Talon show

But not everyone bonds as well with birds of prey as the young magician - and, let's not forget, both Harry and Hedwig (his owl) are fictional creatures.

In real life, birds of prey, especially owls, are messy and smelly. They don't always take kindly to captivity, and require lots of time and attention.

But - thanks in part to the Potter craze - they are seen as exotic status symbols, sometimes by children, or, increasingly, by the same people who used to like keeping fierce dogs.

Irresponsible owners don't always see their pets as a long-term commitment. At this time of year it's worth remembering that birds of prey, like cats and dogs, ought to be for life, not just Christmas.

Sadly, not everyone has got the message. Unwanted birds are often released to fend for themselves, and, because they've been raised in captivity, can't cope in the wild.

Then there are birds with broken legs or wings caused by flying into cars or buildings... or found stunned, starving and disoriented on the ground after colliding with power lines.

Which is where Wessex Bird of Prey Rescue comes in.

Run by Terri and Jon Hall, it's based in the back garden of their home in Canford Heath, Poole.

The couple, falconers for 20 years, started the rescue service last year. They give talks to schools and clubs and show some of the birds at fetes to help raise funds... and, just as importantly, awareness.

"It's not like keeping a budgie, where you put the bird in a cage and chuck some seed in every now and then," says Terri. "Birds of prey aren't cuddly toys - far from it."

The Halls don't charge for their talks, but they do ask for a minimum donation of £40, enough to pay for an X-ray on an injured bird. As well as vets' bills they have to pay for food, transport, security cameras, night lights, incubators, fridges and aviaries.

"It has cost us around £3,000 from our own pockets," says Terri. "It would have been more, but we're very resourceful. We have to be.

"We'll root around in skips for old bits of double glazing, for example, and people give us bits of wood for the buildings and other stuff.

"But what we really need is for someone to donate us an old Land-Rover, or a similar vehicle, so that we can get to the birds when people ring up with just a map reference, and we find it's somewhere inaccessible in the New Forest or out in Dorset."

Jon, who used to be in the Navy, works as a security officer and Terri does nights in a nursing home. Between them they're on call 24 hours a day. Their daughters, Catherine, 17, and Victoria, 13, help out, and there's another young volunteer who also chips in.

They could always do with more help, but no time-wasters need apply.

"We've had people saying they want to help," says Terry. "But all they want to do is handle the birds, when what we need is someone to help build aviaries and do the cleaning out. It's not very glamorous, but it all has to be done."

So why do they do it?

"Yes, we put a lot in," admits Terri. "But we also get a lot out of it."

The Halls have taken in all kinds of birds - owls, kestrels, falcons, hawks and buzzards, including one with part of its beak missing (they're hoping to get a false beak made and fitted), and another with just one wing.

"We aim to release birds back into the wild as soon as we can, and last year we released nearly 80, mainly buzzards.

"We always try and release them where we found them, because they may have a mate. When you see them flying off, well, you just can't describe it, it's such a buzz."

Contact Wessex Bird of Prey Rescue on 01202 771611, or 07780 797836 (24-hour rescue).

RSPB fears

THE Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) believes some of Britain's rarest breeding wild birds - including the golden eagle, peregrine, goshawk and merlin - could be put at risk by government cutbacks.

Currently, anyone wanting to keep certain rare birds in captivity has to have them ringed and listed under a government-run registration scheme. However, under new proposals, certain species would be removed from the list - or the scheme could even be scrapped.

The current system allows the birds and their offspring to be located for DNA testing. This showed, in the mid 1990s, that over 10 per cent of peregrine falcons and goshawks declared as captive-bred were actually illegally taken from the wild.

Far from wanting to see the scheme scaled down, the RSPB is lobbying the government to extend the list of birds needing registration.

Graham Elliott, the head of the RSPB's investigations section, said: "If (the scheme) is removed, we will inevitably see a dramatic increase in nest robberies, and a return to the dark days when peregrine and goshawk nests were regularly plundered for the falconry market."

Protected species

ALL wild birds are protected by law - and some species are very rare. For example, there are only around 10 breeding pairs of white-tailed eagles, and possibly as few as four pairs of honey buzzards in Britain, according to the most recent RSPB estimates. But the red kite population has risen, from 160 pairs 10 years ago, to around 430 today. There has also been a big rise in the number of buzzards, from around 15,000 in 1990 to between 50,000 and 60,000.

Red kites were re-introduced to the Chilterns and Welsh border area and have gradually spread their breeding range - some may be spotted in north Dorset during the summer.

The RSPB reserves at Arne, near Wareham, and Avon Heath, near Ringwood, have buzzards and sparrow-hawks, with ospreys and hobbies passing through on their migratory passage in autumn and spring. Conservationists remain optimistic that ospreys may eventually breed in Dorset.

For more information about birds of prey, check out the RSPB website: (www.rspb.org.uk).