Sundays, 19.00 – 19.30
This ten-part radio documentary series sees Emmy Award-winning wildlife cameraman and television presenter Colin Stafford-Johnson turn his talents to radio.
Nature on One sees Colin travel across the country on the hunt for some of our most remarkable animals and wild places. Tune in and allow yourself to be transported to Skellig Michael, with its noisy storm petrels, Manx shearwaters and puffins; or into the midst of a grey seal colony on the windswept Inishkea Islands; venture below ground and imagine being surrounded by swarming bats; or experience the sounds recorded inside a starling roost under a Belfast bridge.
Over the course of ten weeks, Colin will guide his audience on an intimate tour of Ireland’s natural world.
Episode 3: The Seal Colony of the Inishkeas
Colin Stafford Johnson joins grey seal expert Dr Oliver O’Cadhla on a visit to South Inishkea, off the Mullet Peninsula, home to one of Ireland’s largest seal breeding colonies. Having spent years researching the seals at this colony for his PhD, Oliver is passionate about this place and these animals and explains their struggle to survive in this harsh environment. It’s mid-October and very cold, there are lots of pups on the beach, but they won’t all make it. The mothers are busy feeding their young, while the large dominant male seals protect their harem. On this remote wild island, we get a peek into the secret lives of the grey seals that are born there.
Location: South Inishkea, Co. Mayo
Contributors: Dr Oliver O’Cadhla
Picture Caption: Oliver O’Cadhla and Colin on the lookout for seals on the Inishkeas.