It's noticeably cooler as we head closer to October now. The birds are all eating a little more food to hold their weight and the heating is coming on sometimes in my house which is a first! Although I do have to admit to having the fire on a fair few times - Delilah seems to like it and always sits as close as she dares. We're now also starting to rest birds who have worked particularly hard over the summer - Nutmeg the Lanner Falcon being one of those so he's enjoying not having to do a great deal to earn his keep. ASBO has stepped up to the mark after starring in our Friend's of Muncaster evening a couple of weeks ago. If you haven't been to see him fly yet and you get the chance then you really should as he regularly gives us bird staff Goosebumps to watch him fly - "Tinglyyy!" as Stuart would put it.

Ash now fully grown and flying well

Now it's quieter we're also all going to get a chance to take some time away from the centre. After starting in May the work we've done has been pretty intensive and none of us have had much chance to take stock (although I'm sure Emma and Stuart would happily tell you that I'm never here!). Because we're a three person team and we always need two staff here to operate we've been joined by Ria, who has traveled up from the Hawk Conservancy Trust to cover for us all. We're all so far enjoying having someone else on the team and I for one can say its so enjoyable to listen to a commentary from someone new at the shows. I am hoping that Ria's time here will be useful to her too as its a very different dynamic to working at the Trust. A smaller bird handling team, a broader attraction and different shows all mean that it should be an experience so I hope that she feels welcome and that she enjoys her time here.

We had a visit from John Hoosen from the National Trust who has been working with species specific to Cumbria and looking particularly at the Netted Carpet Moth which we have a small stronghold of here at Muncaster - a rarity in this part of the Lakes I'm told. With Emma planning the conservation projects in the coming months this is a species well worth thinking about. I'm hoping we can all get a chance to see the moth at dusk before it gets too cold!

Walrus and Stuart have been working together to get ready for winter. All of the aviaries now have power which means that Stuart has started putting heat lamps in with the smaller, more vulnerable birds first. To see the warm red glow of those lamps inside the houses of these susceptible birds is very comforting. The weighing room is also being re-roofed soon as it was practically flooded earlier this week after heavy rain. It looks as if it's needed a new one for a while so Martin and Murray have temporarily fixed it before the real thing goes on next week (I think!).
 We've got a visit from Penny and Gary from HCT next week as well which will be very useful. There's always so much to discuss and I think next year's plans are going to play a part in these talks - We're all very excited about what's to come after a very successful season this year.

The schools have now well and truly gone back now as we're seeing less families visiting the centre and more couples and groups visiting who have cleverly avoided the rush of the summer holidays. This is a chance for myself and the team at the Hawk and Owl Centre to come up for air as we have such a whirlwind of a summer - really thrown in at the deep end. I'm pleased to say we've managed to do what I think is a pretty good job so far. As I always have said - the birds really have done us proud (most of them at least!).

Emma with Ash on our Friends of Muncaster Event

Thank you to those of you who are Friends of Muncaster who attended our special evening event last week. I have to say that it was far more a success than we could have hoped with double the numbers we had expected for the evening actually attending. The birds all flew well in the demonstration with Ash the Great Grey Owl making his debut appearance in front of a crowd flying completely free! I think he's going to be an absolute super star if he's not already. The highlight for me was Peter and Iona's appearance as falconers for the evening. They were both great sports and did a sterling job - so much so that Emma, Stuart and I had better watch our jobs - Peter had really done his research on Burrowing Owls and even knew the incubation time for their eggs and their conservation status in the wild. The talks were all also well received. Hopefully now we will have a core of our membership that truly understand the work we are trying to champion both here at the castle and with the Hawk Conservancy Trust. Peter also announced that we had managed to raise roughly £10k in donations for that conservation work over the time we have been here which is very pleasing indeed. 

Two delicate Burrowing Owls - Michael Edwards

We're now busy making preparations for the colder months and Walrus has begun his work rigging heat lamps into all the aviaries. We work with quite a few delicate individuals (birds not people!) and its important that they are kept warm and comfortable during what could be a very harsh winter. None of us bird staff have experienced a winter here so we're keen to over rather than under prepare. The team is also in talks about how we can make improvements for next year. Due to the situation back in May this year, we were unable to design and build the centre to a standard we were entirely happy with so the winter will give us an opportunity to take stock and discuss what needs doing before we open again in the spring. This is one of the main attractions for working alongside the Hawk Conservancy - the standards are set very high and that guidance towards those standards is going to be invaluable to the centre reaching its full potential as one of excellence. 

Mulberry, Jason Braithwaite

Whilst the weather has been mostly kind to us over the last few days it's odd how quickly the mornings and evenings can start to feel very autumnal - as if one can smell the approaching cooler weather on the breeze.
We've just finished the Living History week which saw large numbers of various 'ancestors' meeting and greeting visitors to the castle. The birds coped very well with musket fire on the lawn and even, at one stage I think, a cannon. I think next year it might be nice for us to tie into the history side of things a bit more and get involved with some historical falconry and educate visitors a little more about falconers' roots in history. Peter is desperate to get us dressed up in medieval gear for the shows - I'm not sure that'll go down too well with Stuart, or the birds!

Ash, our baby Great Grey Owl, has started work in the displays this past week. At the end of the World of Owls demonstration he has made an appearance as a training session. We've only been flying him on a creance line (a length of line for training birds before flying them free) so far but I think he'll not be long before he's ready to go free. We'll be fitting a radio transmitter first mind you! I think the plan is to try and get him involved in our Friends of Muncaster event (http://www.muncaster.co.uk/special-events/friends-mhoc) thats happening on Sunday.

Herriot, Michael Edwards

Speaking of the event, the team have been hard at work preparing for the evening and it looks to be a wonderful event. We're going to have a few surprises at the flying demonstration so if you are a 'Friend' and you're thinking you've seen our shows before - think again. The finale (which we've rehearsed twice now with one of the falcons) is just awesome. We've also hired a couple of high profile newbie falconers who are going to be a part of the display. Emma and Stuart have also been working to get their talks ready about the conservation work we're all here to support - both here at the castle and at the Hawk Conservancy Trust. It looks at the moment as if the weather is going to be fine too so it's all set to be a really great evening. I shall look forward to seeing you there.

To the Muncaster Hawk and Owl Centre page - http://bit.ly/1II332v