The Secret Life of Birds

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[edit] General Information

Nature Documentary hosted by Iolo Williams, published by BBC in 2013 - English narration

[edit] Cover

[edit] Information

The Secret Life of Birds Travelling from wild coastlines to urban habitats, this fascinating natural history series from the BBC explores the behaviour of birds, revealing all aspects of their lives, from surviving harsh winters and avoiding predators to living alongside us in towns and cities. Host and wildlife expert Iolo Williams discovers how birds have adapted to changing landscapes, studying their ability to fly and how their unique design, colour and camouflage enables them to live in many habitats, as well as uncovering their courtship and nesting rituals and finding out how and why they communicate. Offering a visual treat of stunning landscapes and captivating wildlife behaviour, The Secret Life of Birds provides perfect family entertainment educating and enthralling in equal measure. “This is a great little disc but with just a little more thought it could have been even better. The presenter has a strong Welsh accent, (no bad thing as he is talking about birds in his beloved Wales), but not everyone will follow this easily and the decision to leave off subtitles is lamentable.” - Harry65

[edit] Dawn Chorus

In this first episode, he investigates how and why birds communicate, looking at the reasons snipe use their tail feathers to make a very distinctive noise and what's happening when thousands of starlings participate in stunning aerial displays in Aberystwyth.

[edit] Feathering the Nest

In this episode, Iolo investigates the courtship and nesting behaviour of birds, including the amazing courtship display of great crested grebes at a reservoir near Pontypool, the impressive sky dance of hen harriers in the dramatic Cambrian Mountains, how nuthatch use mud like cement to prepare their nest in a woodland near Harlech, and why long-tailed tits near Newtown are exceptional nest builders. On the Lleyn Peninsula near Trefor, he looks at why one colony of shags nest earlier than any others in Wales, and in Pembrokeshire he finds out where house martins nested before they used our buildings. Iolo also looks at the variety of places birds like to nest, from little ringed plovers on shingle banks along the River Tywi to puffins underground on Skomer.

[edit] Living on the Edge

Today, Iolo discovers the difficulties birds face in order to stay alive, and the programme includes a dramatic scene in which a sparrow hawk seizes the moment to attack a woodpigeon nest.

[edit] Living with Us

In this fourth episode, Iolo Williams explores how birds in Wales have adapted to living alongside us, making use of our buildings, parks and gardens and even the waste we throw away. One of the most notorious urban birds is the gull and Iolo explains why these very adaptable and intelligent birds are doing so well in Cardiff

[edit] Designed for a Welsh Life

In this final episode, Iolo explores bird design - from their ability to fly to the way that their beak design, colour and camouflage enable them to live in the many habitats Wales has to offer. Using ultra-slow motion photography, Iolo looks at how garden birds have such control over take off and landing, and explains why fulmars are one of our most supreme fliers.