Alex The Vulture

TheTamshee: clan visited Blair Drummond to check out Alex The Vulture. This Ruppell Griffon Vulture, starred in the hollywood film Alexander featuring actor Colin Farrell.

European Eagle Owl

TheTamshee: can't resist the call of the Owl, this fine specimen is one of the star attractions at Blair Drummond safari park Bird Of Prey Centre the European Eagle Owl being a little bit belligerent and acting up for the assembled crowd.

Peacock Display

TheTamshee says: the Safari Park at Blair Drummond is always a great day out for the Indy kids. On this occassion the Peacock courtship display caught the attention of the wee lass. This was only one of many wildlife attractions to be seen. The birds of prey are another favourite with the park rangers giving an insight into the daily life of sea eagles, harris hawks, barn owls and off course, the magestic griffon vulture

Blair Drummond Caravan Park

TheTamshee's back: there's been a bit of a hiatus regarding the blogging due to a family trip to wonderful Stirling-shire! our preferred choice of site is the immaculate
Blair Drummond Caravan Park, situated 1 mile or so passed the Safari park, take a right turn up Cuthill Brae then straight over the hill while being mindful of the three speed bumps en-route. The space-ish pitches are sited in and around magnificent walled gardens with rhododendrons in full bloom. It's also offers a wonderland of exploration for the Indy kids with an abundance of woodland for tree climbing and foraging. The play area is well equiped with zip wire and monkey bars.

Blair Drummond Safari Park

Blair Drummond Safari Park is Scotland's only Safari Park. Located near Stirling the park opened its gates for the first time in 1970. The safari park is overlooked by Blair Drummond House, built in 1868-1872 by J C Walker and is spread over 120 acres. There are a range of species to visit including, elephants, lions, tigers and Sea Lions

Since last summer, New attraction. The Lemurs have been enjoying living in their new homes over the water at Lemur Land. The area can be accessed by the blue footbridge beside the Boat Safari. There are Ringtail, Brown and Red-Ruffed Lemurs all loving their new homes. Lemur Land is perfect for them with loads of tall bushy trees and a massive network of thick ropes for them to play on. Several feed tables around the walkways mean you can get close to them, as they are all free roaming.Make sure you look carefully in the trees as they can sometimes be difficult to spot! If you can't see them, the keepers are on hand to point them out and answer any questions you have about these fascinating animals. Hand wash stations are located at the start/end of the walkway loop along with pram parking.

Leonardo ( one of the Ring Tailed Lemurs ) was born a month early which posed a series of problems, not just for his mum, but also for the Pets Farm team. His mum did not know what to do with such a premature baby and thus shied away from him. This meant he was not getting the essential antibodies and goodness from mums milk which he needed to survive. The Pets Farm team then hand reared him and began the long task of integrating him back into the group and to his mum. As you can see he has come a long way and is as mischievous as any youngster should be!
The Brown Lemurs below enjoy climbing the large trees and don't seem to mind their audience.

The Indy Kids love to get close to the Red-Ruffed Lemurs and TheTamshee has to admit they are very impressive indeed,

but pride of the park for me is the retired actor "The Ruppells Griffon Vulture" found in Central and Northeast Africa, where they roost and nest on steep cliff faces. The Rüppell’s has no actual vocal chords, however, they can make a variety of sounds, including screeches and hisses, usually when angry or when fighting over food. In some regions, it is the dominant vulture at a feeding site, though in other areas it is out-bullied by the much larger Lappet-Faced Vulture.
Güppell’s Griffons begin a search for food two hours after sunrise when the thermals have formed enough to give them needed lift. With their particularly keen eyesight this bird looks for the carcasses of large animals. Unlike some vultures, the Rüppell’s Griffon has a particularly strong bill and though it will start feeding on the soft parts of a carcass it soon moves on to eat even the toughest hide and bones.
Very occasionally it will kill young antelope and catch snakes, large insects and lizards, but feeds most of the time on carrion. Like many species of vulture these birds gorge themselves at a carcass until they can barely take off. The Rüppell’s Griffon Vulture is currently on record as the highest-flying bird ever, one of these birds collided with an airplane flying at an altitude of 37000 feet! This bird can soar for hours on end, searching out fresh carcasses.