Best of Natural History Radio Folgen

Traditional societies and the wildlife that depends on them are disappearing. Can we preserve these fragile species? Or is the pressure to develop too great in our world? This week's field report comes from Ethiopia where one of the most endangered birds in the world, the Ethiopian Bush Crow, teeters on the verge of extinction as the traditional societies they rely upon disappear. This beautiful bird needs a particular regime of grazing and scrub to survive, but the societies that provide the right habitat are fast disappearing as development and modernisation takes over. Monty Don explores, with renowned writer Jared Diamond, the value of traditional societies and what we lose when they finally vanish.

Every autumn Spurn Point National Nature Reserve is inundated with small migrating birds from continental Europe. Exhausted from their journey across the North Sea blackbirds, redwings, stonechats and other small birds make easy picking for one of the UK's most charismatic birds of prey. Also the smallest falcon in the UK, merlin are dynamic and quick - blink and you'll miss them as they dash past on the hunt. Chris Sperring meets Peter Wright, former head ranger of the Yorkshire Dales National Park and an expert in merlin having studied them in their upland breeding habitat for many years. Chris and Peter join Andy Gibson, the Outer Humber officer for the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust who shows them what attracts merlin - and other birds of prey to Spurn Point National Nature Reserve.

Climate change is causing some National parks in America to re-think their boundaries. As the earth warms many species try to move to cooler climates but national parks are rooted in one place. The Sequoia National Park in California runs mainly east-west but now plans are being formed to shift it to run north-south, allowing species that need cooler temperatures to thrive. But in an increasingly crowded world, and with climate change continuing to change the earth, can we protect our treasured areas? Monty Don explores how climate change, national parks, wildlife and people are sharing the earth.