This is sort of a trilogy today in Dawn Chorus.
Part the First. Today is the premiere of the 37th season of Doctor Who and the first to feature a female Doctor. Given recent events in the real world I thought it might be nice to celebrate this milestone by looking at birds in Doctor Who. However, despite 37 seasons there hasn’t been very much that is ‘birdy’ on Doctor Who.
The one thing I did discover (or rather was reminded) was this little scrap of a Brother’s Grimm fairytale from the very unusual and compelling episode ‘Heaven Sent’ from a few years ago.
It seemed appropriate (although not terribly birdy) for today for more reasons than one. Below is the clip.
Part the Second: Because the first part wasn’t very birdy here are a few videos of actual birds digging (or using burrows they have already excavated). We don’t tend to think about birds digging but quite a few of them do it. It is particularly common in sea birds. No diamond mountains but still pretty impressive for animals with wings rather than front legs.
Part the Third: A couple of weeks ago my wife was in North Carolina giving a couple of talks and was taken to Sylvan Heights Bird Park in Scotland Neck, NC. It is quite the facility and a surprising institution to encounter out in the middle of nowhere.
The most striking bird she saw there was the Saddle-billed Stork, from Africa. I can see why it would be a memorable experience.
I don’t think she saw anything as dramatic as this however.
As always feel free to talk about all things birdy in the comments.