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S31 Ep2

Magic of the Snowy Owl

Premiere: 10/24/2012 | 00:00:30 | NR

An intimate look at the snowy owl, a bird made popular by Harry Potter’s faithful companion Hedwig. Filmmakers take us deep into the owl’s tundra home on the North Slope of Alaska to observe the daily struggles involved in raising a family of helpless owlets until they are able to fly.

About the Episode

Throughout the long months of the Arctic’s frozen winter, the sun remains below the horizon. The cold is intensified by the darkness, making life difficult, if not impossible, for all but the toughest and most experienced of animals. Snowy owls are built for the challenge, their every sense and skill honed to take on the eerie, bleak world. When the brief Arctic summer approaches, bringing light back to the tundra, snowy owls embark on an even more daunting challenge than keeping themselves alive. They breed and attempt to raise young in one of the harshest environments on the planet. Once summer arrives, they will have just 82 days of sunlight to successfully raise a family of helpless owlets until they are ready and able to fly. Documenting the degree of difficulty involved in those efforts, a team of filmmakers must face some challenges of their own as they set out to record the rarely observed daily lives of a breeding pair of snowy owls.

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PRODUCTION CREDITS

NARRATED BY
CHRIS MORGAN

WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY
MATT HAMILTON
FERGUS BEELEY

PHOTOGRAPHED BY
MICHAEL MALE

ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY
NEIL RETTIG

EDITOR
TIM COOPE

MUSIC
ANNE NIKITIN

DUBBING MIXER
RICHARD LAMBERT

ONLINE EDITOR AND COLORIST
CHRIS SHORT

GRAPHICS
DRAGONFLY MEDIA

SCIENTIFIC CONSULTANT
DR EUGENE POTAPOV

SPECIAL THANKS
BARROW ARCTIC SCIENCE CONSORTIUM
DENVER HOLT
US FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE
VINCENT PICKETT AND SYLVIA GABRIEL
CAROLINE AND ZACHARIAUS KUNUK
KARLA BLOEM
MARTIN STOFFEL
BIRD TLC
INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR BIRDS OF PREY

PRODUCTION ASSISTANT
SARAH EDWARDS

PRODUCTION MANAGER
ZOE BRANDON

LINE PRODUCER
ALDO METZELAAR

UNIT MANAGER
DINAH CZEZIK-MÜLLER

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS
ANDREA GASTGEB
SABINE HOLZER

© 2012 TMFS GMBH
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

FOR NATURE

SERIES EDITOR
JANET HESS

SUPERVISING PRODUCER
JANICE YOUNG

SENIOR PRODUCER
LAURA METZGER LYNCH

ASSOCIATE PRODUCER
JAYNE JUN

BUDGET CONTROLLER
REKHA MENON

RE-RECORDING MIXER
ED CAMPBELL

ONLINE EDITOR
PATRICK KRASS

OFFLINE EDITOR
STACEY DOUGLASS MOVERLEY

SERIES PRODUCER
BILL MURPHY

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
FRED KAUFMAN

A TERRA MATER FACTUAL STUDIOS GMBH & NATURE CONSERVATION CHANNEL LTD PRODUCTION IN CO-PRODUCTION WITH THIRTEEN IN ASSOCIATION WITH WNET

THIS PROGRAM WAS PRODUCED BY THIRTEEN, WHICH IS SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ITS CONTENT

© 2012 THIRTEEN
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

WEB CREDITS

PRODUCER
KATE FULTON

ASSOCIATE PRODUCER
CHIE WITT

INTERNS
MICHAEL FEARON
JAYWON CHOE

DESIGNER
JOY WEEENG

PAGEBUILDING
BRIAN SANTALONE

TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
BRIAN LEE

CREATIVE DIRECTOR
NICK MILLER

SENIOR DIRECTOR
DANIEL B. GREENBERG

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