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

ASBO

There are times of the year that I really look forward to flying birds for large numbers of visitors - the days when it's 'standing room only' at the shows really adds something to the atmosphere of a demonstration and it's often when we get the best reaction from audiences. Monday was one such day and, it has to be said, it is absolutely exhausting trying to organise so many people to stay still and seated throughout and make sure that everyone (and every bird!) is safe. We managed it - I'm not sure how many we had at the demonstrations but it was rather a lot. Coupled with the police dog training unit down on the lawn and the Frozen sisters from the actual Disney film excitement levels were high from the start of the CFM 'Cash for Kids' day. The birds flew outstandingly well and they never cease to amaze me. With all that was going on elsewhere in the gardens they all did a fantastic job for us and we're very proud of them all. Nutmeg the Lanner got some nice height, which he has been regularly doing this last week, and the Herriot was awesome as always.

Rebecca with Herriot

We've got a little more help now too - Dawn managed to get talking to Rebecca, who has recently moved to
West Cumbria from a much warmer part of the world in the States, and gave her the nudge to come along and volunteer. Rebecca has been with us for a week or so now and it's fair to say that she's really been thrown in at the deep end with stewarding shows for us. It's never easy to man the show as some people don't like playing by the rules of 'sit still', 'don't just stand up randomly when an eagle is flying' or 'keep children under control!', so all our volunteers and staff that do this job are doing a great job. We also have a veterinary student here on work experience this week which offers us a little more help and every little really does help! I think he's painting the owl tea room as i type this - perhaps not the best experience for his vocation but it's all part of the job!

Bob with a hooded Nutmeg

My good friend Bob Brind-Surch, who runs a wildlife photography business, Natures Photos, came up to visit me from Northamptonshire last week too. Bob is an excellent naturalist and has a real passion for wildlife from all around the globe. Having spent a chunk of his life following some of the country's great falconers and flying birds himself in the past he has a great knowledge of how to photograph birds of prey in natural settings and understands the needs of the birds which many photographers often don't. I worked with Bob on raptor  workshops at Holdenby in Northants before the move to Muncaster so it was good to see someone from home. This was especially true as it was with the view to running some exciting new sessions here based around the stunning locations we have at Muncaster around the gardens and surrounding estate and the birds we work with in the centre.

Ash is growing fast and training well

Numbers are looking good for our special event for Friends of Muncaster. We haven't asked for everyone to tell us if they're coming but it will help us to know how many packets of chocolate biscuits etc we need to buy! Let's hope all goes well and that the event is a success - I'm praying for good weather.

Is it really August already? It's amazing to think that we are now in our fourth month of working here at the Castle and yet we've done so much. The centre has a completely different atmosphere and look to when we first arrived here in May, something that several visitors have commented on which is nice. The flowerbeds in front of the covered weathering are coming to life a little more now and everything seems to be settling in well. We too are more comfortable in our surroundings and now have a good routine to the day so we are much more efficient when getting ready for opening and demonstrations which means that we're all, mostly, getting a coffee break before we open at 10:30am.

Visitor wise we have been very busy and most days our 'Taster Sessions' are being filled. These are hour long experiences on which visitors can get that little bit closer to our birds and have an almost one-to-one session with our the bird staff as we limit spaces to a maximum of 4 guests. The sessions have been well received with everyone so far really enjoying them (or as far as I can tell!) and most telling me that the session is well worth the £30.00 that we charge. This is really good as every little helps at the moment whilst we're still setting up the centre. If you're reading this and fancy a go, sessions can be pre-booked online or spaces are sometimes available on the day - if you're quick! Details can be found here http://www.muncaster.co.uk/gifts-experiences/hawk-handling-taster.



We did decide to rest Diego in the end. Her feathers really were in need of a good moult so she's getting a nice rest and being fed up for a few weeks. We're in the second week and she's not done that much moulting just yet but patience is important with these things.She is much missed in the shows though as she's a great character and just so different from any of the other birds we fly - perhaps we'll have to find her an understudy for when she needs to moult... now there's an idea! As a result of not having her we decided to make more of Nutmeg, our Lanner Falcon, in the shows. On the warm days when there are thermals he makes some nice height and even when working to a lure he looks absolutely spectacular so we fly him to music - the experience is epic. It occurred to me just how important the sections of no commentary are in our displays as we do get a large number of overseas guests staying here, many of whom would not be able to connect with our displays so well if we didn't have these breaks so it's good for everyone.

The morning 'World of Owls' show feels slicker now and all the owls are performing well. Whilst I was away last week though, Stuart said he had had issues with Sage our Tawny Owl. So Gucci the Brown Wood Owl has filled her role in the morning show and Sage now mostly working on experiences which she much prefers. Sage was a bird that I brought along with me from Icarus Falconry in Northamptonshire where she mostly worked on these hands-on sessions so she's very used to being handled by lots of different people and so this sits best with her. Plus everyone thinks she's adorable!

Ash, the young Great Grey owl, is also coming on well and has grown at quite a pace as expected. He's still not on display just yet but training has begun with the staff here and he's taking it all in his stride - jumping to the fist now for his mice which will hopefully bode well for his future work in demonstrations.

We are planning a special event for the 6th September exclusively for Friends of Muncaster to launch the conservation projects the Hawk and Owl centre plan to work on in the very near future. The evening will include a never-before-seen flying display including several favourite birds from the Hawk and Owl Centre (with a few surprises) coupled with light-hearted commentary from the falconers. After the display, Friends are invited to light refreshments in the Old Laundry Room whilst listening to the evening’s talks on the important work the Hawk and Owl Centre plan to do and the work already happening around the gardens and surrounding estate at Muncaster in the name of conservation. This is an exclusive event for Friends membership holders only so if you'd like to attend you need to be one! You can sign up for this online.

The school summer holidays have well and truly kicked off now and we're noticing more visitors to the 11:30 am show which is good... mostly. I'm not sure what it is about some visitors (albeit very few as most of our audiences have been wonderful) but they do like to try my patience. Just this week one parent decided it was a good idea to have children running across benches and shouting out questions at the top of their lungs whilst Cavalli was flying. This is of course after the health and safety briefing at the start of the demonstration stating that everyone needs to sit still else they may well get a bird collide with them - not good! In any case I did have to stop the show until the children were under control which they (eventually) were by the end. It makes me so grateful for the birds we are working with. They are pretty much bombproof meaning that no matter what happens the vast majority of them don't bat and eyelid and continue with the display. 

We moved the benches on the flying grounds back a little last week too which does give a better view and helps keep the meadow as preserved as possible but it does mean that the birds have had to adjust to new perches or audience in a different place. I think Mulberry the Barn Owl has found this change the hardest as her routine is pre-set targets but she's getting there. She has also frequently 'found' Stuart, Emma or I inside the speaker this week - so much so that we've had to turn the PA off a couple of times to get her attention back. That's what happens when you work with some of nature's best set of ears I suppose.

The new mews has become our default weathering for the falcons and just needs painting up now. Dawn, Eve, Carol-Anne and Terry have been getting to grips with this for us -where would we be without volunteers? Coincidentally, if you are interested in volunteering with us we now have a form we send out for people who want to join us - you even get a free cuppa out of it and I'm sure I or one of the other bird staff will buy you a slice of cake for good behavior! We're building a really nice, friendly team here which has taken the pressure away from bird staff just a little.

Flying displays have been going very well and we're improving them everyday when we can - just yesterday we trialed flying Nutmeg to music and I think it was successful even if he did spend half of his flight soaring above the trees behind the audience where nobody could see him. We are thinking of giving Diego a few weeks off, which is a shame as she's such a star and we're entering the busiest period of the year more or less but her tail is a bit of a mess. 

She had one or two broken ones when she arrived here at Muncaster after a long trip from HCT. She has since broken a couple more and we are going to rethink her perching and box style for when she has moulted. It might give us time to find an understudy for 'Frank' the rubber snake whom Diego kills every day during her display. 

My trip down to Hampshire was successful and I came away with the newest member of our team here at Muncaster - Ash, the Great Grey Owl. He's a little over five weeks old now and is not yet on display, of course, but will be as soon as we can let him. He's going to be such a fantastic bird to fly in our winter demonstrations later this year - I'm hoping we can get him going well for the Halloween celebrations which gives us three months to get him bang on. At the moment he's still coming home with us - a role which we're sharing and Stu and Emma have agreed to take on when I am away from the centre next week. 

It may sound like a fantastic thing to do, babysitting for a baby owl, and it is. 

Except from all the things they want to destroy - or poo on! He's a lovely little character and I have high hopes for his success here in displays. 

Emma has assumed the role of our lead in the conservation field from the Hawk and Owl centre. She went ringing songbirds this weekend and hopes to do more, specifically with raptors if possible, in the very near future. This type of experience  is invaluable to the work we want to be doing. We are making plans to launch the projects we want to work on on site at Muncaster (in addition to supporting the work done by the Hawk Conservancy Trust) in September and hope to hold a special event for 'Friends of Muncaster'. This will be an exclusive event for 'Friends' only and is likely to include a never-before-seen demonstration on the meadow and a talk in the Old Laundry Room outlining the conservation work the Hawk and Owl Centre is working towards. Refreshments will be included too, of course! Details of this event will be sent out very soon but if you're not a friend then sign up now. Not only does it give you access to events like this, which we hope to make regular, but it also allows you entrance to Muncaster as many times as you like for a year - bargain, especially if you are local.

Iris, American Kestrel, on the lure.

We've had some truly lovely weather here over the last few weeks and that has meant that we have had some very nice flying from some of the birds. Herriot the Steppe Eagle is the one the stands out for me, mostly because of the superb effort he puts in every day regardless of which way the wind is blowing - something I've not encountered with eagles before. Today he made a little height during the 2:30pm demo which was superb. I keep hoping that someone gets a good video of him when he does this but so far I've not been sent one!

A lovely card from a Primary School who visited last week.

It's been a bit of a mixed couple of weeks for us as we've had our fair share of tough days. Rowan, the young Barbary Falcon had his first flight free last week. He came to the lure well but then spooked upon almost landing in the grass and from then on was on the wing with Stuart and I close on his tail with the tracking equipment. Over two days we covered over 250 miles in Stuart's Jimny (without which I wouldn't have been able to track him at all) and eventually we lost his signal on Friday afternoon. Try as we might we could not get a beep and from then on I have been really hoping to hear the phone ring with news that someone had picked him up - no such luck! It's a real shame as he was really showing signs of being a lovely bird to handle and, if any of his older brothers were anything to go by, he would have been an awesome bird to see fly. After a few days of being up at first light and being out until dark we were all exhausted. Stuart and Emma have been wonderfully patient with me and have both been constantly on hand to help me find him - as have Peter and Iona. Knowing that you have good, trustworthy backup when these things happen is invaluable. We're still keeping our ears open and eyes peeled for any news.

Emma with Elder
after he'd been collected from the top of the tree

On Tuesday I decided that Elder, one of the young Barn Owls (the one that ended up at the top of the tree) would be safe to fly again after a little manning time in the aviary - wrong! After a few nice flights to the fist he spooked and flew up into a tree. Emma and I exchanged looks at this moment thinking - "not again!" Luckily he hadn't flown far and, with the help of Dawn, our fantastic new volunteer (especially so as she brought us the best millionaires shortbread last week), I managed to climb up and retrieve him. After losing the Barbary the previous week I was not looking forward to spending days on end looking for a young Barn Owl.It's likely the local Tawny Owl population would have had something to say about it too. He's now back safe and sound with his brother. We're going to have a rethink on how we train them as the current methods aren't good!

MightyMite helping with the gardening

The new undercover weathering has come on apace and its looking really very nice now. Annie, the head gardener at Muncaster, has been planting up some herbaceous beds infront of the birds which will look stunning when they flower as well as being a great help in attracting bees and butterflies. The birds are really settled and happy in there and it gives us somewhere to weather the birds on hot and wet days. It just needs painting up - a thankless task that will take rather a long time alongside the pruning of the ever growing foliage across the centre that's been growing incredibly fast recently.I had a go at pruning and I don't think its my life calling - hacking would best describe what I did but it wont need doing for a while now.







I'm making the trip down to HCT later next week to collect another new addition to the Muncaster team. This one will come into his/her own during the long winter months here at the castle - any guesses what it might be? Check back here in a week or so to find out.

Nutmeg, Lanner Falcon. Windyridge Wildlife Photography

We're having a bit of a heat wave at the moment (something I had never anticipated having only seen Muncaster in the cold and wet before taking the centre on) which has made for a lovely change. The weather is good for visitor numbers but offers up new challenges for the team working within the centre. We have our weathering lawn now complete which means all the tethered birds can sit safely on the lawn during the day. This doesn't however provide us with provision for very hot days (such as today!) or the very wet weather. The team at Muncaster have been working furiously to complete our mews which is looking great I think - thank you, guys for the speed and quality of the job being done. It both completes the centre nicely and offers the practical use of being able to safely tether birds under shelter.

New mews going up 

As a team we decided on a theme for naming young birds that come into the centre this year as we have had a couple of new arrivals at the centre over the past few weeks. We decided to go with species tree found in Britain. So we have Rowan, a young tiercel Barbary Falcon whom I picked up from Mike at Icarus Falconry in Northamptonshire and he's a really lovely bird - fantastic temperament and a little stunner. His training is going well and he should fly loose for the first time by the end of the week. Spindle and Elder are our two young Barn Owls from HCT and they are quite a handful at the moment. We had an incident with one of them last week meaning that the whole team ended up looking for them until late in the evening (thank goodness for the light nights). Elder has managed to get himself to the top of the tallest tree and was refusing to budge, Martin from the forestry department did a Stirling job of climbing to the top of the tree to retrieve him! Thank you Martin! We have since had a bit of a rethink on how we are going to fly them both and hope they will be show-stoppers in the new show later in the summer.

Rowan, Barbary Falcon

The new morning show, A World of Owls is at 11:30am daily now up on the Wildflower Meadow. Its a lovely demo and has been up and running for previews all this week and has had its first official day of the season today. As the name suggests its a completely owl orientated show and we've tried to really show of the natural attributes of each species in the way we fly them. If you like Barn Owls then this is the show for you as Mulberry's section of the show is wonderful. We've been very pleased with her. I'll say no more about it so if you want to know more then you'll just have to come and visit!

Mulberry

We are now about to enter into the really busy period with the school holidays about to start and so the birds and staff will have their work cut out but for just a couple of months in I think the displays are fantastic and we've had heaps of positive feedback from visitors which spurs us on. We have also just welcomed Dawn onto our voluntary team so she's going to be helping us two days a week which will be fantastic. I'm hoping we might get a few more people who can help us out over the summer too.

I am also very grateful to those visitors who have gone the extra mile to support us by adopting one of our birds (for just £25.00 for the entire year I think its a bargain). It really helps the work we do here so thank you. A role of honor of all the people who have adopted a bird can be found on the website http://www.muncaster.co.uk/hawk-owl-centre and we are working on getting adopters names onto the aviaries so everyone can see how generous and kind you all are!

Stuart working with Cavalli, Verreaux's Eagle Owl