Feathers and Fur Falconry Centre

09/12/2024

📸 Who doesn't love a quiz on a Monday morning?!

Can you identify our birds just by their feathers?? We are only looking for the species of bird in the photo but extra points if anyone knows their names! 😉

1. A bird found all over the world that's known for its speed
2. One of the largest of its kind..
3. This tail is used to help this species fly in a very unique way..
4. This is a South American species but they work as pest controllers all over the UK.
5. A species known for living on farmland and giving rise to lots of ghostly myths

⬇️ Put all your guesses in the comments below and at the end of the day we will reveal the answers!

08/12/2024

🎄 We are definitely starting to feel Christmassy here at the centre! 🎄

The big day is fast approaching so if your stuck for gift ideas here are just a few suggestions ….

🎁 Junior Falconry Sessions for your young budding falconer

🎅 Owl Handling Experience for anyone that gives a hoot about owls

🎁 Sponsorship for those that have already picked their favourite Feathers and Fur character

🎅 Or how about items from our gift shop? They are perfect for secret santas or stocking fillers.

05/12/2024

We love hearing back from customers and are always so touched by their amazing words. Its an absolute pleasure to fly our birds for guests and we are over the moon that they love it as much as we do. Check out our reviews on Tripadvisor and Google or simply book yourself one of our many flying sessions and come along and experience the wonder of our Birds being flown to your fist and create memories that last a lifetime.

02/12/2024

Amos our Long-eared Owl is a very nervous girly even though she's been with us her whole life so the more time she spends out with us the better! This builds her confidence and is a process called manning

This afternoon Ann, Craig and I took beautiful Amos out for a chilly manning walk where she got to watch the world go by and she was a very good girl 🩷

30/11/2024

November book review - The Owl : A Biography

You must immediately go out and purchase this book for anyone that likes owls as a Christmas present (the book not an owl)!!!! I LOVED this book and will be rereading it in the coming months I am sure. Each chapter was split into the UK’s amazing Owls going into lots of fabulous details about each without sounding like a science / research book. He covers Tawny owls, Barn owls, Little owls, Long and Short Eared owls, Snowy owls and Eagle owls and then some others from around the world. His amazing travels have bought him so close to these amazing birds and the stories he has are wonderful.

I definitely recommend reading this book and I’m sad that I waited so long to do so.

Ok so the last book of the year is Urban Peregrines by Ed Drewitt. This looks to be based on Eds amazing history working with wild peregrines and I cant wait to start reading.

Head over to YouTube to watch the full video (filmed in the evening afterwork at the centre)
https://youtu.be/S8EQH6l3tA4

29/11/2024

Sometimes it just definitely feels like I’m being watched!!!

29/11/2024

Please do not forget to keep an eye on our last minute availability slots updated weekly. For availability further ahead, please contact us via [email protected]

Last minute availability for our Hands on Bird of Prey Sessions
Please pm or email [email protected] for details or to book your slot. Availability is first come first serve. All sessions are weather dependant.

Friday 6th December - 2pm Family Falconry or Adult Owl Handling

Tuesday 10th December 11am and 2pm Family Falconry or Adult Owl Handling

Wednesday 11th December 11am and 2pm Family Falconry or Adult Owl Handling

Thursday 19th December 2pm Family Falconry or Adult Owl Handling

Friday 20th December 11am Family Falconry or Adult Owl Handling

Saturday 21st December 11am and 2pm Family Falconry or Adult Owl Handling
2pm Educational Owl Hour – 5 Spaces

Sunday 22nd December 11am and 2pm Family Falconry or Adult Owl Handling
2pm Educational Owl Hour – 6 spaces

*Some Birthday Party Slots available*

28/11/2024

Buzzards are my (Olivia) favourite bird of prey and winter can be a fabulous time to see them. They are also our most widespread bird of prey now so wherever you are in the UK remember these key ID tips so you can be sure it's a Buzzard you've spotted! 😊

🦅 Photos are of our absolutely gorgeous boy Mouse 💙

24/11/2024

Long-eared Owls are native to the UK and we have a small population that live here all year round but at this time of the year we are joined by more individuals from the continent looking for slightly warmer weather. In theory, the chance of seeing one of these elusive, secretive owls goes up in the winter months.

However, climate change is thought to be impacting the numbers of Long-eared Owls visiting us. It could be that as continental Europe experiences warmer and milder winters, owls no longer need to migrate to the UK. The Hawk and Owl Trust are also looking into whether the decline in population could be due to habitat loss, declining numbers of their vole prey, or if predators like Tawny Owls are impacting the species.

20/11/2024

We might not have snow here but its very cold, and we are thinking of all our feathered friends up north. Gimli happy though he is toasty warm. Any hints, tips and tricks for keeping warm outside for those that dont have the thickest feathers in the world though would be very welcome, from a very chilly Sadie!!

18/11/2024

🎄Looking for a Christmas present that's a little bit different this year? Well, did you know you can sponsor the beautiful birds here at the centre?

🦉 Sponsoring a bird for a year gives you one adult free entrance to the centre for the whole year as well as 20% all experience sessions! You also get your name proudly displayed on our sponsorship board in the centre and will receive a sponsorship pack in the post including a certificate of sponsorship, information sheets on both the species you have sponsored and the individual bird you've chosen, a magnet or keyring of your bird and a gorgeous print.

Even better than all of that... by purchasing a sponsorship pack you are helping us to ensure the best possible lives for our birds as your money goes straight towards their care so thank you! 💙

16/11/2024

Happy World Falconry Day. Although here at Feathers and Fur Falconry we don’t actively hunt with our birds, the practices, training and care is still part of this age old tradition with a few modern twists sprinkled in. The bond created between human and bird is unique and one to be treasured.

13/11/2024

🎄Join us on the 17th of November for the Moss End Garden Village Christmas fair.🎄
The village is offering a wonderful collection of handmade gifts, face painting and family entertainment. Here at the Falconry Centre we are hosting talks and pellet dissections.

10.30am We will be showing you are amazing owl collection
12.30 Owl Pellet Dissection - find out what our owls had for dinner
2.30pm Come and meet our Birds of Prey including the Peregrine Falcon.

Entrance to the centre includes all day entry to the centre, a centre tour, quiz and a 15% discount for all our experience sessions.

Come down and join us from 10am until 4pm.
Entrance costs are :
Adults - £4
Children - £2
Concessions - £3

Lots of free parking at Moss End Garden Village, Cafés and lots of fabulous shops too.

12/11/2024

2 Year ago today we officially opened the doors to Feathers and Fur Falconry Centre at Moss End Garden Village. What a journey to get there it was! Covid, Planning, Licencing, building in the middle of winter, trying too buy wood and paint when the world was home doing home improvements, moving birds, honouring sessions and all whilst keeping positive and watching the pursestrings get tighter and tighter!!! But we are so happy here and love our new home. Here is to many many more anniversaries and memories.

10/11/2024

The Dickens Medal for gallantry was awarded to 32 pigeons for their amazing bravery and heroic actions in both WW1 and WW2. Their brave acts saved the lives of many soldiers and civilians including those of a bomber crew downed in the North Sea, and an entire town from being bombed after it had been recaptured. These truly amazing birds, so often overlooked when you wander through a town, showed a braveness we should never forget.

So this Remembrance Day please do give a thought to the animals that fought and still do fight alongside our wonderful human heroes.

06/11/2024

Bert hopes you have all been enjoying Bonfire nights and the fireworks.

02/11/2024

October book review - The Most Perfect Thing by Tim Birkhead.
A Roadmap of the journey of an egg, from creation to hatching, this book was superb. What a wonderfully passionate man Mr Birkhead is, he really bought to life the simply perfect creation that is an egg. I have to admit to looking at my breakfast a little differently each day!!!! And I have already added much of the new information that I have learnt to my already bursting at the seams educational sessions. From a lack of available calcium having an impact on the number of eggs laid, the amazing antimicrobial abilities of the humble egg white (albumen) and the still outstanding conundrum of white eggs and cavity nesters (please if Mr Birkhead is reading this or anyone else can clear the idea up for me I would be very very grateful!!)

I 100% recommend reading this book, its a must for any bird lovers and a great read for anyone that just wants to expand their knowledge of the world around them. But be warned you may not think about scrambled eggs in the same way again!!! Hehehe.

So after a vote on social media stories it was voted that Stephen Moss’s The Owl : A Biography is to be Novembers read so join me at the end of the month to see how I got on. ( I started it last night and I can already tell its gonna be a good one!!!)
Follow the link below to head over to our YouTube channel. Dont forget to hit the subscribe button too!
https://youtu.be/mKUT25Ai9MU

October book review - The Most Perfect Thing by Tim Birkhead. A Roadmap of the journey of an egg, from creation to hatching, this book was superb. What a won...

31/10/2024

Ever wondered why we owls are part of the witches and ghosts of Halloween?? Swipe to read some of the scary superstitions we have held about owls!!