About Us – New Zealand Raptor Trust

NEW ZEALAND RAPTOR TRUST BOARD MEMBERS PROFILES

Vaughan Skea is the Chairman of the New Zealand Raptor Trust .

His introduction to falconry happened at the early age of around 7 when the Zimbabwe Falconry Club held a local event. “Dad took me along to watch them hunt with their birds.”

His experience was furthered when his dad saved a white-faced owl from a cooking pot on the farm. “This bird was named Bonding, as it became imprinted on the family and would fly out each evening but would return in the morning for breakfast,” Skea says.

At boarding school he encountered some peers who were using goshawks in falconry. “Together we established a school falconry club and I found myself training and flying a range of birds over my high school years”.

In 2002 he immigrated to New Zealand. Falconry in New Zealand was illegal and the only way to continue was through rehabilitation. With no local raptor centres, volunteering was not an option and so we looked at creating a facility closer to home” he says.

“In 2016 things started to take shape and the New Zealand Raptor Trust was founded. I also became a member of The New Zealand falconry Association and I have since been enjoying continuing my passion flying and hunting with our Kahu.

Ron Lindsay has a long history with avian species. Having bred and showed various parrots and finches since his childhood, raptors were a slightly different challenge.

Being a keen wildlife photographer he says,” I had observed and photographed raptors in the wild and always had a great fascination for them. Being invited to part of the trust at it’s inception was a great opportunity to get to know these great birds better”.

The development of the advocacy and education has been Ron’s passion and he continues to work on the development of the Raptor Experience and schools programmes as well as addressing different community groups.

Ron along with Kahu Tom , Prince, Bran, and little owls Zebedee and Dougal currently make up the education and advocacy

The Trust counts itself very lucky to have the services of Dr Dries. As well as being our onsite vet, Dries is an active falconer and has a passion for birds of prey.

Dries moved to New Zealand in March 2009 from South Africa and joined Vetlife as a senior companion animal veterinarian.

He studied at Onderstepoort, University of Pretoria and qualified as a veterinarian in 1997 after also completing a BSc. Honours degree in 1994.

Dries developed an interest in birds of prey after treating an injured Harrier hawk in 2013 and successfully rehabilitated and released the bird.

He took up the sport of Falconry in 2017 and joined the board of trustees of The New Zealand Raptor Trust in 2018. He also has a keen interest in fly-fishing.

Jenni brings with her great enthusiasm and energy and a raft of skills in systems, organisation and management. She is currently running our rescue and rehab dept with Ange Tidy and is also board secretary.

She says, “I live on a 1.3 ha lifestyle property with my husband, John, our cat, half a dozen chickens and a pond full of ducks. As a child our family had a large bird aviary and chickens, so I have always had a soft spot for our feathered friends.

We like to encourage birdlife on our property, we have planted native trees that bring the birdlife and we frequently have Wood Pigeons, Bellbirds, Tuis and recently a Kaka visit. We also feed the smaller birds, wax eyes, fantails etc. When possible, we also leave out carrion for the our two resident wild hawks.

When not busy cleaning and caring for our resident raptors, Jenni enjoys mountain biking, gardening and the great outdoors.

Ange Tidy moved to New Zealand from the UK in 2004 to work in Timaru Public Hospital. She is a registered nurse and has worked in operating theatres for over 30 years.

She lives on a small lifestyle property, with her husband Steve, two cats, a horse and lots of chickens. She is also a registered beekeeper.

She has had a passion for birds of prey and falconry since a young age and has visited many of the falconry centres in the UK to see the birds and watch the flight displays.She says “Seeing a falcon up close on your glove and then free flying is an amazing experience”.

Her first hands-on experience with raptors was when she was living on the Isle of Wight where she attended a falconry course. She says,” This gave the chance to handle the falcons and owls and help care for them. I also met the resident bald eagle called Cherokee who was magnificent”.

“When I saw the call for volunteers to help care for sick and injured birds at the NZ Raptor Trust here in Timaru it was an offer I couldn’t refuse. I have now been with the trust for two years and as well as helping to coordinate the rescue and rehabilitation of the hawks, falcons and owls I also organise the volunteer feeders who care for the birds on a daily basis.It is a joy and a privilege to help care for these wonderful birds.