British Owls

Owls... A favourite of many, even to some of those that display a slight aversion to our friends of a feathery kind. The fur like feathers, less angled face, upright pose, humanistic look with the round face and forward looking eyes and the general all round "wise" expression that they emit. There is no doubt that the owl is one of our favourite animals, and one steeped in history and myth.

It is therefore unsurprising that they are one of the Centre's most popular animals, to see, watch fly and photograph.

About 18 months ago I trialled a "Bird of Prey and Owl" Photographic day, utilising our nature reserve as a natural backdrop, to allow photographers to take some very nice portrait and in-flight pictures. Over the first year it quickly became apparent that the owls were the stars of the show, and so it has now become the "Owl" photographic day.

These days continue to amaze me as to how quickly they book up. We have already sold out on all listed dates for this year, and even taken bookings on some not yet advertised! These later dates will be advertised soon, and we hope we may be able to squeeze in one or two more others to help meet the demand.

As well as our own dates, where you can come and photograph all 7 species of owl, we have WildArena who use our facilities to offer workshops to the amateur photographers out there and Andy Rouse who runs photographic days with the owls to cater for the more serious photographer who wants expert advice. 

I have been told that we are the only Centre in the UK which displays all seven British owls to the public... Although I don't know of any other Centre off the top of my head (only a few private breeders,) I can't believe we are the only one, so if any one does know somewhere else... please let me know.

So, onto our owls...

The Tawny Owl, the most stereotypical owl. Extremely nocturnal, roosting high in dense wooded areas and calling with the classic "kewick - whooo"

The Barn Owl, for many the most beautiful British owl, and certainly the owl with the widest distribution across the world.

The Little Owl, a non-native species which since being introduced to this country has found it's own little niche. Now a favourite of many a twitcher with it's characterful behaviour.

The Long-Eared Owl, least known, but most striking. A beautiful owl that is perfectly adapted to silent flight. I have been told we are one of few places that both display and fly this owl for the public.

The Short-Eared Owl, to me the most stunning owl in the world. Extremely rare in captivity due to the difficulty in breeding them. We are one of very few which house these owls for display.

The European Eagle Owl, debatable as to whether it is recognised. It certainly is in this country and breeding, but will it be allowed to continue.

And the Snowy Owl. We only just get away with keeping the snowy owl here at the centre. There were some residents on Fetlar in the past, whether they are still there is another thing. They do visit us during the Winter though, but much more at home in the colder temperatures of the Arctic Tundra. Only when you see them in the snow does this owl make sense.

Wildcat Shift Around

The next time you visit the BWC you will notice that we have had a light shift around with our wildcats. Our new enclosure opposite the main wildcat pens is being used as a spare wildcat pen for the Spring. This has allowed us to separate all our cats for the breeding season.

Yes, I know what you are thinking... this means we will not be breeding from our cats this year. We have been thinking about this a lot over the past couple of months, but made the decision a little while ago not to breed any wildcat kittens this year.

The reasoning for this is two fold. Firstly, a lot of the cats we do have here are related in some way, therefore limiting our matching options for this year. Secondly, new research is underway to determine the purity of all captive wildcats in the UK. Hopefully this will be well underway come the Summer, and then we will be able to acquire a new breeding cat at the end of this year to pair up with one of our pure cats for breeding in 2013. The situation at the moment is that many Centres are being asked to keep hold of any kittens they produce, and with limited space the decision was made to forgo the season this year to breed and hold purer cats the following year.

So where are all our cats now? Well, Una above has been moved off display... she is a very elderly cat now, and some of you may have noticed that she had a slow recovering ulcer in her left eye. She is still full of form, but looks a bit ragged. She has a nice large pen off display to retire in .

Dougal, who only ever seems to like pairing up with Una, has been moved off display too. He seemed to sulk a little with her absence and so it made sense.

Fergus has been moved into the first enclosure. He is a lovely looking tom cat, and we are working hard with him to try and establish him as our main educating cat. He is slowly getting more used to us being in with him, and the public viewing him, and I am sure it will not be long until he is as visible as the others.

Iona has been moved from the third pen, and placed into the new enclosure opposite the main ones.

This leave Kendra in the middle pen and Richy Junior in the third pen.

I know the lack of kittens this year will disappoint many, but you have to look at the long term prospect for wildcats in the UK. We are working closely with the breeding co-ordinator at Port-Lympne Zoo and Scottish Wildcat Association to try and help save our last remaining native cat in the UK. By missing out this one season it will mean far less, non-suitable cats, will be in captivity and our success in breeding wildcats can be utilised in the future to breed far purer cats, aiding the bloodlines in captivity and with a strong chance of being involved with the releases back to the wild in the future.

With only 400 left in the wild, the Scottish wildcat, or Highland Tiger as it has become locally known, needs all the help we can give it. It is our duty therefore to do the best we can by working closely with other groups and breeders to ensure this happens.

Take a look at the Scottish Wildcat Associations website to find out more about the work they do, and the Wildcat Haven project that may be the way to save wild wildcats in the UK.

Adders are Out

The beginning of this week, and the warm sunshine, saw the emergence of our adders for the first time this year.

We currently have five adders... 3 males and 2 females. As with every year, the males emerge first with the females first being seen a couple of weeks later. After they have shed their skins they will be ready for mating, and then we can offer them their first meal of the year.

The last three years have seen our adders perform the "Dance of the Adders" and we hope that this year will be no exception. Who knows, with our now mature females we may well even see young adder neonates later this Summer! Yes, I know it is a snake, but you wait to see them... baby adders are very cute.

Adders are our only venomous reptile in Great Britain. They have a miss-understood reputation, and are actually a very shy timid creature which shy away from confrontation. They will only bite as a last means of defense, and their venom is said to be only comparable to two bee stings. Of course, if you do get bitten by an adder you should still seek immediate medical attention.

The females grow to be larger than the males, but still only about 2 feet in length on average, making them one of our smallest snakes. The females tend to be a copper/brown colour with a dull "zig-zag" marking down their back, where as the males are much more of a contrast. They tend to be a silver grey colour with vivid black markings.

Either way, to me they are a sensational snake, a remarkable reptile and just simply an amazing animal!

One of my favourites to photograph to so watch out for many adder pics over the end of Spring, early Summer.