HOOTS of praise have been heaped on a construction company who stepped in to give Suffolk's birds of prey a home as staff prepare for the second building challenge in a year.

By James Fraser

HOOTS of praise have been heaped on a construction company who stepped in to give Suffolk's birds of prey a home as staff prepare for the second building challenge in a year.

Staff at the Suffolk Owl Sanctuary at Stonham Barns, Stonham Aspal, have named four new aviaries at the centre 'The Bluestone Aviaries' after the help the firm gave in a refurbishment of the site last year.

Bluestone donated building materials for a marathon building session in March in which the aviaries were built in just one weekend.

Now the company, which has an office in Ipswich, has visited SOS with more building supplies to start on building two more new aviaries to house two non-native species of owl.

And this time it will take the form of a different type of challenge. Two sponsored teams are competing against each other to see who can do it in the quickest time.

Julie Finnis, head warden at Suffolk Owl Sanctuary, said: "As a charity we are wholly reliant on the generosity of our visitors for the upkeep of the centre."

Birds of prey fan Martin Webb, a site manager at Bluestone, said: "Birds of prey are apassion of mine, and I do my best to help out at the sanctuary in my spare time.

"When I told some of my colleagues at Bluestone about the sponsorship idea, they were only too happy to help take the project further."

Weblink: www.bluestone.plc.uk