Our summer BBQ and Owl evening went very well, we had a full house, and although the day started off very grey and raining, by the afternoon, the sun was out, the grey clouds were high and the weather was pretty damn good for the evening. Adam and Mark took a baby guided tour – i.e. a tour of all the enclosures with birds with young, and then we had burgers and sausages and white wine spritzers, followed by a demonstration. The birds were very good, the new Common Buzzard was a little annoyed at being left that late in the day, but did well as did Mark’s new Lanner, Sidewinder who is much improved was enchanting and went down a tunnel several times, Grey Cobra was excellent, and so was Harley, who really in coming on now, we were going to leave him until last but had a phone call about the missing Milky Eagle Owl, so a team shot off to see if we could find him and I finished off with Barn Owls, we brought down the baby Barn Owl, which like most of the Barn Owl family are not that attractive as chicks, and followed that with ‘one we made earlier’!

Pan, who was his normal excellent self. It was just getting towards dark, and it was lovely to end up with an owl that people might see in the evenings in the wild.

Yesterday we had a young Sparrowhawk in, she had been found in the middle of a corn field, not sure how she got there, but she is feeding well, too young to go as yet. The Vale Rescue Centre brought her in, and at the same time delivered six Hedgehogs to be released, which I did just before dark, they finally ambled off into the wood, I hope they like it here and stay, and survive the damn badgers who eat them.

Never did get round to doing the Kestrel photo damn it, it has been a hectic week I have to say and I am not feeling that well today. Henry is going to have to come back, he has not behaved as he should have done, so I have to collect him next week, blowed if I know what I am going to do with him, particularly if he is getting that difficult.

It’s raining again a little this morning and we have the usual half experience day, Mark and Adam are off for their days off, and Holly is in. She will be pleased to see Boom slang again. We have had to separate Boom slang and Sidewinder, they are going through the teenage stage and scrapping with one another. Their new aviaries will be ready in about a week I hope, then we are going to extend the small aviaries at the top of the hawk walk a little and make them better and more roomy. I have to say that the place is looking wonderful at the moment, even if it is a little damp right now.