Life goes on

After the sad start to last week it was good to have a busy week.

Tuesday was a sad day. I opened up Amber's aviary in the morning I had to do a double take. I knew it was empty but felt I should open it up as normal. I know it was my mind just playing tricks on me but I could of sworn just for a second there was a female Harris Hawk sitting with 1 foot tucked up looking at me on the perch. There wasn't.

I put Pele in the aviary the next day so it was being used but he started playing up when it comes to flying him so I have taken him out and tethered him again. The aviary is now empty again and the door remains closed.

Tuesday and Wednesday were spent doing half day sessions in the centre. In someways it was good just to stay in the centre. No rushing around - just a couple of days in the centre coming to terms with things.

On Thursday it all changed as we were entering a very busy spell. The first part of Thursday was spent doing a school visit where we had 3 x 1hr talks on birds of prey. We have been visiting this school for several years. It is always good to be asked back for repeat work. I feel it confirms to me that I am doing a good job in offering a quality service. The best part was they provide me with lunch - school dinners. I have to admit they are a lot better than I remember but I suspect the quality of school dinners has moved on since I was at school. Once I had finished there it was straight back to the centre, unload the car, walk the dog, load the the car and go to Cameron House for a hawk walk. I used Pele for this as I thought I would make it easy for myself as he is normally very good but on Thursday he was a bit wayward. I don't know if it was because I put him in an aviary and his routine was all different. I guess time will tell. He was difficult for Jo on the Saturday as well.

Friday morning was spent doing a booking in centre and then cleaning everything. In the afternoon we were back over to Cameron House for a booking.

The weekend was the main event for the week. Saturday, Sunday and Monday was spent at Edinburgh Castle. I have never done any work at Edinburgh Castle but I have a few events for Historic Scotland over the years. It was great fun as I was able to catch up with a few old friends and make some new ones. In between all that we had to do a 4 hour static display with the birds. Saturday was a complete wash out with the rain but we were able to get the birds out for a bit in between the showers but it was a hard shift. The birds spent alot of Saturday sitting in their travel boxes and I got soaked.

Sunday and Monday were alot better as it was dry and the birds could sit out all day. The birds all looked good and it was great see them look so relaxed even though the castle had over 17000 visitors over the 3 days. We always had good numbers of people up looking at the birds and asking questions. The birds all took it in their stride. It was good to see them preening, sleeping, rousing and sun bathing (yes birds can sun bathe) while hundreds of people stopped to look at them. I feel this is because that once we are at the venue we don't allow the public to stroke, prod or touch the birds or my real pet hate - hug an owl. It was also a great opportunity to tell public why they shouldn't stroke the birds because of the stress it causes them, how our birds were all showing signs natural behaviour because they were relaxed and the damage that gets done to the birds feathers through the constant stroking. The only time things got a bit tense was when the local seagulls started to dive bomb us as they didn't appreciate birds of prey being at Edinburgh Castle. I always watch Lobey when this happens as he can get a bit stressed by the sea gulls but it didn't last long. He was a little bit concerned by it but as there was only 3 or 4 sea gulls his concern quickly passed and he went sleep (always a good sign that a bird is relaxed). Artemis on the other hand was all set to tell the sea gulls what for, so when they were dive bombing us she was watching and shouting back at them. Another highlight was Taz shouting at 1 of the local Kestrels who nest on the castle after he spotted it flying overhead.

After 3 days of going back and forth to Edinburgh Castle I really felt it last night. Even though I was exhausted and my legs felt tired and sore this morning I still had to get up and open up the centre and load up the car to go and do a hawk walk at Cameron House with Mardy (male Harris Hawk). Things always tend to be eventful when Mardy is flying. The other 3 Harris Hawks all tend to be a little bit more laid back than Mardy. Pele is the most laid back and  quite calculating, Oran is high energy but will always respond if I shout at him and Brel is always focused on me. Mardy

He may of not been at Cameron House for 6 months but he was back this morning and it was like he was on a mission to let the local wildlife population know he was back. He buzzed group of ducks on the loch, tried to sneak up on some jackdaws, flew up above the trees which really upset the seagulls, flew over the top the hotel and in to the woods behind the hotel where he went after something not sure what, I was still trying to catch up with him and he caught a mouse on the front lawn which he carried up into a tree and ate before I could get it off him. An eventful first hawk walk for Mardy on his return to Cameron House. The thing is hawk walks like that are not uncommon when Mardy is about. If it is out there he tends to notice and do something about it. He would be an awesome hunting bird if it wasn't for the fact that he is terrified of horses.

The coming week is steady. I have a corporate event this Monday so I have already stared putting together a team of birds for that. Uist (Lugger Falcon) is back flying after his week off and looking good.

I have also been booked for a very large event at the end of July so I need to star thinking about that. Details to follow on that 1.

I still haven't been able to get the new Barn Owl as the paper work still hasn't turned up. The breeder is going to chase up DEFRA (Department of the Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs) who issue the paper work to say that it has been bred in captivity and allows him to sell it.

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