On Saturday June 25, we held our biggest fundraising event of the year. More than 500 guests enjoyed a spectacular evening of birds flying to iconic movie soundtracks, performed live by the English Wild Orchestra and singer Ayesha Pike.

Guided by the evening’s commentators, Bird Team members Tom Morath and Ben Cox, our guests were transported into scenes from iconic movies. The evening kicked off on a high, with our Barn Owls quartering Reg’s Wildflower Meadow to the magical Harry Potter theme tune. Enthusiastic as ever, Ben may have gotten a little bit too into character here!

The audience were then pulled right into the centre of the action, as our Lanner Falcon –  Chaucer sped through the crowd at speeds of up to 60MPH to the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack, and a few lucky guests were selected at random to fly Fagan the Hooded Vulture to ‘You’ve got a friend in me’

The sound of fearsome roars filled the air as the audience were then taken into the Trust’s very own Jurrasic Park, complete with ‘raptor wrangler’ Ben! Instead of dinosaurs however, our White-backed Vultures soared across the meadow, showing off their impressive wingspan in some breath-taking circuits.

The first half of the evening concluded with a special treat. Newcomer to the Trust, Sam the Bald Eagle flew over the guests, accompanied by a soundtrack as impressive as his flight: Star Wars! After a short interval, the second act started with the Bird Team presenting Sirius the Striated Caracara with his very own Mission Impossbile – to uncover tasty treats hidden within movie style props (silver flower pots!).

Our birds then took to the skies one final time in a awe-inspiring recreation of the opening scenes from the Lion King. Our Storks (all five of them for the first time ever!), Black Kites and Hooded Vultures filled the sunset sky and circled our beautiful elephant puppet, all to the stunning rendition of the Circle of Life. A really touching end to a beautiful evening of bird flight and song.

Finally, our grand finale arrived. The audience turned their attention to the skies directly above them as the one and only Red Devils circled overhead, climbing higher and higher into the sky. Once they reached 5000ft, the moment came for the parachuters to jump from the plane, twisting and turning in flight before safely landing to a rapturous round of applause.

A huge well done to all involved in this fantastic event, and to our wonderful audience. All money raised from this event goes directly towards our mission – the conservation of birds of prey.

Find out more about our upcoming events here.

We are sad to announce that Madeleine, one of our Secretary Birds, passed away last Thursday (24.03.22).  At the grand old age of 34, he reached the end of his healthy life.  The kind, yet difficult decision was taken to send him peacefully to sleep and to avoid any ongoing suffering from a heart condition brought on by old age. (more…)

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, but after a more prosperous summer and autumn, it certainly felt like things at the Trust were getting back to normal, until more recently. We wait to see what 2022 has in store for us.

One of the constants that we have seen throughout the past couple of years is the ongoing and invaluable support from our volunteer team. Without fail, week in and week out our team are on hand to help us with all that being a world-class visitor attraction entails. We have found that over the past two years our volunteers have grown into a very tightknit community and this warm and friendly atmosphere only enhances that feeling that hopefully our members and visitors feel when they step through our doors.

It really goes without saying that we would not be able to do what we do at the Trust without this team of people. Every hour that they give to help us with our mission is greatly appreciated, whether that be our long-standing volunteers who help us with our experience sessions, the volunteers who help us with the maintenance of aviaries, the team who help keep the grounds in shipshape condition or those who help us in the Trust shop or offices. We thank you for all the time you have given up to us throughout 2021.

Personally, I spent nearly two years volunteering at the Trust before I was offered a position on the Bird Team. Prior to this, I completed five weeks of work experience and one of the things I always remember from this time is how much the presence of other volunteers really helped me during those nervous first few weeks. Our volunteers are always ready to help some of the newer members of the team and take them under their wings.

So next time you visit, have a look out for that welcoming face as you enter a flying display. Look out for the people who are keeping the aviaries spotless. Look out for the team constructing new aviaries for our birds to live in, these people are the volunteers who are integral to what makes the Hawk Conservancy Trust the amazing place that it is. Thank you!”

Ryan Stephens

Registrar and Bird Team

Here are some photos of just a few of our lovely volunteers at work:

We are delighted that Investec has chosen to partner with the Hawk Conservancy Trust on selected conservation projects. Investec is an international specialist banking and wealth management group that has supported conservation initiatives since 2012.

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If you’ve visited us this year, you won’t have been able to miss the building works taking place on site, next to our National Bird of Prey Hospital™. Here we’re constructing an annex to the hospital, made possible with the help of very generous donations from Animal Friends Pet Insurance and Life Members Graham and Rita Morgan. This project will expand our facilities and allow us to improve our biosecurity measures. (more…)

We are extremely proud of the work we do in the National Bird of Prey Hospital™. Hospital Manager Cedric, along with other dedicated staff members and volunteers work tirelessly to ensure all the birds get the highest level of care possible, and the best chance at survival when they are released back into the wild.

So far, 2021 has been no exception, and Cedric and the team are very busy as always. Read on for the latest updates from the hospital! (more…)