Episode 30 Green Balloon Club

# Gather round, one and all

# You gotta answer the call

# Listen up, look around you

# There's a magical world to explore

# There's a nature adventure

# Coming your way soon

# So come and join us

# In this Green Balloon

# And when we fly We're higher than the moon

# So join us

# Ah, ah

# In our Green Balloon. #

Oh, hello. I was just looking for some birds.

-Did you spot any yet, Jay?

-Not yet but look who I have found.

Oh, yes! Hello. Come on in and let's get started.

-Hello!

-Welcome to the Green Balloon Club.

-What are you two up to?

-We're being Skipper.

We're copying her when she moves.

This is what she does when she's excited -

GIGGLING

And this is what she does when she's hot -

SHE PANTS

-This looks fun, can I join in?

-Me too!

-What about the register?

-Oh, yes. I nearly forgot.

Here goes, then. Lily-Rose?

Aww! Are you still being Skipper, Lily-Rose?

Yes, I'm Skipper saying, "Hello, pleased to see you."

So you are! She does that, doesn't she?

Good. Lily-Rose is here. Ant?

-Eww!

-I'm Skipper when she's very pleased to meet you!

I like that one!

What about you, Cat? Are you Skipper too?

GIGGLING

I'm Skipper when she's chasing her tail.

What about Skipper? What kind of Skipper are you being today?

Both.

Good girl.

Very good, so Skipper's here. Now it's me.

MAKES A DOGGY SOUND

-I'm Skipper chasing rabbits!

-Ahh.

-What about Sky? Are you Skipper too?

I'm Skipper bowing!

Ahh, yes, so you are!

And what about you? What sort of Skipper are you being?

Eww!

-Good. That's everyone present.

-Shall we do the Green Balloon Club Chant?

ALL: Yay!

ALL: We love animals Plants and birds

We love snails and slugs

Large and small, we love them all And we never, ever step on bugs

Cos we are the Green Balloon Club!

I've noticed something about Skipper in the park.

She arches her back like this and keeps going very slowly.

-She does that when she's seen a squirrel?

-Yes.

She's doing "stalking".

It's when animals creep up on each other to catch them

and lions and tigers do that to catch their prey.

Skipper loves stalking squirrels,

-but she doesn't catch any.

-It's a game for her.

I can't see any birds today, Jay.

No, me neither. I think we're flying a bit too high today.

Birds often fly quite low, except when they're migrating.

Oh, what's that down there?

-BOTH:

-Hello!

-I think it's some Green Balloon Club members.

-Oh, yes,

it's Antoine and Chantel. I think they're bird-watching.

-Let's hope they have more luck than us. BOTH:

-Hello!

Today we're going to see how many different birds we can see

for the Big Garden Birdwatch.

This is our bird table.

We're filling it up, so we can lots of birds in our garden.

We always wash our hands after touching the bird feeders.

We're going to watch the birds from the bedroom window,

so we don't scare them.

-On the tree. Can you see him?

-Yes, a little bird.

You need to watch for one hour to see how many different birds we can spot.

We're going to tick them off on the special chart.

There's a wood pigeon.

The birds are playing hide-and-seek. SHE GIGGLES

Can't find them.

A blackbird!

Blackbird.

There's two bluetits on the feeder.

I think that's a coal tit.

He's getting a nut.

Look, there's a female blackbird.

There's Chantel's robin.

We've had a great time bird-watching. As well as Chantel's robin,

we've seen a wood pigeon...

..two bluetits...

..two blackbirds...

..and a coal tit.

Why don't you take part to see how many different birds you can see?

-BOTH:

-Bye-bye!

That looked fun. I definitely want to do the Big Garden Birdwatch.

I'm going to get one those sheets off the internet.

I've got one here.

Oh, wow! Which of those birds have you spotted?

Well, I've seen most of them, cos I look out for them a lot.

I put lots of food out for the birds.

I've never seen a song thrush though. They're a bit more rare.

Are they called that cos they sing a lot?

Yes, they've got really clear voices.

They like to sit up high and sing the same song over and over again.

Do you mean a bit like this, Jay?

BIRD SINGS

Yes, like that.

Is the song thrush your favourite bird?

I really like them,

-but I think my favourites might be the starling.

-Why?

At first sight they look really dull,

but when you look closely, they're shiny,

and the feathers shimmer all green and purply.

They're mimics. They make noises like things around.

I heard one mimicking a telephone.

THEY IMITATE A PHONE RINGING Like that!

I like them cos they live in flocks and fly around together

making cool patterns in the sky.

Why do they do that?

-I don't know. Why don't we ask the Ground Crew?

-Can I?

-Sure.

-Thanks.

Have you ever wondered why starlings make shapes in the sky?

We've got our mission, Ground Crew.

-ALL:

-Yeah!

Let's see what it is.

-What's the picture of?

-A bird.

-And the mission?

"Have you wondered why starlings make shapes in the sky?"

I wonder. First, we've got to find some starlings.

Do you know where the starlings are?

-Over there.

-Over there? Let's have a look then.

I thought you said you were going to show me some starlings.

-Why are we on the beach?

-Starlings roost on the piers -

-there and there.

-Oh, I see, yeah.

-So they roost on the ledges and nooks and crannies on the piers?

-Yes.

OK. But, where are they now? Why aren't they here?

-Because they come out at 3 from finding food.

-Ahh.

So they're out feeding? I think that's exactly right.

Starlings can go up to 20 miles away from their roost.

Hopefully we'll see them going to one of these piers.

-So what have we got to do now? Sit...

-And wait.

-And wait. Exactly.

So, while we're waiting, where do we need to be looking to spot them?

Their food is over there and that's where they get their food from.

And they'll come over to roost here.

Look, look! See them? They're starting to come.

Oh, yeah!

They look drunk cos they're going in different positions!

It keeps moving around, doesn't it?

And look at these coming in! See above?

It's kinda like they're shimmering. You see that?

Ooh! Like a banana!

-Why do they all come together?

-To keep warm?

-That's right.

-There's one other thing.

-Cos if they were alone

and any predators came, he'd just go straight for that one.

If they're all together, they can confuse the predator.

That is exactly right. A brilliant answer, well done.

-They're settled down for the night. I think we'd better go too.

-Yeah.

So there's only one thing left! ALL: Mission complete!

-And it's back to you in the Green Balloon. Bye!

-Bye!

-Bye!

Those starlings are amazing!

They looked like they were dancing in the sky!

-They gave me an idea in what we could make.

-Oh, what is it?

A dancing bird!

What you do is, you get some modelling clay.

And we're going to do the body first.

And what you have to do is get three feathers...

One... Two... Three!

-And you get white elastic bands. There you go.

-Nice long ones.

And a paperclip. Put the feathers to the side.

Now, we have to make a hole with the pencil in the clay.

Like that. You get your paperclip...

And you put the elastic band down the side.

And it'll go into the middle of the paperclip.

And then what you do is, you get the paperclip

and you put that in the hole that you've just done

and then squeeze it back together to make it nice and firm inside.

-And then now, this...

-It bounces!

This bounces! Now we have to put the feathers in.

Keep it one in each side for the wings.

So it should look like that.

And then you've gotta put the last feather in

and you stick that in the back of the body so it is a tail.

-So it should look like that.

-Why do birds have a tail?

I think so it can balance on a branch. Now they need a head.

You get a little bit of paper from here - here you go,

and you get your scissors.

And you cut a little triangle so it looks like a beak.

The bird won't be able to eat otherwise!

And then you get another paperclip.

And you stick it in a hole in the middle of the head

for the beak to go in.

Now put your beak in the hole and squish it round the sides

to make it nice and firm.

There you go, a beak.

There.

Now you get some googly eyes...

And two!

Two googly eyes.

Now we need to attach the head to the body.

-Can you help me a bit?

-OK. I'm just gonna put my one on.

Like that.

And I'll do yours.

There we go.

Now let the birds dance!

You've got your birds! Dancing birds!

I love my dancing bird, it's so funny!

Me too! But birds aren't the only animals that can dance.

How about this animal?

If you happen to see a little creature with a long, slim body,

a pointed little face,

and a black tip on its tail, you can count yourself very lucky.

Because I'm a stoat and although there's quite a few of us around,

we're very secretive. There are very few people

who have ever caught a glimpse of a stoat.

I have chestnut-coloured fur and a pure white chest.

In winter in Scotland, my stoat cousins' fur turn snow-white.

So no matter what season it is, we blend into the background!

I'm a carnivore which means I eat meat.

I use my good sense of sight,

smell and hearing to help me hunt for prey.

I also have razor-sharp teeth and dagger-like claws.

Although I'm very small,

I can actually hunt animals that are much bigger than me.

Take rabbits, for example.

I'm also partial to the odd rat, bird and birds eggs!

In can also climb trees, you know.

High up in the treetops!

Some people say that us stoats can mesmerise our prey

by performing a hypnotic dance.

Well you can call it what you like, but it seems to be doing the trick!

Baby stoats are called kits.

Right now, I'm getting ready to lead my young kits to a safer den.

OK, kits, all follow me. Keep in line, that's it!

Let's take cover behind this bush!

We're all very careful not to get caught out in the open.

A fox or a buzzard would happily have us for supper.

There! We made it to our new den.

And whilst I'm off hunting to feed all those hungry mouths,

the kits find time to play.

Look, Skipper! A stoat on the website.

Is it the secret picture password?

Which one do you think it is, Skipper? The dancing starling,

or the dancing stoat?

The dancing stoat? Let's go for that one.

Oh, no! Skipper, that was the wrong one!

It must be the dancing starling...

Yay, yay! Now we're in!

Right, now, let's have a look at the wind chimes

and see if we can dance along with them.

Yay! I feel like having a boogie!

# All Earth's creatures are beautiful

# Fill the...

Can we join in?

Oh, of course!

-Wow, I love your birds, they're really cool!

-Thanks!

# All Earth's creatures are beautiful

# Fill the world with colour And sound... #

Hang on a minute, what's that?

Oh! I've spied some Green Balloon Club members.

It must be time for the Spot Of The Week!

BOTH: This week's spot is the swan.

Swans are very large white water birds.

They have a long s-shaped neck

and an orange beak with black at the top of it.

You will see them in shallow lakes and ponds,

slow-running rivers and parks.

Did you know that a male swan is called a cob,

a female swan is called a pen,

and a baby swan is called a cygnet.

Swans like to eat lots of things like plants around the riverbed,

small fish, frogs and worms.

BOTH: Now let's see if you can spot some. Bye!

-Hey, what are you lot doing now?

-We're being swans.

-Can't you tell by how graceful we are?

-Oh, yes, of course!

-But I'm going to be a fox stalking after you.

-Hiss! Hiss!

-ALL: Hiss!

-Very good swan impressions, everyone!

But now you'd better change back cos we're coming in to land!

And whenever we land, it's time for a song!

# See the leaves in a spin

# Tossed and blown by the wind

# It's like they're waving summer Goodbye

# And the colours change to gold and brown

# Flying high as they leave the ground

# Till they're just a speck against the sky

# I see them flying

# Watch them fly-i-ing

# To places that are wonderful And new

# To see them fly-i-ing

# Is just like angels on the wind

# Can we come flying too?

# See the birds, how high they swoop

# Full of grace, they loop the loop

# Living free So high above the ground

# And they're making circles in the sky

# Calling out, it's migration time

# I wish that I could soar beyond the clouds

# You'd see me fly-i-ing

# Watch me fly-i-ing

# In circles just like life that will renew

# The birds are fly-i-ing away

# Returning in the spring

# Yes, they'll come flying

# Sun will be shining

# We'll all go flying too... #

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

E-mail [email protected]

-Thanks for coming to fly with us.

-You can make your own dancing bird!

-Or see if you can spot a swan!

-Or count birds in your garden!

-See you next week!

-ALL: Bye!