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WILD CITIES – BELFAST ***FINAL***

Wild Cities Belfast Starling 1 Image Name: Wild Cities Belfast Starling 1 Description: Wild Cities - Belfast a starling
Wild Cities Belfast Painted Lady 1 Image Name: Wild Cities Belfast Painted Lady 1 Description: Wild Cities - Belfast: a painted lady butterfly
Wild Cities Belfast Kingfisher 1 Image Name: Wild Cities Belfast Kingfisher 1 Description: Wild Cities - Belfast: a kingfisher
Wild Cities - Belfast Grey Squirrel 2 Image Name: Wild Cities - Belfast Grey Squirrel 2 Description: Wild Cities - Belfast: the grey squirrel
Wild Cities - Belfast Starling 2 Image Name: Wild Cities - Belfast Starling 2 Description: Wild Cities - Belfast starlings in flight
Wild Cities - Belfast - Simon Watt Presenter Image Name: Wild Cities - Belfast - Simon Watt Presenter Description: Wild Cities - Belfast presenter Simon Watt.

Episode 4, Wild Cities – Belfast, RTÉ One, Sunday, May 29th at 6.30pm

Biologist, science communicator, writer and comedian – Simon Watt has many strings to his bow but in this final episode of Wild Cities he’s our guide to Belfast’s wildlife wonders.

From the many seals seen sunning themselves in Belfast Harbour to the painted lady butterflies that are happy to spend their time on a waste ground in the city centre and the stunning kingfisher catching its lunch in waters at the back of an industrial estate, it’s here in Belfast we can truly see how life finds a way.

It’s also here in the heart of Belfast City that one of nature’s most spectacular sights can be witnessed as some 40,000 starlings twist and turn in unison, a liquid-like pulse of pure beauty before they suddenly dip under Albert Bridge and settle for the night.

Biography:  

Simon Watt is a Biologist, Science Communicator, Writer, Comedian and TV Presenter. He runs ‘Ready Steady Science’, a science communication company committed to making science interesting and takes science-based performances into schools, museums, theatres and festivals. He runs the ‘Ugly Animal Preservation Society’ and wrote the book book ‘The Ugly Animals: We can’t all be Pandas’. He is a regular contributor to newspapers, journals, TV, radio and web, and is perhaps best known as a presenter on the BAFTA winning documentary series Inside Nature’s Giants and the Channel 4 special The Elephant: Life After Death.

Series Overview

Wild Cities is a fascinating new four-part series set on the streets of Cork, Dublin, Galway and Belfast revealing each city’s wildest, yet most secretive residents – the wild animals that live there.

Filmed over three years using the most up-to-date camera technologies, next cameras, infrared ‘night vision’ and super slow-motion, Wild Cities reveals an urban world teeming with wildlife in the most unexpected and unusual places.

As more and more people move into cities and towns we are losing our vital connection with the natural world. Across this series we will reveal the wildlife that we share our urban spaces with and the aim is to get people to open their eyes, look around them and enjoy the natural wonders the city has to offer. People will be surprised by what they can see right under their noses. It is all right there – on your way to work, on a night out, in your local park or in your very own back garden.

Presented by four fresh new faces for RTÉ One – Rob Gandola, Dr Tara Shine, John Lusby and Simon Watt – each presenter has a special connection to and affinity with their city. They bring us on a very personal journey through their city, exploring its wildest corners.

A number of remarkable firsts were achieved by the dedicated production team over three years of filming in the four cities. Cameraman Domenico Pontillo spent countless days, weeks and hours waiting patiently in all weather conditions to capture spectacular scenes including slow-motion footage of kingfishers filmed in Belfast City and salmon on its migration upstream in Galway City. For the first time ever nest cameras have allowed us to enjoy footage of the long-eared owls in Phoenix Park and the latest infrared technology brings the audience into the secret world of barn owls in Galway and bats in Cork as never seen before.

Produced by the award-winning Wicklow-based filmmakers, Crossing the Line, these four programmes offer the very best in Natural History filmmaking.

“We wanted to show these animals that have adapted to living alongside us, but few of us ever notice them,” said producer, Cepa Giblin, “There are so many intriguing stories to tell. These are clever, tenacious, opportunistic animals, like the urban fox, pigeon and the herring gull, who – love them or hate them – have found a niche in our most densely populated cities. This is a really exciting new series”.