BBC: Wings 3D Page #3

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...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...

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