Could This Be The Best Wildlife Encounter I Have Ever Had?
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- čas přidán 15. 07. 2023
- Title: "Could This Be My Greatest Wildlife Experience Ever? | Unforgettable Encounters in Nature"
Description:
In this awe-inspiring episode, join me as I embark on a thrilling adventure into the most unlikely of destinations, Warton Crag. Prepare to be captivated by the mesmerising beauty, heart in my mouth and breathtaking moments that could very well be my greatest wildlife experience to date!
My journey begins early morning at the crag face, where the air is thick with anticipation at the prospect of an encounter with my childhood favourite. Armed with nothing but a camera and a sense of wonder, I delve into the rawness of a rocky crag, eager to witness the wonders of the natural world up close.
High up in the expansive skies, I witness a spectacle that leaves me breathless. A food pass between the male and female of the fastest animals on the planet, shortly followed by the soon to fledge chicks getting in on the act.
As experience draws to a close, the most unbelievable happens, the most incredible wildlife encounter ever occurs, inches from my face. Every moment captured in this video is a testament to the raw beauty, harsh reality and untamed magnificence of the natural world. Could this be the greatest wildlife experience of my life? Watch the video to join me on this exhilarating adventure and decide for yourself!
Prepare to be transported into a realm where the boundaries between humans and wildlife blur, and the wonders of nature reign supreme. Don't miss this unforgettable exploration into the wild, as we embark on a quest to discover whether this could be my greatest wildlife experience ever!
Kit used:
Nikon Z9
Nikon 500mm F4gVR
Nikon FTZ Adapter ii
Gitzo Series 5 Systematic Tripod
Gitzo Fluid Gimball Head
DJI Pocket 2
DJI Mic
GoPro Hero 11 black edition
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Great video Dan! Have never seen a peregrine in the flesh, but your stoat experience reminded me of an occasion a couple of years ago when I encountered one - it was running full pelt towards me through some dewy grass, so I crouched & racked off a few shots - when it got nearer than my lens would focus, I presumed it would see me & scurry off, but it kept coming, ran round my feet a few times, nibbled at my boots, then ran up my leg & front & perched on my shoulder, sniffing my neck!! At this point I was slightly disturbed as wasn’t sure whether it was sizing me up for a banquet & so brushed it off my shoulder. It still kept scurrying around my feet &only cleared off a couple of minutes later when a farmer &his dog came walking up!
Like your fabulous stoat experience, it was one I will never forget! Keep up the great work Dan! 😊
Wow Scott, that experience is something else entirely. What an incredible encounter, I think I would’ve froze if that happened to me 😂😂😂
Thanks for sharing and for your comment 👍🏻
Great vlog .Well done you for showing how brutal nature can be at times .People have to realize how harsh nature can be at times .
Thanks Gary, couldn’t agree with you more. Appreciate your comment and support 👍🏻
Sensational stuff Dan. Every now & then nature rewards us with a red letter day, you deserve one mate for the effort you put in 👏 Amazing to see nature doing it’s thing right in front of you & the Peregrine food pass too - no wonder you’re smiling mate! I’d be pinching myself to see if I was dreaming. Awesome stuff, well done mate truly pleased for you.
Best,
Nick
Cheers Nick, someone was definitely smiling down on me that day. Appreciate your comment and support as always mate 👍🏻
Wow, the stoat and rabbit was amazing love those stills too where stoat is looking right at you, obviously the peregrine footage and shots are awesome, what a day you had, bet you were buzzing for hours afterwards !
Thanks very much for your comment. I was buzzing afterwards it was a phenomenal experience. All the best 👍🏻
That was great filming and photographs of the stoat, awesome. I have seen them a lot as I work in the country but never managed a photograph, I’ve witnessed them drag full grown rabbits and seen a whole litter of kits bouncing along the hedgerow. Right place at right time Dan, brilliant.
Many thanks Bob, it definitely was right place right time. I’ve never photographed one before that day and only caught fleeting glimpses.
All the best
Fantastic! I have been to Leighton Moss as a teenager but haven't been to Warton Crag. I'll be visiting both in July after watching this video. Fantastic shots of the Stoat! 👍
Thanks John, Warton Crag is a real hidden gem. Hopefully the Peregrines will be nesting when you visit 👍🏻
Well Dan that's made my Sunday evening, I was about 10 years old when I collected Brooke Bond tea cards , my favourite in the set of British birds was the Peregrine, never even dreamp of seeing one living in the south of London and certainly no being able to fly them. I've been lucky to see them hunting on several occasions in the wild and also witnessed stoats making kills quite a few times, all before I had a camera, as usual another brilliant video and presentation, keep them coming from a happy old man 😊
Thanks Derek for sharing your memories, I think most of us have childhood memories of being amazed by Peregrines and being mesmerised by their speed. It’s certainly what got me into wildlife photography. Thanks for your comment and continued support, all the best 👍🏻
Great video Dan, the Stoat kill is nature at its most brutal. Many wildlife photographers will never see this so thanks for putting this out.
Thanks mate, really appreciate it. It was an awesome experience, I’m glad you appreciated it 👍🏻
Got to be one of if not the best videos you've done Dan smiled throughout it all mate for you Absolutely brilliant for you that stoat and the peregrines fantastic mate loved it
Cheers Sonny, that’s an awesome comment to read. Thanks very much mate 👍🏻
So pleased that you had a great experience and shared it with us. I have been trying for that food pass shot for over four years and whilst I have seen it at a distance I have never managed to get a decent photograph of it . All of my peregrine photography has been on urban buildings so it refreshing to see the behaviours out in the countryside.
The stoat behaviour images were wonderful - nature is what it is , and lion kills in the Mara are just the same thing. As the lyrics in the Lion King musical say it’s the ‘circle of life.’
Yes, you are right, the adults bring in prey and then try to entice the youngsters to come and get it from the adult. The food pass is an important aspect of the peregrine behaviour as they also use the food pass during courting behaviour and also when they re-establish bonds once they have become a pair.
Thanks for sharing .
Thanks very much for your comment and information about the Peregrines, it was absolutely amazing to see them and in particular successfully rearing chicks. Another viewer of the video is local to the crag and has confirmed that the two chicks have successfully fledged and that this was the first time that they had successfully reared chicks which is fantastic news.
Really appreciate your comment, all the best 👍🏻
Don't know when you were at Warton Crag...I live very close and have been keeping an eye on them since April. This is the first time they've successfully bred for 3 years. They had two chicks and they have indeed fledged! as you thought.
Hopefully they'll nest and successfully breed again next year!
A great video Dan thanks for sharing , cheers Alistair 👍
Thanks for your comment and local knowledge, it’s good to hear that they’ve been successful this year and hopefully this will be the start of a successful partnership that rears many more chicks. They were an absolute pleasure to watch.
All the best Alistair 👍🏻
Brilliant mate.
So lucky to see the Stoat take the rabbit out. To get images aswell... class.
Cheers Craig, really appreciate that mate 👍🏻
Everything has to eat, including that Stoat!
Great video & so glad you had an experience you’ll never forget.
Keep up the fantastic work. 👏👏
Thanks Mark, that day will definitely stay with me for a long long time 👍🏻
Super video ; brilliant of the stoat and poor rabbit , also food pass of the peregrines. A definite wow day , thank for sharing with us all 21.27
Cheers Stephen, some days it just all comes together and this was definitely one of them.
Thanks for your comment and support 👍🏻
Amazing experience Dan, looks like all your hard work and effort has been rewarded.
Cheers Joe, really appreciate it mate. All the best 👍🏻
Wow, omg what a day you have had. To get a peregrine alone would be good 👍 if not great, but you witnessed so much more, and thanks to your channel, so have we. Thankyou and again. Thank you .
Thanks Peter, I really appreciate your kind words, it really was a red letter day for wildlife encounters and something I will remember for a long time. All the best 👍🏻
Brilliantly presented again Dan, I make you dead right in terms of wildlife experiences with the Stoat as very very few people will ever witness a stoat kill from start to finish !!! Right place right time, Spring watch presenter for you next my friend 👏👏👏👍
Cheers Paul, I do feel privileged to have witnessed this. As for springwatch 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻 thanks again for the support mate 👍🏻
What a fantastic day you had! I am fortunate to have such a cliff face not too far away and am somewhat regularly visiting the nest. Unfortunately, heavy rains all in late may and June washed out the nest and the original brood was lost. Hopefully the new nest they took over from some ravens will prove to be successful! When the falcons land on nearby light poles, it's incredibly awesome, especially when they have prey. Glad to see yours have fledged young!
Thank you very much for your comment. I know of a few nests (particularly short earred owls) that have failed due to heavy rain, let’s hope they do bounce back. All the best 👍🏻
Wow!!! What a wonderful experience. Always a great feeling inside when you not only get to witness an event like this but to capture it with your camera is a awesome bonus! w2g!!
Thanks very much. It really was a “did that just happen” moment and I do feel incredibly lucky. Appreciate your comment 👍🏻
Wow! What an incredible encounter :) I can imagine the heart rate was up for a while after that!!
Cheers Geoff, it really was an encounter. I usually get these kind of experiences when I haven’t got a camera in my hand 😂
All the best mate 👍🏻
@@danwillis_photography Hah, yeah, the wildlife does somethimes seem to know..!
Wow. How awesome to have seen the stoat hunt the rabbit and the big bonus getting some images of it. Great video and great images
Thanks very much, really appreciate your comment and support. All the best 👍🏻
Great video Dan and what an experience with the stoat that’s another place I need to visit!!
I can definitely recommend a trip there Ian, all the best mate 👍🏻
Great stuff Dan! Those are some wonderful birds of prey! Thanks!
Thanks very much Jon, really appreciate it mate 👍🏻
Amazing encounter with the Stoat Dan, Nature in its rawest form. The mid flight food pass was was an excellent capture 👏
Thanks very much Laurence, your comments are always appreciated 👍🏻
Super video Dan, cracking shots of the Stoat, right place at the right time 👌🏻
Thanks Derek, really appreciate it mate 👍🏻
This is great stuff, my dad and me are both bird lovers, he sent me this link, I'm glad he did 🫶🏻 well done x
I’m glad you enjoyed it and thank you for taking the time to drop me a comment. I get my love of wildlife and photography from my Pops and love spending time together sharing it 👍🏻
Brilliant Dan
Thanks very much David 👍🏻
Wow what an amazing encounter great stills too awesome 👍
Thanks very much, always appreciate your comments 👍🏻
Fantastic. Cheers Dan. All the best. 👍📷😎
Cheers Rob, appreciated as always mate 👍🏻
What can you say other than WOW
Cheers Andy, appreciate it 👍🏻
Great video as always. What an awesome experience.
Thanks very much Sean, really appreciate your comment 👍🏻
Another superb video Dan! stoat images are awsome !
Thanks very much, really appreciate your continued support 👍🏻
@danwillis_photography I left this comment half way through video! Very impressed with your peregrine footage,especially the mid air foodpass!
Thanks for that, the food pass really is fantastic spectacle to see. Glad i managed to get some footage of it 👍🏻
What a great morning Dan!
Thanks Julian, really appreciate it 👍🏻
Great stuff Dan, plenty of times the things you are not expecting end up making the day! I've done Leighton Moss a few times but not tried Warton Crag yet. Will def have to give it a visit!
Cheers Graham, really appreciate your comment. I can definitely recommend the crag, well worth a visit. All the best 👍🏻
So good to watch the video. Your enthusiasm helped to make it. You clearly capture the countless events which took place along with some fabulous photographic shots. What a day, am so pleased for you. One for the mental memory book which will stay with you forever.
Thank you so much for your kind words. It definitely is a day that will stay with me for a long time. All the best 👍🏻
Absolutely outstanding Dan! Really inspiring and worth the early start
Cheers John, appreciate your comment and support. All the best 👍🏻
Fantastic footage and pics, Dan - another place to go on my list! 😀
Well worth a visit and somewhere I will definitely be returning to this year.
Thanks very much 👍🏻
Fantastic, I love the photo of the stoat stood next to the rabbit, with its head held high in an almost regal stance. Some great filming as well as the photos, what a wow-day and amazing experience!
Thanks very much Phil, appreciate your comment and support. It was definitely a day to remember 👍🏻
Another great video Dan. Your pics of the stoat and rabbit are stunning. Difficult watch yes but that just nature and another reason why we love our wildlife photography, you never know what it’s going to present us with. 👍😃
Cheers Ian, you are absolutely right. It’s little moments like this that keep us getting up early and going out there. All the best mate 👍🏻
All I can say is wow, what a fantastic video and so near to where I live, have only recently found your You Tube site and so glad I have been so impressed with all of your other videos, as I have taken more of a interest in wildlife photography the tips and advice you share are so helpful to a novice, Warton is now on my hit list of places to visit, can't believe that as a kid I used to play around there, now a amazing site for wildlife. Thanks again for this gem of a video, fantastic. Now to start saving up for the Nikkor Z 800.
Thanks very much for your comment Steve, I’m so glad you have found and most importantly are enjoying the channel.
Really appreciate comments from viewers, all the best 👍🏻
Great stuff with what you have seen with the stoat and also the peregrine falcons and fledglings, was up there recently and was displaying well passing food mid air and feeding the chicks at the time, the female had a red breast because of the iron in the rock I saw the male doing all the work for the kill to feed the chicks, absolutely fantastic to watch them, also there people who keep an eye on them to protect them during raising their young, brilliant video and imagery.
Thanks very much for your comment Philip, I’m glad you explained the reasoning for the females Red breast as I did wonder about that and didn’t know why.
It’s a fantastic place to visit and somewhere I will definitely be returning to. All the best 👍🏻
definitely adding that location to my list to visit! great images
Thanks very much Ian, it’s definitely worth a visit 👍🏻
Great work. An amazing morning👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Thank you very much for the comment it’s appreciated 👍🏻
Great video. Wonderful set of images too. Well done. What a day 😀👍
Thanks very much Richard, really appreciate your comment. All the best 👍🏻
Excellent vlog, photos of the stoat, exceptional. Well done.
Thanks very much Dave, appreciate it 👍🏻
Fantastic video! Luckily we have a place near by at Holgates and I’ve been up the Crag plenty of times this year to see the Peregrines.
Thanks for your comment Christopher I really appreciate it. Your local patch sounds fantastic, all the best 👍🏻
Great stuff Dan
Thanks very much Iain, appreciate it 👍🏻
Wow, what an amazing experience Dan, a real red letter day! Well done & brilliantly captured 👍
Cheers Andy, always appreciate your comments and support mate 👍🏻
Hi Dan. Just watched this vid and am over the moon for you, only this morning I missed a Gull snatching a Coot chick as I only had a macro lens with me for Damsels etc. Once witnessed a Cat trying to tackle what it thought was a mouse only to quickly realize that said mouse bit back. Any other time I would have a 500mm with me but hay, that's the way it go's I suppose. Funny how a lot of people go all squeamish over wild life predation, but then again not for everyone I suppose. Thanks for a great vid Dan. take care, best to pops.👍
Thanks very much Dave and appreciate you passing regards on to Pops. I usually get the best wildlife encounters when I’ve not got my camera with me. Someone was definitely looking down on me that day.
All the best mate 👍🏻
Nature surely can be brutal, but you got some amazing images!
Thanks Trish, appreciated as always 😊
Totally magnificent… enjoyed ever minute.. inspiring..
Many thanks Stephen, really appreciate it 👍🏻
unbelievable mate well done
Thanks very much mate, appreciate it 👍🏻
Fantastic experiences! How wonderful that you found wild habitat that supports these critical predator-prey relationships! We would all do well to remember that humans are the planet’s most prolific and insatiable predators!
Thanks very much for your comment. You are absolutely right about humans, I guess most people forget this with us not having to kill the food we eat.
Appreciate the support 👍🏻
Good stuff Dan 🙂
Thanks very much, really appreciate it 👍🏻
Another great video Dan. What a wonderful experience. Thanks for sharing it with us. Again some great images
Thanks very much David, appreciate your comment. All the best 👍🏻
another brilliant footage of wildlife at its best, thank you.
Thanks very much, I really appreciate that 👍🏻
Amazing - such a brilliant insight and video and very professional
Thanks very much for your kind words, I really appreciate it 👍🏻
Really enjoying your videos Dan!
Thanks very much I really appreciate your response and support 👍🏻
Fantastic. You are so lucky to be able to travel around the UK visiting all these differnt sites. We do have many species of wild life here in Jersey but not the diversity of landscapes. If you are ever thinking of filming or photographing Marsh Harriers, we have several breeding pairs here which are easily seen every day. Lovely to watch the Stoat in action, though I doubt the rabbit would agree. Thanks for the video Dan.
Regards
Andy Jersey
Thanks very much Andy, I was wondering as I responded to your other comments where you were based. I’ve never been to Jersey but it’s certainly a place I would like to visit.
Thanks again and all the very best 👍🏻
Another cracking video Dan 👍🏻
Thanks very much, appreciated as always 👍🏻
What an amazing experience and such beautiful photographs. This video and the photographs really show your skills as a wildlife photographer. Thank you for sharing this with us. Always a joy to watch you videos. Best regards, Laurens
Thanks for your genuinely fantastic comment Laurens, I really appreciate it. All the best 👍🏻
That's some fantastic hardcore video. Well done.
Cheers John, I really appreciate the comment 👍🏻
Wow dan I enjoyed that Excellent :-)
Cheers Sean, appreciate your comment and support 👍🏻
Wonderful .
Thanks very much 👍🏻
@@danwillis_photography Thank you for the wonderful stills and video . Outstanding .
@@sidensvans67 my pleasure, thanks for your comment and continued support. All the best 👍🏻
Fabulous video Dan, but the still images are just outstanding! No one has any right to object, this is pure nature with creatures created by nature over tens if not hundreds of thousands of years, everyone should realise and be happy to accept that in the "real" world this is what happens, by comparison us humans have it pretty darned easy! So pleased you had a fruitful trip and are able to share the reality of nature with the rest of us! cheers. PS there's no Tesco or Aldi for wildlife, lol.
Cheers Anton, you are absolutely right and the comment about Tescos for wildlife is spot on. I think people don’t connect the pack of meat with an animal.
Appreciate your continued support 👍🏻
Just watched the stoat with rabbit got a photo and video of one on my patio a couple of weeks after I had a mink encounter
It’s a sensational thing to see isn’t it Brian? I’ve not had an encounter with a Mink when I have my camera with me only when I’m fishing so fingers crossed for one soon 👍🏻
Good stuff Dan...i got a few shot of a stoat having a go at an adult rabbit last winter at leighton moss..rabbit got away...hope you got some bittern this time
Cheers Paul, I did get the Bittern although only a record shot this time. Guess that means I will have to go back 🤷🏻♂️
Appreciate the support and continued support mate 👍🏻
@danwillis_photography we spent 2 days there a month ago..lots of bittern..osprey..first hobby...missed the crags..as you say..Will have to go back
Wow brilliant Dan. A very professional video with great pictures. Really enjoyed it.
Thanks very much guys, appreciated as always 👍🏻
Excellent stuff Mike. It's very unusual to get such a co-operative Roe, well done, even if the habitat is a bit cluttered! I've also been thinking about thermal imaging devices so look forward to your thoughts...🙂
A bit confusing as I’m not called Mike and I don’t think I mentioned thermal imaging devices in this video. Apologies if I misunderstood 👍🏻
@@danwillis_photography Hi Dan, sorry about that...I was sitting in a hide this morning with, literally, nothing happening and decided to catch up on some CZcams videos and added this comment to yours in error as I flipped from one channel to another... anyway, keep up the good work...😂😂
@@alandixon5144 hahaha no worries at all mate 👍🏻
Just sometimes, all the planets align 📷👍
Don’t they just. All the best 👍🏻
Hello Dan
vidéo fantastic and the picture off the rabbit are top Bravo
merci beaucoup pour votre commentaire et votre soutien continu mon ami 👍🏻
Great watch Dan, love your vids and photos, I photograph Peregrines alot but only have a D5600 and tamron 150-600,which are a bit slow to focus, Would you recommend a D500 with th 200-500, cant afford the z9 im afraid.
Thanks for your comment it’s really appreciated. I would 100% recommend that setup, I owned a D500 before my Z9 and paired with the 200-500 it’s a first class wildlife setup.
All the best 👍🏻
The nightclubs of Mombasa have more wildlife than you could imagine....
Interesting observation, thanks for sharing
Great video Dan as always. When would you say the best time to visit this location.
Thanks Paul, I think the window for seeing the Peregrines has probably passed for this year as the chicks will have all fledged. Next year from May through to the end of June would be my suggestion 👍🏻
Excellent video again Dan. May I ask what tripod & gimbal head you use??
Thanks very much for your comment Nigel, always appreciated.
The tripod is the Gitzo series 5 systematic. Unless you are using heavy gear it’s probably overkill and I would suggest the series 4 or 3 which is cheaper and lighter.
The gimbal head is a Gitzo fluid gimbal. The advantage of the fluid head over the usual ball bearing type is it’s smoothness for video. If I wasn’t shooting video I’d have probably gone for a different style.
Hope that helps 👍🏻
Hi Dan, Great captures on both video and stills. I notice your ISO varies a little between each photograph. Are you changing it by a fraction each time or are you using 'auto ISO'? If by a fraction, how are you measuring the light to move it in such fine margins. Many thanks, Steven
Thanks very much Steven. In answer to your question I use auto ISO with exposure compensation for fine control. I feel that it gives me the most flexibility in changing lighting.
All the best 👍🏻
Thanks for coming back to me Dan. Thats really helpful and I'll try it out at the weekend as, from seeing your still, it clearly works reall well. Please keep the videos coming. All the best, Steven@@danwillis_photography
PS - I'm fairly sure the Peregrine top speed in dive is 240mph, and the Mustelids are the king of takedowns imho ✌🏻
Yeah I knew I was way off with my estimation, you are absolutely right. As for the mustelid takedowns, lion have nothing on them 👍🏻
great video and photos . i just spent all my weekends over a 6 week period photographing peregrine at a church in chorley . what a fantastic experience . i have a “peregrine photo slideshow on youtube by michael callaghan if you are interested is seeing some of the pics . thanks for sharing your photo experiences with us 👍
Thanks for your comment I will definitely take a look at your slideshow. I had heard about the Peregrines at the church in Chorley, wish I’d taken a trip there now. All the best 👍🏻
Sorry Dan this is not one for me.I had to stop the video before the Stoat caught the Rabbit!!!
No worries at all Malcolm, it was the reason I put the warning on as I appreciate predation is not for everyone 👍🏻
Not with a Nikon mirrorless camera. Hope you take enough batteries with you 🤣😂👎🏻
You must be a canon user 😂😂😂 never had an issue with battery performance on the Z9 👍🏻