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2014 - An exciting year for the Barn Owl Centre
With the launch of our new website & with spring now in the air following a long wet winter, we are now pleased to be moving forward towards what should be an amazing year.
During 2014, our bird handlers will be focusing on the re-training of three amazing species that will join our existing bird team; these being a beautiful male Peregrine Falcon, a team of Harris Hawks & an impressive male Golden Eagle that has a six foot wingspan & a body weight of approximately eight pounds. By bringing these three magnificent birds of prey forward into training, this will add so much to the team of birds we already work with & fly. The photographers who book into our Photography Days will be blown away with what will be presented to them during the seasons of 2014.
With the many other Owl & Bird of Prey species that are supported at the Barn Owl Centre's Sanctuary, we are now putting a number of Harris Hawks through some impressive training. For visitors who plan to book into our Hawk & Owl Experiences in the near future, all will be given an amazing opportunity to fly a cast or team of Harris Hawks, this replicates the Harris Hawks natural behavior as a pack species.
Most important, we must not forget about the Owls, these are very dear to our hearts & at the Centre, many species are flown with our visitors during the pre-booked Owl Flying Experiences that we offer. Out of all the Owl species, it's the beautiful Barn Owl that is our key species, since 1997 our charity as always offered full support in their conservation. To date, over 3,800 nest boxes have left our workshop to be distributed to all parts of the UK to support them in the wild, to add to this growing number, more nest boxes go out every week to new project sites. For the Barn Owl Centre, this is very positive & so supportive to create new & added breeding sites for wild Barn Owls.
At present we are only open by booking only, this is where visitors can simply book in to join us on the experiences we offer. For the close encounter with these amazing birds, booking is always the best way to handle & see our birds at close quarters.
In support of the growing number of photographers out there, our Photography Days are a must, they are very special & well talked about by many throughout the UK. To support this growing interest, we offer dedicated five hour Photography Days that provide all photographers at all levels, the opportunity without any interruption. We have created a peaceful environment where a variety of Owls & Birds of Prey can be photographed in what can easily be described as a natural & wild location. In addition to the Buzzard, Eagle Owl, Barn Owl, Tawny Owl, Little Owl & other species, we can now include the Peregrine Falcon & the majestic Golden Eagle, the images taken away by photographers speak volumes!
Which of the following would you like to experience?
Additional News below to support 2014
Here we have a few more news stories we would like to share with you.
At the beginning of March 2014 we were granted a Zoo License
Yes, the Barn Owl Centre needs a Zoo License. For those who don't know what a Zoo License is, this is a license that is a legal requirement for us to open our doors to the paying public, without a Zoo License we can only open to the public by booking only. With this important license now in place, we are now working behind the scenes to put together a workable program that will allow us to open publically.
It is important that we do not rush into the opening of our doors just yet because we will need to plan this out very carefully. To make this happen, we will need to work out a suitable time-frame that works with everyone, we need to take into account the birds, our staff, our volunteers & the many visitors who continue to book on our experiences. More news on when we plan to open publically will be announced in due course. Exciting times ahead!
We are very close to buying Netheridge Farm from Gloucester City Council
To support future of the Barn Owl Centre, we are in the process of negotiating the purchase of Netheridge Farm from Gloucester City Council. Please bear with us for an update on what is going to be a very important news story.
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