Birds of Prey Centre

On our last full day in Cornwall the other month we decided on a visit to the Birds of Prey Centre, the other side of Newquay from where we were staying.

It's a relatively small place, but even though neither my wife or I are especially fanatical about raptors we had a good time. The weather was looking a bit dodgy when we arrived, and it wasn't certain if the flight display would be able to proceed later on. We had nearly an hour, wandering around and looking at all the birds, before it started chucking it down.

Instead of the display the owners decided to host an impromptu talk in one of the inside areas. I think I actually enjoyed this more than I would have the flight display - instead of fiddling with the camera all the time trying to get 'the shot' of a bird in flight we actually got to chat with the owners. It quickly became obvious how much they care for what they do and how much regard they have for the birds. They brought a couple of the birds in - a Harris Hawk and a Buzzard - and we even got to 'pet' the hawk a little.

If you are ever in the area I recommend a visit. Even if you're not that interested it's worth it - the owners are really trying to make a big thing of the place after taking over from a guy who didn't seem to care for the place too much, and they have some ideas that need funding in order to keep doing what they love.

Here is my favourite shot of the day, a close-up of a hawk. I think I prefer the black and white version, but I can't decide for sure, so I'll post them both and you can make your own mind up.

 

Nikon 80-400mm VR at 120mm, 1/200sec, f/7.1, ISO800