Laughton: Boogie the Barn Owl was the star at WI meeting

After Joint President Joy Bannister had welcomed members and one guest, from Guisborough in North Yorkshire, to the meeting she introduced four-year-old Boogie and her handler Annette MacKenzie.

Annette has worked with birds of prey for many years and spoke about the different species of owl and how they differ in various ways.

Boogie is a beautiful bird and was much admired by everyone.

She weighs only 10 ounces and eats around four to five mice or day-old chicks a day.

Female owls are slightly bigger than the males and can live for 12 to 15 years in captivity, though in the wild their life expectancy is around three years.

Annette and Boogie enjoy visiting schools, clubs, care homes and garden fetes on a regular basis so Boogie was not at all fazed by the assembled WI members, and several put on the leather gauntlet so she could perch on their arm.

Helen Spilman thanked Annette and Boogie for a most interesting and entertaining evening.

Members from Morton enjoyed good fortune as the competition for an owl in any medium was won by Sue Robinson who also won the lucky draw whilst Gillian Bhattacharya was successful in the draw as well as being the winner of the lottery.

Members visited Kirton Lindsey Garden centre for afternoon tea in mid July and a walk around Blyton followed by lunch is planned for Monday 1st September.

The annual MacMillan Coffee Morning on Friday 26th September will be at a new venue, Park House Farm, Laughton.