Seal pups in the Firth of Forth featured in the first programme of BBC1’s new flagship TV series, "The British Isles: A Natural History" screened on Wed 29th September.

The programme, entitled "3 Billion Years in the Making" and hosted by Alan Titchmarsh, focused on how seal pups on the Isle of May in the Firth of Forth hold the clue to Britain’s snowy heritage. The Isle of May is home to the largest colony of grey seals on the East Coast of Britain and each year from mid-October onwards, around 3,000 seals gather on the island to give birth to their fluffy white pups.

Lynda Dalgleish, Marketing Manager of the Scottish Seabird Centre at North Berwick commented, "As this major new programme goes out, we are eagerly awaiting the first of the pups to be born on the Isle of May. The females have started appearing in the bays around the island and the first pup is usually born around the middle of October.

"Visitors to the Scottish Seabird Centre from October through to Christmas will actually be able to see the whole cycle of life unfold for themselves – the fluffy white pups learning to swim and fending for themselves and huge bulls fighting over females. It’s hard to believe that, although we’re only half an hour from Edinburgh City Centre, we can watch these incredible wildlife scenes live from the Centre. "Anyone who can’t make it to the centre might be able to spot the seals on the centre’s live webcams at www.seabird.org."

Alan Titchmarsh and the BBC team spent several days at the Seabird Centre during filming last year and the new series also features the Bass Rock.

For more information:

• Scottish Seabird Centre
• British Isles: A Natural History