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Massive Mudflats - photos from the air, Western Australia

January 7, 2014, 11:04 am
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Here's a few photos I took of the vast mudflats on a recent flight over Broome and Derby in Western Australia. To read about the process I use to photograph through a plane window, and to see some of my other aerial images please click here. Thanks, Paul.

The coast that wraps around the towns of Broome and Derby in Western Australia has one of the highest tidal ranges in the world. In addition to the powering action of the moons gravity, the tide here is also hugely influenced by the shape of the coast and by the particularly shallow north-west continental shelf. As water is pushed in from deeper offshore (attracted by the pull of the moon), it's squeezed over the shallow continental shelf. This increase in pressure causes the currents to increase and these force the water further and faster towards the shore. In Broome tides can reach as high as 9 metres but the effect of 'continental shelf squeezing' is even more pronounced around Derby...

Mudflats South of Broome, photo from a plane, Paul Williams

Mudflats South of Broome, photo from a plane, Paul Williams

Derby is located on the south coast of King sound, a 120km long channel of shallow continental shelf. Here the water is constrained on both sides and as it's squeezed into the channel it's forced up the sound at speeds of up to 20cms per second, resulting in tides as high as 11.8 metres (the highest occur in the Bay of Fundy, Canada, where tides can be as high as 15 metres.) When the tides retreat they expose a vast area of mudflats, home to a unique intertidal ecosystem and a feeding ground for millions of birds.

Derby is located on the southern coast of King Sound, NASA World Wind Programme 

Derby mudflats, Paul Williams

Road across the mudflats at Derby, Paul Williams



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Meet the cute & wonderful cast of BBC #WildBrazil - An Intimate Trilogy

January 14, 2014, 5:22 am
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I've been fortunate to spend a good amount of time filming in Brazil and I know how wonderful, diverse and abundant the wildlife is there, which is why I am particularly excited about this weeks Natural History trilogy on BBC2. In a year when all eyes will be turned to Brazil for the football world cup, Wild Brazil promises to give us a tantalising taste of life in the wild of this spectacular country.


The team only had 18 months to produce a 3 part series about a country which is larger than the whole of Europe, and ranges from the vast Amazon rainforest in the north, to the Cerado savannah and the Pantanal - the worlds largest wetland. "There's no way you can show a country like Brazil in just 3 hours," Adam White, series producer, told me "but what we can do is give you a fabulous insight into one of the most spectacular countries on earth." "It's a little like being a tourist, you can either spend a few days in each place, always on the move, or you can spend your whole time staying with one family, and really get a flavour of Brazilian life. That's what we did, only the families in question were animals.".

The series follows three charismatic animal families; capuchin monkeys, giant otters and coatis, as they strive to raise their families against a backdrop of extraordinary landscapes and huge extremes of weather - a beautiful yet dangerous world full of jaguars and caimans.

The seasonally flooded Pantanal wetland (Photo: Paul Williams)

"This was one of the first countries to stop hunting animals for fur back in the 70s. That means that much of the wildlife is incredibly tame - even the jaguars!  So we could get comfortably close to film some incredible and intimate stories."

Chocolate - The Cutest Tufted Capuchin

(Image courtesy of Wild Brazil/BBC)

"Soon after we arrived on location, one particular monkey caught our attention. He was just a few months old, and he had been named Chocolate by zoologist Camila Coelho (she is to these capuchins what Dian Fossey was to the gorillas). For the next year, we followed the whole group, but always kept a close eye on Chocolate as he grew up. Watching him grow up, take his first steps and learn from the rest of the troop how to be a clever monkey was one of the highlights of this series."


The Baby Giant Otter

(Image courtesy of Wild Brazil/BBC)

More than any animal filmed for Wild Brazil, giant otters lives are affected most by season and water levels. Predicting where and when they would give birth was a huge challenge. All the more remarkable then that the crew managed to film the moment when a new born kit was taken outside for the very first time. “These otter families are trying to bring up their babies in the roughest neighbourhood possible,” says Adam. “How can a baby otter learn to swim when the banks are patrolled by jaguars and the swimming pool is filled with caiman?” The otter’s only defence is to adopt a gang culture. “Otters have the power of family, that’s why they’re so big and that’s why there are so many of them. It’s a thing we can all relate to – the power of the family united against a common threat.”



(Image courtesy of Wild Brazil/BBC)
(Image courtesy of Wild Brazil/BBC)

The Curious Coati

"Having located a group of coatis the challenge was to keep them close and find the right moments to film. A Pantaneiro cowboy was sent ahead of the crew to spend several weeks with the coatis, so they would grow used to a human presence. Cameraman Barrie Britton then spent months following the group, watching them from a distance before eventually filming some remarkably intimate moments."

(Image courtesy of Wild Brazil/BBC)





The Jaguar Face-off

(Image courtesy of Wild Brazil/BBC)

"We spent more than nine weeks trying to film Jaguar in the Pantanal, and scanned an estimated 10,000 miles of riverbank in search of them. Here they are the biggest of all and they specialise in hunting caiman, killing them by piercing the skull with one of the most powerful bites in the animal kingdom. We filmed tender moments between these cats, including privileged views of cubs as well as courting and mating, but one of the highlights is when a group of otters has a face off with a jaguar."



Jaguar in the shade (Photo: Paul Williams)
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#HiddenKingdoms - Wildlife cute fest & family fun on #BBCOne

January 16, 2014, 8:32 am
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A real Natural History landmark event happens TONIGHT (8pm BBC One) 'Hidden Kingdoms'. 

If BBC's 'Planet Earth' were to be fused with Pixar's 'Bugs Life' then this show is something akin to what would be created. It's an epic, cinematic and honestly-upfront recreation of the real life dramas of a select bunch of the cutest critters in nature, accompanied by the animated tones of Stephen Fry. It's completely loveable, funny and endearing, with everything from a few scary Harry-Potter-type moments to loveable lol-catz moments that'll make you chuckle and coo at the sheer cuteness.



This show is upfront about the whole filming process, there's no pretence - this is an animal drama based on real life behaviour and events. 

"We feel this is an interpretation of the world these animals live in," Mike Gunton, Executive Producer, said. "Audiences do understand that these are films," he added. "You don't turn up, press a button, film for 50 minutes then turn off. They understand editing happens, compression of time and highlights." 

Just check out the website, packed with behind the scenes interviews and DIY guides to creating the magic. 

Hidden Kingdoms is a perfect Christmas family watch, so its a-shame that it's missed the merry season by a few weeks, but it'll surely be a cracking start to another awesome year of wildlife on the BBC.

Episode 2: Chipmunk and Owl, Composite image created for the first episode of Hidden Kingdoms BBC

Episode 2: Tree shrew and python. Composite image created for the first episode of Hidden Kingdoms BBC

Episode 1: Elephant Shrew

The show was inspired by the adorable elephant shrew sequence in 'Life', and you'll be pleased to know that in 'Hidden Kingdoms' our rodent hero returns. Known by its African name of 'sengi', this is a creature that spends its whole life on the run. Unlike most small mammals, it doesn’t have a burrow to shelter in, but instead constantly races through the miniature jungle of the savannah grasslands. The sengi must survive in the world literally beneath the feet of some of the largest and most deadly animals on Earth. The sengi’s answer is to rely on its incredible speed and some remarkable trail-building skills. A sengi constructs a meticulously maintained network of tiny trackways through the undergrowth, using them to race through its territory in search of food, and evade even the fastest predators. But while these trails are the source of a sengi’s strength, they are also its greatest weakness - the racetrack is a prison: without it, the sengi cannot survive in the dense undergrowth.

Episode 1: Shrew and Elephant. Composite image created for the first episode of Hidden Kingdoms BBC

Episode 1: Shrew and monitor lizard. Composite image created for the first episode of Hidden Kingdoms BBC

Episode 1: Grasshopper Mouse

Another adorable animal that stars in episode one is the tiny grasshopper mouse, a fearsome fidgety creature constantly hopping about and capable of disarming the desert's deadliest scorpions. It warns others of its presence like a tiny wolf, standing on hind legs, throwing back its head and howling at the moon - without doubt one of the funniest moments in wildlife TV. Its home in the Sonoran desert is not only a world of relentless heat and bleached-out sunlight, but a realm of reptiles, ruled over by a posse of pack-hunting Harris Hawks. When you are a few inches tall, the desert becomes a real life Jurassic Park. You cant help but warm to these creatures.

Episode 1: Composite image created for the first episode of Hidden Kingdoms BBC


- Paul Williams
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'Cut the Crappacino' - my photo used to help raise awareness of the ethics behind Civet Cat coffee

February 13, 2014, 11:50 am
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A few years ago I tried the curious 'cage-free' blend of Civet cat coffee when I visited a coffee farmer in India. Now one of my civet cat photos is being used as part of a campaign against the booming industry of farmed civet cat coffee in South East Asia "Cut the Crappucino"

Civet coffee, or Kopi Luwak as it’s known in Indonesia, is one of the world’s most expensive drinks, selling for up to £70 per cup - you can try some in Selfridges. It’s made from coffee beans, which have been partially digested by Civet cats, small mammals that look like a cross between a weasel and a cat. Their digestive enzymes denature the beans and alter the final taste, which according to coffee experts, gives the coffee its uniquely smooth and rich flavour. But is it cruel or unethical?

Civet Cat by Paul Williams

The Ethical Blend
In a small village close to Bangalore in South India I met Ganesh, a coffee farmer, locally famous for his special brew. Every December his estate is visited by a hoard of tiny palm civets who come for the succulent red coffee fruits, selectively picking the ripest and sweetest, wolfing them down during the night. While the damage is minimal many crop producers might go to the extreme to protect their livelihood from such an invasion, yet for Ganesh, a keen Wildlife watcher, it's actually a treat. Since reading an article in National Geographic about the production of Kopi Luwak in Korea he has simply just let the Civets get on with their nocturnal gorging. On occasion he even catches them in the act and just keeps his distance observing them as they stand on their hind legs to reach the best fruit. 'It's only the fruity outer layer that their interested in' He goes on to tell me how the two coffee beans at the core of each fruit are concentrated, cleaned and processed as they pass through the civets digestive tract, eventually being dumped - usually under a coffee plant for Ganesh to find in the morning. 'All I have to do is go around popping the poop into a basket for roasting later.' he says with a grin.


Palm Civet Scat by Kalyan Varma

Tasting the Crap
It's not as disgusting as it might sound. The faeces of the Palm Civet actually resembles a healthy snack bar - packed with grain and little else - solid and compact. 'very little mess' he assures me 'although my sister won't touch it with a barge pole' he says with a laugh. What usually takes Ganesh five days of processing is achieved in one night by the Civet. No wonder he likes it. He usually collects about 5 kgs in a season, enough for about 200 cups. This is a considerable amount when you consider that only 450 kgs ever reach the world market per year, almost all from the far east. It's rareity not only brings in a high market rate - £50 a cup in Selfridges, London - but it also brings a torrent of visitors to Ganeshs door. Every one keen to give it a try. He doesn't sell it but he does enjoy the reaction.

Now it's my chance to try this much prized delicacy. Ganesh has noticed that I've been suspiciously swilling the cup in my hands for a while now. 'Go ahead it's the best cup of coffee you'll ever have' he says confidently. I raise the cup to my nose and take a deep whiff. The aroma is sweet, rich, smooth, the usual biterness of coffee has been replaced with a subtle hint of chocolate. It's nothing spectacular but it is pleasant. As he gestures for me to continue I nervously purse me lips over the edge of the bone china and gulp... After a moment allowing my taste buds to recoil from the expected onslaught I find them being seduced by the flavour. It is, as it smelt - rich and smooth. To me it tastes a bit nutty. As it swirls around my mouth it enchants my palette. I'm being carried away by the flavour. But then it dawns on me...

I realise that the situation has probably heightened my senses to the subtleties of coffee - the fresh air and warm company. It's not necessarily the coffee itself. Much in the way a wine tasting workshop would focus my taste on the fruitiness of various wines, my palette is momentarily fine tuned to Kopi Luwak - no wonder it tastes so good.

It's tempting to try and hype Kopi Luwak, to describe it as a life changing experience. I now realise that if I didn't know of it's peculiar processing, and if I wasn't concentrating and willing it to provide the ultimate taste sensation, Kopi Luwak probably wouldn't even raise an eyebrow. Nether-the-less Ganesh pours me another cup which I gratefully accept.


Civet Cat Coffee (source)

The Unethical Blend
The BBC have recently carried out a special investigation into the animal welfare concerns associated with civet coffee, featuring World Society for the Protection of Animal (WSPA) wildlife expert Neil D’Cruze. The investigation reveals that, in parts of South East Asia, civets are cruelly captured from the wild, using methods that include box traps and snares. Many are sold directly to commercial civet farm owners, whilst others await their fate in noisy, bustling, wildlife markets.


Despite a long history of cage-free civet coffee – a method believed to produce the most superior tasting civet coffee – evidence suggests that the number of civet farms has increased to meet the growing global demand. A variety of different civet species are now being used to produce civet coffee, including the Binturong, which is classified as ‘vulnerable’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s red list (IUCN) and other species such as the Asian palm civet. It’s likely that farmed civet coffee production is contributing to the extinction of local populations.

What is WSPA doing?
- Urging retailers to source cage-free civet coffee and remove inhumane products from their shelves.
- Calling for the introduction of an accredited certification scheme as a standard for humane cage-free coffee.
- Calling on governments of civet-coffee-producing countries to take steps towards ending caged production.

What can you do?
- Read the BBC report.
- Don’t buy civet coffee unless you can guarantee it is from a 100% cage-free source.
- Learn more about civets by reading One minute to get up to speed on civets.
- Find out how to be an animal-friendly traveller.


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Dirty cars get the most beautiful frost feathers

March 4, 2014, 5:54 am
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Words by Angela Brennan, photos by Paul Williams

A film maker has captured beautiful shots of frost feathers on a car window - which probably formed thanks to DIRT. Paul Williams, 34, took the image on a parked car on a frosty morning in his hometown of Bristol. Scientists believe crystal feathers tend to form more easily on dirty windshields and are more likely to create bigger patterns.


Paul, a wildlife film maker with the BBC natural history unit, took the photos with his mobile phone while heading to work. He said: “Beautiful patterns in nature always grab my attention and as I walked down the street the car was glinting as if coated in jewels."

“I knew that I didn't have long, my train was due and the sun was starting to melt the intricate frost feathers. It may have been something peculiar to this car, as I didn’t spot any other with these feathers. It could be because the car was dirty, seems to help crystal patterns develop." So, it seems that people who keep their cars clean are less likely to get such beautiful patterns.


James Nevell, a science and engineering tutor at the University of West of England’s International College, said dirt tended to enable crystals to form more slowly - creating bigger, more elaborate patterns.

He said: “If a car is clean, it’s harder for crystals to form and when they do it tends to need to be colder. This means it’s a quicker process and patterns tend to be more uniform. But the patterns on this car are large and bold. I would expect it is because the windscreen was dirty, which gave the molecules something to latch onto. This gave more opportunity for seed crystals to form early in the night, when the temperature is milder, so growth could take place over a longer time. It seems there were just a few starting points, which slowly spread outwards as the temperature cooled, to form this beautiful pattern.”




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16 of our closest animal relatives! In celebration of #MonkeyPlanet on BBC One

April 1, 2014, 2:01 am
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He's best known for his love of creepy-crawlies, but this week 'cuddly' George McGavin returns to our screens in search of primates, in three-part documentary series Monkey Planet. “The series is a celebration of the animal group to which we belong” says George.

George McGavin in Japan

George and the Monkey Planet team visited 11 countries from Borneo to Ethiopia and Japan to film a diverse range of species in their natural habitats, but sometimes just finding them proved to be the biggest challenge. “It’s very rare you turn up and things just happen, we spent a lot of time tracking the animals down and some are hellish to film – they’re so quick. At other times, we couldn’t find them at all. One frustrating day we waited seven hours. We’d planted honey in a tree log and were trying to lure in a chimpanzee, but he never came. To top it off we got drenched in a torrential shower.”


"Primates are intelligent and resourceful animals but many species are threatened from hunting and habitat loss. I can only hope that we have the intelligence to see that they are an important part of the planet's biodiversity and have the resourcefulness to make sure that they survive.”

Two of the most surprising moments come when George gets up close and personal with Siswi, an orang-utan who uses soap to improve her personal hygiene, and when he meets a bonobo in America who can order his own picnic on a smart phone and toast marshmallows in a fire that he makes himself.

To celebrate this new TV series I've put together a collection of some of my own primate images. We are part of a remarkable family and George and Monkey Planet will show you why.


 Male Proboscis monkey, Borneo (Photo: Paul Williams) The monkey is also known as orang belanda which means "Dutchman" in Malay, as Indonesians remarked that the Dutch colonisers often had similarly large bellies and noses.
Female proboscis monkey with child, Borneo (Photo: Paul Williams)
 Black Howler Monkey, Brazil (Photo: Paul Williams)
Bonnet Macaques, Hampi, India. At the ancient temples of Hampi my camera was drawing constant attention from the macaques who tried to grab it. I noticed this scene in a corner where two mothers were feeding their young, I thought it the perfect scene, placing the monkeys in their temple environment. (Photo: Paul Williams)
Spectral Tarsiers in a tree, Northern Sulawesi. Resembling a cross between a gremlin and a tiny koala, the spectral tarsier emerges before dusk and spends the night jumping from tree to tree on the hunt for food. The local guides in Tangkoko nature reserve, assured me that this tree was home to a family of tarsiers. We arrived before dawn and waited - not long after it started to get light the tarsiers returned from a night of hunting. I was able to get this shot before they headed inside the tree to sleep.  (Photo: Paul Williams)
Japanese Macaque, Japan (Photo: Paul Williams)
Young Japanese Macaque, Japan (Photo: Paul Williams)
Rescued Javan Slow Loris in a holding cage, Jakarta, Indonesia. This slow loris had just been rescued from illegal trade in Jakarta. I could see despair in his eyes but I knew that he would soon be released back to the wild. (Photo: Paul Williams)
Red leaf monkey, Danum Valley, Borneo (Photo: Paul Williams). It was a momentary hug and the cheeky little monkey stuck out his tongue at just the right time for me to get the shot.

Lion-tailed macaque sitting on a roof, South India. (Photo: Paul Williams)
Lion-tailed macaques grooming on a specially built bridge. These bamboo bridges connect fragmented forest near a village in the Malnad region of Shimoga district, South India. (Photo: Paul Williams).
Dusky Leaf Monkey, Ipoh, Malaysia (Photo: Paul Williams)
 Long-Tailed Macaque with a young baby, Borneo (Photo: Paul Williams)
Long Tailed Macaque, Borneo (Photo: Paul Williams)
I was visiting Danum Valley in Boneo when I saw this pig tailed macaque from my car. I stopped and watched as, oblivious to my presence, it carefully picked at the fig fruit it was holding. (Photo: Paul Williams)
Hanuman Langur, Western Ghats, India (Photo: Paul Williams)
 Hanuman Langurs, Sri Lanka (Photo: Paul Williams)
The Sumatran orangutan is endemic to the island of Sumatra, Indonesia where its population has decreased by 86% over the past 100 years. The most recent estimate (Wich et al, 2008) is that less than 6624 Sumatran orangutan still survive in the wild - this is decreasing every year. The loss of forest cover is the main cause of this decline. Between 1985 and 1997 61% of the forest in Sumatra was lost due to logging, infrastructure development, internal migration, and plantation development. The Sumatran orangutan is critically endangered and is listed as one of the twenty-five most endangered primates in the world (IUCN, 2006). (Photo: Paul Williams)
Orangutan and child, Bukit Luwang, Sumatra (Photo: Paul Williams)
Male crested black macaque at an old camp fire, Tangkoko, Sulawesi (Photo: Paul Williams)
Female crested black macaque with a child, Tangkoko, Sulawesi (Photo: Paul Williams)
Lar Gibbon, Sumatra (Photo: Paul Williams)
Silver Leaf Monkey, Bako NP, Borneo (Photo: Paul Williams)
Human, Cambodia (Photo: Paul Williams)
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'Secret Iranian base' photographed from a plane window?

April 6, 2014, 4:46 am
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Many of my images of the Kavir salt Desert, in North Iran, look like sliced onions, giant eyes or the stripes of Jupiter when seen through a telescope. Most of these features were formed by the erosion of salt domes rising to the surface - the remnants of an ancient sea. There's little to suggest human activity other than a road which dissects the striking patterns of a salt dome in one of my photos. However one image really caught my eye. It shows some sort of man-made installation in the Iranian desert, far from anywhere. Possibly a military base. Could it be one of the mock-bases used for covert training in 2012 while 'Iran prepared for War', as mentioned in this article, or could it just be some sort of irrigation system?

I've found the GPS coordinates for most of my aerial photos on Google Earth, and based on the geology and the route my plane was taking I believe that this 'secret base' is at GPS coordinates 34.935538, 54.436137. Go to this spot on Google Earth it is hidden under a small patch of cloud. Go closer, and there is still no sign at all of the base - either it wasn't built at the time the satellite images were captured (Google Maps say that these images are recently sourced from Digital Globe and Astridium), or it's purposely been removed. Whatever the story, I find it fascinating to see the Earth from above and understand both the natural and human made features that adorn out planet.

For more of my 'planescapes' please visit my photography website: www.IronAmmonitePhotography.com

My aerial photograph taken through a plane window. The 'base' is clearer visible.
 The Kavir salt desert showing the location of the base (Image: Nasa)
 The base covered by a small patch of cloud (Image: Google Earth)
Closer still, and no sign at all of the base (Image: Google Earth)


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How to make deer laugh! Ever faced a tough crowd of cud-chewers?

May 4, 2014, 2:55 am
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I visited Ashton Court to entertain a tough crowd of cud-chewing red deer... 


All they wanted to do was chew grass...



and pick at sparse leaves from a nearby tree...



Some were a little grumpy looking...



others were dozing..


But there was some interest in what I had to offer...


I started with an old favourite... 
"What do you call a deer with no eyes?"


"I have no I-Deer"


For a moment, I thought I'd won them over...


But there was a herd-wide groan...


"OK, ok, how about this one"...


"What do you call a deer with no eyes and no legs?"
"Still no eye-deer."

It got a chuckle...


They were cracking.

"OK, if this next one doesn't make you laugh I don't know what will..."


The herd prepared themselves...


"What do you get when you cross Bambi with a ghost?"


"Bamboo!"

Bucks and does burst into laughter...


"and finally... what does a deer do when he needs a new tail?"
"He goes to the re-tail shop..."


The herd was won over but I had to leave, it was looking like Reindeer!

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How does Suarez stack up against other South American animals?

June 27, 2014, 2:57 pm
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Suarez is just a putty tat! 
But how does he stack up against other South American animals?


Uruguay striker Luis Suarez has been suspended from all football-related activity for four months for biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini, but he's just a putty tat when compared to South America's biggest cat - the Jaguar.


Jaguar - Strongest bite of all cats

Strongest bite of all cats - twice the power of a lion. 
They can pierce turtle shells or kill by crushing a skull. 

"It’s one of the few times that I’ve looked an animal in the eye knowing that I was the prey."


Why go to Brazil to watch football when you can watch a real match... just keep your distance!

The tourists went far too close for comfort. 
Jaguar means ‘he who kills in one leap’. 

As well as tourists Jaguar also eat... 
other animals with bigger bites than Suarez...

Caiman crocodiles
There's 10 million in the Pantanal

 They like to eat giant catfish

and their incredible bite makes short work of giant snails

... and baby Capybara
Capybara are the largest rodent in the world
Even the babies are as big as a pig


They have a good pair of gnashers - but they mostly use them for chomping grass

They spend much of their time in the water to escape the jaguar...

so too does the Giant Otter
They like to play in the water

But when they get out they don't like crocodiles on their patch

They also have a good pair of teeth

Perfect for crunching fish.

Meanwhile... Suarez is just a muzzled football player.


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A match made in Brazil - Cheeky bird hitches free ride & meal on back of giant rodent

June 28, 2014, 12:37 am
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Capybara and Cattle Tyrant - a match made in Brazil
Words by Angela Brennan. As published in various media June 2014 (Guardian)

A CHEEKY bird hitching a ride and free meal on the back of a giant rodent has been captured by a wildlife photographer. Paul Williams, 34, caught the Cattle Tyrant on the back of a pig-sized capybara, the largest rodent in the world.

As the name suggests, the Cattle Tyrants sometimes perch on the backs of cattle and horses to catch insects flushed by the livestock. But this cheeky bird was also snapped feasting on the semi aquatic mammal’s fur - possibly for ticks.


The giant rodent disturbed insects as it grazed on grass, which were then quickly snapped up by the somersaulting bird.

Paul, who works for the BBC Natural History Unit, said: “It was quite funny to see this little bird riding on top of this massive rodent. It was as if the bird was commanding it to march on, and whispering directions in it’s ear”

“He looked quite happy hitching a free ride and getting a meal. He ate from the capybara’s fur then snapped up any insects the rodent disturbed while eating amongst the grass and water hyacinth.” 

“You could see the bird jumping up in the air and doing somersaults to catch the insects. I thought that it was quite a sight, but judging by the capybara’s expression he didn’t agree”

“This sort of relationship is quite a common occurrence and several species of birds increase their feeding rate by associating with capybara or other large mammals.”



Capybaras are closely related to guinea pigs but weigh in at around 55 kg and grow up to a metre long. They live in grassy wetland areas or close to rivers and can gather in herds of hundreds. They carry out most of their activities on land, using water as a refuge to cool down and to escape their main predator the jaguar. But even in the water they arn’t safe, with 10 million Caiman eager to make a meal of a young Capybara. These giant rodents are also eaten by humans, and some South American Catholics allow themselves to eat salted capybara meat during Lent, because they are aquatic animals.  

Paul, from Bristol, travels across the world to film wildlife. He said the Pantanal in Brazil, where he took the shots, was probably one of the best places to see wildlife in Brazil, and South America. The whole wetland is almost as big as the United Kingdom and spreads more than 195,000 square kilometres across Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay. Like the Capybara and jaguar many of the animals and plants are giants, including the jabiru bird, giant otters and water lilies.

Paul's images can be seen on his website www.IronAmmonitePhotography.com






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11 Tips for making a 1 minute #EdenShort - get your film on TV

July 31, 2014, 11:42 pm
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Eden Shorts is looking for your one minute films that display a wonder of the natural world – the judges will be looking for quality in filming technique and editing, thoughtful communication and relevant subject matter. The very best will be shown on Eden. Submissions will be accepted from now until 26th September - so get cracking!

For Eden Channel I've put together 
11 of my top tips for Wildlife Filmmaking

1. What’s the point? 

One minute isn’t long so keep it simple - what is the point of your film? Watch TV adverts to get an inspiration for style and how a story can be told in 60 seconds. Don’t get embroiled in a complex introduction. Grab the viewers attention from the start and quickly get into the action and the story. 

Think about who or what your character is. Whether it’s a tree, a badger or a mountain - why should we care? Maybe your film is a beautiful emotive piece reflecting on a natural spectacle or event - try and build to a climax. Maybe its an extraordinary moment in an animals life - a bird fledging? What will make people remember it? Lead with the pictures. Try telling the story without music and commentary, and then add these to help heighten emotion and add insight.


2. Animals don’t follow scripts

Be flexible - don’t get so caught up in your shot-list and storyboard that you ignore the magic happening in front of you. Always be prepared to grab your camera and start rolling in case something extraordinary happens. If your camera is out of reach use your mobile phone.


3. Know the location

When arriving at a location become familiar with the lay of the land and the possible vantage points. Where will the sun set and rise? I’ve found the following mobile apps particularly useful when planning a days filming : Photopills, Sun Seeker and Starwalk.

Ensuring that you have a full picture of the possibilities in your mind will allow you to respond to the unpredictabilities of filming wildlife, and will help you to think of backup plans. What can you do when it rains, what happens if your subject suddenly disappears - is there another?


4. Rise early and get the best light

In the summer the sun is high and light can be harsh by 9am. This may be the look that you want, but I like to be out on location well before sunrise and after sunset - when the glowing orange light creates a warmer, softer image and long shadows add interesting texture. Many animals follow a similar routine, they find the middle of the day a little too hot and don’t do very much. Usually early morning is the best time to see and film wildlife.


You may not have any control of lighting but think about how it impacts your image. Front lighting can bring out the colors and details, but it eliminates shadows making the scene appear flat. Backlighting is more dramatic and helps draw attention to features like a foxes ears or dust being kicked up by a bird. I prefer a subject to be side lit as this subtly brings out features, but makes the subject appear bolder, and the long shadows highlight texture within the subject and the landscape. Try to keep the lighting consistent within a sequence.

5. Wait and watch 

As a wildlife filmmaker the number one thing you need is patience. The truth is that most of the time wildlife is boring. Animals don’t do much and many hide away during the day. 


Research is key. Work with experts, people who follow and observe the animals on a regular basis. This will fast track you to a deeper understanding of your subject.

Animals have individual personalities and only by spending time observing them can you start to understand their behaviour. I have a fox family in my garden and by spending many hours in a hide I’m able to learn who the individual characters are and what they might do. Often an animal will have a tell tale sign that it’s about to do something, learn what that is and be ready to respond. In wildlife filmmaking, you increase your luck by putting in the time.

6. Get into the animals world

If filming a small animal like a frog or hedgehog get down at its level. The animal will look bigger, your film will be more immersive and by keeping low you will appear less threatening so the animal will behave more naturally. If you’re filming a bird try to get up into its world. I was filming falcon chicks recently and I used a 75ft tall cherry picker to get level with the nest. The platform was a little wobbly but it was the only way to film chicks in the nest and get a sense of their world.


7. ...but keep your distance

As wildlife filmmakers we are there to document natural behaviour and not to direct it. Keep a distance that’s safe for you but also non-intrusive to the animal. If you can keep quiet and out of sight you are more likely to see natural behaviour. Consider using remote cameras or camera traps - many of these have an infrared function for night filming.


For the series ‘Secrets of our Living Planet’ I wanted to film grizzly bears feeding on salmon within the enclosed confines of a forest. I was attaching a remote camera to a tree, when I heard a rustle behind me. I turned around to see a large female bear less than 10 metres away, she was certainly surprised. My training taught me that the best way to respond is to keep calm and talk to the bear. I said ‘Hey bear... sorry for trespassing on your forest’. Thankfully, the bear understood my British accent and headed back to the river. I switched the camera on and we got out of there returning several days later to retrieve footage that was dangerous to film any other way.


So long as you are ethical and considerate to wildlife, and true to nature, there are no rules in wildlife filmmaking. In Eden Shorts you have 60 seconds to capture the audiences attention. Experiment with style and technique but most of all be creative.
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#Supersenses BBC2 - Prepare to be amazed!

September 2, 2014, 12:37 am
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Don't miss... 9pm BBC2

Humans have a range of senses that are truly incredible - but compared to the animal world we only see, hear and smell a tiny fraction of what is out there. There is a completely hidden world that animals across the globe can experience. In a breathtaking new series for BBC Two, biologist Patrick Aryee and physicist Dr Helen Czerski explore this world, one beyond the limits of human perception, to reveal extraordinary and surprising animal senses. 


Taking science out of the lab and to some of the most exotic locations on Earth, they conduct experiments and demonstrations with a variety of spectacular species from the animal world, including cheetahs, baboons, killer bees, elephants, owls, wolverines, giant sharks and tiny golden moles.

The first episode explores the extraordinary sense of sight in the animal world, through the spectrum of light human eyes can see – and beyond to a world they can’t. Helen and Patrick reveal how caribou - wild reindeer of Alaska - use ultraviolet light to avoid their predators; they discover how their ability to see in slow motion allows dragonflies to make a kill in the blink of a human eye, and how a snake can see in the pitch black - without using its eyes.

Patrick Aryee says: "I'm fascinated by the everyday physical world around us, and this series was a reminder of how much is out there that we cannot detect. All organisms face the problem of how to sense their world, and I was frequently surprised and delighted by the elegance and effectiveness of evolutionary solutions to that problem – and it was a lot of fun to bring a physicist's perspective to the topic of natural history."

"There were so many moments of disbelief throughout our filming, turning a camper van into a giant speaker, walking alongside a six-tonne African Elephant, being mesmerised by the unsuspecting Golden Mole and defying gravity with the power of sound. The way animals sense their environment is, more often than not, beyond our human perception, but I feel we've managed to capture a glimmer of this beautiful and alien world."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04fhp70

Episode 2: Sound


Presenters Helen Czerski and Patrick Aryee journey through the world of sound - from the deepest rumbles to the highest squeaks. Using specialised technology, they experience sounds beyond the range of our human hearing.

This episode reveals how alligators use low-pitch rumbles to make the water around them 'dance' and shows what it is like to be a bat and to 'see' with sound. Also, Helen and Patrick convert a classic camper van into a giant speaker to conduct the ultimate hearing test for a herd of elephants.

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Cute swallow chicks - Fast Food for Birds on a Wire - The story behind the shots

August 31, 2014, 12:32 am
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My swallow images were featured in the print version of the Daily Mail and MailOnline on 25th August under the headline "All together now, we demand our din-dins!" Here's some more images and the story behind the shots.


Have you noticed that the sky is full of swallows? With long, slender forked tails, black heads and red chins these seasonal visitors are a sure sign that it’s the summer. Swallows are often confused with the much larger, and completely brown swift, or the house martins which have a purely white underside.

I was visiting St Michael’s mount in Cornwall when I noticed these recently fledged chicks sitting on a wire. It was a lucky opportunity to photograph these birds feeding their young but I only had an hour before I had to catch a boat...

Technical: These images were taken with a Canon 7D using a Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM. Focal ranges are typically between 150-300mm, ISO 100, shutter speed average of 1/1000 sec. f5.6.

St Michael's Mount, Cornwall.





I was exploring St Michael’s Mount, in Cornwall, when I noticed these little chicks sat on a wire between two of the island’s buildings. They still had some downy feathers and had probably fledged from their nest just a day or two ago. The sun was bright and it was a great chance to get shots of these birds feeding their young.

The parents feed their young up to 400 times a day but passing food can take less than a second. Blink and you’ll miss it. Naturally the chicks are much better at spotting the adults coming back then I am, loudly begging and opening their mouths wide as they approach. I focussed on the chicks and as soon as I saw the tell-tale signs my finger was ready on the trigger.








August is peak season for swallows, seasonal migrants, who’ve been breeding in the UK since May. While they’re here they typically raise two broods of around four chicks each, but these will need to fatten up quick before they migrate south. In September they head for South Africa, flying as far as 600 miles a day. They make the 6000 mile journey in just a few weeks. It’s an incredible journey for a small bird, but by flying back and forth from the Northern to Southern hemisphere, they ensure that they have warm weather and a plentiful supply of insects to eat all through the year. Swallows eat as many as 800 insects a day - a natural pest control that help to keep down the number of flies.

Large flies make up to 80% of their diet but they also bring back aphids, flying ants and wasps. I watched as one chick received a wasp that was just too big to handle. It’s sibling greedily poked his head close looking for an opportunity to steal it.



Occasionally one of the parents would make a chick fly to take food on the wing - encouraging them to develop their flying skills. The only other time I saw the chicks leave the wire was when they spotted the threat of a sea gull passing close by. 

Their main predators are falcons such as the Peregrine and the African hobby. They will be particularly under threat from these fast aerial hunters when they head south.



It was a lovely experience but I had to dash to catch my boat... Later than evening I found secluded beach at Perranuthnoe where I was able to take some sunset and dusk shots of the shore with St Michael's Mount in the distance.


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Why did the Sulawesi crested macaque eat the charcoal?

September 23, 2014, 12:38 am
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Male crested black macaque at an old camp fire, Tangkoko, Sulawesi. 

In Tangkoko, Sulawesi, I was following a troop of black crested macaques when I became intrigued by a male who had separated from the main group. I followed him as he walked across the black sandy beach towards an old fire pit. He dug around inquisitively, moving the burnt out pieces of wood as if he was building a fire. Much to my surprise he then he started to chew on the charcoal. He may have been using this as a form of self medication to help relieve indigestion, a behaviour documented in colobus monkeys.
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Wonders of The Monsoon BBC2 - from The Himalayas to Australia - The Greatest Weather System on Earth

September 26, 2014, 2:04 pm
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'Wonders of The Monsoon' has finally been announced - starting on Sunday October 5th on BBC2.

This series explores the impact of The Monsoon - the greatest weather system on Earth, and how this powerful natural force influences the wildlife, the people and the landscapes between the Himalayas and Northern Australia.

For me, this marks the end of an epic adventure with an incredible team, that started in 2009 with photographers Kalyan Varma and David Heath, as we travelled around the Western Ghats of India and worked up an idea 'Chasing the Monsoon'. For the past 2 and a half years we've filmed in spectacular locations, from volcanoes to rainforests, and experienced incredible natural events, from mind-blowing storms and flocks of 80,000 budgies, to monster leeches hunting giant blue worms. It's been a true journey of discovery and revelation with some of the most talented and passionate people I've ever had the privilege to meet. We really hope that you enjoy the results! (See the clip below for a taste of the series)

We have many images to share over the next few weeks, but here's one of my favourites - a monk in the ruins of Yapahuwa temple, Sri Lanka, as a monsoon storm closes in. I'm proud that this is being used as the main series image as I feel it captures the evocative and exotic essence of this rich part of the world.


Official press release and sneak peak video...

The wildlife and cultures from the Himalayas to Northern Australia have been shaped by one of the greatest phenomena on Earth: the mighty monsoon winds. This series explores how life flourishes under the tumultuous weather system that annually transforms an enormous part of our planet, home to over half the world’s human population.

Wildlife in this region has adapted to, and depends upon the cycles of the monsoon, from the build-up before the rains, to the impact of the downpour and the devastation of the drought. This series reveals the remarkable stories of humans and animals, from insects to tigers, orang-utans, herdsmen and stock brokers, who live in the shadow of the monsoon.


Innovative filming techniques and technology capture animal behaviour and stunning storm footage as never before. Weird and wonderful creatures emerge on camera for the very first time, from blood sucking red leeches of Borneo, feeding off monster earthworms their own size, to the smallest bird of prey in the world, the Bornean falconet. The remarkable ways that animals adapt to survive the monsoon are revealed, from baby orang-utans, building umbrellas from forest leaves, to the beautiful and bizarre caterpillars in the tropical forests, who harness poison from the trees to defend themselves against predators. We discover the curious partnerships between different species as they team up to survive the extreme conditions brought about by the monsoon winds – between the chital and the langur monkeys in India and shrew and exotic pitcher plant.

The relationship between nature and the peoples of the monsoon has evolved to support some of the richest wildlife on the planet. Over thousands of years, ancient beliefs have helped people and nature to live together in the monsoon region. The series looks at these beliefs and how they have shaped the way people live today, and reveals the effect of global markets on this part of the world. The wildlife that inhabits it still depends on the humanity and passion of people; we all have a part to play in its future.

Executive producer James Honeyborne says: "Join us on a journey through the colourful and exotic lands of the monsoon. From Australia to India, lives are shaped by and lived out under the greatest weather system on our planet."

Series producer Paul Bradshaw says: “This is natural history set in the planet's most glorious and dramatic theatre - the lands of the monsoon. It's an incredibly rich mixture of extraordinary creatures, great and small, with some of the planet’s most colourful and ancient cultures, all bound together through the story of this rampaging weather system.”

Wonders Of The Monsoon was commissioned by Kim Shillinglaw in her previous role as Head of Commissioning for Science and Natural History. The executive producer is James Honeyborne and the series producer is Paul Bradshaw, both for the BBC’s Natural History Unit.

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Monster leech sucks down giant worm like spaghetti #WondersofTheMonsoon BBC2

September 29, 2014, 3:44 pm
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'Wonders of the Monsoon' starts on BBC2 5/10/14
Please Note: The leech that we filmed was 50 cms long, half a metre.
This story was first published by the Telegraph 26/Sept/2014

On Mount Kinabalu in Borneo lives the legendary Giant Red Leech - one of the biggest leeches in the world. Fortunately they don’t have a taste for blood, instead they hunt giant blue worms and suck them down like spaghetti, revealed for the very first time in our new BBC 2 series ‘Wonders of the Monsoon’.

Cameraman Richard Kirby and I travelled to Mount Kinabalu in Borneo in the hope of catching a glimpse - what we managed to film was simply gobsmacking. We joined ecologist Alim Biun who was keen to study the elusive animal.


The giant leeches are so mysterious that they don’t even have a full scientific name. “Very little is known about them, we don’t know how they hunt, or even how big they grow, because no one has researched them” said ecologist Alim Biun.

The individual we filmed was 50cms long - 1/2 a metre and the worm was even longer

Finding the species on mount Kinabalu, the biggest mountain in Borneo, was a huge challenge. But if you want to film a predator the best thing to do is to find its prey, but it took us several weeks of searching before an extremely heavy rainstorm eventually brought worms out in huge numbers. Sure enough the red leeches were not far behind. Alim and his team quickly collected specimens and moved them to an open area, where the scientists could see what was going on.

By working with Alim we were able to sufficiently light the area of forest to record the predation as it unfolded It was exciting and fascinating, as he was making his new scientific discovery, we were documenting the behaviour for the very first time.


Our extraordinary new footage reveals how the giant leech (the leech in the video is 50cms long) is able to quickly detect a worms trail, and like a sniffer dog follow it and latch on to its prey. “There are many sense organs on the bottom surface of their oral sucker and they can probably sense the chemicals and the shed cuticles of the worms.” said Leech scientist Dr Takafumi Nakano of Kyoto University

Giant blue worms, almost 70 cms long. After a heavy rainstorm they emerge in large numbers to mate... and where you find the prey, the predator isn't far behind.

The leech looks for an end to grab

Once it had latched on, the leech creepily moved its quivering lips up and down the worms iridescent blue body. It was either searching for an end to grab, or was working out whether it was too big to eat, non-the-less, when it found an end it started to suck. It was incredible. The worm tried to pull away but slowly the leeches lips inched forward until with a slurp, the worm was gone.

The worm tries to escape but the leeches lips slowly inch forward

A long way to go but the leech continues to devour the worm

Dr Nakano who has studied a much smaller relative of the Giant Kinabalu Leech said “When they eat too large or too many earthworms, they often throw up portions or whole body of the worms.” This is behaviour similar to that seen in large snakes, like the reticulated python. With poor vision the snake has no accurate way to tell how big the prey is and so they keep on swallowing until its too much - with no way to bite off a chunk they have no option but to regurgitate the prey. This is the same behaviour we saw a few times with the giant leech allowing the worm to make a quick exit.

The whole process of swallowing the worm lasted about 15 minutes and then the leech disappeared under leaf litter, coiling up to digest its meal. Dr Nakano estimates that it would take about a month for the leech to digest the worm. The result is that we can confirm the predatory behaviour of a rarely-seen and unidentified species for the first time.


When the story was reported in ifls Leech expert Dr. Mark Siddall of the American Museum of Natural History said, “I think the BBC footage is terrific and I am eagerly looking forward to the Monsoon series. I have often wanted to see this in action for myself; the only existing video (from a related species in Japan) suggests they eat earthworms sideways, which never made sense to me. Williams and his team have made an important contribution to my field. It will be interesting to see if this is indeed a new species, or if we leech taxonomists got it wrong in the past..." 

Mount Kinabalu, home of the Giant Red Leech, Borneo


The giant red leech features in episode 4 of 'Wonders of the Monsoon', to find out more about this remarkable species and how we worked with the scientists to find it, watch the episode and the behind the scenes section at the end.


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Brian Blessed reveals the meaning of Life?

September 29, 2014, 4:02 pm
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Life is an unfathomable mystery. How did it spark into being? Was the blueprint scorched onto a meteor, or did it rise up, from a bubbling soup? However it happened, a spectacular explosion, from geology to biology, had begun. And, as far as we know, it triggered a chain reaction unique in the universe...

So what's the meaning of Life Brian?...


'Surely, it's to live it!'

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Wonders of the Monsoon Gif Gallery - Top 8 gifs from episode 1

October 3, 2014, 1:37 pm
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'Wonders of the Monsoon' starts Sunday 5th October, 8pm on BBC2 
Visit the BBC webpage for exclusive clips and more
We are so excited about our series we wanted to share these gifs. 

In episode 1 'Waiting for the Rains' we have...

1. A Hurdling Frill-Necked Lizard...

2. A selfie from a Christmas Island Crab...

3. Scooby Doo Bats...

4. A Fire Devil...

5. A Happy Manta Ray

6. A close shave...

7. A Drenching Storm

8. And Epic Thunderstorms


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How a Giant Monster Leech became a global star...

October 4, 2014, 12:18 am
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From our new BBC2 series Wonders of the Monsoon, our "Monster Leech eats Giant worm" story has gone global... 



First published in The Telegraph...

Loving the comments...


Picked up by many publications and viral sites including...
io9 we come from the future



io9 also added...

BONUS: Compare the end-on technique of the Giant Red Leech with the side-bite employed by this Japanese Mountain Leech:


And this...

"Yes, the resemblance to the Serkis-slurping scene is quite strong."


And created this gif:

Buzzfeed


Huffington Post

Ifls


Backing by Scientists...

Now it's also been watched on a US news show...


and been given an 'Evil Dead' makeover.

Go Leech!
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The Frilly Wakes - Wonders of The Monsoon

October 5, 2014, 12:43 am
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All is still in the Outback...

The Sun rises over giant termite mounds... 

Clouds build...

Rain falls

...and the Frilly Wakes!


These lizards not only walk upright on their back legs,
but they can run at speeds of 15 kmph to escape predators...


 They stake a claim to a territory by firing open their neck frills
like an umbrella, to warn other males and to attract a mate...


If another lizard gets too close they run at them with their mouth agape 
as if to say “come on if you think you’re tough enough”! 


One of the inspirations for Jurassic Parks spitting dinosaur. 


 Their long tails help keep them balanced when running, 
but they also act as formidable whips for defence




I Give You The Frill-Necked Lizard Chlamydosaurus kingii
Featured in Episode 1 of Wonders of The Monsoon


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