Danae Arce Rodes loves her job as a falconer flying birds like Drogon, the white-tailed eagle, and Indian eagle owl Sage.
But when she joined Elite Falconry she never expected one of her first jobs would be filming for the hit BBC show The Traitors.
Sage features in the opening scenes of the reality television show hosted by Claudia Winkleman.
When the show’s crew needed an owl for the first episode, they called upon Elite Falconry, based in Cluny, near Kirkcaldy.
The company regularly works with film crews including those for BBC’s Springwatch, The One Show and Landward.
Sage had already featured in the second series of The Traitors.
And when they wanted her back for series three it was new team member Danae, 27, who lives in Dunfermline, who was tasked with flying Sage for the cameras.
Filming The Traitors was “crazy”
Danae says: “That was in my first month here. Oh my gosh!
“It was crazy. I never thought I’d be doing something like that.”
Danae drove Sage north to Ardross Castle, near Alness, in the Highlands. It is there that the show, which sees contestants battle for a cash prize as faithfuls or traitors, is set.
Filming of their segment took place late one evening in May last year.
In the opening episode Sage lands beside Claudia as she sits at a dressing table in the castle.
She caws after Claudia asks her: “Did you deliver all the invites?”
After showing Sage her iconic red, fingerless gloves and asking if they are ok, Claudia announces it’s time to get the castle ready.
Then Sage is seen flying from the grand, front doors of the historic building.
“Being there and doing filming like that was something I had never done before,” says Danae.
But Danae is yet to see the result of her work, which was screened in January. She admits: “I don’t have a TV at home! My boss told me about it but I still need to catch up.”
Sage was well-known before starring in The Traitors, as she has been a highlight at countless weddings.
She delivers rings for wedding ceremonies before entertaining guests then posing for photographs.
Flying birds for weddings is just one of the many roles falconers like Danae perform.
They lead hunting expeditions, perform pest control and aid breeding and conservation programmes.
Training birds-of-prey at Elite Falconry
Educating the public about the birds-of-prey she works with is the part of her job Danae loves most.
Originally from Argentina, Danae studied to be an animal trainer in Spain before moving to Scotland.
Elite Falconry also runs experience days and gives demonstrations at venues across the country.
Danae says: “You’re going to leave here knowing a lot of stuff. I never shut up!
“I’m very passionate about what I do and people can see that.”
Training the birds and gaining their confidence, she says, takes a lot of patience and hard work.
Most of the birds are bred in aviaries isolated from humans.
“When you start working with them it’s like working with a wild bird because they’ve had no contact with humans,” says Danae.
Only when the bird is fully confident and reliable – which can take several months – will it be let loose to fly untethered.
“The bird which has been my biggest challenge since I started working here was Drogon.”
White-tailed eagles, also known as sea eagles, are the UK’s largest bird-of-prey. Their wingspan can be up to 2.4 metres.
“It took us a long time to get to know each other and bond.”
Does she have a favourite bird?
“That’s impossible! That’s like asking someone if they have a favourite child!”
Conversation