Earthflight

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title: "Earthflight" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["bbc-television-documentaries-about-science", "2011-british-television-series-debuts", "2012-british-television-series-endings", "bbc-high-definition-shows", "british-english-language-television-shows", "discovery-channel-original-programming"] topic_path: "arts/film" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthflight" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox television"]

Field	Value
image	Earthflight titlecard.jpg
genre	Nature documentary
narrated	David Tennant
country	United Kingdom
language	English
num_episodes	6
executive_producer	Cassian Harrison
producer
runtime	60 mins
company	{{Plainlist
channel
first_aired
last_aired
::

| image = Earthflight titlecard.jpg | image_alt = | caption = | genre = Nature documentary | creator = | director = | writer = | starring = | narrated = David Tennant | composer = | country = United Kingdom | language = English | num_series = | num_episodes = 6 | list_episodes = | executive_producer = Cassian Harrison | producer = | editor = | cinematography = | camera = | runtime = 60 mins | company = {{Plainlist|

• John Downer Productions
• BBC Natural History Unit
• Discovery Channel | network = | channel = | released = | first_aired = | last_aired =

Earthflight is a British nature documentary that shows a flight from the view of the wings of birds across six continents, showing some of the world's greatest natural spectacles from a bird's-eye view. The BBC series was created by John Downer and narrated by David Tennant and consisted of six 60-minute episodes. The first episode aired on BBC One on 29 December 2011.

A two-hour subset of Earthflight was aired in October 2012 by the Discovery Channel in the US as Winged Planet. The entire series with rerecorded narrative aired on PBS, beginning in September 2013, under the title Earthflight, A Nature Special Presentation.

As explained in the sixth episode, some of the birds were imprinted on a human and filmed from an ultralight plane; others were filmed with a helicopter drone. Some other footage resulted from tiny cameras being strapped to the backs of birds.

TOC

Episodes

::data[format=table] | Episode | Title | Produced by | UK viewers (million) | Share (%) | Original air date | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | EpisodeNumber = 1 | Title = North America | WrittenBy = Robert Pilley | Aux2 = 5.77 | Aux3 = | 2011|12|29|df=yes}} | ::

Merchandise

In the UK, a two-disc DVD was released on 26 March 2012, while the Blu-ray sets was released later month on 16 April 2012.

In United States and Canada, a two-disc DVD was released on 18 March 2014, and for Blu-ray Disc was released on 8 April 2014. It was distributed by BBC Warner.

References

References

1. [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b018xsc1 BBC One – Earthflight]
2. "Winged Planet: About the Show".
3. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHuH7KaPbLc BBC Earthflight (Winged Planet) - Common Cranes Fly Over Venice (Narrated by David Tennant) - YouTube]
4. Lloyd, Robert. (4 September 2013). "Review: 'Earthflight' offers an astonishing bird's-eye view". [[Los Angeles Times]].
5. (3 August 2013). "EARTHFLIGHT: Introduction". PBS.
6. [http://metrofocus.vc7.wnet.org/metrofocus/2013/10/the-making-of-pbs-nature-series-earthflight/ The Making of PBS’ Nature Series EarthFlight] {{Webarchive. link. (24 December 2013 , MetroFocus, 2 October 2013)
7. "Weekly Top 30 Programmes". Barb.co.uk.
8. [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b018xsc5 BBC One - Earthflight, North America]
9. [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01983dp BBC One - Earthflight, Africa]
10. [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b019j59m BBC One - Earthflight, Europe]
11. [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01b3c14 BBC One - Earthflight, South America]
12. [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01bfchc BBC One - Earthflight, Asia and Australia]
13. [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01br01j BBC One - Earthflight, Flying High]
14. "Earthflight (DVD)". Amazon.co.uk.
15. (16 April 2012). "Earthflight (Blu-Ray)". Amazon.co.uk.
16. "Earthflight (DVD)".
17. "Earthflight (Blu-ray)".

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