The Hawk Conservancy Trust is a bird park and conservation charity that cares for and displays birds of prey. [1] It is located in Weyhill, Hampshire, England, near to the A303 road and the town of Andover. [2] The site is home to more than 130 birds of prey and it spans 22 acres of woodland and wildflower meadow. [3]
Founded as a zoo by local farmer Reg Smith and his wife Hilary, the park was incorporated as the Hawk Conservancy Trust in 2002. [4] It is also the site of the National Bird of Prey Hospital, a veterinary hospital that takes in injured birds of prey. [5] [6] The Hawk Conservancy Trust funds its charitable work mainly from the running of its bird of prey visitor centre. [7]
In 2016, a male secretarybird that was kept at the Hawk Conservancy Trust was studied by researchers. They tested its kicking ability with experiments. The findings had implications for studying how other species move, including extinct birds. It was also suggested that this type of research about extreme examples of animal movement could help design fast-moving robot limbs or prosthetics. [8]
Hampshire is a ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent strait to the south, Dorset to the west, and Wiltshire to the north-west. The county town is the city of Winchester.
Sandown is a seaside resort town and civil parish on the south-east coast of the Isle of Wight, United Kingdom with the resort of Shanklin to the south and the settlement of Lake in between. Together with Shanklin, Sandown forms a built-up area of 21,374 inhabitants.
Andover is a town in the English county of Hampshire. The town is on the River Anton, a major tributary of the Test, and is situated alongside the major A303 trunk road at the eastern end of Salisbury Plain, 18 miles (29 km) west of the town of Basingstoke, both major rail stops. It is 14 miles (23 km) NNW of the city of Winchester, 35 miles (56 km) north of the city of Southampton and 65 miles (105 km) WSW of London. Andover is twinned with the towns of Redon in France, Goch in Germany, and Andover, Massachusetts in the United States.
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust is a Wildlife Trust with 27,000 members across the counties of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, England.
Moorgreen Hospital was a community hospital in West End, near Southampton. It was managed by Southampton City Primary Care Trust.
Winnall Moors is a 64-hectare (160-acre) nature reserve in Winchester in Hampshire. It is managed by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust.
The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance is an air ambulance service serving the counties of Hampshire and Isle of Wight in South East England. It is one of a number of air ambulance services in the United Kingdom.
The Isle of Wight NHS Trust is an NHS trust which provides physical health, mental health and ambulance services for the Isle of Wight. The trust is unique in being the only integrated acute, community, mental health and ambulance health care provider in England. It runs St Mary's Hospital and the Isle of Wight Ambulance Service.
Healthcare in Hampshire was the responsibility of six clinical commissioning groups until July 2022. These were based in Southampton, Portsmouth, North East Hampshire and Farnham, South Eastern Hampshire, West Hampshire, and North Hampshire. In 2018, the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Partnership of Clinical Commissioning Groups was set up. Maggie MacIsaac was Chief Executive.
Be Wiser Insurance is an insurance broker, founded in 2007. The company is Financial Conduct Authority approved and a member of the British Insurance Brokers Association (BIBA). They offer a range of insurance products from a panel of UK insurers covering car, bike, van, domestic, business and commercial insurance.
Ron Ward's Meadow With Tadley Pastures is a site of Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). It is based on the edge of Tadley in Hampshire, England. It is managed by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust.
Hawk Ridge is a nature reserve and bird observatory renowned for its autumnal raptor migrations. The Audubon Society describes Hawk Ridge as "one of the premier sites in North America". P. B. Hofslund, one of the first ornithologists to conduct research there, pronounced it "one of the great hawk flyways of the world". Twenty-thousand birdwatchers visit Hawk Ridge each year to view the migration. It is an important site for ornithological research.
Foxlease and Ancells Meadows is a 68.8-hectare (170-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest on the western outskirts of Farnborough in Hampshire.The site is in seven areas, two of which are nature reserves managed by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, Ancells Farm and Whitehouse Meadow.
Hurst Castle and Lymington River Estuary is a 1,077.3-hectare (2,662-acre) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest near Lymington in Hampshire. It is a Nature Conservation Review site and two areas are Geological Conservation Review sites. Three areas are local nature reserves, Boldre Foreshore, Sturt Pond and Lymington and Keyhaven Marshes; the latter site is managed by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust. Part of it is North Solent National Nature Reserve. It is part of Solent and Southampton Water Ramsar site and Special Protection Area. Parts of it are in Solent Maritime and Solent and Isle of Wight Lagoons Special Areas of Conservation.
Titchfield Haven is a 134.5-hectare (332-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north-west of Gosport in Hampshire. Most of it is a local nature reserve and a national nature reserve. It is part of Solent and Southampton Water Ramsar site and Special Protection Area.
Lymington and Keyhaven Marshes is a 738-hectare (1,820-acre) nature reserve which stretches from Keyhaven along the south coast across the Lymington River in Hampshire. It is managed by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust. It is part of Solent and Southampton Water Ramsar site and Special Protection Area. Some areas are part of two Special Areas of Conservation, Solent and Isle of Wight Lagoons and Solent Maritime and Solent. It is also part of Hurst Castle and Lymington River Estuary, which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, and of North Solent Marshes Nature Conservation Review site, Grade 2. Two areas are Geological Conservation Review sites, and two are Local Nature Reserves, Boldre Foreshore and Lymington-Keyhaven Marshes.
Ancells Farm is a 12-hectare (30-acre) nature reserve in Fleet in Hampshire. It is managed by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust. It is part of Foxlease and Ancells Meadows, which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest.