Cameras strapped to geese, vultures and condors lift the six-part BBC series Earthflight above standard wildlife television. From the Serengeti’s migrating wildebeest seen through the eyes of an African fish eagle to a flock of snow geese threading between New York’s skyscrapers, each episode tracks a continent’s signature spectacles from the wingtip rather than the hide. The footage required four years, 40 countries and customised Cineflex rigs stabilised to a bird’s heartbeat; the result is a landscape that tilts and swoops with every thermal. David Tennant’s narration stays sparse, letting the rush of wind and the beat of wings supply the drama.
John Downer Productions pioneered the technique in 2009’s Winged Planet, but the BBC Natural History Unit’s push for primetime gave the concept its scope and budget. The series debuted on BBC One between 29 December 2011 and 29 January 2012, drawing six million viewers to the first episode. Discovery recut the footage into a two-hour special, Winged Planet, for American audiences in October 2012, while PBS aired the full series as Earthflight, A Nature Special Presentation from September 2013. No second season followed; the rig technology migrated to the BBC’s later productions, leaving Earthflight as a singular six-episode atlas of the planet as only birds ever see it.
Production Details
BBC One / 1 Season / 6 Episodes / 2011
Created by: Rob Pilley, Philip Dalton
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Main Cast
