The competition has now closed. The results are here
Landscape changes over the centuries
Iron age clearings; Medieval landscape and 18th century enclosures
The Victorian age; 20th century productivity pressures and the modern landscape
(click for larger views)
Birds of prey and people
These six stunning paintings at the Hawk and Owl Trust's Conservation and Education Centre in the Chilterns show how people have changed the landscape over the last 2000 years, and how this has affected birds of prey for better or worse.
Buy your own copies here for just £10 per set
Do they inspire you to paint or draw?
Habitats, homes and hunting
For the last 40 years the Hawk and Owl Trust has worked hard to help these amazing birds by conserving their habitats, so that they have somewhere to nest and plenty of the right kind of food.
Birds of prey are specialised hunters and each species has its favourite type of landscape. For example, peregrine falcons like wild mountainous country or cliff ledges, but are also moving into towns where they nest on tall buildings. Barn owls like to make a home in old farm buildings or holes in trees and hunt over rough, open grassland. The Trust helps them by putting up special nest boxes as old barns or hollow trees can be difficult to find nowadays.
Over to you...
Do you have a favourite bird of prey? Do you know where it likes to live, and what it likes to eat? How does it find and catch its prey? If you are inspired by these wonderful birds, or by the paintings on this website, get out your paints or crayons and get cracking! Make a drawing or painting of a British bird of prey in its habitat and you could win some great art materials.
Your picture should be no bigger than A3 (420 x 297 mm) in size. Give it a title telling us which bird you have chosen.
There will be winners in two categories: (1) up to 11 years and (2) 11-16 years old.
Write your name, age, date of birth, address and contact details (telephone or email) on the back.
Send your finished picture to:
The Education Officer
Hawk and Owl Trust
Conservation and Education Centre
Chiltern Open Air Museum
Newland Park
Gorelands Lane
Chalfont St Giles
Bucks HP8 4 AB
Make sure it gets to us by Monday 10 August 2009.
Winners will be notified by Tuesday 1 September 2009. The results will be published on the Hawk and Owl Trust website and in its Peregrine newsletter. We may decide to publish successful entries on the website and/or in Trust newsletters.
If you would like your painting back, please include a stamped, addressed envelope of the right size with your entry, so we can post it back to you at the end of the competition.
