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November 2007

We are now officially into our ‘winter’ season with the park being closed during the week, until 16th February 2008. However, as many of you will already know, for the first time we will be open at weekends throughout the winter, running all the normal range of activities.

This month in Behind the Scenes, Duffy’s Coffee Shop manageress Jemma Benton gives us a few details of some of the tasty treats (including Sunday roasts) that you can expect to enjoy when you are spending a day with us over the winter period.

Our team of intrepid travellers (Andy, Kym and Cedric, along with three volunteers) have recently returned from the annual pilgrimage to South Africa where they have been helping with the White-backed vulture monitoring project. You will be able to read about their adventures in future issues.

Last month I mentioned that Faisal Farid from Pakistan was spending some time with us. Well he became so involved with all sorts of things that his stay ended up being extended and he only left us to return home late in October. Faisal is primary supervisor on the Gyps Restoration Project, working to save the Oriental White-backed vulture from becoming extinct in his country. In the aviary where the birds that have so far been saved are housed, big woven baskets have been installed as roost/nest sites and have proved extremely popular.

So while he was with us, Faisal wove a large number of similar baskets out of willow, and before he left he was responsible, along with Campbell Murn our Scientific Officer, for installing them into several of our aviaries. So far you can see five of them in our big vulture enclosure at the bottom of the grounds (where we hold the vulture restaurant), and one each in the Buzzards’ and the Red-backed hawks’ aviaries.

We have had two Halloween Owls By Moonlight evenings this year. Duffy’s was turned into a haunted restaurant and the grounds were beautifully decorated with lit pumpkins etc. There were two flying displays during the evenings, with birds flying in both the woodland and the lower flying arena. A team of scarers turned out to complete the picture, and you can read more about these ghostly events in a special article this month written by Julianne Arthur.

Lou Richie, Editor

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