We went to Queens Park in Bolton on Sunday to see Carp in the Park - no, not a rock band - it's a big fish on legs, which is designed with removable wooden scales that are painted by children in the area. It's a project by Lyn's friend Maggie (see photo), commissioned by the local council as part of a sclupture trail being built in the park. It went very well, and by 2 in the afternoon all the scales had been painted and were laid out to dry. The fish will eventually be installed on an island in the stream that runs through the park.
While we were basking in the glory of the fish, I noticed the stall next door had a fantastic collection of birds of prey, including to my lasting delight, a Eurasian eagle owl. I talked to the nice lady whose husband was flying the birds around, and apparently nobody gets to touch the larger birds in case they get angry and snip off the odd finger. However I was allowed to hold "Circle", a small female tawny owl. I was beside myself, grinning like an idiot...
I have always loved owls. Oscar the eagle owl was immense and regal and sat on his perch ignoring everyone. Apparently keeping these birds is not very easy so my dream of owning one is still in the future - possibly when I retire.
My photographic skills were at an all-time low so all I got were some blurred shots of "Dupe" the Bengal eagle owl being flown around. I got one good one of him about to land on the bloke's glove...
One of the birds, a 9-week-old barn own ("Fred" - extremely cute) had flown up into a tree and wasn't coming down despite all the tasty morcels the guy offered it. I think it wasn't sure about the crowds, and probably came down later. Hope so anyway.
Plug for the bird sanctuary: http://cuerdenbirdsofprey.com
There was also a bloke discovering large reptiles trapped in logs..
All in all, a good day was had. This is what we want eh? Who needs elephants and sword-swinging tai chi? Not me.
Laters
While we were basking in the glory of the fish, I noticed the stall next door had a fantastic collection of birds of prey, including to my lasting delight, a Eurasian eagle owl. I talked to the nice lady whose husband was flying the birds around, and apparently nobody gets to touch the larger birds in case they get angry and snip off the odd finger. However I was allowed to hold "Circle", a small female tawny owl. I was beside myself, grinning like an idiot...
I have always loved owls. Oscar the eagle owl was immense and regal and sat on his perch ignoring everyone. Apparently keeping these birds is not very easy so my dream of owning one is still in the future - possibly when I retire.My photographic skills were at an all-time low so all I got were some blurred shots of "Dupe" the Bengal eagle owl being flown around. I got one good one of him about to land on the bloke's glove...
One of the birds, a 9-week-old barn own ("Fred" - extremely cute) had flown up into a tree and wasn't coming down despite all the tasty morcels the guy offered it. I think it wasn't sure about the crowds, and probably came down later. Hope so anyway.
Plug for the bird sanctuary: http://cuerdenbirdsofprey.com
There was also a bloke discovering large reptiles trapped in logs..
All in all, a good day was had. This is what we want eh? Who needs elephants and sword-swinging tai chi? Not me.
Laters
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