THE YEAR OF THE RED KITE

GERMANY’S SECRET NATIONAL BIRD

Germany’s heraldic bird is the golden eagle – but it has a surreptitious contender for the national title. No other country has as many red kites nesting as Germany. All the more surprising, therefore, that up to now so little has been known about the family life of the red kite. There’s a reason for that: the birds build their nests between 15 and 30 metres high up in ancient beeches and oaks. At that height it’s difficult to observe them, let alone to film them.

Difficult, but not impossible. Wildlife filmmakers Robin Jähne and Sarah Herbort fitted the nests of the predators with purpose-built, remote-controlled cameras – achieving a more close-up familiarity with red kites than ever before.

Team:
Written, directed, filmed and edited: Robin Jähne & Sarah Herbort // Music: Thomas Wolter // Soundmix: Florian Ebrecht // Narrator: Yvon Jansen // Producer: Frank Nischk // Executive producers: Thomas Weidenbach & Sarah Zierul // Commissioning editor: Klaus Kunde-Neimöth // Produced by Längengrad Filmproduktion for WDR