Perthshire plays a leading role in the opening programme of a new nature series, Highlands – Scotland’s Wild Heart.
The four-part BBC One Scotland series starts at 9pm on Wednesday and will feature a section with dippers at the river Braan, near Dunkeld.
As viewers will see, a cataclysmic downpour has major consequences for a family of dippers. These small birds nest under waterfalls and when their home river turns into a thundering torrent, they’re forced to fledge early before the nest is swept away.
Cameraman Lindsay McCrae said: “The chicks risked everything, but it made an incredible story for the series.”
The Perthshire connections don’t end there – film star Ewan McGregor from Crieff narrates the programme and up-and coming programme-maker Fergus Gill from the village of Wolfhill was part of the production team on the series.
He was acting as camera assistant and also did some field research for the series.
Fergus (24) said: “”I’ve always had a real passion for Scottish wildlife and working in natural history filmmaking has been a lifelong ambition. I couldn’t have wished for a better project to work on than Highlands, with Scottish wildlife at its core.
“Some of the encounters we filmed will live long in my memory none more so than the dippers, raising a family in Highland Perthshire during a particularly cold and wet spring.
.“Working on Highlands alongside some of the country’s most talented cameramen, producers and researchers was a fantastic experience. The series provided a great opportunity to utilise my knowledge and passion for the flora and fauna of the highlands, whilst gaining an insight into the filmmaking industry.”
Executive producer at Maramedia Nigel Pope said: “We were delighted to have Fergus as part of the team. His wildlife knowledge is fantastic ad we think he has a good career in wildlife film-making ahead of him.”
Three years in the making, a team from Maramedia filmed for more than 300 days across the full gamut of Scottish weather. The series follows the course of the seasons over a wild year in the Highlands revealing how the animals and people of this part of the world manage to turn adversity to their advantage and make a real success living here.
Like Hebrides, the series is narrated by Ewan McGregor and like Hebrides, it will follow the seasons over the first three parts with a fourth episode looking at the people who work and live alongside the animals – the scientists, conservationists and local people working to rebuild wild landscape and habitats.
