Saturday May 22nd 2010

Summer seems to ambushed us here at the centre. One day I am still wrapped up against the ‘arctic’ wind, and the next I am sweltering in the heat, with no acclimatizing in between. Still, can’t complain, all the accumulated aches and pains have suddenly disappeared. I forgot to mention last week that we received three new Eurasian Scops Owls; 1 male and 2 females. They came from a private breeder in Essex who has been helping us with our captive breeding programmes for many years now. They look to have settled in now. We built three new nestboxes for them, which appear to be to their liking, as all of them appear to be occupied.

The date for the annual sponsored walk is fast approaching, and your response has been staggering this year. We have already surpassed the £1500 - mark.

This means that we are already sorting out the computers in the office. Our Trustee Peter Hands is in the process of sourcing the computers, which will be bespoke tailored to the exact needs of the office. This will mean that time can be more efficiently managed. All sponsorship contributions still to come will be gratefully received. I hope to be able to put some video clips of the walk on the website, when the walk is completed.

We have had a couple of disappointments this week. The Western Screech Owls in the Owl Garden have no eggs. The female has been out of sight for months. The same result applies to the Boobook Owls in the Breeding Ground, although the female had eggs in this case, these were what we refer to as ‘dead in shell’, i.e. the embryos developed so far, and then died, probably due to the unseasonal cold weather.

We’ve also had a couple of species which have re-cycled, i.e. these birds have laid a second clutch of eggs, after having already successfully bred this season. The African Spotted Eagle Owls have a second clutch, as have the White-faced Owls in the Owl Garden.

I will leave you with another photo of the Long-eared Owl and her owlets, as well as a photo of two of our Tropical Screech Owlets.

Wulf
Head Keeper

Long-eared Owl and Owlets Picture courtesy Terry Evison

Tropical Screech Owlets Picture courtesy Wulf Ingham

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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.