It has been announced that NHK's popular nature program "Darwin Has Come!" (General) will be broadcasting a segment titled "Miyazaki Bureau's In-Depth Coverage! What's This!? The Mysterious Bird Falling from the Sky" on March 8th at 7:30 pm. The segment will feature the seabird, the Streaked Shearwater, which, despite being a bird, for some reason is unable to land properly. Through in-depth coverage from land, sea, and air, the mystery will be solved.
The story takes place on Biroujima, an uninhabited island in Miyazaki Prefecture. It's a small island with a circumference of just 1.5 kilometers, and every night a large bird falls from the sky. It turns out to be a seabird called a streaked shearwater. Despite being a bird, it lands clumsily, crashing into trees as it falls. Why is this happening?
A young duo from the local Miyazaki Broadcasting Station conducted an in-depth investigation. They captured the birds using their long wings to easily fly 80 kilometers out to sea during the day, then diving into the ocean to hunt spectacularly. While smart in the sea, they are clumsy on land. Behind this contrast lies the story of the parents who work hard to raise their young...
Sasaki Honami, director of the station, commented, "Our encounter with the streaked shearwater on Biroujima was sudden. Two springs ago, we were filming on the island at night for another nature program when a bird fell from a tree and crashed into us! What's more, it would approach us without being afraid of humans! And when we looked closely, we saw that it had the most adorable eyes. We wondered what kind of bird it was, and when we looked into it, we found out that it was a seabird with a unique ecology, and we felt that we absolutely had to make a program with the streaked shearwater as the main character! And after a long period of reporting that was full of difficulties, we gradually came to understand that both its clumsy movements and its graceful gliding are necessary for survival. We were greatly at the mercy of these birds, but we were encouraged by the way they made the most of their unique abilities to pass on life to the next generation."
Photographer Hatatani Kazuki said, "The main character, the streaked shearwater, is a fascinating seabird with an irresistible contrast to its appearance. Its clumsy appearance on land makes it hard to imagine that when it goes out to sea, it displays magnificent gliding and powerful hunting skills. Its ecology is very mysterious, and I was constantly amazed during my reporting. We filmed in harsh environments, such as the pitch-black night on a deserted island and on the sea with strong swells. It was a series of tough scenes for a cameraman, but I managed to follow the streaked shearwaters to the end, moved by their determination to survive. We used a variety of equipment, including high-speed cameras and drones, to capture their powerful flight, their amazing hunting, and the story of how they pass on life to the next generation. I hope you enjoy the footage, which is full of shock and discovery."
The program will be streamed simultaneously and on catch-up on NHK ONE.
