Hamza Yassin, the BBC Countryfile favourite, returns to television this weekend with a new wildlife programme, but filming was not without its challenges. The former Strictly Come Dancing champion described making the documentary as "an absolute dream for me," yet the experience proved far from smooth sailing.
Search for a rare owl in Kenya
In Hamza: African Birds of Prey, the 36-year-old embarks on a journey across Kenya in search of some of Africa's most spectacular and threatened birds of prey. The journey becomes "deeply personal" as Hamza forms connections with both the people and the wildlife he encounters.
During a visit to a forest, Hamza joined local experts on a mission to find species found nowhere else on earth. Just 1,000 pairs of the Sokoke scops owl remain, making them the smallest owls in Africa. "Hardly anyone has ever filmed it," Hamza says of the species as he makes his way into the forest with local wildlife guides and all his camera equipment.
'This is such a nightmare'
After a week of checks with no sight of the owls, Hamza admits: "This isn't going to be easy." He asks a local guide whether it is true that no one has ever found the nest of a scops owl, and the guide confirms that no nest has been seen since the species was discovered in 1965.
The search proves difficult as Hamza tries to navigate dense parts of the forest with his camera equipment. "I've been told, I'm making too much noise trying to squeeze my big body through all these little tiny gaps," he smiles. "The guides have had enough!" he adds before saying: "I really want to see these birds."
When the guides spot one, they signal to Hamza to move closer, but it is tricky for him to weave through the branches with his camera. "This is such a nightmare," he admits. "Filming in the jungle is just hideous. My poor camera."
A precious discovery
He then looks up and sees the bird, gasping: "I see it, I see it, I see it, I see it. Holy mackerel! It's so small." As he manoeuvres his large camera, he says: "Look at that bird. Oh my God!"
He continued: "Look how pretty this bird is. No wonder we couldn't find them. It's got an ant on its head that gives you a size comparison of how small these owls really are. They are diddly. I just want to take one of these home with me."
Appearing taken aback by the discovery, he admitted: "I genuinely didn't think we were going to find them and here we are looking at one." He added: "This guy is delicate, he's petite, dare I say it he is cute but the thing that I find hard is that this forest is a reminence of what it used to be and these guys are a reminence of what they used to be as well. So precious and they need to be looked after. Every single one of them counts."
"The fact that these owls are still here proves that this is a healthy eco-system - it has to be protected." Hamza: African Birds of Prey airs on BBC One on Sunday 30 August at 7pm.
