New member to WAB

[MarkE70]

Hi Maple, thanks for the advice. In terms of the hides you mention, can you just access these at any time or do you need to get permission from anyone first? I would like to try these and if you have any more details I would be most appreciative if you could let me know, Cheers Mark.

P.S. Also do you or anyone else know of any Bird of Prey centres in the Northumberland/ Tyne and wear region? if so are they any good for taking shots of the birds?

[pressld2]

When I was there they had daily bird of prey displays at Alnwick Castle and I got some lovely close-ups of native (kestrel, peregrine, and barn-owl) and non-native (white-faced scops owl, lammergeir and harris hawk) species.

I was thinking of posting the native birds in the Gallery but I'm not sure what the policy is on photos of captive birds. Can anyone advise if this is okay?

Dave P.

(Ooh look - I'm closing in on the magic 25 posts! Soon be able to edit my profile

[Maple]

Hi Mark. You need a key to access these hides though you could get in if there is already someone there. You can get a key from the Thornley Woodland Centre which is just past Winlaton Mill on the way to Rolands Gill. It opens after 12:00. They will also give you a map of how to get to the five various hides. An idea of what you might see there check out www.gatesheadbirders.co.uk. If you want to travel further south, Washington Wildfowl Park is worth a visit (great for Herons).

I don’t know of any other bird of prey centres, but then I didn’t know about bird of prey display pressld2 mentioned. I would certainly recommend the one at Kielder as they have a good number of birds and do daily displays which are great for photographing.

[MarkE70]

Thanks Maple, I will certainly try the suggested locations when I next get time off work. Cheers, Mark.