Last Sunday with the it being the last day before Joshua’s school life starts we decided to make the most of the lovely weather and we headed to one of our favourite places, Rufford Park.
Ruffed Park has lots of beautiful features with woodlands walks, a wonderful pond, a stunning Abby and beautiful gardens there is so much to see and do that thankfully living fairly close means we can enjoy it whenever we have some spare time.
This weekend we had a wonderful surprise as we discovered the Hawks of Steele showcasing some utterly breathtaking birds of prey and for a small fee you could actually hold one of the birds.
Ollie (hubs) has always had a complete and utter obsession with birds since childhood so getting up close and personal and giving his son a chance to hold one was certainly an opportunity he didn’t want to pass up!
Of all the birds on offer to hold Joshua chose to hold an 11 week old owl which was utterly beautiful and probably the right size as some of them that were there were humongous!
It took a few minutes for him to feel comfortable holding the owl as when it flapped he did freak out just a little bit but after a few minutes he was totally loving the experience.
Having seen how much we enjoyed this it would be amazing to spend more time with these wonderful creatures in the future and we will certainly be looking at other ways we can see them again as they do demonstrations, owl walks and all sorts!
Before going home however we did manage to squeeze in a walk round the pond too and to explore some of the wooded areas on the look out for my much loved birds … the Robin!
Thankfully I managed to spot a Robin so it was happy Oliver’s all round!
I love days like this where the sun is shining and air is fresh.
Aw this sounds like such a lovely day out! My boys are 9 and 11 so I’m used to not having them home during the day but it still always feels odd for the 1st week or two!
Stevie x
Wow he is so brave being that close. I love birds of prey so beautiful x
Wow aren’t those birds beautiful! Sounds like a fantastic day out and lovely pictures. Thanks for hosting!
#magicmoments
It sounds like you all had a great time exploring the grounds at Rufford Park, you picked a glorious day to go exploring! It’s great to see in the pictures as Joshua first starts holding the owl and begins to feel comfortable and relaxed. I bet him and Ollie were in their element watching all the different owls they had there. It’s great that you managed to spot your favourite type of bird too, a brilliant day bird-spotting for all the family.
Wow! What a wonderful day to spend the day. He’s a brave boy to get so up close, but you’re right. That owl is beautiful and just the right size for him! Thank you for sharing this, Jaime
He is a very brave boy! Ethan likes birds too, but I think I should take him to see them at a bird sanctuary too. I think it would be interesting for both him and myself. Glad you had a great day out. Rufford Park looks like a great place. 🙂 #magicmoments
Sounds like a lovely day out, along with some great photos 🙂 x
Sounds like a wonderful day out. That baby owl is gorgeous! How are you enjoying the quiet days? I’m still finding it all a bit odd!
How brave to hold the owl! I bet it was heavy too! Looks like a really fun day. #magicmonents
Oh I love robins. They make me feel all autumn/wintery and remind me of one of my childhood favourite films; The Secret Garden.
How cool that you got to meet and hold some owls!!! He’s so brave, I’d be really nervous of being pecked. xx
Wow looks like an amazing day out. What beautiful birds! He was brave to hold one, lucky he chose the little baby. #magicmoments
Oh this looks fantastic my boys would love this
Gorgeous photographs and sounds like a very special and memorable way to spend the last Sunday before starting school. He was very brave holding the owl too!