Hooray, Malachite the Tawny Eagle is back, we decided that after work on Sat we would just stay out until we had got him. So six of us left at 8.00pm, we got a signal from the telemetry - Marshall telemetry is SO good- and started walking, he was much further away than anticipated so after negociating the first deep stream, and various fields full of very curious cattle, it was almost dark. We found him the other side of the second stream, of course needless to say we were on the wrong side, so having found a tree that had fallen we scrambled over that in the dark and finally two fields away the telemetry took us to the tree and we could hear his bell. There was a house close by so before shining a ton of torches of him and making the locals suspicious enough to call the police I went up and called across to them and by sheer chance they had spent the day at the Centre and knew the eagle was missing. They very kindly took a couple of us back to our cars, which were a two hour walk away by now (and two streams!), and then when we had got them back, they lent us a ladder. The eagle was sitting quietly but the ladder flushed him out, we kept the spotlight on him and everyone pelted after him in the dark!! He landed by a hedge and Adam rugby tackled him - hooray!! He had lost 75 grams so we gave him fluids on his return and fed him little and often and he seems no worse for his four days out!!

Arabis is still not well, her eye is about the same and she is not the happy dog she was, but I hope the various treatments will make a difference soon.

Otherwise all the young birds are coming on nicely, the baby Snowy Owl is very exciting and looks like being a star in the Owl Evenings this coming winter. The birds did very well at Gatcombe Event this weekend and the weather was amazing.

Adam is cutting the hedge at the bottom of the garden, I wonder if I should tell him its not quite even!! Perhaps not! All the staff have been amazing and are working very hard, I wish I could win the lottery and give them all a bonus - ah well maybe one day..................