- A couple million years ago,
evolution created a fishing raptor,
whether it was in Asia or whether it was in Alaska
or whether it was in Nova Scotia.
The osprey is a global raptor,
and that's part of what makes them so special.
Nature just nailed it.
It made the perfect model and it made it once,
and then it didn't change it.
There is something truly special about that.
But in this part of the world,
the story of the osprey is intricately intertwined
with the story of the marsh, the salt marsh in particular.
And the salt marsh in particular is an endangered
and underappreciated and extremely important habitat.
In fact, it's the most productive habitat
in terms of biomass of any other habitat on the planet,
including tropical rainforest, temperate rainforest.
Anywhere. Anywhere you look.
But this is the osprey's domain,
and telling the osprey's story in the Northeast
is intricately intertwined with the story of the salt marsh,
and that's why this beautiful story of this family
is inextricable with the story of their place,
their home where they live.
That's part of the beauty of this film,
is that we try a comprehensive look
of not just the osprey over the course of their season
and over the course of the year,
but of their home, of their place
and the place that they return to every year,
year after year, 'til the day they die.
(gentle music)
This documentary has essentially been a project
over seven years now.
The whole concept was to get inside of a family,
to really have a level of intimacy,
a level of trust between myself and the birds.
That was the most challenging part
of the filming process of the family itself.
We had to find the balance
between how close and how intimate we can get.
You know, we had this unspoken understanding.
They knew that I needed to do what I needed to do.
I would put up a camera.
I would control that camera remotely.
I would be putting large sliders
and remote-operated turrets next to their nest.
I was part of their lives in a significant way
all season long over several years.
And they tolerated that.
I was a constant presence in their lives, but they let me.
They permitted me to do that.
They consciously granted me that access.
(machinery whirring)
So the reason we did this is just in case
it was too difficult for the birds to rebuild on their perch
that they have been building on for the last several years.
We decided to help them out
with this prime osprey real estate right here.
Whoo! (laughs)
And you know, that's what makes this film different
than other wildlife films, is that it was a labor of love.
It was a long-term commitment
that I had and my team had.
There are true, powerful lessons
by spending time,
a lot of time, with osprey.
Filming osprey, just like filming any other wildlife,
involves patience, a lot of time,
getting into their environment.
And their environment is rough.
Let's put it this way.
They're in a giant stick nest that's covered in fish guts,
bird feces, getting washed occasionally by the rain,
which means the seaweed and sticks are decomposing
and turning to mulch, and flies are laying eggs,
and eggs are turning into larvae.
And you've got all sorts of stuff in that nest,
and they are just itching and scratching,
and those chicks that can't leave the nest
for their first six weeks of life,
they're dealing with what we can only imagine is torturous.
Nothing paints the picture better than the discomfort
of living in an uncontrolled natural environment
and spending some time on the marsh in the summertime
and dealing with the insects.
You wanna film those birds, you've gotta get out there.
You wanna feel what they feel.
You get out there and spend some time on the marsh
in the heat of the summer.
(osprey chirping) (insects chirring)
Technology improved over the course of this film.
We started this film in HD,
and the process of making this film has lasted so long
that technology was at this forefront,
this breakthrough phase where we were transforming
from HD to 4K, and as the film was happening,
the tools were being developed side by side
with our creative techniques of capturing this footage
while we're trying to get closer and closer
and capture more and more groundbreaking coverage.
So it was a really exciting process.
These are the battery packs that are going in the field.
(thoughtful music)
For instance, one of the resources
that the advancing technologies put
at our disposal were the 4K trail cameras.
These allowed us to monitor the activity
on the marsh 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
and gave us a window into what was happening
at the osprey ground nests.
Those installations required a lot of logistical planning
and a ton of effort to execute.
- Looks like the osprey landed on top of the camera
and he knocked it down.
Luckily, the eggs are still there,
so we didn't mess anything.
- But in the end, our efforts paid off,
because those remote cameras were able to capture
one of the most dramatic parallel storylines in the film.
Filming the osprey was a challenge.
Getting close to the osprey
and getting the intimate perspective
and the intimate coverage that makes the film
unique and special was a challenge.
But also, in our ability to handle the environment,
osprey are creatures of the marsh
and creatures of the islands
and creatures of the tides
and under the conditions that nature provides.
Our schedule is dictated by the tides
and dictated by the weather patterns.
It means a lot of early mornings,
a lot of late evenings, a lot of long days.
It requires a lot of patience, and it's very humbling.
It's a timeless story.
These are stories about partnerships,
about parenting,
about ferocious dedication to one purpose,
and that one purpose is family.
Make sure your children have what they need to survive.
That is the lesson: creating the next generation
that has the tools and the resources
they need to survive and thrive,
and that is the message that I hope people recognize
and take away from this film.
(soft music) (insects chirring)
(rain pattering) (chicks squeaking)