Cotswold Falconry Centre Recent visit

Bele

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
As shown by there being no threads on the place , the Cotswold Falconry Centre tends to stay 'below the radar' .

I spent a pleasant couple of hours on a warm Saturday afternoon there . It shares the Car Park with the Batsford Arboretum and a garden Centre near to the village of Moreton-in-Marsh to the north of the Cotswolds .

It is quite a small site and collection in comparison to the Hawk Conservancy or ICBP at Newent but it does have a number of unusual species . It even has a recently published , attractive guide book .

If you like Caracaras this is the place to visit with pairs of five species on show - both Crested and Yellow-headed had a single youngster with the parent birds , Striated have also bred here . More unusual are the recent arrivals - Chimango , a small pale species related to the Yellow-headed , and Mountain a black and white solid bird related to the Striated .

A range of tall aviaries near the entrance houses pairs of White-backed vulture , Secretary bird , and Bateleur eagles who breed regularly . Nearby are smaller aviaries for American kestrel , Common scops and Ferruginous pygmy owls , which have bred . Birds used in the flying displays are tethered near the entrance , notable are pairs of Bald and Golden and a single Chilean eagle as well as hawks , falcons and owls .

A number of interesting species are housed in solid walled aviaries with peep-holes for viewing - Peregrines , African white-eyed kestrels , and others . A good selection of owls are in decent-sized aviaries in a woodland setting - Ashy-faced , Chaco , Milky eagle , Ural , and others .

Further aviaries house the Caracaras , a pair of Palm-nut vultures , Hooded vultures and many others . A list of species for adoption lists more than 50 .

Flying displays on a windless day featured Snowy and Barn owls ( good display of hovering ) , Bald and Golden eagles , the inevitable Harris hawk and a young falcon in training .

I would certainly recommend a visit .
 
Having waved you off on your way there from the wildlife park I'm glad you enjoyed it!

It's probably my favourite falconry centre - only small but with some superb species. You've provided an impressive list, to which can also be added Swainson's and Harlan's Hawks, African Goshawks, Greater Kestrels... wonderful stuff.

And Geoff Dalton gives one of the best falconry displays in the business - as natural a children's entertainer and public speaker as a falconer. The centre also provides falconry displays at Cotswold Wildlife Park (and Heythrop's open days!) and they are uniformly excellent.

I've just added some photos of my own visit this weekend to the gallery: Cotswold Falconry Centre Gallery » ZooChat
 
The centre also provides falconry displays at Cotswold Wildlife Park (and Heythrop's open days!) and they are uniformly excellent./QUOTE]

They also do an excellent bird of prey encounter at Birdland, with Bob the Eagle Owl and a very active Pygmy Owl
 
woo, I volunteer there. It is good to hear that you liked your visit.
There should be more threads on the center
 
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