BBC: Wings 3D Page #2

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[HONKING]

For countless other travelers...

...their migration has barely begun.

On the southern tip of Africa...

...a bird's-eye view

of Cape Town's Table Mountain...

...gives no hint of what's stirring

in the seas far offshore.

Beneath the waves...

...the greatest fish migration

on the planet has begun...

...and Cape gannets...

...are already on its trail.

[CAWING]

The gannets have thousands

of square miles of ocean to search...

...so they need help

in tracking them down.

The common dolphin...

[BELLOWS]

...a creature

with an unrivaled knowledge...

...of the undersea world.

The two species work as a team,

sharing their specialized skills.

Dolphins search beneath the waves...

...while the gannets

are the eyes in the sky.

It's the bird's view

that first spots...

...the hidden gathering.

They arrow towards it...

...at 70 miles per hour.

[CAWING]

Sixty feet down, they reach their target:

The great sardine run.

But at this depth,

the sardines are a struggle to catch.

The gannets come up with nothing.

But the dolphins corral the sardines...

...driving them to the surface.

Now they're not only easier

for the dolphins...

...to catch,

they're in easy reach of the gannets.

By working together,

the gannets and dolphins...

...mount an air and sea assault

with no parallel...

...in the natural world.

It's this seasonal banquet...

...that drives the birds' whole existence.

With bellies full...

...the hunters return to Bird Island...

...the biggest Cape gannet colony

in the world.

Sixty-five thousand

breeding pairs in all.

The gannets' success...

...entirely depends

on timing their breeding cycle...

...to one great seasonal event.

Back in Europe...

...the bulb fields of Holland

are in bloom...

...showing that spring

has well and truly arrived.

It's also a sign...

...that the cranes'

breeding grounds are not far away.

[SQUAWKS]

This Technicolored landscape...

...was reclaimed from salt marshes.

In the past,

cranes would've stopped here to breed.

Nowadays,

they keep on traveling...

...to where natural marshes

can still be found.

Having flown 3000 miles

from North Africa...

...the family arrive...

...at their final destination

in Sweden.

Here, they will finally settle

for the summer to breed.

The cranes' journey has ended for now...

...and across the rest of Europe...

...millions of other migrants

are just arriving from Africa.

[SWALLOWS TWEETING]

Barn swallows

are among the most celebrated.

Few can equal their aerobatic skills.

They even drink without missing a beat.

They've traveled over 6000 miles

from South Africa...

...to return to this English farm

where they were born.

They were well-equipped

for the journey.

Their long, pointed wings

and forked tail...

...give them unrivaled flight control.

The males arrive first.

Their job is to repair the nest

before the females return.

After a six-week flight,

they'll take any meal on offer.

[BUZZING]

Some nests have been in the family

for 50 years...

...and like all old properties,

they need a spot of renovation.

[CLUCKS]

The right materials are everything.

A lining of feathers will do nicely.

Summer is also underway

in North America.

By now, birds have set up home...

...in every corner of the continent.

The Grand Canyon

provides perfect conditions...

...for those that soar.

[AIR WHISTLING]

A bald eagle...

"effortlessly rides the air currents

that swirl around the crater's rim.

[EAGLE SCREECHING]

Apart from updrafts of air...

...this barren gorge appears to offer little

for a water-loving eagle.

But these huge canyons

were carved out by water...

...and down below,

the mighty Colorado still flows.

Eagles master the air...

...by using their feathers to sense...

...and react to the slightest updraft.

By understanding

the way the landscape shapes the wind...

...they use little energy looking for a meal.

The Colorado has sustained life

in these deserts...

...for the last 17 million years.

It still feeds a growing population...

...of bald eagles today.

[EAGLE SCREECHING]

Wherever there's an opportunity...

...birds will grasp it...

...and reap the rewards.

The marshlands of South Carolina...

...provide an unusual opportunity

for another fish hunter.

The great egret...

...could teach the eagle

a thing or two about fishing.

[DOLPHIN SNORTING]

They let dolphins do all the work.

The egrets shadow their subjects,

waiting for them to corral the fish.

Then, in one explosive charge...

...the dolphins drive the fish ashore.

[EGRETS SQUAWKING]

As their prey ounder,

the dolphins scoop them up.

And so do the hungry egrets.

Stranding

is a dolphin's worst nightmare...

...but this pod

has made it their specialty.

[SQUAWKS]

The young dolphins

learn the knack from their parents...

...as do the egrets that follow them.

With food so easy to come by...

...the egrets have become experts

on the dolphins' behavior...

...and no longer fish for themselves.

Countless other birds rely on a similar

knowledge of other creatures...

...to find their food.

As summer reaches its height

in the northern hemisphere...

...South Africa hosts an even more

astonishing feeding event.

The kelp gull knows exactly

when it's about to occur...

...and sets off to Seal Island

near Cape Point.

Here, 10,000 Cape fur seals...

...gather to breed.

[GULLS CAWING]

The gulls are opportunists...

...scavenging a meal

wherever they can.

But by studying the seals,

they are guaranteed a feast.

[S EALS BARKI N G]

The gulls wait until the seal pups

are brave enough...

...to venture away from the island.

They follow as the youngsters

enjoy their nevvfound freedom.

The young seals

are oblivious to danger...

...but the gulls know otherwise.

A great white shark.

Just what the gulls were expecting:

A buffet of seal meat,

there for the taking.

[CAWING]

In July, great whites migrate

to feed on the novice seals...

...attacking up to 40 times a day.

As the year moves on...

...it's East Africa's turn...

...to host another great event.

Vultures circle above the Great Plains...

...spiraling upward

in thermals of hot air.

[AIR WHISTLING]

Her broad wings ride the air for hours...

...as she searches for the dead or done for.

Every feather reacts

to the tiniest breath of air...

...adjusting its angle

to perfect the vulture's flight.

She splays her wingtip feathers

to reduce drag...

...and uses her tail to steer.

She is here for one thing only:

The greatest mass movement

of mammals on the planet.

By August, half a million wildebeests...

...cross the Serengeti plains...

...and arrive in Kenya's Maasai Mara.

And with perfect timing...

...their scavengers unerringly follow.

The vulture watches the herds...

...looking for signs of weakness.

[GRUNTING]

She also studies

the wildebeests' predators.

But in the high-stakes world

of the African bush...

...the watched also do the watching.

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