Ray Lowden
The Centre at Kielder was opened in 1997 although I personally have worked with Birds of Prey for 40 years. Our main aim was and still is conservation so we wanted to introduce conservation through education.
We started off with 40 birds and that has now grown to 75 birds including Owls, Hawks,Falcons, Eagles, Vultures and one or two other interesting species.
All our birds on display are bred in captivity and through the valuable work of the captive breeding programme we are able to further the awareness of conservation, propagation and rehabilitation of Birds of Prey. We are very selective about the birds that we do breed at the Centre. In my opinion too many birds are bred in captivity for the wrong reasons. BIRDS OF PREY ARE NOT PETS.
We often get injured Birds of Prey handed in at the Centre by members of the public, local vets, the R.S.P.C.A. and other organisations. Our aim is to hopefully reintroduce these birds back into the wild where possible. We also work very closely with the Wildlife Trust.We do school visits, talks etc.... to promote the Centre and we also run Falconry courses, Bird Management courses, Hawk Walks etc.... you can find more information about these on the website.
Over the years we have had thousands of visitors from all over the United Kingdom and the world including all over Europe, America and as far away as Dubai, the Seychelles, Mexico and Japan.As you can imagine we are extremely popular with photographers and artists. We encourage people to take as many photographs of the birds as they want and you can also have your photo taken with a bird of your choice free of charge.
The Centre is not a charity and the upkeep of the centre is very expensive. Visitors to the Centre often asked how they could help with the upkeep of the centre and that is why we introduced the Adoption Scheme which allows people to adopt their favourite bird knowing all the money goes towards the upkeep of the birds and the Centre.
Some of our birds have appeared on television in such programmes as Badger, Byker Grove, Blue Peter and most recently Elizabeth the Virgin Queen. We were also extremely pleased to be asked by the B.B.C. to take part in Springwatch this year for the first time.
Our birds are also a very popular attraction at Alnwick Castle where 10 of our birds are housed and on display to the thousands of visiters who come from all over the world to visit Alnwick Castle. Again our aim is conservation through education. This season we have been at Alnwick Castle for 13 weeks. We do Falconry Displays twice daily and as with the visitors to Kielder the visitors to Alnwick are encouraged to take as many photographs as they want to.
The birds displayed at Alnwick Castle are looked after and displayed by my son David Lowden and Alex our apprentice falconer. I look after the birds at Kielder with Jenilee my right hand girl, Jenilee has been with me now for two and a half years and is a true professional and Glen who joined us after he left school this year having already been a very reliable volunteer also David and Alex who work for us on a part time basis when they are not at Alnwick Castle.
We are also extremely lucky to have a volume of volunteers who are very loyal and supportive. Steve and Terry have been volunteers with us for the past 3 years and are the most dedicated couple I have ever come across, every free day including holidays are spent helping out at the centre. We also have Becks our trainee falconer, Peter our ships captain who, when he is not at sea comes to help us whenever he can, Alan, Cath and her two sons, Keith, Steven, Peter, Raymond, Ken and Owen without their valuable support the centre would not be where it is today. I personally would like to thank everyone for their integrity and conscientious hard work.
Regards Ray Lowden.
PLEASE NOTE, FOR YOUR SAFETY BEFORE BOOKING COURSES OR ACTIVITIES WITH OTHER ESTABLISHMENT'S CHECK THAT THEY HAVE EITHER A ZOO LICENCE OR AN ANIMAL PERFORMING LICENCE, IF THEY DO NOT THEIR PUBLIC LIABILITY INSURANCE IS INVALID.
