54:14
Reaching 1 million YouTube subscribers is something I'm very proud of. Over the years, I've managed to capture some remarkable footage and share it with you all. I'm Robert Fuller, wildlife artist and filmmaker. And little did I know when I started my YouTube channel back in April 2010, I'd now be celebrating hitting a million subscribers. It started with short clips, a laprin returning to its nest and a blue tit attacking its own reflection to now where dozens of my remote cameras allow me to closely follow the secret lives of animals and birds and stream some of them live 24/7.
From hatching king fishes to fledging red kites and hidden life inside a fox den. In this film, I'd like to take you through some of the most popular moments in the last 16 years. And what better place to start than here at Fatherdale, where it all began. I've spent almost three decades making this area into a wildlife haven which so many species now call home. Along the way, I've rescued and rehabilitated countless animals and prepared them for life back in the wild. I've developed a careful species specific approach in particular for barnals, kestrels, torys, stos, and weasels and even badgers.
In 2022, over 3 million of you watched as Luna the Tory took two foster chicks under her wing up in this tree after her own eggs fail to hatch. So, the Alex in the nest and just listen to them calling. I've just got to watch them wait now and hope Luna accepts them. Here she comes. She's coming straight in. And look at that. She's brooing them straight away. This is absolutely incredible. I couldn't have hoped for a better outcome. Or a young barnal filmed from the moment it hatched when it encountered thunder for the first time.
This clip was enjoyed by almost 30 million of you. Barn owls are one of the most popular species on my channel, especially male barnal dryer and his fascination with Guily's eggs. It's now early June and 4 days since Guily laid her first egg in Elmstone. She usually lays eggs every 2 to 5 days, so the next egg should be here soon. and looks under gelfie's tail feathers, but there's still only one egg. But 7 hours later, Guily reveals the second. And 3 days later, a third. When Guily stands up to stretch her legs, Da seizes the opportunity to look at the three precious eggs.
He's not had his own before. But as he steps closer, a protective guily sees him off. But sometimes he can be a bit clumsy. He moves in, inspecting them closely. But Guily senses something isn't right and returns just in time to stop him. The next day, dryer spice another opportunity. This time rolling the eggs away from each other. But experienced guily carefully rearranges them. My cameras allowed us to follow the journey of the male kestrel, Mr. Kez.
Tragedy struck when Mrs. Kez disappeared and three chicks were taken into my care. But Mr. K stepped up, defying all the textbooks as he learned to feed his family Mr. KZ has worked so hard to care for his chicks Despite a challenging start, all six chicks are fledged. Each year I rehabilitate young Stokes and you loved watching Whisper and Stewart, two unrelated kits that are carefully introduced. I'm sure this is going to work. Here we go. We're at the meeting again. Here we are. So, this is it. They've been in there less than half an hour together and we've got them playing. They've realized they've got a playmate now, which is just superb.
Absolutely stunning. So instead of having to throw little teddy bears about and toilet rolls, they've all of a sudden got each other to play with. I'm so pleased the meeting with Stuart and Whisper went well. It's always been my plan to release Whisper back into the wild. And with the companionship that they have together, they stand so much better chance because they can learn from each other. Seeing the sto so at ease in this new enclosure, I knew they were getting ready for their next stage of rehabilitation. So today's a really exciting day. I'm going to open up the grills here and let these stos out. So Whisper and Stuart
have been with us since they were tiny little kits. And today the STS are going to be free to go into the wild. Just after dark, I noticed a nose peeking out of the set. Stuart was first to appear, sniffing around at the entrance. Eventually, she takes her first cautious steps into the wild. Both stos are becoming more confident, but we're still using the shelter of the set and dash back in for safety. Whisper and Stuart stayed in and around the enclosure for about a week before setting off for their new life in the wild.
It's been an amazing experience being part of these young Sto's lives and I look forward to catching up with them in the future. My expertise in STOs led to my involvement in the BBC's natural world documentary Weasel's Feisty and Fearless where I documented the life of Bandita, a wild stout who lived in an area of my garden I call Stoke City. The sters have enjoyed all my garden has to offer. From jumping on this trampoline These videos have been watched over 3 million times and I follow the journey of a female her and her two leverits and they were born here in this woodland that I planted.
One lever disappeared and it was heartbreaking watching a mother search for it. Usually the female stays only long enough to feed the babies. This night she searches for nearly an hour, but there's no sign. It's gone And it wasn't long before the little lever made its way down here. And each evening I waited here and the female hair fed a lever right here in the middle of the gallery car park. And this was extra special to film because the female hair only feeds a lever for a few minutes each day. The confident little lever now explores the whole garden and meets mom for a feed in my car park at night. So, I've just got the lever arrived here
and uh the lever always comes out first before the female arrives. So, this is so great. The lever is uh using the car as a shelter and it's hiding under the car just next to the wheel at the moment. So, the female's just come in and she's actually now greeting the lever and starting to feed it right in front of me. This is just incredible. This is absolutely incredible. I've waited for years to see this. The little lever's just rolled on its back now and the female hair is grooming it and cleaning it. Finally, after years of trying, I've got these intimate shots of the hair feeding the lever right out in the open.
Absolutely magic. A pair of swallows returned from Africa each year to raise their chicks in a nest I built for them in my porch. And bushes and hedges are planted are now home to nesting birds. The animals have even taken over my children's old climbing frame. I built it for my two daughters, but they've since grown out of it. And now my hidden cameras capture all sorts of animals enjoying it instead. Some species are a little more wary. This young fox isn't quite sure and doesn't hang around for too long. Neither does this brown hair. But some species seem to enjoy all that the climbing frame has to offer. And the first to do so was a family of
Stokes that live in my garden. My cameras caught them darting all over the climbing frame together. And they particularly like the trampoline, pulling themselves along their bellies, jumping, playing, and just having fun. And over the years I've seen many stos following suit. Another species that regularly visits is the weasel. shooting across the deck, looking amongst the toys, searching for the food I leave out before scurrying away with its catch. But my cameras also capture the harsher side of nature. A barn owl snatching its younger sibling from a nest. A kestrel pair losing their eggs to a jack door. and the brutal territorial facts that would otherwise go unseen.
Back in 2021, I put up nest boxes and improved the habitat in a stretch of ash woodland. 3 million of you watched as I shared the journey from a year at Ashwood Pond. Today we're putting this pond in. We're having enough rain today to probably fill it. I roped in some help to set the pond in place, ready to fit it with cameras that will follow the comingings and going over a year. So, I'm going to put my cameras back here, and the wildlife comes up through a path. There's a badger track. The deer will be using it. The foxes will be using it. And it's a case now of working out this camera angle. It had to look as natural as possible. So, I use stone and
mossy branches around the edge. In the depths of winter, had an important job still to do. This is extreme camera fitting. It's freezing cold, drifting snow. The pond is underneath here up at Ashwood, and I want to get these cameras fitted before the spring. As the snow melted, it was finally time to fill the pond. Only a few days later, the pond had its first visitors, field fairs. Other animals soon found their way to this new watering hole, a bathing buzzard. Just as the wildlife got used to the spot, a cold snap turned the water to ice, catching a few offguard.
By night, a badger wandered by looking for a place to drink. A fox walked across the frozen pond. As winter gave way to spring, more animals came out looking for food and water. A female road deer passed through, molting the last of a winter coat. Despite its small size, the pond attracted a pair of malad ducks who came in to drink and bathe. In June, the summer heat attracted more birds to the pond. A woodpecker, a sparrow hawk, With more hours of sunshine, I spotted a badger drinking in daylight. Resident kestrels Apollo and Athena have been a hit with you, the viewers, for the past 5 years. Athena's fiery temper and Apollo's attempt to soo her have
kept you all watching. Female Athena isn't happy with Apollo's efforts. She wants him to head out and hunt for food. but is confused by her calls and continues to brood the eggs instead. That's not what she wants. He's so distressed, he's literally climbing the wall. The pair are so determined, fighting off intruders like jack doors, barn owls, and overcoming injuries and illness. And we've all enjoyed watching them succeed in raising over 20 chicks. Tory owls Bonnie and Aussie only occasionally nest on camera, but showed the viewers some incredible behavior. Here it's a mate Aussie who sees their chicks for the very first time.
He instinctively moves towards them. The chicks need constant brooding to keep them warm. They won't be able to regulate their own temperature for at least a week. So Aussie has a go at brooding. This is absolutely fascinating. I've never heard of male torn brooding their chicks. This could be the first time this behavior has been recorded. The female returns soon afterwards to find her partner in the nest. She pushes her mate off the chicks. This is supposed to be her job. When they left their ashtree nest, inexperienced barnals tap and sparkle took up residence,
but their journey has been fraught with mishaps. A recent fight with his mate led to Tappy needing me to release a trapped talon. Right. Can't believe it. It actually worked. And I've got him here. Look, you can see how badly his claws hooked over there. But I've not seen anything like this before. But let's see if we can unpick this claw. There we go. Yes, it's worked. Look at that. And then Sparkle was seen sporting an eye injury. Now a stock has come and laid eggs in the nest.
This pair just don't seem to have good luck, but they keep trying. Over at Three Trees, Barnals, Orion, and Celeste have their first clutch of eggs, which I hope will hatch soon. On a Yorkshire lake, I've delved into the secret lives of Britain's most iconic species. I followed a pair of kingfishes who nested in a banker built for them after their own nest site collapsed. My hidden cameras revealed the moments the chicks hatched and they enjoyed their first feed. A pair of swans that nested nearby have been so popular I decided to create a live stream of their own. You enjoyed watching their beautiful signets hatch and the moment they went for their first swim.
Oh, look at that. The signs are nibbling on to blossom. That's super cute. And I captured the intimate moments of a rather peculiar relationship between the reed wobbler and the nest parasite, the cuckoo. Over 30 years ago, when I first found that cuckoo, I couldn't have even imagined having all these different cameras to film every angle of this amazing spectacle. It's been amazing to watch the curious relationship between these two species. Despite everything, those warblers have looked after it as if it was their own.
I spent hundreds and hundreds of hours studying and capturing the lives of other species so that viewers around the world can learn about wildlife. With all your help and continued support, I've built up many relationships that have enabled me to travel to five different continents in the search of captivating wildlife. North and Central America, where bears roam and eagle soar. South America, where the jaguar rules as king of the jungle. To the north in Spelbad where polar bears wander and giant walruses bathe in the shallows. To Africa where elephants have learned a nimble trick And finally to the south, where penguins
live within Earth's last true frontier. Over the years, I've managed to capture some remarkable footage and share it with you all. Also spending much of my time in wildlife conservation, rescue, and rehabilitation. All this has served as inspiration for my work as a wildlife artist. I can't thank you enough for enabling me to continue doing this work. Reaching 1 million YouTube subscribers is something I'm very proud of, but it's far from where I want the channel to be. So, I hope you keep following me on my wildlife journey, and let's see what we can discover together.
