The Midland Owl Rescue

Well howdy doody. You must do something about that Charles Bronson/Mikado photo.. doesn’t go with the music. Was just playing your cd and thought it about time we said hi.

Luv to you both

Bryan & Joan, 4th December 2001 – Redheat Guestbook

The Midland Owl Rescue

Back in my teens, I spent quite a lot of my time volunteering for the husband-and-wife run Midland Owl Rescue. One aspect that wasn’t common knowledge was that the slightly eccentric couple were second to parents for a time as I frequently stayed the weekends for prolong visits at their cottage in Coventry. This was shortly after they were evicted from Blakeland Street in Bordsley Green in Birmingham due to the cost of operating the rescue centre conflicting with mortgage payments. Sad times, but good times doing open days too.

Many school holidays and weekends were spent travelling with Bryan, Joan and Sally the dog up and down Britain with a small menagerie of owls doing fund-raising and education outreach at various events. Going as far north as Perth, Scotland- across the Grampian mountains, all the way down to Clacton—on—Sea.

Unfortunately Joan passed away many years ago, and I have my doubts if Bryan is still alive, but I’d hope so. They were both very loving people who I miss dearly.

Incidentally, Bryan was the one who introduced me to the Commodore Amiga that ultimately lead me to taking on the modarchive.com music archival project and creating the new Modarchive.org

There is barely (if any) word of Bryan & Joan’s existence online and I wish to change that as I hope to recover some more newspaper clippings as I dig out my scrap books from the attic.

Midland Owl Rescue, run by Brian and Joan Dudley, from their home-turned-wildlife sanctuary in Bordesley Green, is concerned not only with the rescue of owls, but with all species of wild birds. For the last four years, what was once an interest has become a full-time occupation; the back garden is now an open-air classroom complete with a peat bog, a pond and a meadow, and the various large enclosures that house, among other things, owls.

Five species of owl are resident in Britain: the Long-Eared, the Short-Eared, the Little, the Barn and the Tawny. The last is the most common, and every year, something like five thousand are killed or injured by man. Some of the injured end up in the hands of Midland Owl Rescue. Those which are unable to return to the wild are housed in the sanctuary; those which recover are released in a suitable locality.

Midland Owl Rescue’s busiest period is the early summer when many injured or ‘ lost’ birds are found and notified to the centre. The Dudleys’ current menagerie includes an amiable Tawny Owl called Hoots, a European Eagle Owl called Casey, Kestrels, ducks called Dilly and Dally, rabbits called Salt and Pepper, a dog called Sally and a cat named Sophie, which, says Joan, ‘just turned up’. Increasingly, the Dudleys are having to look after birds which are recovered in police operations; trade in birds of prey is big business. The centre also runs a register of missing birds.

Unlike other birds of prey, which must be registered with the Department of the Environment, owls can be kept with few restric- tions. This situation concerns the Dudley’s greatly, since owls can be extremely dangerous; those talons can remove an eye. Unscrupulous dealers see the forced breeding of rare species as a get-rich quick scheme, and birds are frequently stolen from legitimate breeders, zoos and pet shops.

Shady dealers try to increase the birds’ natural birthrate by removing eggs to an incubator so that the birds lay more. One character, recalls Brian, managed to induce an owl to lay eleven, then expressed surprise and disappointment that only four or five hatched. He thought noth- ing of the distress caused to the birds.

Midland Owl Rescue fund their work chiefly by organising educa- tional visits; school parties visit the centre, and Brian and Joan visit schools (over 350 last year!) and other institutions. They are keen to foster in the young an interest in conservation; children are encour- aged to hand le various animals, and in the habitats of the open-air classroom, they learn to recognise some of the wildlife they may encounter in the countryside.

Equally important is the need to make children aware of the dan- gers involved in dealing with birds of prey, at a time when you can buy a Barn Owl in a pet shop and the captive population greatly out- numbers the wild: Equipment for handling bids of prey is called ‘fur- niture; and Midland Owl Rescue supply various items at fair prices.

From April to October, the last Sunday of each month is normally an open day. Midland Owl Rescue are at 56 Blakeland Street, Bordesley Green, Birmingham B9 SXG, telephone 021 772 3244.

On Sunday September 12th, between 2 pm – 4 pm., a sponsored walk takes place, with the money raised being divided between Midland Owl Rescue, and the walk’sorganizers, TheColeValley and Yorkswood Conservation Group. Starting from Shard End, the walk appropriately covers part of Cole Valley. Further informa- tion and sponsorship forms can be obtained by telephoning 749 3131.

Transcription – Brownhills Gazette (1993)