This week was Eldest’s birthday and I took a break from furniture shopping. Her one request was to go to a bird of prey centre. So we did.
Bird
Eldest has always loved birds and can name them on our walks. At home, we call her our hen whisperer. If a hen needs catching, she’s the one to do it. She can calm them down and even send them to sleep. Lost racing pigeons? She has then eating out of her hand in no time.
We’re fortunate to have a bird of prey centre near us, which we’ve not been to before. It’s a rescue and education centre, without a breeding program. There are Harris Hawks, Kestrels, falcons and more, as well as a good number of owls.
We spent an hour wandering between the aviaries. The keepers regularly went into each aviary to clean it. Each bird watched us. I like to think we entertained them as much as they interested us, but when they spotted a keeper, the owls elongated their necks to check if it was their turn, because keepers equalled food.
We loved watching the burrowing owl going through her tunnel. She was quite vocal too. The snowy owl reminded me of my parent’s very old Russian Christmas tree ornament. Fascinating to see her walk.
There was a flying display, which was an hour long and absolutely fascinating. They flew a kestrel, Harris hawk, Rock Eagle Owl and a Lagger falcon. I probably should add that they flew them separately. It would be mayhem otherwise. I did notice that all the local pigeons and jackdaws disappeared very quickly from the area when the display started.
So many interesting facts. When it came to the falcon’s turn, it instantly disappeared and flew almost to the next town, according to the gps tracker. Hats off to the chap who commenced to talk about the bird for the next 10 or 15 minutes and kept the audience interested, while the bird was nowhere in sight. It did return.
Fly an owl
I booked us in to a fly a bird session, while we were there. We went into a netted room and took turns flying a tiny owl, which was (I hope I got this right) a Southern White Faced owl called Koffi. (photo at top) It seemed very happy with the arrangement as it was rewarded often with meaty titbits.
We’ve had regular visits from barn owls, tawny owls and little owls in our garden, over the years, but it was amazing to spend time, close up, with so many owls. We’ll definitely be back.
Fun owl fact
Did you know that the colour of an owl’s eyes gives an indication when the bird hunts? Yellow eyes means they are out during the day (little owls), orange suggests dawn and dusk, while the dark eyes are best at night (tawny and barn).
Garden
Back in May, a fence finally fell down between us and our neighbours. It was their fence, held together by ivy, so it really was just a matter of time. Long story short, our garden and theirs have been open ever since, which wasn’t a big problem, but as they say, good fences make for good neighbours. This week, my husband finally put a new fence up.
He added a hedgehog hole. In all fairness, the previous ivy fence probably had a fair few hedgehog gaps in it. We’ve not seen hedgehogs for a couple of decades in the garden, but we live in hope.
The gap is ready when they return.
So that was my week. Birthday girl had fun, which was perfect. I shall listen out for our owls in the back garden which fresh enthusiasm, as the season changes, and hope to spot one.
Joining in Anne’s word of the week linky.
What a fabulous way to spend a birthday! It sounds like you all had lots of fun as well as learning some things, too.
I would love to spot an owl in the wild. I’ve heard them on camping trips in the past, but I think we are too urban now to see them at night here.
I love that your husband has left a hole for the hedgehogs; hopefully, they will make use of it and return to your garden soon.
Spotting a wild owl is such a magical moment. Something that’s not easy to plan. We have our fingers crossed for hedgehogs, but we have badgers. Badgers and hedgehogs do not mix.
Happy birthday to your eldest! What fun to visit the bird of prey centre, it sounds like a great day out! They really are beautiful birds! That is interesting about the colour of the owls eyes!
The new fence looks great, especially the hedgehog hole, I hope you get some visitors.
The bird of prey centre was a great afternoon out. I’m very pleased with the new fence. I’ll miss looking at their lovely garden though 🙂
Happy birthday and the birdy day out sounds fun, informative and interesting. I like the idea of leaving the hole in the fence for hedgehogs too. Although I must admit we didn’t like seeing one in ours (it was our first time seeing one and we didn’t know what they were or what they were about, lol).
That is so funny. Hedgehogs are funny creatures. Should imagine most people in UK are brought up reading Beatrix Potter’s Mrs Tiggy-Winkle or similar, but I can imagine they could be alarming creatures if you were unaware of them.
WOW those owls are absolutely stunning. What a wonderful experience. We have a hedgehog that lives at the bottom of our complex – it is always such fun when someone spots him.
They are amazing birds. It was an amazing experience. How fabulous to have a local hedgehog. We used to have lots of hedgehogs, but not now. There has been an increase in the badger population around us and the two species do not mix well.
What a lovely day out for your eldest’s birthday. I love all your photos of the birds – they are so beautiful. That’s interesting about owls’ eyes being different colours depending on when they hunt. Love the new fence especially with the hedgehog hole. We used to get them in our garden too but I haven’t seen any for a while. #WotW
I hope your hedgehogs come back before long.
Belated Happy Birthday to your eldest. The owls are absolutely beautiful, what a lovely way to spend a birthday. We only have ornamental hedgehogs in our garden, there is nowhere for them to get in or out, but we did have one visit us on holiday once.
We used to have hedgehogs regularly in the garden when we first moved in. Unfortunately, badgers and hedgehogs do not mix.
Belated happy birthday to your daughter, it’s exactly something my daughter would chose to do if there were somewhere close to us. We’ve been to lots of bird sanctuary’s/displays over the years. This year I think she’s going bowling with her friends if she’s well enough.
I hope she enjoyed her bowling outing.
The visit to the Bird of Prey centre sounds like it was a perfect day. We’ve got a hedgehog in our garden who visits every night for the cat food we put out for it, but I don’t think it lives in our garden. Bit cheeky of the neighbours not replacing their fence though, sounds like they were waiting for you to pick up the costs. #wotw
I envy your hedgehog visits. We used to have a few visiting the garden, but no more. Honestly, our neighbours are lovely, but past their diy days. We offered to build it, but they paid for the materials.