We can’t fly like birds, nor can we stop our gaze soaring skyward to dream of it
In this brief, whimsical documentary, the UK director Eleanor Mortimer turns her camera’s gaze on urban birdwatchers as they wait for, observe and marvel at the peregrine falcons hovering above Sheffield in the north of England. The result is a beguiling look at a uniquely human condition: envy of flying. Or maybe it’s something else that turns these city-dwellers’ eyes skywards. The pleasures of birdwatching are many; the words to describe them are perhaps best left to the poets among us.
Director: Eleanor Mortimer
videoMathematics
After centuries of trying, we’ve yet to arrive at a perfect way to map colour
20 minutes
videoNature and landscape
‘A culture is no better than its woods’ – what our trees reveal about us, by W H Auden
5 minutes
videoAnimals and humans
One man’s quest to save an orphaned squirrel, as narrated by David Attenborough
14 minutes
videoBiology
Butterflies become unrecognisable landscapes when viewed under electron microscopes
4 minutes
videoFairness and equality
There’s a dirty side to clean energy in the metal-rich mountains of South Africa
10 minutes
videoFood and drink
The passage of time is a peculiar thing in a 24-hour diner
14 minutes
videoBiology
‘Save the parasites’ may not be a popular rallying cry – but it could be a vital one
11 minutes
videoEvolution
The many ways a lizard tongue sticks, grasps, pinches and plops – in slo-mo
6 minutes
videoAnimals and humans
Villagers struggle to keep their beloved, endangered ape population afloat
19 minutes