The NatureWatch

The Natural World: Andrea, Queen of the Mantas

noreply@blogger.com (Raptordig) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:05:00 PST

Tonight BBC 2, 8PM & BBC HD,10PM

Manta rays are one of the most intelligent creatures in the ocean and, at up to seven metres long, one of the largest. Yet, despite their size and curious nature, almost nothing is known about their lives. Young marine biologist, Andrea Marshall, has given up everything for a life in Mozambique, diving amongst these beautiful animals. Superb underwater photography reveals new manta ray behaviour including breathtaking footage of their ritual courtship dances. The film follows Andrea as she studies these endangered animals up close. With the discovery of a giant new species and remarkable insights into mantas' secretive lives, Andrea's findings are already rocking the world of marine biology.

“These huge, strangely beautiful, highly intelligent and fascinating fish certainly make for soothing viewing.” Daily Mail

Produced and directed by MARK WOODWARD
Series Editor TIM MARTIN

'Life: Extraordinary Animals, Extreme Behaviour' - Birds

noreply@blogger.com (Raptordig) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:03:00 PST

http://www.bbc.co.uk/Life

Birds owe their global success to feathers - something no other animal has. They allow birds to do extraordinary things. For the first time, a slow-motion camera captures the unique flight of the Marvellous Spatuletail Hummingbird as he flashes long, iridescent tail feathers in the gloomy undergrowth. Aerial photography takes us into the sky with an Ethiopian Lammergeier dropping bones to smash them into edible-sized bits. Thousands of pink flamingoes promenade in one of nature's greatest spectacles. The Sage Grouse rubs his feathers against his chest in a comic display to make popping noises that attract females. The Vogelkop Bowerbird makes up for his dull colour by building an intricate structure and decorating it with colourful beetles and snails.

The Natural World: Victoria Falls, The Smoke That Thunders

noreply@blogger.com (Raptordig) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:33:00 PST

BBC 2 - 8pm
This is a beautiful, intimate tale of life on the Zambezi River, set against the epic backdrop of Victoria Falls. The story is told from the point of view of a local fisherman, Mr White, who has fished these waters for 69 years, and whose riverside companions are elephants, baboons, hippos and kingfishers. We follow the fortunes of these animals through his eyes, learning how their lives are ruled by the moods of the river and the rains.

“The second in the new season is downright spectacular… This stunning film … at least gives you some idea of what everyday life is like on what Mr White calls “the edge of the world”. The Times

Producer Jamie McPherson

'Life: Extraordinary Animals, Extreme Behaviour' - Fish

noreply@blogger.com (Raptordig) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:10:00 PST

Tonight, 21:00 on BBC One
Fish dominate the planet's waters through their astonishing variety of shape and behaviour.

The beautiful weedy sea dragon looks like a creature from a fairytale, and the male protects their eggs by carrying them on his tail for months. The sarcastic fringehead, meanwhile, appears to turn its head inside out when it fights.

Slow-motion cameras show the flying fish gliding through the air like a flock of birds and capture the world's fastest swimmer, the sailfish, plucking sardines from a shoal at 70 mph. And the tiny Hawaiian goby undertakes one of nature's most daunting journeys, climbing a massive waterfall to find safe pools for breeding.

For your free Open University Tree of Life poster call 0845 300 88 54 or visit www.bbc.co.uk/Life.

Weedy Sea Dragon
If you never thought Dragons could be weedy then Watch 'Life' tonight. Things are going to get fishy...

www.bbc.co.uk/life

The tiny fins of a sea dragon beat frantically to prevent the current sweeping it away. At the beginning of spring, sea dragons begin their courtship, dancing in pairs in the evening light. In a graceful duet, each partner mirrors the actions of the other and this continues well into the dark night. Two months later, the result of their courtship is revealed. The male now carries rows and rows of eggs embedded on his tail. The female passed them over to him on the night of the dance. By carrying them with him he keeps them safe from predators until they are ready to hatch. In the calm of a summer morning, with its yolk sack still attached, a baby sea dragon is born. In the weed bed are older youngsters, already able to feed themselves. After being well looked after by their father, the new babies must now make their own way in the world.

Watch 30+ UK TV Channels LIVE

noreply@blogger.com (Raptordig) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 04:07:00 PDT

www.tvcatchup.com

Watch 30+ UK TV Channels LIVE
In addition to BBC iPlayer it's all you could ever need.

TVCatchup is a free online service for viewing certain digital terrestrial channels live without the use of a television receiver. The service is currently under beta and is only legally available to users in the United Kingdomdue to licensing restrictions that limit the showing of streams to those users who can already legally view the same content on their television receiver. You are legally required to hold a UK TV license if you use TVCatchup.

Natural World: Bearwalker of the Northwoods

noreply@blogger.com (Raptordig) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 03:37:00 PDT

BBC Two, 8pm Wednesday 28th October

"It’s a total joy to have Natural World back on our screens, and you couldn’t ask for a stronger start to the new series than this. Dr Lynn Rogers, a softly spoken biologist, is the Burl Ives of the bear world. He loves bears with a quiet passion, and has spent a lifetime in the woods of North Minnesota building up trust with these fabulous creatures. Unlike Timothy Treadwell, he doesn’t sentimentalise bears or claim a spiritual affinity with them. But he does believe they are grossly misunderstood and that people often have a knee-jerk fear of creatures that are highly intelligent and surprisingly timid. This film is a labour of love in every possible sense – beautifully produced, filled with stunning footage in an achingly beautiful part of the world and presented by a man of the utmost decency. What more could anyone ask for?" David Chater, The Times

'Life: Extraordinary Animals, Extreme Behaviour' - Mammals

noreply@blogger.com (Raptordig) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 04:51:00 PDT

Visit the BBC Life Website

Mammals dominate the planet. They do it through having warm blood and by the care they lavish on their young. Weeks of filming in the bitter Antarctic winter reveal how a mother Weddell seal wears her teeth down keeping open a hole in the ice so she can catch fish for her pup. A powered hot air balloon produces stunning images of millions of migrating bats as they converge on fruiting trees in Zambia. Slow-motion cameras reveal how a mother rufous sengi exhausts a chasing lizard. A gyroscopically stabilised camera moves alongside migrating caribou, and a diving team swim among the planet's biggest fight as male humpback whales battle for a female.

The Elephant Shrew

Once known as the elephant shrew, the rufous sengi is permanently hungry and must hunt and feed industriously and efficiently in order to fuel its frenzied lifestyle. For maximum efficiency, the sengi creates an intricate netweork of pathways through the undergrowth that enable it to reach prey more easily. The sengi carries a mental map of these pathways, and should trouble appear, its speed and intimate knowledge of escape routes help it win the day. As an enemy, such as a lizard, appears, the sengi leaps into action and shoots off down the trails at high speed. Like most mammals - and unlike reptiles - the sengi's legs are directly underneath the body which makes for greater speed and agility. This female not only outruns the reptile, but outwits him and it's just as well, as she has a youngster to care for.

Life: Reptiles & Amphibians

noreply@blogger.com (Raptordig) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 09:44:00 PDT

Reptiles and amphibians look like hang-overs from the past. But they overcome their shortcomings through amazing innovation.

The pebble toad turns into a rubber ball to roll and bounce from its enemies. Extreme slow-motion shows how a Jesus Christ lizard runs on water, and how a chameleon fires an extendible tongue at its prey with unfailing accuracy. The camera dives with a Niuean sea snake, which must breed on land but avoids predators by swimming to an air bubble at the end of an underwater tunnel. In a TV first, Komodo dragons hunt a huge water-buffalo, biting it to inject venom, then waiting for weeks until it dies. Ten dragons strip the carcass to the bone in four hours.

The Venezuelan Pebble Toad

BBC Wildlife Finder

Venezuela pebble toads have a very unusual defence mechanism, shared with only a few close relatives. They roll themselves up into a ball and bounce down the hill, away from danger. These tiny amphibians weigh so little that if they hold their muscles rigid, the bouncing doesn't damage them at all. Pebble toads also breed communally, so a single nest can contain over 100 toads. One nest found had 103 toads and 321 eggs in it.

Life: Extraordinary Animals, Extreme Behaviour

noreply@blogger.com (Raptordig) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 06:11:00 PDT

If you don't own a TV then get one for this (and make sure that it's HD). 'Life' is a jaw-dropping, pant-wettingly exciting visual feast that will keep you hooked till Christmas. Narrated by Sir David Attenborough this 10 part series will breathe Life back into the aching void that was left when the end credits of 'Planet Earth' rolled back in 2006. And if you thought that was mind-blowing then this is sure to blow your socks off. Quite simply 'Life' will never be the same again...

Read on for a glimpse of some of the treats coming to your screens.

Our planet may be home to more than 30 million different animals and plants. And every single one is locked in its own life-long fight for survival. Life uncovers some extraordinary strategies they've developed to stay alive and to breed.

Using state-of-the-art filming techniques, this 10-part BBC One series, narrated by David Attenborough, is about extreme behaviour. It's survival of the fittest in their battle against daily life or death challenges. Mind-blowing behaviour captured for TV for the first time includes cheetahs working together to bring down prey twice their size; the courtship battle, known as the heat run, of the humpback whale; a huge number of enormous Humboldt squid joining forces for night-time hunting; and the legendary, fearsome Komodo dragons bringing down their buffalo prey.

Four years in the making, Life is full of surprises, drama and spectacle. It's nature but not as you know it. There are strange creatures such as the star-nosed mole, the stalk-eyed fly and the weedy sea dragon. There are epic spectacles including millions of fruit bats darkening the Zambian sky, dozens of polar bears feasting on a whale, and a billion butterflies cloaking a forest in Mexico.

To find out more visit www.bbc.co.uk/life

BBC announces production of Nature's Miracle Babies

noreply@blogger.com (Raptordig) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 04:27:00 PDT

Artificially inseminating giant pandas and administering fertility treatment to an 80-year-old turtle are just two of the challenges that will be captured on film following the announcement of a Natural History Unit commission for BBC One.

Nature's Miracle Babies will investigate the ground-breaking science, dedication and perseverance of some inspirational individuals as they endeavour to make a difference to the survival of some of the world’s most threatened species.

Presenter Martin Hughes-Games, of Autumnwatch, said the programme would be ‘a highly charged personal journey for me’. ‘Many of the animals are just a hair’s breadth from extinction and sometimes the hopes of an entire species is concentrated in a few tiny, vulnerable babies,’ he added.

Commissioning editor for science and natural history Kim Shillinglaw, who will oversee the series, said: ‘This series promises to be a fascinating look at the struggle to save some of the world’s most vulnerable creatures, and demonstrates our commitment to the Natural History Unit and its ability to make distinctive and original programmes. ‘Stable investment through the licence fee gives us the ability to take risks, innovate and take years if needed to deliver programmes viewers will love and remember.'
From a BBC Press release.

Launch of The BBC Wildlife Finder

noreply@blogger.com (Raptordig) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 09:03:00 PDT

You may recall that the BBC launched Earth News and Earth Explorers in the Spring and animal pages in July. Since then they have been adding more content, more animals and more magic. Now its time for the launch of the much anticipated BBC Wildlife Finder, which promises to take 'Wildlife on the web' to a whole new level. What more could you expect from the worlds top Natural History producers?

50 years ago Sir David Attenborough led us into the era of wildlife Television and now aged 83 he, and the brilliant team in BBC Multiplatform, lead the way into Wildlife online. The highlight of the Wildlife Finder is David Attenborough’s Favourite Moments, two and a half hours of the most spectacular wildlife footage of the last few decades, all selected and introduced by the man himself.

If that's not enough, the site boasts an additional 550 clips from across 30 TV series and covering a whopping 370 animals - an Ark of awe-inspiring entertainment that will keep you captivated for hours. Prepare for a jaw-dropping adventure...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/collections/p0048522

Life: Coming Soon to BBC One

noreply@blogger.com (Raptordig) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 02:36:00 PDT

The greatest wildlife stories ever told. Witness the breath-taking ingenuity of life on Earth as its animals adapt their behaviours to overcome the challenges of both their environment and adversaries.

Starring a cast of charismatic characters, filmed on every continent and in every habitat across the world, each episode is entirely dedicated to one of the planet’s ten most important wildlife groups. Mike Gunton executive producer of 'Life' explains the premise of this series and why it will really shine when it's broadcast on BBC One in October (2009).

'The definitive guide to Life on Earth'.

Giant Crystal Cave

noreply@blogger.com (Raptordig) — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 05:18:00 PDT

13th August, 9pm. National Geographic Channel UK

Deep below Mexico lies a mysterious cave packed with extraordinary giant crystals. Among the largest crystals ever found, they have been formed by on of the deadliest environments on the planet.

Combining extreme heat with unbearable humidity, without the use of specialised suits and equipment the conditions in the cavern would kill a man within minutes. Yet, despite the danger, scientists are trying to work out exactly how the glittering structures were created. Journey underground with the experts as they embark on a daring mission to try and unlock the secrets of the crystal cave.

Cavern of Crystal Giants - Nat Geo Article

Naica Mine

Pandemic: A Horizon Guide

noreply@blogger.com (Raptordig) — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 03:45:00 PDT

BBC 4, Sunday 9th August, 22:00
In the wake of the swine flu outbreak virologist Dr Mike Leahy traces over 50 years of BBC archive to explore the history of pandemics - infectious diseases caused by bacteria, viruses and parasites.

Inspired by the Horizon back catalogue, he tells the extraordinary story of smallpox - one of the most violent killers in history, the success of mass vaccination and the global politics of Malaria. Through the lens of television the programme charts our scientific progress from the early steps in understanding AIDS to the code cracking of SARS and deadly predictions of bird flu.

Each pandemic episode tells us something about the world - and our place within it. In his journey through the ages Dr Mike Leahy charts science's on-going battle with nature and questions which one is winning.
Producer/Director – Louise Bourner
Executive Producer – Andrew Cohen

Walk On The Wild Side: Comedy meets Wildlife

noreply@blogger.com (Raptordig) — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 03:25:00 PDT

Coming this Autumn:
BBC One invites its audience to take a Walk On The Wild Side with a brand new comedy series that seeks to provide a long overdue forum for the views and opinions of the animal kingdom. It's a world of hip hop-loving badgers, dieting pandas and a marmot called Alan. They and a whole bunch of other characters come together in this new show, which combines comedy with jaw-dropping natural history footage.

Caroline Wright, Executive Producer, BBC Entertainment said: "Walk On The Wild Side is a potent mix of amazing wildlife photography, a fantastically talented group of comedy writers and performers and an amazing furry cast. Who could ask for more?"

The series features the vocal talents of some of Britain's most promising new comedians, including Jason Manford (Live At The Apollo, 8 Out Of 10 Cats), Isy Suttie (Peep Show), Steve Edge (Phoenix Nights, Star Stories) and Jon Richardson, combined with remarkable footage from the BBC's Natural History Unit.

Special guests will include family favourites Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne, Barbara Windsor, Stephen Fry, Richard E Grant, Rolf Harris and Sir Tom Jones. The regular cast comprises Pal Aron, Rhod Gilbert, Sarah Millican, Harriet Carmichael and Harry Peacock.

Walk On The Wild Side was commissioned by Jay Hunt, Controller BBC One, and Mark Linsey, Controller Entertainment Commissioning.

David Attenborough: Bristol and Wildlife TV - more than an accident of History.

noreply@blogger.com (Raptordig) — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 01:48:00 PDT

From: Made in the UK online essays at the BBC
www.bbc.co.uk/madeintheuk

(Image from Aerial online)

THE NATURAL history unit in Bristol is a rare constant in an evolving broadcast world. Whereas other specialist centres of excellence have come and gone, the NHU has always been there, or so it seems. What happy combination of circumstances and talents made Bristol the ideal habitat for the unit, enabling it to grow into the most enduringly successful out-of- London production department in the history of the BBC?

You might argue that there has always been a strong interest in natural history in the West Country, and a long tradition there of self-educated, amateur naturalists. But the truth is that the NHU would not exist in Bristol, had it not been for the enthusiasm and passion of one man, and his belief in the public service ideals of the BBC. Desmond Hawkins was not himself a trained naturalist, nor a West Countryman. He moved as a radio producer to the BBC in Bristol after WW2 and started natural history production in Bristol with radio programmes such as The Naturalist and Birds In Britain, long before the arrival of television in the area. As a boy, I listened to those programmes, and I dare say my own passion was stoked by them.

Desmond Hawkins interviewing Sir Peter Scott

(Image from WildFilmHistory)

Global reputation In 1952 I began my career with the BBC in London, at the tv talks department in Alexandra Palace. I worked on anything from political broadcasts to archaeological quizzes. But before long I launched Zoo Quest, a series which took me all over the world and helped to determine the future course of my life. Meanwhile, in Bristol, Desmond Hawkins had decided that as soon as it was physically possible to make television programmes in the West Country, his team of natural history specialists would show these upstarts in London how it was really done. Hardly was Zoo Quest on the air in 1954 than Desmond had decided to launch his own series Look, with Peter Scott, whose bird sanctuary at Slimbridge was only 20 miles away. The fact that there was still no actual tv studio in the city, or for that matter any transmitter or tv sets in the region, did not deter him. He brought in an outside broadcast unit, ran cables and cameras into the large radio studio and piped the programme by landline up to London. So natural history tv programmes were being made in Bristol even before anyone in the region could watch them. Enthusiasm is infectious, and Desmond gathered about him a core of people whose passion for natural history equalled his own, so that by 1957 it was officially recognised as a production specialism in Bristol, and he set up the NHU proper there.

When I became controller of BBC Two in 1965, I naturally wanted to indulge my own passion for natural history. When BBC launched colour tv in Britain, I could think of no subject better suited to showing off the new technology. I commissioned from the NHU The World About Us, initially a series of 26x50 minute programmes that turned into a long-running strand, and helped to establish a global reputation for the unit. Bristol also produced Life, a magazine programme that covered natural history news stories. Productions like these, building on the foundation of its existing BBC One output, secured the future of the unit and bound natural history production ever more closely with its Bristol roots.

David Attenborough outside a cave entrance during filming of Life on Earth

(Image from WildFilmHistory)

At BBC Two, I also launched a style of documentary which would now be described as the ‘landmark’ series, taking a big subject and devoting 13 onehour programmes to it. The first of these was Kenneth Clark’s Civilisation, followed by Jacob Bronowski’s The Ascent of Man. An obvious contender for the same treatment had to be the history of all life on earth, but that was a subject I hankered after tackling myself. As soon as I resigned from my management job, I suggested the idea to one of the most experienced producers at the NHU, Chris Parsons, who would later himself head the unit. This was without doubt at the time the most ambitious series to be produced in Bristol. We started work on it in the mid-1970s, and the ground-breaking Life on Earth was transmitted in 1979 to huge audiences, selling around the globe so that eventually it was estimated that 500m people watched it. There is a great deal of trial and error in producing natural history programmes, and the people who make them have built up extraordinary levels of knowledge and expertise. Waiting patiently week after week in freezing temperatures for a snow leopard to creep across a mountainside, or understanding precisely when and how to film the annual hatch of turtles on a starlit beach, requires special skills. So too does the post- production of natural history series, and once a commissioning momentum was established, over the years the NHU in Bristol attracted many satellite businesses and freelancers. The city has accumulated a unique set of trades and talents.

Cultural identity At the same time the cultural life of Bristol has benefited from the existence of the NHU. The world’s first wildlife film festival, Wildscreen, was held in the city, attracting visitors from all over the world. The University of Bristol would probably tell you that its zoology department gains greatly from the fact that the best natural history television unit in the world is within walking distance, and a close and symbiotic relationship has sprung up between the two. Producers and academics drink in the same pubs and exchange ideas, and many a promising young graduate has found employment at BBC Bristol. It may have been historical accident that the NHU was founded in Bristol, rather than London, but instinct tells me that when Desmond Hawkins produced the first natural history radio programmes there in 1946, he already saw far further than the wildlife that was on his West Country doorstep. Natural history programme making has become as much a part of Bristol’s cultural identity as seafaring or the wine trade. The skills it takes to make such programmes are now woven into the fabric of the city, and long may it remain so.

Read David Attenborough’s full article and the other Made in the UK online essays at the BBC

www.bbc.co.uk/madeintheuk

Inside Nature's Giants

noreply@blogger.com (Raptordig) — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 04:41:00 PDT

Inside Nature's Giants dissects the largest animals on the planet to uncover their evolutionary secrets. Most wildlife documentaries tell you how an animal behaves, but by dissecting the animal and studying its anatomy we can we can see how an animal works.

Experts in comparative anatomy, evolution and behaviour put some of the most popular and enigmatic large animals under the knife. Veterinary scientist, Mark Evans, will interpret their findings, biologist Simon Watts tests the animals' physiology in the field and Richard Dawkins traces back the animals' place on the tree of life.

Visit the website to find out more and watch online on 4OD

Wildest Dreams - A moan by 'Jon on TV'

noreply@blogger.com (Raptordig) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 07:54:00 PDT

We thought this review was so amusing that we had to re-post: Dream on. Or something witty like that. Posted on July 27th, 2009 by Jon on TV - a moaning blogger.

“Wildlife film-making is one of the most difficult jobs on earth. Thousands want to do it, but few get the chance. For the first time, the BBC has chosen nine people with ordinary jobs to see if one of them has what it takes to become a wildlife film-maker.”

This is of course the BBC’s newest Apprentice-spinoff style heap of garbage, Wildest Dreams; a show which takes 9 wannabe wildlife filmmakers and promises one of them ‘the ultimate job’ at the BBC’s Natural History Unit. And it’s a fantastic idea – give ordinary people the chance at becoming wildlife film-makers, a career which they could never hope to secured on their own. Only slight problem there is that ordinary people tend to be, by definition, ‘ordinary’.

These aren’t people with photographic backgrounds. They haven’t come fresh from degrees in photography, film production or even media studies – they’re just plain ‘ordinary folk’ who are optimistic delusional enough to think they’ve got the skills required to follow David Attenborough around.

‘Oh, but they’ll learn’ I hear you cry. No they won’t. I learned what a single overhead camshaft was the other day, it still doesn’t mean I’m capable of redesigning an engine. These are people that I wouldn’t trust with my Sony Handycam, but who still expect that in 2 weeks they’ll be the next… famous wildlife film maker person. (I couldn’t think of any)

Anyway, the first ‘task’ of the episode was to go out into the wilderness and film an African Elephant; something which I would have thought was fairly easy to achieve considering they were actually in Africa. So, off they go in their little canoes to try and find the not-so-illusive creatures in the Ocavango Delta; an area which we’re told is the size of Northern Ireland.

So, 2 hours in, have team 1 (lead by single mum Sadia) spotted any elephants? No. But, as the narrator says, ‘it’s a hard first challenge’. No it’s not! Finding an African elephant in a Belfast branch of Staples – that’s a challenge…

But perhaps team 2 have had more luck. …no, they hadn’t. “The whole nature of wildlife is that it’s very wild”, ex-public schoolboy James helpfully explains. Clearly that expensive education wasn’t in vain.

Surprisingly enough the 3rd team hadn’t found any either. But not to worry, they’ve got the right man for the job of elephant spotting – “Factory worker Alan has a keen eye for detail – he works nights checking customer details in a Rotherham clothing factory”. I could so easily make a joke about elephants and the dress sizes of people from Rotherham here…

Back to camp they all go, ready to be judged by the zoologist equivalents of Nick, Margaret and Sir Alan – or in this case overly self important wildlife film maker James Honeyborne, some woman who seems to know a lot about Elephants, and Nick Knowles from DIY SOS. Obviously.

It turns out only one team managed to get some elephant footage, and it was rubbish. So after a patronising little speech from Sir Honeyborne (left)…they were sent out again to find some meerkats. So after 10 minutes of watching them search, did they find any?

No.

If you haven’t worked it out yet, this is on the whole a very uneventful programme. But it’s ok, apparently, because ‘that’s the nature of wildlife film making’. It might well be, but it doesn’t mean I want to watch 60 minutes of people not managing to film things....

Read the rest of this review at Jon on TV

BBC Natural History Archive launched

noreply@blogger.com (Raptordig) — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 09:51:00 PDT

Following the recent launches of Earth News and Out of the Wild the BBC Natural History Unit have just launch the archive clip section of 'Earth'. This provides unprecedented access to the BBC's natural history assets combines with 3rd party data, to create media-rich pages about species, behaviour and habitat and forms the foundation of the new Nature offering on bbc.co.uk.

There aren't yet any 'homepages' to aid navigation, but if you fancy a browse here are some entry level pages to showcase the different areas of interest:

Species

Adaptations

Habitats

Still to come on the archive section are radio programmes, plants, season, timelapse and other special capture pages and lots more behaviour..

Wildest Dreams

noreply@blogger.com (Raptordig) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 06:56:00 PDT

7.30pm, 22nd July, BBC 1

What do you get when you cross BBC Natural History with the reality TV show the apprentice? The answer: Wildest Dreams

Wildlife film-making is one of the most difficult jobs on earth. Thousands want to do it, but few get the chance. For the first time, the BBC has chosen nine people with ordinary jobs to see if one of them has what it takes to become a wildlife film-maker. Presented by Nick Knowles, Wildest Dreams puts them through their paces in one of the natural world's greatest arenas - Africa - with the ultimate prize for just one of them: a job at the BBC's prestigious Natural History Unit. Each week the wildlife enthusiasts are given a different task, judged by wildlife film-maker, James Honeyborne. For one individual their dream is shattered when they are sent home.

See a preview on YouTube

Executive Producers: Fiona Pitcher & Martyn Smith
Series Producer: Spencer Kelly
Series Wildlife Expert: James Honeyborne

Jackson Hole Film Competition Finalists Announced

noreply@blogger.com (Nadège Laici) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 08:54:00 PDT

Finalists 2009

The Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival is pleased to announce the selection of Finalists for its 2009 Film Competition. Judges from around the world representing the Festival's Board of Directors viewed 425 films from 25 countries entered into some 750 categories, for a record number of submissions.

Considered the highest honor of the "nature and environment" film genre, the 2009
Winners will be announced at the Awards Ceremony and Gala Dinner Thursday, October 1st. Peer-judged craft categories including Cinematography, Editing, Original Score, Special Venue, Sound & Writing will be announced July 20th. Special thanks to the preliminary and peer judges who worked hard to bring us these results.

Best Animal Behavior Program
CRIMSON WING
Natural Lights Films, Kudos Pictures Productions, Disneynature

GORILLA KING
Tigress Productions, Ltd, Nature/THIRTEEN, BBC

WHAT FEMALES WANT AND WHAT MALES WILL DO, Episode 2
Pangolin Pictures, Nature/THIRTEEN

Best Wildlife Habitat Program
CRIMSON WING
Natural Lights Films, Kudos Pictures Productions, Disneynature

THE FOREST: FIGHT FOR LIGHT
Nautilus Film, Studio Hamburg GmbH Documentaries, NDR Naturfilm, Arte, ORF

YELLOWSTONE: WINTER
BBC Natural History Unit, Animal Planet

Best Conservation Program
COAL COUNTRY
Evening Star Productions, Norman Star Media

DIVISION STREET
Frogpondia Films

GREEN
Tawak Pictures

Best People & Nature Program
GORILLA MURDERS
National Geographic Television

LEGEND OF PALE MALE
Birdjail Productions

SNOW LEOPARD: BEYOND THE MYTH
BBC Natural History Unit, Animal Planet

THERE'S A RHINO IN MY HOUSE
Oxford Scientific Films, Animal Planet

Best Limited Series
NATURE'S GREAT EVENTS
BBC Natural History Unit, Discovery, Wanda Vision

THE SECRET LIFE OF ELEPHANTS
BBC Natural History Unit, Animal Planet

YELLOWSTONE
BBC Natural History Unit, Animal Planet

Best Children's Program
ARCTIC TALE
National Geographic, Paramount Vantage, Visionbox Films

FROG, CHEMICAL, WATER, YOU
The Smithsonian Women's Committee, Jennifer Grace, MSU

ONCE UPON A TIDE
Center for Health and the Global Environment/Harvard Medical School, Sea
Studios Foundation, Laika/house, Funjacket Enterprises

Best Presenter-led Program
CHARLES DARWIN & THE TREE OF LIFE
Sir David Attenborough
BBC Natural History Unit, Open University

THE HUMAN SPARK
Alan Alda
THIRTEEN, Chedd-Angier-Lewis Productions

THE REAL GREMLIN
Nick Baker
Icon Films, Animal Planet International, Five, ITV Global Entertainment

Best Short Program
A CORAL GARDENER
BBC Natural History Unit

RETHINK THE SHARK
Save Our Seas Foundation, Saatchi & Saatchi

SMALL TALK DIARIES: CHANGELING
Ammonite, Off the Fence, CBBC, Big Squid New Media

Marian Zunz Newcomer Award
DIVISION STREET
Eric Bendick, Frogpondia Films

SWAMP TROOP
Adrian Bailey, Road Media
National Geographic Channel, National Geographic Channels International

THE WHITE WOOD
Lou Astbury

Best Theatrical Program
CRIMSON WING
Natural Lights Films, Kudos Pictures Productions, Disneynature

EARTH
BBC Natural History Unit, Disneynature, BBC Worldwide, Greenlight Media, B8
Media, Discovery Channel

WILD OPERA
Images Studio, Studio Saint Antoine, Inc., Animal Planet International,
Marathon International

Best Nonbroadcast Program
AMUR RIVER BASIN
Craig Miller Productions, Inc., World Wildlife Fund

FROG, CHEMICAL, WATER, YOU
The Smithsonian Women's Committee, Jennifer Grace, MSU

SANTA CRUZ ISLAND: RESTORING BALANCE
The Ocean Channel

Best Earth Sciences Program
ARE WE ALONE
Optomen Productions, Discovery Channel

HOW THE EARTH WAS MADE: ICELAND
Pioneer Productions, The History Channel

LANDSLIDE DETECTIVES
KQED-QUEST

O2: THE MOLECULE THAT MADE OUR WORLD
ORF Universum / NHU, Burning Gold Productions, AV Dokumenta, BMUKK, BBC

Best 360 Campaign
DIRTY SECRETS
National Geographic Television, Sea Studios Foundation

RETHINK THE SHARK
Save Our Seas Foundation

SPRINGWATCH
BBC Natural History Unit

Best Web Presence
www.bbc.co.uk/bigcat/BIG CAT LIVE
BIG CAT LIVE
BBC Natural History Unit

www.alexandracousteau.com
EXPEDITION: BLUE PLANET
Blue Legacy, International

www.SAVEOURSEAS.COM
Save Our Seas Foundation

Best Use of Web 2.0/New Media
www.alexandracousteau.com
EXPEDITION: BLUE PLANET
Blue Legacy, International

www.SAVEOURSEAS.COM
Save Our Seas Foundation

www.kqed.org/quest
KQED-Quest

www.WILDEARTH.TV
WildEarth Media, Hancock Wildlife Foundation, The Institute for Wildlife Studies

Outstanding Achievement
Preliminary judges selected three films to be recognized for a specific
outstanding achievement in technology, innovative storytelling, use of
CGI or 3-D, in-field challenge or other extraordinary accomplishment. These
awards will be presented as part of the Awards Ceremony at the Festival on
October 1.

EARTH
BBC Natural History Unit, Disneynature, BBC Worldwide, Greenlight Media, B8
Media, Discovery Channel

GORILLA MURDERS
National Geographic Television

WHALE WARS
Animal Planet

Again, peer-judged craft categories including Cinematography, Editing, Original Score, Special Venue, Sound & Writing will be announced July 20th.

Andrew Jackson appointed as new Head of the BBC Natural History Unit

noreply@blogger.com (Nadège Laici) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 12:13:00 PDT

Andrew Jackson has today been appointed as the new Head of the BBC Natural History Unit.

Currently Managing Director of the independent production company Tigress, Andrew will replace Neil Nightingale, who is standing down after six years in the role to return to programme making.

Jana Bennett, Director, BBC Vision, says: "I am delighted that Andrew is joining the BBC in this important role leading the Natural History Unit, the centre of the best natural history film-making in the world.

"Andrew's own track record demonstrates his enthusiasm and dedication to programmes about the natural world.

"I am confident that Andrew will support the NHU in delivering ever more ambitious projects which deepen our appreciation of natural history and amaze us with the beauty of the world about us."

Andrew will report to Tom Archer, Controller, Factual Production.

Tom Archer says: "I am delighted that Andrew is joining the BBC leading the Natural History Unit. Andrew is a hugely experienced and talented programme maker.

"He is taking over at an exciting time for the department with a number of important projects forthcoming, including Life and Frozen Planet, and I believe he is ideally suited to take the NHU forward to new successes."

Andrew Jackson says: "I'm delighted and hugely honoured to be taking on this prestigious role.

"It has been an incredibly tough decision to leave a company that I've helped build over the last 17 years but opportunities like this come along so rarely.

"It's a huge, exciting job and I'm really looking forward to getting started."

During Andrew's time at Tigress, the company built a worldwide reputation for making outstanding science, wildlife and adventure programmes.

He joined the company 17 years ago to produce and direct the ITV and PBS specials In The Wild, working with, among others, Julia Roberts, Goldie Hawn and Bob Hoskins.

He has been directly involved in producing or directing more than 100 hours of TV and has overseen many more in his role as MD.

He began his TV career in BBC News and Current Affairs before joining the Natural History Unit in 1986.

He worked as a producer-director on several award-winning series for BBC One and Two.

Based in Bristol, the BBC's Natural History Unit delivers a diverse range of natural history programmes on TV, radio, online and for the cinema.

The unit has constantly excelled and created a world-class reputation for ambitious and groundbreaking factual programmes that inform and entertain audiences.

Recent output from the Natural History Unit on TV includes Nature's Great Events, Life In Cold Blood, Planet Earth, the Saving Planet Earth season, Wild China, Big Cat Live, The Secret Life Of Elephants, Lost Land Of The Jaguar, Expedition Borneo, Springwatch, Autumnwatch, Galapagos and Natural World.

On radio, recent series include Nature, Living World, Soundscapes and a major live event, World On The Move.

Andrew will begin his new role in the autumn of 2009.

UK's Biggest BioBlitz Hits Bristol

noreply@blogger.com (Rob Morgan) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 05:31:00 PDT

The UK’s largest BioBlitz will be kicking off in the Ashton Court Estate in Bristol this Friday the 26th June. For 30 hours, naturalists from all walks will be racing against the clock to catalogue the fauna and flora of the estate.

Wherever you are, you’ll be able to follow the action via the BioBlitz Blog at http://bioblitzbristol.wordpress.com

The dedicated media team will be on location posting up to the minute tallies, photographs, video and more, so, come rain or shine, you don’t have to miss any of the action.

Get involved by posting your comments or by coming down to the event and sharing your images and experiences of the BioBlitz to appear on the blog.

For more info check out:
BioBlitz Blog
BioBlitz Website

The NatureWatch Nature Calendars

noreply@blogger.com (Raptordig) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 05:32:00 PDT

See the all new Calendar section on The Naturewatch.

Featuring a schedule of Natural History on Radio & TV from the BBC, a calendar of Natures Great Events (to celebrate the BBC series of the same name), and for people looking for something to do we've included a Science events calendar.

More coming soon from TheNaturewatchers

Home by Yann Arthus-Bertrand

noreply@blogger.com (Raptordig) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 09:53:00 PDT

Click here to watch the exceptional movie 'Home' by The GoodPlanet Foundation & Yann Arthus-Bertrand of 'Earth from above' fame.

'We are living in exceptional times. Scientists tell us that we have 10 years to change the way we live, avert the depletion of natural resources and the catastrophic evolution of the Earth's climate. The stakes are high for us and our children. Everyone should take part in the effort, and HOME has been conceived to take a message of mobilization out to every human being. For this purpose, HOME needs to be free. A patron, the PPR Group, made this possible. EuropaCorp, the distributor, also pledged not to make any profit because Home is a non-profit film. HOME has been made for you : share it! And act for the planet.'

Foundations and Idea behind Home
By Paula Alvarado, Buenos Aires, for Treehugger.com

Although famous for its Earth from Above pictures, this is the first movie by French photographer Yann Arthus Bertrand. He got the idea of making it moved by the impact Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth had since its release.

"When I invited Al Gore to show his film, An Inconvenient Truth, to the French Parliament, I realized just how much impact a movie could have, even more than a TV program. I saw how moved the audience was—to tears in some cases—and I said to myself that a feature film was an excellent way of reaching people," he said in an interview at the press release brochure.

A Movie from Above

Following his tradition of aerial photography, Arthus Bertrand set off to make a movie entirely shot from above. Why is a movie from above necessary? Producer Denis Carot explains in the same release: "I was convinced that the idea of shooting a movie entirely from up in the sky, without interviews or archive footage, was the right one, but I couldn't pinpoint why. One conversation enlightened me: 'From the sky, there's less need for explanations.' Absolutely! One's vision is more immediate, intuitive and emotional. That's what sets Home apart from all the other movies on the environment—which are all equally necessary in this crucial period for humanity. Home impacts directly on the sensibility of anyone who sees it, bringing us to awareness, through emotion initially, in order to change the way we see the world."

The emissions for the making of the movie were of course offset, by financing a project for Diffusion of anaerobic digesters in India (through Action Carbone)

Numbers and details of the project

Apart from a documentary, Home is an ambitious project: from day one, it was thought to be released free and worldwide to reach as many people as possible.

To make this possible, the film was sponsored by PPR Group, and also received support from other initiatives, such as the special products designed by high-end brands from the Gucci Group. It took 217 days of shooting in 54 countries, which added up to 488 hours of footage.

Additionally, the movie has an original music score written by Armand Amar and recorded with the Budapest Symphony Orchestra and the Shanghai Percussion Ensemble.