Rare wildlife footage showing a pair of roosting Golden Eagles and a Black Grouse ‘lek’ has been captured by a BBC film crew in Scotland

Rare wildlife footage showing a pair of roosting Golden Eagles and a Black Grouse ‘lek’ has been captured by a BBC film crew in the Mar Lodge Estate in Braemar, Scotland, with the aid of fuel cell technology (pictured) to provide remote off-grid power for the broadcast equipment. The filming took place during the recent production of BBC 2’s Winterwatch series. 

Two EFOY Pro 2400 fuel cells, supplied by Fuel Cell Systems, were used as an alternative to diesel generators, to provide continuous power for nine days.

Two separate sites, located 3 km away from the film crew’s main operating site, were chosen in the Cairngorms National Park. Due to the remoteness of these locations, it was not possible to access mains power from the electricity grid. Diesel generators were also ruled out due to the noise, carbon emissions and transportation difficulties.

Outside broadcasting production crews often use batteries during remote outdoor filming, which require replacing daily. However, fuel cells can be left in situ for long periods of time without refuelling. This allowed the BBC Winterwatch film crew to obtain rare footage of a pair of Golden Eagles roosting in a tree, along with some unusual film of Black Grouse courtship rituals.