Raptor rapture

 Saturday night at Hexham Racecourse was....exposed. That fantastic view, out of our main window, of the rolling hills also meant there was no shelter from the wind. And Lord did it blow!. That old phrase of "If the van's arockin', don't come aknockin'" took on a totally different meaning.

The wind continued to blow throughout Sunday, but all the time there was no hint of rain, and out of the wind it was reasonably warm.

We had booked ourselves a visit to Falconry Days, a Bird of Prey visitor centre about half an hour drive away down some very narrow lanes. Had we wanted to we could have paid extra and practiced a bit of falconry ourselves, but as the wind was so strong they were reluctant to fly the bigger birds. However we were allowed to watch another couple who flew Plop the Barn Owl in a sheltered open barn, and Henry the Harris Hawk who was strong (and hungry) enough to fly outside.


The rest of the birds were in their cages, which obviously had mesh in front of them. This made photography difficult as my phone camera was focusing on the wire and not the birds. However here is a selection of some of the better pictures.








Today, Monday, we are heading off to Brough, to stay at the Inn at Brough which has a small five pitch site attached. Tuesday we head back home to plan our next trips away.


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