Ok, so I’m unashamedly promoting my new show on National Geographic WILD in this post. It offers a fantastic insight into the lives of Harris’s Hawks, the Sonoran Desert and its creatures. Please see below for more details.
The National Geographic WILD TV network is debuting Aerial Assassins, hosted by James Currie on Friday, January 20, 2012. The new hour-long show delves into the Sonoran Desert to track Harris’s Hawks.
A former wildlife wrangler, Currie also hosts, Nikon’s Birding Adventures TV, the first bird-watching travel show in the US. James Currie is a native of South Africa; he has led wildlife and bird-watching tours for more than 15 years. His passion for wildlife and traveling has led him all over the world, from the Amazon to Australia and even Madagascar. Currie describes himself as a lifelong “birder,” and feels “truly blessed to be able to do what he loves.” James states, “I am so excited for the premiere of Aerial Assassins and to introduce the world to the Harris’s Hawk, a species that has become popular among birders and others over the past two decades.”
Like other well-known predators such as lions and wolves, Harris’s Hawks are also fiercely brutal and track prey in packs. James Currie will take the viewer on an adventurous journey through the desert with the hope of witnessing Harris’s Hawks hunting together. Like the aforementioned animals, the birds are unpredictable and there is no guarantee as to where and when the hawks will prey. The viewer will just have to watch and find out.
Harris’s Hawks in the Sonoran Desert by Charlie Kaiser
Aerial Assassins premieres Friday, January 20th at 10pm EST. It will re-air Saturday, January 21st at 1am EST and Friday, January 27th at 3pm EST. For a preview of the show, please see below:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1EJ5cXlvoM&list=LLAZQ1j-S2rAbXrfh4LTuBkw&feature=mh_lolz
Thanks to all the readers for their support and enjoy the show!
This was not nearly as wonderful and exciting as it might have been if the humans weren’t so involved. Captive hawks, people encouraging them on the hunt–yuck. Will not be recommending. I was excited at first because i love birds but this was a big turn off.
I am looking forward to seeing this show. I hope it will be more than the one episode with the Harris Hawks and show him birding in many areas of the country as well as outside the US.
The show looks cool, and James is a great presenter so I am looking forward to it.
I am a birder but I have some involvement with falconry in the past and I find it hard to understand the venom for it held by people like the previous commenter. These birds are only semi-captive: every time they free fly they could leave, but mostly they don’t. I have huge respect for falconry and the skills learnt and developed by this craft have been central to many endangered species recovery efforts for raptors around the world.
@Kali Bird Isis. The falconry segment is less than five minutes of a one-hour show. The rest of the show features some fascinating birds – not only Harris’s Hawks. You cannot do an honest documentary on Harris’s Hawks without depicting the important, albeit controversial, relationship that they have with humans.
Awesome! We are birders, from Phoenix, Arizona. We have experienced wonderful birding moments in the Sonoran desert. This will be wonderful! Looking forward to it.
kali…that’s what predator birds do.
It was fascinating to see them hunt….
Too much on the line of Corwin and Irwin. This is not what birding is about. Sure you might be wanted to get “dramatic” exposure but this is not for me.
I am a fan of Birding Adventures, but no longer receive the show on DirecTV. Will you be listing a schedule of National Geographic Wild birding sessions?
If I am not mistaken, to become a falconer, you don’t just “take” a bird from the wild and raise it and train it. You have to be a licensed rehabber. Is this true? Or is this something I may have misunderstood?
I always wanted to learn it first hand, but I only got as far as helping a rehabber…unfortunately she didn’t have any predator birds…only geese and ducks…although I did pick up an owl at the vet college for transfer…THAT was an awesome experience.
I thought of Irwin as well. His show and Corwin’s shows were good. I enjoyed them. But, this one is a bit over the top. Unfortunately that is the way many animals shows are now. The camera zipping back and forth, with that hand held shaking look and .5 second of shots – back and forth – back and forth – you can’t focus on anything. There’s no reason to zoom in and out on the Currie’s face while he’s talking. But, that’s the way animals shows and just about all reality shows are filmed. It would be more enjoyalbe if they would leave the camera on the bird and let us watch for more than 2 seconds before switching to another angle. Or before switching to the birder’s face for 2 seconds, then back then forth then back then forth, etc.
@Eli;s Tay: Yes, you can stay updated via our FaceBook page at http://www.facebook.com/birdingadventures
um i seen this was on but i was at work.i really want to see this.will it b available online or is it going 2 b aired again!!!
Corrina – it will air again on Nat Geo WILD on the 21st Feb at 2 PM. Enjoy.