves,
379
00:26:48,190 --> 00:26:50,557
blowing gently
in the wind, and...
380
00:26:50,559 --> 00:26:54,862
But all this activity that's
going on that's unseen,
381
00:26:54,864 --> 00:26:59,700
all the birds building their
little platform floating nests,
382
00:26:59,702 --> 00:27:02,670
sitting on eggs,
chicks hatching,
383
00:27:02,672 --> 00:27:04,605
that's all going on now
all around here.
384
00:27:04,607 --> 00:27:06,206
Just by listening
to the sounds,
385
00:27:06,208 --> 00:27:10,411
you can tell that's
what's going on.
386
00:27:10,413 --> 00:27:13,814
None of the residents in here
can see each other, either.
387
00:27:13,816 --> 00:27:16,617
[Birds calling,
water splashing ]
388
00:27:16,619 --> 00:27:18,886
So, that's why they're
constantly calling.
389
00:27:18,888 --> 00:27:21,655
Letting each other know
where they are.
390
00:27:21,657 --> 00:27:25,359
Contact calling --
it's lovely to hear.
391
00:27:29,331 --> 00:27:32,766
There's always
one animal every year
392
00:27:32,768 --> 00:27:35,969
that sort of somehow
gets into your mind
393
00:27:35,971 --> 00:27:38,105
and just starts to
fascinate you,
394
00:27:38,107 --> 00:27:40,808
and for me it's been
the great crested grebe.
395
00:27:48,049 --> 00:27:51,251
The eggs hatch on different
days, because as soon as
396
00:27:51,253 --> 00:27:54,988
the first egg is laid,
the female starts incubating it.
397
00:27:59,627 --> 00:28:02,129
Both parents are very diligent.
398
00:28:02,131 --> 00:28:06,467
They have these amazing
parental instincts.
399
00:28:29,190 --> 00:28:30,424
The little grebe chicks
400
00:28:30,426 --> 00:28:32,459
must be some of the cutest
chicks on the river.
401
00:28:32,461 --> 00:28:34,328
Their beautiful little
striped pattern,
402
00:28:34,330 --> 00:28:39,199
so different looking
than their parents.
403
00:28:39,201 --> 00:28:43,070
Grebe parents will actually
pluck their own feathers
404
00:28:43,072 --> 00:28:46,540
and feed them
to the chicks.
405
00:28:46,542 --> 00:28:50,377
It's a remarkable
thing to see.
406
00:29:00,021 --> 00:29:03,824
Beautiful birds.
407
00:29:43,998 --> 00:29:47,534
Amazing how the whole world
seems to have gone silent now.
408
00:29:47,536 --> 00:29:51,071
It's -- every year I notice
around the 15th of July or so,
409
00:29:51,073 --> 00:29:53,941
it's as if someone had just
flicked a switch.
410
00:29:53,943 --> 00:29:55,776
The Shannon is no different --
411
00:29:55,778 --> 00:29:58,212
all the birds
just stop making noise.
412
00:29:58,214 --> 00:30:00,614
And that's 'cause the breeding
season is over
413
00:30:00,616 --> 00:30:02,616
and they don't
have to sing anymore,
414
00:30:02,618 --> 00:30:05,853
they don't any longer have to
defend breeding territories,
415
00:30:05,855 --> 00:30:09,289
they don't have to
attract females.
416
00:30:09,291 --> 00:30:14,761
There's no reason to sing,
and that's why they've stopped.
417
00:30:14,763 --> 00:30:18,899
But it really seems to happen
over a matter of a week or so,
418
00:30:18,901 --> 00:30:21,535
it just, suddenly,
just goes quiet.
419
00:30:21,537 --> 00:30:24,571
Absolutely quiet.
420
00:31:18,626 --> 00:31:20,360
The greatest angler
421
00:31:20,362 --> 00:31:22,262
on the river has got to be
the kingfisher.
422
00:31:22,264 --> 00:31:25,365
They're just master fishermen --
and they've got to be,
423
00:31:25,367 --> 00:31:27,167
because they can pretty much eat
424
00:31:27,169 --> 00:31:29,570
their own body weight
in food every day.
425
00:31:31,072 --> 00:31:33,106
Most of the time,
you just see
426
00:31:33,108 --> 00:31:35,342
a flash of blue.
427
00:31:35,344 --> 00:31:37,444
But to really see
how beautiful they are,
428
00:31:37,446 --> 00:31:38,979
you've got to slow them down.
429
00:33:37,565 --> 00:33:40,600
I'm starting to see
subtle changes in color
430
00:33:40,602 --> 00:33:42,636
on the riverbanks.
431
00:33:42,638 --> 00:33:47,040
Autumn isn't far away.
432
00:34:37,825 --> 00:34:40,327
Great to see
the red squirrels around.
433
00:34:40,329 --> 00:34:44,831
The Shannon, which formed
a barrier to people long ago,
434
00:34:44,833 --> 00:34:48,034
has been really important for
the red squirrel in Ireland,
435
00:34:48,036 --> 00:34:50,604
because when someone decided,
in their wisdom
436
00:34:50,606 --> 00:34:51,972
to bring the grays here,
437
00:34:51,974 --> 00:34:55,909
the grays never actually managed
to cross the Shannon.
438
00:34:55,911 --> 00:34:59,679
And so that's why the reds
are still here.
439
00:34:59,681 --> 00:35:02,149
The poor little blighters,
they just can't compete.
440
00:35:02,151 --> 00:35:03,283
It's not that the grays
441
00:35:03,285 --> 00:35:05,152
are physically fighting
with them,
442
00:35:05,154 --> 00:35:07,387
it's just that they
find the food quicker.
443
00:35:07,389 --> 00:35:08,955
They'll take food that's still
444
00:35:08,957 --> 00:35:11,358
sort of raw -- raw nuts
and that sort of thing.
445
00:35:11,360 --> 00:35:13,527
And these little guys
just can't compete.
446
00:35:13,529 --> 00:35:17,464
And so, they -- the females
don't put on enough weight,
447
00:35:17,466 --> 00:35:19,566
and so they don't breed.
448
00:35:19,568 --> 00:35:22,969
Earlier I found
some pine marten scat.
449
00:35:22,971 --> 00:35:28,175
There's some sort of evidence
that maybe they are able to
450
00:35:28,177 --> 00:35:31,244
catch gray squirrels,
easier than reds.
451
00:35:31,246 --> 00:35:32,546
Reds are a little more agile,
452
00:35:32,548 --> 00:35:34,748
they can get to the outer
branches of the trees,
453
00:35:34,750 --> 00:35:36,883
maybe where the pine martens
can't catch them.
454
00:35:36,885 --> 00:35:40,954
It may be that with the rise of
the pine marten again,
455
00:35:40,956 --> 00:35:43,924
that grays are going to
be disadvantaged
456
00:35:43,926 --> 00:35:46,560
and the reds might
make a comeback.
457
00:35:46,562 --> 00:35:48,695
That would be great
if that happened --
458
00:35:48,697 --> 00:35:50,730
and it just might.
459
00:37:28,362 --> 00:37:31,598
For anyone who spends time
on the water,
460
00:37:31,600 --> 00:37:33,300
they know that sound.
461
00:37:33,302 --> 00:37:37,203
That's just the sound of
the Shannon in winter.
462
00:37:37,205 --> 00:37:40,707
Wonderful, haunting
sort of call,
463
00:37:40,709 --> 00:37:44,444
the sounds of
the whoopers arriving.
464
00:37:44,446 --> 00:37:47,113
The end of the autumn
and beginning of winter
465
00:37:47,115 --> 00:37:49,816
is when they tend to arrive,
and they've been chased
466
00:37:49,818 --> 00:37:51,851
from their northern
breeding grounds
467
00:37:51,853 --> 00:37:53,653
by the cold weather
up there --
468
00:37:53,655 --> 00:37:55,255
they fly south
to avoid it.
469
00:37:55,257 --> 00:37:58,425
They come to the Shannon because
there's a great big larder here
470
00:37:58,427 --> 00:38:00,560
to keep them going
for the winter months.
471
00:38:04,165 --> 00:38:06,232
You really have to watch
swans taking off
472
00:38:06,234 --> 00:38:08,234
to see that flight
doesn't really come
473
00:38:08,236 --> 00:38:09,736
all that naturally
to them.
474
00:38:09,738 --> 00:38:12,372
They really have to push those
bodies up into the air.
475
00:38:14,709 --> 00:38:16,743
You'd think that
they'd be a bird
476
00:38:16,745 --> 00:38:18,979
that maybe couldn't fly
all that far,
477
00:38:18,981 --> 00:38:22,248
but they can fly all the way
from Iceland to here, nonstop.
478
00:38:33,027 --> 00:38:35,795
[Honking]
479
00:38:35,797 --> 00:38:38,732
Once you make a decision
to undertake that flight,
480
00:38:38,734 --> 00:38:40,734
there's sort of
no turning back,
481
00:38:40,736 --> 00:38:43,136
because you've nothing
to turn back to,
482
00:38:43,138 --> 00:38:45,405
so, no matter
what obstacle they hit,
483
00:38:45,407 --> 00:38:48,408
or what weather they hit,
they just have to keep going.
484
00:38:48,410 --> 00:38:50,443
[Honking]
485
00:39:10,531 --> 00:39:13,600
They must be very, very pleased
when they see
486
00:39:13,602 --> 00:39:16,636
the ribbon of the Shannon River
from the air.
487
00:39:21,842 --> 00:39:24,110
Maybe they're calling because
they're just happy to be here.
488
00:40:10,991 --> 00:40:15,728
They must use up a huge amount
of energy on that flight.
489
00:40:15,730 --> 00:40:18,164
But when they get here,
they're as graceful
490
00:40:18,166 --> 00:40:19,532
as when they took off --
491
00:40:19,534 --> 00:40:22,469
you'd swear that they'd just
come from down the road.
492
00:40:22,471 --> 00:40:26,873
They're just looking absolutely
perfect and pristine.
493
00:40:28,843 --> 00:40:32,112
Some journey to undertake.
494
00:40:32,114 --> 00:40:33,847
But one thing's for sure,
495
00:40:33,849 --> 00:40:36,950
when they arrive here
there's loads of food.
496
00:40:36,952 --> 00:40:40,386
They're vegetarians, they come
here to feed on the grass,
497
00:40:40,388 --> 00:40:41,955
is what they like to eat,
498
00:40:41,957 --> 00:40:44,691
and there's no shortage of grass
in Ireland.
499
00:41:29,770 --> 00:41:34,340
We tend to spend so much of our
lives indoors now, and in cars,
500
00:41:34,342 --> 00:41:38,044
we may be losing touch with
those sort of seasonal markers
501
00:41:38,046 --> 00:41:41,848
which give you a sense of a time
of year and where you are.
502
00:41:44,652 --> 00:41:47,720
Our houses are probably
as warm in winter now
503
00:41:47,722 --> 00:41:49,255
as they are in summer,
504
00:41:49,257 --> 00:41:51,758
and we eat
any kind of food we want
505
00:41:51,760 --> 00:41:53,193
at any time of year,
506
00:41:53,195 --> 00:41:56,629
so those sort of traditional
markers of the seasons
507
00:41:56,631 --> 00:41:58,531
are sort of disappearing.
508
00:41:58,533 --> 00:42:00,900
And in the natural world,
of course,
509
00:42:00,902 --> 00:42:02,735
they're very much still there,
510
00:42:02,737 --> 00:42:05,071
they're still driven by
the climate,
511
00:42:05,073 --> 00:42:06,239
angle of the sun,
512
00:42:06,241 --> 00:42:08,541
day length --
all those things,
513
00:42:08,543 --> 00:42:10,176
that wonderful sense of
514
00:42:10,178 --> 00:42:12,412
a year --
something cyclical.
515
00:42:37,304 --> 00:42:42,275
[Thunder rolling]
516
00:43:19,380 --> 00:43:23,149
This is a rare cold snap
and it won't last long.
517
00:43:23,151 --> 00:43:25,918
As soon as
the temperatures rise,
518
00:43:25,920 --> 00:43:28,521
things will start
moving again.
519
00:44:03,223 --> 00:44:05,325
That's a great sound...
520
00:44:05,327 --> 00:44:07,593
Guess, to lots of people,
521
00:44:07,595 --> 00:44:10,797
birdsong is the first sign
of spring,
522
00:44:10,799 --> 00:44:14,434
but for me it's the croaking of
the frog --
523
00:44:14,436 --> 00:44:18,338
breeding season
has begun.
524
00:44:18,340 --> 00:44:20,573
Male frogs,
lots of them,
525
00:44:20,575 --> 00:44:23,576
calling to lure in
the females.
526
00:44:23,578 --> 00:44:27,647
[Frogs croaking]
527
00:44:29,650 --> 00:44:32,952
Males await the arrival
of the next female.
528
00:44:32,954 --> 00:44:35,154
This is an annual opportunity,
529
00:44:35,156 --> 00:44:38,091
and they want to
make the most of it.
530
00:44:38,093 --> 00:44:41,027
Some of these little males have
spent the winter
531
00:44:41,029 --> 00:44:43,796
at the bottom of the pond,
hibernating there.
532
00:44:43,798 --> 00:44:46,032
It means that
they're in position,
533
00:44:46,034 --> 00:44:47,967
they're in
the breeding pond,
534
00:44:47,969 --> 00:44:50,403
when the females arrive
at springtime.
535
00:44:50,405 --> 00:44:54,707
Females can be scattered out
over this entire area.
536
00:44:54,709 --> 00:44:56,943
Something wakes them up --
537
00:44:56,945 --> 00:44:58,778
the same sort of cues,
I guess,
538
00:44:58,780 --> 00:45:00,847
that wake up the males,
wake up the females.
539
00:45:00,849 --> 00:45:03,649
They've been wintering
under stone walls
540
00:45:03,651 --> 00:45:06,352
or under bits of boulders
or under logs.
541
00:45:06,354 --> 00:45:07,920
And some of these females
542
00:45:07,922 --> 00:45:11,023
have to make this arduous
journey across the land,
543
00:45:11,025 --> 00:45:13,593
laden with eggs.
544
00:45:14,628 --> 00:45:16,429
Some sort of instinct
545
00:45:16,431 --> 00:45:19,298
drives them back towards
these breeding ponds.
546
00:45:19,300 --> 00:45:22,602
And then it's the calls of
the male that lure them in.
547
00:45:22,604 --> 00:45:25,872
[Croaking]
548
00:46:18,759 --> 00:46:22,462
The poor females, you got to
feel sorry for them,
549
00:46:22,464 --> 00:46:24,363
because all these males
550
00:46:24,365 --> 00:46:28,367
have only one thing
on their mind right now.
551
00:46:30,404 --> 00:46:33,372
She's on the edge of the pond,
thinking, "Oh, will I, won't I?"
552
00:46:33,374 --> 00:46:37,410
And when she makes
that final jump in,
553
00:46:37,412 --> 00:46:40,580
all hell breaks loose.
554
00:47:03,570 --> 00:47:05,638
Now, these little males,
what they're trying to do is,
555
00:47:05,640 --> 00:47:07,807
they're trying to grab
the female.
556
00:47:07,809 --> 00:47:09,842
They have special pads
on their little hands,
557
00:47:09,844 --> 00:47:11,210
and what
they're trying to do is
558
00:47:11,212 --> 00:47:14,247
get into
the right position.
559
00:47:14,249 --> 00:47:16,449
They will wrestle
each other,
560
00:47:16,451 --> 00:47:18,484
and she is stuck
in the middle.
561
00:47:29,696 --> 00:47:31,864
Once they're really
tight on there
562
00:47:31,866 --> 00:47:33,432
and in the right position,
563
00:47:33,434 --> 00:47:36,335
they will hang on
for dear life.
564
00:47:36,337 --> 00:47:41,007
And for the next few days
they will not leave her.
565
00:47:41,009 --> 00:47:44,977
Life for a female frog
is not very easy.
566
00:47:47,180 --> 00:47:49,916
The other males sort of know
and they give up.
567
00:47:49,918 --> 00:47:52,952
Right, she's taken.
568
00:47:52,954 --> 00:47:55,521
And then they wait for
the next one to arrive.
569
00:47:55,523 --> 00:47:57,223
[Croaking]
570
00:47:57,225 --> 00:47:58,991
Love frogs.
571
00:48:35,796 --> 00:48:37,697
Every evening...
572
00:48:37,699 --> 00:48:40,533
every evening this happens.
573
00:48:45,472 --> 00:48:47,840
Small flocks of little starlings
574
00:48:47,842 --> 00:48:50,676
come together to form
bigger flocks.
575
00:49:01,355 --> 00:49:03,456
Just remarkable
how so many birds
576
00:49:03,458 --> 00:49:06,158
come from the entire
surrounding countryside.
577
00:49:06,160 --> 00:49:08,628
They all make their way
578
00:49:08,630 --> 00:49:11,631
back to this one
little spot.
579
00:49:18,372 --> 00:49:20,439
And those flocks start to wheel
580
00:49:20,441 --> 00:49:24,343
just a few minutes before they
actually hit the reed beds.
581
00:49:24,345 --> 00:49:27,780
There's just those extraordinary
abstract patterns,
582
00:49:27,782 --> 00:49:30,082
from a distance
they could be Ireland,
583
00:49:30,084 --> 00:49:31,384
or a swarm of locusts,
584
00:49:31,386 --> 00:49:32,752
or a swarm of bees --
585
00:49:32,754 --> 00:49:35,287
it's very hard to get
a sense of scale.
586
00:50:09,656 --> 00:50:14,527
Many ways, this is the greatest
natural spectacle in Ireland.
587
00:50:14,529 --> 00:50:17,563
It's just some sight.
588
00:50:17,565 --> 00:50:23,002
And the sounds -- the sounds of
myriads of beating wings.
589
00:50:23,004 --> 00:50:27,039
[Thrumming of wings]
590
00:50:50,731 --> 00:50:55,334
Amazing sight --
just amazing.
591
00:51:20,360 --> 00:51:22,762
My journey is coming
to an end now,
592
00:51:22,764 --> 00:51:25,397
and I've learned so much
along the way.
593
00:51:25,399 --> 00:51:28,400
I've experienced this river
in every season,
594
00:51:28,402 --> 00:51:30,636
I've gotten to know
its moods,
595
00:51:30,638 --> 00:51:32,571
gotten to know its creatures.
596
00:51:32,573 --> 00:51:36,275
Somehow, it's sort of
gotten into me
597
00:51:36,277 --> 00:51:40,146
and feels like
it's a part of me know.
598
00:51:40,148 --> 00:51:42,915
It's no longer a river...
599
00:51:42,917 --> 00:51:45,818
Kind of my river.
600
00:51:49,790 --> 00:51:51,690
But it's our river.
601
00:51:51,692 --> 00:51:56,095
Its future health and wellbeing
is up to us.
602
00:52:40,740 --> 00:52:44,944
To learn more about what you've
seen on this "Nature" program,