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New Resources for Quarter 1 – Now Available!

Happy New Year to all our members and visitors!

The IRBPP is pleased to announce that our Quarter 1 resources for January to March 2025 are now live! These activities and articles are designed to help bird of prey professionals achieve their annual CPD targets with ease and flexibility.

Here’s what’s on offer this quarter:

  • Research Article: Cooperative Breeding in the Eastern Grass Owl (1.5 hours CPD)
  • Short Course: Guidance on Recording External CPD Activities (3 hours CPD)
  • Multiple-Lesson Short Course: Your Staff Appraisals (2025) (8 hours CPD)

Plus, don’t forget to take advantage of the self-certification opportunities to log your external CPD activities each month!

Start exploring these resources today and make progress towards your 30-hour CPD goal for the year.

Use your Subscriber Login Credentials to access these materials.

Not yet a Subscriber?

To help our ‘Free Access Members’ we occasionally publish interesting articles and other resources that you should find to be of interest. However, only our subscribing members get full CPD support, their own permanent CPD recording solution and access to certified CPD activities to enhance their CPD progress log.

Subscribers also get discounts on face to face courses and other events held throughout the year.

Let’s continue raising standards together!

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Meeting Staff Appraisal Requirements for licence holders

Note: This applies to you even if you are a sole operator with no employees – you must meet these legal obligations, even if it’s just for you. In this instance, the term ‘Staff’ applies to anyone who has the responsibility of looking after your hawks if you are away for any length of time – even if they are not employed. Volunteers and interns are also included in this definition of ‘staff’.

Note ii: Although this article focusses on AAL licensees, the same requirements apply to Zoo Licence Holders as well, and this short course can also be used for your annual round of staff appraisals.

New CPD Course: Meeting Staff Appraisal Requirements Under Animal Activities Licensing –

FREE staff appraisal recording form included

From January 2025, the IRBPP is launching a dedicated short course to support licence holders in meeting their obligations under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018.

Under Point 4.3 of the statutory guidance for inspectors, all licence holders who train or exhibit birds of prey must implement and annually update a staff training policy.

#confirm your DEFRA legal obligations here

This requirement includes:

  1. Reviewing your staff training policy document at least once per year
  2. Conducting annual appraisals for all staff, including the licence holder.
  3. Providing opportunities for planned and continued professional development (CPD).
  4. Identifying and addressing knowledge gaps (training needs) in staff expertise.

Why the IRBPP Course Matters

The IRBPP’s new course is designed to make compliance straightforward and stress-free. This short course achieves two critical objectives:

  1. Recordable CPD Activity
    Completing the course provides 8 hours of recognised CPD, contributing to the professional development of the licence holder and demonstrating engagement with ongoing learning.
  2. Step-by-Step Guidance
    The course offers practical, actionable advice to help licence holders carry out thorough and effective annual appraisals. By following the guidance, participants can create a robust and compliant training policy that meets legal requirements.

What Must a Training Policy Include?

To comply with licensing standards, you must be able to demonstrate with physical evidence that every person involved in the care of your hawks has got:

  • Knowledge of new research and developments in bird of prey care and management.
  • Completion of training or educational activities, such as online courses.
  • Annual appraisals with documented outcomes and actionable feedback.
  • Staff attendance or proof of training completion.

Who should complete the course?

This course is essential for all licence holders, whether you’re running a small bird of prey display business or a larger facility. If you are uncomfortable or inexperienced with appraisals and training needs analysis it will help you gain confidence in fulfilling your legal obligations and ensure that your training policy supports both your team and the welfare of your birds.

How to enrol

Registration for the course opens from January 1st 2025!

This short course is FREE to all IRBPP subscribers and can be found in your list of free subscriber resources when you log in.

If you are not yet an IRBPP subscriber, why not sign up now for a 3 month trial and start 2025 with the support of the IRBPP behind you. #signupoptions

Invest in your professional development, demonstrate your commitment to best practices, and achieve compliance with ease through this tailored training solution.

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Co-operative breeding: Eastern Grass Owl


Upcoming CPD Activity for IRBPP Members: Eastern Grass Owl Research
Available January 2025

Authors: Ric Dunlop and Philip Pain

We pleased to announce a new Continuing Professional Development (CPD) activity focused on Tyto longimembris, or Eastern Grass Owl. This activity will be available to all members in the Quarter beginning January 2025.

The Eastern Grass Owl, though widespread across the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and northern Australia, remains under-researched in the wild. This CPD module will present findings from a key study, initiated in 1996, which successfully bred birds acquired from the wild. The study offers valuable insights into the species’ reproductive ecology, highlighting clutch sizes ranging from 7 to 10 eggs, incubation periods of 29–31 days, and fledging success rates between 50% and 75%. Fertility rates within clutches were also examined, revealing variation based on seasonal timing, with later clutches showing lower fertility.

Of particular note is the observation of cooperative breeding behavior, with female offspring from previous years participating in incubation and chick-rearing activities.

An abstract and short synopsis will be available to non-subscribing members in the ‘Free stuff’ area.

Subscribing members will get detailed access to the research and comprehensive notes on this fascinating study of a little known species. Your activity will be automatically recorded in your personal CPD log managed on your behalf by the IRBPP. CPD Hours will be automatically awarded for completing this activity

Not yet an IRBPP member? #read more about member benefits

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Tower of London Success!

On the 29th August 2024, five new Yeoman Warders joined the ranks of Bird of Prey Professionals after receiving their certificates of competence from Raptor Awards, having completed their certificated courses with the team at Willows Bird of Prey Centre in Knockholt.

In a short ceremony at The Tower of London they were presented with their certificates by Derek Hartshorne Director of Raptor Awards CIC, after completing all parts of the Raptor Awards Combined Course – the ‘benchmark’ award for any bird of prey professional.

These five Yeoman Warders are amongst a small and prestigious band of Yeomen Warders, appointed to look after the world famous Ravens at the Tower.

The role of Ravenmaster is a relatively new one, having only been created in the last 50 years, although there have been Yeoman Warders dedicated to their care for much longer.

The role was formally created by YW Jack Wilmington, who joined the Yeoman Body in 1968, eventually becoming the Yeoman Quartermaster. When the role was later disbanded, YW Wilmington officially became the first Ravenmaster, with YW Chandler now becoming the sixth person to ever fill the position. The Ravenmaster’s role is denoted by a distinctive badge – originally designed by YW Wilmington – on their uniform, which features an emblem of the famous bird on the right sleeve of both the daily Blue Undress and red Ceremonial State uniforms.

The Tower is currently home to seven ravens; Jubilee, Harris, Poppy, Georgie, Edgar, Branwen, and Rex, the newest recruit who was named in honour of HM The King’s Coronation last year. Ravens have a long association with the Tower of London. The story goes that King Charles II was the first to insist that the ravens of the Tower be protected, inspiring the famous legend that survives to this day. It is said that the King’s astronomer John Flamsteed, who had an observatory in the White Tower, complained that the resident ravens were impeding his work and requested their removal. The King was advised that if the ravens left the Tower then the Kingdom would fall – an alarming sentiment for a recently restored monarch – and the legend has been kept alive ever since.

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Scavenging behaviours in Owls

The fascinating study by E.Mori, M.Menchetti & F.Dartora, highlights previously unknown aspects of carrion feeding by long-eared owls.

Owls, particularly those belonging to the order Strigiformes, are fascinating nocturnal raptors whose sensory adaptations are crucial for their survival and hunting success. Unlike many birds that rely heavily on sight, owls have evolved to depend primarily on their exceptional auditory systems. This shift in reliance from vision to hearing is largely due to their nocturnal habits, which make it difficult to rely on sight alone in the dark. Their large eyes, relative to their skull size, do aid in gathering light, but it is their acute hearing that plays the most significant role in their ability to hunt effectively at night.

The specialized auditory systems of owls are a product of evolution, fine-tuned to detect even the faintest sounds in their environment. This adaptation is critical for locating prey, which often includes small mammals such as rodents that are active during the night. The ability of owls to hear their prey moving on the ground, even under conditions where visibility is low, gives them a significant advantage. Additionally, the fringed edges of their flight feathers allow owls to fly almost silently, further enhancing their ability to approach prey undetected. This combination of silent flight and acute hearing makes owls … read full article in our ‘FREE STUFF’ archive here

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