We were contacted by Tunbridge Wells charity Folly Wildlife Rescue recently who asked if they could release three orphaned tawny owls back into the wild on our grounds, which cover over 100 acres and include a large woodland area. 

The site is also home to a variety of animals, from alpacas to emus, and the people we support help to care for them as part of a wide range of activities we offer for people on the autism spectrum and with learning disabilities. Visitors to our site enjoy visiting our animals, woodland playground and Bluebell Cafe. 

We are passionate about wildlife conservation here at Aspens, so jumped at the chance to help. 

The Folly Wildlife team brought the beautiful creatures onto our land at twilight one late August evening, in the hope that they would fly off and make our woods their new home.

The evening went well and some of the people supported by Aspens and our staff team came along to watch and to learn more about these majestic raptors and how they came to be in the care of the hospital. All three owls were successfully released and flew off into the fading light.

The event was such a success the Folly Wildlife team contacted Aspens to ask if they could release a sparrowhawk onto our site a few days later. The bird had also been orphaned and had been carefully nursed into adulthood by the team at Folly Wildlife Rescue.

The sparrowhawk flew away happily into our forest and we hope that our meadows will become the hunting ground for this wonderful bird following the untimely death of our resident kestrel who used to inhabit the site.

It was an absolute pleasure to provide a safe haven for these wonderful creatures and we hope that we can work with Folly Wildlife Rescue again for future releases of their animal patients and provide the opportunity for the people we support to witness this special experience. 

Find out more about Folly Wildlife Rescue here.

   

   

Owl photos by Billie Wood Photography