Jonathan Bird's Blue World

Jonathan goes diving at dusk to find some rare and elusive fish that only emerge from the reef for a short time each day to spawn.

Jonathan visits the New England Aquarium as a volunteer aquarist for a day to learn what it takes to care for thousands of fish in dozens of exhibits, up to the massive 200,000 gallon Giant Ocean Tank (GOT). What he finds is an eye opener—it's not all fun and games. Maintaining an aquarium is serious work. But it does have its benefits, as Jonathan discovers while diving in the GOT and feeding the sharks.

Jonathan Bird interviewed on the Jordan Rich Show, August 24, 2008 on WBZ Radio 1030 AM Boston.

In 1998, Jonathan made a remarkable discovery about Basking sharks, the second largest fish on Earth. While diving with Basking sharks in the frigid waters of the Bay of Fundy, Jonathan saw parasitic lampreys on the backs of the sharks. This had never before been documented, so he returned the next year with a shark biologist and a lamprey biologist to attempt to recover living lampreys from the backs of Basking sharks. They didn't think Jonathan could do it. Wait until you see what happens!

Giant clams are no myth. In New England, people love clam chowder, but in the Pacific, some of the clams are as big as a suitcase! On an expedition to Micronesia, Jonathan goes in search of Giant Clams. These clams are so big that people used to think they caught people--and it almost looks like they could. It turns out that the problem is too many people eating the clams.

During World War Two, a fierce battle between American and Japanese forces on Kwajalein atoll left a trail of debris on the deep lagoon floor. This lagoon now has one of the largest collections of well-preserved aircraft in the world. As part of the first ever film crew allowed onto this secret military base, Jonathan explores a B-25, F4-U Corsair and Dauntless dive bomber still sitting on the bottom of the ocean, as if ready to take off.

What happens when a Beluga whale, normally found far north in the arctic, suddenly shows up in a Bay in Nova Scotia? What happens when she starts swimming with people and approaching boats full of tourists? This segment shows how one incredible friendly whale transformed a town, and captured the hearts of children and adults alike.

Of all the animals in the oceans, the hammerhead shark may be one of the strangest looking. The exact purpose of the wide, flat head is a mystery, but several theories abound. We travel to the shark-infested waters of the Galapagos in Ecuador to learn about the unusual habits of these sinister-looking sharks. Jonathan swims in schools of hundreds of hammerheads, and yet the sharks ignore him. What are the sharks up to?

Once the pride of the German Navy, this 700 foot long heavy cruiser was used by the U.S. as a test target for not one but two atom bombs at Bikini atoll. Today, at the bottom of the ocean, the radiation levels of the Prinz Eugen are low enough for safe exploration. Jonathan joins historian Mark Miller on a trip to explore this mysterious shipwreck. What they find about the condition of this wreck is surprising.

Manatees are the only marine mammals that eat only plants, which has earned them the title of "sea cow" but these cute and friendly animals are in trouble. Manatees like to hang out in warm rivers and springs in Florida during the cool winter months, which puts them in the same place as people with power boats. Manatees are being struck and killed by boats at an unprecedented rate, and losing their habitat to development. Jonathan journeys to Florida to investigate the situation, both underwater and above.

Dolphins are incredibly smart. They are also so good at catching food that they have a lot of extra time to goof off. They often use that spare time inventing games to play with each other. Jonathan travels to the Bahamas to learn the ways of the dolphin from a pod of wild Atlantic Spotted dolphins. He also learns to play the Bandana Game...and as it turns out, people are not very good at this game!

Thirty miles off the coast of North Carolina there is a shipwreck on the bottom, 130 feet down. Swarming around the wreck are dozens of Sand Tiger sharks. They look menacing, but they seem to be very docile. What are they all doing there, in one spot? That's what Jonathan wants to find out. Using a variety of filming techniques, Jonathan attempts to discover the secrets of the Sand Tiger shark gatherings at the wrecks...and he does a rare night dive with these sharks--talk about spooky!

The Thresher shark may very well be the strangest looking shark in the world, with a tail almost as long as its body. This shark is very rare, almost never seen by divers....until now. Using advanced diving technology, Jonathan visits a remote seamount in the Philippines where Thresher sharks show up every morning to be cleaned by small fish. Why do the sharks come to the seamount, and will Jonathan be able to get close to the sharks?

Perhaps best known for its role as the antagonist in the film Jaws, the Great White shark is probably the world's most feared animal, and easily the most fearsome of the sharks. Jonathan travels to Mexico to meet Great White sharks up close and personal. Nothing can prepare him for the sheer size of a fully grown Great White shark, and the fact that they are absolutely nothing like their reputation.

In the warm and blue waters off Hawaii, Oceanic White Tip sharks often follow behind pods of Pilot whales. For the longest time, biologists have had no idea what is going on. Are they eating the whales? Are they mooching food from the whales? In an expedition to follow the sharks and observe them, Jonathan finally figured out what is going on, and you won't believe the disgusting truth!