Wild Isles “Woodland” (BBC One Sunday 19 March 2023)

Wild Isles airs a new episode tonight Sunday 19 March 2023 on BBC One.

“Woodland” Despite its mystique and romance, Britain’s forests are in danger of being cut down because the UK is one of the least wooded countries in Europe. Sir David Attenborough tracks the changing of the seasons in our forests, illuminating a wide variety of beautiful creatures and the hidden dramas that govern their existence.

A hungry robin in the dead of winter can’t get to the worms under the snow. Wild boar have been reintroduced to the Forest of Dean, providing a surprise and productive collaboration that has saved the lives of the local small bird population.

Once the snow melts in Kingly Vale, West Sussex, the yew trees release an enormous amount of pollen, creating thick clouds that make the countryside look like it’s on fire.

Midway through the summer, our temperate rainforests become home to a slimier creature. It’s hard to believe that the ash-black slug, the largest land slug in the world, has a mating process as bizarre as it is…

This autumn, we follow a fallow deer and a fungus down beneath the forest floor to discover how the latter’s underground network, which it calls the Wood Wide Web, serves as a critical link in the forest’s web, allowing for the exchange of nutrients and information between trees.

Our yearly journey’s end coincides with the stunning behaviour seen by night cameras at a starling roost. Thanks to modern equipment, we can finally witness what happens when starlings settle down for the night in the woodlands of Bodmin Moor: the owls swoop down and steal them.

Forest ecosystems are revealed to be intricate and precariously balanced in this episode, with species existing and dying in a web of interdependence. Over half of our old woodlands have been lost since David Attenborough was born, and only 13% of our islands are currently forested. If we are successful in replanting our vanished forests, we will once again be able to experience the same level of spectacle, drama, and mystery.

Airdate: Sunday 19 March 2023 at 7.00pm on BBC One.

Season 1 Episode 2

Featured Image Credit: BBC One