To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Trust we had written to local media asking if they would consider putting together a feature about the Trust and its work.

In early May we were contacted by South Today, the local news programme, who asked if they could film a live broadcast from the Trust.  Several site meetings were held and a date of 10th May was agreed.  The broadcast would go live during their early evening news show at 6.30pm, and as the park would normally be quiet at that time a call went out to any members who were free, to ask if they would like to come along and be part of the audience.

Presenter Rob Johnson with Tolkien, the Milky Eagle Owl

The BBC van with its 50ft lightning conductor!

The day arrived and we were greeted by glorious sunny and very hot weather; sadly this is not always a good idea in early May and the weather forecasts predicted heavy thundery showers in the early evening.  

The film crew decided to come early and pre-film some shots of some of the flying team in case bad weather prevented a live broadcast.  A satellite broadcast van was driven into the Trust, and a 50ft mast stretched to the sky, however at the first sign of lightening this would have to be dropped to the ground immediately.

Live filming with Trust staff lurking in background to whisk birds away

Presenter Roger Johnston arrived, and a few run-throughs were held, before a dress rehearsal with all staff and birds being involved.  It was planned that there would be a 10 second intro from Roger back to the BBC with Tolkien on his fist.

BBC team with the Trust's membership rent-a-crowd

Then when they came back for the live session, there would be a brief intro with Kerry the Harris Hawk [brilliant bird – Webmaster], who would quickly exit stage left. Then after a quick chat with Ashley, they would be joined by the two vultures, Kipling and Mrs Simpson. They would then disappear off set whilst Roger talked to Andy about the Tawny Owl release programme with Chestnut on his fist.  The slot would finish with Tolkien flying back to Roger’s fist.

Ashley & Andy with Rob, relieved that the live broadcast went OK

All went to exact plan in rehearsal, with staff running around like mad behind the scenes getting birds in and out at the right times. Everyone was happy and all took a break for coffee.  However as we all sat around, the black cloud that had been way in the distance began to move ever closer and the ominous sounds of rumbles of thunder could be heard.  It was quickly decided again to pre-film the whole sequence so that if the storm set in, rather than go live they could show the pre-filmed version.

15 week old Lucy giving her first interview

Everyone took their place, the cameras began to roll, and all went to plan - apart from Mrs Simpson, who decided to take a starring role and flew right over the presenter’s head going straight towards the audience. Luckily she took a sharp right turn, swooping low over the audiences’ heads to get back to the flying ground.

The tape was quickly rushed off to the van to be edited and sent to the newsroom as there were only a few minutes before the programme went live. Everyone waited very tensely for the live countdown, looking over their shoulders and the looming storm, when it was decided we were going on air.

Watch the broadcast - 3m 22s Windows .wmv

Low quality video - 1MB

Mid quality video - 3.9MB

High quality video - 8.7MB

Working with animals, it is never a good thing to do as almost always something goes wrong, so everyone sat with their fingers crossed.  The live version was great, apart from Mrs Simpson again, who decided if they were not going to use the flying shot of her from the pre-film then she would not appear in the live version at all!

The broadcast went all over the South region and has had a good response.   Much praise must go to the professional skill of the BBC team and their friendliness to all the staff and volunteers.

Also we must not forget Ashley who has discovered a new rôle in life as a film director, and we are busy looking for a clapperboard and director’s chair to match his new found position.