April 2008		We're 15 this year! Easter has been and gone, to say it was cold and wet is an understatement! Our main Aviaries are all completed and the new Puma enclosure has been finished as well, the centre is looking it's best despite the weather. :-) Now we are looking forward as May bank holiday approaches and we are going to be celebrating our 15th year at Gentleshaw. Click HERE to view details of our birthday plans or you can download a poster in PDF format HERE to put up at your school, clubhouse or local shop. We'd love you to come and join us for the fun! We have got it in the bag!! Gentleshaw wildlife centre has received a very generous, and environmentally friendly donation from the kind people at Stoke-on-Trent City Council Markets Management. As a registered charity the centre is always trying to raise funds to improve on its residents homes and care for the dozens of casualties which arrive at Gentleshaw each year. Markets manager, Robert Nixon, handed over 500 100% biodegradable shopping bags, which Gentleshaw can sell to raise funds. The bags have been specially designed by Julia Smith from the markets and carry the slogan, 'Be wise, ditch the plastic bag' and of course an owl image! The bags can be purchased directly from the centre for £3.00 each or payment can be sent for £4.00 to the sanctuary and this covers postage. The funds raised from the sale of the bags will go towards the treatment of the wild casualties and our latest project which is to build our 2 elderly Coati Mundis , Oliver and Vinny, a new enclosure. We hope to raise approx £600 to pay for their new home. The bags are an ideal way to help a charity and save the environment, if you would like to purchase a bag you can either visit the centre, or send payment along with your full name and address to Gentleshaw wildlife centre, Stone road, Eccleshall, Staffs.ST21 6JY. Finally, we had a very sad loss this month as Ruthie, our very old Raccoon sadly passed away. Ruthy was our first rescue and had been with us for a long time, no doubt Rosie, her daughter, will continue to boss poor old Rocky around just like her mom did.
January 2008		A new year is upon us. Looking out at the centre at the moment, the flying area is a mud bath, aviaries are half built, signs are all mixed up and everything needs painting! The current catch phrase at Gentleshaw is 'it'll be worth it in the end!' And it will. We now have our Lottery sponsored paths in place, they are very smart and wheelchair friendly. One of our regular wheelchair visitors is over the moon to be able to visit, enjoy the animals and have a smooth ride! The laying of the paths was a little messy but with a lick of paint by Easter everything will look like new. Designer Drives of Cannock were excellent and a big thank you to Nick and the boys who did a fabulous job and kept our monkeys entertained! The new aviary block is almost half complete. Due to the rebuild, some of our birds are off show at present hence the signs being mixed up, but they will be back soon. Dave the builder is almost on his last legs but is under orders to have the building complete by mid February. Despite the constant nagging he still comes in day after day and is doing a fabulous job. Kira the puma will have her new enclosure later in January. If you haven't visited us in a while, come see us soon and have a look at our changes.
29th Oct. 2007		Our Refurbishment is under way! Our big news this month is, we were fortunate to receive a grant from the Lottery 'Awards For All' fund which will enable us to completely refurbish the pathways around the centre. (follow the 'Our Grant' link above for more information). We are also undertaking a complete rebuild of the iconic centre aviaries, which we will be redesigning to provide both additional safety features and more space for the birds. During this rebuild, we will be moving some of the birds to other quarters so as to not disturb them with the building, but hopefully, most of them will still be visible to visitors, though please understand that sometimes, we may have to house them out of public view due to space limitations. Dave, our builder, has already started this mammoth process and we'd like to take this opportunity to publicly thank him for all the hard work that he is undertaking and for all he has done over this rather hectic year. We would ask that people please bear with us as this work and the lottery funded path replacement is undertaken as, due to the nature of the work, the centre may not look at it's best during this time. Once completed however, we truly believe everyone will appreciate the new improvements we are undertaking. Everyone here is certainly very excited at the prospect of a new look for a new season in 2008. Finally, a big 'Thank You' to all who visited us at our Sutton Coldfield fundraisers, plus a special thanks to Gracechurch Shopping Centre for having us there. It was interesting to meet so many people who do not have the opportunity to visit us at the centre and to hear peoples views and experiences on birds of prey and wildlife conservation and rescue. Your kind words are very welcome and it is always nice to know the hard work that goes into the rescue, rehabilitation and care of the injured, neglected and unwanted is appreciated. Hopefully next year, some of you may even have the chance to visit us at Gentleshaw. In the meantime, why not visit the centre diary that our Director is writing? You can get to it from our 'Links' page.
22nd Sept 2007		Last big Push! All of a sudden, Summer has passed and we start to look towards the winter. At this time of year, we try our best to raise the funds needed to help us through the cold months. Part of this is our annual visits to the Sutton Coldfield Gracechurch Shopping Centre. Our first visit this year is on the Sat. 13th of October and we will be there for the next two Saturdays as well. If you live in the area and can't make it to the centre, why not come along and meet some of our team?
10th May 2007		More Kittens! Well, it looks like Vienna wasn't the only one hiding a secret! Two more of the females have given birth to kittens, one of the mums was not interested, so the other 'borrowed' her kitten and is looking after them. Though she does seem to find the process confusing she is doing quite well for a first time mum. You can view images of the cute kittens by clicking HERE We are also expecting a new arrival for future displays, a Dark Breasted Barn Owl, which is currently the subject of much humorous debate between Jenny (Boss Lady) and her partner as to what it will be called. Care to lay bets who will win? ;-) Thanks to all visited over the bank holiday weekend, especially to those who braved the weather on bank holiday Monday during what turned out to be probably one of our soggiest flying displays ever. We haven't quite yet taught the birds to fly carrying their own umbrellas, (though it would of been handy if we had! :-) )
12th April 2007		BREAKING NEWS It seems the wild cats we have recently rescued have been hiding a secret. Today, one of them suddenly went into labour and started to give birth to kittens. Jenny did think that one of them looked a little too plump around the tummy. Vienna (the mom) gave birth to 4 kittens in all, early days, but mum and kittens doing well so far. More good news too, following an sudden and critical illness, Elsie the Mackinder owl, our biggest character and Jennys favourite bird, is on the road to recovery following 24-hr care and hourly feeding by Jenny who never left her side. Elsie is now back to making sure everyone knows she is around, in full voice and eating for England!
EASTER 2007		We actually got good weather! Our 14th birthday was celebrated in warm sunshine, (if you ignore the rain on Monday afternoon)! We want to thank everyone who came and hope it was as much fun for the visitors as it was for the staff. We'd like to thank our volunteers for their good humor when walking round dressed up as various animals, it certainly raised plenty of smiles on Monday. Here's to another 14 years!
23rd March. 2007		Life is full of Surprises! So, we have Blue, our Lanneret, who has been with us for many many years and everyone, (Rob included), thought "he" was a male. So Jenny, our director goes to get him from his weatherings the other day and lo and behold, 'he' has laid an egg. So now, 'he' is a 'she' and we have to figure out how we are all going to get used to this. :-)
March. 2007		A New Year, A New Look! Hello and welcome to our new look website, we hope you enjoy your visit. Please have a good look around. You can leave a message on our all new guestbook, view the galleries, read all about our founder, Rob Smith, all about the centre and how you can help by adopting an animal or making a donation. You can also find out about the chance to enjoy the thrill of a Bird Of Prey experience, where you can spend either an hour, or a full day, getting up close and personal with some of our 'team'.
AUG 2006		OWL DAY (August Bank Holiday) On the bank holiday, we will be holding an 'Owl Day' at the centre, we hope you can join us. With activities centered around owls from around the world. We'll be holding quizzes, raffles, and a tombola. There will be a chance for people to meet the owls up close. Plus we will have artwork by our resident artist Jill Heaps, as well as work by Katie Smith, daughter of Gentleshaws founder. *Take the opportunity to have your picture taken with an owl. Weather permitting, the owls will be starring in a flying display and no doubt Elsie, (our Mackinder), will be showing everyone how well she can walk between the flying posts. :-) We hope to see you there! (* Please note: Additional charges may apply to some of the features during the day, all proceeds go to the upkeep of the owls you will see at the centre)
JULY 2006		New Raccoon Enclosure Our Raccoons are now enjoying a new home! We have rebuilt their enclosure and it is now over twice the size, Ruthy took no time at all in adapting to her new home and enjoys cleaning and washing in her new pond. Dad and daughter soon joined her in exploring the new features.
JUNE 2006		New Arrivals! We are happy to announce our Snowy Owls have once again been successful at breeding. After 3 weeks after hatching, they were already moving around the aviary away from the nesting area. Our baby British Barn Owl (Mossy) is just over 12 weeks old and is already doing well with her training.
APRIL 2006		Bird Flu Update Due to the recent publicity regarding the Bird Flu incident in Scotland we felt we should issue a statement to re-assure people that they are perfectly safe in visiting the Centre and booking Bird Of Prey handling experiences. We have been in contact with DEFRA and sought advice and have been told that their main concerns at the moment are about the movement of poultry, swans and geese. There have been no incidents of bird flu involving Birds Of Prey that the authorities are aware of. (No doubt helped by the fact that wild birds try to avoid Raptors to avoid ending up as dinner. ) We are having some work done to protect our birds, but this is strictly a precautionary measure and is also there to re-assure the public. We are very much still open to the public and are looking forward to having lots of visitors over the Easter weekend, so come and see our Hawks and Owls first hand, including our new Barn Owl "Tirri". Don't forget we also have lots of other animals, including Pumas, Monkeys and Raccoons. We look forward to seeing you!
SEPT. 2005		Monkey Business The new Rhesus Macaque enclosure is now complete. Their new indoor enclosure is now 3 times larger and they also now have a purpose built steel outdoor enclosure. The monkeys are enjoying their new surroundings and love to climb around the new cage and play with their new toys. Special thanks to Reeves Animal Enclosures for the wonderful work on the new outdoor section.
MAY 2005		Bye Bye Baby... Monday 23rd, we said our goodbyes to the Puma kittens who have now gone to their new home. The move all went to plan and we did not need to tranquilize either the parents or the kittens, which was a relief to all concerned. We have since heard from their new "parents" and the kittens are doing fine, exploring their new enclosure and eating healthily. Kira (mum) has settled down very quickly and is enjoying her re-found freedom from being the kittens favourite toy! Everyone at the centre is thrilled that the animals have behaved so well and had such a stress free experience during the move.
Jan 2005		Hello and a Happy New Year to you all. We are delighted to announce that the new year brings new arrivals to the centre. Our Pumas have had cubs who will be staying with us for their first few months before going to a new home. This year we are also hoping to raise funds to replace the monkey enclosures, if we can raise enough funds, we would like to build them some lovely new metal enclosures, so any help you can give will be most gratefully received. We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has helped us get through our first year without our founder, Rob Smith, and we look forward with hope for the new year. THANK YOU!
December 2003		A Very Sad day We received a devastating loss this month. With only days to go before Xmas, Rob Smith, the founder of Gentleshaw, died suddenly just before doing a display in Yorkshire. Only this year, Rob had received a lifetimes dedication award from IFAW for his tireless efforts in the care of sick and injured animals. The wildlife centre had also only just celebrated its 10th anniversary and everyone was looking to the future. His wife Lesley, and daughters Jenny and Katie, would like to thank all those who have offered their condolences and who have made donations to the charity in this most distressing time. Now, more than ever, the centre needs all the help people can provide.
June 2003		Recognition of a lifetime of care Rob Smith was one of only two people in the UK to receive a "Lifetimes' Dedication" award from IFAW (the International Fund for Animal Welfare) this year. Rob traveled to the Houses Of Parliment to receive his award in recognition of his tireless efforts in the care and welfare of birds of prey and other animals. He was presented with the award by Baroness Gale.