Visit to The Barn Owl Centre in Gloucester, Gloucestershire

I responded to a call for help on Twitter from the Barn Owl Centre for some volunteers to help. The Barn Owl Centre in Gloucester is somewhere I had wanted to visit for a while. However, I had a free weekend so jumped at the chance. They were having some difficulties and needed to set in motion a plan to grow some natural boundaries. These were to keep flying spaces safe for the birds of prey because of changes in the surrounding area.

What Is The Barn Owl Centre in Gloucester?

The Barn Owl Centre in Gloucestershire is a charity that provides owl conservation support to farmers & landowners throughout the UK. They also have a dedicated Bird Sanctuary that gives 24/7 care & support to an array of captive-bred birds that over time have come into our care as either unwanted & mistreated pets. The centre runs rehabilitation programs which enable birds to be retrained. Also, to re-gain trust in people.

They dedicate the Centre to the welfare of barn owls & birds of prey.

Helping at the Barn Owl Centre in Gloucester

The activities on this trip included taking cuttings of willow trees. We then arranged these cuttings into new hedgerows to grow and flourish. This is to create a safe flying space for the centre’s birds.

Volunteer work building hedgerows for the barn owl centre

This time was a small turnout but achieved plenty between the four of us. Vinny was a great host and provided instruction, gloves, tea, for refreshment. However, there was also a tour of their operation. This included meeting some birds, a tour of the farmland, and their nest box workshop.

Owl Box Workshop At Barn Owl Centre — Owl Box Workshop

Nature Reserve in Gloucester

The nature reserve surrounding the farm was great and saw many wild birds. These included songbirds, a barn owl hunting, and some pheasants. Lots of native plants and trees were in abundance and made for a nice place to be. During the day, I got to see a few owls and a golden eagle in their homes. This was fascinating and very special to me.

Conservation Nest Boxes

The Centre work to keep Owl Conversation very simple and sell a range of Owl & Kestrel Nest Boxes. These provide a perfect choice that supports the welfare of Owls & Kestrels that take up residence & successfully raise their young.

They manufacture these on-site and can you can purchase them via their Website Shop. Browse their Shop.

Activities at The Barn Owl Centre

They arrange activities in advanced and best to contact to find out if they are available.

Barn owl experience – This is a great hands-on flying experience that provides the opportunity for all ages, especially families with young children, to join us to fly Barn Owls.
Hawk & owl experience – The birds you get to fly on this experience will be a European Buzzard or a Harris Hawk plus one of the Owl species.
Photography days – The perfect location to photograph owls & birds of prey.
Birthday parties – An educational hands-on Owl Flying Experience tailored for children aged between 4 and 15 years old.
Schools & Group Visits – Children from the age of 4 can fly trained Owls to the gloved hand whilst learning all about them. During the visit, all children will also be able to see a variety of species ranging from Owls, Hawks, Falcons & a Golden Eagle.

Volunteering

The centre needs the help of volunteers, which they appreciate. They have opportunities for people to help;

Admin – for those that enjoy working in an office environment, suitable for those with computer skills and good communication.
Workshop – Helping to build the boxes that the centre builds and sells. Carpentry skills are a great help, but they give training to those that join in.
Nature Reserve – Helping to maintain the farm’s natural environment. For example, natural hedgerow building that I helped to build amongst other things. They provide tools and ground working equipment for volunteers.

More about Volunteering your time/skills.

Barn Owl Centre Gloucester Videos

The centre has a selection of photos or videos on their website. Also, there are some and on YouTube, including this one of an Eagle Owl.

They also have some media on their Facebook page.

Where?

The Barn Owl Centre is located outside of Gloucester near to Hempsted. It is not far from the site of the weekly Car Boot Sale on the A430. The Full Address is Netheridge Farm, Netheridge Cl, Gloucester GL2 5LE.

Website – https://www.barnowl.co.uk/

Twitter – https://twitter.com/BarnOwlCentre

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/barnowlcentre

Photos From My Visit to the Barn Owl Centre

Some general photos from my trip, including a fantastic rainbow that appeared while we were working.