The Hawk Conservancy

We loved it. I'd heard good reports about the HC and it lived up to expectations.

There are several shows during the day and timed so you get a break between them. The birds fly right above your heads and you can feel the breeze of their wings, you will need to duck!

The valley of the eagles show is held overlooking the fields, the vultures, kits and eagles all come out for this. I particularly liked the owl display in the shaded wood at the end of the day.

All the children can hold a small owl, there was a huge queue the day we went but they all got a turn.

The staff are enthusiastic and clearly love their job. The cafe is a little small but I understand it's being upgraded and the new one will open summer 2012. The toilets were clean, a huge bonus with small children who tend to touch everything.

It's safe to say we will be going back next year.

The Hawk conservancy is a great place for a family day out. The grounds open at 10am and close at 5:30pm. There are displays on throughout the day starting in the hides with the wild raptor feeds.

They then have the vulture feeding. Then the flying displays of the days start. The have the small birds flying display first, followed by the valley of the eagles display where you get up close and personal with many wild birds. The last flying display is the woodland owls where you get to see owls flying in a natural setting. The last thing of the day is the wild raptors feeding again at the hides.

There are loads of birds all around the grounds for you to see there is a child play park there. There are also at the end of the displays, opportunities for you to hold the birds. For the children on the entrance of the HCT they get given a visitor book where you have to collect stamps of all different birds on the way round. There is a nice cafe on site and loads of places to sit and eat a picnic that you can bring in with you. If you live close enough a family of 4 can get unlimited entry for