All language subtitles for Earthflight.S01.E01.1080p.Bluray.AAC.2.0.x265-LION

It's a universal dream to fly like a bird...

...to soar on wings into the heavens.

But it's nothing compared to the reality.

Experience our planet as never before.

A bird's-eye view.

This is a journey that will embrace the world...

...showing us astonishing natural events...

...extreme challenges...

...and hard-won rewards.

This is the world on the wing.

It's spring in the Gulf of Mexico
in the far south of North America.

Families of snow geese are soon to begin
an epic journey across a continent.

It's a migration made by
millions upon millions of birds.

Before they leave,
individual families join thousands of other geese

preparing for the great trek northwards.

They become one of a crowd
made up of hundreds of other families.

But this spectacular gathering
doesn't go unnoticed.

Out of the heavens
soars America's national bird,

an aerial predator of cunning and power.

The parents warn their young,
and the message spreads like wildfire.

The bald eagle flushes the birds,
checking for signs of weakness.

The panic spreads like a Mexican wave,

but still,
among the masses the families stick together.

As more and more families take to the air,

they create a snowstorm of geese
that confuses the eagle.

The massed ranks create a white-out
impossible to see through.

She must look for easier options.

Over-wintering coots are a far better bet.

Unlike geese, they need a long take-off.

They are also weak fliers.

It heads back to the water...

...and performs a disappearing act...

...diving two metres below the surface.

But the game isn't up yet.

Another coot dives, but the water's shallow,
and the eagle's pin-sharp vision can see him.

It's a fatal mistake.

The eagle will follow the migrating flocks,
hoping for yet more opportunities.

The snow geese have a tight schedule to keep
if they're to reach the Arctic in time to breed.

It's 3,000 miles away.

They become part of a spring migration
across the continent,

one that features millions of other birds.

Brown pelicans are one of America's
most charismatic birds.

They breed in the warm waters
of Baja California,

but travel north in search of fish.

The brown juveniles
are still learning the ways of the ocean.

Their more colourful elders
have many secrets to pass on.

The youngsters must learn the habits
of every sea creature below.

He soon discovers
that some can guide him to a meal.

Humpback whales are the easiest to spot.

They've travelled over 2,500 miles
from the Arctic to breed here.

The males announce their arrival
by slapping their five-metre long fins.

But this breaching is a more spectacular way
of gaining attention.

35 tons of blubber make quite a splash.

The pelican soon discovers that these show-offs
have nothing to divulge at this time of year.

They're too preoccupied with each other.

Dolphins on the other hand
are a different proposition.

The youngsters learn that
dolphins follow schools of anchovies.

Huge pods form around the biggest shoals.

The pelicans take their cue to dive
from the dolphins.

The deeper the fish, the higher the birds dive.

The young pelican is perfectly adapted
for plunge attacks.

As he hits the surface,
his legs and wings thrust backwards,

forcing his bill around his prey.

His pouch gapes, sucking in ten litres of water
as its upper bill closes the trap.

Brown pelicans
leave these pleasant, balmy seas

when fishing opportunities arise further north.

Birds of prey arriving from South America
have their own appointments to keep.

Many red-tailed hawks stop for a bite to eat
at Bracken Cave in southern Texas.

High on the menu
are 20 million free-tailed bats

that have just arrived from Mexico to breed.

It's the largest gathering of mammals
on the planet.

As the bats leave to feed each evening,
they run the gauntlet of the waiting hunters.

For a rookie hawk that's just arrived,
they're quite a challenge.

She has to learn how to catch them.

But she's pitched against the fastest
and most agile bats in the world.

They run rings round her.

The sheer numbers are overwhelming,
especially for a beginner.

She tries again.

Then again.

Finally, she spots a bat
that's strayed from the mass...

and flicks her back claw to hook it.

Impressive stuff,
but nothing compared to the real top guns.

These experienced hunters
have learnt the best technique -

dive-bombing the bats
at over 100 miles per hour.

The best can catch a bat with one talon
while still holding another.

The best of the best stay for the entire summer,

but most migrating hawks simply use the cave
as a drive-through restaurant.

Like hawks, snow geese travel along
well-defined routes known as flyways.

The Mississippi Flyway is the most popular, as
families can drop down any time to rest or feed.

Youngsters stick close to their parents.

Those that are making their first migration
will still be learning the way.

The young will only need to make the journey
once to remember it for a lifetime.

But not all routes are quite so easy.

Birds taking the western route have to cross
hazardous deserts such as the Grand Canyon.

Hawks can use the up-draughts
rising from the canyon walls

to glide onwards and upwards
to more forgiving lands.

The master of these travellers is the bald eagle.

She too is exquisitely sensitive
to rising air currents.

She is a slope soarer, adapted to exploit
the uplift created by hills and cliffs.

There is no shortage of uplift here.

Apart from the wind, the canyon appears
to offer little for such a water-loving bird.

But the gorge was carved out by water...

...and here the mighty Colorado still flows.

It has sustained life in these deserts
for the last 17 million years.

It still feeds the eagles
that are travelling through.

Just 85 miles further east lies Monument Valley.

It has no obvious attractions
for migrating birds at all.

Even so, many snow geese taking the western
route pass over it as they travel north.

Like their Mississippi counterparts,
the adults recognise the landscape features,

and guide their young through.

But geese needing food or water
face more of a challenge out here.

Unlike the Mississippi,
the desert offers no food or water at all.

From the goose's perspective,
this is a hard land to cross.

Geese must flap hard and fast to stay aloft,

and push onwards
to the fertile lands that lie further north.

But like the walls of the Grand Canyon, the huge
sandstone buttresses deflect air upwards.

It's just the help a family needs.

Migrating geese appreciate these free rides,
using them to join other flocks flying overhead.

On the West Coast,
pelicans are also on the move.

They must keep to a strict timetable
if they're not to miss a great feeding event.

They say a wonderful bird is the pelican.

His bill can hold more than his belly can.

While it's true
he could swallow five kilos of fish in one gulp,

these rays are way out of his league.

They trawl for tiny shrimps
using their mouths as a net.

They're also known as devil rays, and at times
they appear to display supernatural powers.

It seems they too can fly.

Why they indulge in such weird acrobatics
is anyone's guess.

But the pelicans' aerial perspective reveals that
the jumps happen around the edge of the shoal.

Perhaps they panic the shrimps
into the mouths of the other rays.

Or maybe they're just showing off.

But the rays' aerobatics
won't delay the pelicans.

They are heading for one of the most bizarre
natural spectacles in North America.

The youngsters follow the adults

as they navigate to a very special beach
in the Sea of Cortez.

They are right on time.

The tide has reached its highest point.

The sea now reveals its prize...

An entire shoreline carpeted in Gulf grunion.

The adult pelicans know exactly
when the grunion will arrive,

passing on this knowledge
to the youngsters travelling with them.

The grunion surf ashore,
and the females burrow backwards,

laying their eggs in the exposed sand.

The males then coil around to fertilise them.

They are laying their eggs out of the reach
of aquatic predators above the high-tide mark.

Their young will hatch on the next spring tide,
and return to the sea.

These fish out of water should be a doddle
for a pelican to catch,

but they're missing the right tools for the job.

Their bills are too unwieldy
to scoop the grunion from the sand.

The pelicans are relegated to fishing
in the surf zone as the orgy goes on behind.

Not the easiest place to fish,
especially on a rough day.

But as the fish make their getaway,

the pelicans seize their chance,
and go back to what they know best-

plunge-diving onto their prey.

The marshlands of South Carolina are
the setting for another strange fishing story,

one that involves
a very talented pod of dolphins.

They are closely watched
by a flock of great egrets,

who have become experts
on the dolphins' behaviour.

As the dolphins manoeuvre, the egrets shadow
them, leapfrogging from one spot to the next.

Their cue is the moment
a dolphin pops to the surface,

checking the position of the nearest mud bank.

The egrets are poised and ready for action.

Then it happens.

The dolphins drive the fish shoal ashore.

As the fish flounder,
the dolphins scoop them up.

But the egrets also pile in.

This is the only place in the world
where dolphins strand feed like this,

and the local birds
have learnt to make the most of it.

As the tide drops further,
the dolphins search for more fish shoals.

Strangely, the dolphins always use
their right sides to push ashore.

Their bellies flush pink
with the excitement of it all.

The young dolphins pick up this technique from
their parents, as do the egrets that follow them.

Many no longer fish for themselves,
and totally rely upon the dolphins' cast-offs.

The egrets are living proof

of birds' extraordinary ability
to adapt to the opportunities on offer.

Snow geese taking the Mississippi route
pass over Nebraska.

Here, over the last 150 years,

natural grasslands have been transformed
into America's greenbelt.

From the goose's perspective,
the changes are a major improvement,

and now the snow geese population is booming.

It is increasing
at an incredible five per cent per year

as farmers grow crops
that the geese can eat on their migration.

Many of the birds that touch down here
will have been flying continuously for three days.

They would have travelled 800 miles,
burnt over 3,000 calories,

and lost a third of their body weight
to reach here.

The first priority is to top up their lost reserves.

But even best-paid plans
are at the mercy of the weather.

An overnight snowfall can blanket everything.

They have no option but to move,
even on empty stomachs.

But flying burns calories,

and many of the migrating geese
are pretty much running on empty.

Any young now have to rely on
their parents' knowledge of the area.

Without food, they simply won't make it.

In San Francisco Bay, the young pelican
reaches the end of his journey.

The Golden Gate Bridge spans waters

teeming with some of
the most diverse marine life on the planet.

Pelicans only make short migrations,
and for many it's the end of their journey.

In fact, the prison island of Alcatraz
is named after the old Spanish word for pelican.

Throughout their travels, pelicans have learnt to
find food by watching other animals

or using their ingenuity.

But here, the going is easy.

They can either catch fish
in the bountiful waters of the bay,

or scavenge on waste
discarded by fishing boats.

They can even partner
with Californian sea lions.

Like dolphins,
they help find and corral the shoals.

With plenty of food to be had,

more than 1,000 sea lions laze around
without a care in the world.

It's a carefree end to the pelicans' journey,

but it is the beginning of another.

These are California gulls,
a bird that lives on his wits

around the harbours of the Californian coast.

But despite their love of the seaside,
each spring they hear the call of the wild,

and all 65,000 of them up sticks and leave.

They head 200 miles inland
to a barren, salty lagoon known as Mono Lake.

Here, towers of calcium carbonate rise from
the lake's surface, creating a surreal landscape.

It makes a stark contrast
to the comforts of the gulls' usual home

along the San Francisco seafront.

Even the water is poisonous,
a caustic chemical brew of alkaline salts.

Despite its lack of amenities,
the gulls flock here in their thousands.

Each morning they wait for an event
that happens as the day warms up.

Suddenly the shoreline fills
with vast clouds of brine flies.

Billions of them.

For the gulls it's a feast like no other.

As the flies gather to breed and feed,
they turn the sand black.

His technique is anything but sophisticated.

He just opens his mouth and runs.

It may look inefficient,
but each fly contains seven calories.

He just has to catch 60 a day.

Here, the living is easy, so the gulls come here
each summer to raise their families.

Food is also top priority for snow goose families.

When snow covers everything,
there is none to be found.

But mother geese know exactly where to go.

In fact, thousands of snow goose families
have exactly the same idea.

The marshes of the Platte River basin
offer plenty of natural food, even in bad weather.

Two million geese take refuge here as they wait
for the weather to change for the better.

But where geese gather, so do the eagles.

The youngsters keep close to their parents,
hiding among the masses.

As before, the eagle's tactic
is to divide and conquer,

harassing and fragmenting the flocks
to single out the weaklings.

But healthy snow geese are ambitious targets,

and there are thousands of
other water fowl on offer.

Mallards are certainly worth a try.

The eagle encourages others to join the hunt.

They pick out any weakened
by the ordeals of the journey.

With so much prey around,
the eagles can relax and socialise.

They even start to play with their food.

Missed.

The youngster sees if he can do better.

Anyone can have a go.

Locking talons is a popular tactic.

Tackling is allowed, and soon everyone piles in.

Even scraps are used for passing practice.

These games are all about establishing
relationships, and perfecting combat skills.

Bald eagles are the most social of all eagles.

By playing games, the young birds
learn survival skills from the adults.

The sport passes the time
as all the birds wait for the weather to change.

As the days go by, all along Nebraska's
Platte River there is an air of excitement.

The weather has changed in their favour.

It's time to check out.

100,000 snow geese
launch themselves into the air.

And that's just a start.

Two million birds are soon on the move again.

Many families head on north,
over the Badlands of Dakota.

The barren landscape soon gives way
to natural grassland.

The prairies stretch for hundreds of miles,

and provide grazing
for the largest land mammal in America.

The bison attract a very different
flying traveller...

Cowbirds.

As the bison migrate,
the cowbirds travel with them.

Like cuckoos, they even lay their eggs in other
birds' nests so they never have to stop moving.

They rely on the bison to stir up insects.

They know their every move.

And when it's wisest to keep out of the way.

A dust-bathing bison
is a force to be reckoned with,

but the cowbirds risk their lives
to grab fleeing insects.

Males fighting over females
are a frequent occupational hazard,

but the birds are experts on bison behaviour,
and know just how to dodge the battling beasts.

The bison's collisions
are like a car crashing at 30 miles per hour.

Wisely, the birds stay out of the impact zone.

These one-ton beasts and their feathered
friends once numbered millions.

But the same landscape changes
that have helped the snow geese prosper

have given the bison and cowbirds
little space to roam.

On the East Coast, in Delaware Bay,

another animal migration takes place,

just as it has done for aeons of time.

Over one million shore birds arrive from South
America to take part in this extraordinary event.

They time their visit to the highest spring tides.

It's now that thousands of bizarre
prehistoric creatures emerge from the ocean.

Horseshoe crabs.

Like the grunion in Mexico, they too aim to
lay their eggs out of the reach of predatory fish.

It's a plan that worked millions of years ago
before birds had evolved,

but now the secret's out,
and the crabs suffer the consequences.

Sanderlings and sandpipers
are first to gather on the strand line.

They are like kids playing dare with the waves

as they pluck the freshly-laid eggs
from the sand.

They gorge themselves silly. They have
a journey of 2,000 miles ahead of them.

If the sanderlings' onslaught wasn't bad enough
for the crabs,

then the ruddy turnstones arrive.

Their rather unfortunate name
actually refers to their reddish plumage.

But turnstone is a good description.

They really do leave no stone unturned as they
search for eggs missed by the manic sanderling.

Dunlin have longer bills,
and can afford to take their time.

They probe for eggs
that were successfully buried by the crabs.

In this battle for the beaches,
the crabs suffer huge losses.

Hundreds upturned by the waves
find it impossible to right themselves.

But for all this carnage,
the horseshoe crabs are great survivors.

Only a few eggs need to escape

to allow enough young
to return to the beach in future years.

The birds now head northwards, satisfied by
an egg breakfast that will last them the journey.

Snow geese travelling up
the East Coast of America

pass one of the greatest cities in the world.

They've covered two-thirds of their journey
in a little more than two weeks.

New York is a busy crossroads
for travelling birds.

Over 250 migrating species
still pass through each year,

even though their marshlands
have been replaced by real estate.

Although things ain't what they used to be,

the Big Apple does give some help
to the exhausted snow geese.

The buildings act like the buttresses
of Monument Valley,

channelling wind upwards, and giving geese
a much-needed boost as they move inland.

Now they will continue into Canada,
and onwards to their breeding grounds.

Bald eagles also heading north
spread out across the vast forests,

never straying far from water.

They head for meltwater streams and estuaries,
as this is their best chance for a meal.

One particular event draws eagles like no other.

It also attracts grizzly bears.

The soaring eagle gets the first sight
of what's to come -

thousands of sockeye salmon on the starting
blocks for a race up the river to breed.

The eagle bides his time as the bears lay claim
to the best fishing spots.

Younger eagles watch from the sidelines,
anxious to learn.

Around 15,000 fish create the critical mass
that fires the starting pistol.

Once one goes, they all do.

As the rivers fills with salmon, the bears go wild.

But the eagles hold back. They're happy
to let the bears do all the hard work.

The cubs are torn between stuffing themselves,
or catching more.

An eagle seizes the moment.

But she must eat fast.

Mother bear doesn't like others
stealing her breakfast.

But the bears don't just compete with eagles.

Arguments over feeding rights
keep tempers running high.

The eagle spots another opportunity.

As she eats, she uses her wings to hide the fish,
but she has just seconds to spare.

Finally the bears are stuffed,
eating just the fatty skin, and leaving the rest

much to the birds' delight.

And the eagle finally gets to eat in peace.

It's time for the eagles to move on.

They've got one more appointment to make.

All the snow goose families
are nearing the end of their journeys.

Some pass over Niagara Falls,
on the border between the USA and Canada.

Further west, others cross the border,
and head right for the heart of the tundra.

As the geese catch up with the retreating snow,
they stop one last time.

But hungry bald eagles have gathered here too,
anticipating the snow goose's arrival.

Maybe now they will finally get
to feed on their favourite prey,

especially as the exhausted geese
are at their most vulnerable.

The young eagle buzzes the geese.

This time he's found a sitting duck...

A youngster weakened by her long flight.

The snow goose fights back.
She even grabs his tail.

But the eagle puts his training into practice.

A remarkable escape...

Or is it?

The snow goose survives against the odds...

...and the young eagle returns to the classroom.

Like all birds, he will never stop learning.

As the weather clears,
the geese make the final short hop onwards

to their Arctic breeding grounds.

They have travelled 3,000 miles to reach here.

It's only now that the young leave their parents
to raise chicks of their own.

The bond with their mother
that guided them across north America

is now formed with their own offspring.

They will learn from her
the many secrets known only to birds.

In the next journey across a continent,
we will fly with vultures,

flamingos and fish eagles,

as we experience a bird's-eye view of Africa.