Achieving Conservation Goals...

OK, we may not be scoring too highly on the soccer pitch at present, but there are some goals we are able to achieve on the conservation front!

We have often reported on the work that we do in our raptor hospital here at S.O.S., but our aim to aid the conservation of birds of prey also extends much further afield and part of our job is to be on hand to answer queries from members of the public who have seen a bird they can’t identify or need information or help with some kind of raptor dilemma.

We think our French friend was a Buzzard, who when mature will look something like our own Common Buzzard, Ash

One email we received recently came from a lady who lives in France. She and her husband had found a nest that had clearly not been visited for some time but had an abandoned young Buzzard in it. Having only been able to gain the most basic information for the bird’s care, the lady then emailed us asking what on earth she should do next, as she was worried that the bird would become dependent on her for food and would not learn to hunt for itself.

Andy phoned the lady and enquired about the age of the bird, which was only a youngster - probably around 6 or seven weeks old - and how she was caring for it, so that he could advise her of the steps to take next. As the bird was at that time being kept in a barn, Andy suggested that the lady and her husband build a 3 foot square, wooden hack box with a meshed, open front on hinges. The box would then need to be screwed to the side of the barn, where the buzzard would get the benefit of the early morning sun, but would be sheltered from the hot afternoon sun. He suggested that it be placed about 8 foot up, as this would make it a manageable height for feeding the bird and also be a suitable height for its first flight – not too far to fall!

The next step will be to keep the bird in the hack box and feed it in there for around ten to fourteen days, before opening the front of the box and allowing the Buzzard to practise its flying skills. It will be necessary then, to continue to feed the bird in the hack box, so that it has a focal place for food. Gradually, as the bird’s flying skills improve, it should start hunting for small prey, such as frogs, insects and small mammals and will gradually become less dependent on the food left for it in the barn. Over time, it should be evident that the bird is not coing back every day, until eventually it will become self sufficient and be able to fend for itself properly in its natural environment.

Hopefully our diagnosis and advice will prove successful and we’ll let you know how things progress when we receive further news.

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Little Treasures...

Somewhat unfortunately, this time of year is always a busy one where the Suffolk Owl Sanctuary hospital is concerned.  It's a tough old world out there, even for seasoned birds of prey, but life is fraught with danger if you're a nipper just starting out.  In the spring and early summer, as well as the usual quota of injured raptors, the hospital also receives a number of orphaned littl'uns, for a variety of reasons. 

Raring to go - two of the four Little Owls brought into us recently just before we took them off to the hack box - the first step in the release process

Dean checks on the little’uns safely installed in their hack box in a local barn - he will visit & feed them daily and then open up the front of the box as they learn to fend for themselves

You may remember in our blog of 2/6/10 that we saw the arrival of a brood of Little Owls, which unfortunately were still in a tree when it was cut down.  The Little Owls looked so tiny and vulnerable when they first came to us, it seemed incredible to think that they would one day be able to fend for themselves in the wild.  But it's amazing how fast they grow and after just a few short weeks they were robust enough and healthy enough to begin their journey back to their natural habitat.  The first step was to put the youngsters into a 'hack box' and Conservation Officer Dean took along volunteer Kate to record the event.  The hack box has been located on a farm local to the Sanctuary, so that Dean can keep an eye on the youngsters and feed them until they are ready to hunt for themselves and then finally be released.

Loving to Learn
This is also a busy season for us education-wise, as it's the time of year that many schools are looking to provided extra-special educational experiences for their pupils.  Educating youngsters about the care and conservation of birds of prey is one of the most important facilities we can offer here at the Sanctuary, as todays youngsters will be the prime movers in caring for our environment in years to come.

Weather permitting, every school visit to the Suffolk Owl Sanctuary includes one of our spectacular flying displays, where the children have the opportunity to see first hand the incredible beauty and majesty of some of stunning raptors in flight.  A guided tour of the centre also gives them the chance to learn all sorts of fascinating facts about birds of prey from all over the world and to see them close up.

Schools visiting S.O.S. experience a wide variety of education activities connected with the raptor world, from Arts & Crafts to Pellet Dissection!

Our education department offers a variety of activities, all aimed at being fun as well as informative, one of the most popular of which is 'pellet dissection'.  Kids are always surprised to learn that owls don't have teeth and as a consequence have to swallow their prey whole.  They are fascinated and horrified in equal measure to discover that the bits an owl can't digest, such as bones, feathers and fur are 'coughed up' a few hours after they've eaten, in the form of a pellet.  

Once we get to the part where the pellets can be soaked and then teased apart to see what's inside, kids and teachers alike are hooked.  It's incredibly exciting to find a perfectly formed leg bone, or even better the miniature skull of a bird or small mammal.  There is a great deal that can be learnt from observing what our top predators are consuming; the information gleaned can give us an important overview of what's happening in our environment, so we hope we're doing our bit to enthuse youngsters to look after their world in the future.

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Busy, busy...

Here at the S.O.S. we are always on the look out for ways that we can contribute to Britshh wildlife conservation issues, not only in terms of our native birds of prey, but also in other areas.

There has been a great deal of emphasis in the news lately about the worrying decline of the humble bumble bee, which is currently under serious threat. This is mainly due to how agricultural practices have changed over the last 70 years, with the use of pesticides and a decrease in the number of insect pollinated crops. Bees are so important to our food production that, the theory is, if they became extinct the human race would follow shortly after! Just one of a whole host of reasons for doing our bit to try to boost their population numbers and aid the recovery of this fascinating and incredible insect.

To this end, our Andy proposed the idea that we should use a small area at the Sanctuary and turn it into a bee and butterfly garden. It’s a lovely spot, overlooked by a beautiful, ornamental Maple tree and flanked by benches just adjacent to the Barclays Bank Sensory Garden which they so kindly installed for us a year or so back - so that visitors can sit and watch what we hope will be a variety of bees and butterflies, not to mention other insect life, once the garden has fully established itself.

Andy’s new Bee & Butterfly Garden took just a few days to install, thanks to some hard work on his behalf and the help of the rest of the staff & volunteers...now all we need is some SUN!!

With lots of help from volunteers and the S.O.S team, our new bee and butterfly garden was dug, fenced and planted in just a few days.  All we need now is some sun to encourage new residents to come and stay with us at the Sanctuary!

Essex Wildlife Trust Country Fair

It is essential to us at S.O.S. that we are able to promote our key aims – Conservation, Rehabilitation and Education - to as wide an audience as possible and so it is important that we take opportunities such as attending the Essex Wildlife and Country Fair to do just that.

The fair was held at Abberton Reservoir in the village of Layer-de-la-Haye and was attended by well over a thousand visitors. Andy dutifully discarded his hoe & trowel and went along on Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th of June, taking with him a female Peregrine Falcon (which has only recently joined us at the Sanctuary) and Auckland our Boobook Owl who, as you may remember from previous blogs, is an old pro at this kind of thing.  It was the Peregrine’s first out-show, but she behaved impeccably and even had her picture taken with Colchester United football mascot, ‘Eddie the Eagle’!

It took us AGES to work out if Andy’s shorts were getting longer...or his legs were getting shorter....

Andy was particularly interested to be able to observe a bird ringing exhibition and had the opportunity for the first time to see a Nightingale being ringed. He was also chuffed to see a wild Hobby flying across the show ground – not something you see every day.

This is the fourth year the Suffolk Owl Sanctuary has been asked to attend the Essex Wildlife Trust Country Fair, the first time being after we were permitted to release a Short-Eared Owl at the Reservoir. The owl had come to the Sanctuary’s hospital totally exhausted after it had landed on an oil-rig platform, after migrating to England from Europe. This is the kind of rehabilitation story that epitomises what we aim to achieve here at S.O.S and so it’s great to be able to continue our association with the Abberton Reservoir.

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The Marsh Harrier Saga...

At the beginning of March, we reported on one of our long-term hospital residents, which has been with us since way back last August.

To recap briefly, the Marsh Harrier had two bits of shot in its wing and a swollen, infected foot. It has taken a long time and a great deal of care to tend the Harrier back to health and in March, with a mended wing and a healed foot, we were just waiting for its tail to moult properly before finally expecting to release it back into its natural habitat. Talk about ‘best laid plans…’ The Harrier’s tail is now absolutely fine, but for no explicable reason the toes on its right foot have suddenly all swollen up again.

Sneak peak - I grabbed a crafty photo of the basking Marsh Harrier in its recuperation aviary at feeding time, though we generally rely on ‘big brother’ in the corner to keep an eye on things, so keeping human contact to a minimum

So it was decided that another trip to the vet was required. Marsh Harriers are very sensitive birds with nervous, flighty dispositions and they have tendency to react quite wildly when unsure of a situation, so General Manager Andy wrapped our patient securely in a towel before putting it in the travelling box. This way it could be kept calm and quiet and not run the risk of thrashing about and causing damage to itself.

The vet examined the bird’s foot closely and decided that the best course of action was to put it on a course of antibiotics for a couple of weeks. If this doesn’t cure the condition, the next course of action will be to x-ray the Harrier’s foot, to see if an operation to remove the detritus in the affected area would be appropriate.
We are desperately hoping that the antibiotics will do the trick though, as the Harrier has been with us for a long time and the falconers would really like to see it returned to its natural habitat as soon as possible. I was concerned that the Harrier wouldn’t survive in the wild, having been in a rehabilitation aviary for so long, but I was assured that as it has had the absolute minimum of human contact necessary and will not have forgotten its natural hunting instincts, it would be absolutely fine again once released.

So for now, the Marsh Harrier is back in the rehabilitation aviary and we are keeping everything crossed that it will soon be fit and well to fly free once more. However this a case which illustrates perfectly that the care and rehabilitation of such wonderful creatures and others like them unfortunate enough to come a cropper, is often a lengthy process.

All Friends Together

Two Boobook owlets and two Tawny owlets shape up together in the crèche aviary

We are absolutely chuffed with the real baby boom we’ve had this year again and all our current chicks are in fine fettle and looking fat, fluffy & well fed. At the moment we have four Harris Hawk babies, five Little Owl chicks, two Tawny owlets, two Boobook babies and two Lanner chicks. The Boobooks and Tawnies are now in the crèche aviary, where they have lots of space to grow and to start finding out what their wings are for and exercising them.

The youngest of our babies are still being fed with tweezers every four hours, which means one of the S.O.S staff has to take them home and look after them after the Sanctuary closes for the day. For the first couple of feeds, Andy adds a supplement called Bioplus Pro-biotic, which helps to get the youngsters’ guts working properly and also has beneficial bacteria, minerals and pro-biotic herbs in, to give them the very best start in life.

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Good Housekeeping...

This week was my first opportunity to accompany our conservation officer Dean on his periodic check on some of the nest boxes which are funded by donors and which local land owners have allowed us to erect on their properties. 

There were three nest boxes sited on the first farm we visited but although all three were inhabited, in each case we were sorry to find pigeons in residence! However the farmer was certain that a pair of Barn Owls had been sighted on a neighbouring property and he kindly took us over and introduced us to the owners. 

We made a good search of the area and although we couldn’t find any natural nesting spots, it just so happened that we did have another very special task to perform this day, so our visit wasn’t wasted.  A short while ago, a benevolent lady who had made a significant donation asked if we would put some of the money she gave towards erecting a nest box with a plaque dedicated to a loved one.  On the farm we were visiting we found a most incredible, gnarled old tree with a vast trunk and plenty of shelter in an spot that would make the ideal location for placing a nest box, to which the helpful lady at the farm house unhesitatingly agreed. 

Of course, its one thing finding a great place to site a nest box but it’s quite another actually getting it up there, though thankfully Dean is a master of the art.  Firstly, we attached a rope securely to the box, then Dean shimmied up the ladder, looped the rope over a sturdy branch, hoisted the nest box up to the right height and then secured it to the tree whilst I did the hard bit – standing on the ladder at the bottom, making sure it didn’t topple over!  It was a tricky job and took quite a while to fix the box, but once it was done we were extremely pleased with the result. It may be a couple of years before we have any nesting success there, as Barn Owls are notoriously territorial and it takes them a long while to adopt new nesting areas.  But we’ll keep an eye on it and with any luck, have good news to report in the not too distant future. 

Continuing our round of nest-box checking we disappointingly found more evidence of pigeons and jackdaws in some boxes and one with a kestrel egg in it, which we left where it was although pretty sure had been abandoned.  Other boxes showed no sign of any recent nesting activity though again, our visits weren’t wasted as they provided the opportunity to clean out the boxes in preparation for hopefully more success next year.  

At the end of our tour, which on this occasion had proved rather fruitless in terms of being able to identify that our owl nesting boxes were being used for their intended purpose, we approached the last one rather discouraged. But we were in for a surprise, in more ways than one. Dean immediately recognised signs of use and as he carefully rested the ladder up against the tree to make the inspection, a Tawny Owl popped its head over the lip and then vacated the premises in the direction of a nearby wood. Although I’m certainly no David Bailey, modern technology is a wonderful thing and a rapid-repeat button on the camera allowed me to catch the Tawny’s flight.  Regrettably there were no chicks to report, but the fact that the box was occupied was encouraging and we finally returned to the sanctuary tired but happy. 

(PLEASE NOTE: Inspection or interference with a nesting box is prohibited unless in possession of a current Disturbance Licence, issued by DEFRA. For more information, click here.)

Now you see ‘im…

... now you don’t! The annual inspection of this Tawny Owl box shows evidence of use, though the tenant didn’t hang around to chat...

A Little Handful!

I mentioned last week that we had four Little Owl chicks brought in to the Sanctuary.  The circumstances surrounding their arrival were unusual as they were discovered in a tree that had been cut down!  (This is certainly not the first time this has happened though - in fact we reported a similar incident around this time last year). Fortunately all four chicks are fine and are currently doing very well.

These four Little Owls were discovered in a felled tree. They will stay with us
until ready for release and then hacked back to the wild in a few weeks time.

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Rest, Recuperate...

Last week we promised you an update on the resident birds in the care of our raptor hospital here at S.O.S and we have been quite busy just recently. As you may recall from previous years, this is an especially hectic time where owl chicks are concerned and in particular Tawny Owl chicks, who seem to find their way out of their nests with remarkable regularity. It is concerning to see a small, defenceless creature sitting forlornly at the bottom of a tree but, by and large, if it’s a Tawny Owlet, the chances are mum and dad know exactly where it is and will continue to look after it.

Nevertheless, we have had a number of calls to the Sanctuary in the last few days, asking for advice about apparently orphaned birds and generally our advice is to put the youngster back in the nearest tree if at all possible and if possible, keep an eye on it for 24 hours. Sometimes of course, circumstances don’t allow for this and we have had some instances, such as when a youngster appeared on a lady’s window ledge, when we suggest that it would be better to bring the bird in to us or take it to the nearest vet if we are too far away.

Recently, Stowe Vets contacted our Conservation Officer Dean, to say that they had been given a baby Tawny Owl by a member of the public. Their examinations of it showed that there was nothing at all wrong, apart from the fact that it was too young to fend for itself in the wild. The Tawny Owlet is now residing with us at the Sanctuary, where it will be fed and cared for until it’s old enough to hunt and look after itself, when it will then be hacked back to the wild. The falconers will be extremely careful whilst the owlet is with us not to handle it at all un-necessarily, as it is vital that it retains its wild state and doesn’t imprint on human beings at all.

I am pleased to report that we have also had two very happy endings over the last few days. In our first May blog, we reported on a Tawny Owl that had clearly been the victim of a road traffic accident. Apart from some minor injuries and being rather thin, there didn’t appear to be too much wrong and after a couple of weeks of rest and relaxation and a few substantial meals, it was back to a healthy weight and looking as good as new. After a last health check, the Tawny was finally released last Sunday.

Another success story was the Musket we reported on at the beginning of this month, which appeared to have pulled a ligament. Again, all that was required was some recuperation time in one of the Sanctuary’s rehabilitation aviaries and in no time at all the bird was fit for release. As there was no indication of where the Musket was found, Dean elected to release it in a local wood known as being a good area for Sparrowhawks and a circumstance which presents an excellent opportunity to add a fresh bloodline to the area.

Our latest arrivals were four little owl chicks, but more about that in our next blog, when we will also have information about how our nest box scheme is doing.

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New beginnings...

All in a Day’s Work
This time of year is a very special time at the Suffolk Owl Sanctuary, when (hopefully) we see the advent of some small, fluffy miracles. If you have been keeping up with our blog, you will know that a couple of weeks ago two European Owls hatched, just two days apart. You would think that two days would make very little difference in the scheme of things, but actually, not only do these little creatures grow at an alarming rate, but the disparity in their sizes is quite astonishing.

Little & Large: Hand-feeding these young owlets in the early stage is almost a full-time occupation - and so is clearing up afterwards!

As with all young owlets they do take a great deal of care and attention and as I’ve mentioned before they do need feeding every four hours. This afternoon I was able to observe one of our volunteers, Kate Knight, deftly handling the tweezers as she fed our hungry youngsters some delicious pieces of gourmet chick. Neither of the owls is yet of a size to swallow a whole chick, but the difference in size of the pieces they are able to digest is quite remarkable. It’s all very scientific! What’s not at all scientific, but totally inevitable is what happens five to ten minutes after the chicks have been fed, which I’m sure doesn’t need elaborating on. It does however mean that keeping the chicks in a clean environment is a fairly constant job too. And whoever does the feeding…

All of our current chicks are doing well and the hot off the press news is that we are pretty sure one of the Saker Falcon eggs is fertile and we’re also sure that our Red Kites are laying. As always, we’ll keep you updated.

Hospital News

This grounded young Musket has probably pulled a ligament, so will spend some time in one of the re-hab aviaries before release back to the wild. Note the cautious grip of the falconer makes sure those sharp talons don’t make contact!

You may remember from last week’s blog that many of our admittances to the raptor hospital are due to Road Traffic Accidents. This isn’t always the case however and, as with a recent case, sometimes there isn’t a clear reason why a bird is injured. This week we were brought a Musket to look after, which came to us via the Barns Vet Practice and had been found by a client of theirs. (A Musket is a male Sparrowhawk, which in the 15th Century would have been flown by a Holy Water Clerk, but that’s another story!) 

When he was found, he clearly couldn’t fly, although initially there was no obvious sign of injury. Further examination led to the diagnosis that the bird had probably pulled a ligament, so it will just take time for this to heal. So he’s is now in a rehabilitation aviary, where he can exercise itself safely and where the falconers can keep a discreet but close eye on his recovery prior to release back to the wild.

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Win some...

Fighting the Good Fight

It’s a sad fact that a large percentage of the injured birds of prey that are brought to us here at the Sanctuary have been the victims of some kind of Road Traffic Accident (RTA). Unfortunately, birds have no concept of what a car is or the threat it poses to them, which is why those annoying pigeons that stay in the road until the very last second, when you’re sure you’re going to mangle them, are not actually playing chicken. They really don’t know you’re coming until you’re amost there!

Also, in a recent blog we considered the veracity of the age old myth ‘wise old owl’. Unfortunately, an owl hunting for a nice juicy vole right across your driving path only has the right amount of brainpower to follow its goal. It can’t reason that maybe it should steer around an oncoming object to avoid a collision. Likewise, if it happens to be devouring a catch right by the side of the road it has no understanding that this may not be the safest place to eat your breakfast.

Similarly, the size of an owl often belies its weight - the bird below weighs only a few ounces, despite it fairly bulky appearance. So should a bird happen to be flying across the road at a time when a large or fast vehicle is passing, though it may not actually be hit, the backdraft is often sufficient to crash the bird into the road, either concussing it or damaging it and sometimes incapacitating it so that it is run over by following traffic.

Over the last few days we have had two Tawny Owls brought in to the Hospital, both of which were likely victims of RTAs. The first had clearly been hit by a car: close examination by Conservation Officer Dean revealed that it was missing some tail feathers, had a slightly dilated eye and a small amount of blood in the ears under the skin. The owl was also rather thin, but fortunately there appeared to be no damage to any of its extremities, so we’re of the opinion that it has a good chance of making a full recovery.

This RTA victim will be housed in a secluded recuperation aviary until it’s fit enough to be released back to the wild

The Tawny is now in one of our rehabilitation aviaries, where it will have a chance to rest and recuperate and to build up its weight and strength again. The rehabilitation aviaries are specifically designed to allow the falconers to administer the necessary TLC whilst having the minimal amount of contact with the bird. It is vitally important that a wild bird doesn’t begin to imprint and become too reliant on human beings, thus making its return to the wild that much harder.

Our second Tawny Owl was brought in by a chap who found it on the side of the road. Having kept it covered so that it was quiet and calm, he then brought it in to the Sanctuary, where Andy had a good look at it and almost immediately came to the conclusion it was another RTA victim The poor thing had a severely broken right wing and Andy was afraid that the prognosis didn’t look good.

Unfortunately, a trip to the vet confirmed our worst fears; there was nothing that could be done to put the Tawny Owl to rights and it was humanely put to sleep. Although it’s always very sad when this happens, whatever the diagnosis for an injured bird may be, its welfare and estimated quality of life are always the falconers’ top priorities for consideration.

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Easter Week Events

On fine form

After a very slow start, spring has finally sprung and the Sanctuary’s spectacular displays have gotten off to a ‘flying start’ as a result of the good weather over Easter weekend and through the Easter school holidays.

With our colleague Maz temporarily indisposed for a few weeks, young Andrew stepped manfully into her shoes (if such non sequiturs are allowed on the SOS blog) to give his first flying display of the season - an occasion about which he was feeling a little nervous, having not given a display since last year.  

But the boy done well. To begin with he flew Ash, the Sanctuary’s Common Buzzard, who obligingly soared and swooped and showed off her graceful aerial skills to the audience. At the end of her flight, Andrew gave Ash a whole chick so that she knew her display was over and so that he could safely put her leash, swivel and mews jesses back on.  At this point, Ash showed a classic behaviour common to all birds of prey when they have food, called ‘mantling’. This is where a bird of prey spreads out its wings in a defensive ark, to protect its food from other possible predators. Although hand-reared birds like Ash are completely at ease with their handlers and look to them as their source of food, it’s still a natural instinct to protect their dinner from being stolen. Some of them elect to hold on to their prey until they’re back in the quiet and safety of their weatherings, where they can eat it undisturbed.

Beneath the magnificent feathered wingspan, the common buzzard is ‘mantling’ over the tasty morsel in the falconer’s glove

Andrew also flew Baloo, one of the Sanctuary’s Indian Eagle Owls, who is always a favourite with visitors because of his stunning plumage and vibrant orange eyes. If you shut your eyes as Baloo flies, his wings make no sound at all due to the comb-like ends to his wingtips, which allow the air to pass through them noiselessly. This is an extremely important tool for hunting, as an owl’s prey is unable to hear the owl approaching and the element of surprise can mean the difference between having a meal or going hungry. 

Eye See You - Andrew and Baloo, the Indian Eagle Owl have their eye on each other

The flying displays at the Suffolk Owl Sanctuary are intended to inform our visitors and to give them an insight into the needs of the various raptors, as well as the importance of their conservation. In addition, during the demonstration the falconers try to replicate the way that each type of bird of prey would hunt in its natural habitat, thus enabling them to follow their natural instincts as much as possible and demonstrate the diversity of hunting techniques used by birds of prey. As an owl Balloo likes to fly from one perch to another, swooping low across the showground to illustrate one of the ways he would hunt by silently quartering in the wild, where as some of the falcons in our displays are flown to the swing of the lure to demonstrate their aerial prowess of hunting other birds on the wing.

Baby update
As you may well know if you’ve been keeping up with our recent blogs, the breeding season is finally in full swing here at the Sanctuary. Two of our European Eagle Owl chicks are now just under two weeks old, having hatched on the 7th & 9th of April respectively.  

They are looking extremely well fed and snug in the incubator, having had round the clock care from General Manager Andy. Apart from keeping the chicks in a secure environment, the incubator also regulates their temperature, starting at 35 degrees and being turned down a degree or so each day until the chicks are acclimatised to room temperature. It’s a time consuming business hand-rearing chicks as they need feeding every four hours and can easily overheat in the incubator if they are sharing it with a sibling. 

Inside the warm confines of the incubator, these week-old Eagle Owl chicks are ensured a trouble-free start to life

A third European Eagle Owl chick was born on 15th April and is still with its mother. Doing it this way helps to ensure that all the chicks receive the care and feed that they need to survive. 

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It's Showtime

The Mid-Suffolk Show

This weekend saw the advent of the Mid-Suffolk show in the Stonham Barns Complex, where there were all kinds of stalls and lots of fun for the whole family; everything from quadbike rides, bucking bronco and heavy horses to craft stands and various animal welfare stalls, including of course the Suffolk Owl Sanctuary.

The event started at 10.00am and right from the off, there were long queues of people waiting to enter the showground. It was an extremely popular day, with one of the highlights being a flying display by three of our spectacular raptors, Pungu the Bateleur Eagle, Josh the Harris Hawk and Lock the Lanner Falcon. All conducted themselves beautifully in slightly unfamiliar surroundings and Lock produced a magnificent stoop much to the delight of the onlookers.

Although we’ve been based in Suffolk for some 16 years now, it’s always surprising how many of the locals either didn’t know we existed or hadn’t ever visited us, so the event provided the ideal opportunity to talk to a huge number of people about our purpose and hand out a great deal of literature, including our “Saving Britain’s Owls” booklet. Judging by the positive response this sort of information always seems to be greeted with by the general public (many of them city-dwellers), it’s gratifying to know that such a great deal of interest is being shown today in matters conservational!

Is it a bird? I it a plane? No, it’s Andrew again - all togged up
to gladhand young visitors to the show. No wonder he looked apprehensive!

All in all, it was a tiring but highly satisfying day. Auckland our Boobook Owl spent the day with us on the stall and drew a great many admirers, as did Andrew, our big fluffy mascott owl who dispensed friendly waves and handshakes to lots of smiling children. 

On the Home Front

We also had some excitement here at the Sanctuary as the breeding season showed further evidence of the breeding season getting fully into its stride.  

General Manager Andy showed me a wonderful piece of equipment called a Cellascope that indicates definitely whether or not there is any sign of life in a bird’s egg. A fiendishly simple but effective design whereby a light shines through the egg showing up the veins that confirm a small life growing inside. Having tested the Lanner Falcons eggs today, Andy was able to confirm that two were positive and two were not.  

Our Saker Falcons have also been busy and are currently incubating three eggs. Sadly, although our Wood Owls produced too eggs, one had no chick in it and the other died during incubation. The positive side of this is that it’s early in the season, so there’s a good chance they will have another go.

A Little Gem

Trevor Richardson’s Little Owl Painting

Recently we received an email from an artist by the name of Trevor Richardson, who paints beautiful wildlife images and was keen to have some pictures of Kestrels for his latest project. Last year he asked us for some information regarding Little Owls and sent us the link to show us his stunning representation. You can view this and some of Trevor’s other work at http://www.gingersparrow.co.uk - we’re very much looking forward to seeing the next one!

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Soaring populations?

Mersea Island Wildlife Forum
As regular readers of our blog are aware, not only do we like to keep you informed about what’s happening at home, we also aim to keep abreast of the wider raptor picture both locally and nationally. Last week our General Manager Andy gave a talk about native birds of prey to the Mersea Island Wildlife Forum, which raised some interesting points of view.

As Andy’s talk was based on our native UK raptors, he took along Comet the Peregrine Falcon and Ash the Common Buzzard. Along with the Sparrowhawk, these two species are good examples of raptors that are now more common in the UK than they have been at any time since bird-of-prey records began.

The native populations of Peregrine Falcons & Common Buzzards in the wild
are generally doing well, but should the need ever arise, what steps might
be taken to prevent them becoming too prevalent?

Birds of prey are generally doing very well in Britain at the moment, so Andy posed the question ‘what happens if raptors become so well populated that they are then seen to be having a negative impact on the countryside?’ The most obvious answer would be some sort of cull, but there was a great deal of concern that an open season on certain birds of prey would result in them disappearing entirely from our shores: this has certainly happened before. The consensus of the forum was that if it became necessary to control the population of the more prolific species, managing the number of eggs produced would seem to be a more humane way.

After a short break for that imperative English tradition, the cup of tea, the forum was then open for a question and answer session. The most popular topic for discussion was the re-introduction of the White Tailed Sea Eagle to our shores, a subject that you may remember we raised in our blog of 21.01.10. There has certainly been a great deal of disagreement about this issue and one gentleman at the forum said that on a recent visit to Norfolk he had seen a vast number of anti Sea Eagle signs decorating the highways & byways.

There is also some conjecture about how, if it were to happen, these raptors should be released. Andy raised the concern that, if youngsters were released as many as 75% could die in the first year due to lack of parental support teaching the necessary flying and hunting skills. The most prudent idea would seem to be to capture & re-release young passage birds, which would already have the ability to survive in the wild. For now though, this is a subject that is still being hotly debated.

Back at Base

Back at home, the flying display season has now started and the display birds are enjoying showing off their incredible aerial skills, so we’re hoping for some really good flying weather over the Easter bank holiday. Although spring has been rather shy about appearing so far this year, the signs are that it is finally here. At long last the daffodils are out and some more of our resident birds are doing what comes naturally at this time of year. Jem & Lock our Lanner Falcons are incubating four eggs, our Boobook female Tasmin has disappeared into her nesting box, so it’s highly likely that she’s laying and our Harris Hawks Nova & Larch are also incubating – possibly three eggs, although it hasn’t been ascertained for certain yet. So things are looking positive on the baby front and hopefully we’ll have more good news for you in the near future.

On a sad note

The conservation of birds of prey is one of our primary functions here at the Suffolk Owl Sanctuary, but we are also passionate about all animal conservation, given that all animals have a vital role to play in the world’s various eco-systems.

Our red squirrels provide another of our important conservation projects and Head Falconer Matt is very keen to accelerate our breeding program which has in the past provided young reds for release back to the wild through one of the nationally-organised schemes. So it’s very sad news that the oldest of our small colony passed away last week. However, she had a good life and lived probably a good couple of years longer than the average life-span of a red squirrel.

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First School Visit

Raptor Magic

Last week the Sanctuary had its first school visit of the year. The rain threatened for a while and we had one sharp shower, but otherwise the weather decided to be kind to us and it didn’t rain again until just before going home time. The children visiting us came from St Felix, an independent school in Southwold and, after a short welcome, were given a guided tour of the Sanctuary. They were full of enthusiasm and questions about the birds and were especially enchanted by Pungu, our Bateleur Eagle, who impressed them with her exotic looks and Auckland, our Boobook Owl, who looks too tiny to be fully grown.

All the youngsters tackled the colouring-in session with relish - resulting in some very colourful results!

The children then spent some time on a craft activity where they made ‘funky owls’ to take home and also coloured in some pictures for us to put up on our pavilion walls. Although the flying displays haven’t yet officially started, the falconers were exercising the birds in the afternoon, which gave the children the opportunity to see some of the raptors flying and to ask more questions. I’m not sure who enjoyed the day most, the children or the adults, but the raptors worked their usual magic and we were assured that a lot of fun was had by all!

A Helping Hand
We are extremely lucky at the Suffolk owl Sanctuary to have a very dedicated team, but we would also be lost without the help of our loyal and hard working volunteers. Every year, we also have several work experience students who come to learn about the care and welfare of our birds of prey here at the Sanctuary and help with the daily chores. Just recently a young lad called Ben joined the team for a two week work experience. He came to us via the support of the Prince’s Trust, an organisation that works with 14 to 30-year-olds giving practical and financial support and encouraging the development of key workplace skills such as confidence and motivation. During his two weeks at the Centre, Ben learnt to assist the falconers in their daily tasks from the general husbandry of the birds to tying the tricky falconer’s knot. I gather he didn’t much enjoy preparing the raptors’ food (a rather grisly operation) but he was a good worker and keen to learn new skills. Towards the end of his time with us, he also flew Ash our Common Buzzard and Josh the Harris Hawk, which he thoroughly enjoyed.

Time for a good spring clean
You may have read in our previous blogs that, amongst other things, the team here at S.O.S has been working hard to freshen up the Sanctuary ready for the new visitor season. One of the most important areas to receive a good spring clean and general refurbishment is our raptor hospital, where injured and orphaned birds of prey are kept safe and quiet and given any medical attention they require, before hopefully being rehabilitated and returned to their natural habitat.

The walls of the ante-room to the hospital area illustrate some of the activity from recent times, and the monitor pipes in pictures from one of the re-habilitation aviaries next door.

The inner door to the recuperation area had become a little warped, so Andy duly replaced it with one that now (thankfully) doesn’t stick. Dean spent several days (when there were no residents in the hospital) giving everything a bright, fresh new coat of paint and Maz put together lots of up-to-date information and photos about birds of prey that the Sanctuary has been able to rehabilitate and return to the wild. An excellent job guys, it all looks very smart!

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A Special Weekend…

Mum’s the word

Last Sunday we had an important day here at the Suffolk Owl Sanctuary. It was of course Mother’s Day and all of our visiting mums had the opportunity to have a photograph taken with one for the owls. Fortunately, the sun managed to put its hat on for at least some of the day and we had lots of lovely smiles for the camera.

“Four Weddings” Outing

Three of our birds also had an unexpected outing this week, after Andrew received a phone call from the producers of the ‘Four Weddings’ programme, which appears on the Living TV channel.

As part of the series, they were going to film a couple getting married in Robin Hood & Maid Marion costumes - the theme of the wedding was ‘Robin Hood In Tights’. As well as having some rather beautiful horses on hand, the plan was to also have some birds of prey in the scene too. However, the company they had employed to provide the raptors had let them down, so we were asked to fill in at short notice..

Normally we don’t get involved in this sort of thing but they were nice people and offered to make a donation to our Charity, so head falconer Matt and chief fundraiser Maz duly set off for the Park Hill Hotel in Woodbridge with Ash the Common Buzzard, Comet the Peregrine and Baloo the Indian Eagle Owl in tow.

Though in strange surroundings It has to be said that our ‘crew’ played their roles impeccably and proved a great success. We think the programme will be shown on TV sometime in May or June this year, so watch this space for further details.

A little owl mythology - Wise Owl Theory pooh-pooh’d

As everyone knows, the wisest bird in the world is the owl. Not only do owls look wise with their wide intelligent eyes and seemingly benevolent faces, but also there are many myths & stories that give the lie to our beliefs, not least that Athene the Goddess of wisdom had a Little Owl as her constant companion. There is even a sneaking suspicion that Owl of Winnie the Pooh fame, who can proudly spell his own name ‘Wol’, was only feigning ignorance to his less intellectual friends!

The sad fact is, however, Wol is about as bright as owls get. Although they have nice, big brainy-looking heads, an awful lot of what you see is actually feathers. Once you get inside an owl’s head, you then find that most of the skull space is taken up by the cone shaped protuberances that form the vast part of its eyes. Which doesn’t leave much room for a brain! In fact, an owl’s brain is about the same size as a peanut and just about allows the owl to live its owly life to the best of its ability. So sorry to spoil the illusion but ‘wise old owl’ should definitely be filed in the ‘old wives tale’ department!

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First signs of Spring...

Signs of spring

At long last, not only are we experiencing the odd rays of watery spring sunshine, but also there are definite signs that things are on the up temperature-wise in the woodland walk. Only small signs; this time last year we had primroses in full bloom and bluebells & red campion showing their first signs of life. This year things are a little behind, but none-the-less, there are some hopeful signs of green pushing their way through the frosty ground.

The other telltale sign that spring is finally on its way is that some of our owls have been getting positively broody. In fact not only broody, but two of our couples are already incubating, which is brilliant news. Our Asian Brown Wood Owls Meluka & Bekash and our European Eagle Owls Rhiea & Sam are already proudly nurturing their eggs. As yet we don’t know how many – General Manager Andy prefers to leave them undisturbed - but we will keep you updated on their progress and also hopefully be able to bring you news of many more happy events in the months to come.

Mews news

The new Mews Room is now virtually complete - the addition of a few more easy-to-clean plastic panels will make the daily wipe-down a less arduous task than hitherto

Having worked hard to finish the new falconer’s hut, complete with office, incubator room, food room & staff room, the falconers are now well on the way to completing the new mews room, which is where the birds who spend their days in the weatherings will then be able to rest, safe and secure during the night in their new boxes. The boxes are especially designed with the correct type of perch to suit each bird and aerated doors. The mews is also where the birds are weighed daily to ensure that they are kept at the optimum weight for their health and well-being.

Sadly, you can’t win them all

So far this year, we have had a few heartening stories to report on the hospital front, but it is an unfortunate fact of life that not every bird brought in to us can be rehabilitated and returned to the wild. One case in point was an adult, male Sparrow Hawk, which was brought into the Sanctuary last weekend. A lady who was taking her dog for a walk had found it and it was in a rather sorry state. Close examination of the bird showed that it had a broken wing, so Conservation Officer Dean kept it warm and quiet in the hospital. Unfortunately, Sparrow Hawks tend to be very nervous birds and this one was unable to cope with the shock of the incident and passed away during the night. Not the ideal scenario from the Sanctuary’s point of view, but sadly you just can’t win them all!

First flight

On a lighter note, I had an unexpected bonus at the Sanctuary today, which was a real treat. Until now I’ve handled the birds to the degree that I’ve had some of them on the glove and am now reasonably proficient at tying the falconer’s knot to put a raptor on its perch. But I’ve never actually flown a bird before, so it was with some trepidation that I agreed when falconer Maz suggested I give it a try. The best bird for a first timer, said Maz, is Baloo our Indian Eagle Owl. Now, when you’re 5 ft nothing as I am, he looks mighty big. In fact I did think my arm was going to fall off as I walked, with him on the glove, up to the flying ground. And I did think when he first flew to me from his perch that it would feel like half a ton of elephant landing on my arm, but truth to tell he was actually as light as a feather. What an incredible thrill to see such a stunning bird gliding smoothing and silently towards me, magnificent wings outstretched and have him land delicately on my glove before soaring majestically off into the air once more! Obviously I’m going to need rather a lot of practice before I’m even halfway proficient at flying a bird-of-prey, but what an exhilarating experience – I can’t wait for the next time!

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A Long Haul...

Last August seems like an age ago, although in reality it’s only seven months. Something to do with this winter having felt like it’s lasted a whole year I suspect! Anyway, at the beginning of last August I wrote about a Marsh Harrier which had been brought in to the Sanctuary from Fingringhoe in Essex. Apart from having had a very unpleasant encounter with a shotgun, which resulted in two bits of shot in the poor bird’s wing, it also had a very nasty, open, infected wound on its right foot that was swollen to about three times its original size. 

Raring to go - once the tail feathers have moulted properly, this Marsh Harrier will be released back to its natural habitat

The team here had hoped that, all being well, the bird would be released within a few weeks, but unfortunately things weren’t to prove quite so simple. So the harrier has been kept quietly in seclusion with us here since last August and, despite numerous ups and downs and several trips to the vet, is now finally in the best of health. All that remains now is for the bird’s tail to moult down properly and then, fingers crossed, the falconers will finally be able to release it back into its natural habitat.

You may also remember that in last week’s blog I told you about a buzzard which had come in to the hospital. Conservation officer Dean reports that it’s doing well and is now off the antibiotics, so that’s looking really encouraging too!  

Off with the winter pounds!

A couple of weeks ago, the first two of our flying demonstration birds, Mir the Steppe Eagle & Pungu the Bateleur Eagle were reclaimed by head falconer Matt to begin their exercising for the flying displays which start at the beginning of April. Suddenly the time seems to be whipping by fast and before you know it Easter will be upon us, so by next week all the demonstration birds will be out and flexing their flight muscles once again.  

On Thursday, I went to put Bali. the Sanctuary’s Malaysian Brown Wood Owl, out on his perch. He was looking in really fine fettle and definitely somewhat on the plump side. I also put out my mate Aukland, our little Boobook Owl and star of our school visits. I like to think he remembered me after his restful winter break, but his nibble at my glove was probably more to do with his impatience at my slowness with the falconer’s knot than affection! 

Aukland, our feisty Boobook Owl has returned from his winter retreat in fine fettle

Several of the other birds are already enjoying the sunshine – if not yet any actual warmth. Baloo, our Indian Eagle Owl is chattering away on his perch as is his wont, whilst the Harris’ Hawks Saracen & Josh have been pretending that they’re completely wild and honestly have never been on the glove before! Ash, our Common Buzzard kept his back to the sun for most of Thursday, with his wings stretched out in sheer sun-worshipping bliss.  

So it will be a busy time at the Sanctuary from now on, as there are still a number of birds to reclaim and they will all have to be carefully monitored and gradually brought back to the right weight and fitness to enjoy showing off their stunning and incredible aerial skills for the benefit of the many visitors who come here to learn all about the care & conservation of wild birds of prey.

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A ray of sunshine...

As you will probably be aware, we like to keep our readers informed about how birds-of-prey are faring not just locally but also across the UK. The really great news is that, all over the country, birds-of-prey are doing better than they have been for years.

The 1950’s & 1960’s were a bad old time for the nation’s raptors, which seem to have been the focus of a merciless mass slaughter – almost, you might say, a heinous witch-hunt. There was no discrimination and the shooting and poisoning of many magnificent, awe inspiring birds caused their serious decline. In some cases, they disappeared from our shores altogether.  

Of course the persecution of birds-of-prey is nothing new, but neither are the attempts to prevent. You may remember from one of last year’s blogs (17.7.09) that Henry Vlll outlawed the killing of Common Buzzards way back in Tudor times. Killing raptors is still illegal today, but it is also, sadly, still a fact of life. 

However as reported her a few weeks ago, in early February a petition of 200,000 signatures was handed to Huw Irranca-Davies, the Wildlife Minister. The petition was backed by the RSPB and solicited an end to the killing of birds-of-prey. The Wildlife Minister was supportive of the proposal and it’s extremely heartening to see such a fantastic public response to the plight of our nation’s raptors.

As for East Anglia, things are really looking up. Marsh Harriers were reduced to just 1 breeding pair in Britain in 1971, but their population is now estimated to be approximately 160 breeding pairs, many of them located in this region! Buzzards too are on their way back, a far more common sight over our skies than at almost any time within the last 200 years. And to top it all there is even a chance that the great White-tailed Sea Eagle will grace our shores once again (see this years blog 21.01.10).  

Back at Base

Things are looking good here at the Sanctuary, too. Just last week, we reported on a Kestrel that had been brought in to the hospital a few weeks ago after having flown into a patio window. As you may recall, the main problem was that it had a very short tail, which made flying a rather hit & miss operation – obviously rather more ‘hit’ than miss in this raptor’s case! Anyway, I’m happy to report that, a few weeks later, with a fully regrown tail and at a good healthy weight, the Kestrel has now been released back into the 
wild.

As a result of an old calcified injury which is making it difficult for this buzzard to fly, it may stay with us rather than be returned to the wild.

The hospital is more than used to a steady influx of Barn Owls & Tawny Owls, but its latest patient came as something of a surprise. Unusually for us, it’s a Common Buzzard which was found at Kettleburgh in Suffolk, in the middle of a field, unable to fly. A visit to the vet’s unearthed old fractures of the ulna & radius bones in the left wing, both of which had calcified. (Calcification is where the affected part has become abnormally solid as a result of the deposit of calcium salts). The buzzard is now in our large rehab aviary, receiving antibiotics & plenty of TLC. Given the bird’s condition, it’s highly unlikely that it would be able to hunt or fend for itself in the wild again, so we will make sure it has a safe home with us here at the Sanctuary, where it will be well looked after for the rest of its life.

And finally, on a more aesthetic note

Last year we held a competition for A-level students of Northgate High School to produce some owl posters and we were absolutely thrilled with the results. The posters were put up on display in our pavilion and visitors were keen to vote on the poster they liked the best. All the posters were wonderful and all had their fair share of votes, but our eventual and well-deserved winner was Rachel Anne Taylor. You can see the winning picture and all the other entries on our new YOUR PICS webpage - click here.

This year we are running the competition again, this time with an adoption theme in mind. If last year is anything to go by, then we’re in for a treat, so when you come to visit, remember we’ll need your all-important vote!

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Friends from across...

Friends from across the Pond...

We are extremely fortunate to have so many loyal supporters and adopters here at the Sanctuary and we are always immensely appreciative of the help we are given. As a charity, we rely entirely on donations and admission charges for the upkeep of the centre, the care of our resident birds and the work we do to rehabilitate young or injured wild birds and return them to their natural habitat. Also, we put a great deal of time and effort into a number of conservation and education projects with a view to spreading the word about the vital importance of preserving our native bird-of-prey species and the ecological balance they help to maintain.

Just this week, we received a donation from a most unexpected quarter and it came as a lovely surprise. A very kind letter arrived at the Sanctuary from Belen Lopez, the Environmental Kids Organisation Sponsor at the Sun Ridge Middle School in El Paso, Texas, USA. The school had raised money for the Suffolk Owl Sanctuary through a penny drive and proudly presented us with a cheque for $146.96!

So we would like to say a great big THANK YOU to all the children who donated their pennies to help us with our conservation work and we would like to say, if you ever happen to be visiting England and find yourselves in our neck of the woods, we would be very pleased to see you!

Hospital Update

As many of you will know from reading our previous blogs and newsletters, whatever else is going on at the Sanctuary the work of the hospital continues come rain or shine, high days or holidays. This year has been no exception.

One recent Barn Owl intake was found by the road-side looking rather the worse for wear, but actually by the time it arrived at the Sanctuary it was looking a whole lot better. Close examination revealed no breaks or injuries and so it seemed likely that the owl was just dazed. Once its flight had been tested, the bird was given a clean bill of health and returned to the wild, close to where it had been found.

Of course this is the best kind of scenario that the falconers can hope for, although sometimes life just isn’t quite that kind. Unfortunately, another Barn Owl - a victim of the cold weather and the difficulties of finding food - was not surprisingly unable to regain its strength after what we presume was a fair amount of exposure to the chilly elements and so passed away peacefully a few days after being brought to the hospital.

At present we have a Kestrel in the hospital, which had flown into someone’s patio widow. Luckily, investigation showed there was nothing really wrong apart from the fact that it’s tail was only an inch long! Just a case of early moulting causing flight difficulties, so once the Kestrel’s tail has grown again and the falconers are sure she’s up to prime weight and fitness (and of course weather permitting at the moment) she will be released back into the wild.

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Blue Skies ahead...

Regardless of the continuing bouts of freezing snow and icy rain, the falconers are now looking ahead to the Spring (can’t quite imagine it at the moment) and more particularly the beginning of April, which is when the Sanctuary’s flying displays will begin again - each one an integral part of our aim to educate & enthuse our visitors about not only the beauty but the necessity & value of ensuring a safe environment for future generations of British bird of prey species in the wild.

Over the winter the flying display team have had the opportunity for some well deserved rest & relaxion and are now ready to start exercising their flight muscles again for the coming season. Some of the birds will also have begun to moult their feathers at the end of last season and, all spruced up and refreshed can begin some serious retraining.

‘Reclaiming’ the birds, as this preparation is called, is a time consuming and complex business and requires each bird to be carefully health checked and weighed, as most of them will have put on weight over the winter months to help them survive through the freezing, wintry weather. Beaks need to be inspected to see if they need ‘coping’, whereby any overgrowth is carefully filed back and talons may need clipping if they have become over-long. (You can read more about this in our blog of 09.02.09).

Over the winter months, the flying display birds will have had a pretty sedentary lifestyle, much as they would in the wild so, as with any exercise, the falconers will build up the birds’ flying regime carefully to avoid any risk of strain or injury.

This year is going to be a particularly busy one at the Sanctuary, as we have a whole host of exciting events lined up and of course every day there will be the opportunity to observe one of our spectacular flying displays, providing a chance to see some of the world's most beautiful birds of prey show off their aerial prowess.

More to a feather than meets the eye

All birds of prey have attractive and sometimes stunning plumage, but there’s much more to the simple feather than one would imagine.

To begin with, if you pick up a feather it weighs almost nothing and yet a bird’s feathers are strong enough to withstand the buffeting of the severest windy weather and will insulate them even in arctic conditions – amazing stuff!

Of course not all feathers are the same and birds have layers of feathers which all have their own role to play. First of all there are the ‘down’ feathers, which those of us with a few years under our belts will fondly remember as making the softest pillows and, more recently, the cosiest duvets. And this is precisely what these feathers are for, they are the closest to a bird’s body and are designed to keep them warm.

Semiplume feathers make up the next layer and are a cross between down feathers and slightly stronger, more structured feathers and Filoplume feathers are almost hair like, similar to those you might find left on a chicken. Bristle feathers are the almost whisker-like feathers that are most commonly found around the beak and eyes of bird of prey.

The most varied feathers are the Contour feathers, which are those that you see on the outside. These differ widely in shape, size and colour and also depending on the species of bird. Contour feathers do exactly what they say on the tin (bird?), they mold themselves to the part of the body they are laying against, hence giving a bird its shape.

Feathers range widely in terms of softness and harshness, being harder for birds of prey that fly at very high speeds and tending to be softer on younger raptors than more mature birds.

The Primary feathers are those found at the tip or a bird’s wings and are most important for a bird’s ability to control its flight.

One of the most important functions of feathers however, is that they are an excellent indicator of a bird’s health and well-being. New feathers can show stress marks if a bird is starving or has an unbalanced diet and changes or distortions in the shaft of the feather can be indicative of illness or disease.

So next time you find a feather, perhaps take a moment to stop and reflect – it’s not just a feather, but a real miracle of nature!

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RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch...

Following the fortunes of our feathered friends - and news of the RSPB’s Bird of Prey Pledge campaign

At the time of writing, the rain is pelting down outside and the welcome rays of sun we have experienced for the last couple of days seem to have forsaken us once again. I’m tempted to think I preferred the snow!

As I’m sure everyone is aware, last weekend saw the advent of the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch, an event that has taken place every January for the last 30 years. Thankfully the weekend weather was pretty much fine and dry, at least in our neck of the woods, so I hope everyone managed to get a good bit of bird spotting done.

The Big Garden Birdwatch is vitally important, because it helps to create an overview of the bird numbers in each region. More importantly, in some ways, it also pinpoints the birds that aren’t spotted, helping to identify any worrying trends in species decline. Whether your interest lies in the conservation of song birds, bees, dormice or raptors, these trends are of crucial importance to us all. Every animal has its part to play in the food chain and in our eco-system and any decline in species suggests that something is not right in a particular habitat. For more information the Big Garden Birdwatch visit

While you’re at it, and perhaps a little closer to home as far as we are concerned, is news of the RSPB’s Bird of Prey Pledge campaign,designed to send a strong message to this and future governments that the illegal killing of birds of prey is unacceptable, Over the last few months the organisation has been collecting signatures in support of the campaign and this week handed over 210, 567 signatures to DEFRA as tangible proof of the strength of public opinion on the campaign. You can ‘read all about it’ on Mark Avery’s blog - click here to reach it.

BTO Ringing Results for S.O.S. 2009

At the Suffolk Owl Sanctuary, we are always keen to contribute to conservation initiatives and you may remember from previous blogs that every year we have regular visits from members of the British Trust for Ornithology, who ring and count the birds that frequent our woodland walk.

Coal Tit Whitethroat

Black Cap

We have just received the results of their Survey here for 2009, which has provided some interesting results. Last year the total number of song birds counted was 171, this year the total was 254 – a marked increase. As with last year, the largest majority of our feathery visitors was made up of members of the Tit and Finch families, with a fair number of Dunnocks, Robins, House Sparrows and Blackbirds. Other species also included Woodpigeons, Collared Doves, Tawny Owls, Green Woodpeckers, Wrens, Rooks, Starlings and Yellow Hammers.

The most exciting discovery was that we had three ‘first time ever’ visitors to our woodland walk in the shape of two Coal Tits, two Whitethroats and a Blackcap! It’s really encouraging to see such diversity in just this small area and we’re hoping this year to provide an even more enticing habitat for our feathered friends.

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Onwards...

Looking forward to 2010
Despite the unrelenting cold snap, everyone at S.O.S. has been hard at it outside preparing for the New Year ahead. The falconers’ huts are well on their way to being finished, Andy and co. having spent the last couple of months insulating & cladding the bare walls of the external structures, laying the floors and sectioning off the interiors as mews, food preparation room, weighing room, incubator room and general office. All-in-all the new buildings are taking shape nicely into what will provide a safe and secure environment as the fulcrum of our activities.

To paraphrase Bob, “It’s not done yet... but it’s gettin’ there”

Once completed, the yearly round of renovating and repairing the aviaries begins and generally making sure that the Sanctuary is all ship-shape for the season ahead.

It’s also time to start the changeover of the birds that are kept in the weatherings. During the late autumn and winter months, many of the raptors flown on our winter course days take up residence in the open-fronted weatherings by day and retire to the mews room by night, whilst our summer team take a long break away in the aviaries to rest & moult. As spring approaches, the winter team are returned to their spacious aviaries as the falconers begin to reclaim the summer team, who transfer back into the weatherings.

After a winter moult, our Steppe Eagle Mir will soon be back in the air

A couple of days ago, I watched Matt put out the first two birds of the season and, as ever, was intrigued and delighted by their unmistakable characters. The first out was Mir, the Steppe Eagle, who thoroughly enjoyed stretching her feathers. The second was Pungu the Bateleur Eagle, who flirted outrageously with Matt and was insistent that he scratch her under the chin and on the top of her head. Mir squawked and flapped her wings jealously, but she tends to be a little unpredictable, so advisably Matt declined to give her a scratch too!

The Sanctuary has some really exciting events planned for 2010, so check out the S.O.S. Events 2010 page for the list so far, or watch this space for further additions - just subscribe to our RSS Feed by simply clicking the button at the bottom of the left-hand column of this page and then all the news from the Suffolk Owl Sanctuary will automatically be delivered to your computer or phone whenever it’s published. And not to be left behind, yes, we’re all of a Twitter so if you’d like our hottest news delivered instantly, why not join our band of followers - you’ll be very welcome.

Bitterly cold… or Bitternly Heaven?
Apparently, this winter has not been a misery of chattering teeth and ploughing through snowdrifts for all, in fact it would appear that the severity of the winter weather on the Continent has meant a boom in the number of Bitterns that have been spotted in the British Isles.

Bird reserves across the country have reported seeing this shy bird in far greater numbers and in some cases for the first time ever.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is reported as saying that it has received a large number of photos of Bitterns in some very strange places and also that it believes the UK has seen the arrival of perhaps three times as many Bitterns as in previous years!

The male Bittern has a distinctive booming call, which makes it relatively easy to record and conservation charities are particularly eager to ensure that the British Bittern population doesn’t drop as low as in 1997, when only 11 males were recorded!

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