© 2026 New England Public Media

FCC public inspection files:
WGBYWFCRWNNZWNNUWNNZ-FMWNNI

For assistance accessing our public files, please contact hello@nepm.org or call 413-781-2801.
PBS, NPR and local perspective for western Mass.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Access to this video is a benefit to members

Hummingbirds: Magic in the Air

Season 28 Episode 5 | 53m 11s

Hummingbirds are the tiniest of birds, yet they are some of the toughest, most energetic creatures on the planet. Their unique flying abilities give them unmatched maneuverability, but at the cost of a supercharged metabolism that keeps them on the edge of survival. Hummingbirds spend most their lives in fast forward, but now - high speed video lets us enter their world.

Aired: 01/09/10
Major support for NATURE is provided by The Arnhold Family in memory of Henry and Clarisse Arnhold, Sue and Edgar Wachenheim III, The Fairweather Foundation, Charles Rosenblum, Kathy Chiao and Ken Hao, Sarah and Sandra Lyu in memory of Seung and Dorothy Lyu, The Lillian Goldman Charitable Trust, Dr. George Stanley and Sandra Caruso, Colin S. Edwards, Kate W. Cassidy Foundation, Filomen M. D’Agostino Foundation, Gregg Peters Monsees Foundation, Koo and Patricia Yuen, Seton J. Melvin, Sandra Atlas Bass, George D. Smith Fund, Inc., Dr. Coralyn W. Whitney Program Fund for Science and Nature, Bradley L. Goldberg Family Foundation, The Hite Foundation, Arlene and Milton D. Berkman, Paul H. Klingenstein and Kathleen R. Bole, Perpetual Kindness Foundation and Sun Hill Renewal Fund, and by Viewers Like You.
Extra
Explore the life and legacy of notable Black scholar and civil rights pioneer W.E.B. Du Bois.
Follow the Artemis mission to bring humanity back to the Moon for the first time since Apollo.
Unseen immigrant workers keep the Kentucky Derby running.
In northern Kenya, a remarkable conservation experiment is unfolding at Reteti Sanctuary.
Follow filmmaker Julie Forrest Wyman as she searches for her place in the little people community.
Appraisal: 1645 "Magni Ducatus Lithuaniae" Atlas Map
Appraisal: Toshiko Takaezu Moon Pot, ca. 1970
Appraisal: Tlingit Child's Blanket, ca. 1960
Appraisal: Chinese Imperial Silk Panel, ca. 1900
Appraisal: 2004 Edward Dwurnik "Kraków" Acrylic Cityscape
Latest Episodes
All
  • All
  • Nature Season 44
  • Nature Season 43
  • Nature Season 42
  • Nature Season 41
  • Nature Season 40
  • Nature Season 39
  • Nature Season 38
  • Nature Season 37
  • Nature Season 36
  • Nature Season 35
  • Nature Season 34
  • Nature Season 33
  • Nature Season 32
  • Nature Season 31
  • Nature Season 30
  • Nature Season 29
  • Nature Season 28
  • Nature Season 27
  • Nature Season 26
  • Nature Season 25
  • Nature Season 24
  • Nature Season 23
  • Nature Season 22
  • Nature Season 21
  • Nature Season 20
  • Nature Season 18
  • Nature Season 17
  • Nature Season 15
  • Nature Season 14
  • Nature Season 13
  • Nature Season 12
  • Nature Season 10
  • Nature Season 9
  • Nature Season 8
  • Nature Season 7
  • Nature Season 6
  • Nature Season 5
  • Nature Season 4
  • Nature Season 2
In northern Kenya, a remarkable conservation experiment is unfolding at Reteti Sanctuary.
Parenthood is the ultimate journey, full of danger.
See how jungle animal parents raise children by mastering their environment.
Ocean parents must master dedication and intelligence to raise their young.
Animal parents must overcome freshwater’s constant changes.
Animal parents must balance risk and reward to raise their young in grasslands.
Follow the complex lives of giant elephant bulls in Amboseli and Mount Kilimanjaro.
On Costa Rica’s Pacific coast, turtles and jaguars collide in unexpected ways.
Uncover the secret world of New York and London’s resilient pigeon flocks.
Follow a female mountain lion in the Montana mountains over the course of a decade.