Managed to get enough time to start and get fairly well on with a paper I have to give at a conference in Spain in early October, and think about the one on the vultures which I have to give at the RRF meeting in Pitlockry, also in early october!! But they are going OK, which is nice. Got all the birds flown, but it was colder today, so although we were busy for the first two flights everyone had done a runner by the last one, which makes it easier as you can race through the birds without having to talk! It even speeds up Adam! And actually by the time we were at the 4.15 demo the weather had warmed up a fair bit.

Philip came over and he and I took my young Harris Hawk Bay Middleton, out to find a rabbit and see what he would do, I have to say he was very good, his manners were impecable, he behaved very well, is starting to quieten down, hooded well and chased two rabbits. We only saw three and the two that he chased had been training for the 2012 olympics!! But he still had a go, now I need to find a geriatric one that is deaf (he is noisy at the moment!) and we will be fine.

Which is more than I can say for my Sparrowhawk, I have some work to do there I reckon, she is a little madam, and very full of herself. The Long-eared Owl got a name change, he is now called Eager, and he is starting to get very exciting to fly, in fact rather too exciting today, he started to circle up high, which was interesting, but came down into the Cider Pear tree and then to the fist.

Sedge had his first night in the kitched with the other two boys and was very good, and I had a peaceful night as well - it was lovely!