NEWSLETTER NO 6

2009 AUTUMN

Edited by Jemima Parry-Jones MBE

INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR BIRDS OF PREY

NEWENT, GLOS, GL18 1JJ EMAIL JPJ@ICBP.ORG

WWW.ICBP.ORG TEL 01531 820286/821581

NATURE IS THE BANK ON WHICH ULTIMATELY ALL CHEQUES ARE DRAWN

AUTUMN IS HERE, BOOK UP FOR THE OWL EVENINGS. EVERY FRIDAY AND SAT FROM OCTOBER 30TH UNTIL CHRISTMAS 18TH AND 19TH OF DECEMBER YOU CAN JOIN US FOR AN OWL EVENING AND DO WE HAVE A GREAT TEAM OF OWLS FOR YOU TO MEET. TAKE A GUIDED TOUR OF THE OWLS BY TORCHLIGHT, RANGING FROM THE TINY SCOPS OWLS, THROUGH THE WOOD OWLS, BARN OWLS AND EAGLE OWLS TO THE BEAUTIFUL SNOWY OWLS AND THE VERY ODD LOOKING BAY OWLS. WARM UP WITH MULLED WINE OR HOT CINNAMON APPLE JUICE AND A HOG ROAST, AND WATCH A COUPLE OF THE SMALLER OWLS FLYING IN-DOORS THEN BRAVE THE OUTSIDE WRAPPED UP WARM AND FEELING SNUG WALK OUT PAST THE EAGLES AND VUL-TURES INTO THE FIELD TO WATCH SOME OF THE LAR-GER OWLS FLYING ACROSS THE FLYING FIELD IN THE LIGHT OF OUR SPOTLIGHT TORCHS, IT’S A WONDERFUL SIGHT TO SEE. DO SOME OWL CHRISTMAS SHOPPING WHEN YOU AR-RIVE AND LEAVE. STARTING AT 6.30PM AND LASTING UNTIL ABOUT 8.45PM IT’S A GREAT WINTER EXPERI-ENCE AND WILL LEAVE YOU WITH MAGICAL MEMORIES OF SEEING OWLS AT THEIR NATURAL TIME OF LIVING. TICKETS HAVE TO BE PRE BOOKED AS NUMBERS ARE LIMITED TO GIVE EVERYONE PLENTY OF GOOD EXPERI-ENCES. PHONE TO BOOK YOUR PLACES SOON.

ARABIS Every dog is special to their owner, and Arabis was needless to say no exception, she was the prettiest of all my labs, very much her own person and quietly charming (most of the time) although she could be pretty crabby on a bad day to other dogs!. She only ever produced one puppy, Indigo, who is unmistakably her son and heir. Rush who is his half brother is also unmistakably Nettle’s son. Arabis would never retrieve, she considered that if you threw anything it was your responsibility to go and get it. She was a mouser extraordinaire, and also a great fisher-dog. She would paw up the detritus on the floor of lakes and ponds and then put her head under the water and eat whatever she thought she had thrown us. Apparently some of it was edible, Indigo watched her and learnt the same trick, which I found fascinating, learned or hereditary behaviour?? The interesting thing for me is how amazing dogs are and what little we really understand about them, having a family pack for so long I have seen some amazing behaviours and it has been a privilege to do so. Arabis was born on Friday May 13rh 1998 during the 2.00pm demonstration, Aster her brother arrived at 7.30pm and Lily who lives in Wyoming with Arthur Middleton was hauled out by the vet at 1.30am the next morning! Arabis died on August 19th this year, she was very ill by the end and it was a relief for her to go. I miss her dreadfully and hope that Aster and Lily have a longer life. Dogs do not live long enough for my liking. Each morning as I walk up the field from the pond I re-member her and many others who have made such a wonderful impact on my life and got me through some of the more awful times. Without them all, every single one of them, life would not be so much fun. The little chap in the pictures here is Sedge, not a Labrador but a Patterdale Terrier at six weeks old. He arrived soon after Arabis died.

.Volunteer Contribution  I have asked volunteers to write about something that they have enjoyed or done or just want to say  in each news  letter, here  is what  Julie had  to say after ably assisting on photography days.  Photographic Day—Julie Davis 

  There  is not better way  to  spend  a  sunny day  than photographing various 

birds of prey.  I am not a photographer myself, but  just being able  to  sit and watch their  subtle behaviours  is  amazing. What makes  it  even better  is  the  fact  the birds seem  to  love doing  it as well. To  them perhaps  it  is  time out  from  flying, and gives them the chance to sit in a different setting and to be admired without having to share the limelight with anyone else. The Centre grounds are looking spectacular now the leaves are turning early; the vibrant greens of summer are changing to vivid reds and yellows and  these make a wonderful back drop  for  the photographers and seem  to bring out the delicate colours in the birds plumage.  Having proved myself and done my time raking aviaries, cleaning paths and painting everything in sight either magnolia or black,  (and  no  doubt  will  be  doing more of the same in the future) it is a privilege  to  be  able  to  handle  the birds  for  the  photography  days.  I know  the  guests  love  the  days,  but for me they are an opportunity to re‐lax  in  the  presence  of  some  of  the most powerfully majestic birds in the world.  For  the  photographer  it’s  the chance  to be  just a camera  lens away from wild and often elusive birds.  Here  is  one  of  the  photos  sent  by  Ken Prandy,  of  Eager  the  young  Long‐eared Owl   

Vet Help Direct (http://www.vethelpdirect.com) has been helping owners to decide if their pet needs veterinary attention since May 2006. The site has recently been re-launched, with many improvements including the expansion of the Bird section which now covers Birds of Prey. Vet Help Direct.com is free to use and is the only website of its kind for falconers and bird of prey keepers in general. Any falconer worried about their bird’s condition can answer a series of step by step questions starting with a choice of 28 symptoms, from Bumble Foot to exer-cise intolerance and fitting. The result will be one of 4 priority ratings stating how soon the bird would need to see a vet. These range from "Self Care – treatment at home", with advice on what to do, to "Urgent – you need to contact your vet immediately". Relevant first aid ad-vice is given for the more serious conditions. Google mapping and postcode proximity searching allows owners to find their nearest veterinary surgery, its opening hours and spe-cialisations http://www.vethelpdirect.com/practices.php. The search by vet type facility al-lows owners to find their nearest vets that treat birds. All the advice on Vet Help Direct is written by vets, many of them experts in their field. The Bird of Prey questions and answers were written by Neil Forbes, who became an RCVS Rec-ognised Specialist in Zoo & Wildlife Medicine (avian) in 1992 and gained his FRCVS by ex-amination on 'Exotic Bird Medicine' in 1996 as well as a European Recognised Specialist in Bird Medicine in 1997. Neil is currently President of the European College of Zoological Medicine, the scientific College for exotic animal Specialists across Europe. Neil will be known to the vast majority of falconers for his publications and his day courses for falconers which have been running for 20 years. Neil is based in his hospital in Swindon and his knowledge of bird of prey medicine and surgery is second to none within the UK. "We are all acutely aware of the effects of the credit crunch, and fear that falconers may try to avoid veterinary fees. This website, helps owners and carers to know whether a visit to the vet is actually required or not." Please take a look at our website to see how easy it is to use and if your birds should have any problems, you'll know where you can find help. If you have used Vet Help Direct we would love to hear your story, every month we offer a prize to the ‘Pet of the Month’ whose owners have used the site and we would really love to feature a Bird of Prey.

INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR BIRDS OF PREY HUNTER TRIALS

AT SALTERS HILL

Tredington Nr. Tewkesbury Glos (Tredington 1 mile south of Tewkesbury, off the A38 at the Odessa pub)

ON SUNDAY 25TH OCTOBER 2009 By kind permission of Mrs Jean Durn

ALL ENTRIES ON THE DAY Any Enquiries please call 01684 850355

Proceeds to :

The International Centre for Birds of Prey Newent, Gloucestershire.

Sponsors

Also sponsored by the National Birds of Prey Trust

Windermere Health & Beauty Clinic 17 Windermere Rd

Longlevens, Gloucester (01452) 530599

David McIntyre Ideal Carpets

Newent (01531) 822377

Gurney’s Butchers Broad Street

Newent (01531) 820730

Pippins fruit & Veg 21 Broad St Newent, GL18 1AQ

(01531) 820459

Severnprint Limited Ashville Trading Estate Bristol Road, Gloucester,

GL2 5EU Tel: (01452) 416391 Fax: (01452) 307001 Email: info@severnprint.co.uk

James French – Specialist 4x4 centre

51 Abingdon Road Stanlake, Oxfordshire

(01865) 300717 www.james-french.co.uk

Windermere Health & Beauty Clinic 17 Windermere Rd

Longlevens, Gloucester (01452) 530599

David McIntyre Ideal Carpets

Newent (01531) 822377

Gurney’s Butchers Broad Street

Newent (01531) 820730

Pippins fruit & Veg 21 Broad St Newent, GL18 1AQ

(01531) 820459

Severnprint Limited Ashville Trading Estate Bristol Road, Gloucester,

GL2 5EU Tel: (01452) 416391 Fax: (01452) 307001 Email: info@severnprint.co.uk

James French – Specialist 4x4 centre

51 Abingdon Road Stanlake, Oxfordshire

(01865) 300717 www.james-french.co.uk

Yes, believe it or not, we are going to be helping to run a Hunter Trails, and for those of you who have no idea what that is, it’s a load of horses and ponies jumping over cross country fences, and its hell of a good fun. Mrs Jean Durn offered to do it to raise funds for the Centre, as she wanted to help the Centre, isn’t that pretty nice. Vari-ous people sponsored the events, including my own National Birds of Prey Trust as well as the people and local firms below, which is very special of them all. Michaela Swan is doing a tremendous amount of organising, at which she is first class, and many of our other wonderful volunteers are coming on the day to judge fences (although I suspect they don’t have a clue as to what they are letting themselves in for!)

The New Boys and Girls on the Block! Four new Lanners, three new Pere-grines, one new Lugger Falcon, seven new owls, three new Harris Hawks, two new Steppe Eagles, plus the older experienced birds, we have our work cut out getting all these birds going well. Three owls got found new homes as they needed to be one person birds, and we hear that they are doing very well, the others are settling in and becoming useful members of the flying team. Some will be grounded after the last owl evening as we will not need this many all going at one time, and then they will go on to the usual rota of some time off for moulting and then a period of work. The Savigny’s Eagle Owl Papyrus is doing well, he is a nice bird and will fly happily to most people, to the fist or to the perch, because this is a desert eagle owl, and wherefore not a forest species we have stuck to just the flying field and post work and he does a grand job. Similarly Cool Ground, the Snowy Owl is doing good post work, and starting to do circles, which is great, all Adam has to learn to do is quit while he is getting what he wants from the bird!!!

The Ural Owl—Oath, does not like the dogs which is a pain, but generally he is such a nice bird and so willing that we put up with it. He goes well up into the trees and looks wonderful in terms of his col-ouring and camouflage against the bark of the trees. Once the leaves fall he will look even better and be great to photograph. The Barn Owl is doing well, very noisy, but flying nicely, his name is Pan, and Air-borne, the Boobook owl is great in the woods, and has now settled in the open field as well. But as many of the owls love the wood, we are going to be working on it winter to try and make it suitable for a woodland demonstration for them all, or at least those that inhabit woodlands..

Photo Gary Taylor—thanks JPJ

Photo LW!! Of course

Eager the Long-eared Owl has been an unknown quantity as I have never flown one before, but what an amazing flyer. He rockets up into the trees and will sit high up surveying the scene. He has done some wing claps, which are amazing, he slaps his wings together below his body, it’s a sight to see and hear. He also has done some soaring, which was a little nerve racking I have to say! The Lanners are interesting, all are good to very good flyers, the bird from Martin Jones is very fit, tending to cut in at the moment, but I think he will improve as he puts on weight and gets more independent. The other three are showing signs of being good in terms of flying, in fact Dawn Run, the female could be brilliant if I can get her to stop thinking about trees. The two males, Whisker and Jodami are good flyers but all three are difficult on the pick up, which I suspect stems from their breeders techniques. We are working on them and hope that we can get over the problem. The three Harris Hawks were gifts, one from Bob Dalton and two from Andy Baber from Bristol. Bay Middleton, the one from Bob is faultless in his manners and behaviours, apart from the fact that he is noisy, but that is not his fault, his mum re laid eggs when he was only six weeks old and so booted him out!! Consequently although we put him in an aviary until he was twelve weeks old, he still has become noisy. However I am hoping he will grow out of it, or that hunting will focus his mind away from vocalisation,... or we can find deaf rab-bits to catch! The other two, Radamanthus and Pretender, are being trained by Holly and Adam and are now flying free and working together which is wonderful. The Peregrines have been a challenge, two out of the six have gone to new homes, Fortina, the earliest trained is turning out to be brilliant and just starting to get style as well as fit-ness and we have had two vertical tear drop stoops already! Simon kept the only tiercel who at the moment is in an aviary, the second female I trained and we have given up to give her a rest and I will try again when I get back from the conference in Spain, she is a problem bird is terms of fitness and ended up being called Duck Weed as she landed in the pond on her second flight. The last one is being trained by Simon at the moment and I hope will be as good as Fortina in time The two Steppe Eagles have just come out of their aviary to start work, I watched them yesterday, its my turn to choose which one and as I told Adam who is train-ing the other one, mine is al-ready sitting on the perch!!!! We are going to have to be very careful with them as we had to cresh (hand rear in a group) them, and I don’t like to do that with eagles. However we have learned a great deal over the years and I think we can get them both going and still stay nicely tempered birds.

Note to all Members……………….. Apologies to Members. I know I should have organised a couple of members eve-nings for you, please forgive me for not doing this. Our first year back has been hec-tic to say the least. I have worked harder and for longer hours since January, than for a very long time and I am as I think many of you know, not exactly a shirker in the work department! Because we have borrowed so much to get the place back, and we have had to do so much and spend so much to repair the damages which is still on going, I have cut back severely on staffing, Where before I left I had six bird staff, a full time gar-dener, two people in the office, one in the shop and two in the café, now I have three and a half bird staff, no gardener, one and a half in the office and shop and two in the café, and where I can I make up the short fall, although these guys are all amazing. And quite frankly without the volunteers we would have not have managed this year. And add to that at least five people who have cut their invoices to help us. I tell you this to explain and excuse myself for having failed to give you all a good evening event this year. HOWEVER, keep an eye on the website for next year as I will not drop the ball again. If all Members reading this could send me your email ad-dress if you have one that would be very helpful Thanks for understanding, I hope!

Don’t waste time, fuel, and effort go-ing Christmas Shopping………………. Why not do your shopping online or on the phone with us! You save time, energy and frustration, and the Centre and the birds benefit from your sup-port, a winner all round

• Falconry Experience Day Vouchers • Entry tickets • Memberships • Sponsorship for a special bird • Owl Evening tickets for 09 and 10 • Gift Vouchers for books or items from the shop • A chosen Photo framed and signed by Linda • Or just ring us and chat about ideas

Other New Arrivals and departures Apart from all the young owls, many bred here, but a number from David Bellis, we have some new additions to the aviary birds. A confiscated Booted Eagle has arrived to replaced the male so carelessly lost in the US. Our female was not im-pressed to start with as surprisingly and unknown to us she was about to lay an egg. So we split them up, but they are now together again, and doing well. A pair of Great Horned Owls have arrived and look wonderful in the Owl courtyard, and a female Eura-sian Eagle Owl to replace the old female who died earlier this year, plus a pair of Abyssinian Eagle Owls as my breeding pair are on loan to Dave. So all the eagle owls are now paired up which is great. One of our Bay Owls came home, which was nice, and our male American Kestrel has gone to pair up with a fe-male. All we need now is a pair of Golden Eagles and a pair of Bald Eagles and we will be back to square one!

Photo from John Ellis ZSL

CONFERENCES One in Pitlochry, the RRF main conference which went well and it was great to see old friends, it was like old home week, Scotland was obviously a huge draw to many people which was nice to see. Although I have to say that all these pa-pers on modelling are not exactly scintillating! The second one in Ainsa in Spain, in the foothills of the Pyrenees, a stunning location with lots of Eurasian Griffon Vultures and stunning Bearded Vultures who can fly amazingly. We also saw Red Kites with vultures which was fun. Lots of friends, lots of good papers, and lots of information. It is good to be back in the swing of things. I gave a paper at each conference, which I hope went well and chaired several sessions at the Spanish ECA conference. Although getting back at nearly 4am on the Friday night was a drag and I am not sure I will use Ryanair again, Stan-stead is too far and the parking is expensive.

SOME NEW FAMILY

LAST CHANCE don’t miss the opportunity……………………. Founder Membership ceases on December 31st this year, and this wonderful badge, with Sole the Al-bino Kestrel as the bird to represent this great group will cease to be produced. So if you want to help, to end the year with a good feeling and be the proud and exclusive owner of this badge and all that goes with it, let us know quickly. It gives you a life membership with the added special feeling that you helped in the vital re-starting days. Have a think and see if you can join us on this one. We would love to have you. However if you can’t, the three next grades are pretty cool too!

WISH LIST • Used (but good) Kitchen Units for extending the weighing room • Magnolia Paint (more!) • A flymow lawn mower—the old fashioned one

• A push brush leaf sweeper • A Commercial cylinder mower for the field (well you have to ask!) • Mini digger is still on the list! • Bandages for birds and people • Small tractor • Plants—shrubs, perennials and bulbs by the score, and if

anyone has Autumn Cyclamen looking for a home, we are the place to come to!