Virtual Sessions launching Oct 2020

2020 has been a difficult year for many, especially those working with children and young people across the region, Here at Suffolk Owl Sanctuary we continue to offer educational visits for groups, but understand that in these times, it may be impractical to organise a visit to our Sanctuary, or to have visitors come to you.

Following discussions with other Education Officers from collections around the world, we are pleased to be launching Virtual Sessions from October 2020. These will be live sessions for schools and groups, delivered via a secure Zoom link, on a range of topics linked to the national curriculum. The list below is the sessions we have prepared so far, but we are open to suggestions so please let us know if there is something else you would like us to cover:

Food chains and webs
British habitats
Nocturnal Animals
Raptor Conservation
All About Owls
Animal Storytime
Owl Pellet Detectives, either as a demo or as a practical. Owl pellets are priced at £3 each and should be ordered from our website 2 weeks before the session date: https://www.owl-help.org.uk/pellet-detectives

Owl Pellet Detectives is already a popular session. Photo by L. Mundford.

These sessions will be priced at £35. Each session will last up to 1 hour (practical Owl Pellet Detectives, may run a bit longer if required) and will include different activities relating to raptors and time for questions at the end. We can provide worksheets for these sessions, which will be made available from our website to download.

Sessions are available Mon-Fri 10-4, but if you would like to arrange a session outwith these times, please do get in touch with our Education Officer, Susan, to discuss.
( susan@owlbarn.co.uk )

The dangers of roads

Over recent months, we have received a number of casualties into the hospital which are suspected of being involved in Road Traffic Accidents (RTAs).

This Barn Owl was found on the side of a road. She arrived last week with no obvious signs of injury, but will be kept in for monitoring. Otherwise, she was in good condition, so we think she was just unlucky in choosing her hunting grounds the day she was brought in.

This Barn Owl arrived after a suspected RTA. The staining on her feathers is from her nares (or nostrils), and is similar to a nosebleed so not thought to be serious.

We also have a Buzzard in the hospital which arrived with obvious head trauma, again, after a suspected collision with a vehicle. After some monitoring in an aviary, our vet determined it may have a condition known as uveitis, which can cause pain in the eye. This can usually be treated successfully, and we are hopeful that both our current Road Rescues will make full recoveries and be released into the wild soon.

This Buzzard was brought in with head injuries and is being monitored in our aviaries.

Britain has enough roads to wrap around the Earth 10 times (247,000 miles!). A recent report shows that over 70% of Britain falls within 700m of a road, causing impacts such as noise, light and chemical pollution, as well as the more obvious risk of collisions.
(https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-16899-x)

Some wildlife appears to have adapted to live life in the fast lane, especially scavengers such as Red Kites, Crows and Foxes, who will treat busy roads almost like a buffet, feasting on those unable to get out of the way quickly enough. These animals are known to be intelligent and adaptable, and there have been reports that in social species one individual will warn others of oncoming traffic so they can get out of the way.

Others have struggled to adapt. Hedgehogs were recently reclassified as Vulnerable to Extinction due to their population decline, and one of the main reasons for this is RTAs, with roads cutting up the landscape, making it hard for hedgehogs to move around. Hedgehogs main defence is to roll up in a ball, which unfortunately does not stand up against cars and lorries. They can also struggle with kerbs, so having crossed the road safely, they may be unable to escape the other side into the safety of the verge or hedge.

For land based animals, one way to help is to create wildlife bridges over or tunnels under roads. This is mostly done in America and continenal Europe, although in Scotland, some roads have rope bridges across to help Red Squirrels move around, and every year hundreds of volunteers will help amphibians around the UK to cross roads between their hibernation sites and their breeding ponds. National Geographic have covered this several times, with the most recent article on this topic here: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2019/04/wildlife-overpasses-underpasses-make-animals-people-safer/

Roadside raptors are a familiar sight in East Anglia, but they have mixed fortunes living close to roads. Road verges are a perfect place for small rodents to live, as they are relatively protected from predators due to the traffic. This makes them ideal places for raptors to hunt, and Kestrels are commonly seen perched on poles or hovering alongside roads waiting for a mouse to emerge. While Kestrels are mobile enough to get out of the way, other birds, such as Barn Owls can get caught up in the slipstream of passing vehicles and thrown into oncoming traffic.

An unfortunate Barn Owl, killed on the road. Photo by Mike Toms.

Project Splatter is a citizen science project based at Cardiff University which records roadkill around the UK. Their figures for 2019 show that 285 Birds of Prey were recorded around the UK, with 36 in East Anglia. Of these 43 were Barn Owls nationwide, with 8 found in East Anglia. Interestingly, they also revealed that the figures up to July 2020 show that 60 Barn Owls have been recorded around the UK this year, out of 143 Birds of Prey in total. This could be for a number of reasons, and they are currently working on a report looking at the impact of Lockdown on roadkill.

For more information about Project Splatter, please visit:
https://projectsplatter.co.uk/
You can report your roadkill sightings via the website or their social media channels.

Surprise in a box

We were recently brought in a young bird that was found locally - to our surprise when we opened the box we were greeted with a very beautiful young red kite! An unusual sight around East Anglia and an incredibly rare sight in our hospital. Even more unusual was that this bird was wing tagged - we were uncertain if kites were even being recorded locally. We found the BTO metal ring on it's leg (with a unique alpha numeric code to identify this bird as an individual) and after being reported to the BTO we found that the bird had been ringed and tagged in the nest near Downham Market, along with it’s sibling.

This young Red Kite was brought into the hospital exhausted and dehydrated. Gaping is a natural response to being handled, which was kept to a minimum to limit stress.

We then started investigating what had caused this bird to be found grounded in a field - although thin it was not showing any signs of illness or injury apart from exhaustion and dehydration so after some fluids it was put straight out into an aviary to assess his movements. The most obvious causes would be simply a lack of available forage (as these birds are mostly scavengers) due to weather conditions at the time (heatwave) it could have simply been exhaustion.

BJ looking much better after a few days of R&R in our aviary.

Kites are easy to age - first year birds do not have a full silver head or fully forked tail at this age and they also have very dark eyes - a sure sign that this is definitely this years fledgling, even if we hadn't had the ringing details to confirm this. 

Numerically, Red Kites are a common sight elsewhere in the UK but have yet to become established in East Anglia. Ringing figures from 2019 show that 195 Kites were ringed, with 35 being wing tagged like this individual, and more receiving colour rings on their legs (similar to those seen on swans). Only 26 Red Kites have ever been ringed in Norfolk.

Happily, after a couple of weeks in our aviaries, this young bird was ready for release last week. Fingers crossed it will stay out trouble and stay in the East Anglia area to boost the population here.

For more information about wing tagging and the ringing scheme, please visit the British Trust for Ornithology website:https://www.bto.org/our-science/projects/ringing/about  

Soft release for five little owls

Recently, over a three week period, Suffolk Owl Sanctuary took receipt of 5 young little owls who required a soft release. 

A soft release is when we continue to care for the birds close to their release site, allowing them to develop their own survival abilities naturally, as if they had fledged in the wild. The problem is, that owls can imprint to a human caregiver very quickly, so it is imperative we keep our distance. 

A ‘soft release’ hacking pen for these particular little ones has been located in a private barn, near wild meadows. Over a period of weeks the hacking pen will be supplied with food (in this case dark mice - a recognisable food source) and the door left open. As the young owls still lack the required skills to hunt, we will continue to supply food over a period of weeks until we feel the little owls have dispersed into the surrounding area. 

The trail cam is a very handy way of checking in to see if youngsters are still visiting, and this one caught two separate owlets coming in to feed!

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Suffolk Owl Sanctuary has seen a dramatic fall in income since the recent pandemic began. The result of a prolonged closure means we need to raise funding to look after birds who need specialist feeding, exercise, medication and veterinary treatment.

Please consider a small donation as we strive onwards and upwards to maintain our full range of rescue, rehab and conservation services through to the winter months ahead.

Donate here

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Anglian Water to the rescue

This male kestrel came to us recently, having been found by Anglian Water in an outdoor sewage processing pit. 

It was soaked through, covered in sewage and couldn’t fly, however, thankfully, we couldn’t find any obvious signs of injury, sickness or starvation. We assume this kestrel could have attempted to bath, or was possibly hunting insects around the tank and fell in. 

After administering some fluids to help with hydration and shock, we began to carefully bath the kestrel in warm water and washing up soap. Washing up soap is great for removing contaminates from feathers, but it does also temporarily remove the waterproofing oils on the feathers - so we gave it several days ‘box rest’ to dry off and preen. This is a process whereby the bird will add waterproofing oils back onto the feathers.

The kestrel ate very well from day one and we are pleased to say it is now under observation outside in an aviary, to ensure it can move around easily enough ahead of release.

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Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, the response to our ‘Save Our Sanctuary' appeal has significantly helped us towards the expense of feeding, caring, cleaning, veterinary services and medication requirements of the injured or unwell wild birds of prey that pass through our hospital. 

However, accrued financial shortcomings means we need to continue to raise funding to look after birds such as this kestrel, who need specialist feeding, exercise, medication and veterinary treatment.

Determined to survive, we ask for your help to maintain our full range of rescue, rehab and conservation services through the winter months ahead, without compromise. Donating a few pounds a month to our 'Onwards & Upwards' survival fund by becoming a Friend of S.O.S. will help us to do this.

As always we thank you for your support, and we hope to be able to welcome you back through our doors soon.

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25-year-old aviaries demolished

With the coronavirus lockdown enduring and the public unable to visit SOS for the last three months, our team of falconers took the opportunity to accelerate some of the never-ending renovation work around the centre - think Forth Railway Bridge and you get the idea!

One of the most challenging jobs was to be the remodelling of 3 original large, polygon-shaped aviaries which have withstood the test of time at SOS since the day the centre was opened 25 years ago this August. Originally we planned to rebuild them from the ground up but the absence of visitor traffic and lack of consequent revenue caused by the pandemic put paid to that! 

However, thanks to a local builders merchant we were given access to a digger and a dumper for a week, which we took advantage of by demolishing the heavy structures and clearing up the debris left behind. This has proved a double blessing because it has temporarily opened up part of the centre to create more space for the visitors to socially distance in safety when we re-open mid-July.

Below, Gavin (trainee Falconer) and Nick (Animal Keeper), show off their prowess at handling the equipment; a clear space left after the demolition of one of the aviaries that will come in handy whilst social distancing pertains this summer; and the centre under construction when it first opened 25 years ago this August.

Gavin

Nick

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Young kestrels paired for joint release

This male juvenile kestrel was sadly found alone in a compost heap, with no sign of its parents.

After being rescued and brought into the raptor hospital here at SOS, we discovered the poor bird had 24 ticks around it’s eyes and mouth - so these were urgently removed and the bird was settled in comfortably to rebuild its strength and confidence.

Due to the fact this bird is so young, there is a great risk of it imprinting on the SOS staff. This means that it could possibly come to recognise and trust our falconers as the parents - making for a potentially unsuccessful, and even fatal release.

“It's difficult for falconers to prevent baby birds of prey from imprinting on humans if we have to directly feed them, which, when young, we often have to. This is always kept to a minimum by using screens and minimal time, but birds are intelligent and having strong survival skills (and a massive appetite!) So they soon associate our presence with food.

This is exacerbated by being kept alone. If kept in pairs or small groups, they will instead grow up identifying as a kestrel, and not as a part kestrel/part human! As a group they will react fearfully (as a wild bird should) to us and our presence. In essence, it reduces the chances of the chicks imprinting on people as food providers, and will instead imprint on each other as kestrels.” - Rufus, Head Falconer

We made contact with Phoenix Bird of Prey Rescue, and fortunately they also had care of a young female kestrel. Soon, the two chicks will be placed together in a rehab environment and the birds will have minimal or no human contact - a watchful eye will be kept on them via a spy-hole and food placed through a hatch until it's time for release. This will give them the best possible chance of survival out in the wild.

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Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, the response to our ‘Save Our Sanctuary' appeal has significantly helped us towards the expense of feeding, caring, cleaning, veterinary services and medication requirements of the injured or unwell wild birds of prey that pass through our hospital. 

However, accrued financial shortcomings means we need to continue to raise funding to look after birds such as these two kestrel chicks, who need specialist feeding, exercise, medication and veterinary treatment.

Determined to survive, we ask for your help to maintain our full range of rescue, rehab and conservation services through the winter months ahead, without compromise. Donating a few pounds a month to our 'Onwards & Upwards' survival fund by becoming a Friend of S.O.S. will help us to do this.

As always we thank you for your support, and we hope to be able to welcome you back through our doors soon.

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Double trouble for Tawny chicks

Recently, two tiny tawny chicks have come into our care here at Suffolk Owl Sanctuary.

The first was found in a compost heap in a very sorry state, emaciated, covered in fly eggs and weak - things did not look promising at all.

The condition of this chick would suggest that it had sustained a long period without food. Sometimes if parents are unable to support their chicks, they will sadly abandon the nest and the chicks will exit out of desperation. This can also happen if one adult is left at the nest site after losing its mate, who would usually help to provide food.

Luckily this little one was found just in time. He spent a few nights under the watchful eye of experienced SOS falconer, Jess, who bathed him and carefully picked eggs. Thankfully the chick has since started to take tiny bits of food soaked in a support fluid, and is slowly gaining weight.

The second chick was found in a rather unfortunate predicament - upside down in a bramble bush! The surrounding area was considered a danger to this little one, so it was also brought in to SOS to build strength and recover in safety.

Luckily for our first chick, he now has another clutch mate to recover with! This will also mean that both of them can now be hacked together in a purpose built release aviary.

Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, the response to our ‘Save Our Sanctuary' appeal has significantly helped us towards the expense of feeding, caring, cleaning, veterinary services and medication requirements of the injured or unwell wild birds of prey that pass through our hospital. 

However, accrued financial shortcomings means we need to continue to raise funding to look after birds such as these two tawny chicks, who need specialist feeding, exercise, medication and veterinary treatment.

Determined to survive, we ask for your help to maintain our full range of rescue, rehab and conservation services through the winter months ahead, without compromise. Donating a few pounds a month to our 'Onwards & Upwards' survival fund by becoming a Friend of S.O.S. will help us to do this.

As always we thank you for your support, and we hope to be able to welcome you back through our doors soon.

Deep Water Dangers

Water troughs, buckets, water butts and pools are all a huge hazard for our native owls.

As with most birds, owls use these as a source of drinking water, or somewhere to wash.

However, unlike ditches or ponds which have sloping, rough-surfaced sides, these man-made structures are deep and slippery, meaning the owl cannot often climb to safety if it comes into trouble. Owls have soft feathers which help with silent flight, however, these feathers will act like a sponge and absorb water, meaning the owl can become waterlogged and potentially drown.

Summer is generally the worst time of year for this disaster. Adult females (Barn Owls especially) can become quite soiled after weeks of incubation and brooding and will attempt to bathe in the nearest available water. Late summer and autumn will then unfortunately see the inexperienced newly fledged/branching juveniles fall prey to the very same deep water, as they don’t have the skill to manoeuvre away.

There are a few ways in which you can help reduce this hazard...please see below.

Also see here for details on how to create a floating wooden frame for a trough.

Onwards & Upwards

A coronavirus update from S.O.S. Director, Chris Astridge

As Director and a Trustee of Suffolk Owl Sanctuary I would like to tell you about the activities of the charity during the current pandemic lockdown, which I hope will be of interest to the many visitors, donors and volunteers who have supported us in so many ways over the years.

I would also would like to explain the consequences of the predicament we now find ourselves in as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.

A sooty tawny owl cared for in our raptor hospital here at SOS

What does S.O.S. do?

Suffolk Owl Sanctuary was established in 2001. Its primary objectives are to promote the need for the conservation of Britain’s wild owls and other birds of prey; to provide rescue, relief and protection for sick and injured wild raptors; and to offer a range of educational resources to schools that encourage the importance of wildlife conservation amongst young people. 

Together with the Thornham Owl Project. S.O.S. also helps maintain a network of nearly 300 wild owl nest boxes; participates in conservation schemes for endangered species; and promotes information nationally about our native species through our “Saving Britain’s Owls” initiative. Finally we also aim to provide a unique, informative, friendly and enjoyable experience for those who visit us at our Stonham Aspal headquarters.

Suffolk Owl Sanctuary works in conjunction with Thornham Owl Project to provide materials, transport and manpower to maintain and monitor nearly 300 wild owl nest boxes in the region

Life Under Lockdown

Since the U.K. outbreak of the coronavirus disease in March, Suffolk Owl Sanctuary has been in a state of “suspended animation”. Unable to welcome visitors to the centre, much of what we do is being continued behind closed doors. This includes the rescue, veterinary attention, medication and rehabilitation of the injured wild birds that pass through our hospital together with the husbandry needs - feeding, cleaning, care and exercising - of the many captive-bred birds in the education and flying teams resident at Stonham. 

In addition, many of the birds have started to lay eggs as the breeding season gets underway, each one demanding the daily attention of our experienced falconry team. At the same time the security and safe structure of the centre needs to be maintained.

With the indispensable needs for our wildlife continuing but the effect of the pandemic rolling on, we sadly do not foresee opening the doors of S.O.S. to the public until July at the earliest, when social distancing and sanitising precautions have been put in place to maintain the health and safety of visitors, staff & volunteers. 

A pair of rescued barn owl chicks - one of them rather shy - here at SOS. Currently we are witnessing an upsurge of orphaned Tawny Owls and, as the roads become busier again, an increase in RTA (road traffic accident) cases.

What’s the problem?

Nationally recognised, Suffolk Owl Sanctuary provides a unique and valuable resource to the community at large.

Unfortunately, during ‘life under lockdown’ the major expenses of running the Sanctuary have been met in full at a time when our income has diminished drastically. This is because we have received no income from visitors since the end of March and are now unlikely to do so until Summer is almost over, at the earliest - a time when we normally generate a substantial proportion of the funding necessary to sustain our activities throughout the year.  Our concerns are for our very survival through the winter and into 2021.

May/June is the time of year when orphaned owls start to make their way to us, as in this quartet of beautiful young tawny owls shown the day before their release back to the wild.

Onwards & Upwards

Thanks to the very much appreciated generosity of our supporters, the response to our “Save Our Sanctuary” appeal has so far significantly helped us bridge our immediate financial shortcomings, helping towards the expense of feeding, caring for & cleaning our birds and animals together with the veterinary services & medication requirements of the injured or unwell wild birds of prey that pass through our hospital.

The donations have also contributed towards the cost of staff, rent, materials and utilities during the lockdown period and have made a positive difference to our abilities to continue our work behind closed doors. We are immensely grateful for them and take this opportunity to thank all those who have made a contribution.

However, now the prospect of a prolonged summer closure means we need to raise funding to look after birds who need specialist feeding, exercise, medication and veterinary treatment. Determined to survive, we ask for your help to maintain our full range of rescue, rehab and conservation services through the winter months ahead, without compromise.   

A few pounds a month to our “Onwards & Upwards” survival fund will help us
to do this.

You can contribute by becoming a Friend of S.O.S., adopting an owl, making a donation to the hospital, veterinary and medication expenses or sponsoring a wild owl nest box. Whatever form of donation you choose comes with the flexibility of contributing whatever you would like, when you like. Be assured your donation will make a world of difference… and a difference to our world.

Finally, on behalf of the Trustees of Suffolk Owl Sanctuary I would like to thank our loyal, hard working and ever diligent and compassionate employees and volunteers who have worked in much-reduced teams above-&-beyond during the past months to keep S.O.S. running. Job well done!

You can find out more about S.O.S. by visiting our home page or by dropping us an email with any questions you may have. Meanwhile, thank you for your attention, stay well and please take care in the days ahead.

Sincerely,

Chris Astridge
Director
Suffolk Owl Sanctuary

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Tawny suffers beginning stages of frounce

This Tawny Owl was brought to us having been spotted by the roadside. 

Upon inspection, she was found to be incredibly emaciated, dehydrated and suffering the beginning stages of frounce. Sadly this time of year, flies are rife and will take advantage of a poorly animal - so she was also covered head to toe in larvae and eggs.

After being rehydrated, she was bathed to try and loosen some of the eggs, treated for frounce and fed a liquid support food. Over the next 36 hours, periodic washing and removing eggs ensured that she would not be overwhelmed by maggots. At this point, unfortunately some had already found their way into the skin around her eye and they needed careful and time consuming removal. She has been very weak and honestly we did not think she would make it past the first night…but miraculously she did, and is now feeding herself!

Although still a bit bedraggled, she is now a lot stronger and we are all hoping she will pull through this horrible ordeal.

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We have been nominated!

Boris, Anthony and Rufus have a special announcement to make…

Suffolk Owl Sanctuary is proud to have been nominated for the ‘Animal Charity Team of the Year’ category in the Petplan & ADCH Animal Charity Awards 2020!

Meanwhile, we can’t thank you all enough for your support throughout this difficult time.

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UPDATE!

Suffolk Owl Sanctuary are delighted to announce that we scooped up 3rd place in the 2020 Petplan and ADCH Animal Charity Awards ‘Animal Charity Team of the Year’ category!

https://bit.ly/2zSCNM9

The awards received over 6000 nominations, so we are extremely proud to have been recognised alongside many other dedicated individuals and charities for our “entire team working together to deliver outstanding results.”

If you’d like to watch the virtual awards ceremony, you can do so here

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Cheer for Key Workers

Recent months have seen the globe tried, tested and challenged in ways that we never thought we would ever encounter.

It has affected not only our nation as a whole in terms of health, economy, business, technology and politics (to name just a few), but it has also had a colossal impact on our individual, daily lives, in more ways than we could even begin to summarise.

Throughout this challenging time, our nation has come together in a united effort to fight the invisible enemy, Covid-19.

Suffolk Owl Sanctuary would like to take this moment to acknowledge the sacrifices and commitments the world’s key workers have made to keep us safe and healthy. For this, we are eternally grateful. 

Featuring…

Lincoln the Bald Eagle
Ozzie the Kookaburra
Woody the Brown Wood Owl
Odin the Peregrine Falcon
Titch the Tawny Owl

Adopt the stars of the show here

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SOS is a small non-profit charity, and is entirely dependent on donations to cover the costs of housing, food, medication, surgery and always the support of our expert staff. Any donation you can make to support us at this critical time will go a long way, no matter how big or small.

Click here to help us Save our Sanctuary

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Striated Caracara enrichment

Say ‘hello’ to Stanely, our male Striated Caracara!

Even during these unprecedented times, enrichment programmes still form an important part of our daily duties here at Suffolk Owl Sanctuary. Enrichment seeks to replicate natural behaviours, and is important for both the physical and psychological welfare of an animal.

Striated Caracaras are incredibly intelligent scavengers; their learning ability is said to rival that of a crow or a raven - so we must be sure to offer him challenging exercises.

Here, Stanley is being challenged to extract titbits hidden inside bottles.

Rock pool foraging replicates a natural behaviour.

Stanley is being challenged to knock over cones in the search for food.

SOS is a small non-profit charity, and our daily operations - such as enrichment activities - rely entirely on donations. If you are able to donate to help us continue a high standard of care during this crucial time, please click here.

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A very sticky situation - Part 4

This barn owl found himself in a rather sticky predicament last September, having been found in a glue trap. His leg and wing were stuck fast to each other, and he has since been in our care whilst he moults new feathers.

To read the full story, click here.

Due to the way barn owls hunt, we must be sure this particular owl can sustain prolonged flight - which is tricky without the use of the primary feathers on one side! Currently he is being housed in a purpose-built private flight aviary and monitored daily for signs of a moult.

The camera is a handy tool to assess his movements without disturbing him. As you can see he can get around well thanks to strategically placed perches, so is able to maintain his fitness well in situ until the time comes we feel he has enough skill to be hacked back to the wild. 

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Save our Sanctuary

SOS is a small non-profit charity so our raptor hospital relies entirely on donations. If you are able to donate to help us continue to provide a high standard of care and rehabilitation during this crucial time, please click here.

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Lincoln catches his first thermal

We have some good news we are excited to share with you - Lincoln has caught his first thermal!

Lincoln is our resident bald eagle here at Suffolk Owl Sanctuary. Bald eagles are a bird of prey native to North America, and have been the national icon since 1782.

Lincoln the Bald Eagle by Brian Geer

What is ‘thermalling’?

A thermal is an upward current of warm, rising air. Once a thermal is encountered by a bird, he will fly in circles to keep within that particular thermal, gaining altitude before flying off to the next thermal to continue his journey - this is known as ‘thermalling’. By riding these currents, birds are able to climb to higher altitudes while expending very little energy, extending their flight time as they search for food.

Lincoln is learning

Here at Suffolk Owl Sanctuary, our falconers have recently been encouraging Lincoln to soar. Lincoln is a young bird so has not yet refined this skill; up until today, he has only been able to fly as high as the tree tops by relying on winter winds, which are forced up off the trees (this is called ‘slope soaring’).

To enable him to reach more natural heights at several hundred feet, we are waiting for the heat of late spring through to early autumn that will produce strong thermals, which Lincoln should be able to ride like an escalator high up into the clouds!

"Thermalling takes a lot of skill which Lincoln is still learning, and is actually quite scary for a novice!” - Jess, Falconer at SOS

Head falconer Rufus with Lincoln, by Mark Leggett

We have a breakthrough!

Finally, after months of effort, Lincoln has caught his first thermal - and we are delighted!

“This is everything we’ve been working towards and is a HUGE step! I’m really delighted! Now we just need to encourage him to go higher and to be consistent…

Enjoy the stoop, I can’t tell you how thrilling it is to have him hurtle towards you like that!” - Rufus, Head Falconer at SOS

This is a very ambitious and long term project, but we are pleased to say he’s doing incredibly well.

Save our Sanctuary

Suffolk Owl Sanctuary is a small non-profit charity and we rely entirely on donations. Our doors may be closed to the general public but our rescue, care and rehabilitation work for injured wild birds of prey does not stop. If you are able to donate to help us continue our work during this crucial time, please visit: https://www.owl-help.org.uk/save-our-sanctuary

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The trials and tribulations of Plump

Although Covid-19 may have temporarily closed our doors to the general public, the doors to our raptor hospital are still very much wide open!

Do you remember Plump, our not so little, feathery global superstar…?!

A few months ago we rescued a soggy little owl from a ditch. She was unable to fly, so our falconers initially thought there may a potential injury. Upon arriving at our on-site raptor hospital we recorded her weight, and it was immediately obvious this little owl was in need of some unique care.

Using our keel scoring method (a chart to determine fat distribution around the body of birds) we found this chunky little owl was close to a score of 5, which meant her keel was almost completely shrouded in fatty deposits! Perhaps more worryingly, we were also unable to feel for much muscle. This could possibly have explained why this little owl was found in a ditch as a lack of relative muscle would have undoubtedly hindered her ability to fly - something that we became increasingly aware of when we put her into a large flight aviary at Suffolk Owl Sanctuary during the first stages of her care. 

Little owls are fairly resourceful creatures and are generally quite happy pottering around at ground level, picking up all manner of invertebrates and small rodents - this particular ditch and field became a gourmet buffet to Plump!

At Suffolk Owl Sanctuary we have specially designed private aviaries were we can monitor the health and movement of birds before release, in a discreet manner. Aviaries are designed to encourage as much vertical flight as possible to build and maintain the vital keel muscles used for flight. At first, Plump was unable to even reach the lowest perches, so we had to adapt her aviary by installing a few ‘step’ perches to encourage her up to the higher points. Over a matter of days these perches were removed based on her developing ability, as she was encouraged to take flight around the aviary (a bit like a short circuit training session!).

By nature, owls are sedentary, and would not think much of sitting for hours on end after consuming a big meal - but in Plump’s case, this is no good for a little bird who needed to shed weight. This exercise process therefore was of great benefit. Every other day we encouraged Plump to move around the aviary, building vital muscles and burning fat.

Within a few weeks she was expertly traversing her surroundings and following a couple of weight checks, we felt it was time for her to go back to her field of plenty. Although we were working to trim her weight down, we had to be mindful we didn’t shave too much body mass off - fatty deposits are actually a resource for smaller birds in times of need. Although we were seeing warm winter weather and prey was plentiful, we also had to consider that a cold snap could have seen off a bird with very little body reserves.

Luckily for plump she firmed up well and had a successful release, where she headed off to the top of an old oak tree. 

Upon review of this unusual situation, our experienced team are fairly confident these circumstances are consistent with this bird having been previously released by a lesser-experienced rehabilitation facility or individual. We cannot stress enough just how important it is that any injured wildlife is taken to a highly experienced and specialist treatment centre, in order that the subject receives optimum care and the best possible chance at recovery.

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Our raptor hospital relies entirely on donations. If you are able to donate to help us continue to provide a high standard of care and rehabilitation during this crucial time, please click here.

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Young sparrowhawk suffers eye injury

This male sparrow hawk was admitted to our raptor hospital a few weeks ago.

He was found on the ground with facial injuries, and the bruising around his eye could be conducive with either impact injury or an attack from a predator.

After a week of box rest under the watchful eye of our experienced falconers, this youngster has since shown a massive improvement and is currently residing in one of our flight aviaries whilst the bruising recedes.

Our raptor hospital relies entirely on donations. If you are able to donate to help us continue to provide a high standard of care and rehabilitation during this crucial time, please click here.

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Blowing in the wind

This barn owl recently came in to SOS after being found roadside, suffering facial injuries. Having seemingly being blown onto the road, he is now being treated for abrasions to both eyes.

Sadly, new roads and developments now regularly cut through owls’ preferred hunting habitats, meaning instances such as this is a common occurrence. Barn owls in particular are so light in bodyweight that they easily get blown into oncoming traffic.

However, in recent decades, efforts have been made to protect wildlife from suffering this fate by creating natural ‘bridges’ over these roads in the form of high hedge-lines. This encourages birds (such as owls) to traverse these problematic roads at a height. Thoughtful management paired with a resurgence of wild meadow space, has led to a rise in species such as the barn owl and kestrel and has also helped to reduce the frequency of roadside accidents.

Sadly we do not yet know the outcome of this particular owl until his injuries begin to heal, however, he is going from strength to strength in our dedicated on-site hospital.

Learn more here

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If you find an injured owl or bird of prey, call SOS for emergency advice on 03456 807 897 (opt 5)

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