Feather Fest marks a summer return

WILDLIFE lovers are being invited to come along to a special Feather Fest event at an animal sanctuary in West Lancashire.

The event will take place at Woodlands Animal Sanctuary on Sandy Lane in Holmeswood this Sunday (May 21), between 11am and 3pm.

It is the centre’s second open day this spring.

Visitors can can see all the birds, as well as getting close to various birds of prey brought along by Horus Birds of Prey.

Horus Birds of Prey have shown Woodlands Animal Sanctuary long-term support during their open days and will offer the opportunity for people to view and hold one of their birds for those feeling brave enough.

Visitors will also be able to see the many different birds at Woodlands.

Staff at the centre say winter was a testing time for birds at the centre after being confined to barracks since December due to restrictions after the outbreak of bird flu.

Lou, one of the animal carers who spends a lot of time working with the birds, said: “I was really surprised to see the reaction of the birds when we could finally let them out.

“Apart from a few characters we don’t really think of our birds as having personalities like some of the other species we have here, but the joy and pleasure these birds felt at being able to stretch their wings in the fresh air again was clear to see.

“Albert and Grizelda, two of our geese, were first on pond with a lot of wing flapping and joyous vocals – I think they had found it quite hard being confined full time, as they are the biggest of our birds.

“To try and help them with this we were letting them into one of the goat stables during the day to give them more space.”

As much as they were all looking forward to the birds having their freedom again, as with most things there was also the flip side, which was a slight concern that it would be more difficult than normal to return them all back to their beds at the end of the day.

Lou added: “We weren’t looking forward to trying to get everybody back into bed at the end of the day, but I think all the excitement had taken its toll on them and they were actually ready for their beds because they were very easy to round up and for once, they very dutifully filed back to their respective houses in a very orderly fashion!”

If you’d like to read more about the open day and the work the sanctuary does, see the Facebook page or visit www.woodlandsanimalsanctuary.org.uk