Zoo Trip #67: Hawk Conservatory Trust

Once a year the Hawk Conservancy Trust has a Members Day just for its members, where they introduce some new birds, try out ideas, give awards to staff and to members who have submitted photographs and invite other falconers to do their thing. It began at 1700 hr when we were introduced to a kestrel named Scout and a lugger falcon called Sarabi, then there was a break during which I toured the enclosures and explored Reg's Meadow, teaming with wildlife.
In the second half the falconer Tom had invited Jo and Dave from Icarus Falconry, where he had worked before joining the HCT, to show a couple of the birds they take to their Experience Days. These included a hooded vulture called Bentley and a juvenile bald eagle called Wurzel, but for me the star was Eclipse, this blipped lesser yellow-headed vulture that Tom had worked with before. He'd recently had an experience when he flew into a tree and been attacked by some buzzards who were in it, and had refused to fly since, but with Tom's encouragement he was soon in the air again. They're all enthusiastic about vultures at the HCT and keep stressing how friendly, cooperative and intelligent they are.
In Extras are a sunbathing juvenile vulture and a row of black kites, who are clearly not actually black at all, and have yellow bills, confusingly, as they also have some yellow-billed kites that to a novice like me look quite similar.
I stopped briefly by the canal at Bollands Hill in Seend on the way home to see the sunset.

L.
15.7.2019 (1121 hr)

Blip #2983 (#2733 + 250 archived blips taken 27.8.1960-18.3.2010)
Consecutive Blip #054
Blips/Extras In 2019 #160/265 + #059/100 Extras
Day #3397 (761 gaps from 26.3.2010)
LOTD #2127 (#1968 + 159 in archived blips)

Hawk Conservancy Trust series
Zoo Trip series
Birds Of Prey series
Falconry series
Hampshire series

Hawk Conservancy Trust, 13 July 2019 (Flickr album of 107 images)

Taken with Pentax K-1 Mark II and Sigma AF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 APO DG Macro lens

Lozarhythm Of The Day:
Little Richard - Send Me Some Lovin' (recorded 16 October 1956, , Cosimo Recording Studio, New Orleans LA)
Little Richard (vocal, piano) and his Band: Ray Montrell (gtr)(?), Lee Allen (tenor sax), Alvin 'Red' Tyler (baritone sax), Frank Fields (stand-up bass), Earl Palmer (drums, percussion)
On Friday BBC4 showed a Classic Albums edition on The "Chirping" Crickets album. The album included their version of this Lloyd Price tune, written by his brother Leo Price. The Crickets had recorded a couple of lead singer Buddy Holly's brother Larry's favourite songs to complete the album in a hurry after the surprise success of That'll Be The Day. The version I know best though is this Little Richard single that takes us back to New Orleans and the same studio as the previous LOTD (by Fats Domino) and with some of the same session musicians. It first came out on the B-side of Lucille in 1957 and has since been covered by Otis Redding, Sam Cooke and many others. It’s also on the same compilation that the Fats Domino track was on so was already fresh in my mind.

One year ago:
Bench Day (Kingsbury Water Park)