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Birders: The Central Park Effect (2012)
7.4/10on IMDb
Released
Jonathan Franzen is one of the New Yorkers who rearrange their schedules around migration. The variety of people who turn up for birds in the same patch of Manhattan makes this a good starting point if you'd like company on your first walk.
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The Life of Birds (1998)
8.9/10on IMDb
First aired
Start with “Signals and Songs” to see what a call or a flash of color does for a bird. David Attenborough gives you reasons to pause and watch what happens next when a sound or movement catches your attention.
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Winged Migration (2001)
7.9/10on IMDb
Released
A bird passing overhead is only one moment in a much longer journey. The cameras travel alongside migrating flocks, giving you time to pick out their formations and watch the landscapes change beneath them.
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Birders
Otilia Portillo Padua follows people on both sides of the U.S.–Mexico border as they observe and protect migrating birds. This short introduces the kind of shared work that starts when people record what they see and listen to what others have noticed.
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Sam & Ade Go Birding (2026)
9.0/10on IMDb
First aired
If you’d rather learn alongside someone new to birding, follow Adrian Edmondson as experienced birder Samuel West shows him what to look for. In the north Norfolk episode, they move from pine woods to beach and marsh. Watch how a change of habitat gives them different places to look.
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Bird Brain (2017)
Released
Watching a bird work through a puzzle changes what you look for between landings and takeoffs. In this NOVA special, researchers compare how ravens and parrots respond to tasks. The point is to watch how the bird arrives at a solution.
More about Bird Brain7
The Messenger
Su Rynard follows the researchers and advocates trying to find out why songbirds are disappearing. Its discussion of city lights and migration gives you a reason to think about the route a bird took before it showed up in the yard.
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Flyways: The Untold Journey of Migratory Shorebirds
A flock feeding on a mudflat is making a stop on a route that scientists can now follow with tiny trackers. Randall Wood's film is a good introduction to flyways and to why the places birds rest and feed can matter as much as their destinations.
More about Flyways: The Untold Journey of Migratory Shorebirds9
The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill (2003)
7.8/10on IMDb
Released
Spend an evening with the San Francisco flock that Mark Bittner comes to know bird by bird. Watch Picasso and Sophie preen one another and compare them with Connor, the lone blue-crowned conure in the flock. It’s a good introduction to watching a bird’s company as closely as its colors.
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Listers: A Glimpse Into Extreme Birdwatching
Owen and Quentin Reiser start as beginners and try to see as many species as they can in a year. Their enthusiasm is infectious, and watching them discover how other birders share sightings is the part you can bring to a much shorter trip.
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Dancing with the Birds (2019)
8.2/10on IMDb
Released
This short documentary is an invitation to look for the movements and objects that form part of a display. Some birds use color and elaborate poses. Others put as much effort into a stage as they do into what happens on it.
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The Message of the Lyrebird
Turn up the sound for this film about Australian lyrebirds. The focus on mimicry makes you listen for how a call is put together and wonder where the sounds were learned, even when you can see the individual bird producing them.
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Banded
This short documentary follows ornithologist David Russell and the volunteers who help him at an Ohio bird banding station. Their close work with individual birds shows what can be learned when a sighting becomes part of a longer record.
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Hummingbirds: Magic in the Air (2010)
8.5/10on IMDb
Released
High-speed footage makes a hummingbird's hovering and maneuvering something you can actually follow. Try this before your next chance to watch one near flowers, and give yourself time to look at both the bird and the movements between visits.
More about Hummingbirds: Magic in the Air15
Wings Over Water
Follow sandhill cranes, yellow warblers, and mallards on their way to breeding grounds. The giant-screen production makes it easy to start with familiar birds and see why prairie wetlands matter to animals that spend much of the year in different places.
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