Springwatch BBC2

[ardcarp]

Whatever one thinks of the presentation style (particularly of one excitable woman) there is certainly a lot of fantastic photography going on, and one can hardly imagine the hours spent getting the shots and monitoring the live cameras. Also a lot of knowledge and data is made available.

Birds have always dominated the programme, with mammals and invertebrates getting fair coverage. But wild flowers seem not to hold much interest to the producers. Maybe they don't make such exciting viewing.

Nightjars seem to have grabbed Chris Packham's attention this time. We have an area close to where we live (woodland with open fields nearby and near the sea too). At sundown the 'churring' begins and if you visit the site wearing something white, you are sure to get a sighting or two as they fly out, silent and ghostly, to investigate. They are strange birds indeed.

https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/nightjar/

[Serial_Apologist]

Whatever one thinks of the presentation style (particularly of one excitable woman) there is certainly a lot of fantastic photography going on, and one can hardly imagine the hours spent getting the shots and monitoring the live cameras. Also a lot of knowledge and data is made available.

Birds have always dominated the programme, with mammals and invertebrates getting fair coverage. But wild flowers seem not to hold much interest to the producers. Maybe they don't make such exciting viewing.

Nightjars seem to have grabbed Chris Packham's attention this time. We have an area close to where we live (woodland with open fields nearby and near the sea too). At sundown the 'churring' begins and if you visit the site wearing something white, you are sure to get a sighting or two as they fly out, silent and ghostly, to investigate. They are strange birds indeed.

https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wi...-a-z/nightjar/

Possibly one reason for there not being much mention of wild flora is that unlike fauna, plant life doesn't move. Well that's not quite accurate, since it does of course move - as anyone who has watched David Attenborough's documentaries will know - but they involve timelapse footage to show that, whereas Spring- etc. watch is done in real time, to borrow a phrase, and some kind of excitement has to be demonstrated to retain viewers!

[Constantbee]

Birds have always dominated the programme, with mammals and invertebrates getting fair coverage. But wild flowers seem not to hold much interest to the producers. Maybe they don't make such exciting viewing. [/url]

That's a good point

The only time I’ve seen nightjars has been at dusk on Surrey heathland. I used to wear a white cotton sun hat and waving it around in the air they would circle overhead. Magical birds The white fabric fluttering in the air mimics the white wing flashes of the displaying male and is effective at attracting a mate. I particularly enjoyed seeing those big, owl-like eyes in the film.

You need the sunhat on the those wide open spaces, btw. They are very flat and exposed and it gets very, very hot at this time of the year. Easy to get lost, and prone to wild fires, too

[Sir Velo]

Whatever one thinks of the presentation style (particularly of one excitable woman)

I would have thought her co-presenter was at least as excitable. Again, we seem to be on the verge of that old sexist claptrap that forceful women are "excitable" whereas loud men are "enthusiastic" or "personalities".

[Lento]

Enjoyable live webcams, too.