'Winged Planet' documentary shows bird's-eye view
Spy cameras? Check. Fights to the death? Check. Stunning scenery? You bet. But this isn't the latest James Bond movie. It's a documentary for the birds. The joint production from Discovery Channel and BBC, "Winged Planet," is a two-hour special that shows the world from a bird's-eye view as bird species migrate across continents.
The filmmaker, John Downer, devised a fleet of spy cams attached to the birds' wings for a perspective that is both jaw-dropping and vertigo-inducing.
Viewers are essentially riding with the birds as they fly through the air. As the Discovery website explains, "Spy cams allow viewers a moving three-dimensional view as they ride on the backs of spectacular eagles, cranes, pelicans, snow geese, and countless other birds while they soar above some of the most awe-inspiring parts of America, Africa, and Europe."
As these feathered friends fly, they use reference points from the landscapes below to navigate, search for food, and migrate -- all captured on their bird cams.
A spy cam follows an eagle over Lake Bogoria in Kenya as it searches for prey on the river below covered with flamingos, then swoops down for a kill. Cranes soar over the Loire Valley in France. Barnacle geese fly in formation over the east coast of Scotland.
Get a sneak peek at Discovery's "Winged Planet" right here:
"Winged Planet" airs Saturday, 10/6 at 8 PM on Discovery.
