0:00:24 > 0:00:27One 150 million years ago,
0:00:27 > 0:00:30as dinosaurs approached their golden age,
0:00:30 > 0:00:35one group evolved along new and revolutionary lines.
0:00:49 > 0:00:53Although they retained many of their reptilian characteristics,
0:00:53 > 0:00:56they acquired extraordinary new ones...
0:00:59 > 0:01:00..feathers.
0:01:11 > 0:01:15Feathers helped with insulation
0:01:15 > 0:01:17and display.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21But they offered something far more valuable.
0:01:25 > 0:01:27The power of flight.
0:01:32 > 0:01:36And for birds, that changed everything.
0:01:40 > 0:01:48Birds have the freedom of the skies, to travel further and faster than any other group of animals
0:01:48 > 0:01:51and to seize opportunities in all corners of the planet.
0:01:54 > 0:01:58But this freedom brings many survival challenges,
0:01:58 > 0:02:02which birds must tackle at pivotal moments in their lives.
0:02:28 > 0:02:32Flying demands enormous skill and effort,
0:02:32 > 0:02:38and nowhere is that more evident than here, in the foothills of the Peruvian Andes.
0:02:42 > 0:02:48This female hummingbird hovers with precision in her quest for nectar.
0:02:51 > 0:02:56Her wing and tail design allow her to fly in any direction.
0:03:02 > 0:03:06But the male has a real problem flying.
0:03:08 > 0:03:10And this is why
0:03:10 > 0:03:17he's weighed down with two super-long tail feathers, tipped with cumbersome discs.
0:03:22 > 0:03:25This is the marvellous spatuletail hummingbird.
0:03:25 > 0:03:29and these are his flags with which to seduce a mate.
0:03:33 > 0:03:37Waving them back and forth takes a lot of effort,
0:03:37 > 0:03:39even from the comfort of his perch,
0:03:39 > 0:03:42but to win her heart he's got to go up a gear.
0:04:07 > 0:04:13He must show her how well he can fly but it's exhausting work.
0:04:21 > 0:04:27It's so demanding he can only stay airborne for a matter of seconds
0:04:27 > 0:04:28before he needs a rest.
0:04:35 > 0:04:39He's struggling to impress her, so one last try.
0:04:46 > 0:04:54The extreme effort and energy needed to hover means hummingbirds can only fly in short, sharp bursts.
0:04:59 > 0:05:04But most birds need to stay airborne for considerably longer,
0:05:04 > 0:05:08and must find far more energy-efficient ways to get around.
0:05:17 > 0:05:21Here in the Simien mountains of Ethiopia,
0:05:21 > 0:05:25at a breathtaking altitude of 15,000 feet,
0:05:25 > 0:05:28lives a supreme aerial maestro.
0:05:33 > 0:05:35The lammergeier.
0:05:39 > 0:05:45This youngster glides on air currents rising from the mountain slopes below.
0:05:50 > 0:05:54His nine-foot wingspan can carry him hundreds of miles a day
0:05:54 > 0:05:59in search of animal carcasses, with precious little effort.
0:06:02 > 0:06:08He watches out for other airborne scavengers, like these griffon vultures.
0:06:13 > 0:06:18They lead him to some commotion on the cliffs, and maybe the chance to feed.
0:06:20 > 0:06:25But this youngster is not the only lammergeier to spot the opportunity.
0:06:26 > 0:06:29So too has this adult.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46The vultures quickly strip the carcass clean.
0:06:53 > 0:06:59It seems he's too late. But in fact he's timed his arrival perfectly.
0:07:17 > 0:07:19There's no meat left
0:07:19 > 0:07:25and that's exactly the moment that the lammergeier has been waiting for.
0:07:25 > 0:07:27It's bones he's after.
0:07:34 > 0:07:38The young lammergeier too homes in on the carcass.
0:07:57 > 0:08:01Bones contain rich marrow fat,
0:08:01 > 0:08:03but extracting it is not easy,
0:08:03 > 0:08:09especially when the bone is a solid four kilos and too big to swallow.
0:08:09 > 0:08:14But lammergeiers have an extraordinary solution, thanks to their flying skills.
0:08:23 > 0:08:28Soaring up on thermal air currents and positioning the bone parallel
0:08:28 > 0:08:34to his body to minimize drag, he soon reaches the perfect height.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42From here he glides to a place he knows
0:08:42 > 0:08:44where he can deal with the bone,
0:08:44 > 0:08:47where there are giant rock slabs sit on the lip of an escarpment.
0:09:07 > 0:09:09The bone is smashed.
0:09:20 > 0:09:25The juices in his stomach are more corrosive than battery acid.
0:09:25 > 0:09:29They dissolve the bone so that he can now digest the marrow.
0:09:34 > 0:09:40Others come looking for leftovers.
0:09:40 > 0:09:42But their timing isn't ideal
0:09:42 > 0:09:46because now the young lammergeier has his turn!
0:09:56 > 0:09:58They'd better mind their heads!
0:10:16 > 0:10:19Proficient bone smashing takes endless practice
0:10:19 > 0:10:24to find just the right height, speed and moment of release.
0:10:45 > 0:10:48Lammergeiers have long, broad wings,
0:10:48 > 0:10:53ideal for gliding great distances with maximum efficiency.
0:10:57 > 0:11:01But on the island of Little Tobago in the Caribbean
0:11:01 > 0:11:05lives a bird for whom aerial agility is of paramount importance.
0:11:08 > 0:11:12The red-billed tropicbird.
0:11:15 > 0:11:20Short, pointed wings give it great manoeuvrability and speed.
0:11:25 > 0:11:31During the breeding season, these flying skills are tested to the limit.
0:11:39 > 0:11:43While one parent looks after the chick, the other must journey
0:11:43 > 0:11:48far offshore, to gather small fish and squid from the surface waters.
0:12:00 > 0:12:08But the hardest part is getting food back to the island, because they share this airspace with thieves.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17Magnificent frigatebirds,
0:12:17 > 0:12:20known as Man O' War birds, patrol high above.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57These pirates are not trying to kill the tropicbird,
0:12:57 > 0:12:59but force it to give up its catch.
0:13:01 > 0:13:03It's an aerial dogfight.
0:13:07 > 0:13:09Tropicbirds are quicker on the turn.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14Frigates have exceptionally lightweight bodies
0:13:14 > 0:13:18and their extremely long wings give them great power.
0:13:30 > 0:13:31Success.
0:13:44 > 0:13:47A favourite attack is from behind, and at height.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03There goes the fish -
0:14:03 > 0:14:05another victory.
0:14:10 > 0:14:15This tropicbird chick still awaits the return of its parent
0:14:15 > 0:14:18who has yet to run the gauntlet of the pirates.
0:14:23 > 0:14:26Keeping close to the waves is his best chance.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29Frigatebirds have so little oil in their feathers
0:14:29 > 0:14:31they can't risk ditching.
0:14:46 > 0:14:50If he can just reach the cliffs he'll be safe.
0:15:13 > 0:15:18He's made it, with his crop still full of fish.
0:15:49 > 0:15:56Red-billed tropicbirds rely on extreme aerial agility to overcome the many challenges of their life.
0:15:59 > 0:16:03For others, survival demands endurance.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08Every spring, red knots
0:16:08 > 0:16:16fly 10,000 miles from their wintering grounds in Argentina to their nesting sites in Canada.
0:16:17 > 0:16:21The only way they complete this marathon journey
0:16:21 > 0:16:27is by making a crucial fuel stop here in Delaware Bay, on the east coast of America.
0:16:30 > 0:16:34What is most extraordinary is that as well as having to find their way
0:16:34 > 0:16:40to this one location, they must also time their arrival to perfection.
0:16:47 > 0:16:52They have a rendezvous with prehistoric creatures emerging from the deep
0:16:52 > 0:16:57which have hardly changed in 250 million years.
0:17:05 > 0:17:11They come ashore in greatest numbers on the highest spring tides.
0:17:20 > 0:17:22Horseshoe crabs.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00The crabs are here to lay their eggs.
0:18:03 > 0:18:05That's what the knots are after.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18Most eggs are buried out of reach,
0:18:18 > 0:18:22but some are accidentally dug up by other crabs.
0:18:31 > 0:18:36Most of the west Atlantic red knot population join this feeding frenzy.
0:18:46 > 0:18:52In a matter of weeks the knots need to rebuild their fat reserves
0:18:52 > 0:18:54and double in weight.
0:18:54 > 0:18:59To achieve this, each knot must eat as many as 400,000 eggs -
0:18:59 > 0:19:04a tall order given the skill and effort needed to swallow just one.
0:19:18 > 0:19:25Head down, feeding non-stop means it's hard to be alert to predators.
0:19:26 > 0:19:28A peregrine falcon.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08With egg laying complete, the horseshoe crabs now leave
0:20:08 > 0:20:13these shores while the knots gather every last egg they can find.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18It's time for the birds to move on.
0:20:49 > 0:20:54The knots still have a further 2,000-mile non-stop flight
0:20:54 > 0:20:56to reach their breeding grounds in Canada.
0:21:04 > 0:21:10Flight gives birds many advantages, but there's a period in their lives
0:21:10 > 0:21:13when they are forced back down to Earth.
0:21:17 > 0:21:19The nesting season.
0:21:20 > 0:21:24This is the time when they are at most risk,
0:21:24 > 0:21:27so they must find the safest possible location.
0:21:33 > 0:21:37Few go to greater extremes than lesser flamingos.
0:21:37 > 0:21:44They nest in the remotest corners of Africa's caustic soda lakes.
0:21:44 > 0:21:50Like their reptilian ancestors, birds lay waterproof eggs.
0:21:50 > 0:21:53Despite this, flamingos still protect theirs
0:21:53 > 0:21:57on special mud-stack nests as the lake is prone to flooding.
0:22:02 > 0:22:05It's also just a little cooler up here.
0:22:05 > 0:22:11Temperatures at ground level can reach a blistering 50 degrees Centigrade.
0:22:19 > 0:22:24Once a chick hatches, it spends the first six days in the nest.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27This is when it's at its most vulnerable -
0:22:27 > 0:22:29totally reliant on its parents.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48The caustic mud deters predators.
0:22:50 > 0:22:57But the adult flamingos can cope in this quagmire, because of their long, scaly legs.
0:23:00 > 0:23:04Any chick that slips from the nest, however,
0:23:04 > 0:23:07is treading on very dangerous ground.
0:23:20 > 0:23:26This parent encourages her chick to climb back to safety.
0:24:08 > 0:24:14Raising chicks requires huge parental investment in both time and labour,
0:24:14 > 0:24:16wherever you are.
0:24:19 > 0:24:23Few places are tougher than the Antarctic.
0:24:30 > 0:24:32Chinstrap penguins.
0:24:32 > 0:24:36Every day they travel up to 50 miles out at sea, hunting for krill.
0:24:39 > 0:24:43But the hard part is getting this food back to the colony,
0:24:43 > 0:24:51because it sits on the ice-free rim at the top of this giant volcano, Deception Island.
0:25:02 > 0:25:08For the returning fishing party, the first challenge is getting ashore.
0:25:14 > 0:25:18The beach is steep, with a powerful undertow.
0:25:36 > 0:25:42This female lands safely, but she now begins a long journey on foot.
0:26:00 > 0:26:04For a flightless bird, getting to the top of the volcano
0:26:04 > 0:26:08means a gruelling climb, especially when glaciers,
0:26:08 > 0:26:12covered with muddy volcanic ash, stand in your way.
0:26:39 > 0:26:43It's like a game of snakes and ladders.
0:26:54 > 0:27:00A combination of beak, wing tip and feet.
0:27:03 > 0:27:05And she wins through!
0:27:12 > 0:27:15Now she joins penguin rush hour.
0:27:36 > 0:27:38Almost home.
0:27:46 > 0:27:51She's reached the crater rim, but her trials are still not over.
0:27:55 > 0:28:02She must now try and find her family among more than a 150,000 birds.
0:28:08 > 0:28:15Her hearing is so acute she can identify the individual cry of her own chick in the din.
0:28:32 > 0:28:37She's made it and the family welcomes her return.
0:28:51 > 0:28:56The result of all this parental effort - a mouthful of krill.
0:29:06 > 0:29:10Now it's her partner's turn.
0:29:10 > 0:29:12A chick's demands are endless.
0:29:18 > 0:29:23Sometimes they can push parents to desperate lengths.
0:29:25 > 0:29:29But birds are masters of improvisation.
0:29:33 > 0:29:39Dassen Island, off the coast of South Africa, is home to a nesting colony of great white pelicans.
0:29:47 > 0:29:51There are chicks of all ages all with a hefty appetite.
0:29:54 > 0:29:58The parents have a formidable task.
0:30:05 > 0:30:12These pelicans are among the heaviest flying birds in the world, weighing up to 10 kilos.
0:30:19 > 0:30:23A V-formation is the most energy efficient means of flying.
0:30:23 > 0:30:27It significantly reduces drag for the bird behind.
0:30:31 > 0:30:34Pelicans normally fish along the coast,
0:30:34 > 0:30:39but a shortage of food supplies has forced them to look elsewhere.
0:30:52 > 0:30:53Cape gannets
0:30:53 > 0:30:57plunge deep, hunting fish beyond the reach of the pelicans.
0:31:02 > 0:31:05But the pelicans aren't after fish.
0:31:05 > 0:31:09Their sights are set on a bigger catch.
0:31:29 > 0:31:35Malgas Island is the nesting ground for some 60,000 Cape gannets.
0:31:45 > 0:31:52Normally one gannet parent goes off fishing while the other looks after the chick.
0:31:52 > 0:31:59But declining fish stocks means both parents are often away hunting at the same time,
0:31:59 > 0:32:02leaving their chicks unguarded,
0:32:07 > 0:32:11something which hasn't gone unnoticed by the pelicans.
0:32:49 > 0:32:52Only chicks with parents at their side,
0:32:52 > 0:32:55or those too large to swallow, have a chance.
0:33:46 > 0:33:48Back at the pelican colony,
0:33:48 > 0:33:53the parents regurgitate partially-digested gannet chicks
0:33:53 > 0:33:54for their brood.
0:34:00 > 0:34:05Although most seabird colonies on the African Cape are in decline,
0:34:05 > 0:34:09the population of white pelicans nesting on Dassen is growing.
0:34:29 > 0:34:32When birds come together to breed,
0:34:32 > 0:34:35and before they commit to one another,
0:34:35 > 0:34:39they will often perform the most remarkable displays.
0:34:41 > 0:34:46One of the most enchanting happens here, on the lakes of Oregon.
0:34:56 > 0:35:03Clarke's grebes mate for life, but the female must test her partner's continuing commitment,
0:35:03 > 0:35:08and she does this by inviting him to join her in a ritualised dance.
0:35:45 > 0:35:49To strengthen their bond, he offers her a gift.
0:36:16 > 0:36:19Now, with eyes only for one another,
0:36:19 > 0:36:24the faithful pair reach the climax of their dance.
0:37:22 > 0:37:25Other birds don't form pairs.
0:37:25 > 0:37:30Instead a male tries to mate with as many females as he can.
0:37:32 > 0:37:36Male sage grouse gather in the grasslands of Wyoming
0:37:36 > 0:37:39to advertise their virility
0:37:39 > 0:37:43with a finery of feathers and proud posturing.
0:37:43 > 0:37:45THEY MAKE POPPING SOUNDS
0:37:52 > 0:37:55Females are much drabber-looking,
0:37:55 > 0:37:58but extremely choosy.
0:38:07 > 0:38:10They will only mate with the most impressive male,
0:38:10 > 0:38:15and they judge a male's worthiness by the sounds he makes.
0:38:15 > 0:38:17POPPING
0:38:46 > 0:38:50Birds go to great lengths to impress their partners.
0:38:52 > 0:38:55In the forests of New Guinea,
0:38:55 > 0:39:00they famously use colourful feathers and song to maximum effect.
0:39:07 > 0:39:09BIRDSONG
0:39:19 > 0:39:21Birds of Paradise.
0:39:45 > 0:39:48But in the western part of the island, these flamboyant birds
0:39:48 > 0:39:52share the forests with a rather unassuming-looking character...
0:39:52 > 0:39:55the Vogelkop bowerbird.
0:39:59 > 0:40:07He might lack the plumage, but he's got an extraordinary repertoire of song.
0:40:07 > 0:40:09And, he's a wonderful mimic.
0:40:09 > 0:40:11HIGH-PITCHED SOUNDS
0:40:11 > 0:40:14Those are pigeon wing beats.
0:40:14 > 0:40:16HIGH-PITCHED CALL
0:40:16 > 0:40:20That's a modest tiger-parrot.
0:40:20 > 0:40:22LOWER-PITCHED CALL
0:40:22 > 0:40:26And that, a sulphur-crested cockatoo.
0:40:31 > 0:40:34Even more surprising he's an avid collector,
0:40:34 > 0:40:38with a very appreciative eye for colour.
0:40:42 > 0:40:46This male favours red and orange flowers.
0:40:50 > 0:40:53And he's very fond of fungus.
0:41:00 > 0:41:05Not everything he collects stays where it should.
0:41:10 > 0:41:17He puts these treasures on display within and around a construction that has taken him years to build.
0:41:27 > 0:41:34A giant bower woven around a central sapling, carpeted with moss.
0:41:40 > 0:41:43This grand design is no nest...
0:41:43 > 0:41:46it's the ultimate seduction parlour.
0:41:57 > 0:42:00But he's not alone on this hillside.
0:42:00 > 0:42:03He's got six rivals within earshot.
0:42:06 > 0:42:12This one prefers darker colours, decorating his bower with deer dung.
0:42:17 > 0:42:19And charcoal.
0:42:22 > 0:42:26Visual effect is of crucial importance.
0:42:26 > 0:42:30Clearly he hadn't planned on all this sprouting fungus.
0:42:46 > 0:42:52He and his nearest rival live a stone's throw apart.
0:42:53 > 0:42:56Competition is intense.
0:43:00 > 0:43:05It's the dung-ball bower that is the first to catch the female's attention.
0:43:07 > 0:43:11He withdraws, while she inspects his workmanship.
0:43:25 > 0:43:28She's back again, and seems impressed.
0:43:33 > 0:43:37But on closer inspection she is less convinced.
0:43:41 > 0:43:44Perhaps it was that sprouting fungus!
0:43:48 > 0:43:53Back at the flower bower, the male performs a dress rehearsal.
0:43:59 > 0:44:02He senses she's watching.
0:44:04 > 0:44:08This is the moment he's been working towards.
0:44:17 > 0:44:20BIRD CALLS
0:44:23 > 0:44:26His bower channels his song in her direction.
0:44:29 > 0:44:31MALE CALLS
0:44:36 > 0:44:38A final check.
0:44:47 > 0:44:50All is to her liking.
0:45:17 > 0:45:24Few birds devote such craft, effort and ingenuity to achieve this life-defining moment.
0:45:32 > 0:45:38But here on Kenya's Lake Bogoria, these massive pink slicks
0:45:38 > 0:45:44signal the start of perhaps the grandest courtship event in nature.
0:45:46 > 0:45:49In certain years, when the lake is at its richest,
0:45:49 > 0:45:54more than a million lesser flamingos congregate to feed.
0:46:01 > 0:46:06It's now, when they're in their prime, that they must find their preferred partner.
0:46:09 > 0:46:14To do that they perform a remarkable promenade.
0:46:21 > 0:46:25With heads held high and neck feathers ruffled,
0:46:25 > 0:46:28making them look as pink as possible,
0:46:28 > 0:46:32more and more birds join in the courtship march
0:46:32 > 0:46:35and pairs begin to bond.
0:46:50 > 0:46:53Small groups merge with larger ones
0:46:53 > 0:46:58until almost 1,000 flamingos are on the move.
0:47:36 > 0:47:38From the equator to the poles,
0:47:38 > 0:47:41birds have found the most ingenious ways
0:47:41 > 0:47:45of overcoming the many challenges of life,
0:47:45 > 0:47:51and everything revolves around their unique attribute, feathers.
0:48:21 > 0:48:27For the past three years, the Life team has filmed birds in every part of the world imaginable.
0:48:27 > 0:48:32Nowhere was the filming trickier than in the jungles of West Papua.
0:48:34 > 0:48:37Here is found for me one of the greatest wonders
0:48:37 > 0:48:44of the bird world, the display arena of the Vogelkop bowerbird.
0:48:44 > 0:48:4913 years ago I was lucky enough to witness these spectacular builders,
0:48:49 > 0:48:54but filming the timid female and courtship behaviour was a different matter.
0:48:56 > 0:49:00And this was what the Life team set out to film.
0:49:02 > 0:49:05Barrie Britton was the principle cameraman for this programme.
0:49:07 > 0:49:09With over 20 years in the business,
0:49:09 > 0:49:12not only is he an accomplished photographer
0:49:12 > 0:49:16but he has developed a deep understanding of and empathy for his subjects.
0:49:20 > 0:49:23Although each one posed it's own unique challenges,
0:49:23 > 0:49:29Barrie he did seem to spend an inordinate amount of time cooped up in his trusty old hide.
0:49:31 > 0:49:37Think I may have misjudged the hide position, cos the sea's coming in the bottom of the hide.
0:49:41 > 0:49:45Well, that was 11 hours in my little box.
0:49:45 > 0:49:51Barrie saved his most ambitious trip of the series until last.
0:49:51 > 0:49:58It took a team of 40 people 3 days of tough uphill trekking to get to the filming camp.
0:49:58 > 0:50:05I could complain about leeches, biting insects, the tough going
0:50:05 > 0:50:09but, I really don't want to, this is great.
0:50:09 > 0:50:13Seem to have lost everyone else, I hope I'm going the right way.
0:50:14 > 0:50:16Oh, made it.
0:50:21 > 0:50:22Completely shattered.
0:50:22 > 0:50:25The hard work had only just begun.
0:50:27 > 0:50:34Tomorrow with the help of their guides, the crew would go looking for the best bowers to film
0:50:34 > 0:50:37but not before a cautionary tale from the local chief.
0:50:37 > 0:50:39HE SPEAKS IN HIS OWN LANGUAGE
0:50:42 > 0:50:45So when he first was shown the bower by his father
0:50:45 > 0:50:47he, there were flowers there,
0:50:47 > 0:50:51and, as a 12-year-old child he wanted to grab them
0:50:51 > 0:50:53but his father immediately stopped him
0:50:53 > 0:50:57and said, that he could not touch anything or take anything away from the bower
0:50:57 > 0:51:00because otherwise it would start raining very heavily.
0:51:00 > 0:51:02BEEPING
0:51:02 > 0:51:03- Oh!- It's ten to five, Barrie.
0:51:03 > 0:51:05Yep.
0:51:05 > 0:51:08With the chief's warning fresh in their minds,
0:51:08 > 0:51:12Barrie and the team make an early start and head for the hide.
0:51:14 > 0:51:21Well, we've reached the hide just at sunrise, so we're just gonna get set up as quickly as we can.
0:51:21 > 0:51:26With knowledgeable guides, finding the bowers wasn't the problem.
0:51:26 > 0:51:29And who could miss such obvious structures?
0:51:33 > 0:51:36It was now a waiting game for Barrie,
0:51:36 > 0:51:40heavily concealed in his camouflaged hide.
0:51:40 > 0:51:43OK, it's 6.30,
0:51:43 > 0:51:48so I'm just waiting now for the bird to come, hoping that
0:51:48 > 0:51:50he doesn't suspect that anything is here
0:51:50 > 0:51:53and that we can get some natural behaviour.
0:52:15 > 0:52:16BIRD CALLS
0:52:16 > 0:52:20I've just heard the bowerbird call just to the right of the hide.
0:52:22 > 0:52:23RUSTLING
0:52:23 > 0:52:28I can hear the bird outside, it's plucking on the fabric of the hide.
0:52:30 > 0:52:35I've just noticed that the bird has pulled a Snickers wrapper out
0:52:35 > 0:52:39of the bottom of the hide and has added it to its display.
0:52:43 > 0:52:46It was a very strange decoration
0:52:46 > 0:52:50which I had to remove at the end of the day.
0:52:50 > 0:52:52THUNDER
0:52:59 > 0:53:06Had Barrie tempted fate by removing the wrapper and ignoring the chief's warning?
0:53:08 > 0:53:13Or was this just rainforest living up to its name?
0:53:15 > 0:53:19When it pours like this, filming becomes virtually impossible.
0:53:27 > 0:53:32Soon the weather improved and Barrie returned once more to the hide.
0:53:41 > 0:53:46This time his lunch box was firmly sealed.
0:53:47 > 0:53:52The bird is very keen on these little tiny metallic ladybirds
0:53:52 > 0:53:55and they're a bit put out being put there in this bower,
0:53:55 > 0:53:59so, they start crawling off, they're very slowly making their way
0:53:59 > 0:54:02over the moss and they just about get to the edge of display
0:54:02 > 0:54:08and then the bowerbird notices and goes and collects them and puts them back again,
0:54:08 > 0:54:12so they're kind of in this endless cycle of trying to escape from the bower,
0:54:12 > 0:54:14they're just, they can never quite get away.
0:54:16 > 0:54:22However for the male bowerbird and Barrie the female was still proving a problem.
0:54:22 > 0:54:25The female did come down, but she was quite nervous
0:54:25 > 0:54:30near the entrance to the bower, so we didn't get very much of that.
0:54:30 > 0:54:32This was a real concern,
0:54:32 > 0:54:36because the courtship behaviour was key to our story.
0:54:38 > 0:54:40He's just done a 10-hour stint,
0:54:40 > 0:54:44been a really nice day so we're just hoping it's gone well.
0:54:46 > 0:54:52Another day's filming over, and still little to show for it.
0:54:52 > 0:54:5410 hours in the hide.
0:54:54 > 0:54:56Fortunately filming is over for the day,
0:54:56 > 0:54:59we're just gonna go and collect Barrie again.
0:54:59 > 0:55:01Did you see a mate today?
0:55:01 > 0:55:03No, no, mating.
0:55:03 > 0:55:06Everything else is going well but we haven't got the mating.
0:55:08 > 0:55:14The fact I was getting such good footage of the male meant he'd obviously got used to the hide.
0:55:16 > 0:55:19But the visiting females were still wary of it.
0:55:19 > 0:55:25The females did seem a bit nervous, so I took the decision to push the hide back,
0:55:25 > 0:55:32just to get more distance from the birds, the other thing I've done is recessed the lens
0:55:32 > 0:55:38and we put this vegetation all around it, so I'm hoping that's gonna provide more female behaviour.
0:55:40 > 0:55:45There were few filming days left, it was crucial Barrie's adjustments paid off.
0:55:50 > 0:55:53The male has just run into the bower and started calling
0:55:53 > 0:55:56so I think that means there might be a female coming.
0:56:06 > 0:56:09It struck me, here we both were waiting in the darkness,
0:56:09 > 0:56:12the male trying to attract the female,
0:56:12 > 0:56:18and I was just hoping that I'd got it right this time and it was more than just a fleeting visit.
0:56:27 > 0:56:30Working in a hide involves hours of prolonged inactivity
0:56:30 > 0:56:33punctuated by the most intense moments of action.
0:56:39 > 0:56:44This was the crucial moment the whole team had worked towards.
0:56:50 > 0:56:53Everything was falling into place for Barrie,
0:56:53 > 0:56:56the behaviour unfolding.
0:56:56 > 0:56:58Right, that's good, think we're in action.
0:57:01 > 0:57:0521 days in a hide,
0:57:05 > 0:57:08astonishing patience and perseverance.
0:57:14 > 0:57:17This has never been filmed before.
0:57:23 > 0:57:29Such effort and endeavour for a crucial piece of behaviour that's over in a matter of seconds.
0:57:30 > 0:57:32Would you like to shake my hand, Stephen?
0:57:32 > 0:57:35- What does that mean? - Well, we got the mating.
0:57:35 > 0:57:37- You got the mating? - Yeah, yeah, we got the mating.
0:57:37 > 0:57:42- Oh, wow. - Yeah, so really good day, brilliant day, yeah but just, just amazing.
0:57:42 > 0:57:47I must have - well, what is it - three weeks I've spent sitting in this hide, and I just didn't think
0:57:47 > 0:57:54we'd ever get it, cos we're running out of days, only a few left now, so, so to get that this week is,
0:57:54 > 0:57:59is just incredible and it was a really, really good, really good behaviour, so I'm delighted.
0:58:01 > 0:58:07Success! This was Barrie's last filming trip for the Birds episode
0:58:07 > 0:58:09and what a befitting end.
0:58:33 > 0:58:36Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:36 > 0:58:39E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk