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Local Milford on Sea News Story Archives

26th September 2009: Face to face with a bald eagle.
If you are a regular reader of these news pages you will be aware of how torrential rain postponed our last ‘bird of prey flying experience’ at Liberty's Raptor and Reptile Centre in Ringwood. Well yesterdays’ glorious weather held no such threat as we made the half hour journey to meet some new feathered friends. At the entrance I saw a grey whale in the pond, my wife corrected me with a (not so gentle) slap & informed me it was a Koi Carp, but even she agreed it was the biggest Koi she had seen. Inside the centre the greeting from all at Liberty’s was warm & we were quickly offered a cup of tea. (I couldn’t resist the temptation to also have a slice of homemade cake!). Soon after we were meeting Jason (our falconer for the afternoon), and Danny (our fellow ‘trainee falconer’), and we were taken to the hub of the flying centre. The small shed was intriguing, full of bird hoods on the wall, weighing machines, hunting jackets, food fridges & well worn flying gloves. We were soon to learn that the weight of every bird was critical & ‘dead weight’ meant exactly what it says in the bird world. The complexities of keeping each bird healthy was a complete art in itself, too little food & a bird can die overnight, too much & it will choose not fly. We were fitted with our flying jackets, I say ‘fitted’ in the loosest term of the word, as in my case a 50 inch chest was unsurprisingly not available, no worries, I soon had one that sort of fitted. Now, you may recall for our previous story that my wife had a cunning plan to wear sunglasses to prevent her eyes being pecked out. Inconspicuously she slipped them on. Unlike last time, when the weather did not warrant such attire, her safety gear was now serving a critical dual purpose for her in the sunshine. Jason informed us that he had never met anyone who had had their eyes pecked out, but my wife was more than happy that she had ensured that she was not going to be the first. Anyway, the afternoon started outside of the owl house, where we were instructed how to correctly hold a bird on a glove. Then all three of us were given our own owl to hold, all of which loved to be stroked. We each met a Tawny Owl, Long Eared Owl & a Barn Owl. (Which has the second most feathers of all birds in the world, the Swan being the first.) Jason knew the answer to about every question we asked, as he happily informed us about the owls habitat, diet, threats & more. There was no rush & we were given plenty of time to enjoy our experience. Next we were back to the bird shed to stock up on food. This time there was no cake, this food was to be for the birds. As the fridge opened it was a quick reminder that we were actually dealing with real killing machines, apparently birds of prey don’t like cake, they prefer the venison parts & rabbit heads we saw. Soon our flying jacket pockets had been filled with chick heads. I tried to look as this was something that was normal to carry in my pockets, but actually I normally only have my phone, wallet & hanky. Next we were off to the field with the ‘display arena ’ & we were to become part of one of the regular daily public displays. I asked what subject they would like me talk about on the tannoy, but apparently I was only required to stand & call the birds to one of the display tables around the arena. The first birds we had in the arena were a pair of Eagle Owls - & they were big! All three of us went to separate tables spread across the arena & in turn prepared to call the birds by name. As we called them we were to show them the chick head, call the bird & then as they flew towards us place it on the table & take a step back. I tried to remember the process, right, put the chick head a step back, get on the table & call the bird. No, that’s not right. Soon we were off, and time to take chick head out of my pocket. Fearlessly the chick head was in hand, bird called & a majestic giant eagle was swooping towards me. Yes, I did remember to put the chick head on the table, and I then watched the magnificence of the eagle owl enjoying it just inches from me. Wow, this was real fun. Our pockets were then refilled with chick wings, & by now I really wouldn’t have minded if they had been sheep testicles. We were next off to the teaching theatre to fly the three owls we met earlier, but this time they would be flying to eat from our glove. They way Jason was smoothly moving us up a notch each time was very clever. Owls fed, we then had a pocket refill, this time with chick legs, and then once again back to arena to feed the significantly larger Harris Hawk from the glove. Another great experience, as this magnificently fast predator glided in to land on our hands to take its afternoon snack. Seeing such a proud creature at close quarters is quite amazing. I felt I needed to quickly check my wife’s eyes were still in place, but I couldn’t actually see behind her sunglasses, however, she seemed in good shape to me, so I reckoned her plan was working & that her eyes hadn’t been pecked out yet. Still Jason had more for us as he bought into the arena the African Hooded Vulture. You may have read in my previous article the reasons why I am now a convert to respecting vultures. To add to my ‘in head personal library of interesting facts’ (This is not what the wife calls them, but her description of them is probably best not mentioned) we learned that the term ‘pecking order’ comes from how various different species of vulture take a strict turn in eating from the same carcass. The African Hooded Vulture was certainly a big boy & when sitting on your glove you can see how their powerful looking hooked beaks can easily rip open elephant hide. Every flying experience was unhurried & we all got a great amount of time to appreciate each of the birds we were flying & feeding. Our afternoon concluded with a close quarters meeting with ‘Liberty’, the centre’s American Bald Eagle. This spectacular giant bird was a significant weight on the arm and I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. I was slightly perplexed that ‘Liberty’ was not bald anywhere, until Jason told me the word ‘bald’ referred to their head & tail plumage, as ‘bald’ also meant ‘white’ in Old English. To train all of these birds to accept strangers must be a massive task, and I for one am very grateful they take the time to do it. We had three hours of Jason’s full attention, and at just 20 years old his eleven years knowledge, experience & commitment was impressive.

This great experience is not designed as a performance, but is done to support the centre’s conservation work & to educate people about birds of prey. There is something heart warming about passionate people who put the welfare of others or nature before themselves. The time it takes to train & care for these, and the other scores of birds & reptiles they have, must be immense, added to this they do critical conservation work, educational schools trips & public displays to promote the centre. How they find the time & resource is beyond me, yet what they make in respect far outweighs what they make in money. If you are looking for an unusual present for someone, or fancy a go yourself, why not try out this great experience & at the same time help these guys out in carrying on their excellent work.
Liberty's Raptor and Reptile Centre website: www.libertyscentre.co.uk

26th September 2009: Milford on Sea is a dangerous place to live.
I suspect most who live in, or visit Milford on Sea would be unaware that we live in a dangerous place. In fact, so much so that we have a sign to warn us all. Having heard about the sign your intrepid reporter set out in search of evidence. My first thought was that Milford on Sea had been declared the drug capital of the UK, but as most of these are taken by legitimate prescription I soon realised we would not actually qualify for this disturbing title. Perhaps the danger lurks in the village I thought, so off I set, but there did not appear to be any angry groups of ‘hoodies’ roaming the streets, & the biggest dangers I found on the street corners was the recently installed sharp edged curbs. I accept that here in Milford there is a higher percentage chance of being mown down by a mobility scooter, but I found no signs to warn us of this, so I concluded that this was not the danger I was looking for. So, it appeared that the village is pretty safe. That being the case, I decided that the danger must lie at the seafront. My next investigations soon revealed the danger to me. (Do you think I found it so fast because I am married to a policeman’s daughter?) To my horror I discovered that we are all under threat from the rocks. I stood back & calmly read the chilling sign: ‘Warning: Rocks can be dangerous’. The sign told me everything & nothing. However, now being alert to the danger I took a quick look at the rocks in the immediate area, unfortunately whoever had put up the sign had not been through enough to label each rock with ‘this one is dangerous’, this one is not’, ‘this one is dangerous’, ‘this one is not’ etc. The sign itself wasn’t really helping, as it just had an image of superman flying over some cotton wool balls, and no indication of where the dangerous rocks are’. I soon wondered if it was it just a small group of wicked rocks that were actually dangerous?, & if so how would we know which ones they are. More disturbingly, how would we know if they roam in vicious groups, or do they slyly mingle in with the nice placid rocks, only revealing themselves when they attack? The sign did not actually reveal their exact nature of danger, so I decided to keep one hand on my wallet, the other on the dogs, and at the same time kept looking behind me to ensure I was not mugged by surprise. Indeed, how daft would I have looked if I had been mugged by a rock. Can you imagine explaining the mugging to the police, & the officer asking: ‘Didn’t you see the warning sign sir?’. Perhaps the rocks were dangerous because ten percent of them had been replaced by rubber rocks, so that when you walk on them you just bounce uncontrollably into the air towards the Needles. Could be funny to watch, but I do accept that this would qualify as dangerous. My investigations were coming to nothing, and it seemed being the husband of a policeman’s daughter was no longer helping me to solve the mystery. I therefore took the best course of action I could think of, & went home for a drink in the knowledge that the rocks may get me in an unexpected way sometime in the future.
 
Whilst rambling inanely about signs that are designed by people who studied ‘stating the bleeding obvious’ at university, I am now planning to add a few more to protect us all, I might start with: ‘Danger: Walking can make you tired’, ‘Warning: Pebbles can be nasty if roused’, ‘Attention: Nude bathing is prohibited, but encouraged’ and ‘Watch out, watch out there’s a Humphrey about’. If you see them, don’t tell anyone that it was me did it. Perhaps we could even add to bottom of the village welcome sign: Beware: Our rocks are evil!’

26th September 2009: Short Mat Bowls on the seafront.
Fancy getting some gentle indoor exercise? Our local Milford on Sea Bowling Club in Hurst Road on the seafront is soon to start its Short Mat Bowls season. Not only is the short game light-hearted fun, it is also a great way to make new friends in the village. The short mat bowling season runs in the clubs bowling pavilion from October until April, and winter membership cost just £15. Each session is then just £2 including tea & biscuits. Fun & laughter is free. If you are not sure it is for you, why not just pop in for a chat at anytime, they always warmly welcome visitors & are a really friendly bunch. No experience is necessary, so if you fancy actually having a go to see if you like the game, why not come along to the Open Day on Sunday 11th October between 10am to 4pm – everyone & all ages welcome!

29th September 2009: Birds galore at Keyhaven.
I recently came across the below blog from Martin Smith, an enthusiastic bird watcher, who last weekend visited our Local Nature Reserve with his friends. His story goes like this:
Eleven members of the VWH (Vale of White Horse) Local RSPB Group met in the car park at Keyhaven for the first of this season’s bird watching outings to Pennington & Keyhaven Marshes. It had been a chilly autumn morning (7°C) when we had began our journeys, but on arrival the sun was shining brightly, and with only a slight breeze, a fine day promised. House sparrow, pied wagtail, collared dove and wood pigeon were all seen before we had left the car park. The pond next to the car park held wigeon, coot, cormorant and little grebe. A couple of jays flew over and a buzzard was seen in the distance. A Cetti’s warbler was heard singing in the adjacent reed bed, the first of several heard throughout the day. The tide was high and there was no sign of the turnstones that usually frequent the little inlet. Once on the path around the southern edge of the marshes we noticed that the air was full of swallows and house martins. We tried hard to find sand martins amongst them but without success. The yaffle of a green woodpecker rang out and the bird was seen flying low over the mud, pursued by angry house martins – something none of us had seen before. A solitary clouded yellow butterfly put in an appearance. All the usual species of wader were busy feeding out on the mud, and the missing turnstones were found feeding on the strand line. Wheatears were expected but were very elusive. We found just one. A single whinchat was a nice find to compare with the more numerous stonechat. The water level in the freshwater lagoons was very low, not surprising considering the lack of rainfall during September, but there were some interesting birds to be found, notably curlew and pectoral sandpipers. Unfortunately we did not find the little stint that was rumoured to be about, but a water rail showed well in compensation. While we sat enjoying our packed lunches, several butterflies were also making the most of the warm autumn sunshine. Wall, common blue, and a beautiful small copper butterfly were observed. On a mud bank a group of grey plover included a few birds still resplendent in their breeding plumage. Great crested grebes were diving for food in the sea, but no sign of any other species of grebe or mergansers. There were very few geese about. In fact we only saw two, one each of Canada and Brent species. Several thousand Brent geese usually overwinter on the Marshes, so the one that we saw must have been an early arrival. We returned to our cars along the lanes behind the marshes, adding several “garden” species to our day’s list, which finished on a total of 65. A splendid day. Martin Smiths Birding Blog: http://summit284birding.blogspot.com/2009/09/keyhaven-and-pennington-marshes.html

30th September 2009: Fancy some reflexology?
We have a new Reflexology (Hand or Feet) and Reiki service coming to the village from 9th October 2009. Karen Winston’s new practice will be based in the old Parish Council Office’s just inside Milford Library and Village Hall. Karen’s treatments will be available every Friday from 10am to 12pm, she is also available to make home visits. If you fancy making a booking you can call Karen on 01202 243741 or 07932078353. This new service now gives us two Reflexology rooms in Milford on Sea village, the other being Hilary Short who does both Reflexology & Indian Head Massage. Hilary can relax you with a Reflexology Foot Massage, Holistic Body Massage or Indian Head Massage. She offers Mini 'taster' or full sessions in her private therapy room near the Pleasure Grounds, or even in your own home. If this is for you just call 07938 002131. Pachamama Reflexology website: www.pachamamareflexology.co.uk