Play Misty For Me

Last Thursday was a busy day for SOS as we took our travelling roadshow to the Canterbury Infant School and Kingfisher Nursery in Thetford, on the far side of the county.

This meant a very early start, not only for the staff but also for the birds involved - on this occasion the birds selected to represent SOS were Lock (Lanner Falcon), Cedric (African Spotted Eagle Owl), Josh (Harris’ Hawk) and Misty (Barn Owl).

The day started with preparing each of the birds for their outing - checking their condition & ‘flying weights’, making ready their special traveling boxes and preparing their food for the day: then they and our equipment were loaded aboard the transportation kindly supplied by one of our regular volunteers, Kathy Bole - for whose frequent assistance we would like to raise a big vote of thanks!

On arriving at Thetford, we were shown into the assembly hall, which would be our base for the day as we met with various classes from the school. The children were extremely well behaved as we introduced all the birds and talked about their lifestyles and habitats, and despite their young age, the pupils asked many relevant questions regarding the birds we had brought along.

By far the favourites on this occasion were the owls, particularly because the children had just finished reading ‘The Owl who was afraid of the Dark’ which features a Barn Owl. This meant that meeting our own representative of the species, Misty, became the highlight of the day and, it seemed, about as important and significant as a ‘royal visit’ in the minds of these youngsters!

Here at SOS, we believe that every child should have the opportunity to get close to nature and learn about the fascinating creatures that inhabit our planet. If you, your teacher, your school or activity group would like to arrange a visit from our display team, then please contact me at the e-mail address below.

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