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The Hawk Conservancy The weather was rather unkind on the morning of the trip in Northamptonshire, very grey skies and steady rain seeming to be the order of the day, but hopes were high that it would improve as we headed south, and although it stayed grey and miserable, at least it had stopped raining by the time we arrived in Andover.
We were greeted by a member of the Hawk Conservancy staff, who very kindly took us to a covered area, and gave us a short talk about the Hawk Conservancy and it's history, and about events that were to take place that day. The group then broke and headed for the coffee shop after the long coach ride. Just as everyone had refreshed themselves, the first demonstration was about to start. The very first bird introduced to the crowd by Jimmy, a charismatic commentator at the Conservancy, was Sirius, a striated Cara Cara, a bird native of South America and the Falkland Islands. These birds are extremely intelligent, and Sirius was no exception! He scurried around on the floor, overturning buckets, plant pots and rocks that had food underneath placed there earlier by staff.
He could select red
coloured items from a
A thoroughly entertaining, not to mention striking looking bird! Next up was a male Lanner. He flew quite well given the inclement weather conditions, and he worked steadily to the lure.
A pigeon flew out of some
trees right beside him at one point,
After several passes he was called in to catch the lure in the air, and be brought safely down in the display area. A very smooth flying bird obviously in very good condition. Gary, who flew the lanner, proved to be a very proficient lure swinger, and the commentary was again very entertaining courtesy of Jimmy.
Changing the mood somewhat,
we were then introduced to a pair of Barn Owls. Named after rivers, Avon and
Tess were flown by Kim, with Jimmy commentating. The pair weaved in and out
of the audience, entertaining with their agile and silent flight,
Click on the picture immediately left to see Tess and Avon doing their thing! There was still more to come in this demonstration, and after the barn owls departed, in came several hooded vultures, all flying over the heads of the audience and over the arena to a hill that had been constructed specifically for demonstrations with larger birds such as these.
Kim, a member of staff was
atop the hill with food, and the vultures made their way hastily up toward
her, where they mobbed her as she handed out titbits to them. They were then
called down the hill into the arena by Gary, who also fed them titbits, and
then back up to Kim again. Gary then mingled in with the audience, and the
vultures flew overhead to Gary, grabbing titbits as they went! We were then introduced to McCawber, a Griffon Vulture. A huge bird with huge character! He came in and headed straight for Kim up on the hill! Once he had mugged her, he had his eye on Gary in the arena! Click the picture to the right to see him fly! Next to entertain us was Madeline, a Secretary Bird. These birds have an unusual way of classifying themselves as birds of prey. They catch and kill poisonous snakes using a most unusual method. Firstly , they will scare the hiding snake from cover by kicking at the bush or undergrowth, then when the snake bolts out for cover, the Secretary Bird does her thing! Click on the image to the left to see Madeline in action!
Madeline swiftly put the
snake out of action, and was justly rewarded by her keeper, though he had to
beware, as Madeline has a tendency to leap high in the air and drop-kick her
keepers on the
The day progressed, and club members wandered around the premises admiring the wonderful array of raptors on display, from the tiny Pygmy Owl to the magnificent Andean Condor!
Soon it was time for the
Valley of the Eagles demonstration, incorporating Hooded Vultures! This
display takes place in a meadow dedicated to the memory of Reg Smith
(pictured right). founder of The Hawk Conservancy. The meadow drops away to form a valley with hills in the distance, and provides some good lift for the broader winged eagles and vultures, not to mention the several species of Kite that were also flown here earlier!
Two American Bald Eagles
were transported to a location some distance from the arena, and were
subsequently released to work their way across back to the Conservancy. The
site of these two eagles working their way across the sky was magnificent,
and their decent into the arena to the falconers glove was truly a sight to
behold! Although the
This more or less rounded up the day, all present had a great time! The birds and handlers were of an extremely high standard. We boarded our coach a happy crew, having witnessed some excellent flying and intuitive display structuring that went a long way to demonstrating particular bird behaviour in the wild state. Well worth a visit if your a raptor enthusiast!
HOMEWARD BOUND!!
John Tyas March 2008
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21st
June '08
makeshift
clothes line and pull them off for a reward, and he could also pop down into
burrows that had been made and emerge from another entrance to retrieve
food! His finale was to repeatedly run around a dustbin until someone
removed the lid - and then in he went for his reward!! 
and
he seriously thought about it before returning to his display work!
