MUSINGS FROM THE BOWER 47

 

Surprisingly, as we are now into October, there have still been days warm enough to sit in the bower. There have even been butterflies, dragonflies, newts and frogs around, to say nothing of a small wood mouse who has discovered that by climbing up a conifer it can leap onto the bird table.

Wood Mouse visitor to bird table

 We visited the Raptor Centre in St Ives, Cambridgeshire, for an experience day. It was quite a family affair – my daughter had treated my husband and I to the event (as a wedding anniversary present) and as there were two of us doing the experience, we were given two free tickets, so not only daughter came along, but son did too.  He made a swish arrival in his ‘Back To The Future’ De Lorean, which always seems to intrigue people. It’s a nice-looking car, even if you do have to sit low on the ground in a semi-reclining position!

 

With a Scops Owl ready to be weighed

With a Burrowing Owl

Practically all of the birds at the centre are foundlings, unwanted pets or have been rescued from unsuitable homes. We were each handed a leather gauntlet, because most of the birds have extremely sharp talons. First we took a pair of Scops owls for weighing. These are small owls that, in the wild, feed mainly on insects and caterpillars. They also take small mammals and frogs. It is important to regularly weigh the birds to check that they haven’t lost – or gained – too much weight, so that they are in optimum condition. We moved on to the Burrowing owls; these small owls seem to have extra-long legs. They are often active during the day, unlike many other owl species. I was handed one of these, while my husband was given a Little owl. We were told that owls weren’t wise like legend would have us believe; in fact the brain of the Little owl is around the size of a peanut. However, its Latin name, Athene, is the name of the Greek god of wisdom  (Athena/Athene) – and this owl does do one very clever thing. When Little owls catch mice, they only eat a tiny part, leaving the rest hidden in a tree near their roost. As the mouse decays, it attracts flies and maggots – a built-in food source for the owl, who prefers insects. So instead of regularly having to hunt, it only needs to hunt every week or so. It is either clever, or lazy! These two were weighed as well.

 

A beautiful Harris Hawk

Next we went to a large aviary which contained two huge Turkmenian eagle owls. My husband was given one of them to hold, but apparently both are rather naughty, one was prone to baiting (deliberately falling off the glove and fluttering upside down), the other tended to grip the glove very firmly. He carried the baiting owl (yes, it did bait!) to the weighing shed. Then we each held a Harris Hawk while the keeper explained about their habits. Most hawks are loners but these had learnt to hunt in flocks so that they could attack larger prey if they needed to. They could down a small deer or a fox, or similar-sized creature. The females of the raptors are invariably much larger than the males.

I so loved this young Tawny Owl!

We were told that we could have our photo taken with (practically) any of the birds at the Centre. My husband went for the biggest, most spectacular he could see (he would!) – it was a Bateleur snake eagle. I wanted to have something British, so settled on a young Tawny owl. I have always been fond of Tawnys, they seemed to feature in so many of my childhood books. Soon I was holding one, and, I might add, was most reluctant to hand it back! Now it was time to meet something larger, so we were given Lanner-Saker  (hybrid) falcons to hold. These were very large and beautiful birds with exquisite markings. A short break followed, which we spent photographing some of the dozens of hawks and owls that were on display. Then it was time to do some flying. Well, not us personally, but the birds. First we flew the Harris Hawks – there were five being flown at once, so it was very exciting. The birds seem to rush at you, yet land so perfectly onto the glove. They were gentle hawks, despite their huge beaks and talons. We watched many other birds being flown, including kestrels, which demonstrated their renowned hovering technique.

Hovering Kestrel

Flying a barn owl

By now the wind had increased a bit, but the barn owls were brought out, and we flew them between us, going from one to another as we enticed them with a chick’s foot (!). Even when an owl flew right overhead there wasn’t a sound from its wings. Most amazing of all was standing there just watching that beautiful, white heart-shaped face looming towards you – what a magnificent sight, although I doubt that a mouse would think it so wonderful!

I really enjoyed that visit to the Raptor Centre, and, just like many others, have always been very fond of owls. Itis a shame that we don’t get owls around the bower – very, very occasionally I have heard a Tawny owl in the distance. If only one would roost in the nearby oak tree, then that would be really special!

Some of our apple crop

 

 



It might look weird, but it works brilliantly!

Changing the subject completely, the apple crop has been amazing this year. We have one apple tree, which is at least 50 years old. It used to be at my parent's house, but after they had it for ten years or so, the decided they needed the patch of ground. So we carefully dug it up and transported it to our garden. It has thrived, but this has been the best year ever for the crop. I don't know the variety, it is an eating apple with a soft sweet flesh. As we have nowhere to store a quantity of apples, we decided to peel them, stew them and freeze them. We used our Heath Robinson-like apple-peeler, which works excellently, and soon had piles of apple rings ready to freeze. We can look forward to lots of apple pies and crumbles this winter!

Eagle Owl