Our first Wedding Anniversary Adventure on 2nd of August was my anniversary present to David – I had booked him a two hour Falconry Experience at Kintail Birds of Prey.
In the village of Eredine on the banks of Loch Awe this is Argyll’s only collection of Scottish native birds of prey. There are over 25 birds of prey on display from the tiny Little Owl to the magnificent Golden Eagle. It is a lovely drive to get there, head south on the A82 and either drive through Glen Orchy to meet the A85 or continue down to Tyndrum and turn right onto the A85. Just before you reach Kilchurn Castle take a left turn onto the A819 signposted Inverarary. After 5 miles turn right onto the B840 and keep on this road for around 13 miles. We missed the turning into Eredine village so keep your eye open for Eredine House on your right, cross a bridge and the turning to the village is immediately on your left. It’ll would be a pretty drive in the Autumn when trees are changing colour.
Joanne took David around the birds one at a time, I was allowed to tag along, talking in great detail about them and then allowing him to hold them whilst wearing a gauntlet. The little owl was light but as the birds got bigger David’s arm began to ache, he struggled to hold the Golden Eagle at the end.
We got to meet the Little Owl called Digger first, he only weighed 4 ounces.
Then came the Barn Owls Snoopy a typical buff and white colour and another, sorry I forget their name, who had dark feathers due to a very rare Melanistic genetic mutation, he/she was our favourite as they were so unique.
Next was Timmy the Tawny Owl followed by Wally the Long Eared Owl.
The names of the rest of the birds have been forgotten, sorry.
Leaving the owls behind we moved on to a Kestrel and a group of Peregrine Falcons in various shades.
Then came the marvelous Gyrfalcon which is the largest species in the falcon family. They breed on the Arctic coasts and tundra, Canada and Siberia but do occasionally make it into Scotland.
The goshawk was impressive too.
There was then a beautiful pair of Eagle Owls, the female had the nicer plumage. She had a good defense mechanism to ward off predators – she gives out a loud hiss if anything gets close to her.
Finally there was the Golden Eagle who was hooded when David held her, which he couldn’t’ do for long.
Then David got to fly the brown Barn Owl and Kestrel to his hand. He flew the Peregrine next but this time to a lure as they are too fast and powerful to come to the hand.
It was a wonderful visit and we can highly recommend it.
