Marsh Harrier Release

Back in July a juvenile Marsh Harrier was brought to the Sanctuary by Stephen Hall, who found the bird with a damaged wing over at Blythburgh near Southwold on the Suffolk coastline - an area prevalent with reed beds & marshland which form the natural habitat for this rarely-sighted species.

After a trip to the vet for a check-up it was verified the wing was broken, the severity of which usually determines the chances of a full mend & recovery. In this case it was deemed likely that after some lengthy rest-&-recuperation time at the Sanctuary, the bird stood a chance of survival and this indeed proved to be the case. Nevertheless, as Marsh Harriers are very sensitive birds, great care had to be taken that our charge to ensure it was not stressed during the treatment & rehabilitation period, so it was kept well away from the general melée in a secluded aviary at the edge of the centre.

So happily, a couple of weeks ago the Harrier was passed ready for release and was taken back to the place where it was found: here we met Stephen again, who carried out the release. Andy reports that the Harrier "flew strong", circled a few times and then - surprise! - was joined by another Harrier.

Stephen experiences the satisfaction of releasing a wild bird back to its natural habitat

Mr Hall said "I would like to thank Suffolk Owl Sanctuary for their expertise and work in getting this bird back to full health,and also allowing me to have the chance to be involved in the release of such a beautiful creature back into the wild"

Marsh Harrier Release

Back in July a juvenile Marsh Harrier was brought to the Sanctuary by Stephen Hall, who found the bird with a damaged wing over at Blythburgh near Southwold on the Suffolk coastline - an area prevalent with reed beds & marshland which form the natural habitat for this rarely-sighted species.

After a trip to the vet for a check-up it was verified the wing was broken, the severity of which usually determines the chances of a full mend & recovery. In this case it was deemed likely that after some lengthy rest-&-recuperation time at the Sanctuary, the bird stood a chance of survival and this indeed proved to be the case. Nevertheless, as Marsh Harriers are very sensitive birds, great care had to be taken that our charge to ensure it was not stressed during the treatment & rehabilitation period, so it was kept well away from the general melée in a secluded aviary at the edge of the centre.

So happily, a couple of weeks ago the Harrier was passed ready for release and was taken back to the place where it was found: here we met Stephen again, who carried out the release. Andy reports that the Harrier "flew strong", circled a few times and then - surprise! - was joined by another Harrier.

Stephen experiences the satisfaction of releasing a wild bird back to its natural habitat

Mr Hall said "I would like to thank Suffolk Owl Sanctuary for their expertise and work in getting this bird back to full health,and also allowing me to have the chance to be involved in the release of such a beautiful creature back into the wild"

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Squirrel Surprise

Squirrel Surprise

In our last newsletter, we were delighted to announce that our red squirrels had produced babies – an exciting first for the Sanctuary.  Well, it’s fantastic to be able to report that, unexpectedly, they’ve done it again.  Head falconer Matt Lott, also our resident Red Squirrel specialist, explains…

Our young mum has surprised us with more kits this year

We were surprised last year when our young female had babies, as she hadn’t been with us for very long and was still quite immature. This year, the team and I have been working hard at refurbishing the squirrel enclosures and building a new one, so we thought that with all the disruption it was unlikely that we would have any baby squirrels this year.  That we have is quite astounding.

When not only did we discover that our young pair had built a drey, but they had positioned it barely four feet off the ground, almost up against the mesh of their enclosure.  Red squirrels are notoriously shy, especially when breeding so it seemed quite incongruous that they would choose such a site for their nest!

It’s quite difficult to be certain, but I think we have two babies, which at the time of writing, are around four weeks old and will be fully grown in about another nine weeks.  

Unusually, the drey was built just four feet from the ground and close to the edge of the enclosure

At this point, I will have to make sure that the youngsters are split from their parents, otherwise the stark truth is they will not survive.  No-one seems to know why this occurs, maybe it’s a process of natural selection so that there’s no over crowding in a particular territory, but it is a fact that the kittens must be separated from their parents by the time they’re 13 weeks old.  As yet I’m not sure what gender our youngsters are and almost certainly won’t be able to tell until they’re eleven to twelve weeks old.  The kittens’ arrival really is a fantastic surprise and shows that our red squirrels are feeling settled and relaxed, great news for our conservation efforts this year!

Hospital Update
Just to keep you posted on how the hospital is doing, over the last couple of weeks, we have seen the arrival of two Tawny Owls that are now in our rehab aviaries in preparation for release.  We also took in four male Sparrowhawks, all juvenile birds, two of which were found in gardens and had badly bruised wings, one that was found in a chicken coup and one that was an RTA.  Hopefully the prognosis is good and we will be keeping tabs on their progress.  Sadly, not all our patients can be rehabilitated and in the case of a Kestrel with a severely broken wing, the most humane thing we could do was ask the vet to put the poor bird out of its suffering.  Unfortunately, birds can’t tell us when something really hurts, but a badly broken wing is sure to be causing a great deal of pain and in the majority of cases there is no possibility of recovery allowing the bird to survive in the wild. 

More Ups & Downs

In our last but one blog, I reported on two Tawny Owls and a Sparrowhawk that came in to our hospital.  One of the Tawnies was a juvenile that had been involved in an RTA, but since there were no obvious injuries, it seemed most likely that it had been buffeted by the slipstream of a vehicle rather than actually colliding with one.  The other Tawny was found in a kitchen, having fallen down the chimney.  They have since been given plenty of TLC by our falconry team and spent a couple of weeks in our specially designed rehab aviaries.  At the time of writing, both Tawnies have just been taken to be released back into the wild, which is really excellent news!

The other patient to come to us at around the same time was a male Sparrowhawk.  The Sparrowhawk was found in a garden in Stonham Aspal, literally just down the road from the Sanctuary.  Close examination revealed some superficial damage to one wing and that the skin underneath the feathers was clearly inflamed and bruised.  The most likely scenario was that the Sparrowhawk had collided with some kind of obstacle hence the bruising.  Time to recover from the trauma is often what’s most needed in such cases and in this instance the bird was also treated with Metacalm to help reduce the inflammation.  After the Sparrowhawk had spent a couple of weeks in a quiet, secluded rehab aviary, Andy went with one of our volunteers, Doug, to release it in Stonham Aspal, close to where it was found.

Volunteer Doug releases the Sparrowhawk where it was found, not far from the Sanctuary

Natural Selection
Although obviously it’s a great feeling to be able to write about the hospital’s rehabilitation successes, it’s important to be realistic and accept that sometimes nature has other ideas.  We recently had two juvenile Kestrels brought in to the Sanctuary both of which were very thin and malnourished.  Despite the falconers’ best efforts, the youngsters were too far-gone to recover.  In the natural world, it’s a harsh fact that at least 50% of raptors will die due to starvation in the first couple of months of leaving the nest.  Unfortunately it really is a question of natural selection and nature’s way of ensuring the survival of the fittest. 

Squirrel Surprise

Squirrel Surprise
In our last newsletter, we were delighted to announce that our red squirrels had produced babies – an exciting first for the Sanctuary. Well, it’s fantastic to be able to report that, unexpectedly, they’ve done it again. Head falconer Matt Lott, also our resident Red Squirrel specialist, explains…

Our young mum has surprised us with more kits this year

We were surprised last year when our young female had babies, as she hadn’t been with us for very long and was still quite immature. This year, the team and I have been working hard at refurbishing the squirrel enclosures and building a new one, so we thought that with all the disruption it was unlikely that we would have any baby squirrels this year.  That we have is quite astounding.

When not only did we discover that our young pair had built a drey, but they had positioned it barely four feet off the ground, almost up against the mesh of their enclosure.  Red squirrels are notoriously shy, especially when breeding so it seemed quite incongruous that they would choose such a site for their nest!
It’s quite difficult to be certain, but I think we have two babies, which at the time of writing, are around four weeks old and will be fully grown in about another nine weeks.  

Unusually, the drey was built just four feet from the ground and close to the edge of the enclosure

At this point, I will have to make sure that the youngsters are split from their parents, otherwise the stark truth is they will not survive. No-one seems to know why this occurs, maybe it’s a process of natural selection so that there’s no over crowding in a particular territory, but it is a fact that the kittens must be separated from their parents by the time they’re 13 weeks old. As yet I’m not sure what gender our youngsters are and almost certainly won’t be able to tell until they’re eleven to twelve weeks old. The kittens’ arrival really is a fantastic surprise and shows that our red squirrels are feeling settled and relaxed, great news for our conservation efforts this year!

Hospital Update
Just to keep you posted on how the hospital is doing, over the last couple of weeks, we have seen the arrival of two Tawny Owls that are now in our rehab aviaries in preparation for release. We also took in four male Sparrowhawks, all juvenile birds, two of which were found in gardens and had badly bruised wings, one that was found in a chicken coup and one that was an RTA. Hopefully the prognosis is good and we will be keeping tabs on their progress. Sadly, not all our patients can be rehabilitated and in the case of a Kestrel with a severely broken wing, the most humane thing we could do was ask the vet to put the poor bird out of its suffering. Unfortunately, birds can’t tell us when something really hurts, but a badly broken wing is sure to be causing a great deal of pain and in the majority of cases there is no possibility of recovery allowing the bird to survive in the wild.

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Up, Up and Away!

This year has been surprisingly quiet on the hospital front, the number of injured birds being brought in to us considerably down compared to last year.  General Manager Andy thinks this might be for a variety of reasons.  On the downside, it seems that the especially hard 2010/2011 winter may have been responsible for the natural cull of some birds unable to survive the prolonged, bitter conditions.  On a more positive note, we have seen a marked reduction in the number of orphaned chicks that have come in to our hospital compared to other years.  Our message to people has always been that it’s best to leave an apparently abandoned youngster alone and wait to see if the parents are indeed still looking after it, which more often than not is actually the case. Luckily, it would seem likely that this message is really beginning to get across!
 
So, whilst it’s good to know that there have been fewer raptors so far this year needing our hospital services, we are still ready and waiting for those that do!  Most recently, I’m pleased to be able to report on the successful release of a Sparrowhawk, which was found at the end of July in Old Newton, having probably flown into a glass window.  We tend to suggest that people put bird or other transfers on large windows  (especially if they’re very clean) so that birds realise they can’t fly through them!

Talons to deceive - a rare chance to appreciate the long, sharp talons which are the tools in trade of the Sparrowhawk

The usual comprehensive health checks didn’t reveal any broken bones, or anything of serious concern, so the Sparrowhawk was moved from the hospital into one of our secluded rehabilitation aviaries, where she could be kept stress free and quiet, whilst still having plenty of space to regain her strength and flight fitness.  Two weeks later, on the 14th August, Andy decided that she was ready to look after herself again.  Volunteer Stacie Warvill accompanied Andy to the release area and the Sparrowhawk was successfully released back into the wild.
 
Hospital update
 
Currently we have two Tawny Owls in the hospital, one the victim of a Road Traffic Accident and one that fell down a chimney.  We also have another Sparrowhawk, which was found in a garden, concussed and unable to fly.  Keep posted for updates on how they get on.

Up, Up and Away!

Faster than a speeding bullet (or our shutter speed, anyway) the recuperated Sparrowhawk took off for the wild, released by our helpful volunteer Stacie

This year has been surprisingly quiet on the hospital front, the number of injured birds being brought in to us considerably down compared to last year. General Manager Andy thinks this might be for a variety of reasons. On the downside, it seems that the especially hard 2010/2011 winter may have been responsible for the natural cull of some birds unable to survive the prolonged, bitter conditions. On a more positive note, we have seen a marked reduction in the number of orphaned chicks that have come in to our hospital compared to other years. Our message to people has always been that it’s best to leave an apparently abandoned youngster alone and wait to see if the parents are indeed still looking after it, which more often than not is actually the case. Luckily, it would seem likely that this message is really beginning to get across!

So, whilst it’s good to know that there have been fewer raptors so far this year needing our hospital services, we are still ready and waiting for those that do! Most recently, I’m pleased to be able to report on the successful release of a Sparrowhawk, which was found at the end of July in Old Newton, having probably flown into a glass window. We tend to suggest that people put bird or other transfers on large windows (especially if they’re very clean) so that birds realise they can’t fly through them!

Talons to deceive - a rare chance to appreciate the long, sharp talons which are the tools in trade of the Sparrowhawk

The usual comprehensive health checks didn’t reveal any broken bones, or anything of serious concern, so the Sparrowhawk was moved from the hospital into one of our secluded rehabilitation aviaries, where she could be kept stress free and quiet, whilst still having plenty of space to regain her strength and flight fitness. Two weeks later, on the 14th August, Andy decided that she was ready to look after herself again. Volunteer Stacie Warvill accompanied Andy to the release area and the Sparrowhawk was successfully released back into the wild.

Hospital update

Currently we have two Tawny Owls in the hospital, one the victim of a Road Traffic Accident and one that fell down a chimney. We also have another Sparrowhawk, which was found in a garden, concussed and unable to fly. Keep posted for updates on how they get on.

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Flying The Flag

Andrew and I faced last Sunday with some trepidation, as we were due to attend a bygones and fun day at Ufford, near Woodbridge - the second opportunity we have had at this particular event to introduce the work of S.O.S. This is the time of year when everyone is holding their summer fairs, working on the assumption no doubt that the weather in July and August is likely to be hot and sunny.  Yes, well the forecast for this particular day was not only rain, but gales and thunderstorms to boot.  Still, the show must go on and we arrived at the Sanctuary at the crack of dawn to load up the vehicle kindly donated to us for the day by our sponsors Jeffries of Bacton.  Occasional volunteer Tony was on hand to help us with the hefting about and be our chauffeur for the day (very decadent), so we were soon ready to set off, keeping a watchful eye on the darkening clouds above.

As is quite usual for Andrew & me, we managed to not quite correctly follow the directions and were just debating a slightly uncertain left or right turn, when a rather beautiful classic car appeared on the scene.  ‘Follow that car’ we cried in true English fashion and sure enough we were soon at our destination!

Ready & waiting… Andrew & Ashley all prepared to fly the conservation flag once again

With us, we took Nightshade our beautiful Barn Owl and Auckland the Boobook Owl, seasoned campaigner at the ripe old age of three and phased by absolutely nothing.  Although Nightshade has been out to schools with us before, this was his first time at a big show, with all the sights, sounds, smells and other animals that naturally entails.  We kept his travelling box close at hand in case he needed to have some quiet chill time, but he seemed to take his cue from Auckland and was quite relaxed perched on Andrew’s fist enjoying the admiration from visitors.

Although, certainly in East Anglia, Barn Owls are a relatively more common sight these days, it’s very rare to see them up close enough to really appreciate their fragile beauty.  In flight, all you really see from a distance is a gliding white shape.  Up close, people are always amazed by the delicate patterns of grey and gold that adorn the Barn Owl’s outer feathers.
 
Weather wise, the day turned out to be a mixed bag, with some lovely warm sunny spells, followed by a handful of torrential downpours.  But the visitors were undeterred and, fortunately, our spacious gazebo encouraged people to come and take shelter when it rained.  Auckland and Nightshade were stars throughout and we had a very successful day despite the erratic weather.

Subliminal Advertising? Moi? We were very grateful to Jeffries of Bacton for providing a vehicle for the day, unobtrusively parked our team!

Flying The Flag

Andrew and I faced last Sunday with some trepidation, as we were due to attend a bygones and fun day at Ufford, near Woodbridge - the second opportunity we have had at this particular event to introduce the work of S.O.S. This is the time of year when everyone is holding their summer fairs, working on the assumption no doubt that the weather in July and August is likely to be hot and sunny.  Yes, well the forecast for this particular day was not only rain, but gales and thunderstorms to boot.  Still, the show must go on and we arrived at the Sanctuary at the crack of dawn to load up the vehicle kindly donated to us for the day by our sponsors Jeffries of Bacton.  Occasional volunteer Tony was on hand to help us with the hefting about and be our chauffeur for the day (very decadent), so we were soon ready to set off, keeping a watchful eye on the darkening clouds above.

As is quite usual for Andrew & me, we managed to not quite correctly follow the directions and were just debating a slightly uncertain left or right turn, when a rather beautiful classic car appeared on the scene.  ‘Follow that car’ we cried in true English fashion and sure enough we were soon at our destination!

Ready & waiting… Andrew & Ashley all prepared to fly the conservation flag once again

With us, we took Nightshade our beautiful Barn Owl and Auckland the Boobook Owl, seasoned campaigner at the ripe old age of three and phased by absolutely nothing. Although Nightshade has been out to schools with us before, this was his first time at a big show, with all the sights, sounds, smells and other animals that naturally entails. We kept his travelling box close at hand in case he needed to have some quiet chill time, but he seemed to take his cue from Auckland and was quite relaxed perched on Andrew’s fist enjoying the admiration from visitors.

Although, certainly in East Anglia, Barn Owls are a relatively more common sight these days, it’s very rare to see them up close enough to really appreciate their fragile beauty. In flight, all you really see from a distance is a gliding white shape. Up close, people are always amazed by the delicate patterns of grey and gold that adorn the Barn Owl’s outer feathers.

Weather wise, the day turned out to be a mixed bag, with some lovely warm sunny spells, followed by a handful of torrential downpours. But the visitors were undeterred and, fortunately, our spacious gazebo encouraged people to come and take shelter when it rained. Auckland and Nightshade were stars throughout and we had a very successful day despite the erratic weather.

Subliminal Advertising? Moi? We were very grateful to Jeffries of Bacton for providing a vehicle for the day, unobtrusively parked our team!

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Cecil gains a mate... and Naming Nemo

Beautiful Bride to Be

At the beginning of August last year, you may remember I reported on the arrival at the Sanctuary of our stunning Spectacled Owl Cecil. As a brief reminder, Cecil was donated to us by Mr Brian Draycott as a poignant tribute to his late parents, for which we are very grateful. And Cecil has turned out to be a true star. Not only is he wonderful to handle, but he has also wowed our visitors for the last year with his striking appearance.

It was always the intention that Cecil should have a mate, as owls do like to pair for life, but the spectacled owl is an exotic bird and it was unlikely that we would be able to find a female before this year. So it’s with great delight that we are able to announce the arrival of Phyllis, future spouse to Cecil. She hatched in May of this year in Oxfordshire and is currently residing in one of our weatherings to give her time to settle and get used to visitors. Once she is ready, she will become the newest member of our flying display team, replacing her husband-to-be Cecil, who will then retire to an aviary for a well earned rest.

Phyllis, a young female Spectacled Owl, has arrived to join a potential mate, Cecil at Stonham

As yet, Cecil and Phyllis are too young to breed and so the idea is that they will remain a part of the display team for the next three years. Then, once they are both mature enough, they will be paired into an aviary and we will await with bated breath the sound of tiny talons.

Naming Nemo

Phyllis is not our only new resident this year; we were also joined a couple of weeks ago by a young, female Northern Hawk Owl by the name of Nemo (yes I know, most of us think of Nemo as a brightly coloured, male fish, but remember we do also have Napoleon the female Great Grey Owl – we just like to be different!)

Nemo hatched in early May and has come to reside with us courtesy of our friend Mike Cady. Her parents were originally imported from the Czech Republic and we hope that she will help to provide a new bloodline for the UK population of Northern Hawk Owls. It is vitally important that new bloodlines are introduced from time to time to avoid interbreeding, which can result in birth defects. Again, we are hoping that Nemo will become part of our flying display team and perhaps also be one of our course birds.

Grey appears to the new Black this week! Young Nemo has a striking barred plumage

The Northern Hawk Owl is so called because of its distinctive likeness to a hawk. The greyish colouring and barring on the chest are very hawk-like as is the colouring on both wings and tail. Northern Hawk Owls originate from the boreal zones of North America and Eurasia and inhabit open coniferous forest and moorland. Their plumage offers ideal camouflage for this kind of habitat. Northern Hawk Owls mainly eat small mammals particularly lemmings and voles, but will also catch birds, frogs and, unusually, even fish.

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Garrulous Grey

Throughout our flying season, from April to September, our display birds are carefully observed to ensure that they are fit and well and that their feathers are in pristine condition for flying.  Sometimes one of our display birds may begin to moult before the end of the season and will then go back into its aviary to start the annual process of naturally replacing worn or damaged feathers.  At other times, one of our raptors may not be quite ready at the beginning of the season, having already started to moult, as is the case at the moment with our Great Grey Owl, Taiga.

Taiga, the Great Grey, is in moult - just look at the difference!

Taiga has come out of his aviary in preparation for joining the display team, but just now he is undeniably not looking his splendid best. We’re not sure how long it will take him to complete his moult, as it tends to be a slow process. Taiga will need to shed and replace his feathers carefully, so that his body temperature remains constant, he is still protected from the elements and, in the wild, he would need other birds of the same species to still recognise him.  At this stage though his feathers are definitely not in flying condition and so he contents himself with sitting in his weathering cooing softly to the visitors as they pass by.  All our birds of prey have their own characters but, although they are all hand reared, some are friendlier towards humans than others.  Taiga is one of our friendliest and he likes nothing better than a good chat with passers by, his stunning yellow eyes gazing inquisitively out of his affable grey face.

But it won't be long before Taiga regains his natural good looks

The Great Grey is also known as the Lapland Owl and can be found from Alaska across Canada, down the Northern Rocky Mountains, and northern Minnesota. They are also found in northern Europe and Asia.  Taiga’s species has a rather fine Latin name, ‘nebulous’, meaning misty or foggy, an apt description for this beautiful bird of prey with its dark grey plumage interspersed with bars and flecks of light grey and white.  The Great Grey is one of the world’s largest owls and so it tends to fly quite slowly and sedately.  Great Greys prefer not to fly long distances and are very dependent on their tremendous hearing to locate their prey.  In icy conditions, Taiga would be able to hear a small mammal up to 12 inches (30cm) under the snow!

Cecil gains a mate... and Naming Nemo

Beautiful Bride to Be

At the beginning of August last year, you may remember I reported on the arrival at the Sanctuary of our stunning Spectacled Owl Cecil.  As a brief reminder, Cecil was donated to us by Mr Brian Draycott as a poignant tribute to his late parents, for which we are very grateful.  And Cecil has turned out to be a true star.  Not only is he wonderful to handle, but he has also wowed our visitors for the last year with his striking appearance. 

It was always the intention that Cecil should have a mate, as owls do like to pair for life, but the spectacled owl is an exotic bird and it was unlikely that we would be able to find a female before this year.  So it’s with great delight that we are able to announce the arrival of Phyllis, future spouse to Cecil.  She hatched in May of this year in Oxfordshire and is currently residing in one of our weatherings to give her time to settle and get used to visitors.  Once she is ready, she will become the newest member of our flying display team, replacing her husband-to-be Cecil, who will then retire to an aviary for a well earned rest.

Phyllis, a young female Spectacled Owl, has arrived to join a potential mate, Cecil at Stonham

As yet, Cecil and Phyllis are too young to breed and so the idea is that they will remain a part of the display team for the next three years.  Then, once they are both mature enough, they will be paired into an aviary and we will await with bated breath the sound of tiny talons.

Naming Nemo

Phyllis is not our only new resident this year; we were also joined a couple of weeks ago by a young, female Northern Hawk Owl by the name of Nemo (yes I know, most of us think of Nemo as a brightly coloured, male fish, but remember we do also have Napoleon the female Great Grey Owl – we just like to be different!)
 
Nemo hatched in early May and has come to reside with us courtesy of our friend Mike Cady.  Her parents were originally imported from the Czech Republic and we hope that she will help to provide a new bloodline for the UK population of Northern Hawk Owls.  It is vitally important that new bloodlines are introduced from time to time to avoid interbreeding, which can result in birth defects. Again, we are hoping that Nemo will become part of our flying display team and perhaps also be one of our course birds.

Grey appears to the new Black this week! Young Nemo has a striking barred plumage

The Northern Hawk Owl is so called because of its distinctive likeness to a hawk.  The greyish colouring and barring on the chest are very hawk-like as is the colouring on both wings and tail.  Northern Hawk Owls originate from the boreal zones of North America and Eurasia and inhabit open coniferous forest and moorland.  Their plumage offers ideal camouflage for this kind of habitat. Northern Hawk Owls mainly eat small mammals particularly lemmings and voles, but will also catch birds, frogs and, unusually, even fish.

Garrulous Grey

Throughout our flying season, from April to September, our display birds are carefully observed to ensure that they are fit and well and that their feathers are in pristine condition for flying.  Sometimes one of our display birds may begin to moult before the end of the season and will then go back into its aviary to start the annual process of naturally replacing worn or damaged feathers.  At other times, one of our raptors may not be quite ready at the beginning of the season, having already started to moult, as is the case at the moment with our Great Grey Owl, Taiga.

Taiga, the Great Grey, is in moult - just look at the difference!

Taiga has come out of his aviary in preparation for joining the display team, but just now he is undeniably not looking his splendid best. We’re not sure how long it will take him to complete his moult, as it tends to be a slow process. Taiga will need to shed and replace his feathers carefully, so that his body temperature remains constant, he is still protected from the elements and, in the wild, he would need other birds of the same species to still recognise him.  At this stage though his feathers are definitely not in flying condition and so he contents himself with sitting in his weathering cooing softly to the visitors as they pass by.  All our birds of prey have their own characters but, although they are all hand reared, some are friendlier towards humans than others.  Taiga is one of our friendliest and he likes nothing better than a good chat with passers by, his stunning yellow eyes gazing inquisitively out of his affable grey face.

But it won't be long before Taiga regains his natural good looks

The Great Grey is also known as the Lapland Owl and can be found from Alaska across Canada, down the Northern Rocky Mountains, and northern Minnesota. They are also found in northern Europe and Asia.  Taiga’s species has a rather fine Latin name, ‘nebulous’, meaning misty or foggy, an apt description for this beautiful bird of prey with its dark grey plumage interspersed with bars and flecks of light grey and white.  The Great Grey is one of the world’s largest owls and so it tends to fly quite slowly and sedately.  Great Greys prefer not to fly long distances and are very dependent on their tremendous hearing to locate their prey.  In icy conditions, Taiga would be able to hear a small mammal up to 12 inches (30cm) under the snow!

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Stepping Back in Time

Falconry, or ‘Hawking’ as it used to be known, has been a popular pastime in Britain since the Middle Ages.  Most of us probably think of it as having been a sport for the wealthy during mediaeval times, but in fact it was also a valuable source of food for the less fortunate. 

The type of bird of prey you were allowed to keep at this time was very much dependent on your status.  Woe betide you if you were found to be in possession of a bird above your station in life; punishment could result in a fine or even imprisonment! 

The pecking order for owning a bird of prey was indeed taken very seriously, the following being the accepted order of possession:

• Emperor - Eagle or Vulture
• King - Gyr Falcon
• Prince, Duke or Earl – Peregrine Falcon
• Baron - Buzzard
• Knight - Saker Falcon
• Esquire - Lanner Falcon
• Lady - Merlin
• Young Man - Hobby
• Yeoman - Goshawk
• Priest - Sparrowhawk
• Holy Water Clerk - Musket
• Knave or Servant – Kestrel 

So, since many of our resident birds of prey are steeped in history, it seemed quite apposite that we should host a Mediaeval Weekend at the Sanctuary.  This was arranged to coincide with Father’s Day, giving all those hard working dads out there a treat to remember.  We enlisted the expert services of the ‘Black Knight Historical’ group, who began to arrive on Friday afternoon complete with mediaeval encampment and historical artifacts.
 
The weather wasn’t entirely kind, in fact it rained so heavily on Friday night that I was afraid we would find nothing but a soggy pile of tents on Saturday morning.  However the Black Knights are a stalwart bunch and one of them remarked cheerily “Just like mediaeval times!”  And it was a fantastic weekend.  There were knights & soldiers in combat, visitors trying their hand at archery and coin making and all around ‘mediaeval’ people were going about their daily lives cooking, weaving, making armour and giving us a real flavour of life in the middle ages.  It was a great success and we’ve since had many comments about how much visitors to the Sanctuary enjoyed the whole experience.

The Mediaeval encampment hosted demonstrations of contemporary crafts...

Longbowmen took part in a competitive shoot-out...

The Minstrel kept everyone entertained with hits of the Middle Ages...

Meanwhile the kitchen fired up to feed the troops...

Knights battled on valiantly...

Entirely self-sufficient, clothing and footwear was fabricated on site...

"Ye Grub's Up!" was a frequent shout from the canteen...

Small snippet of interest:  The proverb ‘A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush’ originates from mediaeval falconry.  The bird in the hand relates to the falcon on the glove, which was obviously very valuable and worth considerably more than two of its potential prey in the bush!

And the meaning?
It's better to have a small, definite advantage or asset than just the hope of a greater one.

Onwards and Upwards!

It’s incredible how fast the time goes and our current batch of raptor hatchlings seems to be growing really fast. The little Red Kite chicks are doing extremely well and are now just over two weeks old - the falconers are pretty certain that the babies are a boy and a girl since, although they hatched only two days apart, the first chick is considerably bigger than the second.

Hatched only two days apart, these Red Kite siblings show a discernible difference in size which - although far to early to tell for certain - possibly indicates that one is likely to be a male

Where owls are concerned, their young are bound to be a range of sizes, as mum will start incubating the first egg as soon as it has hatched and just add each subsequent egg to the clutch. Barn Owls often lay up to six eggs and the chicks will hatch at different stages, so they are likely to be very different sizes indeed. Most other birds of prey tend to wait until all their eggs have been laid before they sit on them. In the case of our Red Kites, mum did sit for a little while on the first egg, maybe just to start it off, but didn’t incubate it properly until the second egg was laid two days later.

Little & Large - the Peregrine chick on the left is just over a week old, whilst the one on the right was hatched five weeks ago - a visible indication of how quickly they grow

Currently, the falconers are also looking after four Peregrine Falcon young. The first clutch was hatched just over five weeks ago and the second just over a week ago. The amount of growth in those five weeks is amazing and the first clutch chicks are already losing their downy feathers and growing plush adult ones.

Peregrine Falcons fledge at around 8 weeks old and our older chicks are already testing out their wings – known, I am reliably informed, as ‘wing pumping’. They will soon be ready to move into a crèche aviary where they can safely build up their flight fitness and learn how to land on different perches.

Andy is pretty certain that the first clutch of Peregrines consists of a male and a female because of the difference in their size. This is known as ‘dimorphism’, which is basically when the male and female of the same species have one or more physical attributes that distinguish them from on another. In raptor species, the females are usually bigger so that they can incubate their eggs and brood their chicks successfully. Technically, a female Peregrine is called a ‘falcon’, whilst the male is called a ‘tiercel’, meaning ‘a third’, the male bird being a third the size of the female.

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Onwards & Upwards!

It’s incredible how fast the time goes and our current batch of raptor hatchlings seems to be growing really fast.  The little Red Kite chicks are doing extremely well and are now just over two weeks old - the falconers are pretty certain that the babies are a boy and a girl since, although they hatched only two days apart, the first chick is considerably bigger than the second. 

Hatched only two days apart, these Red Kite siblings show a discernible difference in size which - although far to early to tell for certain - possibly indicates that one is likely to be a male

Where owls are concerned, their young are bound to be a range of sizes, as mum will start incubating the first egg as soon as it has hatched and just add each subsequent egg to the clutch.  Barn Owls often lay up to six eggs and the chicks will hatch at different stages, so they are likely to be very different sizes indeed. Most other birds of prey tend to wait until all their eggs have been laid before they sit on them.  In the case of our Red Kites, mum did sit for a little while on the first egg, maybe just to start it off, but didn’t incubate it properly until the second egg was laid two days later.
 
Currently, the falconers are also looking after four Peregrine Falcon young.  The first clutch was hatched just over five weeks ago and the second just over a week ago.  The amount of growth in those five weeks is amazing and the first clutch chicks are already losing their downy feathers and growing plush adult ones.

Little & Large - the Peregrine chick on the left is just over a week old, whilst the one on the right was hatched five weeks ago - a visible indication of how quickly they grow

Peregrine Falcons fledge at around 8 weeks old and our older chicks are already testing out their wings – known, I am reliably informed, as ‘wing pumping’.  They will soon be ready to move into a crèche aviary where they can safely build up their flight fitness and learn how to land on different perches.
 
Andy is pretty certain that the first clutch of Peregrines consists of a male and a female because of the difference in their size.  This is known as ‘dimorphism’, which is basically when the male and female of the same species have one or more physical attributes that distinguish them from on another.  In raptor species, the females are usually bigger so that they can incubate their eggs and brood their chicks successfully.  Technically, a female Peregrine is called a ‘falcon’, whilst the male is called a ‘tiercel’, meaning ‘a third’, the male bird being a third the size of the female. 

Red Kite Controversy

I think it would be fair to say that the Red Kite is one of the UK’s most stunning native birds of prey and, dramatically, only recently recovered from the brink of annihilation. 

A beautiful red Kite shows off its stunning plumage during a display at S.O.S.

To set the scene, the Red Kite used to be a common sight in towns and cities all over the UK until the Government deemed it ‘vermin’ in the 16th Century.  Open season was declared, permanently and towards the end of the 18th Century Red Kites were all but extinct across the UK apart from a handful of pairs in rural Mid Wales.  

Since that time valiant efforts have been made by various individuals and organisations to revive the raptor’s dwindling population, until in the 1990’s a series of reintroductions began across Britain.  

Now, in their 2011 Big Garden Birdwatch survey, the RSPB have reported that there are currently around 2,000 breeding pairs.  That’s over a 130% increase in one year! 

It’s a huge conservation achievement and yet there are those who are not so thrilled by the Red Kite’s revival.  In the Chilterns area the raptor was reintroduced in the 1990’s and has gone from strength to strength ever since, but recent eyewitness reports in Watlington have suggested that the Kites are becoming increasingly aggressive, with accounts of the raptors sitting on prams and stealing food. 

In 2010, thirty Red Kites were released in Grizedale Forest by the Forestry Commission and rangers think around twenty survived the winter, which would replicate natural survival patterns.  Sadly however, one has been found shot dead, the second in a year, which has sparked an investigation involving both the police and the Forestry Commission. 

Unfortunately, some people think that Red Kites will eat anything, but they are generally carrion feeders and almost certainly wouldn’t attack livestock.  Like any animal though, if you encourage wild birds by feeding them they will keep coming back for more, which then earns them (rather unfairly) a bad name.  Apart from anything else, human food isn’t good for raptors (or in many cases humans either) so it’s best to leave them to source their food naturally and just enjoy watching them in all their magnificent splendour, soaring about our British skies.

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Red Kite Controversy

I think it would be fair to say that the Red Kite is one of the UK’s most stunning native birds of prey and, dramatically, only recently recovered from the brink of annihilation. 

A beautiful red Kite shows off its stunning plumage during a display at S.O.S.

To set the scene, the Red Kite used to be a common sight in towns and cities all over the UK until the Government deemed it ‘vermin’ in the 16th Century.  Open season was declared, permanently and towards the end of the 18th Century Red Kites were all but extinct across the UK apart from a handful of pairs in rural Mid Wales. 
 
Since that time valiant efforts have been made by various individuals and organisations to revive the raptor’s dwindling population, until in the 1990’s a series of reintroductions began across Britain. 
 
Now, in their 2011 Big Garden Birdwatch survey, the RSPB have reported that there are currently around 2,000 breeding pairs.  That’s over a 130% increase in one year!
 
It’s a huge conservation achievement and yet there are those who are not so thrilled by the Red Kite’s revival.  In the Chilterns area the raptor was reintroduced in the 1990’s and has gone from strength to strength ever since, but recent eyewitness reports in Watlington have suggested that the Kites are becoming increasingly aggressive, with accounts of the raptors sitting on prams and stealing food.
 
In 2010, thirty Red Kites were released in Grizedale Forest by the Forestry Commission and rangers think around twenty survived the winter, which would replicate natural survival patterns.  Sadly however, one has been found shot dead, the second in a year, which has sparked an investigation involving both the police and the Forestry Commission.
 
Unfortunately, some people think that Red Kites will eat anything, but they are generally carrion feeders and almost certainly wouldn’t attack livestock.  Like any animal though, if you encourage wild birds by feeding them they will keep coming back for more, which then earns them (rather unfairly) a bad name.  Apart from anything else, human food isn’t good for raptors (or in many cases humans either) so it’s best to leave them to source their food naturally and just enjoy watching them in all their magnificent splendour, soaring about our British skies.

Raptor Rapture

Hasn’t it been the most peculiar spring?  Apparently it was approximately eleven days early this year and according to the Met Office, this April has been the warmest since records began.  For us here in the east of England the biggest problem has been the lack of rain and Farmers Weekly reports that April saw just 5mm of rainfall – a mere 11% of the monthly average.

Fortunately our resident birds of prey don't seem to have been unduly affected by the unusual weather or the early spring and the falconers are already hard at work looking after this year's new arrivals and keeping a weather eye on a number of broody raptors.  Some birds of prey can be aggressive when breeding, so the falconers have to be especially careful about entering the aviaries of birds displaying territorial or breeding behaviour.  A brooding female also needs to be kept calm, as she could damage her eggs if stressed.

To date, at the Sanctuary, we already have two Peregrine Falcon chicks, a baby Lanner Falcon and two Harris Hawk young.  Our owls have been doing well too and so far we have two Tawny Owl babies, two little Little Owls, two European Eagle Owl chicks and a Southern Boobook owlet. 

Leaps & bounds... our young peregrines are coming along nicely, thank you

You may remember last year that we had a tremendously exciting first for the Sanctuary when our Red Kites produced two babies.  Well it looks like mum and dad have done it again.  Red hot press: at the time of writing our first Red Kite chick of 2011 has had its first photo debut at just a few hours old – complete with stylish Mohican hairdo!  Hopefully there is another Red Kite baby on its way too.  Conservation Officer Dean reported that the youngster has been heard ‘pipping’, which is the noise that chicks make when they are tapping their way out of the egg.  There’s no way of telling how long it will take, it could be anything from a few hours to a couple of days, but the falconers will be keeping a close eye on proceedings.

Mohican in the making - it's wonderful to reflect that this little mite will soon develop the striking good looks of a mature Red Kite

Sometimes a chick might have a bit of a struggle fighting its way out of its egg.  This could be because the egg has a particularly thick shell or occasionally because the chick is too big and doesn’t have enough room to manoeuvre.  Here at the Sanctuary, once a chick has managed to make a small hole in its eggshell, the falconers will closely monitor its progress.  If the baby hasn’t hatched within 48 hours, then it is obviously in trouble.  There are two concerns at this stage; a) the chick will be too tired to break its way out of its egg and b) if the chick messes inside the egg there is a high risk of infection.  In the wild, this would be seen as a process of natural selection and the chick would be unlikely to hatch. Fortunately, in captivity, it’s just a case of lending a helping hand to give the chick the best chance of survival.

Raptor Rapture

Hasn’t it been the most peculiar spring?  Apparently it was approximately eleven days early this year and according to the Met Office, this April has been the warmest since records began.  For us here in the east of England the biggest problem has been the lack of rain and Farmers Weekly reports that April saw just 5mm of rainfall – a mere 11% of the monthly average. 

Fortunately our resident birds of prey don't seem to have been unduly affected by the unusual weather or the early spring and the falconers are already hard at work looking after this year's new arrivals and keeping a weather eye on a number of broody raptors.  Some birds of prey can be aggressive when breeding, so the falconers have to be especially careful about entering the aviaries of birds displaying territorial or breeding behaviour.  A brooding female also needs to be kept calm, as she could damage her eggs if stressed. 

To date, at the Sanctuary, we already have two Peregrine Falcon chicks, a baby Lanner Falcon and two Harris Hawk young.  Our owls have been doing well too and so far we have two Tawny Owl babies, two little Little Owls, two European Eagle Owl chicks and a Southern Boobook owlet. 

Leaps & bounds... our young peregrines are coming along nicely, thank you

You may remember last year that we had a tremendously exciting first for the Sanctuary when our Red Kites produced two babies.  Well it looks like mum and dad have done it again.  Red hot press: at the time of writing our first Red Kite chick of 2011 has had its first photo debut at just a few hours old – complete with stylish Mohican hairdo!  Hopefully there is another Red Kite baby on its way too.  Conservation Officer Dean reported that the youngster has been heard ‘pipping’, which is the noise that chicks make when they are tapping their way out of the egg.  There’s no way of telling how long it will take, it could be anything from a few hours to a couple of days, but the falconers will be keeping a close eye on proceedings.

Mohican in the making - it's wonderful to reflect that this little mite will soon develop the striking good looks of a mature Red Kite

Sometimes a chick might have a bit of a struggle fighting its way out of its egg.  This could be because the egg has a particularly thick shell or occasionally because the chick is too big and doesn’t have enough room to manoeuvre.  Here at the Sanctuary, once a chick has managed to make a small hole in its eggshell, the falconers will closely monitor its progress.  If the baby hasn’t hatched within 48 hours, then it is obviously in trouble.  There are two concerns at this stage; a) the chick will be too tired to break its way out of its egg and b) if the chick messes inside the egg there is a high risk of infection.  In the wild, this would be seen as a process of natural selection and the chick would be unlikely to hatch. Fortunately, in captivity, it’s just a case of lending a helping hand to give the chick the best chance of survival.

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