Bill Baileys Birding Bonanza (1 Viewer)

[Vespa]

Following this programme I switched to Celeb Big Brother, where Vinnie Jones had created a bird table in the snow and was hoping to entice a Robin down, it had been singing nearby. Don't think Sky One can afford Vinnie :-O

 

[Euan Buchan]

Look forward to next weeks episode

 

[socksitis]

Do wish Bill would look after his binoculars, in one shot they were left on the wall behind him - perhaps I should offer to give his Leica's a better home!

 

[stuartlawrie]

what is your definition of a birder then as he seems to be someone who presumably goes and enjoys birdwatching is there more to it than that to be a birder?

on the program i thought it was a bit of fun no more no less

cheers

Well put Paul, my thoughts exactly! :t:
I always thought the rarity chasers ("Serious Birders as they call them self") are Twitchers??
Oh No! forgot they don't like that term any more since it has been associated with those that go to any extreme to get their bird even if that means harassing them from feeding, breeding and resting!

 

[username]

I held off from commenting on this until I'd actually seen it. In my view it was a complete waste of time - yet another missed opportunity!!

Quoted from above:
"The subtlety with which key birding concepts of fieldcraft, sketching, ringing etc. were introduced, without fanfare or the faux excitement beloved of Springwatch, was very good and very clever."

I couldn't disagree more - I'm surprised they weren't thrown off both Mersehead and Caerlaverlock with their antics. Fieldcraft - what fieldcraft? - putting up the Oystercatchers at Mersehead and scrambling into the fields at Caerlaverlock (where it is clearly stated that is not on). I just hope the next time I visit either reserve newcomers haven't got the idea that that kind of behaviour is acceptable!"%$$^%!!

And, I thought Bill's script was pretty appalling.

disappointed
Gordon

Skills? Bill?......[see post 12 for a link showing 'the skills' from Bill & co whilst out and about birding]....

ps...[do not confuse Bill & co with 'the' Bilko]....who was also a very funny bloke but not a birder...

 

[deboo]

I think a major point has beem missed. This programme is not entitled - "birding for serious birders" and does not aim to bore national audiences in how to split the white-headed gulls when spending a day with the family at a landfill site...

We must consider the alternative - more jungle antics, or celebrity big brother round 23! I watched it and as an alternative to the rubbish usually put out on a Friday night, would rather watch Bill Bailey. It is never going to be high end birding or rarity chasing, but it IS a programme about our hobby, which can only be a good thing, surely?

I watched it repeated last night on sky2. If the aim was to encourage anybody into birding then counting Oystercatchers with Joe Swash will certainly bring the crowds in eh?
I don't see the point of the progam. It's just 'I'm a celery tree' done on the cheap. Jeff Green, someone's girlfriend and Alex Zane wtf? Nah, it ain't for me.
I will stick to watching Dicky Attenborough and My Name is Earl, tvm.

Total load of bollox.

dave...

 

[kawwauser]

i think us birders expected to much from this program,i was thrown by the fact it was advertised on the rspb website,to be fair wether it is a hit or miss should be down to other non birders,im not sure what the target audience was,novice birders or celeb reality tv watchers,i think most of the 1 hours time was taken up with celeb antics ,after watching the first episode i decided i wouldn,t watch another one,today i passed a billboard with a pic of bill holding a bird of prey on his hand,(not sure which species only caught it at last moment)and now im thinking of watching the second episode ,i never realised billboard advertising was so powerfull

 

[ColinD]

......today i passed a billboard with a pic of bill holding a bird of prey on his hand,(not sure which species only caught it at last moment)and now im thinking of watching the second episode ,i never realised billboard advertising was so powerfull

I've seen that poster as well. Surely it's a good thing if we have a huge billboard poster plastered everywhere of a well known comedian advertising a birdwatching program? It's bound to attract quite a few people who wouldn't normally dream of watching the usual boring old farts lecturing them about birds. And even if those people who watch don't take up birding, at least they become aware of it and perhaps will become a little more sympathetic.

I'm looking forward to the next episode. The best birding program for ages.

 

[ajaybee]

Came across the programme by accident when channel hopping and came across a whole load of Oystercatchers on screen. Not something you see every night on TV! Watched the later repeat. Enjoyed it for what it was - a bit of lighthearted entertainment with birds.

The Red Kite feeding station was an eye opener. I've visited the area a few times and enjoyed the Kites but always ignored the publicised feeding times thinking it was just something for the tourists - not next time.

Think I'll set the programme to series record and catch up with it at leasure.

 

[Axelbird]

Hi everyone,

Its been really interesting to read all your comments good and bad about the show. I am the series producer and so can take nearly all the responsibility for anything which you didn't like! Our brief and our intention when we made the series was to try and make birdwatching feel accessible and something that any one can have a try at even if (as you could clearly see from our somewhat clueless celebrities), you knew absolutely nothing about birds. In these credit crunched times it seems that people might like to know that there is the most fantastic and (pretty much) free way of enjoying their leisure time right on their doorstep or in their local park. We have some truly awe inspiring birds in this country and anything which helps people appreciate our natural world can only be good news in conservation terms.

We wanted to turn non birders and families on to birdwatching, and also hopefully give people who do love birds (as we on the production do wholeheartedly) something lovely to look at and maybe tell them something they didn't know, which is why some of the stuff Bill talked about was a bit more quirky than the usual Springwatch facts. (I have worked on Springwatch by the way and love the show). The celebrities were there both to try and appeal to Sky 1 viewers but also to show that anyone can do it, no matter how urban and inexperienced!

I'm sorry if at times it looked a bit low brow and silly, we wanted to make it look fun, but maybe that crossed the line at times! Just to reassure we didn't stray into areas we weren't allowed, even if it looked that way (and sorry if it did, I totally understand the entirely justified concerns). And we had RSPB approval for everything we did.

For this Thursday's show we are in Norfolk and got the best view of the Snettisham high tide roost you could ever imagine, it was an absolute thrill and I really hope that comes across in the show.

For those that enjoyed it, please keep watching, and for those that didn't just switch off the sound and enjoy the wildlife photography, we had the best cameramen in the business filming it!

Also if we are lucky enough to get another series, any suggestions for possible locations for spring / early summer would be greatly appreciated!

Kind regards, Lucinda xx

 

[ColinD]

The only thing which concerned me was the flushing of the birds, but even that could be looked at in a more positive way, i.e. it teaches people that if you do approach birds too closely, they will fly off, so don't do it!

Other than that, keep up the good work!

 

[username]

Dear Axelbird.....i am quite willing to believe that 'you' believe that permission was granted to 'stray'....however...[unless i have been misinformed]!...this was not the case, referring to a specific incident, at Rutland Water...[see the Leicester Llama link]..
I am guessing that this particular trespass was just an innocent mistake tho...so i'm not going to make a big 'serious deal' about it...! It comes under the terms of my 'water under the bridge' policy....

ps....i haven't seen 'the' program so i can't really comment on that....but please inform Bill that he has many fans hereabouts...[and i always will be a fan...despite his duck-flushing tendencies]....

 

[Axelbird]

Hi there,

Rutland was the first show that we recorded and we did stray off the beaten track, which was clearly the wrong thing to do! We were trying to create a totally new programme and our enthusiasm for filming the birds got the better of us and proved, of course, to be counter productive! As for celebrities flushing birds (or production crews for that matter) its never wanted or condoned....and causes us problems from a filming point of view of course!! I hope the negative reaction that Joe Swash got on screen proved that point.

FYI for all Bill Bailey fans, he is genuinely interested in birds, (his dads a keen birder and brought him up to appreciate and respect the natural world), he is also one of the nicest people you will ever meet.

L x

 

[Sy V]

Lucinda

Huge credit to you for coming in here and facing up to the hoards.
I hope the dialogue can be constructive and pleasant.
You have a PM.

Simon

 

[Upland Birder]

This is just to let you know that I will not be watching the programme. I'd rather read a birding book than watch a bunch of celebs doing what they were doing in the first show.

It would be a lot better if you involved ordinary everyday people and families in the show and pay them a fee for being involved.

I am tired of reading, seeing and hearing about celebs.. The show needs to positively improve before I revisit it. It was very poor.

Dean

Hi everyone,

Its been really interesting to read all your comments good and bad about the show. I am the series producer and so can take nearly all the responsibility for anything which you didn't like! Our brief and our intention when we made the series was to try and make birdwatching feel accessible and something that any one can have a try at even if (as you could clearly see from our somewhat clueless celebrities), you knew absolutely nothing about birds. In these credit crunched times it seems that people might like to know that there is the most fantastic and (pretty much) free way of enjoying their leisure time right on their doorstep or in their local park. We have some truly awe inspiring birds in this country and anything which helps people appreciate our natural world can only be good news in conservation terms.

We wanted to turn non birders and families on to birdwatching, and also hopefully give people who do love birds (as we on the production do wholeheartedly) something lovely to look at and maybe tell them something they didn't know, which is why some of the stuff Bill talked about was a bit more quirky than the usual Springwatch facts. (I have worked on Springwatch by the way and love the show). The celebrities were there both to try and appeal to Sky 1 viewers but also to show that anyone can do it, no matter how urban and inexperienced!

I'm sorry if at times it looked a bit low brow and silly, we wanted to make it look fun, but maybe that crossed the line at times! Just to reassure we didn't stray into areas we weren't allowed, even if it looked that way (and sorry if it did, I totally understand the entirely justified concerns). And we had RSPB approval for everything we did.

For this Thursday's show we are in Norfolk and got the best view of the Snettisham high tide roost you could ever imagine, it was an absolute thrill and I really hope that comes across in the show.

For those that enjoyed it, please keep watching, and for those that didn't just switch off the sound and enjoy the wildlife photography, we had the best cameramen in the business filming it!

Also if we are lucky enough to get another series, any suggestions for possible locations for spring / early summer would be greatly appreciated!

Kind regards, Lucinda xx

 

[Andy Bright]

Despite my aversion to 'celebs' and couldn't really stomach them for more than 15mins, my other half enjoyed the programme immensely and regarded it as an 'education' and an 'eye opener'... proving that I'm useless at getting the birding message across to her.

She was part of the main target audience, the show has seemingly succeeded in it's main aim.

 

[Helenelizabeth2]

The point of including the celebrities is to increase the audience. As I'm all for as many people as possible being drawn in to knowing about birdwatching, I'm all in favour of the celebrity involvement.

Most of the criticism on here seems to be from individuals who didn't enjoy the show personally. Fine, don't watch it, but accept that it may still have a role for others.

Personally, I enjoyed the wildlife footage and Bill Bailey's involvement and was prepared to put up with the inane celebrities for that. And to be fair, I found it considerably less inane than I often find Springwatch. It would be nice to have more wildlife programming that didn't have to dumb down for the masses but I think that about 90% of telly programmes. The masses pay the bills and I guess we're stuck with it. And, as I said above, my son watched it happily. He can't be persuaded to tolerate 2 minutes of Bill Oddie.

Looking forward to the next one - especially now I hear it's from Sheringham.

Thanks for posting, Lucinda.

 

[deboo]

Looking forward to the next one - especially now I hear it's from Sheringham.

So you're the target audience eh?
I bet Joe Pasquale was wonderful during the seawatch challenge that sadly gets left on the cutting room floor....
*disturbing squeaky voice*
"3 Great Custard Cremes 200 yards out going west"

Oh...wait...she said Snettisham.

I don't think Attenboroughs programmes are 'dumbed down' and the birding with Bill Oddie series was very good. Packham has made some good nature programmes as well. Even Dilger pops up on the One Show from time to time with some interesting bits and bats.
Nah, these 'celeb'-'reality' shows are cheap and easy. That's entertainment and apparently what everyone wants. Luckily i'm not everyone. What next 'Stamp collecting with Jonathan Ross' or perhaps 'Dogging with Julian Clarey'?

dave...

 

[Lightthiscandle]

A couple of my mates shared a boat-trip to Komodo with Bill Bailey and partner. They said he was a really nice guy and very knowledgeable about wildlife in general.

 

[captaincarot]

there seems to be varying things that people want out of birding for me it's the enjoyment of being out there, bill put this over fine.

a program about serious birders would go down with the general populace like a lead balloon some people are just too stuffy about things.

the only problem i had with the program at all was joe swash and his antics, i'm presuming that the celebs are going to change each program so my only problem with it is going to disappear.

the photography is topnotch add to that bills wit and it should be worth watching once again.