Rapturous Raptors! (The Hawk Conservancy Trust)

Member Name: kingfisher111

Product:	The Hawk Conservancy Trust
Date:	05/05/09 (296 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: fantastic day out

Disadvantages: queues for the cafe

As yesterday was a bank holiday, we decided that it would be good to take the girls off somewhere different for the day, and although it was somewhat chilly we settled on the wonderful Hawk Conservancy in Hampshire. It is very easy to find as it is about 4 miles west of Andover, directly off the A303. It is a place that my husband and I have visited a few times over the years but we definitely had not been since having my youngest daughter (who is now 4) so it was interesting to see it in a different light.

The Hawk Conservancy Trust is very concerned with conservation and ensuring the continuation of endangered birds of prey. There are numerous projects that they are involved in such as The Nest Box Scheme which provide homeless birds of prey with somewhere to live, and The Great Bustard Aviary which is supporting the Great Bustatrd Group in their efforts to reintroduce the world's heaviest flying bird back to the UK. By opening up to visitors, the Trust raises much needed funds to help carry out this crucial work!

From the middle of February until the end of October, the park is open every day between 10 am and 5.30 pm. In the winter months it is open at weekends but closes at 4.30 pm on these days. There are various pricing options but for the four of us we paid £32 for a family ticket (including a gift aid donation) which compares very well with a lot of theme park attractions and zoos. It's also worth mentioning that there is ample parking.

Just wandering around the site, there is a lot to see and take in. You can see many different birds of prey from all over the world and some are quite amazing to look at. There is information to read about the different birds and maps to look at so you can see exactly where they are found. Children's interest is kept up too because when you pay to go in, they are each given a 'passport' which asks them to find stamps of ten different birds around the site. My girls really liked this activity and were well pleased when they had found all the birds. It also meant that when we left they would be rewarded with a small prize which was a lolly.

The main highlights of the trip though have to be the various feeding sessions, shows and demonstrations that are held throughout the day. You are provided with a timetable when you pay and it's definitely worth keeping an eye on this all day. This are so good due to the wonderful bird handlers who present all the events. I found them all to be intelligent, articulate and good humoured, ensuring that everyone got the most out of everything that was presented.

The first event is the wild red kite and heron feed which you can observe from two hides. This was not too spectacular yesterday because unfortunately no red kites bothered to turn up but as these are birds that live in the wild you would expect it to be a bit hit and miss. We did get to see a number of herons waiting for their breakfast though! Although we didn't stay until the end of the day, there is another feeding session at 4.30 pm which apparently is much more spectacular. This first feeding event was probably the only disappointement of the day though because everything else we watched and saw was superb!

At 11.30 you are invited to the 'vulture restaurant'! Here you can watch the vultures being fed and observe the pecking order that exisits. At the same time, one of the good natured guides will provide a highly entertaining and informative commentary.

After this it's straight over to the Lower Flying Grounds to watch the World of Raptors display at 11.45. This was a brilliant display lasting about half an hour and we were able to see barn owls, falcons, a secretary bird plus many more. The display is put together so very well and is presented by the bird handlers with a great deal of humour and knowledge. My daughters were absolutely enthralled by all the different birds, especially when they flew directly overhead. The show ended with a race between what I think were indian runner ducks and that was a lot of fun cheering for the duck you wanted to win.

The other display we went to was the highly impressive Valley of the Eagles display at 2 pm which took place over a large meadow and featured black kites, vultures and eagles. Again this was a well constructed display presented with humour and great knowledge as well as some quite stirring music. It was really quite moving watching these magnificent birds filling up the sky, as well as experiencing vultures almost skirting the top of your head! I was watching my daighters during this display and the looks on their faces was almost indescribable - a mixture of awe and excitement which meant that I knew that the entrance fee was money well spent!

Other events on the timetable included holding a bird of prey, flying a Harris Hawk (if you are over sixteen) and a Woodland Hawks and Owls display. We did not do any of these so I can only imagine that they were as good as everything else we experienced. All of the arenas for the displays have plenty of seating and in fact all of the grounds are extremely well laid out and attractive. There's also a lovely play area for children with swings and climbing frames all built on bark covered areas. There are also well kept toilets and the usual gift shop!

There is a small cafe on site called Duffys and this provides a good selection of food at reasonable prices. I had a lovely homemade sausage pie and my husband had a bacon baguette and salad. The girls both had sausage baps chosen from the children's menu. These along with four drinks came to less than £20 which I didn't think was too bad for the four of us! On eproblem about the cafe is that it is not ever so big and of course once any of the displays is over that's where everyone heads so you might need to be prepared for a long queue. It's not so bad at lunchtime as there is the option of an outdoor barbeque, but after the second display, which had been very cold, we wanted a cup of tea but gave up waiting because the queue waqs so long!

We absolutely loved our day out yesterday despite it being so much colder than expected. This can be a bit of a problem though as virtually everything there is to see and do is outdoors and is also quite exposed. I would definitely recommend having an extra layer with you just in case!

There is so much more that I could mention about the park but instead I recommend that you visit the website at:

http://www.hawk-conservancy.org

Overall this is a fantastic family day out and I really do recommend a visit if you are near the area.

Summary: An amzing day out!