There are many occasions during the year when I am heard to say, “It’s the perks of being married to the boss”! I have to say that usually it’s when I’m doing some of the more unpleasant jobs around the park that no-one else wants to do; cleaning toilets, unblocking drains, clearing Barn Owl nest boxes etc.

There are times when working for the Trust does seem to take over your life; working late into the evening, dawn starts, looking for escaped birds, last minute calls asking you to come in on your days off to cover sickness/staff shortages, phone calls about work when you are on holiday and people knocking on your front door at all times of day and night with injured birds.  

Ducks' bathtime

Despite this I would not want to be anywhere else, we have a great team of people at the Trust who all work well together, and are committed to the future of the Trust and its work.  It is a real privilege to also work with such beautiful birds, from watching them hatch from eggs, progress through training and become stars of the display.  I also think it’s a perk that every week I get to tell hundreds of people what a great place this is, and convert many more to being part of our Trust family.

Are there really some perks though?  I have to say yes.

Receiving a tourism award

From the work side it is very varied and never boring, and you get to meet so many people from different backgrounds.  It’s great to be involved in setting up events such as Fly By Night (although I could have done without the toilets breaking down when the first invited guest used them!), assisting with planning future projects, and being Ashley’s right hand woman when there is any filming to be done at the Trust.  Sadly the elusive film job providing a falcon for George Clooney has yet to be received, but I am here ready and waiting.

Having been nominated for and won several Tourism awards, we have attended many presentations at some of the most glamorous locations in the South of England.  Although thankfully not too many as the sumptuous food does not do much for your waistline.  There is also the chance to travel to collect birds from overseas, but I have to say that although Ashley and many of the staff have been all over the world, the furthest I have been is to Bournemouth Airport to pick up a Mauritius Kestrel!!

... or a hooded falcon sitting on a block in the middle of the kitchen floor

You would be amazed at the variety of life that has also found its way back to our house:- Fuzz the park’s old German Pointer who spent his retirement with us and basically ate everything in the house – everything from phones and bags, to wall heaters; baby Runner Ducks that swam in the bath, and learnt to run to a bowl of lettuce across my kitchen floor; there has also been a large array of young birds in training and you get used to Ashley sitting on the sofa with a bird on his fist or a hooded falcon sitting on a block in the middle of the kitchen floor. One word of advice - always make sure you have plenty of strategically placed newspaper handy!

Lunch with the giraffes

However the one big perk is that when you visit other collections (we are very sad and often do this on our days off and holidays), you are treated like royalty. Other directors and owners want to show you the best of their collections and you are often allowed behind the scenes where access is not normally allowed.

I have had the privilege to stoke an aardvark (a bit like a hairy pig with a long nose), feed giraffes at head height and penguins by the pool, pat a rhino (very scary, they are huge and very powerful when they charge at the fence just a couple of inches in front of you), play with some six week old ocelot kittens, and I’ve been driven around Jurong Bird park in Singapore with a VIP sticker giving us access to all areas.

Getting close to an otter.jpg

My biggest thrill was being able to go in with and feed a sloth, they have been my favourite animal since childhood, and when it reached out and took the food from my hands, and looked at me with those big sad eyes I just melted. I am still trying to convince Ashley that one of them would look good hanging from the top of the condor aviary to give it a real South American theme.

So there are a few perks to the jobs, and hopefully many more adventures to come in the future.  I just have to remember that next time I have my arm up a blocked drain!!

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