Coda Falconry Visit

I'd seen a flyer for Coda Falconry a while back and instantly decided that it would be a great idea to get them to visit my Cub pack because the Cubs would love it and so would I! We eventually  settled on a joint Cub and Beaver evening and I then set about sorting the bird selection.

I was keen to get three indigenous species in and I settled on a common buzzard (we get them over us on a regular basis so it would be good for the kids to see), a barn owl (again fairly abundant) and a non-raptor choice of a raven. The latter was perhaps a little self indulgence as it's not everyday that you see one, especially close up.

The raven is called Loki and it soon became clear why is was a well chosen name, as the team were setting up I could hear banging and when to sort out the cubs or beavers down the side of the HQ who were making the noise, until I worked out that is was Loki. He stayed in his box until later. I had a couple of shots taken and then we got the madding crowd in and settled.

So after a quick introduction the kids were shown not only the female buzzard and male barn owl but also a bonus barn owlet that was but weeks old. 

The buzzard was paraded up and down with lots of facts thrown in for good measure and then the owl followed in a similar fashion. Six volunteers were then chosen for a limited flight to show how silent the bird was in flight. Due to the high heat the display was inside and made photography challenging! It was also suggested that the area around the HQ may have potential to be a site for a barn owl nest...A call to the Barn Owl Trust is going to happen methinks.

Then to the scene stealer Loki. I was really pleased with the bird selection but the chance to see a raven up close was one that I couldn't turn down. Apparently owls aren't that bright (so were did wise old owl come from I wonder?) due to a lot of their brain dealing with vision, ravens on the other hand are very intelligent and can have the same mental capacity as a three year old child. He played the 'xylophone' and knew it would get him a titbit and he followed them around like a dog. He actually reminded me of the parrot from the 102 Dalmatians film.

 

After the owlet was shown around the the evening finished with a quick question and answer session. I'd asked if they had any spare feathers when booking and sure enough they obliged and this collection includes barn owl and golden eagle plus a selection of owl pellets and I can't recommend Coda falconry enough. I don't usually chuck spare pictures on a blog, I prefer to pick out a few choice ones and leave it at that but I've got so many good one I didn't want them to go to waste. So in no particular order...