Suranne Jones narrates this three-part BBC One series that dissects flight with forensic cameras, capturing a leafhopper’s 500-g take-off and a vulture’s 3-metre wingspan in the same breath. Shot between field locations and controlled studio rigs, the programme converts each wing beat into data, timing the precise millisecond a barn owl’s feathers part for silent approach.
Producers Simon Bell and James Brickell worked with Tim Scoones and Vanessa Berlowitz as executive producers, delivering 59-minute episodes that aired weekly from 3 to 17 April 2016. The BBC Natural History Unit collaborated with PBS, where the series appeared stateside as SuperNature – Wild Flyers, keeping the British voice track intact.
Each instalment ends with a coda showing the crew rigging wind tunnels for dragonflies or strapping cameras to goshawks, evidence that the spectacle is equal parts engineering and patience.
Production Details
BBC One / 1 Season / 3 Episodes / 2016
Showrunner(s): Vanessa Berlowitz, Tim Scoones
Producer(s): James Brickell, Giles Badger
Music: Will Hyde
Main Cast
Suranne Jones as Self - Narrator (voice)
