Natural World series (4 Viewers)

[a.dancy]

Perhaps it is nit-picking, but the BBC should & does generally AFAIA maintain a reasonable standard of accuracy, including from a very well respected natural history unit. I've learnt a lot from their programs over the years, & hope to carry on doing so - that relies on me having confidence that they're getting things right. Mildly-veiled speculation & anthropomorphising is one thing, factual errors are another. Having gone to the effort of getting some great footage, a bit of basic fact checking wouldn't seem to be too onerous to me. I'm sure some of the folk involved in making these programs must cringe when these errors appear in the broadcast program.

As to the owl's clutch size, I guess it's possible that, if the lemmings' population cycles are highly regular or otherwise predictable, they could alter their egg production in a predictive way, presumably without any conscious thought on the matter - or can birds decide how many eggs to lay?! - perhaps a subject for a separate thread.

All in all fair comment:t:

Off to bed now...it's snowing|| outside and I am gonna be up early to try and photograph what ever I can ...sadly not gyr falcons or snowy owls:-C

 

[Twite]

Are we missing the point here? Surely it's about the imagery portrayed in the film. Ok there were factual errors in the narration but is it such an issue? It's not a critical life changing piece of film.
It is repeated on Sunday at 5:55pm. Watch it with the sound turned down, or even better go to the local pub and watch it, you're bound to be sitting beside some T*** who knows everything and will give you a running commentary, if he's not busy doing one on the Rugby or Football or Darts etc etc....
Save the cost of buying a TV licence by learning to lipread and then watching your neighbours telly from the garden wall. Viz.



Twite.

 

[naturistbird]

Surely any knowledge is infinitely better than no knowledge at all? I enjoyed the film about Ellesmere Island and its occupants as it showed me creatures and behaviour as yet unknown. If it was not entirely accurate (number of owls' eggs based on prediction of number of lemmings in the future) then I can overlook that fact.
Did anyone else feel a certain pity for the poor lemmings at the bottom of the food chain and universally hunted?? Theirs was not a life to be envied!

 

[Carlos Davies]

I am with you on this one Alan. However, I won't dismiss the statement made in the film because I do not know enough about observations which have been made regarding the laying of eggs by snowy owls in good mole years. There are a number of factors which precipitate good vole years and I cannot rule out that snowy owls may be tuned to them. I simply do not know.

Just to continue the nit-picking for a moment: I think the owls would have to wait a few years for a good mole year on Ellesmere Island. They really hate that permafrost.

 

[A CHAPLIN]

Hi Folks,

I have just found some background information about the filming of the wolves if anyone is interested. John Keeling of "Love Earth" was asked to stand in at the last moment as he was in the area at the time.

His blog and story can be found at:-


http://www.loveearth.com/uk/blog/jk01february2008

Ann :egghead:

 

[paulwfromtheden]

What a fantastic treat,the camera work was stunning,the female Gyr is huge compared to the male,also the snowy owls and Skua footage,makes a hard friday worth the wait

Agree. A magnificent piece of TV. At last I realise why I pay for a TV licence.

 

[a.dancy]

Just to continue the nit-picking for a moment: I think the owls would have to wait a few years for a good mole year on Ellesmere Island. They really hate that permafrost.

Nice one :eek!: t::t::t::t:


Maybe they won't have to wait too long after all with global warming:-C


Speaking of lemmings, who first broadcast the myth that lemmings commit sucide by jumping over cliffs....that is, if it ever was broadcast though I suspect it was?


Edit...I just found out....WALT DIZNEY !

 

[a.dancy]

Are we missing the point here? Surely it's about the imagery portrayed in the film. Ok there were factual errors in the narration but is it such an issue? It's not a critical life changing piece of film.
It is repeated on Sunday at 5:55pm. Watch it with the sound turned down, or even better go to the local pub and watch it, you're bound to be sitting beside some T*** who knows everything and will give you a running commentary, if he's not busy doing one on the Rugby or Football or Darts etc etc....
Save the cost of buying a TV licence by learning to lipread and then watching your neighbours telly from the garden wall. Viz.



Twite.

As I said, I won't stop watching these programmes. They are a visual delight. however it is fair comment that there are on occasions factual errors contained in some programmes which could have been easily spotted and corrected. Given that these sorts of programmes are sometimes referred to as 'factual' or 'fact based' it is easy to understand why some people get miffed by it. I imagine many who say they watch with the sound turned down do actually watch with the sound turned up.

 

[Farnboro John]

Surely any knowledge is infinitely better than no knowledge at all? I enjoyed the film about Ellesmere Island and its occupants as it showed me creatures and behaviour as yet unknown. If it was not entirely accurate (number of owls' eggs based on prediction of number of lemmings in the future) then I can overlook that fact.
Did anyone else feel a certain pity for the poor lemmings at the bottom of the food chain and universally hunted?? Theirs was not a life to be envied!

I suspect the relation is closer than you think, albeit still not based on prediction (unless you call straight-line graph extrapolation "prediction"): early in the season the female owl gets into breeding condition to the best of her ability. In a year when vole/lemming numbers are beginning to rise quickly, she will be able to produce more eggs than in a lean early season. This later translates into high success in raising the larger than average clutch. There are of course many things that can go wrong at any stage: a lower than expected rise in lemming numbers, unseasonal weather at inconvenient times and so on. Past experience is no guarantee of future performance.

John

 

[NoSpringChicken]

I'm not sure I really fancy tonight's Natural World programme 'Saved by Dolphins' which is about stories of dolphins rescuing humans at sea. However the 10 minute programme which follows immediately after sounds as if it could be worth seeking out:

A Norfolk Rhapsody

One of Britain's biggest wildlife spectacles occurs on the Norfolk coast. Wildlife, weather and tide combine to drive thousands of wading birds into the sky, creating a Norfolk Rhapsody.

However, I would guess that haters of music on wildlife programmes might be advised to give it a miss.

Ron

 

[Alex_sk]

Here is a list of the programmes making up the second half of the latest BBC Natural World series:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/tvradio/programmes/naturalworld/

Elephant nomads of the Namib desert
Wed 26 Mar 8.00pm

Lobo - The wolf that changed America
Wed 2 Apr 8.00pm
and Sat 12 Apr

Reindeer girls
Wed 9 Apr 8.00pm
and Sun 13 Apr

Moose in the glen
Wed 16 Apr 8.00pm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/tvradio/programmes/naturalworld/page1.shtml

Naabi - A hyena princess
Wed 23 Apr 8.00pm
and Sun 27 Apr

Spectacled bears - Shadows of the forest
Wed 7 May 8.00pm
and Sun 11 May

A turtle's guide to the Pacific
To be confirmed

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/tvradio/programmes/naturalworld/page2.shtml