While watching the first episode of the Wild Isles series towards the end it showed some of the crew in a rib searching for orca and a name came on screen Jesse Wilkinson, I met him in 2009 at my favourite area in Wales, it will become clear why I haven't said where later.
It was my last night at the B&B and decided to have a last view of the area and feed the chaffinches, they take food out your hand and have pics doing so they also land on the window wipers and wing mirrors. About 7.30pm a vehicle pulled in other end of car park and a guy got out and set up his scope and was viewing with bins to start, didn't really take much notice and carried on feeding the birds. All of a sudden he was looking up and following a bird so I looked as well, it was a raptor but I wasn't sure what. Then he got a load of equipment out which looked like a film camera and large tripod, mmmm wonder what he has seen, not one for standing on ceremony I got out car and wandered over, he must have sensed I was there, he looked towards me and put his forefinger to his lips obviously telling me to be quiet, so I obeyed.
He filmed a while and then stopped and said thanks, I asked what he was doing and asked if he was anything to do with Springwatch as I had been told they were filming there , he said yes I am. I asked what he had just filmed and he said if I say you must keep it a secret and also the exact location, my mind was working overtime as to what he had seen. Before he told me he said have a look through my scope, so I did, and all I could see was a unknown bird the size of a pea, you will have to tell me cos I ain't got a clue other than it's a raptor. He said it's an Honey Buzzard in the tree, its just flown in and it's my job to find nests etc, I asked if I could tell Pete (my regular birding mate at that time) he said yes but not the exact location.
At that time he was one of the assistant camera people and it was their job to find nests etc. I asked if I could take a distant pic as I had never seen one before, he said yes. He told me two places to view Ospreys and in 2011 managed to visit one of them and see the nest from a distance of a mile and watch the nest and birds on cctv, which was brill!
As he was packing his gear away I asked his name and where he lived and I did mine. I asked him if he had heard of Lincs Bird Club and the forum, he had, I told him I posted regular and my name (at that time) was Max and my real name John T Goy. He said he once came to MSQ to see a rarity, think it was either the Little Bittern or Green Heron, the place was full of birders!!
Told him I was a regular on LBC and Lincbirders and did surveys for BTO. Last thing I said to him was don't forget to check out my sightings on Lincs Bird Club Forum, he said I won't, and with that he left.
When Springwatch was shown I looked for his name and sure enough it was there, I felt honoured to have met a professional cameraman!
Seeing him on Wild Isles I was happy to see he had stayed with the BBC. Doesn't seem 14 years ago.
Kind regards
John aka Max
PS: I have never revealed the exact location to this day and never will!
