Young Black Kites

We have treated, in addition to the young Tawny Owls which have been with us since the spring, a further 18 birds in from the wild and 5 park birds. Three of the young birds were Black Kites that we received from The Cotswold Falconry Centre. They are growing well and will be trained to take part in our future displays.

Molly, the Great Grey Owl, had a short stay with us following a tick near the right eye. She was treated, after its removal, with antibiotics and an anti-inflammatory injection. Molly has now returned to her aviary.

We also treated Italian Joe, the White Headed Vulture. It was noticed that he was having some difficulty getting off of the ground. He is recovering well and is now outside the hospital in one of our recovery aviaries, but still on medication.

Barn Owl having his daily physio

We have been treating a Barn Owl which has a very serious spinal injury. He fell out of his nest box in a strong wind and the box fell out of the tree onto the bird. We have been giving him medication and physiotherapy to his legs. He is showing signs of recovery and has been moved into one of our large bays.

We have seen 4 Kestrels during this last month. Mostly from the local area but one came from Box in Wiltshire. Two of the birds were, unfortunately, nesting in a tree that was being cut down in a wood. As a result we received two chicks and one a little older. The chicks were hacked out in our meadow at the top of the park where they can be supported until they have set up their own territories. One bird died in our care and one has been released back into the wild.

Some of the Tawny Owl babies we received in the spring have now been released and are being monitored as part of the project launched a couple of years ago. The remaining 8 babies will be released as soon as they are strong enough. We have also seen one adult Tawny Owl with a broken wing which could not be treated, and the bird had to be euthanased. One Tawny Owl that came in to us about a month ago has successfully been released.

Tawny Owl about to be released back into the wild

We are currently treating, or have seen, five Buzzards. Three are in long term care getting their flying prowess up to scratch. Three of the others care from around Hampshire with various injuries. The fourth one came to us from Plymouth in Devon but had to be euthanased by our vet as it was not possible to operate on the bird to sort out its leg problem.

A Little Owl was found in the road outside the Park gate. We thought that it had concussion and had probably been hit by a car. It also had a damaged right wing. It was seen by our vet who decided that it would have to be euthanased.

Finally, we saw two Sparrow Hawks; both from the local area, and both with fractured wings. One had to be euthanased and the other is recovering very slowly.

During this month we received our 100th bird brought in from the wild this year.