A bird lover had a dream come true when he welcomed a pair of feathered friends to his Winchester care home.
Mike Gordon, who lives at Colten Care’s St Catherines View, got up close with Flo, a Bengalese eagle owl and Charlie, a barn owl.
The beautiful creatures, both females, turned heads when they were brought into the dementia care home’s lounge by handlers Sue and Tony Playter from the Otterbourne-based falconry display team Falcon High.
They gave Mike and fellow residents the opportunity to see the birds at close quarters and watch Charlie flying.
All present were amazed at how quiet Charlie was in the air, with Sue explaining that ‘silent flying’ helps barn owls in the wild to catch their prey unawares.
Mike, a long-standing fan of owls who treasures memories of calling them in his garden in years gone by, said: “It was a fantastic day, couldn’t have been better.”
The visit was arranged by St Catherines View Companionship Team Leader Laura Sheldrake whose son Myles is doing work experience at Falcon High as part of a course in animal management at Sparsholt College.
Laura said: “Having Sue and Tony come and show Mike the owls was a dream come true for him. He is such an owl fanatic and seeing him holding one was amazing. He was overjoyed, going from being overwhelmed to start with to relaxing and holding them. I can’t thank Sue and Tony enough for coming along and giving up their time to show the owls and talk to Mike and our other residents. We all learned about what the birds eat, how much they weigh, how old they tend to live to and much more information. And it was a real treat for everyone, especially Mike, to see Charlie fly across the room. Mike even came to sit next to Myles who was flying Charlie and called her name so she would fly towards them.”
Sue said: “It was a pleasure to come and show Charlie and Flo to Mike and hear how much he loves owls. He was so happy holding them and he enjoyed hearing all about them and seeing Charlie in action flying. It was great to see how enthusiastic Mike was.”
