The Secret Life of Birds (2011) - full transcript
'A bird's life in Wales
must be wonderful.
'A life made in heaven.
'Anything but.
'Birds have to work from dawn
to dusk to find food and water.
'If they don't, they die.
'They have to battle
with the elements too.
'Survival, especially during
winter, is always difficult.
'And during the spring,
they're busy raising families.
'They also have to put up with us
'and find a way of surviving
in our artificial landscape.'
In this series, I'm going to be
finding out what a bird's life
is really like in Wales.
I'm going to be discovering the
vast array of species we have here.
And I'm going to be probing
into their secret lives.
'The uplands above Llanberis,
'and a ring ouzel is collecting
food for its chicks,
'which are hidden somewhere
on the mountains.
'It's related to a blackbird
and looks like one,
'except for its prominent white
bib, its distinguishing feature.
'It has flown all the way from
the Atlas mountains of Morocco
'to spend the summer
in this part of Gwynedd.
'It can probably carry more in its
beak than I could with my hands.
'And of course, as they have
no arms, beaks are very
important for birds.
'They come in all shapes and sizes.
'And they're used in different ways.
'A beak is a very useful tool that
birds have that other animals don't.
'They also have many other fantastic
features that are unique to them
'and can do extraordinary things,
such as fly.
'They're very special living beings.
'In this programme, I'm finding out
how their different forms allow them
'to do what they need to do to
survive in the Welsh landscape.
'It's mid winter on the Nevern
Estuary in Pembrokeshire
'and an egret and a spoonbill
are feeding on the mud.
'The spoonbill is
the one on the right.
'Although they're both feeding
in the same habitat,
'their bills have completely
different shapes,
'which allows them to feed
in different ways.'
It's fascinating
with these two birds
because they're very similar
but yet they're very different.
They're both quite big white birds
with long legs and a long beak.
But you watch them feed.
The little egret has got
more of a dagger-like bill.
He'll walk along and he'll dart out
looking for a fish here and there.
The spoonbill, on the other hand,
has got this huge spoon-like bill
and he just opens it.
He works his way through the mud
and it's hyper sensitive.
So when he feels invertebrates
or fish or whatever is in that mud,
all of a sudden it will shut.
Then he eats, and then
he puts it back in again.
So even though they're both
in exactly the same spot,
they're feeding in
very different ways.
'It may be that the reason
why the egret is staying
so close to the spoonbill
'is because the spoonbill through
its actions is disturbing the mud
'and releasing food into the water.
'This is precisely what the egret
does when it feeds alone.
'It uses its feet to loosen the mud.
'And this releases shrimps and other
invertebrates into the puddles,
'which makes them easier to catch.
'The Severn Estuary
and the Newport Levels
'near the mouth of the River Usk.
'Wetlands and estuaries
are fantastic places
'to see the range of techniques
wading birds use
'to catch their food, and the
tremendous range of beak sizes.
'These are the wet lagoons of
Goldcliff on the Newport Levels.
'It's first light and one of Wales'
rarest breeding birds is feeding.
'It's an avocet and it must have the
most ornate beak of any Welsh bird.
'It uses it to sift the water
for small insects and worms.
'Dyfi Estuary near Machynlleth.
'It's high tide during
a very wet winter period
'and the land has flooded.
'These wet fields are at Ynyshir.
'Because of their position
next to the Dyfi Estuary,
'they too attract a great number
of waders.'
High tide is the best time
to come to Ynyshir
because once the rising sea water
has covered the whole estuary,
the birds come over the sea wall
in their thousands.
They'll settle in some
of these wetter fields
and shallow lagoons here.
'Wet lagoons are excellent
feeding sites,
'especially during the winter
when the fields are waterlogged.
'One of the prettiest birds
you find here is the lapwing.
'It has a small stubby beak and
large eyes with excellent vision
'to help it catch small grubs
on or near the surface.
'A redshank can go slightly deeper
to find invertebrates
with its long beak.
'And a dunlin can go just as deep.
'But the ultimate wading bill
belongs to a curlew.
'It can go deeper in the mud
'than any other estuarine bird
to find its food.
'Curlews migrate from Europe
to Wales in their
thousands during winter
'and they join thousands more of
different species on our estuaries.
'The variety of beak shapes
allows the different species
'to exploit different parts
of the habitat,
'yet still live on the same estuary.
'Woodland and garden birds also
have a variety of beak designs
'that allow them to exploit
the same habitat.
'This woodland is in
the Conwy Valley.
'One of the most common birds
you'll find here is chaffinch.
'It has a short, strong beak
that allows it to eat seeds.
'A blue tit's small, pointed beak is
ideal for picking off small insects
'and in a conifer woodland,
for extracting small
seeds from pine cones.
'In the spring,
migrants from Africa,
'such as the willow warbler,
arrive in our woodlands.
'They too have thin, pointed beaks
for eating insects.
'Also during the spring,
'bullfinches use their stubby beak
to eat fresh shoots.
'In the autumn, a goldfinch's
strong beak is ideal
'to pick off the seed heads
of dying plants.
'But the most specialist seed
eater of all is the crossbill.
'They literally have bills
that cross over each other
'and they're shaped that way so
that they can prize open pine cones.
'Birds do what seem to be
odd things sometimes
'but they always have a purpose.
'One of the best places to watch
bird behaviour is in a town.
'Here, they're so used to people
they perform in full close-up view.
'This gull is on the seafront
overlooking Colwyn Bay.'
Look at this herring gull over here.
It's quite comical really.
She's running on the spot and
looks like an athlete warming up.
But what she's actually doing is
mimicking rain falling on the earth
and the earthworms then
in the soil think,
it's raining, it's going to flood,
I've got to get out my burrow.
So they come up.
If you watch, in a minute, she'll
pick up the earthworms and feed.
It's funny. It looks really silly.
But it's very effective.
'The shape of a bird's foot
changes considerably
'depending on what the bird does
and where it lives.
'A heron and moorhen
walk on wet ground,
'so they need big feet
to stop them sinking.
'Geese and ducks spend
a lot of their time in water,
'so they need webbed feet
to help them swim.
'Webbed feet are also handy
as breaks when landing.
'Treecreepers and woodpeckers spend
a lot of their time climbing trees.
'So they have strong thumbs
to give them added support.
'A blackbird uses its feet
to perch, mainly.
'The house sparrow and wren
have the tiniest of feet,
'which grab the smallest perch.
'Birds of prey need
to use theirs to catch prey.
'They also use their beak
to tear flesh.
'Both feet and beaks
are useful tools for birds.
'The herring gull's beak
has another important feature.
'It can be used to signal.
'The red dot against
the yellow bill stands out,
'and chicks can see it clearly.
'This gives them
a target to peck at
'and stimulates
the adult to regurgitate food.
'Puffin bills are also
used as signals.
'They're the most brightly-coloured
beaks you'll find in Wales.
'Puffins nest in burrows
'and this colony is on Skomer Island
off the Pembrokeshire coast.
'The beaks are big because
they use them to catch fish.
'But again, they've been adapted
to double-up as signal devices.
'Outside the breeding season the
beaks are not brightly-coloured
'but during courtship
they are stunning
'and are used as attractive tools
by the males and females.
'We have many
colourful birds in Wales.
'Amongst woodpeckers, the green
woodpecker is the most handsome.
'Even one of our
commonest crows is striking.
'Though not a particularly
popular bird,
'because it preys on small chicks
'and generally makes a nuisance
of itself when raiding bins,
'close up, it's plumage
is beautiful.
'The jay is even more striking.
'The detail and variety
of colour and patterns
'on its feathers are startling.'
Why is a bird
like the jay so colourful?
Just look at this environment,
a big, dense woodland like this.
Woodland birds need
to attract and keep a mate
and they also need to keep
other male birds away.
They do that in one of two ways.
Either they sing tunefully,
like the blackbird,
or they can be really colourful.
In the case of a jay, it uses both.
Very colourful bird, and it's got
a...not a tuneful song, exactly,
but this screech that
carries a long, long way.
Both of those act as a warning to
other males and to attract females.
TWEETING AND SCREECHING
'Some birds live in very
hidden habitats.
'The males need to stand out
to attract a mate.
'This is Cosmeston Lake,
near Cardiff.
'It's a site of an old stone quarry
which is surrounded by reeds.
'It's virtually impossible to see
any small bird in the growth.
'But living here is one of our most
spectacularly patterned birds.
'It's a male bearded tit.
'It's also one of our rarest
breeding birds.
'Because he's small and agile,
'his colourful plumage
isn't a great disadvantage,
'as he can soon fly away
if a predator is about.
'But a few miles from Cosmeston,
a bigger and less agile bird
'has to be less conspicuous
in a similar habitat.
'This is Hendre lake in St Mellons
between Newport and Cardiff,
and it's one of those places you
find now and again in Wales
which is surprisingly good
for birds.
I say "surprisingly good" because
you've got houses all around
and a busy railway line over here.
And yet, in winter, it attracts
an incredible variety of birds.
It is also a good place
to see bitterns.
Bitterns are a really shy,
quite rare, brown heron.
They like staying in the reeds
and they don't like coming out.
They've got everything
they need here.
You've got reedbeds
that are full of fish
and because the reedbeds
are not very dense,
they don't go far back
they're just a narrow strip,
it really is one of the best
places in Wales to see the bittern.
'In a more extensive reedbed,
'this view of a bittern
would be very rare indeed.
'It would be hidden
deep within the reeds.
'But here, you can watch it
clearly stalking its prey.
'In the winter, it hunts for fish.
'In the summer, it will supplement
that with insects and frogs.
'Once inside the reeds,
it's perfectly camouflaged.
'Any sign of threat and it raises
its head to look like a reed.
'There's one thing that birds can do
better than any other living being.
'They can fly.
'And they have many different
flying techniques.
'One of the best places to
see birds flying is on the coast.
'They use the wind as it blows off
the sea and lifts over the land.
'South Stack on Anglesey is a
particularly good site.
'On the high cliffs, you can
watch the birds at eye level.
'The wind is so strong that gulls
and ravens can simply glide here,
with very little effort.
'They are two very different birds
with different shaped wings.
'But the end result is the same.
'They fly smoothly.
'But why do gulls and ravens
have different wing shapes?
'It's because they naturally
lead very different lives.
'Gulls have pointed wings, designed
specifically for sustained gliding.
'Ravens generally live more inland
and soar and circle high up
above the ground.
'For this, they need more control,
'which they get
from their slotted wings.
'This extra control
allows them to be more playful.
'One of our most dramatic birds on
the wing can be found on the coast
'near Llandudno, on the cliffs
of the Little Orme.'
See that bird, then?
That's a fulmar.
It's kind of a Welsh version
of an albatross.
It's one of our supreme fliers.
Spends nearly all
of its life out at sea.
It comes onto these cliffs to nest,
and nothing else.
Over the winter, it's right out
over the open ocean.
If you look at the wings
when it comes past again,
they're long, thin,
very stiff wings.
Those are adapted.
Here's another one, coming past now.
Those are adapted for a life out at
sea because they can make the best
out of any little bit of wind
hitting the waves.
They'll skim over them and move
like this, completely effortless.
There are thousands of miles
of ocean out there
and it's important that they use
as little energy as possible.
That's why the wings
look like they do.
There's another one below me,
skimming along the rocks.
Completely effortless.
Completely effortless.
Gliding is the simplest
form of flight.
Fulmars are the best gliders
of all of our birds.
They hardly flap at all.
The wings only need to twist
in response to different wind speeds
above the sea.
If there isn't any wind
they can produce it themselves
by flapping gently,
using their wingtips.
They also flap their wingtips
when they need to slow down
and stall when landing.
MUSIC
'Buzzards need a different
kind of control for what they do.
'They're often seen soaring above
the land, scanning for food.
'For this they need long,
broad wings,
'curved to provide maximum lift.
'They ride columns of air
rising from the land
'and smooth out any turbulent air
with their slotted wings.
'While some birds, like the
buzzard and the red kite,
'glide or soar using the air,
other birds, like egrets and herons,
'produce their own powered flight
by constant flapping.
'Many of our smaller birds generally
spend little time in the air.
'They simply make short flights
from one perch to another.
'They also live
in different habitats
'which have
different flying problems.
'In a woodland or garden,
'birds need to be able to take-off
quickly to avoid danger
'and they need to be manoeuvrable
to avoid trees and other objects.
'A bird's control of fast
take-off and landing
'can only be appreciated
when it's slowed down.
'The way these great and blue tits
coordinate their feet and wings
'for take-off and
landing is astonishing.
MUSIC
'A coal tit is just as skilful.
'The tremendous power that's
required to shift air on take-off
'is shown by fully-flapping wings.
'Waders don't necessarily
need a quick take-off
'But need faster, sustained speed
for long-distance flying.
'Especially as many migrate
long distances.
'Some of our power flyers
have evolved wings
'to enable them to produce
aerobatic displays.
'Lapwings have very developed
primary feathers on their wingtips
'which gives them
fantastic control.
'They use this remarkable ability
in their courtship display.
PEEWIT CALL
'There are also other specialist
fliers in Wales.
'These are Arctic terns on the
Skerries, north of Holyhead.
'They have long tails to give them
extra agility.
'They can also hover by pushing
the air backwards and forwards.
'They need these abilities to help
them keep an eye on their eggs
'and chicks in this big colony
during the breeding season.
'They also make the longest
migration of any living creature
'and travel from here to the
southern hemisphere
'as far as the Antarctic
every year.
'Kestrels hover in a different way.
'This one is hunting on the Foryd,
near Caernarfon.
'It stays in one position by flying
at the same speed as the wind
blowing against it.
It, too, uses its tail for control.
'And, like all of our birds,
it's perfectly designed
for a life in Wales.'
Just look at this magnificent view.
To me, this just about
epitomises Wales.
This mixture of hills and fields,
of hedgerows and woodland,
and I don't think enough of us
really appreciate the fact
that we live
in a fantastic country.
One that's packed with
all kinds of habitats.
And in each and every one of those,
whether we take notice or not,
the birds are getting on
with their secret lives.
must be wonderful.
'A life made in heaven.
'Anything but.
'Birds have to work from dawn
to dusk to find food and water.
'If they don't, they die.
'They have to battle
with the elements too.
'Survival, especially during
winter, is always difficult.
'And during the spring,
they're busy raising families.
'They also have to put up with us
'and find a way of surviving
in our artificial landscape.'
In this series, I'm going to be
finding out what a bird's life
is really like in Wales.
I'm going to be discovering the
vast array of species we have here.
And I'm going to be probing
into their secret lives.
'The uplands above Llanberis,
'and a ring ouzel is collecting
food for its chicks,
'which are hidden somewhere
on the mountains.
'It's related to a blackbird
and looks like one,
'except for its prominent white
bib, its distinguishing feature.
'It has flown all the way from
the Atlas mountains of Morocco
'to spend the summer
in this part of Gwynedd.
'It can probably carry more in its
beak than I could with my hands.
'And of course, as they have
no arms, beaks are very
important for birds.
'They come in all shapes and sizes.
'And they're used in different ways.
'A beak is a very useful tool that
birds have that other animals don't.
'They also have many other fantastic
features that are unique to them
'and can do extraordinary things,
such as fly.
'They're very special living beings.
'In this programme, I'm finding out
how their different forms allow them
'to do what they need to do to
survive in the Welsh landscape.
'It's mid winter on the Nevern
Estuary in Pembrokeshire
'and an egret and a spoonbill
are feeding on the mud.
'The spoonbill is
the one on the right.
'Although they're both feeding
in the same habitat,
'their bills have completely
different shapes,
'which allows them to feed
in different ways.'
It's fascinating
with these two birds
because they're very similar
but yet they're very different.
They're both quite big white birds
with long legs and a long beak.
But you watch them feed.
The little egret has got
more of a dagger-like bill.
He'll walk along and he'll dart out
looking for a fish here and there.
The spoonbill, on the other hand,
has got this huge spoon-like bill
and he just opens it.
He works his way through the mud
and it's hyper sensitive.
So when he feels invertebrates
or fish or whatever is in that mud,
all of a sudden it will shut.
Then he eats, and then
he puts it back in again.
So even though they're both
in exactly the same spot,
they're feeding in
very different ways.
'It may be that the reason
why the egret is staying
so close to the spoonbill
'is because the spoonbill through
its actions is disturbing the mud
'and releasing food into the water.
'This is precisely what the egret
does when it feeds alone.
'It uses its feet to loosen the mud.
'And this releases shrimps and other
invertebrates into the puddles,
'which makes them easier to catch.
'The Severn Estuary
and the Newport Levels
'near the mouth of the River Usk.
'Wetlands and estuaries
are fantastic places
'to see the range of techniques
wading birds use
'to catch their food, and the
tremendous range of beak sizes.
'These are the wet lagoons of
Goldcliff on the Newport Levels.
'It's first light and one of Wales'
rarest breeding birds is feeding.
'It's an avocet and it must have the
most ornate beak of any Welsh bird.
'It uses it to sift the water
for small insects and worms.
'Dyfi Estuary near Machynlleth.
'It's high tide during
a very wet winter period
'and the land has flooded.
'These wet fields are at Ynyshir.
'Because of their position
next to the Dyfi Estuary,
'they too attract a great number
of waders.'
High tide is the best time
to come to Ynyshir
because once the rising sea water
has covered the whole estuary,
the birds come over the sea wall
in their thousands.
They'll settle in some
of these wetter fields
and shallow lagoons here.
'Wet lagoons are excellent
feeding sites,
'especially during the winter
when the fields are waterlogged.
'One of the prettiest birds
you find here is the lapwing.
'It has a small stubby beak and
large eyes with excellent vision
'to help it catch small grubs
on or near the surface.
'A redshank can go slightly deeper
to find invertebrates
with its long beak.
'And a dunlin can go just as deep.
'But the ultimate wading bill
belongs to a curlew.
'It can go deeper in the mud
'than any other estuarine bird
to find its food.
'Curlews migrate from Europe
to Wales in their
thousands during winter
'and they join thousands more of
different species on our estuaries.
'The variety of beak shapes
allows the different species
'to exploit different parts
of the habitat,
'yet still live on the same estuary.
'Woodland and garden birds also
have a variety of beak designs
'that allow them to exploit
the same habitat.
'This woodland is in
the Conwy Valley.
'One of the most common birds
you'll find here is chaffinch.
'It has a short, strong beak
that allows it to eat seeds.
'A blue tit's small, pointed beak is
ideal for picking off small insects
'and in a conifer woodland,
for extracting small
seeds from pine cones.
'In the spring,
migrants from Africa,
'such as the willow warbler,
arrive in our woodlands.
'They too have thin, pointed beaks
for eating insects.
'Also during the spring,
'bullfinches use their stubby beak
to eat fresh shoots.
'In the autumn, a goldfinch's
strong beak is ideal
'to pick off the seed heads
of dying plants.
'But the most specialist seed
eater of all is the crossbill.
'They literally have bills
that cross over each other
'and they're shaped that way so
that they can prize open pine cones.
'Birds do what seem to be
odd things sometimes
'but they always have a purpose.
'One of the best places to watch
bird behaviour is in a town.
'Here, they're so used to people
they perform in full close-up view.
'This gull is on the seafront
overlooking Colwyn Bay.'
Look at this herring gull over here.
It's quite comical really.
She's running on the spot and
looks like an athlete warming up.
But what she's actually doing is
mimicking rain falling on the earth
and the earthworms then
in the soil think,
it's raining, it's going to flood,
I've got to get out my burrow.
So they come up.
If you watch, in a minute, she'll
pick up the earthworms and feed.
It's funny. It looks really silly.
But it's very effective.
'The shape of a bird's foot
changes considerably
'depending on what the bird does
and where it lives.
'A heron and moorhen
walk on wet ground,
'so they need big feet
to stop them sinking.
'Geese and ducks spend
a lot of their time in water,
'so they need webbed feet
to help them swim.
'Webbed feet are also handy
as breaks when landing.
'Treecreepers and woodpeckers spend
a lot of their time climbing trees.
'So they have strong thumbs
to give them added support.
'A blackbird uses its feet
to perch, mainly.
'The house sparrow and wren
have the tiniest of feet,
'which grab the smallest perch.
'Birds of prey need
to use theirs to catch prey.
'They also use their beak
to tear flesh.
'Both feet and beaks
are useful tools for birds.
'The herring gull's beak
has another important feature.
'It can be used to signal.
'The red dot against
the yellow bill stands out,
'and chicks can see it clearly.
'This gives them
a target to peck at
'and stimulates
the adult to regurgitate food.
'Puffin bills are also
used as signals.
'They're the most brightly-coloured
beaks you'll find in Wales.
'Puffins nest in burrows
'and this colony is on Skomer Island
off the Pembrokeshire coast.
'The beaks are big because
they use them to catch fish.
'But again, they've been adapted
to double-up as signal devices.
'Outside the breeding season the
beaks are not brightly-coloured
'but during courtship
they are stunning
'and are used as attractive tools
by the males and females.
'We have many
colourful birds in Wales.
'Amongst woodpeckers, the green
woodpecker is the most handsome.
'Even one of our
commonest crows is striking.
'Though not a particularly
popular bird,
'because it preys on small chicks
'and generally makes a nuisance
of itself when raiding bins,
'close up, it's plumage
is beautiful.
'The jay is even more striking.
'The detail and variety
of colour and patterns
'on its feathers are startling.'
Why is a bird
like the jay so colourful?
Just look at this environment,
a big, dense woodland like this.
Woodland birds need
to attract and keep a mate
and they also need to keep
other male birds away.
They do that in one of two ways.
Either they sing tunefully,
like the blackbird,
or they can be really colourful.
In the case of a jay, it uses both.
Very colourful bird, and it's got
a...not a tuneful song, exactly,
but this screech that
carries a long, long way.
Both of those act as a warning to
other males and to attract females.
TWEETING AND SCREECHING
'Some birds live in very
hidden habitats.
'The males need to stand out
to attract a mate.
'This is Cosmeston Lake,
near Cardiff.
'It's a site of an old stone quarry
which is surrounded by reeds.
'It's virtually impossible to see
any small bird in the growth.
'But living here is one of our most
spectacularly patterned birds.
'It's a male bearded tit.
'It's also one of our rarest
breeding birds.
'Because he's small and agile,
'his colourful plumage
isn't a great disadvantage,
'as he can soon fly away
if a predator is about.
'But a few miles from Cosmeston,
a bigger and less agile bird
'has to be less conspicuous
in a similar habitat.
'This is Hendre lake in St Mellons
between Newport and Cardiff,
and it's one of those places you
find now and again in Wales
which is surprisingly good
for birds.
I say "surprisingly good" because
you've got houses all around
and a busy railway line over here.
And yet, in winter, it attracts
an incredible variety of birds.
It is also a good place
to see bitterns.
Bitterns are a really shy,
quite rare, brown heron.
They like staying in the reeds
and they don't like coming out.
They've got everything
they need here.
You've got reedbeds
that are full of fish
and because the reedbeds
are not very dense,
they don't go far back
they're just a narrow strip,
it really is one of the best
places in Wales to see the bittern.
'In a more extensive reedbed,
'this view of a bittern
would be very rare indeed.
'It would be hidden
deep within the reeds.
'But here, you can watch it
clearly stalking its prey.
'In the winter, it hunts for fish.
'In the summer, it will supplement
that with insects and frogs.
'Once inside the reeds,
it's perfectly camouflaged.
'Any sign of threat and it raises
its head to look like a reed.
'There's one thing that birds can do
better than any other living being.
'They can fly.
'And they have many different
flying techniques.
'One of the best places to
see birds flying is on the coast.
'They use the wind as it blows off
the sea and lifts over the land.
'South Stack on Anglesey is a
particularly good site.
'On the high cliffs, you can
watch the birds at eye level.
'The wind is so strong that gulls
and ravens can simply glide here,
with very little effort.
'They are two very different birds
with different shaped wings.
'But the end result is the same.
'They fly smoothly.
'But why do gulls and ravens
have different wing shapes?
'It's because they naturally
lead very different lives.
'Gulls have pointed wings, designed
specifically for sustained gliding.
'Ravens generally live more inland
and soar and circle high up
above the ground.
'For this, they need more control,
'which they get
from their slotted wings.
'This extra control
allows them to be more playful.
'One of our most dramatic birds on
the wing can be found on the coast
'near Llandudno, on the cliffs
of the Little Orme.'
See that bird, then?
That's a fulmar.
It's kind of a Welsh version
of an albatross.
It's one of our supreme fliers.
Spends nearly all
of its life out at sea.
It comes onto these cliffs to nest,
and nothing else.
Over the winter, it's right out
over the open ocean.
If you look at the wings
when it comes past again,
they're long, thin,
very stiff wings.
Those are adapted.
Here's another one, coming past now.
Those are adapted for a life out at
sea because they can make the best
out of any little bit of wind
hitting the waves.
They'll skim over them and move
like this, completely effortless.
There are thousands of miles
of ocean out there
and it's important that they use
as little energy as possible.
That's why the wings
look like they do.
There's another one below me,
skimming along the rocks.
Completely effortless.
Completely effortless.
Gliding is the simplest
form of flight.
Fulmars are the best gliders
of all of our birds.
They hardly flap at all.
The wings only need to twist
in response to different wind speeds
above the sea.
If there isn't any wind
they can produce it themselves
by flapping gently,
using their wingtips.
They also flap their wingtips
when they need to slow down
and stall when landing.
MUSIC
'Buzzards need a different
kind of control for what they do.
'They're often seen soaring above
the land, scanning for food.
'For this they need long,
broad wings,
'curved to provide maximum lift.
'They ride columns of air
rising from the land
'and smooth out any turbulent air
with their slotted wings.
'While some birds, like the
buzzard and the red kite,
'glide or soar using the air,
other birds, like egrets and herons,
'produce their own powered flight
by constant flapping.
'Many of our smaller birds generally
spend little time in the air.
'They simply make short flights
from one perch to another.
'They also live
in different habitats
'which have
different flying problems.
'In a woodland or garden,
'birds need to be able to take-off
quickly to avoid danger
'and they need to be manoeuvrable
to avoid trees and other objects.
'A bird's control of fast
take-off and landing
'can only be appreciated
when it's slowed down.
'The way these great and blue tits
coordinate their feet and wings
'for take-off and
landing is astonishing.
MUSIC
'A coal tit is just as skilful.
'The tremendous power that's
required to shift air on take-off
'is shown by fully-flapping wings.
'Waders don't necessarily
need a quick take-off
'But need faster, sustained speed
for long-distance flying.
'Especially as many migrate
long distances.
'Some of our power flyers
have evolved wings
'to enable them to produce
aerobatic displays.
'Lapwings have very developed
primary feathers on their wingtips
'which gives them
fantastic control.
'They use this remarkable ability
in their courtship display.
PEEWIT CALL
'There are also other specialist
fliers in Wales.
'These are Arctic terns on the
Skerries, north of Holyhead.
'They have long tails to give them
extra agility.
'They can also hover by pushing
the air backwards and forwards.
'They need these abilities to help
them keep an eye on their eggs
'and chicks in this big colony
during the breeding season.
'They also make the longest
migration of any living creature
'and travel from here to the
southern hemisphere
'as far as the Antarctic
every year.
'Kestrels hover in a different way.
'This one is hunting on the Foryd,
near Caernarfon.
'It stays in one position by flying
at the same speed as the wind
blowing against it.
It, too, uses its tail for control.
'And, like all of our birds,
it's perfectly designed
for a life in Wales.'
Just look at this magnificent view.
To me, this just about
epitomises Wales.
This mixture of hills and fields,
of hedgerows and woodland,
and I don't think enough of us
really appreciate the fact
that we live
in a fantastic country.
One that's packed with
all kinds of habitats.
And in each and every one of those,
whether we take notice or not,
the birds are getting on
with their secret lives.