Wulf’s Blog

Saturday June 19th 2010

It’s amazing, a week has already passed since Patchings art and craft festival. We had some good feedback from the organisers, who said that we had brought something different to the occasion and thereby enhanced the experience for the visitors. We are greatly encouraged by this feedback. We feel we had hit upon just the right note what with our layout of the stall, as well as the daily owl talks we were giving. The two daily talks were announced over the tannoy system, which no doubt helped to raise our profile. I will include a few of Debs Smith’s photos for you at the end of the blog. Once again Debs, many thanks for your input. we look forward to seeing you and Roy at the Billy Mitchell and Bob Fox gig here at Muncaster in September.

At the centre in the meantime the breeding season marches on relentlessly. We are pleased to announce that we have managed to breed 2 species of owls which we haven’t bred in nearly 2 years, namely Spectacled Owls and Eurasian Scops Owls. I will include a picture, taken by Vicky Lane, of the Spectacled Owlet, which I have to say is looking rather ‘photogenical’, of which we have one. We also only have one Eurasian Scops Owl and 2 eggs. The owlet is about 2 weeks old, so I don’t think the 2 eggs are likely to hatch, but with owls you never know! We have also discovered that the Little Owls in the Laybourne have bred. We found 1 owlet yesterday, and despite our best efforts and the assistance of David the collection manager we didn’t find any more. This morning however David found another one. It is likely that there are a few more, as Little Owls usually have quite large broods. The conditions are quite ‘lush’ in the Laybourne at present as we can’t remove the undergrowth until all the owlets fledge. The Barn Owlets under the Box bush are doing well at the moment. This particular breeding female adopted a ‘wild’ Barn Owlet that was handed in to us last week, and we hope to re-introduce this owlet back to the wild when the time comes, so fingers crossed.

I will leave you with a selection of pictures from Patchings including Sparky and his personal fridge as well as the Spectacled Owlet.

Wulf
Head Keeper

Patchings

Debs Smith

Sparky And His Personal Fridge

Spectacled Owlet Picture courtesy Vicky Lane

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World Owl Trust Registered Charity Number: 1107529 Limited Company Number: 5296745

The World Owl Trust is a member of the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) and the European Association of Zoos and Aquariums (EAZA). The Trust relies on a dedicated membership, visitors, donations and legacies.