Great Grey Owl

We had a lovely day out today at the Gauntlet Bird of Prey Centre in Knutsford.

We'd booked a specialist photography day so we had a pro photographer (who was also a long time volunteer at the centre) helping us out.  We had three sessions - out in the field with the birds in their natural habitat, in the studio complete with flash, and then flying out on the field.  It was a brilliant day, I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to get good photos of birds of prey.

Two of the people on the course were from Singapore, staying in London for a short holiday.   They drove up this morning just for the course!  One was a very keen photographer with a rather large lens...but it did appear to have a minimum focus distance of about three miles!   His photos were excellent.

Things we learned today:
* Buzzards are being killed by poachers in Africa because they circle around new kills and give away the poachers position.
* Farmers give cattle anti-inflammatory drugs in Asia and this kills vultures, despite the fact that a vulture's stomach can deal with anthrax!
* Owls don't have eye balls that move - they have to move their head to look around