Birding with Bill Oddie was a British TV programme, about natural history, presented by Bill Oddie.[1] Three series and eighteen episodes were made, which ran from 21 February 1997 to 31 March 2000 on BBC Two.
Birding with Bill Oddie was only loosely scripted and a lot of Bill's dialogue was spontaneous – he would start to talk and the cameraman would film him. The reason that the viewer almost feels that they are in the hide or on the site with Bill, is that video was used rather than film.
Oddie:
"If you asked me where I would go to see the biggest number of different species of birds, in Britain, in one day, I'd say Minsmere, in Suffolk, in early May. And that's exactly where I am!"
Bill attempts to see a male capercaillie, but does not succeed, not helped by the miserable ranger:
"You don't always get what you want Bill."
"True, but I would still have liked to see a Caper!"
Bill visits the Farne Islands, via Yorkshire, to North Norfolk, in search of migrating birds.
"If you asked me to sum up the magic of birding in just one word, that word would be migration".
December and January sees the arrival of millions of birds from the north and east, taking advantage of the milder climate of the British Isles to feed. Oddie travels from his north London garden to the magical Scottish island of Islay, to discover how birds survive the worst types of winter weather.
Bill takes wife Laura and daughter Rosie to Florida, where they can enjoy the sights while he birdwatches to his heart's content. This trip is covered in the BBC book of the series.
Series 2 (1998)
Originally broadcast from Friday 15 May 1998 to Friday 19 June 1998. The Dorset, Farmland and Shetland episodes were repeated on Friday 11 February 2000 as a precursor to Series 3.
Closer to Norway than they are to the Scottish mainland, the Shetland Islands offer the birdwatcher an amazing experience more akin to being in the Arctic than somewhere in the British Isles. It was this episode that contained a spontaneous scene. Bill had got very close to a puffin to photograph it when suddenly his camera ran out of film and starting rewinding quite noisily. Fortunately, no-one cursed the noise of the camera motor or said "cut" and Bill carried on talking, with the puffin completely unperturbed.
The past few decades have seen large changes in the way farmland has been managed, sadly often to the detriment of our native wildlife. As a consequence, many birders are put off from spending time birdwatching on farmland. Farmland occupies vast tracts of our countryside and is still home to many bird species, and especially where farming practices are sensitive to the needs of wildlife, the birding can be very rewarding.
With a rich variety of habitats and a mild climate, the counties of Hampshire and Dorset offer a wealth of birdlife. Sites visited include Radipole Lake and Brownsea Island.
Just ten miles off the coast of Venezuela, the islands of Trinidad and Tobago have a well-deserved reputation as an excellent introduction to the birds of South America. A fortnight's birding should produce around 200 species, covering almost the whole range of neotropical bird families.
Series 3 (2000)
Originally broadcast from Friday 18 February 2000 to Friday 31 March 2000, preceded by a repeat run of Series 2.
Oddie:
"Holland really isn't all that far from Britain. You just go through the Channel Tunnel, turn left, and it is about a three-hour drive. I have come here for a long weekend in February, for some classic winter birding."
"It has always rather puzzled me that when it comes to music, Israel is in Europe – they have even won the Eurovision Song Contest! But what about when it comes to birds?" . A letter to Points of View praised the ending of this episode, where the sound and spectacle of thousands of cranes flying in to roost for the night, replaces the usual end credits and music. "Now and again you get something you could not possibly plan for, you couldn't even hope for. I have just arrived here and it was absolutely bucketing down. Literally this very second the clouds have parted, there's a rainbow – isn't that incredible! That is a once in a lifetime experience. I promise you, this is one of the great sights – and sounds – of the bird world. No words, no music, just enjoy it!"
"It is spring, and the island (Majorca) is packed with birds. There's residents, birds that come here to breed, but best of all its migration time. The thing I really love about this time of year is that there are so many birds on the move."
