The Cubs and Scouts pay attention to the Birds of Prey!

Kes! Kes! C'mon Kes!!

Probably a bit vague for most - but the film 'Kes' (and the book version) has always been one of my favourites. And Ive always loved hawks, falcons and other birds of prey.

Daniel looking admirably at the owl

So we were honoured to have a visit from Wild Wings who currently house over 90 birds, and are rehabilitating and releasing  injured wild Birds of Prey on a regular basis, as well as providing permanent care for injured, neglected and unwanted Captive Bred Birds of Prey.

Aleesha having the Kestrel put on her arm

From a barn owl to a Harris Hawk we had a great range of birds on show. And had great information from our falconer. With both cubs and scouts very attentive and interested there were many questions.

Amy studying the soft feathers of the Barn Owl

But the most popular request was... 'Can I Hold it??'. And we tried to accommodate as many of these as we could - but obviously we are dealing with live animals and were also short of time so not everybody could manage it.

Kyle keeping the Harris Hawk at arms length!

But at the end of the night everybody had seemed to enjoy it. Now we just need to book a visit down to Wild Wings centre so we can see all the birds they have and see how they help the birds.

My personal favourite... the beautiful Peregrine Falcon!

 
Phil
Cub Leader

Budding Robin Hoods!

Shoot that poison arrow...

Next up for the cubs on Saturday 13th June was archery. A chance to try out for the vacant role of Robin Hood!

Again the most important part of this event was to try something they had maybe not tried before. Nobody would laugh if you did not hit the target. It was about personal challenges.

Going through the safety and technique requirements

Everybody had a go - from those who hit the target on their first set of three arrows to those who concentrated more on hitting the surrounding ground! We even had some who were so 'confident' that they even hit somebody else's target!!!

Matthew getting some tips on his aim

Everybody seemed to enjoy the chance to shoot arrows at a target. And Im sure that if there had been a picture of Carl's or my face on the target we would have had many more arrows hitting the centre!!!

Phil
Cub Leader

Up, up in the air!

Not quite, but when the cubs tackled 'The Cube' at Linnet Clough Campsite some of them did get quite high up in the air!

On Saturday 13th June, a merry band of cubs landed at the campsite in Mellor with the intention of challenging themselves. The challenge was to get as far round the Cube's high rope course. Not everybody is keen on heights - and the cube does get quite high!!

Traversing the ropes!

But every cub tried their very best. From those who only managed a small attempt at the high ropes to those who managed to get to the top of the 'leap of faith'. It didnt matter how much they did or didnt do. The whole point was to at least try - and every cub came out of it with flying colours!

The long climb to the 'Leap of Faith'

With lots of encouragement from the instructors and also from the other cubs Im sure everybody enjoyed the challenge - despite some of them being scared at points! Special mention to those who made the 'leap of faith' and hit the ball - see the video above of Amy flying through the air!!

Phil
Cub Leader