Birds have always fascinated humans. Their flight has inspired writers, artists and engineers to create poems, legends, novels, aeroplanes and superheroes. The new BBC documentary Earthflight captures this fascination in a way that nobody has before. It’s awesome.
Earthflight was made for the BBC by John Downer Productions in high definition. I can imagine they spent years devising the methods needed to capture these shots, and then some more to shoot them.
The results, the amazing detail in which you can see their bodies interacting with the wind and the extreme angles, are incredible:
Common cranes flying through Venice.
Condors’ bird’s eye view.
Scarlet macaws feeding on clay licks.
Condor flight school.
Swallows in South Africa (they can carry coconuts, I’m told).
Pelicans hunting sardines.