The flight of birds has fired mankind’s imagination throughout history.
Their ability to defy gravity and look down on the world has intrigued everyone from Leonardo Di Vinci to the Wright brothers who pulled off the first manned flight of an aeroplane at the beginning of the Twentieth century.
Within 60 years of that momentous event man had walked on the moon.
In this spellbinding series first shown on BBC last autumn cameras were somehow fitted to birds and we follow from their point of view their travels across the sky.
Narrated by former Dr Who David Tennant in a lovely silken whiskey voice we are taken on a tour of the world as migrating birds, taken with their instincts travel from one habitat to another in line with the seasons and guided by forces that we still don’t fully understand.
Pack a passport for this trip which shows us migrating geese flying under the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, follow swifts and swallows as they play above The Great Wall of China, marvel at herons as they travel from North Africa to Gibraltar and up through France and scratch your head at the sight of millions of budgerigars swarming over Ayres Rock in Australia.
The sight of countless starlings putting on an aerial display of magic over dusk time Rome is surely one of the wonders of the world.
Brilliantly filmed in a way that we see what the birds see.
It is fascinating to witness how they interact with other species of birds and animals.
It is equally interesting to see how they alter their behaviour to take into account the land they fly over as that land is altered by the presence of mankind.
Summer cities as they warm up create hot air that provides energy for migrating birds just in time to give them the lift that will safely get them to their destination.
The last episode in the series gives the viewer some insight into how the filming was realised.
When first shown on BBC this series attracted in excess of five million viewers, today it becomes available for the first time as a two disc DVD set and will be available in stunning Blu-ray on April 16th courtesy of Acorn Media.
Uplifting and educational with breathtaking photography.
Earthflight BBC Acorn Media