Growing Up Penguins - Spy in the Huddle

Penguins - behind their feisty charm

lies an amazing character.

These cheeky birds have to bring up their chicks

against the most extraordinary odds.

Spycams discover

just how special they really are.

From the freezing Antarctic...

..to the scorching tropics...

..this is the story of Nature's most devoted parents,

filmed as never before.

It's late spring in the Antarctic.

Like all our chicks, the emperors are growing up,

having been born and raised in some of

the most extreme conditions on Earth.

Since they were born two months ago,

they have depended on their devoted parents for everything.

But soon, they will have to start fending more for themselves.

In just three months, they will take the biggest steps in their lives

and make the long journey to the sea.

Only then will they truly learn

how to become adult penguins.

Chickcam provides a chick's-eye view,

as they start to become more independent.

Already, they are spending more time away from their parents

and huddling together for both comfort and company.

But when you're the smallest,

it's always difficult to join the big kids' club.

This chick must find a space.

The huddle is now his only source of warmth.

It helps if someone gives you a little room.

Although they spend most of their time together,

they still rely on

their parents for regular meals.

With the frozen sea shrinking,

each parent returns around once a week.

They face the same problem -

their chicks all look the same.

They're growing fast, and always hungry,

so they beg a fish meal from anyone.

The father checks the call -

this one's an imposter.

He's immediately hassled by more chicks,

all trying to cadge a meal.

With over 2,000 chicks to inspect,

checking them all could take a very long time.

So he approaches each group in turn

and tests who reacts to his call.

HE CALLS

A chick responds.

But she's stuck in the huddle,

with no way out.

There's just one thing for it -

she bodysurfs across the crowd.

Made it, but she still must prove her identity.

If the father feeds the wrong chick,

the week he spent fishing would be wasted.

He takes her clear of the huddle and completes further character checks.

It's her tiny call

that provides conclusive proof.

SHE CALLS

She's gets her just reward.

In the Falklands,

the rockhopper chicks are equally demanding.

Now the human equivalent of teenagers,

they have appetites to match.

Rockhoppers are feisty birds,

but these hassled parents

struggle to satisfy their chicks' ravenous appetites.

To feed the ever-hungry mouths,

both parents must start fishing non-stop.

A stream of overworked penguins depart for the sea.

For the first time,

the chicks are left all alone, without a parent to care for them.

The few grown-ups that remain peck at any stragglers.

They force the chicks closer together.

These aren't official babysitters,

they're just adults that haven't bred this year.

But as a result of their constant harrying,

the chicks are gathered into a creche.

Although not much nurturing goes on,

the chicks are safer if they're huddled together.

In the tropical deserts of Peru,

the Humboldt penguins are also spending more time fishing

and less time looking after their chicks.

Like the rockhoppers, they can never get enough food.

THEY SQUAWK

Their incessant begging drives their parents to endlessly go fishing.

Each journey involves yet another trek across the hot desert.

Humboldtcam watches the daily challenges these penguins face.

But with birds arriving and departing non-stop,

the spycam is working overtime.

The penguins may be making the journey more often,

but it doesn't get any easier.

The cliff path was carved by the feet of countless generations.

It's still treacherous.

But this is the Humboldts' lucky day.

At the bottom is a bed of feathers,

blown here from thousands of sea birds moulting

in the colonies above.

It provides a soft landing

for any that lose their footing.

It's the easiest descent they've ever made.

They jump in feet first...

and enjoy the ride

The feathers may have cushioned the fall,

but for Humboldts, nothing's ever that easy.

The beach, once occupied by seals,

has been invaded by hundreds of Guanay Cormorants.

The Humboldts merge into the crowd,

as they pick their way through.

Luckily, cormorants are one of the few creatures here

that don't attack penguins.

But by chasing off the seals,

they have simply shifted the problem.

Fortunately, cormorants hate seals

as much as penguins do.

They mob them relentlessly,

making their lives a misery.

The seals only find peace

at the edge of the beach.

For once, things have gone in the Humboldts' favour.

The cormorants may have cleared the area,

but the penguins now have to compete with them for fish.

It's lucky that in these rich waters,

there's plenty to go round.

In the Antarctic, the chick spycamera

is proving a real hit with penguins

who haven't managed to breed this year.

One even tries to take the spycam under her wing.

PENGUIN CALLS

But it's a real chick that reacts to her contact call.

PENGUIN TWEETS

Even so, the adult seems to prefer Chickcam.

As usual, this penguincam

is accepted as just another bird in the colony.

PENGUIN CALLS

But Chickcam has work to do.

The real chicks are growing up fast.

They now spend most of their day in the huddle,

while the adults watch from the sidelines.

They only meet at feeding time.

When a parent tries to join her chick

without calling it from the huddle, confusion reigns.

The disturbed chicks immediately

latch on to any adult that passes.

Getting anywhere becomes almost impossible.

As the parents' patience runs out,

the chicks are forced to toughen up.

Chicks, used to being doted on,

find it hard being left alone.

But like a mother leaving her child at school,

it's best not to make a fuss.

As Mum leaves for the sea, the chick tries to follow.

But his mother doesn't look back.

More parents leave, but the chicks won't cross an invisible boundary.

From now on, they'll only see their parents

when they return with food.

The few parents left behind are the nearest they have to childminders.

But they won't receive the same tender care they've been used to.

The chicks are all learning to grow up.

Like the emperors, the rockhopper adolescents

spend most of their time waiting for their parents to return.

It's easy for them to get bored.

And that's when predators take them by surprise.

Fortunately, they're now quite a challenge for gulls and skuas.

And there are always a few adults standing guard.

With time to kill, a chick starts exploring.

For a social bird, being alone is never a good idea.

A giant petrel -

a predator still to be feared.

And an adventurous chick is just what he's after.

He's grabbed by his feathers!

The petrel loses its grip

and the guardians pile in.

Together, they overpower the most feared predator of penguin colonies.

The petrel must accept defeat.

The chick may have escaped,

but he can't expect sympathy.

With a few pecks,

he's unceremoniously dispatched back to the creche.

Even though emperors live over 4,000 miles away,

they face the same penguin predator.

The petrel's arrival

causes a wave of anxiety through the colony.

But dividing the group was exactly what he was after.

Their best defence is to re-form their huddle -

there's always safety in numbers.

They create a wall of bodies,

difficult for the attacker to penetrate.

The petrel tries to grab any

that aren't safely tucked in.

But the chicks have learnt to fight back.

Everywhere the petrel goes,

he meets a wall of resistance.

Here, his best chance is to break up the huddle

then single out a solitary chick.

But even the placid emperor will fight back,

and he wields a sharp weapon.

For now, the penguins have isolated the threat.

As night falls in Peru,

low-light spycams pick up new dangers facing the Humboldt chicks.

An old enemy is back.

Vampire bats. They normally attack

the sea lions along the shore,

but young penguins provide a tasty alternative.

The adults may be aware of the dangers,

but the chicks suspect nothing.

And few creatures are as sneaky as a vampire.

With so many chicks to choose from,

the bats are ultimately guaranteed a meal.

The unlikely scene of a vampire bat

feeding on a penguin

has never been filmed before.

The greatest danger is loss of blood,

which, over time weakens the chicks,

and the bats also carry diseases,

such as rabies.

The adults must be on constant alert

to repel the bats from the colony.

They are far from defenceless.

Kicking dirt in the bat's face

is a favourite tactic.

This is their ultimate deterrent.

But hitting the right target

can be dangerously hit-or-miss.

Soon, the chicks have another reason

to leave for the sea -

they all need a bath!

At the emperor colony,

an ice rink has suddenly appeared!

A slight thaw, and then a freeze,

creates a chance to try out new skills.

But penguin feet

don't make the greatest ice skates.

For everyone, it takes a while

to master the technique.

As every skater knows,

the splits are a bad move.

Soon, everyone has a go.

In a world of ice and snow,

it's a skill that will always

come in useful.

And there's nothing like individual tuition

to speed up learning.

But for every success,

there are always setbacks.

And even the experts make mistakes.

After all that practice,

a well-earned rest.

The rockhopper chicks prefer to save their energy

until their parents return with food.

Below, fishing parties arrive

with fresh supplies all the time.

They all take the same perilous route back up the cliffs

to their nests, but today, the sea is especially rough.

Faced by the trickiest jump of all,

they decide better of it.

It was a wise decision,

the Atlantic swell is massive today.

There is another route, but it's rarely used.

And for good reason.

There's just enough room for one at a time.

With a full stomach,

it's quite a squeeze.

Rockhoppercam watches those

that make it through.

But back at the entrance,

a queue starts to form.

More are backing up behind,

it's getting crowded.

And this penguin doesn't like queue-jumpers at all.

PENGUIN SQUAWKS

While he tries to control the crowds,

some sneak past and take his place.

But he seems more concerned with managing the gatecrashers

than missing his turn.

It's like trying to keep back the tide.

He finally gives up and goes through himself.

With the penguins reduced to single file,

it will be hours before they all arrive back at the colony.

Most chicks will have a long wait for their supper.

The first parents to arrive are immediately besieged by chicks

trying to blag a meal.

Like emperors,

the adults must identify their own chicks among the crowds.

Imposters are soon sent packing.

Each parent uses a distinct call that the chick can recognise.

In turn, the adult knows the unique chirrup of its offspring.

PENGUIN CALLS

CHICK CHIRRUPS

Identity checked and confirmed.

The parents lead their chick away from the begging masses,

to feed him undisturbed.

Soon, he'll be big enough

to leave for the sea.

At the emperor colony,

the chicks are also getting close to becoming independent.

In any class, there is always one

more advanced than any other.

This one's nearly as big as his mother.

He's now putting away five kilos of fish in a single session

and it's almost impossible

to keep up with his demands.

CHICK SQUAWKS

With all this food,

he's putting on huge reserves of protein, stored in his muscle.

It's just as well he's big for his age.

Little does he know, this will be

the last meal she'll give him.

Without fuss or ceremony,

she leaves for the sea.

He doesn't know it yet,

but she and most of the other parents

are quietly leaving their chicks and the colony for good.

The chicks, unaware of the great change in their lives,

are left with just a few adults for company.

They won't see their once-devoted parents ever again.

The rockhopper chicks have also reached a turning point.

Before they can enter the ocean,

they must preen off their baby down.

Gradually, they reveal

the sleek adult feathers beneath.

Eggcam captures some of the punk styles

that have started to appear.

But before they become proper rockhoppers,

they have one more skill to master -

hopping.

Jumping is infectious,

and everyone joins in.

It's all about

strengthening the leg muscles.

Even Eggcam

gets caught up in the excitement.

In the Antarctic,

the melting ice-edge moves closer to the colony each day.

The few remaining adults prepare to return to the place

they love the best.

Emperorcam was with them when they arrived,

and it's with them as they leave.

As it discovered, no other bird endures so much

for the sake of their chicks and none is more devoted.

In just four months, they will return here to breed once more,

but for a brief time, their job is done.

But Emperorcam isn't alone for long.

Adelies - the only other penguins

to breed in the true Antarctic.

They have a timeshare arrangement

with the emperors,

taking over the rocks around their breeding area

once the chicks have left.

On the shore, another penguincam

captures a different view of

the new penguin invasion.

Over 100,000 will arrive

over the next three weeks.

Emperorcam moves in for a closer look.

Adelies are belligerent little penguins

that won't let anything stand in their way.

Fortunately, they seem to have a soft spot for Emperorcam.

Back in the colony,

the emperor chicks are discovering

what life is like on their own.

Many haven't fed for over a week.

With hunger comes a change in behaviour.

They become restless and start to react

to the distant call of the sea.

They leave their icy birthplace and start their journey.

They discover a very different world

than the smooth ice they've left behind.

Every task they face hones skills

that will be essential

later in life.

All the time,

they still keep moving towards the sea.

Although sometimes,

it's one step forward and two back.

In Peru, the Humboldt chicks

are just 12 weeks old,

but they're also ready to leave the colony.

As adult fishing parties head for the sea,

the more adventurous of these chicks

decide to join them.

The youngsters are nervous.

They've never left the colony before

and now they're having to cross the desert.

The cormorants are a bewildering sight.

Once, thousands overran the Humboldt colony.

He now has to face them again.

For his adult guides, it's all in a day's work.

For the chick, it's a different matter.

To add to his confusion,

more cormorants just keep coming.

There's nowhere for him to hide.

He's totally surrounded,

and his penguin guides have vanished.

Half a million birds

are a lot to cope with

when you're just three months old.

Alone, he doesn't even know the way to the beach.

Then a sight that might help him -

another fishing party,

travelling to the sea.

He races to catch them.

Together, they reach the cliff path.

He immediately has second thoughts.

It's a long way to the bottom.

PENGUIN HONKS

Some reassuring encouragement.

It's just what he needs.

He had reason to be nervous,

the cliff path is steep

and the soft bed of feathers has blown away.

And once he starts,

there's no going back.

Finally, he can fall no more.

But as he's already discovering,

for Humboldts, the challenges never end.

Hundreds of sea lions and seals

are blocking the way to the sea.

The adults have faced this ordeal many times,

but for the chick, it's a new and frightening experience.

The chick's too scared to move,

but the adults know there is only one way to tackle them -

and that's head-on.

It might not seem a good idea,

but it works.

The chick misses his moment.

The adults have left him behind.

As he retreats along the cliff wall,

he chances on the entrance to a sea cave.

This secret passageway was used by some of the penguins

when they first arrived. He now uses the tunnel in reverse.

Vampire bats lurk in the darkness,

but by sprinting through the cave, he emerges unscathed.

And more good fortune -

the fishing party he was with

has only just made it over the sea lions

and are also approaching the sea.

Other chicks have made it too.

He won't have to enter the sea alone.

This is the first time he's ever seen water.

It's not a gentle introduction.

He keeps a foothold.

He wants to go in when he's fully prepared.

He finally plucks up courage.

This cold sea will be his home

for the next two years,

until he returns back here to breed.

Finally, he is embraced by the waves.

The emperor chick's introduction to water is a more gradual affair.

In places, the ice has melted

into pools of slush.

He's never met a surface he can't walk on.

None of the chicks have ever swum before

and it takes them all

by surprise.

This natural paddling pool

is the perfect chance to test out

their flippers for real.

Swimming soon comes naturally.

Although getting out is never as easy as getting in.

But they now face a far bigger challenge.

The petrel is back.

They try to flee, but running

isn't an emperor's strong point.

A slip, it's all the petrel needs.

It has the chick by its neck feathers.

But the down comes away

and the chick disappears in the crowd.

Just as in the huddle, the chicks form a defensive circle

and prepare to stand their ground.

They might seem small and cuddly,

but they're now nearly a metre tall -

quite a fight, even for a petrel.

The nearest chick towers to his full height,

making himself bigger

and protecting those behind.

His defiance buys time.

It's a stand-off.

Then, from out of the blue, a surprising ally.

An adelie.

The petrel has met these super-aggressive penguins before.

The adelie confidently puts itself

between the emperor chicks

and danger.

The petrel gives up,

he knows when he's defeated.

There are always other meals to be had.

Accompanied by their rescuer,

the emperors continue their journey to the sea.

At the rockhopper colony,

the chicks' big day has arrived.

They all react to the same desire to explore the world beyond the colony.

Like the Humboldts,

the chicks join adults making a trip to the sea.

They don't know it yet,

but they're making a one-way journey.

The rockhopper chicks have none of the Humboldt's fear,

they're built to leap down cliffs.

But at this age, they can't jump back up again.

Like their parents,

they're as tough as they come.

They take scrambling down rocks

in their stride,

but a strange sight

stops them in their tracks.

Rockhoppers, looking like nothing they have ever seen before.

They are young, non-breeding birds

who came ashore especially to moult their old feathers.

The chicks' parents will soon be doing the same.

While in this unsightly state,

they are marooned on land.

They also become bad-tempered

and hate being disturbed.

The chicks are soon forced on.

The frontrunners are nearly at the sea.

They may be brave,

but they haven't the skills of their parents.

Not everyone is quite so gung-ho.

This youngster thinks he's found a safer route.

But while he's dithering,

the others make it to the sea.

They leap into the waves

with typical rockhopper gusto.

It might pay to be cautious,

but the chick's companions

have left without him.

He's well and truly stuck.

The emperor chicks are still being shadowed by the adelie,

as they make their way to the sea.

They stop for a rest and a preen.

This is not what the adelie was expecting,

and it doesn't go down well.

He's determined to move them on.

They may be twice his size,

but that's not going to stop him.

He might have helped them earlier,

but he's now got a different agenda.

He wants the emperors gone.

He expects to have the place to himself.

As the adelie drives the emperors away,

they soon approach the sea.

They may be close to the edge,

but they show little interest in going in.

Many still have their baby fluff.

They must lose it before entering the water.

The adelie doesn't care,

he just wants them gone for good.

Gradually, he forces them closer

to the edge of the ice.

Finally, one gets its first taste of the sea.

Other adelies arrive,

adding to the pressure.

Another chick enters.

Others get ready to join.

But they're still covered in down,

not the sleek penguins

that are supposed to leave for the ocean.

For a moment, the adelies have had their way,

but the chicks aren't so sure.

With all their fluff, they can't dive

and could easily be captured by predators.

They know they're in serious danger.

They try to join the few

who've already made it ashore.

But if getting in was hard,

getting out is even trickier.

They use their bills as ice picks,

just like their parents do.

Next time, they'll enter

only when they're good and ready,

and then, they won't be coming back.

The rockhopper chick is still stuck.

Despite his caution, he ends up taking

the biggest tumble of all.

But his troubles aren't over yet.

A caracara - a dangerous predator.

Another joins.

At the worst possible moment,

he's completely outnumbered.

But then...

backup arrives!

Steamer ducks -

the most aggressive in the world.

They hate caracaras and won't give up

until every one is gone.

The chick's not about to hang around.

This time, he has some company

for his final farewell.

He takes the plunge, sliding down the rocks

like it's a water shoot.

But it's not over yet, the giant petrel is back -

predatory to the last.

The chick dives...

..but immediately pops right up again.

He's never been underwater before.

This time, the petrel has him!

Others close in for the kill.

But the petrel loses his grip.

This time, the penguin

stays safely under for good,

and joins the others in the sea.

He will never look back.

This is where he is meant to be.

He'll spend the next three years

learning the secrets of the sea,

before he returns here to breed.

He's now in his element...

and gone in a flash.

In Antarctica, a week has passed

and the chicks

are finally preparing to leave.

Chickcam is there

to watch them as they go.

It was with them when they were born five months ago

and has shared their challenges as they grew.

But today is what the chicks

have been preparing for.

They will finally leave their ice world behind,

to spend the coming years at sea.

Gripped by a collective urge,

they start to move as one.

They seem to have a place in mind.

They travel along the ice edge

with a sense of purpose...

..and stop at the very highest point.

They have made their choice.

This is where they will leave

for the sea.

The drop below is at least four metres.

It's the biggest step they'll ever take.

In the end,

it's one chick who decides.

He might be the first,

he's far from the last.

A cascade of penguins enter the sea.

They have spent their early months of life on ice...

..but this is where they were born to be.

Like all the penguins whose stories we've followed, their success

is due to the extraordinary devotion

of their parents.

In four years' time,

these chicks will make the journey back

and face the same extreme challenges,

all to have young of their own.

For now, they have a vast ocean to explore.

Throughout all the filming, penguincams became

part of the penguins' lives.

They have witnessed countless events

that have never been seen before,

and even became part of the huddle.

But being accepted also provoked jealousies.

Then, as in all our Spy films,

things didn't always go to plan.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd