THE WORK OF S.O.S.
Established as a
registered charity in 2001, the Suffolk Owl Sanctuary is
based at Stonham Aspal in Suffolk, where it operates a
comprehensive facility for the care & rehabilitation of
owls from the region, and the promotion of owl conservation
throughout the UK and beyond. The Sanctuary is open to the
public all year round where it maintains as the beneficiary
of public donations:
A
RAPTOR HOSPITAL FOR INJURED WILD OWLS & OTHER BIRDS OF
PREY
The Owl & Raptor
Hospital at S.O.S. is fully equipped for the care and
treatment of the many injured wild owls & other birds
of prey which are brought into the Sanctuary every year.
Many of these can be given a recuperative overnight
pick-me-up before being re-released back to the wild
shortly thereafter.
~
FLIGHT
RECOVERY AVIARIES FOR RECUPERATING WILD
OWLS
Owls that are more
seriously injured but stand a good chance of mid- to
long-term recovery are given medical aid & sometimes
surgery, and are then allowed the space & time to fully
recuperate in one of the secluded flight recovery aviaries
at the Sanctuary before returning to the wild. Regrettably,
injured owls that are brought into the Sanctuary but are
professionally judged to be beyond the pale, with no hope
of meaningful quality of life, are euthanased by a vet.
~
A
HACK-BACK TEAM WHICH SAFELY INTRODUCES RECOVERED OWLS BACK
TO THE WILD
SOS also receives a
number of nestlings and these require specialised handling
from the Hack-Back team. A temporary hack box (an enlarged
nestbox with a mesh-covered outdoor area) is sited in a
suitable location from where owlets will gradually be
reintroduced back to their natural environment.
~
OWL
EDUCATION VISITS TO SCHOOLS & COLLEGES
Giving talks and
setting projects for schools, agricultural colleges and
disenfranchised groups who either visit the Sanctuary or to
whom we out-reach, is the focus of our Education Team. We
also visit landowners and farmers with advice for those
interested in developing suitable habitat or nesting
locations for owls in the wild.
~
A
NESTBOX SCHEME WHICH BUILDS AND MAINTAINS NEW HABITAT FOR
WILD OWLS
One of the most
important spheres of operation for the Sanctuary is the
S.O.S. Nestbox Scheme. This includes the time-consuming
search for suitable locations for man-made nestboxes (the
availability of proper habitat and sufficient natural prey
species being the chief determining factors); the building
and secure erection of nestboxes made from safe,
long-lasting, environmentally friendly materials; and the
careful monitoring of nesting activity within the boxes
that form part of the network.
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FREE
INFORMATION & ADVICE ON OWL CARE &
CONSERVATION
Our
Information & Advice Centre is open every day of the
year except at Christmas. During summer months
demonstrations featuring owls in flight are given with
commentaries which inform visitors about the lifestyles,
habitats and conservation status of British owls and other
birds of prey.
Extending the reach of information and advice about owls
beyond the confines of the Sanctuary is covered through the
publication of various freely-available leaflets on
specific and general related topics. In recent years the
round-the-clock manning of a Q-&-A Website at
www.owl-help.org.uk offers immediate qualified response to
enquiries from around the world - last year, we handled
over 1000 e-mail questions about owls, their care &
conservation from as far afield as Alaska!
If you would like a FREE copy of our booklet “Saving
Britain’s Owls”, please e-mail us with your name
& address
If
you are unable to visit the Sanctuary but would like
to
make a donation
in support of our work, please
click here
for further details