Tuesday 24 January 2012

Earthflight......................................... a nature documentary by the BBC

Sandwich Tern (Sterna sandvicensis)

We have a wonderful TV series created by the BBC showing in the UK at the moment.

"Take to the skies with Earthflight as it soars with the true masters of the air on a breathtaking journey across six vast continents. On the wings of birds it experiences the world’s greatest sights and natural spectacles as never before."

Their words not mine... but is has been a wonderful series to see and still one to go.
The clip below shows Perigrine Falcons hunting starlings in Rome.


To create its birds-eye view of the world Earthflight uses a host of extraordinary filming techniques including filming “imprinted” flocks from microlites wild flocks filmed from model gliders and silent drones full-sized helicopter with stabilised mounts and cameras on the backs of trained birds.
 Episode One was North America.
 This episode takes flight across North America as snow geese fall prey to bald eagles. 
The series has covered all the continents... it really is a must see.

Whooper Swans (Cygnus cygnus)

The images top and bottom are mine... I just wish I could lay claim to the video....

To see more wonderful birds click on the image below to visit
World Bird Wednesday LXII
CLICK THIS PICTURE!

37 comments:

Unknown said...

Fantastic clip Andrew!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

TexWisGirl said...

well, your images are beautiful (love those tandem swans!) but WOW! that video is spectacular!!! and i have my new favorite word: 'mesmeric' :)

Horst in Edmonton said...

Love the photo of the 2 Swans flying in formation. Just beautiful.

LeenaH said...

Pure beauties all those white birds of your beautiful photos.

Carole M. said...

Andrew, your whooper swans in flight is a beautiful photograph, and thank-you, I truly did enjoy that video clip you included with the starlings and peregrine. How magnificent, imagine the dexterity not only of the starlings, but also the photographer! Followed up by the city street overhead, well done.

John said...

Hi Adrian,
The only problem I have with `Earthflight` is the fact they have got David Tennant narrating it! Why oh why does the BBC have people like him and Stephen Fry (who narrated the whale documentary a while back) narrating natural science documentaries? They are obviously just reading what is in front of them and I doubt they have very little knowledge of the subjects involved! I know Sir David Attenborough is very busy, but there are more, better qualified people to do this sort of thing, Chris Packham, Nick Baker and Bill Oddie spring to mind! At least they know what they are talking about. Or maybe I am doing David Tennant an injustice?!
Rant over, great photo of the swans in flight! ;)
J
Follow me at HEDGELAND TALES

mick said...

Your own photos are beautiful - especially the last one.

John said...

Sorry Andrew, I meant you, obviously, getting names muddled up!
J

MadSnapper said...

the swans are absolutely stunning

Bob Bushell said...

Great pictures Andrew.

barbara l. hale said...

Your images are wonderful and the video is amazing. Thanks!

Carletta said...

LOVE you swan photo!
I enjoyed the video. The number of starlings and those moves were both astounding. Thanks for sharing with us.
I also enjoy many shows of the BBC. :)

joo said...

Oh, Andrew I love your photos! The flying swans are fabulous!

Fábio Martins said...

WOW!
Excellent second picture

eileeninmd said...

Just an amazing numbers of starlings, cool video. I love the swan shot and the Tern is an awesome flight capture too. Great post, Andrew!

John @ Beans and I on the Loose said...

Thanks for the video clip. I've been privileged to see these swarm flights in person. Hopefully this series will make it to the States. Great inflight photos yourself.

NatureFootstep said...

great inflight shot of the tern. :) And thanks for sharing the video. It is specatular.

grammie g said...

Hi Andrew...Wow that is amazing footage and quite alot of work to get it ..fasinating..
Your in flight photos are fantastic..you do a great job yourself!! : }
Grace xx

Inger-M said...

Stunning photos and video! Love the swans.

Sallie (FullTime-Life.com said...

Your pictures are amazing. Sometimes public TV here runs the BBC nature programs. I hope they do this one.

Liz said...

Andrew, these flight images are brilliant! I would love to capture shots like this.

Unknown said...

Love your pics, and the video is spellbinding!

Unknown said...

I love those two flight shots!
Beautiful!

Wenche said...

Beautiful pictures you show here, like especially the shot of the swan ;0) Have a nice day ! :0)

Brian King said...

Both of those flight shots are great, Andrew! Getting one carrying a fish is awesome!

Laura~Pretty Pix said...

Fantastic and gorgeous and wow, all rolled up!

Arija said...

Yes it is a great series and has been advertised here too.
Love that shot of the snow geese Andrew.

Springman said...

First off Andrew your pictures are wonderful. Tern in flight with fish is a rare catch indeed and the swans going full tilt is beautifully presented. Great work!
As for the BBC...My Blue Ray version of Planet Earth is a prized possession and like everybody else I do a mean David Attenborough imitation. I can not wait to see this series and appreciate seeing a little taste of it. Thank you BBC for pouring money into these projects! They do so much to raise awareness of our remarkable planet. It's not just a oil soaked sponge!
Phenomenal post Andrew!

Sondra said...

I agree with every comment above and your photos are amazing!! I really enjoy such documentaries until they show how brutal the natural world is when the dog eat dog parts start I have to turn it off...

Hilke Breder said...

Andrew, your flight photos of the Sandwich Tern and of the Whooper Swans are fantastic! The clip about the starlings and the peregrine falcon is mesmerizing. I played a few more clips that appeared on screen after this one closed Couldn't find the series on Amazon or on Netflix though, at least not yet.

Mary Howell Cromer said...

Andrew, these are great and I espcially enjoy birds in flight!

Larry said...

Awesome shots of the Sandwich Tern and the Whoopers Andrew! The BBC show looks fantastic and I loved the video. I will have to look it up and see when it's on.

Gillian Olson said...

Your pictures are wonderful.

Pat said...

Fantastic shots, Andrew!

Unknown said...

Absolutely gorgeous captures! Great work, Andrew.

Susan Scheid said...

My goodness, I've missed so many great posts in just a few days! As for this one, well, I say, not too shabby getting the two photographs you took. That tern! Just great.

Rambling Woods said...

I will have to see if that is on BBC America as it looks wonderful..As I scrolled down and looked at all your photos, it makes me want to visit England .....Michelle