iPlayer Radio What's New?
Speaker icon LISTEN
Show more Show less
ON NOW : Woman's Hour
Civil Partnerships; Men and Childcare; Snooping on a Partner

Woman's Hour Is snooping on your partner ever acceptable? The female perspective with Jane Garvey.

Saving Species

Image for Episode 18

Listen now 28 mins

Listen in pop-out player

Episode 18

Saving Species, Series 2 Episode 18 of 30

Duration:
28 minutes
First broadcast:
Tuesday 20 September 2011

18/30 The Spectacled Eider duck is extraordinary. As our American collaborator said "this is no regular duck"! The whole of the global population winter on the ice in the Bering Sea - a sight few people have seen, but as you can see from the photograph is as spectacular as seeing hundreds and thousands of penguins on ice. And of course this is the Arctic where seeing mass aggregations of birds on ice is not common at all. With reported 96% decline in the population that breeds in Alaska, the Spectacled Eider, a US endangered species, has become an important focus of conservation research. Julian Hector went to the "Slope" at 70 degrees north where some of the Alaskan population of "specs" breed. In this second report Saving Species discovers why the biologists of the U.S Geological Survey are putting so much effort into tracking the males, females and juveniles of this species for several years.

Closer to home, Tessa McGregor reports from Scotland on the future of the Slender Scotch Burnet Moth.

And we have Right Whales in the show, encountered off Cape Cod and a report on the work in the Atlantic trying to accurately assess their numbers, individuals and movements.

Presented by Brett Westwood
Produced by Sheena Duncan
Editor Julian Hector.

  • The Open University – iSpot

    Do you know what life there is in your garden? Share your nature observations with others on iSpot.

    iSpot

  • The Open University - “Museum of the Dead”

    The Open University - “Museum of the Dead”

    Visit a potential future with species that slipped into the Museum of the Dead.

    What would the world be like without Beavers or Gorillas?

  • The Open University - Conservation Stories

    Listen to experts in the field

  • The Open University - Academic Insight

    Uncover the big issues affecting species

  • Zoo vets in their field hospital in the Colville Delta.

    Zoo vets in their field hospital in the Colville Delta.

    Zoo vets, Maria Spriggs of (left) of Meskerpark Zoo and Gwen Myers of Columbus Zoo in their field hospital in the Colville Delta.

    Image by Julian Hector/BBC

  • Oil exploitation on the North Slope of Alaska. Picture taken from the Colville Delta.

    Oil exploitation on the North Slope of Alaska. Picture taken from the Colville Delta.

    Oil exploitation on the North Slope of Alaska. Picture taken from the Colville Delta.

    Image by Julian Hector/BBC

  • A Red-Neck Loon parent noisily tries to encourage her two chicks to fledge

    A Red-Neck Loon parent noisily tries to encourage her two chicks to fledge

    A Red-Neck Loon parent noisily tries to encourage her two chicks to fledge.

    Image by Julian Hector/BBC

Broadcasts

The Open University

Open University logo

Get closer to the species with The Open University

Free download

  1. Image for Best of Natural History Radio

    Best of Natural History Radio

    The BBC Natural History Unit produces a wide range of programmes that aim to immerse a listener in...

BBC © 2013 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.