Adopting an owl is one way in which our loyal supporters provide the Sanctuary with much needed assistance to help carry on the conservation, rehabilitation and education work that we do here, and maintain the bird hospital and many aviaries which house both our resident birds and those who recuperate here before being returned to the wild. People adopt a bird of prey for a wide variety of reasons and can come to see their chosen adoptee here at the Sanctuary throughout the year.
Recently we received an email from a couple that live in the Isle of Wight and were planning a visit to Suffolk. They adopted Cobweb the Barn Owl in November 2009 and wondered if it would be possible to pop in to see him. Adopting Cobweb is especially poignant for them, as they have done so in memory of their son Justin, who bred Barn Owls in Northumberland and, sadly, died of cystic fibrosis in 2006. Unperturbed by the bitter northerly wind that was whipping around the Centre this week, Alison & John duly arrived to see how Cobweb is getting on and to take a look at the other resident raptors we have here at the Sanctuary.
At this time of year most of our owls, including Cobweb, are safely tucked up in their aviaries, having a well earned rest if they are members of the flying display team, or getting ready for a much needed winter moult. We do, however, still have Cecil our young Spectacled Owl in a weathering, getting used to his equipment and to the interested attention of our visitors, so we thought it would be a nice memento for our visitors to have a picture taken with him on the fist.
Alison meets Cecil…
... who as you can see, has developed somewhat since he came to us just a few weeks ago
Cecil was born in May of this year and has been hand reared here at the Sanctuary, so consequently he’s a very friendly chap, well used to being handled. He is, of course, a typically inquisitive youngster, wanting to have a good gawp at everything going on around him, but he did manage to stay still just long enough to show off just how stunningly photogenic he is!
We do hope Justin’s parents enjoyed visiting Cobweb and were suitably enchanted by Cecil’s boyish charms and we would like to take this opportunity to thank them and all our dedicated followers for their continued and much appreciated support.