Nature Series 9 - 3. The Rainforest Canopy

NATURE SERIES 9 - 3. THE RAINFOREST CANOPY (320kbs-m4a/64mb/28mins)

BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 6th July 2016

With a two metre wingspan, strong hooked beak and four inch talons, harpy eagles are one of the most powerful birds of prey in the world and have been known to attack people who get too close to their nests, so when wildlife cameraman John Aitchison agreed to spend a month on a tiny platform high up in rainforest canopy in Venezuela to try and film a young eagle chick hunting for the first time, it was with some trepidation at what might lie ahead.

John abseiled down from his platform each night to grab a meal and a few hours of sleep, but before dawn he climbed back up onto his tiny platform, just big enough for him and his camera. High up in the rainforest canopy, his neighbours included bellowing howler monkeys, flocks of squawking parrots and colourful butterflies as well as highly venomous snakes and stinging ants. He also had to endure some torrential storms and powerful winds. But his perseverance was rewarded with stunning views across the forest, magical misty mornings, very close encounters with the harpy chick and a most unexpected meeting between the young eagle and a very brave sloth!

Producer Sarah Blunt.

Nature Series 9 - 2. James And The Peregrines

NATURE SERIES 9 - 2. JAMES AND THE PEREGRINES (320kbs-m4a/64mb/28mins)
BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 29th June 2016

James Aldred will be familiar to many Radio 4 listeners as 'the tree climber'. As a tree canopy access expert, James spends much of his life travelling across the world and climbing up into tree canopies to film the wildlife there. His accounts have been broadcast in several BBC Radio 4 programmes, most recently James and the Giant Atlas Cedars. But in his spare time when he's home, James loves to head through the woods behind his house and up to the disused quarry to watch the Peregrines that have bred here. In 2015 he decided to keep an audio diary and follow the lives of these birds in his spare time. Historically Peregrines were prized for falconry and it's from here that we get the names falcon for the female bird and tiercel for the male.

On a freezing cold day in early February, James set off for the quarry with his recorder and microphones for the first time, and watched the adult birds patrolling back and forth marking their territory, prior to courtship. Over the coming weeks, James returned to his ringside seat as often as he could to watch these magnificent birds and determine which ledge they would choose to nest on. He followed the birds from winter through spring and summer as they bred and raised their young, as you can hear in this intimate audio diary about one of the world's most iconic birds of prey.

Producer Sarah Blunt.

Nature Series 8 - 2. Arctic Terns at 66 Degrees North

NATURE SERIES 8 - 2. ARCTIC TERNS AT 66 DEGREES NORTH (128kbs-m4a/26mb/28mins)

BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 17th February 2014

In the second of three programmes recorded in Iceland, wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson goes in search of Arctic Terns, which travel here from Antarctica to breed; the longest regular migration of any animal. Some birds travel even further to the Arctic Circle, and so on the summer solstice, Chris takes a 3 hour ferry journey from the mainland to the island of Grimsey which lies on the Arctic Circle to record some of these remarkable migrants.

Scientists are becoming increasingly concerned about the number of breeding colonies which have failed in Iceland in the past decade and Chris hears about the reasons why and what steps need to be taken to help the situation. Often called Sea Swallows because of their overall shape long tail feathers, Arctic Terns are very protective of their eggs and young and aggressive as Chris discovers when he tries to record in their colony. He also comes across Arctic Terns inland at Lake Myvatn, the 'Lake of Flies' "and it’s very aptly named. I had to wear a head net in June as tens of thousands of flies swarmed around me the moment I set foot outdoors".

After recording the haunting songs of Red-throated Divers, Long-tailed Ducks and Black-tailed Godwits, Chris watches Arctic Terns swooping down to pick off flies along the road which the adults can feed on. The programme also reveals how with the latest technology scientists have gained a fascinating insight into the exact migration routes of these birds; "We discovered new stopover areas, we discovered a new southern route but overall the sheer scale of this migration was what was most impressive to us " says Iain Stenhouse, one the scientists working on this project. "These birds are not just Olympic athletes they are spatial geniuses as well".

Producer Sarah Blunt.

Nature Series 7 - 1. Bird Wars On Malta

NATURE SERIES 7 - 1. BIRD WARS ON MALTA (128kbs-m4a/26mb/28mins)

BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 31st July 2012

Twice each year the skies above the Mediterranean island of Malta are filled with the spectacle of thousands of migrating birds. Kestrels, Bee-eaters, Honey Buzzards, Turtle Dove and Quail, among other species fly first north, in the Spring, to the breeding grounds of Europe.

They return south in the Autumn to their wintering grounds in sub Saharan Africa. If their migration takes them over Malta, twice each year they must run the gauntlet of hunters' guns. Many of the migrant bird species are protected, only two species are legal quarry for Maltese hunters.

Investigative journalist Matthew Hill travels to Malta to talk to the hunters about the age-long culture of hunting birds on Malta and to investigate allegations of widespread illegal hunting.

Presented by Matthew Hill
Produced by Lizz Pearson.

Nature Series 6 - 1. Drumming Down

NATURE SERIES 6 - 1. DRUMMING DOWN (128kbs-m4a/26mb/28mins)

BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 5th April 2012

Spring woodlands are loud now with the drumming of Great Spotted Woodpeckers and their familiar head-banging territorial sounds are everywhere in the UK . Numbers of Great Spotted Woodpeckers have increased 250% over the last few decades and they have taken to feeding in garden bird-tables along with Tits and Robins. However, their much smaller cousin, the tiny sparrow-sized Lesser Spotted Woodpecker has declined by as much as 90% in the same period and from 2011 is one of the species monitored by the Rare Birds Breeding Panel.

To find out why our Woodpeckers have experienced very different fortunes, Brett Westwood visits the Wyre Forest on the Worcestershire/Shropshire border. This ancient oak wood is one of the study plots for a 3-year RSPB research project on the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, and one of the best sites to see them in the UK. They are one of the most difficult birds to study because of their size, their attraction to feeding high in the canopy and their huge winter range. A single bird may range over 700 hectares of forest habitat in winter and so is very hard to locate. In Spring they call and drum, making February, March and April the best months to see them, before the leaves are fully expanded. For Nature, Brett Westwood visits Wyre with Ken Smith and Elisabeth Charman, woodland ecologists from the RSPB, to search for the birds and to learn about the results of the survey. Although the decline of the Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers is still shrouded in mystery, some interesting facts have emerged. A third of the broods are deserted by one of the parents, leaving the other, usually the male, to bring up the young. Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers glean insects from leaves and there are indications that climate change may be affecting their prey supplies.

Among woodland birds, "Lesser Spots" aren't the only species whose numbers are falling. Nightingales, Willow Tits and Wood Warblers are also declining sharply which raises questions about the suitability of our woods for many species. But with the rise of the Greater Spotted Woodpecker, also a woodland bird, teasing out the reasons is a challenge for scientists. Brett talks to Rob Fuller, of the British Trust for Ornithology who's studied woodlands for over 30 years, and hears about the complexities of monitoring woods and the birds which live in them.

Producer: Brett Westwood
Editor: Julian Hector.

Discovery - Carl Zeiss: A State Within A State

DISCOVERY - CARL ZEISS: A STATE WITHIN A STATE (64kbs-m4a/12mb/26mins)

BBC World Service broadcast: 15th November 2009

This edition of Discovery examines German partition and reunification as seen through the lens of one of the country’s most prestigious companies, Carl Zeiss. Like Germany itself, Carl Zeiss was divided after 1945 and the history of the two Zeiss factories, both specialising in optical technologies, mirrors post-war political, social and technological separation and subsequent re-unification.

Reporter Tim Whewell charts the history of the company, founded in 1846, which built a global reputation for producing high quality microscopes, scientific instruments, cameras and lenses. Originally based in Jena in eastern Germany, the company was split at the end of the Second World War, with the Americans taking top Zeiss scientists west, to Oberkocken and the peoples' enterprise, V.E.B Carl Zeiss Jena, continuing in the GDR.

Like Germany itself, where early post war hopes lingered that the country wouldn't be divided, both parts of the Carl Zeiss company initially struggled to maintain contact. But the bitterness and mistrust of the Cold War soon created deep political, economic and social divisions and the two parts of the company became bitter international rivals, arguing about who owned the Carl Zeiss trademark on the world market.

But in November 1989, 20 years ago, the Berlin Wall came down and while Germany reunified, Carl Zeiss in Oberkocken was determined that it too, should be reunited with Carl Zeiss in the East. For this Discovery, Tim Whewell, speaks to the key figures who negotiated the subsequent unification of Carl Zeiss, to workers in Jena, many of whom lost their jobs and to current staff and the company's leadership about the impact of this merger.

This edition of Discovery is part of BBC World Service’s 1989: Europe’s Revolution coverage, marking the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Nature Series 2 - 7. Seabirds - Canaries On The Cliffs

NATURE SERIES 2 - 7. SEABIRDS - CANARIES ON THE CLIFFS (128kbs-m4a/26mb/28mins)

BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 3rd June 2009

Chris Sperring explores declining seabird numbers and asks if it represents a crisis or just a blip.

Visit any windy, spray laden seabird colony in the spring and early summer and every sense is fired by the sound, sight and smell of thousands upon thousand of birds flying to and fro with fish to feed their young that are perched precariously on every ledge.

Or that is how it should be. In many seabird colonies it is now much quieter and many traditional nesting ledges are empty. Seabird ecologists are increasingly concerned about how many species are fledging young, and in some areas none are successful in raising chicks at all.

These worrying signs are increased by looking at the number of birds that are washed up dead on beaches during the winter months. Once the seabirds have left the cliffs in the summer they spend the rest of the year out at sea. But many are now succumbing to starvation and end up washed ashore. There are definitely signs that the North Sea is changing and that seabirds are finding it harder to cope.

Nature Series 2 - 6. Decline In Migrants

NATURE SERIES 2 - 6. DECLINE IN MIGRANTS (128kbs-m4a/26mb/28mins)

BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 27th May 2009

Brett Westwood searches for the reasons behind the declining numbers of many of our migrant songbirds - including the Cuckoo, Turtle Dove and Spotted Flycatcher - and where the birds are most vulnerable.

Speaking to researchers from the RSPB and British Trust for Ornithology, he explores the dual world of our migrants, like the Pied Flycatcher which spends its summers in the lush oak woods in the British Isles but winters in west African savannah woods. For some species, such as the Cuckoo which evolved in Africa, northern Europe is a treasure trove of habitats and food supplies to be exploited, and many of our successful migrants are birds which originated in Africa but then moved north to cooler areas to breed.

Do the reasons for them now being under threat lie here in the UK or south of the Sahara in their winter homes, and will they be able to evolve new wintering or summering areas to compensate for losses?

Nature - A Country Fit For Cranes

NATURE - A COUNTRY FIT FOR CRANES (128kbs-m4a/26mb/28mins)

BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 26th June 2007

Last month a pair of Cranes bred in the East Anglian fens, a remarkable event since their chosen habitat was only created seven years ago. Michael Scott visits Lakenheath Fen to see the birds for himself and talk to the RSPB about the arrival of the Cranes and its effect on plans for future wetlands.

Nature - Spring Songbird Special

NATURE - SPRING SONGBIRD SPECIAL (128kbs-m4a/26mb/28mins)

BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 5th June 2007

As part of the BBC's Springwatch event, Grant Sonnex presents the programme from the RSPB's reserve at Minsmere in Suffolk. Among the reed beds and woodlands, he revels in the voices of some of Britain's finest songbirds and hears about the lives that they lead before their chorus fills the spring air.

Nature - A Hundred Years Of British Birds

NATURE - A HUNDRED YEARS OF BRITISH BIRDS (128kbs-m4a/26mb/27mins)

BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 8th May 2007

Arguably the most influential journal of its genre, British Birds reaches its 100th birthday in June. With the help of leading ornithologists, Brett Westwood looks back at a history which mirrors the growth of birdwatching in the UK. He uncovers the scandal of the Hastings Rarities, the first arrival of the Collared Dove, and the unique legacy of observations in the magazine.

Discovery - Life On The East Asian Flyway - Part Four: The Arctic

DISCOVERY - LIFE ON THE EAST ASIAN FLYWAY - PART FOUR: THE ARCTIC (96kbs-m4a/18mb/26mins)

BBC World Service broadcast: 27th June 2016

After flying thousands of kilometres from faraway Bangladesh and New Zealand via the Yellow Sea, the shorebirds of the East Asian Flyway complete their northward migration. They touch down in the Arctic Russia and Alaska to breed

In May and June, birds such as the endangered spoon-billed sandpiper and red knot fill the air of the Russian tundras with their mating calls and display flights. But why travel so far to raise the next generation

Presenter Ann Jones also discovers why Russian and British conservationists are taking eggs from the nests of the spoon-billed sandpiper, the most endangered shorebirds in the world, in a last ditch effort to save the species from extinction.

Finally, with the mating season finished and a new generation ready to migrate for the first time, we follow the incredible non-stop flight of nine days by the bar-tailed godwit, as it migrates south from Alaska all the way to New Zealand. The record-breaking species is helped by somehow being able to sense the weather patterns across the entire Pacific Ocean.

The series is a co-production from the BBC World Service and Australian ABC Radio National. The sound recordings from Russia and Alaska were provided by the Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Image: Spoon-billed sandpiper chick in Chukotka, NE Russia. Credit: Nicky Hiscock.