Many hands to help with big jobs this week

This week we’ve been very grateful to two corporate groups of volunteers, who have assisted our teams with a couple of big jobs!

The team from SUEZ, Great Blakenham were tasked with moving our new fencing panels from our compound where they have been stored, into the Woodland Walk, where work is currently ongoing. Steve, Dave, Chris and John spent the day moving the timber, which was a huge help as it meant that our maintenance team could crack on with installing the new fencing.

Moving timber can be hard work, but these guys made it look easy!

The team of 14 from Dervico Sports software department then came in to clear our old composting area. Due to the huge task ahead of them, we agreed to take a larger than normal group, and between them the area was transformed in just one day!

A mountain of a task to clear this area

Job done!

During the clearing, one of the team uncovered a sleepy Hedgehog curled up in a pile of leaves. Thanks to our training from Suffolk Prickles Hedgehog Rescue, we were able to safely move the Hedgehog temporarily while the work was carried out. Named Stig, the male was accommodated in one of our indoor Hedgehog pens for the day, and during this time we know that he had a good wander around before finding a cosy spot in the box to continue snoozing.

At the end of the day, we took Stig, and his box back to the area for release, as there were no health concerns. He was provided with some biscuits for a snack and we hope that he will continue to provide us with a free pest control service by munching on the abundant slugs and snails that live in that area. Even though most of the vegetation has been removed, the team left some around the edges to give Stig some cover, and now that we know he’s there, we will keep an eye open for him before starting any further work in this area.

No vacancies in the Hedgehog Hotel

Just like our Raptor Hospital, Suffolk Prickles Hedgehog Rescue have had an incredibly busy season so far, taking in many sick, injured and orphaned Hedgehogs.

Our Hedgehog Hotel was established and funded by Suffolk Owl Sanctuary in order to support Prickles with their regular overspill of recuperating injured hedgehogs. Suffolk Prickles Hedgehog Rescue relies entirely on donations from members of the public and have no other means of funding their work, so where we can assist by taking care of those Hogs that are almost ready for release, we do.

Over the past few weeks, we have only had one guest in our Hotel. Puddles, who has an old leg injury cause by being caught up in netting, has been receiving daily hydrotherapy sessions to improve her fitness and encourage use of all four of her legs again.

Last week, Keeper Jennie received a call from Paula, asking if we had space to take in a few extra guests. Jennie returned with a car full of hedgehogs! Here is a little bit about them all.

Brian

Brian is a single male who was found with a serious head injury, we suspect from being hit by a car. He has spent some time with Paula to make sure that he had made a good recovery. Although he has been doing really well, he still walks with a bit of a lopsided action, making him look a little like he’s headbanging to a famous rock band! Since moving into the Hotel, he’s been exploring his outdoor pen and we hope that he will be ready for release soon.

Alvin, Theodore and Simon

These three Hoglets were found wandering in the daytime, with no sign of mum. We suspect that something must have happened to mum, as they were too young to have been left. Paula cared for these three but it’s now time for these Hoglets to gain some life skills before release. They’ve been placed into one of our pens with plenty of enrichment for them to explore, including a leaf and log pile and tunnels. These will help them gain confidence and learn how to be a Hedgehog by foraging in the vegetation for insects.

Giovanna and her Hoglets Carlos, Nikita and Katya

Giovanna is a blind hedgehog who was brought into Paula while pregnant. Her Hoglets were born at Prickles and have done really well in the indoor pens. With mum being blind, she won’t be released back into the wild proper, but will be given a safe home in a secure garden, where she can spend her evenings foraging without any of the threats that she might face through her disability. Her offspring will be released to a monitored site where they will be supported so that they can slowly gain confidence in their natural abilities to forage and nest.

When they were first arrived and were placed into their pen, one of the youngsters went straight outside for an adventure. After a short while, we were concerned that they couldn’t find their way back inside, so we assisted, and placed mum in the entrance tunnel to the box. Overnight the babies were definitely outside as we found plenty of small poops, but we think Giovanna will take a bit of time to get used to her new surroundings. Hedgehog’s mostly rely on their sense of smell and hearing, so we hope that she will adapt to life with us over time.

All these extra mouths require quite a bit of feeding, so if you would like to contribute, we welcome any donations of meat based loaf dog food or meat based puppy food in jelly, which can be dropped off to our shop between 9-5, 7 days a week. Alternatively, we also have items for the Hedgehogs on our Amazon Wishlist, which you can find here. Any surplus to our requirements we will make available for Prickles to use in their Hospital.

New Red Kite Longevity Record!

A few months ago, news broke of a Red Kite rescued in Oxfordshire which was one of the original reintroduction birds brought over from Spain and released into the UK. This bird was found on a path with injuries after being attacked by other birds and taken in by a local rescue, but unfortunately didn’t recover from his injuries. From the ring on his leg, the rescue discovered that he was ringed as a chick in 1994 before being released into the Thames Valley.

Last week, we received news of another elderly Red Kite being found, although a bit further away. Bev Forbes found the remains of a Red Kite on a road near her home in Dingwall, Scottish Highlands. The bird had been run over by several vehicles before Bev found it, and only the tail was identifiable. Bev saw that the bird had a ring on its leg, so reported it to the Natural History Museum, who coordinate ringing recoveries on behalf of the British Trust for Ornithology.

The Red Kite was found at the side of the road with a ring on it’s leg.

The report she received back told her that this bird was ringed as a nestling in 1993, by Roy Dennis in the Black Isle of the Scottish Highlands. Roy Dennis has been involved with many successful raptor reintroductions over the years, include White Tailed Eagles to West Scotland in the 90s, and more recently to the Isle of White, and establishing the first breeding Ospreys in England for

This bird was 30 years old when it died, which makes it the oldest wild Red Kite in the UK!

Susan, our Education Officer says “This is an amazing ringing recovery, highlighting how little we know about these amazing birds and the importance of the ringing scheme!” We will make contact with the Roy Dennis Foundation to try and determine whether this Scottish bird was part of the release programme in Scotland, or whether it was one of the first Scottish “born” Red Kites since their reintroduction.

Babies ringed ready for release

With patients coming and going in our Raptor Hospital, we are continuing to ring as many as we can before they are released, in order to monitor the effectiveness of their rehabilitation with us.

We invited Dr Hugh Hanmer from the BTO to come and supervise our team while they train to ring Raptors themselves. Our Education Officer, Susan, has been a bird ringer for years, but isn’t yet licenced to ring Raptors, whereas Jess only started her training in the last year or so but has the advantage of years of handling these feisty birds.

Barn Kestrels

Jess and Susan with the two young Kestrels

These two Kestrels came in at only a few days old, after a farmer disturbed their nest in the hay barn. We were concerned that they might imprint on us, as they required 24/7 care for the first week or so. Thankfully, as soon as they were able to feed themselves, we moved them into one of our smaller Hospital aviaries and adopted a hands off approach, and we’re pleased to report that they have since become rather wild! These two appear to be a male and female, as the smaller individual already has some blue-grey feathers coming through on his rump.

Extra Kestrel

A very fluffy and grumpy Kestrel, now ringed.

This Kestrel arrived in the morning, and once it had had a good feed, was deemed to be well enough to ring and be put in the aviary with the other Kestrels. Although a bit younger than the other two, it has a wilder temperament which should help our two learn how to behave, and stand this one in good stead once released.

Little Owls

This Little Owl was very well behaved receiving a ring.

We have had several young Little Owls this year, all found in a starving condition (likely caused by the extremely dry weather we’re experiencing). Hugh and Susan ringed 3 Little Owls on a previous visit, so the remaining Owlets were ringed on this occasion and they’ve all been put into an aviary to build confidence and fitness before moving to a hack pen.

Tawny Owl

This adult Tawny Owl was hit by a car and had concussion. It is now ready to release so was ringed before being returned to the area near where it was found. We were able to age it as a second year bird (hatched last year) but noted that there was a distinct lack of markings on the tail.

First nest box babies ringed as project relaunches

Over the weekend, some of our team visited nest boxes as part of our long-term monitoring project, run previously under the Thornham Owl Project.

Jess, who runs our Raptor Hospital, and Susan, our Education Officer, were joined by Dr Hugh Hanmer from the BTO, who holds the necessary licences to enable us to monitor these boxes.

Remote camera image showing the pair of Barn Owls at the box, and a brave rabbit in the grass!

The team opted to revisit boxes in the Waveney Valley, which had been initially checked earlier in the year to assess any maintenance requirements. The first Barn Owl box is located on a private nature reserve, and we met one of the land-managers who gave us access to the field. We set up the ladder against the tree, but just before the net could be placed over the hole to catch any adults, a Barn Owl flew out! Hugh climbed the ladder and discovered 4 eggs inside the box. We quickly retreated to give mum a chance to return to her eggs. According to those who are keeping an eye on the nest using remote cameras, she is ringed and is regularly seen with her mate flying across the fields. We will return to this box in a few weeks time to ring any chicks that hatch.

Four Barn Owl eggs in a well lined box.

The next box to check was a Kestrel box. Upon our arrival, we noticed some fresh looking poo stains on the edge of the box and on the vegetation below. Given the recent rain, this led us to believe that the box was occupied. Once again, Hugh climbed the ladder and at the top proclaimed “Hello, you!” Inside the nest were three young Kestrels, which he quickly bagged up to bring down for ringing. Whilst Jess has ringed a number of Kestrels in the Hospital, these were the first proper in-the-wild ones that she had handled, and only the second brood that Susan had ringed. The young were ringed quickly and efficiently by the team, and we noted that they all had very round tummies - clearly there is plenty of food in this area. While Hugh returned the chicks to the box, Jess spotted a female Kestrel flying over the field, so once again, we quickly retreated.

The next few Barn Owl boxes didn’t have any birds present, although had clearly been used by Jackdaws as they were filled with sticks and twigs.

The last box in this area to check was a Barn Owl box on a field edge. As Hugh climbed the ladder, he heard hissing coming from the box, which resulted in two very excited members of staff on the ground below!

Inside the box were two young Barn Owls. These were ringed and we were able to determine that the larger one was a female, as she already had some spotty feathers growing on her flank. The smaller one we suspect was a male, but couldn’t be sure as it was a bit younger than the other one so the feathers weren’t as developed. After a quick

After a successful morning, the team stopped for some lunch and admired the variety of insect pollinators visiting the wild flowers in the field. They then decided to check an accessible Barn Owl box at Thornham before visiting some boxes local to Stonham.

The Thornham box was active due to the increased level of pellets deposited in it, but there were no signs of any nesting. It is likely that any birds may be using a natural cavity and that this could be used as a roost by the male when he’s not hunting. We will return and check this box later in the summer as Barn Owls can lay a second clutch in a nearby box.

Jess and Hugh positioning the ladder

The team then visited a local farm which has four accessible boxes. Unfortunately two of these required maintenance and were unused, although one was full of fresh leaves, suggesting a squirrel may be thinking of using it. The Little Owl box also contained a squirrel drey, which was evicted, although the box will be relocated over the winter to a more suitable location.

The final box on this farm is located in a large oak tree which is part of the field margin. In previous years, we have used this area as a hack release site, as the field has been sown with cover crop and full of voles! This year, the crop is wheat, and there is less cover for rodents. We were not hopeful, but when Hugh climbed the ladder, he heard movement from within the box. We use a block of wood to cover the hole and prevent any birds from escaping, to ensure that we are able to assess the population accurately by monitoring adults as well as juveniles. While Hugh was trying to safely secure the female from within the box, while up a ladder, she knocked the blocker and escaped! Hugh was able to see that she was unringed though, so not one of the birds we’ve released. With mum out of the way, Hugh found a very small Barn Owlet in the box, which we’ll return to ring in a week or two’s time.

A single Barn Owl chick, too small to ring on this visit.

The last box to check for the day was installed just a few months ago and built by students from Suffolk Rural College. When Hugh put the ladder against the tree, a Stock Dove flew out, and inside the box were two eggs. Whilst Stock Doves are not a species we ordinarily get involved with, if Hugh is down in a couple of weeks time, then we may go and ring these chicks, as it’s all good practice and Stock Doves are an under-recorded species. While we were tidying our things away, we were alerted by a Kestrel to a Buzzard flying over the field , while mummy Stock Dove sat tight in a large Willow about 200m away waiting for us to leave.

It would appear that the Barn Owls in our area seem to be a bit all over the place this breeding season, with some large chicks and some still on eggs. This could be indicative of an early failure and relaying, but we will wait until the end of the season to draw any conclusions. In the meantime, the team will continue to monitor any boxes we have access to over the coming months to build a picture of how Barn Owls, and other Raptor species are doing locally.

Once again, we are grateful to Hugh for giving his time to enable us to relaunch this project, and to all the land owners who give us access to check these boxes. If you have a nest box under the Thornham Owl Project and would like us to monitor it, please get in touch.

Introducing Nancy...

Nancy the White Backed Vulture is the newest member of the flying team here at Suffolk Owl Sanctuary, and has settled in really well so far. She’s getting the hang of some of the training we’ve been doing with her, including encouraging her to enter a travel box, or wait on a station. 

It’s during this training that we’ve really got to know her, and as we felt she was quite sophisticated in nature - gently taking food from us and generally being quite lady-like - we thought the name Nancy suited her well. 

We’re learning lots of other things about her too, and lately Nancy has been showing us that she’s not much of an early bird! She definitely prefers to engage with training in the afternoons, which isn’t unlike her wild counterparts; vultures often don’t get out and about looking for food until a few hours after the sun has risen in order to make use of the thermals to soar with minimal effort. 

Vultures are a rather misunderstood bird, and people often think they’re dirty because they eat dead things, or ugly because they have bald heads. Vultures are in fact the most important species we house here at Suffolk Owl Sanctuary. In the wild they play a vital role in their ecosystem; They often eat the carcasses of animals that have died from disease such as rabies, cholera, anthrax and botulism, but vultures are able to digest these due to their strong stomach acids, completely removing them from the environment! Without vultures these diseases would instead be spread by wild or feral dogs. Sadly, vulture numbers are in great decline for many reasons, and because they’re not ‘pretty’ they often get overlooked. 

Head Falconers Jess said “We’re very happy with how Nancy has settled into life at SOS, and that she has taken a liking to Dolly. Dolly has made great progress in developing her skills as a bird trainer and handler since starting with us a couple of years ago, and we are all excited to see what she and Nancy can achieve together.”

Nancy will become part of our flying team, and will eventually fly alongside our other vultures in displays, in order to show the variety and differences between species. But most importantly, we hope she will capture the hearts of our guests and act as an ambassador for her species, highlighting their importance and changing negative perceptions of these amazing birds. 

Hedgehog Hydrotherapy

We have two Hedgehogs currently staying in our Hedgehog Hotel who are having special hydrotherapy sessions to help with their rehabilitation.

Puddles was taken to Suffolk Prickles Hedgehog Rescue after being found with an injured front leg. Following veterinary investigation which found no obvious breaks, we suspect that she got tangled up in pea netting and in her struggle to escape, caused soft tissue damage, meaning that she walks on her elbow rather than her foot.

Sonic was found at the side of a road, dragging his hind end after a serious back injury. Whilst he has made a good recovery so far, one back leg seems to be paralysed.

Not having four fully-functioning legs compromises the Hedgehogs survival chances as they’ll find it difficult to forage, so both Puddles and Sonic have joined us for a stay, which includes access to a pool!

Both the Hogs are getting a short hydrotherapy session every day to encourage them to move their injured legs, which will hopefully help to strengthen them over time and enable the Hedgehogs to walk properly again. Whilst staying in our Hedgehog Hotel, they also has access to an outdoor run, which they explore every evening as their mobility improves.

Although Hedgehogs can swim, it is important that any water in your garden has a ramp or shallow beach area so that they can climb out easily. All hydrotherapy sessions are supervised by our staff who recognise when the Hedgehogs are getting tired to lift them out.

Red Kite Rescue

Over the years, we have stepped in to assist other rescues with the care and rehabilitation of wild birds of prey. We recently received a call from concerned member of the public regarding a Red Kite with a broken wing.

X-ray showing the broken wing

This Red Kite was ringed and wing tagged, and was part of a study population near the Chilterns. It had been held by another rescue for a period of time after seeking advice from their own veterinarian. The broken tibia (wing) healed itself, but was misaligned. When we received the bird, we immediately called Dr Elliott Simpson-Brown for advice, as to whether the break was fixable and what the long-term implications were for the bird.

Elliot and Jess checking the wing.

Elliott was able to pay us a visit and watched the Kite flying in the largest of our Hospital aviaries. It seemed able to get around, but we needed a better assessment. Thankfully the Sanctuary was quiet for the day, so the team attached temporary falconry equipment to the bird and were able to release it on our Flying Ground with a creance (long thin line) to allow the bird to demonstrate it’s flying ability.

Red Kites are aerial acrobats as they frequently steal food from other birds in mid-air and it’s important that the bird has full mobility before released. Elliott was pleased to see the bird seemed able to fly, but was a little concerned about lack of fitness. After a thorough examination at SOS with our own vet, it was decided that surgery was not the best option as the bird was able to maintain vertical flight well, and access high perches. The bone had already callused which also added complications.

Fortunately, we have good relationships with other rescues, and reached out to another rescue who have a large flight aviary which is useful for larger birds such as Kites to build up fitness after a period of rehabilitation.

The Red Kite is able to get around in the aviary

This Red Kite will be transferred to a large flight aviary to assess and build fitness before its imminent release.

No Mow May might be over, but...

No Mow May is a fantastic initiative to encourage everyone to leave a little patch of wild in your garden or community space. It has grown massively over the years as more and more people realise the biodiversity crisis we face. Allowing grass to grow long and for wildflowers to flower and set seed not only looks far more attractive than a mono-culture short cut lawn but is also a HUGE benefit to wildlife! Insects attracted to the bright flowers and heady scents help to pollinate future generations of flowers, as well as any fruit or vegetable crops that are around. These in turn attract predators such as small birds like Sparrows, Robins and Blackbirds, who all have plenty of hungry mouths to feed in their nests at this time of year. In turn, these may be on the menu for a Sparrowhawk, and thus, supporting local raptor populations.

Thick-legged Flower Beetles are important pollinators for wildflowers, such as this Yellow Rattle.

Many people participate in No Mow May, but then on the 1st of June the strimmers and mowers come out and everything is returned to green. This can be devestating for wildlife as different species will breed at different times, so you may inadvertently remove an important food source for insects, or cut the flower heads before they seed, remove that particular species from the area. Let It Bloom June is now growing in popularity, as more people leave their wild areas for even longer, much to the advantage of wildlife.

An urban garden showing mown paths with wilder areas

By all means, you can keep pathways and some areas “tidy” but consider leaving some untidy areas for wildlife. And if you must strim or cut back, please check the area thoroughly first for wildlife such as hedgehogs or young birds.

Through our continued work with Suffolk Prickles Hedgehog Rescue, we were recently able to offer lodgings in our Hedgehog Hotel to Decker.

Decker was found by a gardener with his nose stuck in a rat trap and a severe strimmer wound to the back of his neck, which required veterinary attention. He was stitched up and once his medication ended, Paula asked us if we could look after him.

When he first arrived, he was quite shy, and we were concerned when the next day we found he hadn’t eaten any food. However, he clearly just needed some time to settle in, as the following day most of his food was gone, and his weight had increased to more than when he first arrived with us.

Due to his injury, Decker is finding it hard to curl into a tight ball, which is the Hedgehogs main defence against predators such as foxes. He will be with us for some time while the stitches help to heal his wounds, then we can assess when he’ll be ready for release.

The day after Decker arrived, Keeper Nick was clearing the area outside the Hedgehog Hotel, and discovered this beautifully intricate Hedgehog nest!

At this time of year, non-breeding Hedgehogs will create a little nest to rest up in during the day time. They usually have several within their home range, so if you find one, the chances are there may be others. This one was safely hidden under a broken pot, and the creator wasn’t home, but it’s heart-warming to know that our resident wild Hedgehogs may be visiting the temporary residents in the Hedgehog Hotel while we’re not around.

If you took part in No Mow May or Let It Bloom June, why not share your photos with us on social media. We’d love to see what wildlife has been attracted to your garden as a result of you letting nature do its thing!

Group Volunteers working hard

Earlier this month, we welcomed a group from AXA XL back to SOS for another corporate volunteer day. The group worked hard to make the final preparations to our new Meerkat enclosure, including a lot of moving sand, planting and watering the grasses and trees and clearing away bits from the building process.

They also made a start weeding an area beside the new enclosure, which we’re dedicating to an old volunteer named Laurie, who sadly passed away a couple of years ago.

The following week, a group from IJYI Software Development and Data Experts came in to lend us a hand. Unfortunately, there were major traffic issues locally due to an overturned lorry, with many of our staff and regular volunteers held up in the tailbacks. The group made it to us though, and got to work weeding our extra seating area of the Flying Ground, before moving a mound of bark chippings to create a level surface for visitors. They enjoyed watching the Flying Displays from this area while waiting for the roads to clear for their return journey home.

We are also pleased to be continuing to work with Suffolk Rural College Supported Learning Group. Over the course of six weeks they have been helping with various projects on site. They have topped up sand at the back of our Raptor Hospital to improve the drainage, added top soil to Laurie’s Garden ready for planting, and worked super hard to clear the tangle of weeds in the Woodland Walk. This work is part of their Employability Course, which aims to give work skills to students to prepare them for employment after college.

Volunteer Co-ordiantor Beckie says “Having groups choose to spend a day volunteering with us enables larger jobs to progress very quickly! Moving substrates such as sand and bark chipping can take our staff several days to complete due to other tasks such as caring for our animals, but these groups just get on with the task at hand and get it done in a few hours! We are so grateful to all the group and corporate volunteers who support us throughout the year! Thank you!”

Tangle the Little Owl

Our first baby Little Owl of the season was a little less straight forward than usual.

Tangle the Little Owl

This very recently fledged Little Owl was brought in after being found in garden, tangled in some sort of threading. It took our team a while to remove the thread from the birds feet and from around the neck, but once removed, they were placed into one of our smaller hospital cages for observation.

The chick was also very thin, so enjoyed a few good meals of mouse, which the team were happy to provide.

A couple of days later, while doing a morning check, more thread was discovered, this time around the wing. However, the team were unable to see where the thread was coming from. With some careful investigation, we were shocked to discover that the thread appeared to be embedded in the wing! Dolly held the patient still while Matt gently pulled the thread out.

Unfortunately, with Little Owls frequently nesting in areas around humans, our litter often causes them issues. We suspect that the thread may have been used in the nest, and the chick must have gotten tangled up in it. As the bird grew, the thread got embedded in the skin, which if left would have caused an infection and almost certain death. After another thorough check for any more thread, an antiseptic was applied to the area to reduce the risk of infection.

The two pieces of thread removed from around the wing, about 1cm of the shorter piece was embedded in the skin!

This little Little Owl has been nicknamed Tangle by the team. They will join the two other Little Owlets that we have in at the moment and once they are all ready, they will be released at one of our hack sites together. All three were ringed in preparation for their release. This painless process involves attaching a small metal ring to the birds leg, with a unique alpha-numeric code. Should a ringed bird be found, it can be reported to the British Trust for Ornithology, who will send the finder and the original ringer a report of the details, such as location, date, condition etc.

Tangle being ringed as part of our post-release monitoring.

Pin Wing and Ticky ready for release

Our long-term Barn Owl patients in the Raptor Hospital have now been relocated to their release site.

Pin Wing was found in a holly hedge with a broken wing. Thankfully, the next day our vet Dr Elliott Simpson-Brown was visiting, and he was able to operate and installed a pin and bridge to stabilise the wing while the bone healed. After a few weeks, the bridge was removed and within 24 hours, Pin Wing was flying around her aviary.

Ticky was brought in after being found next to a road. Although he has mild concussion, he was also covered in ticks, which partially paralysed his face. We were very concerned about his ability to survive in the wild, so knew that a hack release would need to be considered for him too.

These two birds were placed in one of our outdoor aviaries together, as the finder of Pin Wing had offered us some space to build a hack pen on his farm. This was an ideal situation as Ben was happy to monitor the pair and support them with food for as long as is required.

Jay and Garry recently spent a couple of days installing the hack pen around an old stump. This is ideal for giving the birds some experience of the wild, and the hack pen is designed to allow small rodents access, so we may see the residents hunting before they are released. They also placed a Jay’s special nest box in the hack pen so that the pair have some shelter, and a few perches for them to use.

Pin Wing and Ticky have become firm favourites for the team, so they had a bit of an entourage on moving day. The hack pen was given a final check by Jess, who has been caring for these owls with the rest of the team for the past few months, before a trail camera was installed to give optimum views of the space.

Pin Wing was the first out of the box and took a moment to realise that she was in a larger space, before doing a short lap of the pen and landing on top of the box. She seemed to recognise the area as she tried to see through the pen walls, which bodes really well for her actual release in a few weeks time.

Ticky almost took off before Jess could place him on the stump, and did the same short lap then landed on the ground. We retreated to observe them for a few minutes outside the pen before leaving them to settle into their new home.

The team then went on to check the six nest boxes that Ben has on his land, with Dr Hugh Hanmer from the British Trust for Ornithology present. Hugh holds the required Schedule 1 licence and ringing permits to check Barn Owl boxes, so under his guidance the team are being trained to enable them to carry out these checks in the future.

There are three in the barns within a short distance from the hack pen, and upon approaching the first one, a Tawny Owl was flushed from the roof apex and flew out into another area where the other box is. The first box was empty, and as we approached the second box, two Tawny Owls flew out, over the hack pen and disappeared into the trees, where they were mobbed by Blackbirds, Finches and Tits. This box was also empty, so we suspect that the pair may have bred in the trees and were probably enjoying some peace and quiet in the Barn away from their chicks during the daytime. The third box in the Barns was also empty.

The team then checked a box within sight of the house, and just a few meters away from the hedge where Pin Wing was found. When the team had previously checked this box in February, just a short time after Pin Wing came to us, a Barn Owl had flown out, so we were hopeful of activity. Unfortunately, the activity was not what we were looking for, as the box contained the remains of a Jackdaw nest, with several of these birds observing us from the field.

The team then started the long walk across some of Ben’s land to visit the furthest nest box. Thankfully, on this occasion Ben was cutting the paths to this part of the farm, so he was able to transport the ladder for us, which made for a much more enjoyable walk past the mere. The last 50m or so to this box involved wading through a jungle of bracken and stinging nettles, which made everyone regret their clothing choice of shorts for the day!

Although we try to approach quietly so as not to disturb any birds that may be present in the box, the difficult terrain meant that the resident Barn Owl heard us coming and flew off into a nearby tree as we got closer to the box. This box had previously housed a huge (dead) hornet nest, so we were pleased to see that the box was being used by its intended residents! Inside, we found fresh pellets, but no obvious nesting activity.

We had disregarded the final box, as on our previous visit we had unintentionally caught two grey squirrels in the net, and the box was in need of repairs. However, not having to carry the ladders gave us an incentive to check this box, as birds will frequently nest in very unlikely places! On this occasion though, the box was still resided in by squirrels, though thankfully they exited through the hole in the back rather than jumping out the front!

We were also of a mind to check a natural hole in a large oak tree in the field, but upon our approach, a squirrel stuck its head out and chak-chakked at us to warn us to stay clear!

Whilst it was disappointing not to find any active raptor nests on this visit, it does give Pin Wing and Ticky plenty of options for setting up their own territory once released in a few weeks time. We will return later in the summer to check the boxes again, in case Pin Wing has laid some eggs, or if the resident owl down by the mere has found a mate and started a family.

Meerkats have MOVED!

Visitors over the last few months may have discovered building work taking place over at SOS2, our smaller nature centre across the road from our main site. This building work was recently completed ready for our mob of mischievous Meerkats to relocate to their new home.

Last week, the Meerkats enjoyed a last morning in their original Meerkat Kastle, with a Home Education group visiting them to learn more about habitats and why enrichment is so important to captive animals. The mob had some tasty treats hidden in some of the papier mache creations, decorated by our regular Home Ed families, before relaxing in the warm sunshine.

In the afternoon, Keepers Beckie, Jennie and Nick took on the task of catching up all ten to transport them the short distance to their new home. They were confined into their indoor area, with Beckie distracting them with food while Nick swiftly got hold of them and placed them into their secure transport box, with Jennie in charge of door security!

On the move!

With all Meerkats safely in their transport box, the team wheeled it over to SOS2 and placed it into their new enclosure. They had already transferred some of the sand from their old enclosure into the new one, to make them feel more comfortable with familiar smells, so once the box was opened, it didn’t take the Meerkats long to come out and explore!

They spent the first hour fully investigating their new home, which has tunnels to replicate burrows, rock piles and live grass plants. Within a few minutes, they discovered a large ants nest under one of the grasses, so this was quickly dug up in search of tasty natural food, much to the Keepers disappointment!

Exploring their new home, with rock piles and plants!

They also investigated the indoor area of their home, which is inside the new Kastle tower. This is linked to the second tower by a tunnel, and the Meerkats have discovered that this is a great vantage point to adopt for their look out duties.

The best look-out post?

The Meerkats were slightly concerned by being able to see birds, particularly when our pair of Golden Eagles started flying around their aviary at feeding time! However, they soon realised that the Eagles couldn’t get to them, and settled in really quickly.

Over the coming days and weeks we will continue to monitor their behaviour, and that of our birds, to ensure that this move doesn't cause any unnecessary stress. In fact, our flying team have already been over to investigate the new furry critters which have appeared!

The new Meerkat enclosure has four large windows which will allow close up views for visitors in pushchairs, wheelchairs, or just those who haven’t grown up yet. There is also an indoor encounter area which is fully wheelchair accessible, so that our Meerkat encounters are accessible for all.

Visitors can get face to face with our mischievous mob.

A mystery to solve...

Last week we received a call from a concerned farmer. He was moving some bales from his barn and discovered a nest of what he believed were Barn Owls. Jess asked him to take a photo and was surprised to see two Kestrels with two other non-raptor birds! The farmer brought the chicks to us and told Jess that there had been two other Kestrel chicks that were dead in the nest.

Raptors hatch covered in down, while passerines (which includes Jackdaws) hatch naked and develop down after a few days.

Jess took the “family” home with her and reached out to her contacts to determine what the non-raptors might be. The general consensus is that they are Jackdaws, which leaves us with a bit of a mystery! Did the Kestrels take over a Jackdaw nest, or did the Jackdaws take over a Kestrel nest? Both cases have been recorded, but to our knowledge, if the first scenario happens then the Kestrels would eat the Jackdaw chicks upon hatching. We suspect that both sets of chicks were only a day or two old when they were found.

We don’t normally care for non-raptors, but in this case, as they were together, the family have been cared for by our dedicated team at SOS and at home!

The Kestrels are now doing very well on four feeds a day. Raptor chicks can be sensitive to overfeeding, so we are monitoring their food intake very carefully and providing them with a similar diet to what they would get in the wild - bits of rodent and quail (to replicate wild birds).

Sleepy little Kestrel after having some food.

The Jackdaws, by contrast, are a bottomless pit of hunger! They demand food every time they wake up with an insistent squeaks and squawks! They are being fed a chicken and insect mixed mince (purchased as a treat for our Ravens!), with added hard boiled egg. But just like their wild counterparts - they will seemingly eat anything!

These two are constantly hungry!

We are being very careful not to imprint these very young birds, as this would be detrimental to their chances of a successful release back into the wild.

We hope that once the Kestrels are strong enough to tear at food themselves, we can move them to a hack pen where we’ll be more hands off in their care. We did attempt to see if our female American Kestrel might adopt them, and while this showed promise initially, she soon lost interest in them.

Mixed fortunes for Blue Tits

Being a conservation organisation, we’re always trying to do our bit for nature by providing numerous nest boxes for our native birds to use.

Our Education Officer, Susan, has been a nest recorder and bird ringer for years, so she has taken responsibility of monitoring any nests on site and submitting the records to the British Trust for Ornithology. Here, she talks of the mixed results this year.

The season seemed quite late this year, with the first eggs laid about a week later than last year. Of the boxes we have up, two are in relatively high disturbance areas, yet these are consistently the ones used! Maybe a clever tactic as more humans passing by might deter predators?

The one located in our compound area was claimed by Jade, while the one on Lincoln’s aviary was claimed by Mat. Over the next week or so, Jade won on timings as her eggs were laid first, and therefore hatched first, about a week before Mat’s!

Hatching day for the compound nest - lots of hungry mouths to feed!

Blue Tits will lay one egg a day, up to 10 or 12 eggs in total. The female will start incubating when the last, or sometimes second last egg has been laid, so that all of the eggs hatch synchronously within 24 hours of each other. This is a great strategy as Blue Tits play the numbers game, so that if all their chicks survive to fledging, they flood the local area and hopefully some will avoid being predated.

Female Blue Tit keeping her eggs warm on Lincoln’s aviary

A week after hatching, most of Jade’s chicks were ringed, however, three were too small to have a ring so returned to the nest.

A young Blue Tit about to receive a ring

A few days later, Jade informed me of a surprise nest in the Woodland Walk. This box was well hidden behind one of our log stacks, and I had completely missed it on my initial check of the boxes. What makes this even more remarkable is that we were working on the shelter at the back of the Flying Ground (within 1m of this box) well into the usual breeding season, so had written off the boxes in this area due to the high disturbance! This family must have moved in the day the work stopped, as when I opened the box I found it full of Blue Tits ready to fledge!

This little Blue Tit doesn’t look too happy about becoming a science bird!

We quickly gathered them all into a waiting bag, and proceeded to ring each chick before returning to the box. While this was going on, mum and dad were sat in the trees above us, chirping their concern as we gently handled their offspring. All chicks were returned to their nest, but by the end of the day at least four chicks were seen in the trees, now with a tiny ID ring on their legs.

I returned to check Jade’s original nest in the compound and was disappointed to pull out two very recently deceased chicks. Both these chicks were what can only be described as skin and bone, and we suspect that they only had one parent. There were three remaining chicks in the nest, and one of these was unringed, so it was quickly given a ring and returned to the box as mum came back with a beak full of insects.

Mat’s nest had by now hatched, and were probably big enough to ring. However, given the delayed growth of the compound nest, I opted to give them an extra couple of days just to make sure. The difficulty in judging whether they’re all big enough to ring is that the smallest chicks are usually at the bottom of the nest, and removing all the chicks to check causes unnecessary disturbance if you must return a few days later to ring the smaller chicks.

Are they ringable?

When we checked on them a few days later, they were all a good size and well feathered. From this nest, all ten eggs had hatched and survived, which was fantastic to see! I invited staff and volunteers to come and watch, and each chick not only received a unique ID ring, but also a “pet name” based on their looks or behaviour during the ringing process!

Einstein, due to his scruffy fluff

Puddle, as this little one seemed to melt into my hand (this is a defence behaviour)

The purposes of ringing chicks such as Blue Tits in the nest is to determine fledgling survival. Most of these birds won’t survive to breed themselves next year, but by ringing them we can monitor how many do. To highlight this, Susan caught two of the three mums while they were incubating their eggs, and was excited to find one already had a ring on. When she looked back through last year’s ringing data, this was actually ringed as a chick last year, showing it survived to breed and is showing site fidelity by nesting in the same box it hatched from in!

New Artwork in our Shop

Here at Suffolk Owl Sanctuary, we have always been keen to support local crafts, arts and produce.

We are thrilled to announce that Jess Myers has chosen to display her work in our shop, and made it available for our visitors to purchase. Here is a bit of information from Jess about her work:

Jess at work

“Jess Myers Art originated in 2019 when I relocated from Sussex to rural Norfolk, settling on the edge of the stunning Thetford Forest.

I’ve always had a love of animals and my chosen subject matter comes from a lifelong affection and endless passion for all things furry and feathered. Since relocating, I have found an endless source of inspiration, quite literally, on my doorstep.

I work solely in the medium of pencils, where I strive to create highly detailed and realistic drawings of animals, both wildlife and domestic.

If our national Covid lockdowns taught us anything, it was to appreciate and value nature and the creatures we’re lucky enough to share this planet with. Through my drawings, I hope to do just that.

The original drawings to some of my wildlife pieces will be exhibited in the Beyond the Image Gallery from the 30th June- 30th July. As well as these, I also offer Pet Portrait commissions, the perfect gift to celebrate or remember your furry loved one.

Please visit my website for more details.

www.jessmyersart.co.uk”

Jess has already produced a number of framed prints and greetings cards featuring some of the Owls and other Birds of Prey that can be found living here at Suffolk Owl Sanctuary, and is keen to create a portfolio of work featuring some our other birds. Over the coming months we expect Jess to visit as she photographs our birds to enable her to work on future pieces from her studio at home.

In addition to her drawings, Jess has also produced some wooden signs and coasters using pyrography, which are unique to our shop and been selling very well!

Shop assistant Catherine said “Jess’s work is so life-like and we are very happy to give her a space in our shop. We are sure that our visitors will enjoy her work too, and they make a great gift or memento of a visit to Suffolk Owl Sanctuary".”

Breeding success for Critically Endangered Species!

Over the years, we have successfully bred a number of species here at Suffolk Owl Sanctuary, covering a range of Raptor groups - Owls, Hawks, Falcons, Buzzards and Kites. As part of our growing concern about the decline in Vulture populations over the past few decades, we added Hooded Vultures to our captive collection in……

Jack and Rose have been firm favourites of our afternoon Flying Displays. Rose is ……. Jack’s senior, and over the past couple of winters we’ve seen the pair building a nest and even copulating. However, we feared that Jack might have been still too young. Last year, Rose laid an egg, but it was infertile.

Last winter, as soon as we suspected that the pair were getting into the mood, we moved them over to a quieter aviary at SOS2 and installed a screen to give them some privacy. Camera’s were installed so that we could monitor them without disturbance and we largely left them to it.

In February an egg was laid, and following advice from other collections, we removed this to put in an incubator. This encourages the parents to lay a second egg. Unfortunately, the first egg was infertile, but this is normal for many species of birds. We opted to leave the second egg with Jack and Rose. During this time, we minimised disturbance to encourage them to remain on the egg, especially during the colder weather (in their native Africa, February and March are significantly warmer than here in Suffolk!)

One day in mid April, Mat went to check the cameras and discovered a chick in the nest! We had missed hatching day but guessed that the chick was only a day or two old! Everyone was sworn to secrecy as the first few weeks of life are critical and we didn’t want to jinx this fabulous achievement!

The team continued to monitor the chick remotely, providing extra food for the parents as they now had an extra mouth to feed. When the chick was about a week old, Jess climbed up the ladder to get a closer look and do a quick assessment on the chick. During this time, Jack and Rose had to be held back by the falconers, as their instinct is to protect their baby, and whilst they have always had a good relationship with the falconers, they were clearly seen as a threat at this time of year.

When the chick was almost 4 weeks old, we invited Dr Elliott Simpson-Brown, our consultant vet, to come and give them a proper vet check and to ring them. The chick passed with a clean bill of health, although left manager Maz slightly less clean, as they demonstrated their effective defence of vomiting all over a potential threat. Unfortunately for us though, Jack and Rose have been doing a great job of feeding the chick, and the ring wouldn’t fit over their already huge feet! This isn’t a major issue, as the chick will be microchipped when they’re a little bigger, and we can use a split ring as a visual identifier.

For now, the chick remains with their parents at SOS2, our smaller nature centre across the road from our main site, but over the next few months we will slowly start to remove the screening to allow visitors a chance to see our very special baby. We are hoping that this individual will stay with us and join the Flying Team later in the year, but this will be very dependent on what Jack and Rose allow, as Hooded Vulture chicks are usually looked after by their parents until they reproduce the following year, and in the wild Hooded Vultures often congregate in family groups.

OUR HOODED VULTURE NEEDS A NAME! We are inviting visitors and our followers on social media to send in their name suggestions. The team will then select a shortlist which will go to a public vote on our Facebook page.

The Owlympians raise vital funds for our Raptor Hospital

As a charity, our work relies on the generosity of supporters who donate to us. There are many ways that you can support us, whether giving regularly, visiting us or organising a fundraiser of your own, but it all helps us care for sick and injured birds of prey who come into our Raptor Hospital.

Our staff are dedicated to our cause as well, so when Izzy and Mat decided to sign up for a 10km run, they knew exactly which charity they would support.

The Colchester Stampede has been an annual fundraising event for a number of years, and gives runners a unique opportunity to run past the Rhinos, Elephants and Giraffes at Colchester Zoo at the start and end points of the course, with the middle section taking place on surrounding closed roads through the Essex countryside. Every year, runners race to clock up a personal best, raise funds for a charity close to their hearts, and have some fun along the way.

Izzy and Mat have been in training for this event since signing up 5 months ago, and have impressed all the staff and volunteers here at Suffolk Owl Sanctuary with their dedication. Some of our birds got involved too, with Rafiki our African Spotted Eagle Owl becoming their coach and joining them on some short running laps around the Flying Ground!

They even dressed for the occasion in hand made owl wings, created by fellow falconer Dolly and her sister Flossie.

Here’s their account of the race!

Race day arrived and we were both excited and nervous in equal measure. It was a colder morning at Colchester Zoo, so our tailor-made owl wings came in handy to keep us warm!

It was amazing to start the race running past the tigers and elephants, we managed to set a good pace and very much enjoyed the positive energy from all the other runners.

As the kilometres passed and we started to tire, we had a lovely chap playing music from his backpack that reignited our energy levels.

The last part of the race is a steep hill, just before you arrive back at the zoo and that was a huge test for both of us.

We struggled up the hill, made it back to the zoo, said hi to the elephants again, and the awaiting finish line!

Between them, Izzy and Mat smashed their target of £600 before race day, and donations are still coming in now that they have been presented with their medals! If you would like to donate to their cause, please see their fundraising page.

Students lend a helping hand

We are delighted to be working in partnership with Suffolk Rural College to provide some of their students with work skills.

Earlier this year, students from the college built a number of Barn Owl nest boxes for us, as part of the introduction to their college course. This week, Jess and Jay were accompanied by some of the students to install one of the boxes locally to replace an old box that had fallen off the tree. Overlooking fields and hedgerows, this location is perfect for Barn Owls and we have every confidence that the box will be used by the local population in the future.

The group then returned to the Sanctuary to help us carry out groundwork tasks. Over the course of this term, they have done a fantastic job of helping to move woodchip to our Woodland Walk path, clear rubble from an area we have been developing, painting our new shelter on the flying ground and general gardening jobs around the site.

“We always look forward to working with Suffolk Rural and its students. It gives them the opportunity to learn employability skills in a relaxed environment, all while teaching us a thing or two along the way.” - Beckie, Volunteer Coordinator

New tail before release

The female Sparrowhawk who was hit by a car has received a new tail before being released.

The poor bird suffered from impact injuries to her face, but was rolled underneath the vehicle, causing significant damage to her tail. Whilst her head injuries subsided after a few days of treatment, feathers won’t be replaced until the next natural moult cycle, which in birds of prey is generally at the end of the breeding season.

Three tail feathers were snapped almost in half when this Sparrowhawk arrived, leaving a big gap in her braking and steering system.

Tails are vital for a pursuit predator like a Sparrowhawk, as they act as the steering and braking system, so we were concerned about releasing her with a faulty system. Thankfully there is a method of replacing broken feathers that has been perfected over the centuries by falconers and is now frequently used to rehabilitate wild rescued birds.

We put out an appeal to our contacts who may have some suitable moulted feathers which we could use, and thankfully we were able to source some. Jess performed the procedure, but it was a useful training experience for our newer staff members, as it’s not a procedure we’ve had to perform in recent years.

Imping involves cutting a new feather to the exact size to replace the missing part of any damaged feathers. The new feather is then carefully slotted into the central shaft and glued into place, being meticulous not to get any glue on the soft feathery filaments.

As you can see from the photo, Jess did a great job, making it impossible to see which feathers have been imped, with the only sign that the plumage is ever so slightly different!

Spot the new feathers!

This Sparrowhawk was left for a couple of days to check how she liked her new tail, then she was released near where she was found.