Ashton Broadwings

[Jayd 0]

Hi all,

 

Just thought I would let you know of a place in Ashton in Makerfield, Wigan, where there is a birds of prey centre. I visited today with the family, after I heard about it last week, and thought I would pop down and visit. The centre is run off the guys love of birds, not profit, one of the blokes who took us round has been involved with birds of prey since he was 6 years old - He's over now! They also look after Donkeys that work Blackpool beach during the off season, but they are extending the range of birds they have in, and will hopefully have more done by summer. They had various birds, including a buzzard, pair of Harris Hawks, Kestrel, as well as a selection of owls including European, Barn, and Tawny. The birds are very well kept, and some of them are pretty friendly - My lad donned the glove on more than one occasion, and had no problems whatsoever. The guys who run it are top blokes, they answer any questions about the birds you could think of, give you a run down of information to do with the birds, generally sound people. As I said, they're not for profit, but we gave a generous donation to help look after the birds, cover some of the food costs etc. I would highly recommend you visit them, they are a font of knowledge with regards to the birds, I do believe they will be offering courses to do with birds of prey, which lead to some certificates, and most importantly, good knowledge of how to look after your birds for those looking to start. They have regular contact with Defra and the like, and are clued up about the questions people have when looking to keep birds. The old chap's family were all into gamekeeping too, on an estate in Lincolnshire, just to sweeten the deal! All in all, well worth a look.

 

Here's a Flashearth link to where abouts it is, sorry, I don't have a postcode for it.

 

http://www.flashearth.com/?lat=53.48186&am...r=0&src=msl

 

If there is interest, I shall stick a few photos up which the better half took whilst we were there.

 

Thanks for your time.

Edited February 14, 2009 by Jayd

[Jayd 0]

Here's a couple of photos from there. There's obviously more birds than these, but these photos are the best ones without having anyone who is in my clan on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As I said previously, it's worth a look, and it's all for a good cause, the guys do it out of love for the birds, and aren't money driven. When 7 of us turned up, they spent plenty of times going over everything, they made it so the kids could understand, and were very friendly.