Welcome to Week 2 of our THIRTEEN Thursdays series. As powerful a visual last week’s “Invasion of the Great Pythons” was, this week takes on a whole new adventure through “Nature”, as seen on PBS. THIRTEEN in association with WNET.ORG offers breathtaking documentary on the lives of hummingbirdds, truly one of the more beautiful of the wildlife programs I’ve seen. Using high-speed and infra-red cameras, “Nature” was able to gather hummingbird footage in incredible detail. Through this footage, I was surprised to discovery that hummingbirds are even more extraordinary when viewed in slow motion, their wings moving in graceful figure-eights as their tiny iridescent feathers capture the light like fairies from another world.
“Hummingbirds: Magic in the Air” is a fabulous documentary for the entire family. I watched with my husband and 3 1/2-year-old boy, and even my wiggly son stayed riveted to the program. I can guarantee this is one episode we’ll be watching again and again.
If you’re looking for a big change from the average brain-numbing television programming, “Nature” on PBS is the enriching and entertaining series for you. Too often these days, even doocumentaries have resorted to fast, flashy footage and a doomsday sensationalism to rope viewers in, but “Nature”, along with vast other worthy PBS programming, pulls viewers in the old-fashioned way – solid, brilliant and edifying documentaries that are good for the whole family.
“Hummingbirds: Magic in the Air” originally aired on January 10, 2010, and it can be viewed for free online at PBS.org/nature or WNET.org, along with over 30 other episodes of “Nature”. Or purchase the DVD’s online and start a worthwhile family collection while supporting THIRTEEN’s work.
