Visit To Gauntlet Bird of Prey Centre 11th July 2011

Visit To Gauntlet Bird of Prey Centre

We went for an afternoon out to the Gauntlet Bird of Prey Centre which is next to Fryer’s Rose Nursery and Garden Centre on Manchester Road in Knutsford, Cheshire WA16 0SX.  The admission is very cheap compared to other similar places we have been to. They are open 7 days a week between March and October – November to February is weekends only.

They have various events on a daily basis but the ones we went to were the “meet and greet” which happens at 2pm and the main flying display which starts at 3pm

The Birds

The birds they have include Eagles, Buzzards, Kites, Old World Vultures, Falcons, Cara Caras, Owls and a few other species. We arrived there a little before 2pm and the meet and greet did not start on time so we had a walk around the site looking at the various birds they have there including a Red Legged Seriema, a Raven and Marabou Storks. You can also see all the other birds including American Bald Eagles.

Meet and Greet

The “meet and greet” event started with one of the handlers holding a Eurasian Eagle Owl. This was very tame and used to being handled so it was possible to stroke its feathers and feel its feet and claws. Next the main handler came along with a couple of Harris Hawk chicks in a big Tupperware box. He told us that these were the chicks of two hawks that they had had for many years and who were now very old and he rather suggested that they may find it difficult to feed them properly themselves so they were being hand reared. This does raise the question of what the purpose of such places is since he went on to comment that they much preferred socially imprinted Harris Hawks because they were more suitable when it came to them flying to order for the events they put on.

I would like to hear more on the ethics of this because it often strikes me as rather grey area ; basically, I suppose, you ask yourself whether some of these places are really zoos though they often have an emphasis on conservation in their documentation. In any case the birds all look to be healthy and well fed etc. so I don’t think there can be grounds for complaint at this centre on these grounds.

The next bird brought out was the absolutely huge American Bald Eagle. The handler gave a bit of a commentary about how the bird got its name, what it normally eats and such stuff. A lot of this is really for the entertainment and edification of children but the climax of this showing made me wonder if some children didn’t find it a bit too informative as he pulled a dead white rat out of his pocket and gave it to the Eagle who hungrily tore it limb from limb in about five goes. It was all a little grizzly but fascinating nevertheless. Perhaps children are less squeamish than adults  – I don’t think I would have liked to be eating afterwards !

Flying Display

After the meet and greet we went on to the flying display which is held in a field and paddock area. They started off with a Barn Owl and as they inform you of the habits and customs of the birds they fly them from one side of the field to another – often so close to you that you can feel them pass by at close to head height. Raising the stakes somewhat they then brought on a White-Tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla). After that it was an African Milky Eagle Owl (Bubo lacteus) and then the truly impressive American Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) – a sight that you may not expect in deepest Cheshire !

The session was rounded off by their flying of a group of 10 Red Kites which they feed by tossing chicken legs up in the air for them to catch mid flight. Hunting in groups is a normal practice for these birds and it is fascinating to watch them swirl around in the air in a tightly knit and competitive group.

We had seen most of this before really but it is such an interesting afternoon that you could go there frequently and not get bored. They do various sorts of specialist events and one of these is for bird photographers. It would be interesting to attend one but I might need to practice a lot more on slower and slightly smaller birds first !