'Strictly' star is dancing to a new tune in Cairngorms
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A TV special going out this weekend includes at least three species of raptor filmed in the Cairngorms National Park, including hen harriers on Wildland Ltd.
“Hamza: Strictly Birds of Prey” will screen on Sunday at 7pm on BBC 1 & iPlayer.
The film maker, who starred in last year's Strictly Come Dancing, has a real passion for nature and regularly roams the outdoors to capture its beauty on film as a wildlife cameraman.
In this special he is on a quest to film his favourite birds of prey – and no corner of the UK is too remote.
While working on BBC One’s Wild Isles last year the call came for him to join the Strictly Come Dancing line-up, and he swapped his waterproof hiking boots for a pair of dancing shoes.
Hamza became a familiar face to the nation and took home the Glitterball trophy, but the months spent on gruelling training inside a London studio made his desire to be outdoors stronger than ever.
In this film he reunites with some of the videographers who he worked on Wild Isles with, including his friends and mentors Simon King and John Aitchison, and many more.
He has also previously filmed and presented for The One Show, Countryfile, Animal Park, as well as Let’s Go For A Walk where younger viewers will know him as Ranger Hamza.
Hamza reprises that role to learn how switched-on the next generation are when it comes to looking after wildlife.
“Birds of prey are powerful, majestic, beautiful, charismatic, intelligent. What I think of when I wake up, what I dream about” he says. It is this devotion to birds of prey which propels Hamza across the UK to capture the birds soaring above civilisation.
The film sees him meeting hen harriers in the Cairngorms, white-tailed eagles in his back garden in the Ardnamurchan Peninsular, hobbies and marsh harriers over the Somerset Levels, and urban peregrine falcons nesting in Ealing Hospital in West London.
In total, he captures nine fantastic birds of prey – some of which you might even find living near you, if you just look up. And along the way he meets a host of old friends, dedicated conservationists, and fellow film makers whose love for the natural world shines through. Their stories are insightful, incredible, and inspirational.
Hamza started his journey at the beginning of this year with a desire to film his favourite raptors. He finishes it with hope for the future, having experiences and conversations along the way which he will never forget.
