Hawk Conservancy Trust newsletter Winter 20 Issue 86

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HAWKTALK WINTER 2020 ISSUE 86

A message from our Chief Executive Penny Smout CEO

In this issue

25 years of Reg’s Wildflower Meadow Introducing Wallace, Attenborough and Irwin Plan your next visit

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DEFENDERS OF THE TRUST Guardians of the Meadow

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We had hoped to get this edition of HawkTalk out to you a while ago, but hopefully it’s a case of better late than never. We do want to keep in touch with our members and let you know what we are up to and how things are going.

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this winter A Star of the Summer: Orion 07 How can birds adapt 08

As you might imagine COVID has been keeping us on our toes, and now we are dealing with the challenges presented by the Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (a threat to birds rather than humans). We’ve been through that one before so the team already knew the biosecurity measures to implement. It has not all been about COVID, there have been some fun things too, like working on the Winter Woodland Lights event and helping to devise the new Guardian of the Meadow appeal, both of which are covered in detail in this edition of HawkTalk . We hope you’ll enjoy these too. The recent Christmas Market was a big success – we’re already planning to do it again in 2021. Our takeaways from Feathers Restaurant are going well and I can personally attest to their deliciousness! We have some creative folk on the team who have developed some really special new elements to what we offer. These innovations have been born from the COVID crisis, and just show what the team can achieve when given the chance. Thank you team! It has also been budget season. The rulebook has been massively adapted as striving to produce a surplus would require drastic cuts. So we’re anticipating that we’ll need to use even more of our reserves to get us to a more sustainable level. We will be continuing to invest in our conservation and research work, such an important part of our mission, and in our visitor centre to improve what we offer you on a visit, with enhancements to our displays. The recent news about vaccines has been heartening, but we still have a long way to go before we can stop worrying about sanitising and managing social distancing. One thing we’d like to encourage you to do is visit! We have quite a few spaces in our limited capacity reserved for members and they are very rarely all taken up, even back when the weather was nicer. I am delighted to report that while we have increased our day admission prices (out of necessity) we are not increasing our membership fees in 2021! We are so aware of your amazing support throughout this year, and your patience as we struggled with how to get our new system to extend your memberships, which is a complex process. It was a case of having the office team sink completely, drafting in additional support (with extensive training required) or asking for your cooperation. It is not something we would ordinarily do as it is completely the right thing for us to extend your membership, and we are deeply grateful for the understanding and generosity of spirit to those who were able to opt to not have your memberships extended. We thought it the least that we could do to not charge you more next year! If you have not been back since the second lockdown, you are in for a surprise. We decided to go ahead with many of our projects that we normally do when we are closed in January. This will definitely make January a little less challenging (some might say bonkers) with only some smaller park projects, the Winter Woodland Lights event and our Winter VIP experiences to host. So while we didn’t want the second lockdown, we have certainly made the most of it. As the saying goes, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade! You’ll see changes to the arenas to increase the seating capacity (key to boosting our income). We have also spruced up and renovated many aviaries and given the residents their annual health checks. It’s the start of the breeding season. Let’s hope 2021 is a good year for successful hatchings! As we rapidly approach the festive period, I would like to wish you the happiest Christmas the restrictions will allow and to wish you a peaceful and above all a healthy 2021.

to our changing planet? Volunteers of the Year

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Christmas Gift Ideas

Dates for your diary

Winter Woodland Lights , Friday 15 – Sunday 31 January 2021 Owls by Moonlight , Weekend evenings during spring Find out more and book tickets: www.hawk-conservancy.org/events Grounds closed Each year we close for around a month to undertake maintenance and development projects. This year we will be closed Tuesday 5 January – Tuesday 5 February 2021. Feathers Restaurant and the Trust Shop will remain open during this time, 10am-4:30pm each day. For our Winter Woodland Lights event, the Trust will be open from 5pm and the Trust Shop will remain open until 9pm.

We would like to invite you to become a Guardian of our meadow, ‘Reg’s Wildflower Meadow,’ and help secure the future of the Hawk Conservancy Trust.

This year, 2020, marks the 25th anniversary of the creation of Reg’s Wildflower Meadow. Sadly, it also marks the biggest challenge to the Trust in its 55-year history. The necessary restrictions we have put in place to help the fight against COVID-19 are severely impacting our income and the future of the Trust, and our renowned conservation work, is in jeopardy. We are appealing to friends and supporters of the Trust to help us raise funds by adopting a plot and becoming a Guardian of the Meadow. In 1995, we created a seven- acre wildflower meadow, returning what was for decades an agricultural field back to original chalk downland. Named in memory of one of the Trust’s founders, Reg Smith, the meadow is an integral part of the visitor’s experience as we fly our beautiful birds across the meadow each day. Reg’s Meadow attracts and is home to an amazing variety of wildlife, and meadows of this type are one of the rarest habitats in the UK today. We’re eager to secure the future of the meadow, and along with it the entire Trust, so that generations to come can experience this inspiring habitat.

Please help us to secure the future of the Hawk Conservancy Trust by becoming a Guardian. Helping to protect the future of the Trust will ultimately support the fortunes of birds of prey and their habitats. Guardians of the Meadow will receive a certificate of adoption and can choose from six iconic plant species seen in the meadow over the years. Their name will also be displayed on a special sign celebrating Guardians of the Meadow. Selecting a Meadow Guardianship for a loved one offers a unique gift and unites us in securing the future of the Trust. Find out more at: www.hawk - conservancy.org/meadowappeal

Hawk Conservancy Trust Visitor Centre, Sarson Lane, Weyhill, Andover, Hampshire, SP11 8DY T: 01264 773 850 E: info@hawkconservancy.org www.hawkconservancy.org

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The Hawk Conservancy Trust would like to extend its thanks to our corporate supporters: