This is my first article for the Accipiter so I think the best way to start is by introducing myself and my role here at the Trust.

An early photo (Ash on donkey) showing his first working days

My name is Ash, I am 40 years of age, and I have been working here full time for the past 25 years. The first 23 years were working for the family business and the last two as Chief Executive of the Hawk Conservancy Trust.

I am accountable to a board of Trustees, who are responsible for Trust policies and the monitoring of all aspects of the work carried out by the organisation. All our trustees work very hard to ensure the success of the Trust, now and into the future.

My role as Chief Executive is incredibly diverse and quite difficult to quantify, nevertheless I will do my best. I am reminded at this point of my children, as they often ask “what did you do today” so I will try and explain.

I have an overall responsibility for the day to day management of the Trust which includes finance, made all the more easier by the assistance of Anya the Financial Manager, and our role is to keep the ship afloat.

This includes retail in our shop, catering, visitor attendances and all other activities, membership, Activity Days, film work, birthday parties and Photographic Days.

Marketing:

One of the more difficult, yet interesting aspects of our work. I work closely with my wife Tracey, deciding where to spend the budget to maximise visitor numbers during the year. This includes leaflet distribution, newspaper advertising, radio and T.V

All of the above enable us to carry out the most important part of our work, caring for the birds, which is split into different categories.

Rehabilitation:

Working in the hospital helping to care for the injured birds that are brought to the Trust, and returning as many as possible back to the wild.

Research:

This involves the setting up/funding and assisting with post release studies of young tawny owls that have been brought in as babies, then fostered by Trust owls and subsequently returned to the wild.

The Trust is helping with the monitoring of one of the largest colonies African White Backed Vultures in South Africa, under the supervision of Dr. Mark Anderson who is the chief ornithologist for the state of Kimberly.

Conservation:

Ash with white backed vultures

Our main focus at the moment is our work with the Oriental White Backed Vultures, managing the captive European stock and assisting the WWF (World Wildlife Fund) in Pakistan to help save the species from extinction. This involves help with captive management techniques, breeding and aviary design and also fund-raising. This project is based in Pakistan, and co-ordinated for the Trust by Campbell Murn.

The Birds:

I work closely with our curator Andy Hinton to ensure the best possible care is given to the birds. This includes collections here at the Trust, planning aviary design, health and welfare, as well as ground maintenance, nutrition, legislation, incorporating health and safety, zoo licensing and working with DEFRA.

Flying Displays:

Ash with gyr falcon 'Hades'

This involves helping to maintain a high quality educational demonstration for the public, keeping a balance between being informative of current conservation issues, talking about the work of the Trust, and making the day as enjoyable as possible for the whole family.

I believe that the Trust must appeal to all ages to be successful into the future.

My other roles include evening talks, Owls by Torchlight evenings and radio and TV interviews. The latter I am not so keen on, but radio I love.

There are times when the Chief Executive is drummed in for assistance in other areas. On occasions I become the Loo attendant, car park supervisor, Agony Aunt, tractor driver, drain cleaner, the voice at the end of the phone answering enquiries and not forgetting hoovering the office (when it’s my turn!)

The question is do I enjoy it?

To summarise, no two days are the same and my favourite part is working with the birds and a great team of people, and also being involved with the general public.

So when my kids ask “what did you do today?”, where do I start?