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  • 17 hours ago
A quiet search for a wildcat at Lake Kerkini in Greece turns into an unforgettable wildlife encounter. With a couple of days free between landscape photography workshops, the filmmaker heads out hoping to find and photograph Felis silvestris, a species that is declining across much of Europe but still seems to have a strong foothold at the lake.

Wildcats are skilled hunters, feeding on small rodents, birds, and even the occasional fish, and their natural camouflage makes them difficult to spot in daylight. On this outing, one female is found and followed for around 20 minutes as she moves through the fields, stalks through the grass, and even pauses to groom herself just 70 metres away.

This is a wildlife photography and nature observation video set in Greece, combining fieldcraft, patience, and a rare close look at an elusive wild feline. It will appeal to viewers interested in wildcat footage, animal behaviour, bird and mammal wildlife, and behind-the-scenes nature photography.

Created for anyone searching for wildcat in Greece, Lake Kerkini wildlife, wildlife photography behind the scenes, nature documentary style footage, and animal behaviour videos. A strong fit for wildlife watching, relaxed nature viewing, and searching terms like European wildcat, Felis silvestris, and Greece nature photography.

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Travel
Transcript
00:01I have a wildcat inside.
00:21So hello again.
00:25I'm back in Greece
00:27at one of my favorite places
00:29which I'm sure you will come by now if you've followed my videos
00:33Lake Kergini.
00:35And I have a couple of days here
00:36before I pick up a group
00:39to take them to the west of the country
00:42near the Albanian border
00:44for a landscape photography trip.
00:48And in the meantime I have a couple of days here in Kergini
00:52and it's a particularly grey day today
00:56so I thought I would come down to the fields
00:59on the northern side of the lake
01:05to see if I might be lucky enough to spot a wildcat.
01:13They are quite elusive.
01:15And they are mostly nocturnal.
01:18You do, if you're lucky, get a sighting of them in the afternoons.
01:25So it's about an hour now before sunset.
01:30Actually, no, an hour and a half.
01:35So there's a good chance they might be out and about if they're hungry.
01:41So I'm just going to drive around the tracks here
01:43and the fields
01:44and see if I might get lucky and spot one.
01:49So as soon as I navigate this ditch.
02:01So yeah, I'll get back to you shortly, hopefully.
02:08With any luck, I've been spotted a wildcat.
02:14So I shall see you again.
03:04I have a wildcat in front of me.
03:10She's quite far away, she's absolutely beautiful, so I'm going to hang out here
03:36and see what happens, and usually he or she has a white patch on his chest, on his chest,
04:12I have not seen that before.
04:32I have not seen that before.
04:34I have not seen that before.
05:04I have not seen that before.
05:24I have not seen that before.
05:54I have not seen that before.
06:24I have not seen that before.
06:49I have not seen that before, so I can get closer to her again.
06:55I'm scared if I do that, she'll just make a dash for it.
07:04On the other hand, I'm going to lose her anyway.
07:12Let's see if I can...
07:16What she does if I...
07:17I have not seen that before.
07:25No reactions.
07:36So she's hunkered down into the field.
07:39She's not made a dash for it just here.
07:46looks awesome.
07:47I don't know...
07:48I liked it.
07:48It is.
07:50A lot of little glasses.
08:36Come see just how unafraid she is of me.
08:47Normally they give you a couple of seconds as you stop them in the field and she's just
08:52grooming herself.
08:54They give you a couple of seconds as they look back to check out who you are and then they're
09:00off.
09:02And this one, she's just totally confident in herself and unafraid of me.
09:11And she's just having a groom.
10:08Come on, look around, she's walking away from me now.
10:16And she's gone off into the long grass.
10:19That was incredible.
10:24I'm so chuffed about that, I'm going to try and see if I can move back and further round
10:33and see if I can get more shots of her so I'll be back with you in a bit.
10:39So I found her again in the next field.
10:59Let me see if she's on the move again.
11:14Again, she's moving away from me this time and I have a feeling if she goes into the next
11:19field, I won't be able to re-find her.
11:50So, let me see if she's moving away from me.
12:23Okay, she's going way off into the distance now into the other field.
12:28It's incredibly lucky there to see her and to have such a great sighting for such a long time.
12:36And that she would even groom herself in front of me. It's just amazing.
12:47Okay, she's gone.
12:53So just as I'm driving out of these fields here, I'm trying to keep my eyes open as well.
12:59So forgive me for looking away from the camera.
13:02I'm trying to keep my eyes open just in case I should get super, super lucky and spot another one.
13:10I think that we can call that mission accomplished on the wildcat.
13:18I was pretty hopeful that we would see one and maybe grab a shot or two.
13:27But I fully didn't expect to have such a long viewing of the wildcat and even that it would sit
13:35there grooming itself in front of me.
13:38So anyway, I think I shall call it there.
13:41And thank you for watching.
13:46If you've enjoyed this video, please consider hitting that like button below.
13:51And if you'd like to see more of the same sort of thing from Greece and hopefully from other places,
13:59please consider subscribing, clicking the button below.
14:03And also the bell icon for notifications of when I publish future videos.
14:10So thank you again for watching.
14:12It is very much appreciated.
14:15And I shall see you again next time.
14:18Bye for now.
14:32Bye.
15:03Bye.
15:04Bye.

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