Tuesday 17 July 2012
I do sometimes
wonder about companies and their websites. I am staggered at how difficult it
very often is to find contact details on so many sites. The first thing I look
for is a land address as I like to know who I am dealing with and where they
are because particularly for large items it makes a difference in postage. I
also like to know that I have a real place that I can get at if there are
problems. I also want a phone number, there is a contact button on every page
of my website and you would think that large companies would do the same. I
have just tried to find an address for Joules – a clothing company that goes to
shows, or this year does not go to shows as most have been cancelled, could I
find their damned address nope. A ton of stores, including four in London, but
no office address – very poor I reckon. I also intensely dislike those forms
for emails, I would much rather just have an email address to write to the
company. Its all very frustrating I find, and when I can’t find this stuff I
don’t use that company!
We have had an
exhausting few days, at 11.30am on Saturday we flew the White-tailed Sea-eagle,
and things did not go according to plan! She was the first bird of the day and
usually when something goes wrong, you can almost guarantee that things will
continue to not work as one might like. I rushed down and flew Bohemia the
Saker. Now I have never seen an eagle chase a falcon with any degree of persistence,
and that is why we fly them as we consider that they would be safe. Well
apparently our White-tailed Sea-eagle does not fit the normal plan!! She took
off and seriously chased Bohemia who was not impressed and flew faster and
further than we have even seen her do before!!! So we picked her up from the
field next door where she was sitting waiting for us and very pleased to see
Holly she was too!! We then flew a baby owl, whom she ignored completely, I
then flew a kite and she chased that, but again did not get near. The following
demonstration she was out of the field and so we started with Hare, well at
every damn demonstration when she was out of the field, she rolled up smack on
flying time with unerring accuracy!! Hare flew well until she sailed
interestedly (not chasing him!) over his head at which point he went into a
tree and refused to move, she then landed in the same tree. Hare was not
impressed and at one point he stomped over on the branch above with his hackles
up, but then sensibly having seem how big she is he changed his mind!
So now we have
two eagles up in a tree, so we flew a Lanner, who went well and neither eagle
moved, then I flew a Harris Hawk. Now Hare has never been interested in any
other bird, but this time he took off and aimed straight for Bay Middleton (who
did not notice!) I threw out a lure hoping Hare would come down, but instead
the Harris Hawk grabbed it. Hare then few down to get the lure as well and I
hide the Harris with me in between Hare and Bay Middleton and Simon waved a
delicious rat at Hare who said thank you and came in. So now we have only one
Eagle in a tree and I stupidly put the Harris up again, off flew the eagle, off
flew the Harris and at one point the Harris was chasing the eagle!! Both sat in
trees by the top pond. So I went down and eventually called Bay Middleton down.
We flew a kites who again got chased and then finally decided to only fly
indoors from then on!
The eagle flew
around every now and then, never leaving the Centre, sitting on about every
conceivable perch, the house, the hawk walk, the barns, various trees, the
chimney pots, the stand off barriers, Simon’s flat, you name it, she was there.
She always looked as if she might come down, but would not. Sunday, more of the
same, John came in early every day, but no joy. All demonstrations inside,
which is hard work and many of the birds not flown, none of the birds could go
out for a bath on the lawns, all grills were kept down, and life was tricky.
Same again on Monday, she was getting keener, but still not ready to come in.
We were getting very tired of her at this point although she was doing some
fantastic flying and at one point she caught a thermal and was probably over
100 feet up and three miles away – she looked very small! We thought that we
would be wandering around Gloucestershire looking for her, but within an hour
she was back again!! Right on flying time!!
Tuesday dawned
fair, I had a riding lesson early, Art while trotting up the lane shied
violently to one side at a particularly dangerous stinging nettle and dumped me
in the lane, it was a second between being on the horse and sitting in the
nettles looking up at the horse!!!. To be fair he stayed put and just looked at
me. I climbed back on and had a great lesson because I was so pissed off with
him that he went like a dream!! Needless to say later than day he lost another
bloody shoe!! In the meantime the eagle was still having fun around the Centre,
but finally at about 2.30pm she can in for food to Holly. A huge sigh of relief
was made by all and we did our first outside demonstration to end the day.
I was at a Hawk
and Owl Trust meeting for almost the whole day in Charlie's Room, so I missed the excitement of
her coming in, but that was fine, she was home!
I am very tired
and somewhat stiff right now!!
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4 comments:
A very entertaining blog, although undoubtedly highly frustrating and very tiring for everyone at the centre.
I have a couple of questions, that I'm intrigued to know the answer to:-
1) Would the WT Sea Eagle see other raptors as food and thus pose a danger to the other birds of prey that it was chasing?
2) Who is the hansome little bird sitting on the towel?
agreed, entertaining for us as a reader, but not so for all you at the centre i'm sure.
The bird on the towel is a Lesser Kestrel and yes it could have posed a danger which is why when it started to do it we stopped the demonstrations for two days and only flew indoors!!!
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