I arrived last night with our cameraman David to film the aerial shots that will be used in the programme. We’re staying in a bit of a dive of a hotel but at least the air-con is working, the heat and humidity is oppressive!

I was reading a travel guide on the plane which described the locals as having an almost ‘English-reserve temperament’ about them and it’s true. They are not loud and in your face like some other Caribbean cultures but really soft spoken and everyone so far has been very nice and accommodating.

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Wendy and Robert Cooper found themselves landed with five Macaws after a boat smuggling exotic animals dropped anchor at St Georges in Grenada island and was promptly raided by customs and the GSPCA. Over 800 animals were on board that ship, confined in tiny cages, and as numerous wildlife institutions stepped in to take the best specimens for a ‘rescue operation’ five scraggly Macaws were left. Wendy got a call asking if she would take them on because no one else would have such wretched looking birds and that was 12 years ago.

Within ten days her and her husband had built an aviary and the birds slowly started to make a slow but steady recovery. Within a couple of years they had started to breed – a huge feat for captive birds and even more important as they are endangered, so began the quest to save Macaws and release them back into the wild. It certainly hasn’t been easy but using entirely their own finances, they have built up a breeding population of macaws and released three back into the wild. They are in the process of sorting out official status as a registered non-profit NGO and we had a brilliant time visiting them.

The rest of the day comprised a spaying a cat, doing rounds around the island to see a sick dog and plenty of general view filming and driving shots here there and everywhere.

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