A pair of rival butterflies form an unlikely friendship.

Flyways follows endangered migratory shorebirds as they travel their ancient migration routes around the planet. Using nanotechnology and global tracking from the International Space Station, the project will uncover the paths of the world’s greatest, feathered endurance athletes and shine a light on the scientists and international lawyers who are collaborating to save them.

Migration is one of the great phenomena of the natural world. When it’s time to move some take to the skies or the oceans, but the migrants we know best are found in the awe-inspiring herds running across our planet.

We live on an ever-moving planet, and as landscapes are altered, wildlife must march to its rhythm. Driven by instinct, they follow the maps hardwired into their DNA. Some run, some fly, but most swim.

Half of all bird species undertake annual migrations, everything from heavy-bodied swans to delicate hummingbirds. Migration is one of the most remarkable phenomena on the planet, hosts of animals of all shapes and sizes demonstrating incredible feats of endurance.

Whales are the largest mammals in the oceans. Giants like Moby Dick inhabit the world’s oceans. But Flipper, the dolphin, also belongs to their species. Hampie, the little humpback whale, will not become as huge as Moby Dick. But at his birth he is already much larger than Flipper. When he has grown up, he has no natural enemies in the ocean. But growing up is quite stressful, Hampie can tell you about it. And no enemies? – That would be nice. But see for yourself how he lives. Get to know his family and listen to the tales from the past. Discover his living space, which is beautiful, but also full of dangers. And accompany him on his long, adventurous journey from the Pacific to the Arctic.

Beauty on the Wing: Life Story of the Monarch Butterfly is a 56-minute narrated film that unfolds along the shores of Cape Ann and in the heart of Mexico’s forested volcanic mountains. Every stage of the butterfly’s life cycle is experienced in vibrant close-up, from mating to egg to caterpillar to adult, and set against the backdrop of sea and forest, sun and wind.