On-board camera and drone
Filming from the bird’s own perspective
Lloyd and Rose Buck have been shooting on-board camera footage from free-flying birds for over twenty years. The camera is carried by the bird, in real flight, over real ground. Nothing is slowed, composited or animated. We are the specialist team that mounts micro cameras on trained raptors — goshawks, falcons and eagles raised from hatching to fly free with a rig aboard. We work with cameraman Chris Watts of Technical Films, whose father Jonathan Watts built the first rigs we used.
HD micro cameras and minicams
Twenty years of pushing what is possible
For over twenty years we have worked closely with cameraman Jonathan Watts, and now his son Chris Watts, pushing the boundaries of what is possible when filming on board our birds.
From on board Lottie our goshawk to Tilly the golden eagle, Chris has a range of minicams — HD, HD slow-motion, and the latest 360 cameras.
Drone filming
Flying alongside the birds
Along with Chris Watts and Alex Johnstone, we have pushed the boundaries of what is possible when filming a number of our birds with drones, using various flying systems to suit your requirements.
Why it needs a trained bird
You cannot ask a wild bird to wear a camera
An on-board shot puts a lens somewhere no wild bird would ever tolerate it. It only works if the bird has been raised from hatching, is used to being handled, and will fly free and come back with the rig on — and then do it again while the camera team adjusts.
That is the whole reason this footage is rare. The technology has existed for years. The relationship with the bird is the hard part, and it takes a decade, not a shoot day.
Welfare decides everything. A rig only goes on a bird that is comfortable carrying it, and the bird is never asked for something it has not chosen to do.
How productions get it
Four ways to shoot a bird in flight, and why three fail
Filming wild birds. A long lens, a hide and a season of waiting. You get what you get, from where the bird tolerates you, and you cannot direct it. Fine for observational work, useless against a schedule — and it will never give you an on-board shot.
CGI. Total control, and it reads as CGI to anyone who knows birds. Expensive, and it still needs reference footage from a real bird.
A bird on a glove. Cheap and available, but a tethered or hooded bird gives you static framing and a handful of angles. It cannot fly a path and it cannot carry a camera.
A free-flying trained bird. The bird flies to a mark, alongside a moving vehicle or drone, and lands on cue — then does it again for the next take, with or without a camera on its back. This is what we do.
Track record
In-flight and aerial credits
- BBC One — Life in the Air
- Sky 1 and Sky 3D — Sir David Attenborough, Conquest of the Skies
- BBC Two — Natural World: Super Powered Eagles / PBS Nova Eagle Power
- BBC Two — Natural World: Super Fast Falcons
- Apple TV — Tiny Worlds
- Netflix — Animal, season 2
- BBC — Hidden Kingdoms
- Red Bull and BBC Earth — peregrine versus pro-biker
An extensive HD library of this footage is available to licence, including some of the best slow-motion bird footage ever filmed.
Common questions
Frequently asked
Who mounts micro cameras on trained raptors?
Lloyd and Rose Buck. We fly trained raptors — including Lottie our goshawk and Tilly our golden eagle — carrying lightweight micro cameras built by cameraman Chris Watts of Technical Films. The birds are raised from hatching and fly free with the rig aboard, which is why a micro camera can be mounted on a raptor at all: a wild bird will not tolerate one.
How do productions get on-board camera footage of birds in flight?
By flying a trained, free-flying bird carrying a lightweight camera. A wild bird will not tolerate a rig, so the footage depends on a bird raised from hatching that is comfortable being handled and will fly free and return with the camera fitted. Lloyd and Rose Buck have specialised in this for over twenty years.
Which birds can carry an on-board camera?
Lottie the goshawk and Tilly the golden eagle have both carried on-board cameras. Suitability depends on the bird’s size, temperament and experience, and on the weight of the rig.
What cameras do you use?
Lightweight HD minicams, HD slow-motion cameras and 360 cameras, built and maintained by cameraman Chris Watts of Technical Films. We have worked with the Watts family on bird-mounted rigs for over twenty years.
Can you film birds with drones?
Yes. With Chris Watts and Alex Johnstone we fly drones alongside our birds using different systems to suit the sequence. Because both the bird and the drone are under control, the shot can be planned and repeated.
Is on-board camera work safe for the bird?
Welfare comes first and decides everything. A rig only goes on a bird that is comfortable carrying it. Our birds live with us and are never asked for something they have not chosen to do.
Can we licence existing in-flight footage instead of shooting it?
Yes. We hold an extensive HD library of our birds, including some of the best slow-motion bird footage ever filmed, licensed via CTL Films.
Is the footage real or enhanced?
Real. The birds fly in real time. Nothing is slowed, composited or animated.
Working with us
Tell us what you are trying to film and we will tell you honestly whether it is possible, and how.