Eye, eye...

Every year at the end of September, we draw the flying display season at Suffolk Owl Sanctuary to a close for the winter. The reasons are three-fold - after a full summer season the birds enjoy some R&R; many of them go into moult in the winter months; and winter is the time when we begin some of the heavier construction & repair work around the centre

Consequently, during the past few days all of our ‘summer’ owls were comfortably re-housed in spacious aviaries, where they will remain until our 2010 demonstration season begins next Easter.

The unmistakable piecing gaze of the Goshawk

The unmistakable piecing gaze of the Goshawk

Meanwhile the ‘winter’ team - consisting of Harris Hawks, a Peregrine and a Goshawk - are now being exercised regularly in preparation for the activity days & hawk walks which are run from the centre by the East Anglian Academy of Falconry. Spaces are still available for some of these events on selected days and could be the perfect solution if you’re looking for that extra special birthday or Christmas gift - visit www.falconry-east.co.uk for more information.

Just one smile for the camera…pleeease!
Just recently, the Sanctuary received an email from London based photographer Rob Murray, who wanted to take pictures of some of the flying team for a portfolio he is compiling of ‘Wildlife and the Urban Environment’. 

We were happy to comply and Rob duly arrived armed with a range of specialist photographic paraphernalia. General Manager Andy spent some time flying European Eagle, Ural and Boobook Owls to and from various perches and to his fist: they all performed brilliantly and appeared completely unfazed by all the lighting and camera equipment around them.  

But not everyone was quite so keen to be in the spotlight – our striking Indian Eagle Owl Baloo went into a big huff and flatly refused to go anywhere near the equipment at all!

However, Rob was very pleased with his pictures and has promised to send us the results once he has montaged them onto various different backgrounds for visual effect, which hopefully we will be able to share with you at a later date.

Hospital News
Last week, I reported on several unfortunate birds that had been brought in to the hospital with an assortment of injuries. So far, I’m glad to report that the Barn Owl is continuing to improve and put on weight and as soon as the falconers are happy with his progress, he will be transferred from the hospital to a rehabilitation aviary.  

The Tawny Owl with the scraped wing is recovering well from its operation and - once the wound has healed - will go back to the vets to have the stitches removed.

Much sadder news is that the other Tawny Owl rescued from an RTA was in such a poorly state that the inevitable, but none-the-less distressing decision to ask the vet to euthanise the creature had to be made. Obviously, we would be much happier if every single bird brought in to the Sanctuary could be healed and rehabilitated, but sometimes it’s just not fair or right to let an animal suffer!

We now have two more casualties in the hospital, both of them Kestrels. The first was brought in to the Sanctuary on the 29th of September, again probably the result of an RTA. Thankfully, the prognosis appears relatively good and apart from some inflammation of the right eye there doesn’t seem to be too much wrong. Thankfully the bruising around the eye is coming out, which is always a good sign. I watched as Kate – one of the Sanctuary’s wonderful volunteers – held the Kestrel, carefully but firmly enclosing the wings and holding the feet to prevent it from damaging itself (or her) whilst Andy administered eye drops for the inflammation. I was amazed by how quickly and efficiently it was done, the bird showing no agitation or stress at all.

Our other Kestrel patient was also hit by a car and there was some concern about damage to its pelvis. However an x-ray showed up clear and its legs definitely work, although at the moment it can’t support its weight. It will be a long term project to rehabilitate it, but we are very hopeful that the end result will be a good one!

Casualty Central!

Casualty… eat your heart out!

As you will probably know from previous blogs, the work of the Hospital here at the Sanctuary goes on constantly and quietly behind the scenes, but with every bit as much excitement as your favourite hospital drama! Today was a first for me to actually be on hand when a concerned member of the public arrived with a very poorly Tawny Owl.

It was the first time I have been privileged to see the falconers at work in their rehabilitation capacity, when an injured bird has been brought in and I was extremely impressed with the thorough care and attention the little bird received. Fortunately, the lady who brought her in had done exactly the right thing – put the owl in a suitable container with a towel over it, to help keep it calm and quiet on the journey to us.

Apparently, the Tawny had flown into a car at Thurston near Bury in Suffolk, probably concentrating far too hard on a tasty morsel to be aware of the danger!

After giving the owl a thorough examination, Matt our Head Falconer pronounced that she had suffered a severe haemorrhage from her nose and left ear and had sustained damage to her left eye, which would be consistent with a nasty glancing blow to the left side of the head. The poor bird put up with all this examining without so much as a peep and was then placed comfortably in one of the Hospital’s dark, quiet recuperation boxes to be left to rest until Maz takes her to the vet this afternoon. We are all hoping, as always, that the Tawny will recover and that she can be released back into her natural environment – as soon as I know the outcome, I’ll let you know!

So that was today’s drama. We also had another Tawny Owl brought in to the hospital a couple of days ago. This one had been brought in by a couple who had kept an eye on it for a couple of days, uncertain whether it was OK or not. Finally, they found the owl on the ground outside their gate and realised that it was unable to fly. The Tawny had been ringed and it appeared that it was born in local woodland in April of this year, so it’s obviously still very young and just getting the hang of fending for itself. The couple who found it phoned us here at the Sanctuary and after investigation it transpired that somehow it had managed to scrape the skin off the underside of its wing.

The Tawny was duly taken to Stowe Vets, where it had an operation under anaesthetic to have the wound cleaned. Now it’s back at the Sanctuary for R&R and, fingers crossed, I hope to be able to report good tidings in the not too distant future. At least one advantage of the owl being ringed means that we know exactly where to take her back to!

Our other patient at the moment, yet another Tawny Owl – this time a male, is not in quite such a sorry state as the other two, but he does need a good deal of TLC and plenty of feeding up. It would appear that he has an old injury on his foot, which has become infected and needs lancing. Undoubtedly this has meant that he hasn’t been able to hunt properly, hence his emaciation. We’ve no reason to think though that he won’t make a complete recovery, so watch this space!

Ural be amazed by this chap!

A while back, a Ural Owl joined the family at S.O.S. The Ural Owl can be found across Europe and Asia and shows a marked resemblance to both the Great Grey and the Tawny Owl. The Ural Owl generally has a lighter, more silvery plumage than the Great Grey, with dark brown streaking on its back and underparts, which produces a very striking effect. Its large, round facial disc is also very reminiscent of the Great Grey.
Called Bea, our new owl was born in April and came to live at the Sanctuary at the beginning of July. He’s a lovely chap with a really friendly character and has settled very quickly into his new home. We hope he will soon become a member of the flying team, which is used to illustrate the variety of characteristics found in different species of owl.

Our Blog - apologies!

Just a word to apologise for the recent infrequency of our blog postings. We have tried to put up a weekly diary of happenings here at S.O.S. since we started it, but just lately it’s proved a bit difficult as we have been down on people power since the beginning August.

However we’ll continue to update you with news as often as we can - meanwhile if you have something to say, a question to ask or just perhaps some news you think our readership would be interested in, please drop us a line at info@owl-help.org.uk - we look forward to hearing from you.

Big Foot? Or...

Big Foot?... or just a case of swollen toe

The work of the hospital is key to the ethos of the Suffolk Owl Sanctuary, as it is a vital part of being able to rehabilitate injured or orphaned raptors and return them to their natural habitat. A recent instance involved a Marsh Harrier that was brought in to us from Fingringhoe in Essex. Apparently it was found by the side of the road and was in a pretty poor state. Apart from the bird being very thin, the big toe on its right foot was about three times bigger than it should have been. On examination, we discovered a nasty, open, infected wound which required immediate cleansing using a mild solution of Hibiscrub.

We then took the Harrier to the vet, who elected to do an x-ray just to ensure that there weren't any other serious complications. We were shocked to discover that there were two bits of shot in the bird's wing - a clear indication that it had been aimed at with a shotgun!

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Thankfully, the Marsh Harrier is now recovering and, although it will be a fairly slow process, we are hopeful that it will be ready for release some time in later in the month

Fascinating Raptor Facts

There have been Marsh Harriers in Britain since the 12th Century, although for a while their numbers were seriously depleted due to the draining of the Fens and other wetlands. Traditionally, these raptors would nest in large reedbeds, but thankfully they have adapted and many of them will now breed in cereal crops, so their numbers have risen significantly again in recent years. 

The Marsh Harrier is the largest of our Harriers and is quite distinctive because of its long, narrow tail, long legs and the way it holds its wings in a 'V' shape in flight. Males and females have quite different colouring from each other. The males have grey and brown wings with black wingtips and greyish head, tail and underparts with a chestnut belly. Females are a more subdued colour, being predominantly brown with a cream head and shoulder patches. When hunting, the Marsh Harrier can be seen gliding low over marshland before diving for a small mammal or bird.

Finally...

We are pleased and excited to announce that our three Tawny chicks from our 'chicklets and twiglets' blog in May this year, have finally been released. They took to their new environment as though it were the most natural thing in the world... which of course it is!

Location, Location, Location

Things are looking very rosy here at the Suffolk Owl Sanctuary, with a pleasing number of success stories to relate.

Tawny Owl Update

You may recall our three Tawny Owl chicks, which came into the Sanctuary a few weeks ago. They have done really well and on Tuesday of this week, Andy and Dean decided they were ready to start the next stage of their journey back to their natural environment. They were taken to a local farm where they were placed in a hack box in a wooded area. The three chicks will remain in the hack box for seven days to give them the chance to acclimatize to their new surroundings. After the seven days they'll be released, but will continue to be fed at the hack box until they can look after themselves.

UPDATE - soon after we posted this blog, Dean released the three Tawnies, as you can see from the flurry of feathers in this picture!

UPDATE - soon after we posted this blog, Dean released the three Tawnies, as you can see from the flurry of feathers in this picture!

Finding Foster Parents
Late in July, Dean the Sanctuary's Conservation Officer and our colleague Roger Buxton took a young rescued Barn Owl out to Norfolk where they had been fortunate enough to locate an active nest box. In the box were three Barn Owl chicks of a similar age to our youngster. It's possible to ascertain a young Barn Owls' age by looking at the third primary feather from the front on the wing, which in this youngster was 130mm long, making him about 52 days old. The idea behind relocating this little chap is that a single Barn Owl chick will have a better chance of survival being foster-reared by a wild mum. She will teach him all the necessary hunting and survival techniques, which is a lot more constructive than being reared on his own by us and then being released.

No Rest For the Wicked
Not content with just pursuing his conservation work at the Sanctuary, Conservation Officer Dean has been carrying on the good works at home. Having had five Little Owls brought in to S.O.S, Dean then took them home and reared them in one of his own aviaries. When he thought the time was right they were put in a hack box in a conifer tree in Dean's garden, then fed for a week and eventually released - much to the annoyance of the local blackbirds, bluetits and robins who were apparently quite vocal in their disapproval.  

And on the subject of Little Owls...
We have a new star in the making here at S.O.S called Mr Tumble. He is one of Lily the Little Owl's brood this year and is now two months old. He's fully grown, although he still has some of his downy baby feathers. At the moment he is enjoying a life of luxury, being totally doted on by Andrew, who is giving him a great deal of TLC and getting him thoroughly used to being handled. His mum, Lily was extremely good at performing in the flying displays and Andrew is confident that Mr Tumble will follow in her footsteps. Once he is totally comfortable with being handled, he will also be an engaging little chap for kids to be able to hold on the glove when they visit the Sanctuary.

Fascinating Raptor Facts
The Little Owl, as you might expect from its name, is a very small owl around 23 - 27.5 cm in length. It tends to nest in holes in trees or rocks and will generally lay 3-5 eggs. It's back is an attractive white-speckled brown and the front is white, dappled with brown markings. It has a large head, long legs and yellow eyes with white eyebrows that give it a rather startled expression. The Little Owl's Latin name is Athena Noctua, which comes from the fact that the Little Owl was often seen perched on the Goddess Athena's shoulder. Hence the saying 'wise old owl', which is something of a myth as I am reliably informed that owls have brains about the size of a peanut!

Back To Nature

Now She’s A Real Wild One!

One of the young Kestrels we have been looking after at the Suffolk Owl Sanctuary since she & her siblings were brought into us has now undergone the final stages of being re-introduced into her natural habitat. This is a vital part of what the team at S.O.S do and there is always a real sense of achievement when a raptor is released safely into the wild, this time with special thanks to Dean and his pal, Kaia.

Back in July, this particular youngster was put into a ‘hack box’ for a week, which was then placed just inside a large open barn on a local farm.  Then seven days later, much to everyone’s satisfaction, the Kestrel was released.  This system of hacking is an extremely important one, as it allows raptors to build up fitness and practice their flying skills before becoming totally self-sufficient.  The Kestrel will still be fed in the hackbox, so that she has a guaranteed food source.  In time she will learn to hunt for herself and will start missing feeds, until finally she won’t need any supplementary nourishment.  Then she will be entirely independent.

Wings Across The Water

Not long ago Andy drove all the way up to the Norfolk coast to collect the newest member of the Suffolk Owl Sanctuary’s flying squad.  Cue ‘Fred’ the American Kestrel. 

American Kestrels are perhaps one of the most colourful raptors in the world.  Fred has blue-grey secondary feathers on his wings, while the undersides are white with black barring.  His back is a sort of rust coloured reddish-brown with barring on the lower half and his belly and flanks are white with black spotting.  His tail is also a reddish-brown colour; the technical term for which is ‘rufous’ (I confess I had to look that one up in the dictionary) although it has a black barring at the bottom with white tips.  

Fred is much smaller than his British cousins, being about the size of a song thrush. He weighs in at a colossal 4ozs, which is barely half the weight of our male European Kestrel ‘Bramble’! 

We are hoping that Fred - who was captive bred, we hasten to add - will be joined very shortly by a female American Kestrel.  Not only will this provide him with company (and who knows, maybe the patter of teeny talons in the future) but also Andy is optimistic that it will be possible to fly both birds in a ‘cast’ – that is, both at the same time – in the flying displays.  That will certainly be something to watch out for as we add an extra dimension to the scope of knowledge we can illustrate here at S.O.S. !

Fascinating Raptor Facts

Here’s an interesting little snippet of history, which just goes to show that sometimes ‘commoners’ can have friends in really high places.  One of our most prolific native raptors is the Common Buzzard.  At this time there are approximately 75,000 pairs in the UK, from Cornwall and Devon all the way up.  Because they are incredibly adaptable, Buzzards will eat pretty much anything from spiders to snakes; they have even been known to follow a plough to see what delicacies it turns up. 

Buzzards naturally prefer hilly locations, as this makes it much easier for them to take to the air, so East Anglia isn’t one of their favourite places to be.  But if you haven’t got a nice hill to fly from, then a church steeple will do just as well.  The downside of this is that buzzard droppings are particularly corrosive, which is why in Tudor times there was a bounty on their heads!  Thankfully, Henry VIII was a serious raptor fan and luckily for these guys, he levied serious punishments on anyone caught hurting a bird of prey.  Way to go, Henry!

Thornham Owl Project Update

For the last six years, the Thornham Owl Project in East Anglia has conducted an annual survey of the number of owls and other birds of prey that have successfully bred in the approximately 160 nest boxes they have strategically placed around the Waveney Valley in North Suffolk and South Norfolk.  

The project is primarily run on a voluntary basis and nest boxes are sponsored by members of the general public but in 2008, the Suffolk Owl Sanctuary used some of the donations we received to further support the activity and can now bring you the findings of last year’s Thornham Owl Project survey, which proved very interesting.

The nest boxes were inhabited by a variety of birds, including Barn Owls, Tawny Owls, Little Owls, Kestrels and Stock Doves. Eleven Barn Owls nested in the boxes and produced twenty-eight pullis - not bad you might think, but sadly rather down in number on the previous year. Two of the breeding birds in Waveney Valley had been ringed as chicks in 2007 and it was encouraging to discover that they had then set up their own territory further along the valley. The Gipping Valley disappointingly had only one pair using a nesting box, but they did produce four chicks that fledged successfully.

Tawny Owl figures were a little higher than the preceding year. Ten of the nest boxes were used, resulting in seventeen young. The Project has noted a trend for Tawny Owls to prefer nesting in the triangular shaped Barn Owl boxes, in more open situations.

2008 saw something of a success story for the Kestrels, who used twelve nesting boxes and produced a healthy thirty-four babies – this was nearly double the previous years figure! Kestrels generally choose to nest in an area where they have a wide field of view, but again there seems to have been some instance of them showing a preference for the Barn Owl boxes, even though these aren’t always ideally sited for this particular type of bird.  

Back to 2009 and there are early indications that Barn Owl clutches will be down again this year. It does appear that in some cases the birds are pairing off but not actually laying any eggs. We can only keep hoping!

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Although not Raptors, the statistics for Stock Doves have also proved to be a great ‘bi-product’ success story for the Project. They too seem to have a penchent for the barn owl boxes (so just as well there are quite a few) and in total, a staggering sixty-nine pullis were ringed from forty-four broods. Approximately a third of the world’s population of Stock Doves breed here in the British Isles, although there is a tendency then for some of them to move south for the winter - sadly, one of the birds ringed in the Waveney Valley was discovered near Bordeaux in Southern France having been shot!

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Meanwhile here at the Sanctuary, things continue to bustle. Our drive to bring raptor education to more kids than ever this year is also keeping us on our toes, including a visit by 75 school youngsters to the Sanctuary last Tuesday! Our commitment is to inform young people about birds of prey, helping to promote an understanding of wild raptors & their needs and to raise an awareness of the importance of their conservation for the future and it’s really heartening to see younsters taking such an interest in raptors – long may it continue!

A Tightrope-Walking Raptor...

Fascinating Raptor Facts
A couple of weeks back, I was enchanted to watch one of the amazing flying displays that take place at the Sanctuary every day between April and September.

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One of the most intriguing raptors in this particular display was Pungu our Bateleur Eagle, who would hail from Africa in her natural state. The Bateleur is also sometimes known as the Serpent Eagle, so no guesses for what her favourite snack in the wild would be. Bateleur is a french term (so I’m reliably informed by Andy, who is a mine of information about these things) which means ‘tight-rope walker’. This was a name given to the eagle by a french chap, who noticed that the Bateleur had a rather strange method of slowing down when in flight. He discovered that this raptor uses a peculiar rocking motion, which reminded him of a tight-rope walker balancing with a pole and rocking from side to side. The Bateleur Eagle is the only raptor to adopt this odd behaviour, which is due to the fact that it has an extremely short tail and therefore can’t use its tail, as other raptors do, as a breaking mechanism.

Being a serpent hunter is a dodgy buisness, but Pungu has two very special techniques that make her very adept at this. First, her very short tail allows her to be the only raptor that can walk backwards, which means that she can stay well out of reach of a striking snake. Secondly, she has an amazing crest that she can fan out so that any successful venemous attack will just hit her feathers, thus protecting her from being poisoned. Pungu is also rather partial to a bit of sunbathing. When it’s sunny, she likes nothing better than to fan out her resplendent wing feathers to absorb the sun – she looks for all the world as though she has a pair of solar panels attached! Quite a captivating raptor, I’m sure you’ll agree.

Essex Wildlife Country Fair
Over the weekend, the Essex Wildlife Trust hosted their Wildlife Country Fair at Abberton Reservoir. Andy our manager attended for the fourth year running, to promote the Suffolk Owl Sanctuary. Originally, we were invited to the fair after the Essex Wildlife Trust gave us permission to release a Short Eared Owl on their nature reserve at Great Wigborough. The owl had come to us in an exhausted state via the Raptor Trust after landing on an oil rig on the North Norfolk Coast. It was flown to us by Western Helicopters and then, once it had recuperated at the Sanctuary, taken to the nature reserve.

This year Andy took May the Merlin, who was a super attraction to the many bird watchers attending the event. Although she is a native raptor to the UK, many bird watchers have never seen a Merlin up so close before. He also took our old friend Auckland, the Boobook Owl (our consumate show professional) and two of our babies, the Asian Brown Wood Owl chick and the Southern Faced Scops Owl chick. These were a fantastic draw for kids as they are respectively only four and five weeks old. It was an excellent event, thoroughly enjoyed by all.

Raptor Baby Boom Continues
It has been a wonderful breeding season here at the Sanctuary and we are really chuffed with how many sturdy little chicks our raptors have produced. Just to give you a brief update, the first of our Snowy Owl eggs started pipping last Saturday and hatched the following day. This was rapidly followed by a further two hatching on Tuesday and then Thursday.

Lilly our Little Owl has been sitting comfortably on her clutch of three, two of which decided to brave the outside world on Wednesday of this week. We are particularly pleased with these little fellas; they are second generation to the Sanctuary as we bred their mum Lilly back in 2004!

The Lanner Falcons produced their second clutch of eggs, two of which proved to be fertile. We were very excited when one hatched on Sunday last, closely followed by the second on Wednesday of this week. All in all, a fantastic week for raptor babes.

Chicklets & Twiglets...

Over the years we have experienced many unusual instances of ‘raptor rescue’ but just recently saw a first, when we received a nest with three baby tawny owls still in it!

These three young tawny owlets arrived complete with nest…

These three young tawny owlets arrived complete with nest…

Apparently a local couple had decided to cut down a tree, totally unaware that there was a nest in it. Fortunately, they had the presence of mind to contact the 'Suffolk Wildlife Rescue' group. A member of their team, Alex, immediately collected the birds and brought them straight over to us.

... seen here on Maz’s desk before moving (sans chicks!) to our museum

... seen here on Maz’s desk before moving (sans chicks!) to our museum

Conservation Officer Dean has since taken them under his wing, so to speak, by feeding them every four hours and taking them home to keep an eye on them overnight. They are now thriving and, in a mere two weeks, have already doubled in size! It's not always easy to tell at this stage, but the falconers think we have two girls and one boy. The reason for this is that two of them are noticeably bigger than the other one and where raptors are concerned the females are usually larger than the males.

It won't be long before the tawnies are left in an aviary, so that they do not become imprinted on humans - this happens with hand rearing, where a raptor sees humans as its source of food. It will also give them chance to learn to fly.

All being well, in two months time when they are three months old, the tawnies will be released to resume their lives in their natural habitat. Meanwhile the BTO (British Trust for Ornithology) have now ringed them, which helps to provide a record of the number of birds that have been hacked back to the wild.

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So far, it has been a wonderful spring for baby events here at the Sanctuary, too. Our two Eagle Owl chicks have absolutely blossomed and now look like enormous fluffy balls as opposed to small fluffy blobs. Much as we would like to keep all of our babies at Stonham, it's a logistical impossibility and so many will move on to other homes, where we know they will be extremely well cared for. One of the Eagle Owl chicks however, whom the falconers have now named 'Amber', will be staying with us. At the moment she has pride of place in the office, where she snuggles under Maz's desk keeping a close eye on proceedings.

Our baby star of the week has to be our Asian Brown Wood Owl, who has alternately slept and squeaked his way through three days of school visits. He has been totally unfazed by the multitude of captivated faces peering down at him, accompanied by the usual chorus of admiring 'ooohs' and 'aaahs' and has stretched his wings, fluffed his feathers and staggered appealingly as he finds his feet; like a true pro!

Fascinating Raptor Facts

One of the raptors I have had the fortune to spend a fair amount of time with, is Bali the Asian Brown Wood Owl. He is definitely a seasoned expert when it comes to school visits, exhibitions and flying displays and knows how to utilise his stunning looks to the best advantage.

In his natural habitat, Bali would come from the rainforest regions of Malaysia, spending much of his time high up in the leafy canopy. His amazing colouring is due largely to the need for camouflage. Barring on his wings looks exactly like the branches of the trees he sits on, which means he blends in rather nicely, hence avoiding the notice of any would-be predators. Babies are fully grown at about three to four months, so this camouflage is particularly handy when you're only a very young Wood Owl with very little possibility of escape.

A curious feature of the Malaysian Wood Owl is that from time to time it will choose to eat fish. Owls are dependent on keeping their feathers well oiled for cleanliness and protection from rain, so fishing is an unusual pastime for this species to undertake. Most children tend to think that all owls say tu-whit or tu-whoo, but Bali is an excellent example of the fact that they don't - not only does he emit an ear piercing shriek, he also does it with frequent monotony much to the astonishment of onlookers!

To learn more about Bali and all the other raptors, why not come and see us at the Sanctuary? We look forward to seeing you!

Chicks, Chicks, Chicks...

There has been an air of eager anticipation here at the Sanctuary of late, with everyone waiting expectantly for not just one happy event, but a whole plethora!  Currently, the falconers are hand-rearing two Eagle Owl chicks, one Asian Brown Wood Owl chick and two Lanner Falcon chicks.  The Eagle Owl chicks are looking very plump and sturdy already and the Asian Brown, still tiny as yet, is being kept safe and warm in one of our brooders at a constant temperature between 25-26 degrees.

Down in the garden, something stirred.... one of the young Eagle Owl chicks enjoys some time in the sun

Down in the garden, something stirred.... one of the young Eagle Owl chicks enjoys some time in the sun

The arrival of this latter well & truly caught the attention of the media, and they were featured locally on the BBC and the Ipswich Star newspaper, as well as a story which ran in the Daily Telegraph - click here to see what they had to say.Meanwhile our Great Horned Owls, Huron and Pheonix, hatched two chicks last Monday and Wednesday respectively. Sadly one of these only survived for a couple of days as it was decidedly weak and could not be saved, but the other is in fine fettle. More successfully, the Booboks produced one youngster on Sunday the 26 April and as I write, one of the Southern Faced Scops Owls is also hatching.   

A-Level Art
Amidst all this excitement we have already put our new pavilion to excellent use.  The A-level art students from Northgate High School in Ipswich have taken part in a competition to create individual ‘owl’ posters.  These are now all on display in the pavilion, along with voting slips for our visitors to nominate their favourite one.  The winning design will be used to advertise the Sanctuary and the winning artist will receive a free owl adoption for one year.  The cut off date for voting is the end of May bank holiday and we will let you know as soon as we have the results, as well as post all the designs here to our website. 

Note from a Novice
As a newcomer to the world of raptors and falconry, I am just beginning to touch on some of the vast extent of knowledge and skill entailed in looking after birds of prey.  To date I have: discovered how to prepare raptor delicacies (rather a messy process involving the removal of various internal bits from rats & mice, which I won’t elaborate on); held an owl on a falconry glove (just a small one) and wondered why my arm nearly fell off the next day and learnt how to tie a falconer’s knot, courtesy of Dean who actually made this incomprehensible tangle of rope remarkably straightforward.  

For a person who is passionate about all wildlife, I have to admit to knowing very little about raptors.  What has amazed me over the last few months as I have been writing this blog is the realization that each bird of prey has its own distinctive personality.   Suddenly they’re not just birds but unique characters – wonderful! 

Fascinating Raptor Facts
On Friday last, I had the real privilege of watching one of the amazing aerial displays that take place here twice a day from April through to September.  Apart from being a stunning way to see various raptors take to the skies in all their full glory, I was impressed by how much information it was possible to glean from one demonstration.  

This action shot of Mir, the Steppe Eagle, by our friend Brian Macfarlane shows off the immense size & strength of the wings that transport the species over the Himalayas from Russia to Africa and back every year....

This action shot of Mir, the Steppe Eagle, by our friend Brian Macfarlane shows off the
immense size & strength of the wings that transport the species over the Himalayas from Russia to Africa and back every year....

The first bird in the demonstration was Mir the Steppe Eagle, who is fourteen years old.  On the steppes of her native Russia, with a bit of luck she would live until she was about 25, but here at the Sanctuary there is a good chance she will continue on well into her forties!  Life in the wild is tough for a Steppe Eagle as they have to undertake the longest migration of any Eagle species - all the way from Russia to Africa.  

Not only is this a tremendous distance, but also involves some drastic changes in situation for the Steppe Eagle.  For example, in Russia Mir would be pretty much the top predator, with marmots being her cuisine of choice.  Once in Africa however, she would suddenly be right down in the pecking order near to the bottom of the food chain.  As if that weren’t bad enough, in Africa there are no marmots either.  However there are plenty of other things she would eat such as lizards and her favourite African delicacy would be – you’d never guess –termites!  Given that Mir weighs a stately 6 ½ pounds and has a wing span of around 6 feet, you might think that a diet of termites would leave her feeling rather peckish.  Well, as long as a Steppe Eagle can devour around 2 to 2 ½ thousand termites then apparently that’s no problem! 

So that was Mir.  I also learnt a whole host of fascinating facts about Cobweb the Barn Owl, Nell the Saker Falcon, Bali the Asian Brown Wood Owl and Gypsy the American Black Vulture – but space eludes me.  Be sure to log on for next week’s instalment!  Better still, come to the Sanctuary and see these amazing birds for yourself. 

The Raptor Education Pack

Part of our remit as a charity is to inform young people about owls & other birds of prey, to promote an understanding of wild raptors & their needs and to help raise awareness of the importance of their conservation for the future. 

So we are pleased to announce the launch of its new SOS Raptor Pack for Teachers - an extensive resource for use in schools to help promote these goals.

This 3-stage programme covering Foundation Stage and Key Stages 1 & 2 was created for S.O.S. by team members Ashley Costin & David Nadauld and is available for free review and download now.

Although designed to provide an educational resource which reflects the National Curriculum requirements, many aspects of the Raptor Pack - which includes stories, games, activities & quizzes - will appeal to all youngsters with an interest in nature, and birds o prey in particular.

Teacher notes, objectives & outcome notes, cross-curricula guidance and additional resource advice is supplied with each pack.

Please take a look, and members of the public should also feel free to download some or all of the pack if they would like to. Meanwhile, we are keen to get some feedback from teachers, so please e-mail us to let us know what you think, and how you feel we may improve the contents!

Caracara Studies

Whilst all the team work very hard here at S.O.S, we are always most grateful to our wonderful group of vounteers, who balk at no job however mucky or smelly. One of our volunteers, Kate, has been studying hard at Otley College - a local education centre which specialises in matters agricultural - and been doing some interesting research into the behaviour of two unusual raptors here at Stonham. Here’s what she had to say:

In October I began volunteering at Suffolk Owl Sanctuary to further my experience of working in the animal care industry in support of the Foundation Degree in Animal Management I am studying for at Otley. My studies in animal behaviour required me to perform an enrichment study on animals in captivity and I chose to study the behaviour of the Yellow Headed Caracaras at S.O.S., Carla and Rico.

The Bug Log was placed inside the Caracara’s Aviary

The Bug Log was placed inside the Caracara’s Aviary

In their native regions the Yellow Headed Caracara is nicknamed the ‘Tick Bird’ due to its habit of riding on the backs of cattle and feeding on insects and parasites. The aim of my study was to offer Carla and Rico the opportunity to forage for insects within their enclosure. The enrichment device that provided foraging opportunities was simply a log with niches cut into it. Insects were placed in the niches for Carla and Rico to find and feed on.

The results show that the introduction of the device reduced the amount of vocalising performed by both birds; increased the foraging behaviour performed by Rico and increased the range of behaviours performed by Carla.

One of the Bugs used in the experiment

One of the Bugs used in the experiment

The results suggest that the percentage of time perching was unaltered, however observations revealed that the range of perches used was markedly increased after we introduced the enrichment device. Overall the study showed that the enrichment device provided the Caracaras with a new object of interest, and made them more active, which can be beneficial to their welfare. Also, it seems that Carla is developing quite a taste for mealworms!

Kate Whittaker

Out and About

Two ‘outshows’ at the weekend drew a host of interested visitors

Two ‘outshows’ at the weekend drew a host of interested visitors

Whilst our work with all birds of prey is of paramount importance here at the Suffolk Owl Sanctuary, we are also passionate about spreading the word about raptor conservation.

Last weekend, we had two exciting opportunities to do just that. On Saturday, we went to give a talk to members of the Framlingham Wildlife Watch Group (a junior branch of the Suffolk Wildlife Trust) armed with two owls and a falcon.

The damp, drizzly weather did nothing to dispel the eagerness of the small but highly enthusiastic group. Youngsters and adults alike were enthralled by the beauty of the raptors seen at close range and listened attentively to all the information that head falconer Andy imparted about each bird. Towards the end of the talk the children took part in a quick quiz about what they had just heard. Impressively, they were able to answer every question correctly!

Sunday dawned cold but bright and once again saw us heading towards an outshow, this time with Bali the Asian Brown Wood Owl and Aukland the Boobok Owl in tow. This was a very special event taking place in the beautiful grounds of Orwell Park School, Nacton, entitled the 'Raring2go Children's Day'. It was extremely well attended and our stall had a steady flow of visitors all of whom were charmed by Bali's exotic good looks (though somewhat surprised by his un-twit-twoo like screech) and Auckland's tiny stature and cute round baby face.

“Oh no you don’t!” - Huron shows that he is not amused by our enquiring looks

“Oh no you don’t!” - Huron shows that he is not amused by our enquiring looks

It provided an excellent opportunity to explain to people about conservation in general and the work that goes on at the Sanctuary and proved a thoroughly enjoyable and successful day for all. Bali and Aukland behaved impeccably and were perfect ambassadors for us.

Meanwhile back at the centre Matt & Dean continued with the never-ending battle of keeping the grass under control and tackling the wildly sprouting Leylandii maze, while our Great Horned Owl Huron is now proudly keeping a protective eye on his missus Phoenix while she sits serenely on the clutch of eggs she has just produced.

Yes, love is in the air (again)

Seven days ago we were hopeful that 'spring had sprung' and, apart from a couple of lingering frosts this week, there are still more signs that mother nature is waking up from her long sleep.

Great proof of this is in our woodland walk, where the primroses are already blooming and there is an abundance of green foliage where the bluebells and red campion are beginning to flourish.

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The primroses are up, whilst bluebells & red campion show first signs of life

The primroses are up, whilst bluebells & red campion show first signs of life

On the hospital front, the Tawny Owl with the infected foot is doing well, though we thought it appropriate to keep him in the flight recovery aviary for a few more days, just to be on the safe side; hopefully he will be flying free again within the week.

The second Tawny Owl brought in recently - the one who appeared to have been in some kind of road traffic accident we reported on last week - benefited from a quiet spell in the hospital and was successfully hacked back to the wild during the week.

Demonstrating the superb camouflage of the Tawny Owl, our road casualty from last week was released this week and we managed to capture a snap of him hiding amongst the ivy...

Demonstrating the superb camouflage of the Tawny Owl, our road casualty from last week was released this week and we managed to capture a snap of him hiding amongst the ivy...

Romance appears to be well & truly in the air as far as the birds are concerned, with our Great Horned Owls among the first to demonstrate that they are 'getting in the mood' (to use Andy’s technical term) for breeding again as they go through their pretty agressive mating display. This pair have successfully bred for the last two years and are a very good mum and dad - so here's hoping!

Huron & Phoenix are in the mood for lurve and both are strutting their stuff with a mating display typical of the Great Horned Owl

Huron & Phoenix are in the mood for lurve and both are strutting their stuff with a mating display typical of the Great Horned Owl

Meanwhile, as we benefit from improving weather, preparations continue for the new season of flying displays which start early in April and most of the birds that participate are pretty much up and running, or perhaps I should say, flying.

Now is the time when our avian friends are exercised regularly to acclimatise them to their natural flying weight. For the Owls, this entails some fairly stately flying back & forth to the glove of the falconers, but for some of the falcons the exercise regime is more vigorous in nature as the falcons swoop & dive to a 'swing lure'- a leather pad attached to the end of an eight foot line onto which a tasty morsel is tied, which is skilfully swung by the falconer to simulate the way that the falcon would chase its aerial prey in the wilds.

Three more raptors have also now come back into training this week and are out on their perches enjoying the warm spring sun. Taiga, the Great Grey Owl; Aukland. the Boobok Owl and Ash, the Common Buzzard are each an important part of the team here as they are the ons involved in the half day hawk and owl awareness sessions that the sanctuary runs in the summer.

And last but not least, the human team are continuing to make impressive improvements here at SOS. The gift shop has had a makeover and looks very bright and fresh andAndy has put the finishing touches to the new children's playhouse and the pavilion has finally been completed, so all in all, we’re looking forward to welcoming visitors to the Centre again as the drab days of winter recede.