Tuesday 13 April 2010
Its been another wonderful few days, dry and sunny, yes the wind has been chilly, from the east, but oh boy has it given us flying to die for. Pinotage (Egyptian Vulture) has been soaring well above tree height and looking stunning, Hare (Tawny Eagle) has been amazing, as have all three of the kites that we have going at the moment. The falcons have been spectacular and very difficult to swing a lure for; even the Harris Hawks have been soaring. Just amazing flying from all and a privilege to watchWhich brings me to the recent news, there has been some stuff on a hand reared wild Tawny Owl, (that one, I have to say, wonders, why it was not released last year). Supposedly in the various news items, this bird cannot soar and is frightened of heights, I have never heard such rubbish in my life and that quality of publicity does nothing for credibility. Tawny Owls do not soar, most owls do not soar, soaring is not the best way to hunt for an owl, plus soaring birds do it during daylight not at night. This Tawny Owl is apparently scared of heights, in fact I suspect it is a very sensible bird and does not fly any higher than it has to, like many owls. Its trainer needs to get it sorted, fit, flying into trees and release it. Add to that the old and inaccurate saying that the female Tawny Owl says Twit and the male Twoo, also rubbish. Although they may well duet (be biphonal) nevertheless both male and female Tawny Owls can and do give the whole twit twoo noise, and I should know because for several months I lived in the same barn as one of mine and it was extremely able to do both, plus the rape and murder scream very loudly and very often!
Perhaps I should let the One Show know that my Turkey Vultures prefer to walk all the way back to their enclosure rather than fly, are they afraid of flying, no, they are lazy buggers and will get the idea eventually! They just need time to sort themselves out and decent training to get there. As I prefer to get people to admire and respect wildlife rather than laugh at it, I think I will give it a miss.
The new Bald Eagle is coming on a treat, and generally the team of flying birds, which is now numbering over 45 flown daily is coming on in leaps and bounds. Which is more than I can say for my bloody Range Rover, which is still out of action, I am going to have to borrow a Land Rover again for Sunday as I have a flying demonstration at Andoversford. Still it’s a really nice Land Rover I just wish I did not have to keep giving it back!The place is looking amazingly good now, all the lawns look super, the aviaries are up to scratch and being kept clean and tidy. We do need to get on with the food drawers, but that is Tom’s next project, I have not told him yet! The new weighing room is coming on a treat, Mike has had a hell of a job with the roof, but it is there now, and we can’t wait to get it finished it will make a Huge difference to all the volunteers and bird staff. We are hoping that Travis Perkins can help us get a good price on the new gravel for the paths which will lift the whole place.
The next task is to get rid of all the ground elder, which we have a substantial amount of, what a shame it has no use. The fence between the sheep field (sheep will be there eventually when I can find some Shetland Sheep) is getting done, and I am collecting hedging plants on Thursday to plant (replant) a hedge. We have nearly undone all the damage that was done to the place, there is little left of the ‘changes’! All two pounds forty nine pence of them!Terri is back from New Zealand, so we were really pleased to see her back here, and I hope that Bob Martini is going to come and work on the stable roof SOON! Other than that we have been busy, which is wonderful and the weather has been kind. Here is hoping that it will continue.
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1 comments:
It was nice to see you comment on the Tawny owl being afraid of heights as I was just discussing the same thing with my husband. He read the article and we all agree with you on it!
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