00:00Hello again. I'm on a Greek island, quite a remote one, and I've come here to
00:07photograph a very beautiful bird which we're lucky here in Greece that we have
00:14I think something like 80% of the entire world's population of this particular
00:21bird and it's called the Eleonores falcon and it's a stunning falcon and they
00:28live and breed along the cliffs here and this time of year there's a they're a
00:35very specialized bird in that they lay their eggs and hatch their eggs very late
00:45on in the year to time in time with the autumn migration so that all the birds
00:54that are flying south for the winter become their prey so they have plenty of
01:00food for their young ones they can pick up lots of the small birds that are
01:06migrating that are inexperienced first-year birds that are flying south so
01:14they time their their reproductive cycle with that I can hear them calling in
01:20the distance there and I'm hoping that I will get some fly past here if not I'll
01:25have to try and find another location as you can see it is very very craggy it's
01:34quite a deep drop and I'm right on the edge
01:42so with any luck we'll get some decent shots today and I'm hoping for a bit of
01:48video as well because I'd really love for you to see these birds they're amazing
01:54anyway I'm gonna hang out here for a while really a few hours to see what I
01:59might be lucky enough to photograph in the video so hopefully I'll be bringing you
02:03that in just a second and I'll catch up with you then cheers
02:19so difficult to track video incredibly fast flyers very very agile you see them just flip in the air as
02:29they grab something
02:39a little bit of a bit you can see them and you can see them in the air as they
02:45go
02:45so
02:45you
02:45you
02:45you
02:46you
02:46you
05:42So pumped up the tyre and managed to get back to town and replace the tyre.
05:48So that was the story of this morning.
05:51So I've come back again this afternoon with the afternoon light that now you can see
05:57is quite different, falling on the rocks there where the Eleonoras are nesting.
06:04I'm still really far away and it's very quiet at the minute there's a couple that are flying
06:11out from the rocks still.
06:12So I can't hear the wind as well and I can't hear them calling like the weather this morning.
06:23So I will hang out here for a couple of hours and see what I might see and photograph.
06:33So I'll catch up with you in a while.
06:55So it's been a couple of hours since I set up here on the cliffs
07:02where I was where I was this morning hoping to get a glimpse of some more Eleonoras but the
07:10last couple of hours there's been absolutely no movement whatsoever other than a couple
07:16of very distant fly pasts.
07:20So I'm guessing that most of the action happens in the morning hours which is probably when
07:25the chicks are hungriest.
07:27So calling it quits for today and try again in the morning.
07:32So I'll see you then.
07:33Cheers for now.
07:59Good morning.
08:00It's day two here on the island and I've come back to the same spot that I was in when
08:07I
08:08came to yesterday for the Eleonoras.
08:12It's blowing a gale today which is why I'm doing this little piece to camera now.
08:16Oops, it's gone really dark.
08:20So that you might be able to hear me because as soon as I get out there I doubt that
08:27the
08:27microphone on this little camera is going to be working very well.
08:31There's been just flying above me right there now.
08:34So I'm going to have another go today at photographing them and videoing.
08:40Hopefully with a little bit more luck than I had yesterday.
08:44And yeah, I'll see what we get.
08:46So I'll hopefully be bringing you some nice pictures and video in a minute.
08:51See you in a bit.
09:17I'm having a really hard time tracking them just using the back of the monitor.
09:23I wish when shooting video of these cameras I could actually shoot through the viewfinder
09:31because shooting fast moving birds trying to look on the back of the screen and hold
09:37them in frame is next to impossible.
09:41I hope you can hear me above the wind noise by the way.
09:45But I've come slightly further along the cliff in the hope of getting closer shots.
09:55I'm not sure if it's working yet.
09:58And when they stoop to dive, the speed that they get is just phenomenal.
10:08Add to that how they change direction in a microsecond.
10:23And once they fly over the ocean as well, they're so well camouflaged.
10:28They're really difficult to pick out.
10:29And the autofocus on the camera won't pick them up when they're over the ocean
10:32because you can sense the movement of the waves and focuses on that.
10:38So focusing when they're over the sea is really hard too.
10:41But it's a lovely shot and I wish I could get it.
10:44I think this has to be one of the hardest challenges I've put myself against to video these Eleonores.
10:55Anyway, I'll carry on shooting here for a while.
11:00In the hope that they might come closer and I might get a decent shot.
11:39I want to be one of the most of the most of the most epic happens.
11:40I've been really excited, and I have to be one of the most epic and boring shots.
11:40But I don't know if I can't get into the woods.
11:41We've got a great pitch and a lot of fun, but I'm just a great point.
11:41It's very much fun because I've done a meal.
11:42And I'm happy to try it.
11:43And I've done a lot of fun with kids.
11:46I'm happy to come closer to this one,
11:47I'm happy to see that you can't do it.
11:50That's a lovely little bit.
11:51So I love to start a lot of fun.
11:57So I have to start it.
15:19Beautiful to watch though.
15:22And as for all the other birds that exist on the island, I was super lucky with the juvenile
15:28barnabinelli's on the first day, which I haven't spotted any since.
15:34I was speaking to somebody the other night and they estimate up to four pairs here.
15:41I had read that there was only two, but I haven't had any success at all in spotting any of
15:50those.
15:53I spotted one cormorant, which I can't tell without, I'll have to look at it on the computer as well,
16:00if it's the Aristoteles, the Mediterranean shag, and not just a regular cormorant.
16:09I didn't spot a single Aduin's gull, which apparently exists here as well.
16:15I did see a yellow-legged gull, all on his own.
16:19What else?
16:21A few small birds, bits and bobs, odds and ends, a redback shrike, a young one, a blue rock thrush,
16:35a few swallows, and that's about it.
16:40Not very much at all.
16:43There was a group of bees that arrived last night, I'm guessing they're on their migration
16:50south, and then stopped over here last night.
16:58So anyway, I think that's about it.
17:03So I shall try and put this video together, hopefully something decent will come of it.
17:09and hopefully you'll enjoy watching it.
17:12And until next time, thanks for watching, bye for now.
17:39Bye for now.
17:41Bye for now.
17:51Bye.
