February brings us National Nest Box Week – as you can imagine, a pretty big deal for us here at the Hawk Conservancy Trust! Started by the British Trust for Ornithology, National Nest Box Week starts on 14 February – Valentine’s Day – every year. Nest site availability can be a limiting factor for bird populations that typically nest in cavities, such as tree hollows, old pots and pipes or the lofts of old buildings. Providing artificial nesting sites (nest boxes) can help improve this. This forms the basis for our Raptor Nest Box Project that focuses on the four […]
While we’ve been closed, our team have been busy caring for our birds, and preparing the Trust for another jam-packed year! We checked in with Bird Team member Katy Barnes about working with our birds over winter. “It has been a busy winter on the Lower Section of the Hawk Conservancy Trust! Every year during this closed period, we have a good spring clean here at the Trust, making sure we’re ready for another fun year. The Lower Section of the Trust is often one of the first places visitors explore when they visit. It’s where one of our biggest […]
The winter months bring a change to our timetable, and with it our flying team of winter birds takes to the skies. On this team is one of our biggest birds – Saxon the Golden Eagle. She is a sensitive girl, and is very particular about who she chooses to work with on our team, so when newest Bird Team member Hugo Wilson was given the opportunity to work with her, it was ‘a dream come true’… ‘I started working alongside Saxon during the closed period last winter – it was a real honour when I was asked by our […]
2024 was another busy year for our Conservation and Research team, with over 20 projects running from England to Asia and Africa! As we look ahead to another year working hard to conserve birds of prey and their habitats, we wanted reflect on the last twelve months of work, and share some exciting updates from a few of these projects. Check out some project highlights below! Raptor Nest Box Project Our nest box numbers in our Raptor Nest Box Project now exceed 1500 boxes! Dr Matt Stevens, formally our UK Conservation Biologist and now our British Projects Manager, always […]
Please give a warm welcome to Tanith Jones, who joins our Conservation and Research Team as our new Research Assistant! In this exciting and important role, Tanith is supporting our UK Conservation Biologist Dr Matt Stevens with our vital conservation work. She’s already got stuck in carrying out transect surveys, helping monitor nest boxes, and even building a few of them herself! “I am very excited to have recently joined the Hawk Conservancy Trust as a Research Assistant within the Conservation and Research Department. Growing up in Hampshire, not too far from the Trust, I have memories of my parents teaching me […]
We’re delighted to share that Bird Team member Jennie Marshall has passed her Level 3 Zookeeper and Aquarist Apprenticeship with flying colours! A very well-deserved accolade for nearly two years of hard work. We chatted with Jennie to reflect on her time working towards this qualification, the skills she’s learnt along the way, and close bond with one particular bird she’s bonded with through it all… I started at the Hawk Conservancy Trust in October 2021, where I began my Level 2 Apprenticeship qualification. After completing this, I then began my Zookeeper & Aquarist Level 3 Qualification in February last […]
We are delighted to announce our latest Marion Paviour Award winner for 2024 – Kioko Kilonzo! Kioko’s project focuses on reducing human-wildlife conflict and protecting critically endangered vulture populations, particularly by engaging local communities and collaborating with them. In early 2024, a poisoning event at a ranch in Laikipia, Kenya, killed over 50 White-backed and Rüppell’s Vultures. This ultimately inspired Kioko’s project, ‘Mitigating human-wildlife conflict: protecting critically endangered vultures in Laikipia, Kenya.’ Unlike many poisoning events effecting vultures in Africa, where poachers purposefully poison carcasses to target vultures that give their position away, this particular event was fuelled by conflict […]
We are sad to share the news that Hawk Conservancy Trust Vice-President Nigel Lewis passed away on 14 November. Nigel became the Trust’s Vice-President on 24 July 2009, after working closely with Life President and Founder Ashley Smith. We remember him fondly for his dedication to conservation, especially his work at the forefront of Barn Owl conservation, and his mentorship to other conservationists, bird ringers, and local communities. Nigel spent many years of his life working to conserve Barn Owls in Suffolk, before moving to Wiltshire in 1983. After moving, he carried on working with this species in the south […]
Over the years, our 22 acres have grown and developed into an award-winning visitor attraction, surrounded by wonderous wildlife. Having worked at the Trust for over 20 years, Bird Team Member and Head of Flying Birds Mike Riley has been there for many of these exciting developments. We caught up with Mike to hear all about the next area of the Trust to have a revamp – our Woodland Arena! “Well autumn is upon us again, and it’s the time of year where some of our birds will rest for the winter months, and some will begin their flying season. […]
Small mammals (for example rodents) make up a high proportion of the diet of UK birds of prey. For the last few years, the Conservation and Research team at the Hawk Conservancy Trust have carried out small mammal surveys at both on-site and at two local external sites in Hampshire to estimate prey availability and abundance, which are key for a successful breeding season. These sites are chosen based on locations of regularly used nest boxes that are monitored as part of our Raptor Nest Box Project. With Kestrel numbers declining across the country, we are particularly interested in their main […]
