There were some special feathered guests at the first formal meeting of the recently-formed Monumental Women of Wellington (WOW).
Here is their full report …
Joint club coordinators Karen Janas and Rachel Ellins introduced themselves and the rest of the committee and then warmly welcomed all the members present, faces both familiar and new.
Meetings will have varied formats, some with speakers and others with different activities for members to take part in together, but our first was a thoroughly enjoyable and informative evening with Fudge, Dusty, Pootle, Gizmo, Ollie, Woody, Purdy and Splatt!
These delightful birds came with their friend Anna and her colleague from Owl Obsession UK, a not-for-profit organisation based in Yeovil and run by folk who are literally obsessed by owls and birds of prey.
Fudge, an Indian scoops owl, was the first to be introduced to us. Weighing in at between four and six ounces these little fellows are one of the smallest species of owl in the world and can reach an age of seven to ten years in captivity but much less in the wild.
He happily sat on Anna’s gloved hand as she walked around the room. His resting heart rate can increase from 250 beats per minute to around 550 if stressed but thankfully he didn’t appear bothered by all the attention and appreciation.
Two-year-old Dusty, an Australian boobank owl, was very much hawk-like in appearance with a vicious looking beak and talons to match.
Despite his tough guy appearance, we learned he likes nothing more to than to watch widescreen TV from a cage in Anna’s house!
There are 260 different species of owl in the world and 60 per cent of them are nocturnal.
Pootle was the delightful tawny owl who came to visit us, so named because of his distinctive way of walking!
Anna described how sometimes baby owls can leave the nest to perch on a branch and end up toppling over.
The RCPCA occasionally are called to rescue traumatised owls and have brought them to the facility for care. These birds cannot cope with big spaces, and the unit has a special aviary where the birds can fly in safety.
Gizmo, the white barn owl, generated much delight when he appeared. Classified as the ‘purest owl’, these birds have the quintessential facial disc which functions as a feathery satellite dish, funnelling sounds to their ears.
These are asymmetrical with one ear lower and more forward, helping the birds pinpoint the exact location and height of sounds in total darkness.
This owl hunts on the wing and, when eating its prey, can lift the beak forward to keep its feathers clean.
Two-year-old Ollie is very unusual in that he is a rare black barn owl. The condition is called melanism, where a usually high level of melanin is produced and occurs in one in 100,000 birds.
Ollie was bred in captivity from two other black owls. He is so Ioved, he even has his own Instagram account, and Anna’s husband is his number one fan!
Next to appear was Splatt – the reason for which he obligingly demonstrated!
Splatt is an African eagle owl who has been at the centre since he was two weeks old. He happily plays with the centre’s cat and her kittens, and his favourite hobby is running!
Anna explained that birds of prey won’t fly unless they are hungry. Once caught, they use their feet to hold on to their prey. The centre buys in frozen food from specialist suppliers of mice, hamsters, rabbits and other small mammals.
Woody was an Asian brown wood owl, a secretive species which, in the wilds of Malaysia and Asia, spend most of their time in the tree canopy.
Their massive eye sockets make up 70 per cent of their skull, giving them a monkey like appearance hence their nickname of ‘monkey owl’.
Alarmingly, in some countries they are associated with death and illness and, in earlier times, were nailed to the door of a house where a death was expected.
Such large eyes are very vulnerable, so they have three eyelids to protect them. One closes down to blink, a second slides up when sleeping and a third protective membrane which closes sideways and protects against dirt or twigs while still allowing the birds to see and which filters light like sunglasses.
Finally Purdy, a Siberian eagle owl, made an impressive entrance. One of the largest species in the world these hail from the Russian tundra.
Weighing in at six and a half pounds with a six-foot wing span – which he demonstrated admirably! – Purdy also has very powerful feet.
These feet can exert a pressure of 500 lbs psi which is around 60 times a firm human handshake. His wild cousins hunt rabbits and chicks but are quite capable of taking a roe deer fawn.
When breeding, they lay their eggs in stages and, if they are unable to hunt for any reason, will happily eat their younger chicks. Anna encouraged some members to touch Purdy’s toes behind his fearsome talons.
While three of the four felt quite soft, the fourth black talon had a blade on it. Surprisingly this is not used to dispatch prey but is actually used to clean his beak- an ‘owl toothbrush’!
With double the number of neck vertebrae of humans, Purdy was quite able to keep an eagle eye on everybody in the room.
At the end of the session, members had an opportunity to hold the birds we had seen under the supervision of Anna and her colleague. A really special experience and enjoyed by everyone present.
The committee kindly provided cake on this occasion but, going forward, there will be a monthly rota.
The money raised from cake sales will go to our nominated charity, for which members will be asked to vote.
The current list of activities and groups was displayed and new ones suggested, including sewing and conversational French. Looking further ahead, a possible visit to Lapland in early 2028 will be explored at a future meeting.
Next month, we will not be at our usual venue as we are going to for a photo treasure hunt.
The response to the invitation to join WOW was amazing and, as a result, membership numbers have had to be capped at 80 in order that our regular venue at The Beambridge is able to accommodate us.
This means that we are currently unable to accept new applications for membership, but this is under review and may change,so please keep checking the website at ‘monumentalwomenofwellington.org’ for further details and up-to-date information.