A Volunteer's Tale

It came as a bit of a shock to realise I have now been a volunteer for fifteen years give or take. After re-doing the maths and coming up with the same answer it was a case of “where has the time gone?”, and “do you remember…”, and “where did it all start?”

Well where did it all start? Probably way back in childhood with a fascination for owls. A combination of Reg Smith weaving his magic on a sunny afternoon and a two-day course with Reg and Jim Chick one freezing cold January and I was hooked. Anyone who had the privilege to hear Reg speak with such passion about the birds and conservation will understand immediately.

Of course some things have changed; I was a size 10 with no grey hairs for a start. But many things have stayed the same. Water bowls still need cleaning, so do aviaries, paths need sweeping and there’s always weeding to be done.

The wildlife pond by the chickens’ enclosure certainly wasn’t so wild fifteen years ago. It may be hard to imagine but the bottom of that pond is actually pure white and there weren’t any plants growing in it in those days. Only ducks swimming in it and a few nest boxes on poles dotted about. Once a fortnight the plug was pulled and the pond emptied. Not a popular move with the ducks. Then Phil Gifford and I climbed in armed with stiff brooms to finish emptying it and to scrub off the algae. The pond was finally bleached with something that rotted wellies and left white marks on jeans before it was refilled and the ducks allowed back.

I had a definite feeling of déjà vu recently when asked to clean the pond in the new vulture aviary. It was quite a miniature déjà vu though, as the plug turned out to be a bath plug and the pond was a bit on the small side. Certainly not pond cleaning on the old grand scale!

Where has all the time gone! Search me, inside I’m still a dark haired size 10, it’s just the packaging that’s changed a bit. The park still holds its fascination and provides peace and fresh air as an antidote to my indoor and often stressful day job. Long may it continue.

‘Do you remember…’ could be an endless list, so just a few of my favourite memories:

George in his early days

George the Andean Condor when he was a baby and was hand fed and petted; then watching him learn to fly.

Groucho the Black Vulture who liked to land on people’s heads and bend over to look in their eyes!

Mr. Green the Falkland Island Caracara. I’m convinced he could count to three and knew he would be carried back to his aviary for a feed upon climbing into the bin for the third time.

Big Gary (Swanson) with his short back and sides when he appeared as a film extra.

Oliver the Tawny Owl who was always such a sweetheart.

I could go on but I’ll stop there.

The 2002 Award - Chris is next to Ashley, in dark blue

Over the years the jobs have been many and varied – quite often wet, dirty and smelly too. However, I know our help is appreciated. As Ashley said in 2002 when The Hawk Conservancy won the Southern Tourist Board’s Visitor Attraction of the Year and came second in all of England: “Our winning is down to the commitment, professionalism and dedication of all the staff and volunteers at the Conservancy”. He did add ‘Of course, anyone of you buggers could have messed it up!’

So now the Conservancy is a Trust and its horizons have expanded. More research will be done and it is gaining an international reputation. An exciting time is ahead. And I hope to be volunteering for many more years to come.

Chris Hall