Summer begins out at sea, in at the deep end with a two-metre long apex predator – a blue shark, here to feed in the warmer months. Hamza then heads to his home in Scotland to help his dear friend and neighbour catch a glimpse of an elusive otter. From there, a nocturnal trip to Dorset reveals a bizarre summer bird, with the help of an advanced thermal camera, and Hamza reveals the hidden world of millions of wood ants using specialist macro equipment.

Back in Scotland, felled trees and carefully constructed dams betray the presence of wild beavers, giving us the first chance to see these wonderful animals – absent, for 400 years. Heading back down to south Wales, Hamza brings special night-time cameras to film the emergence of more than a thousand greater horseshoe bats.

On a leafy suburban street in Leeds, common swifts scream and wheel overhead thanks to a community-wide effort to install nest boxes – creating a new neighbourhood for this rapidly declining bird. As summer ends, Hamza heads back out to sea to find the ultimate needle in a haystack; a pod of common dolphins somewhere in the vast Celtic sea.

Filming Feats:

• Underwater filming first – Swapping his long lens and tripod for a snorkel and underwater camera, Hamza and the crew travelled over 30 miles from Milford Haven Marina, out into the Celtic Sea to find blue sharks. This was his first experience filming underwater, and his first time face to face with blue sharks in British waters.
• Nightjars – Nocturnal behaviour caught on camera for the first time. Hamza teams up with expert thermal cameraman Mark Yates for an exhilarating night of filming nightjars hunting on the wing. Using cutting-edge thermal imaging technology, they were able to reveal the nocturnal feeding behaviour of this elusive species — all in complete darkness.

Locations and species filmed:

• Blue shark: The Celtic Sea, 30 miles off Pembrokeshire
• Otters: Kilchoan, Ardnarmurchan Peninsula, Scotland
• Southern wood ants: RSPB Arne, Dorset
• Nightjars: RSPB Arne, Dorset
• Beavers: Lerrock Farm, Perthshire
• Bats: National Trust Stackpole Estate, Pembrokeshire
• Swifts: Leeds
• Dolphins: The Celtic Sea, 30 miles off Pembrokeshire