Members Newsletter May 2005

The Editors Page

Having been a volunteer for nearly three years and spending countless weekends trying to get all the D I Y jobs done it was decided enough was enough. So as of May I have joined the team full time, now I can spend the weekdays sorting all those countless jobs and save the weekends for doing birdie things. This means I can get on and do the smaller tasks but still need help to complete the larger projects. So come on all you budding D I Yers and tradesmen if you can donate your time or materials it would be very much appreciated. You can contact the centre or me in the usual way.

Dave Blows
Newsletter Editor

Hospital News

January 2005 - April 2005.

As you can see we have had a few birds in so far this year, which on reflection is about average for this time of year.

We have had a few tame barn owls come in with an average age of 5 years old. If you have been to the centre recently you will have seen Barny Rubble, Ella and Pepper joining in our flying displays

The saddest thing that has arrived is a young Harris Hawk, now called Grumpy because of her attitude. This bird came in through the RSPCA who found her by the roadside. As she was not rung we cannot trace the breeder/owner. Eventually we hope she will join the flying team.

Happier moment was returning a Saker falcon to an elderly lady that set up an organisation called The Raptor Trust some 25 years ago. She had given up hope of seeing it again as it had been gone for over a week.

Happy Ending

My name is Athena, who with my friend Yossarian, has been fostered by a couple in Lincolnshire. We are two tawny owls, who cannot be released back into the wild, as I have only one eye and Yossarian has leg and wing trauma - at least that's the official version, but in my opinion, I don't think he could be released anyway, as he is a bit of a wimp, which is why Dad named him after the pessimistic character in Catch 22.

When mum and dad came to collect us, Yossarian had the silly habit of flopping onto his back when anyone went near him, but thank heavens he has stopped that now - I was embarrassed for him… most undignified for an aloof being like me.

Dad has provided us with a very nice home - bath en suite - and three open boxes and one enclosed box. We have green house netting which can be rolled down, and I am pleased to say it is very useful during the snowy weather we have been having.

The only complaint that I have is that mum or dad watch us for fifteen or twenty minutes after we are fed to ensure that I don't pinch Yossarian's mouse or chick, but really, he does stand guard over it for so long that it is enough to tempt any self respecting owl.

I am very attached to dad, I climb onto his glove at feeding time, and he puts me on the feeding table, so that Yossarian has a head start with his supper, and I sometimes sit on his hat when he cleans our boxes at the weekend.

Yossarian sends his love, and says that he will write the next letter when he gets the hang of the computer keys, but I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you!

Must close now, its almost supper time, but I should like to thank everyone at the Raptor Foundation for saving us and finding us such soppy foster parents…

Athena and Yossarian Brookes
Very happy Tawny's

Harry's Story

My name is Harry; I am a wild Tawny Owl and would like to share my story with you.

A very kind lady picked me up from the side of the road after being hit in the face by a passing car. She took me to a local vet. Who after examining me decided that his surgery was not the place for me to be among the dogs and cats, as well as a very noisy parrot. A phone call to Mick who gladly gave up his dinner break to come and collect me.

After a night of rest he took me to the Raptor Foundation where Liz examined my eye and said the problem was a torn retina in my right eye, but the other eye was ok.

The next day whilst Issy was cleaning my box out she noticed my bad eye had started to swell up. Mick checked it and had to agree the eye was swollen. Being worried there might be pressure building up behind the eye an appointment was made to see Susanne a vet in Cambridge, who spent a long time examining me. Then agreed that my eye was indeed swollen and on her advice an appointment was made to see the Ophthalmologist, as my eye may need removing.

As Mick had to be at work when the next appointment arrived Issy made a call to a friend Robin, who agreed to help straight away. The next morning at seven o'clock on the dot Robin picked us up and by eight fifteen we were first in the surgery.

After a short wait the Ophthalmologist took a long look at the eye and did some more tests, and much to our delight decided my eye would not need to be removed after all.

Now that my paperwork has been sorted out and I am microchiped I will be living alongside another Tawny Owl called Bracken. Who like me only has sight in one eye.

Hopefully when my feathers are looking better and I have leant to sit on the glove I will start going out on shows with the other birds to help raise funds for other injured, orphaned or unwanted birds of prey.

So friends hope to see you at one of the shows. Do come over and see my friends and me and perhaps pop a few coins in our collecting tins.

See you soon
Harry

The Longest Trip To Date

At the end of January, I took a group of birds to two schools in Stoke-On-Trent - the furthest school trip to date. I was assisted at the two schools by my wife, Sue, & I will leave the rest of the report to her & the children from the two schools.

It all came about from a discussion one lunchtime in the staff room at St Dominic's, one of the schools where I teach about Birds of Prey and so, after a few phone calls, a visit to school was arranged.

I was to be Paul's "assistant". After a misunderstanding I sent back the sparkly leotard & started practising my one-handed knots with a bit of string & the handle of a teacup. On the Sunday night Paul arrived home with the birds, 6 of them, and we unloaded them into the kitchen. One small problem to solve though. The van, which had clearly seen better days, decided to have a strop and wouldn't start up again. After more phone calls & high-tech advice, my fears of having to load 6 birds into the back of a taxi the next morning were allayed. “Who?" shouted a deep, throaty voice: Ben, the European Eagle Owl. He asked it several more times that night but never did get an answer.

I have to admit that they were all very well behaved, especially after lights out, and I was relieved to see them all in one piece the next morning.

When we arrived at school and had set up the birds in the hall, the children came in. The display & talk was repeated & adjusted throughout the morning in order to accommodate swimming lessons, but Paul did a wonderful job & I loved taking a back seat for a change. It was lovely to see the children enjoying stroking and holding the birds, but of course the favourite bit was flying Moth, the Harris' Hawk, especially through a tunnel of helpers. I did notice how reticent the staff were to volunteer, but there didn't seem to be any nerves from the children and of course they all left with the most salient point firmly fixed in their heads- the story of the vole wee & the kestrel.

In the afternoon we repeated the demonstration at Bursley Way, our children's old Primary School. This was another enjoyable experience, this time to a bigger audience. Moth had obviously had enough of the “tunnel of children" thing and decided that walking is a far easier method of getting about, so Paul abandoned that and flew him low over the heads of the children much to their delight (I'm glad I didn't have to wind them back down from the ceiling before home time!).

It was clear from the interest shown by the children in both schools, both during the demonstrations, with the questions that were asked, and after, in some of the letters & work we have seen, that this is the most effective way of promoting the right messages about the care & preservation of birds of Prey.

Oh yes, Please can I do it again?

Sue Frost (occasional volunteer)

St. Dominics Independant School

When Mr. Frost bought some birds of prey into school he bought a barn owl, a long-eared owl, a Harris hawk, an eagle owl and a kestrel. I never knew that an owl couldn't turn his head all the way round or that owls are stupid birds or that white owls like Harry Potters bird are the most vicious owls. Kestrels eat voles and they hover about looking for a trail of vole wee. They follow the trail of vole wee and there on the toilet would be a vole. Hawks are intelligent birds. They have brilliant eyesight & they search for prey in groups. The girls are more vicious and nasty than the boys. Hawks have two ways to catch prey. One is searching in a V shape with a girl at the front and boys either side of her, then when the prey goes on one side the boys on that side will try to get it. If it goes to the other side, the boys on that side will try to get it and if it stays in the middle the big nasty girl will fly down with the rest of the hawks and try to catch the prey. The second way when the prey is hard to get is a relay. One set of hawks tries to catch the prey while the other set rests and after a while they swap over.
Andrew Foxall

Predators

Today Mr. Frost came in with some predators. The predators were one European Eagle Owl, one Spotted African Owl, one long-eared owl, one kestrel, one Harris Hawk and one barn owl. Mr. Frost had to wear a special glove to hold the owls and the other birds. The European Eagle Owl is very big, brown - he hooted very loud and his big claws could break someone's hand and owls are stupid. The Spotted African owl is grey, medium and of course spotty. Long eared owl is the oldest, brown, smallest and has long ears. The kestrel was small, brownish, hunted for voles with its sharp beak. It hovers looking for voles wee that he can see due to ultra violet light that humans cannot see. The Harris hawk was the biggest, it was black, and it had huge talons and flew for the school. It flew fast with little effort. The barn owl was white with black eyes and bad tempered, the most bad tempered bird.
Joseph Devaney

Birds Of Prey

Today is Monday and this morning Mrs. Frost and her husband bought in 6 birds of prey. The birds of prey were the European Eagle Owl, the Barn owl, the kestrel, the spotted owl, the long-eared owl and the Harris Hawk. Starting with the European Eagle Owl, which is the biggest owl in the pack. You would find this creature in all of Europe except from GB. He has massive claws. The reason they got extinct from this country is because of their claws. Their colossal claws could kill a sheep. That didn't help farmers because their sheep would die and there would be no wool, no lamb and mutton. So farmers went out and shot them down. The eyes of a European Eagle Owl are bright orange, this means they hunt at dusk and dawn. So that means that when people say that owls hunt at night it is not true at all. The barn owl is a very cute white owl. People say they would like an owl as a pet but I wouldn't. The snowy owls are the most bad tempered owls. So if anyone who has seen Harry Potter don't be tempted to buy a bird like Hedwig. The kestrel is a small bird. The main difference between the boy and the girl is the head and its tail. The boys tail is grey and so is its head the rest is brown. Whereas the girl is totally brown. The way the kestrel finds their prey, which is mainly voles, is the voles need the toilet and they haven't got a loo in their nest and they don't want their nests smelling so they run out. Voles never make it in time for the toilet so they leave trails of wee behind. We can't see the wee but kestrels can see the light reflection. When he sees the light reflection they follow that light and at the end of it they know there will be a vole. The spotted owl has white and dark brown spots. A Harris hawk is the most amazing bird I ever saw. It is the most intelligent hawk. Mr. Frost showed us how it flew.
George Stephens

Bursley County Primary School

Dear Mr and Mrs Frost
We want to thank you for bringing the six birds in. We especially like the Harris Hawk and the European Eagle Owl. The show was brilliant and we hope you come again. Thank you for showing us the owls and telling us all about them. At the end when you let the Harris Hawk fly it came over me and its wing tip brushed over my head and it tickled. We liked the Harris Hawk and the European Eagle Owl because daft as it sounds they were the biggest.
Yours sincerely
Nathan Jackson & Ashley Machin

Dear Mr and Mrs Frost
We would like to thank you for bringing your beautiful birds to our school on 31st January. We especially liked it when the Harris Hawk flew at the end and surprised our teacher. We loved the barn owl and Ben, the European Eagle Owl. We love birds and other animals and hope that you get a chance to visit us again. Our favourite bird is the Harris Hawk. Your visit was very interesting and we learnt a lot about the birds and their habitats.
Yours faithfully
Lauren & Katie

Dear Mr and Mrs Frost
We would like to thank you for coming to our school and showing us your birds. They were fantastic and fun to watch. We especially liked the part when the Harris Hawk flew over us. We learnt a lot about birds of prey like owls can't turn their heads all the way round only three quarters the way round and owls are not as smart as people think. We have also learnt that a food not to feed owls is toast - it will kill them or make them very ill.
Yours sincerely
Christopher Dobson & James Smith

Dear Mr and Mrs Frost
Thank you for visiting our school we truly enjoyed your visit. It was most educational and it taught us to understand these animals. We think the last part of your visit was most enjoyable and fun. We later looked at your website and found it most interesting. The owls were the most beautiful birds we have ever seen. We now know about owls and your other birds because of your visit.
Yours sincerely
Jade Hollinshead & Jennifer Britton

Dear Mr and Mrs Frost
We were delighted to see your bird show and we want to thank you for bring in your owls to show us and tell us about them. I bet every one in the school would like to see your show again but were not too sure about some of the teachers. We especially liked it when the Harris Hawk kept flying over every one. We also liked seeing the very small and cute birds.
From
Sam Harvey & Dean McCambridge

Both myself and Sue would like to say thank you to all of the children from both schools for the letters you have written to us & apologise to those children that we did not have room to include letters from, we are both glad that you had such an enjoyable time.
Paul Frost (Volunteer)

The Training Of Wren

When I was told it would be my challenge to mann and train a kestrel, I was both excited and nervous.

I had gained experience in manning and training birds of prey including owls, hawks and buzzards, but nothing as small, agile and quick as a kestrel.

I was up for the challenge and had as much help as I could need from Liz and other members of staff and was excited about training my very own kestrel. As the kestrel was a young bird we were not sure on its sex or haw it would react to people. The birds feather condition was very poor as it came from a chequered past as an unwanted pet kept in a small enclosure, as the kestrel only had a stump for a tail. I could not begin to fly the bird until its feathers had moulted. So I began to mann the bird for the time being. As she only had a small tail she reminded me of a wren I had seen on site, so I named her wren. I eventually got her DNA sexed and she was a female. When her tail feathers moulted out I began to train her with the help of Liz. At first I would place her on a perch and call her to the lure. She was always hesitant at first and would sit there bobbing her head, then she would dive down onto the piece of meat on the lure, I would then call the magic word “ho", after a few days of this she would dart down as fast as a rocket.

After this stage it was free flying for Wren and this was the most worrying stage for me as Wren was used to flying on creance, so on a nice clear day with little wind I placed her on the perch completely free, nothing was stopping her from flying off. She sat there bobbing her head as usual; ruffled her feathers and flew up to me. I held out the lure and she went straight for it and I whipped it away to encourage her to fly past. She did, only she didn't stop she did a complete circuit around the flying area, I was so worried I was calling her name and panicking. She then turned and looked as though she was heading back to me only she crashed at my feet. I quickly snatched her up and took her inside, relieved to have her back.

The next day I did the same thing, just as worried as the first time, only I knew I had to trust Wren to get her to fly confidently. This time she amazed me and did a complete pass to the lure. From then on she was trained and happily flying free, the kestrel was part of the team and I was happy with both Wren and myself.

When people visiting the centre see our kestrels they often say “ooh they look like good pets" they are so wrong kestrels require a lot of care and are not for beginners although lovely birds to fly for the experienced.

Lucy Allen (Employee)

Centre News

You don't know how difficult writing this page has become now all the building work has finished. We still though haven't finished the new aviary for the bald eagles, but fear not help is on hand. We seem to have an endless list of maintenance jobs so I have employed a full time person. He once was a volunteer and spent most weekends trying to reduce the list

Another new face on site is a new assistant falconer who will be helping out covering weekends that I have off, ha ha.

One project that has been ongoing for some time is our education room, which is now just waiting for the display boards, so watch this space.

Has anyone got any ideas for a fundraising event this year? Please contact the centre with ideas.

As per usual there is a BBQ this year on the 4th June and it will start at 6:30pm, as some members will be attending The Friends of AGM at 7:30pm on sight. Don't worry though we won't throw those off site not attending the meeting.

Last year we introduced to the centre to combat the growing numbers of young volunteers our Junior Raptor club, this has proven so successful that we now have six groups running over three weekends. Any youngster wanting to join, contact the centre, it is a fun experience with learning included, but also gives the parents a morning without children.

See you then
Liz McQuillan (Chief Executive)