On this episode we explore the fascinating world of animal migration. Join Tom and Hannah as they chat about why certain species migrate, how they know where to go, and the epic distances some of them travel on their migrations.

This year I have had the great honour of being involved with the Behind the Scenes Winter Experiences we offer here at the Hawk Conservancy Trust during the closed period in the winter season. Anyone who knows me well, knows that I am as much of a people person as an animal person, so I jumped at the opportunity to be able to spend the day showing people some of our lovely birds alongside my colleague, Cedric.. I enjoy the closed period when we work on all the big maintenance jobs, however I do start to miss our visitors so […]

We’re thrilled to welcome our newest member of staff, Lauren Collins. Lauren joined us as Marketing & Communications Executive at the beginning of February.  A keen environmentalist, Lauren is passionate about protecting and conserving the natural world around us, and is looking forward to inspiring others to do the same in fun, new, creative ways. “I’m so excited to be joining the fantastic team at the Hawk Conservancy Trust! I’ve always wanted to work in some form of animal conservation, even at one point taking a course in Animal Management with the intention of going into zookeeping. I’ve also always loved creative skills such […]

Despite the challenges we (and many others) faced in 2021, we’re incredibly proud of what we achieved for Critically Endangered vultures, and for our wonderful British birds of prey, both in the wild and in the National Bird of Prey Hospital™.  As we head into 2022, we take a look back at some our accomplishments in bird of prey conservation over the last year.

During the darker months, the bird team have the opportunity to work alongside our team of owls at the time of day when some owl species would be more active in their pursuit of prey.  For those who attended some of our winter events, you will have seen Ennis, one of our Great Grey Owls, an iconic and well-loved species, often recognised by their striking facial disc.  Ryan Stephens, who works closely with Ennis tells us more about Ennis’s endearing characteristics and why he loves working with her.

We are thrilled to welcome Jennie Marshall. Jennie started her apprenticeship in October and has moved away from her home in Buckinghamshire for this opportunity.  She was so excited to be offered the apprenticeship, she screamed down the phone at Gary! (Gary Benton, Head of Living Collection).  After gaining some work experience with us in 2016 she was really keen to work with our birds “I absolutely loved it and wished I could start working here right there and then”

We are very excited to be able to share the initial results from this project, showing the first recorded migration routes of Egyptian Vultures in Central Asia.

Hannah and Tom are back with a new series of Nature’s a Hoot for 2022. Join them both as they prepare for the new year ahead of them. They’re also joined by Jaime Carlino, a graduate student on the Humbolt State University’s Barn Owl Research Team. Jaime discusses how her work studying Barn Owls is helping us understand the species success when it comes to breeding.

At the Trust, we’re so lucky and grateful to have a wonderful team of dedicated volunteers. Ryan Stephens from our Bird Team works very closely with this team of fantastic people, coordinating duties and rotas, and he’s shared an insight into the challenges of the past year and the significant impact our volunteers have had in helping us tackle these tough times: “Another year passes by at the Trust and we have seen so much happen over the past twelve months (and more). Challenges with COVID-19 regulations and lockdown periods in the early stages of 2021 certainly had an impact, […]

We have all been presented with challenges over the last year. Gary Benton, our Head of Living Collection, reflects on 2021 from the perspective of managing the Bird Team during this time and the extraordinary challenges his team faced. Keep reading for a fascinating account from Gary about the humans and birds alike in his team, readjusting to the various changes of last year: “Hello everyone, What a strange and worrying time we all had in 2020/21 with the pandemic causing so many changes to the world we live in and certainly causing a wave of uncertainty and challenges at […]