BBC1
In UK from 12 March
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THE UK鈥檚 forests are incredibly diverse, and no one understands this better than Chris Howard. A veteran of the BBC鈥檚 Springwatch series, Howard has filmed British wildlife for over a decade 鈥� and has just spent three years delving into its woodlands for a new landmark documentary, Wild Isles.
Howard was volunteering in Scotland鈥檚 pine woods, a place close to his heart, in 2019 when he received an offer he couldn鈥檛 refuse: the BBC and David Attenborough were making a series set in the UK and Ireland, with the kind of budget given to shows like Planet Earth.
In 鈥淲oodland鈥�, one of the two episodes he has directed for Wild Isles, Howard highlights a complex truth about the UK. It supports a rare mix of forest types and is a haven for bluebells and oaks, yet with woodland covering only 13 per cent of the country, the UK is one of Europe鈥檚 least forested nations. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the diversity and the richness of those little fragments we have left that make us globally important,鈥� says Howard.
Capturing that took the team across the UK, from Bodmin Moor in south-west England to Howard鈥檚 beloved pine woods. Here, he faced a huge challenge: filming golden eagle chicks as they fledged in tree nests.
鈥淭here are over 500 pairs of golden eagles across the country, but we only have 20 in our woodlands,鈥� says Howard. Of that number, it was possible to film only two or three pairs.
Three summers of frustration ensued. The covid-19 pandemic scuppered the first attempt; when restrictions lifted, camera operator Lindsay McCrae was quickly installed in a photography hide near a nest in Glen Tanar, but the chick fledged before enough footage could be amassed.
In 2021, the team returned to Glen Tanar, but the eagles鈥� nest became unusable after a snow storm knocked it to the ground. The breeding pair tried again with a different nest, but their egg failed.
鈥淎t that point, I gave up and wrote them out,鈥� says Howard. Then, a contact sent him photos of the two eagle chicks that now open the episode. With neighbours such as red squirrels and capercaillie (a woodland grouse, above), they embody the splendour of a rare habitat threatened by climate change and other pressures.
鈥淲oodland鈥� is the second of five episodes of Wild Isles, which airs weekly in the UK from 12 March and will also tackle freshwater, grassland and ocean habitats. The episode packs an amazing number of wonders into its 60 minutes, from the enormous, corkscrewing penises of ash-black slugs to the enterprising robins that follow wild boar for the earthworms their trotters uncover.
A particular highlight is an explosion of pollen from an ancient yew forest in Sussex as the male flowers open at the same time, creating huge clouds. 鈥淭he fire brigade quite often get called out, because people think the forest is burning,鈥� says Howard.
Then there is thermal camera footage of a starling murmuration besieged by a hungry barn owl. Attenborough was surprised, says Howard. 鈥淗e said, 鈥業鈥檝e never seen starlings filmed that way before鈥�. 鈥�
If even Attenborough is still learning about the inhabitants of UK forests, that should tell us how precious these ecosystems are. 鈥淭here鈥檚 something about them that speaks to us,鈥� says Howard. 鈥淲e try and leave the episode on a message that we鈥檝e got to do better.鈥�
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