The BBC Natural History Unit produces a wide range of programmes that aim to immerse a listener in the wonder, surprise and importance that nature has to offer.
Episodes available:
Indefinitely 
Sun, 19 May 13
Duration:
22 mins
In traditional Chinese culture the mandarin duck is believed to bring lifelong fidelity to couples and frequently used as symbols for wedding presents or in Chinese art. Formerly abundant in their native Far East, numbers of mandarin ducks have declined due to habitat destruction (mainly logging) and over-hunting. For this Living World, presenter Chris Sperring travels to the river Dart in Devon where starting underneath the busy A38 trunk road he meets up with naturalist John Walters who has been studying a winter roost of mandarin ducks here. In mid-winter up to 100 birds can roost here but in early spring they are beginning to pair up and disperse along the river Dart. Leaving this noisy suburban area, Chris and John then head off up the river to search for pairs of these wonderful tree ducks in the Devonian landscape.
Sun, 12 May 13
Duration:
22 mins
For many the emergence of the daffodil is the real, true harbinger of spring. That flash of yellow across the countryside breathes vitality into a previously grey and dormant winter landscape. There are around 26,000 species of daffodil in the World, however Britain is home to a special collection of true wild daffodils; smaller and less showy than the more usual cultivated stock, but superbly adapted to survive in our cold wet climate. For Living World, presenter Chris Sperring joins botanist Ray Woods in search of one such daffodil, the Tenby daffodil, the National emblem of Wales. This daffodil is unique in that it is found nowhere else on the Planet except around Tenby and southwest Wales. Most often associated with places of habitation, its origins and history are now lost in history, but by the 1800's this species was abundant in hedgerow and field.
Wed, 8 May 13
Duration:
23 mins
May 5th is International Dawn Chorus day and to celebrate this worldwide event presenter Trai Anfield heads to the Coombes Valley near Leek in Staffordshire to experience the emulsion of sound of a dawn chorus there. Well before dawn, for this special Living World, Trai Anfield meets up with Jarrod Sneyd from the RSPB. Here standing in oak woodland their sense of anticipation rises as with the first shimmers of light breaking the eastern horizon, the first pipings of the thrush family begin to break the silence. Slowly and imperceptibly more birds and different species join the awakening woods, the warblers, flycatchers and redstarts are then followed by the seed eaters until, soon after sunrise, the wood is alive with nature's choral sound. Can there be any better way to celebrate the arrival of spring.
Sun, 28 Apr 13
Duration:
22 mins
One of Britain's scarcest birds is also one of its most beautiful. The flame-coloured golden pheasant is a riot of red, orange and bronze and is native to Chinese forests. The birds are popular around the world as ornamental species and over the years have been introduced on country estates. Brett Westwood joins Paul Stancliffe of the British Trust for Ornithology in search of wild golden pheasants in the conifer woods of Norfolk. Here, in spite of their bright colours, they are very elusive and behave much as they do in their native China, skulking in dense undergrowth and glimpsed only as they dash across rides. As numbers in China are in decline, do our UK pheasants have an international importance? They prefer to run rather than fly and call loudly at dusk in spring, so this visit is the best chance that Paul and Brett have to see one - a bird that's one of the toughest challenges that the countryside can offer.
Tue, 16 Apr 13
Duration:
28 mins
Paul Evans explores the human self after discovering that only one in ten cells in our bodies is human; the rest are microbial cells. So, if we're not all human, what are we? Produced by Sarah Blunt
Sun, 31 Mar 13
Duration:
14 mins
Ep 3 of 3. In the third and last programme in the series, ecologist Matthew Oates, like Thomas, ends his journey in Somerset.
Sat, 30 Mar 13
Duration:
28 mins
Ep 2 of 3. In the second programme in the series, ecologist Matthew Oates celebrates the centenary of naturalist and poet Edward Thomas’s iconic cycle ride from South London to Somerset over Easter 1913.
Fri, 29 Mar 13
Duration:
14 mins
Ep 1 of 3. Edward Thomas (1878-1917) was arguably the most accomplished and profound writer of English rural prose, with a unique poetic-prose style. Over Easter 1913, Thomas set off on a cycle ride of personal self-discovery across Southern England. This journey was published in 1914 in his book "In Pursuit of Spring" and it remains a poignant reminder of one of our greatest countryside writers, who just a few years later would die on the battlefields of World War One. Throughout the series of three programmes, naturalist Matthew Oates pursues his own personal homage to Thomas by following in the literacy cycle tracks of the Edwardian writer one hundred years before. Academic and travel writer Robert MacFarlane, an admirer of Thomas himself, will read passages from Thomas's work which illustrate the man within. Presented by Matthew Oates. Produced by Andrew Dawes.
Tue, 19 Mar 13
Duration:
28 mins
Ep 3 of 3. In Episode Three, Erica explores how insect technology can solve human design problems.
Tue, 12 Mar 13
Duration:
28 mins
Ep 2 of 3. In Episode Two, Erica asks whether we should be eating more insects.
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Each week, Jim al-Khalili invites a leading scientist to tell us about their life and work. He'll talk to Nobel laureates as well as the next generation of beautiful minds to find out what inspires…
Tue, 21 May 13
27 minutes
An in-depth look at the most significant ideas, discoveries and trends in science, from the smallest microbe to the furthest corner of space. Podcast weekly on Mondays.
Mon, 20 May 13
28 minutes
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