I can hardly believe it is so long, but it was 30 years today when the sanctuary's founder; Mrs Eileen Watkinson MBE passed away.

Renowned for her work with the birds, people would travel far and wide to bring birds to Three Owls, knowing that whatever the issue, she would do her very best to get it back to the wild, and if it couldn't but could have a good quality of life, then it was assured a home for life at the Sanctuary - whether in a large aviary, walking free throughout the grounds, or (as many did), enjoying life during the day on our well-stocked nature reserve, then having the 'option' of coming back into the security of the sanctuary grounds at night.

All three of the Trustees worked alongside Mrs W; Dr Unwin from 1973, myself from 1978, and Stewart Jennings from 1979. It was her choice to place the continuation of Three Owls into our hands, and I think she would have been pleased with our achievements over the past 30 years in not only keeping the charity going through difficult times, but also expanding now from not just the one 'Home Reserve' at Rochdale, but now a network of reserves throughout the north-west of England, each catering for different species of bird and helping wildlife in general to flourish in those areas. The Helpline continues to give advice on request, and the website attracts around 300,000 visitors each year. Our two hospitals are as busy as ever saving wild birds lives, and we now have the opportunity to assist other sanctuaries directly either through the grant scheme or by giving hands-on advice, training, and relocation of wild birds for release.

The photo attached to this report shows her recognition by the Queen and Prince Philip back in June 1991, when she was awarded the MBE for her work with the birds. This was an honour she shared with us all at Three Owls, and it still hangs proudly in our office.

She is buried here at the Home Reserve, where she can oversee much of our ongoing work, and in the next few weeks all our reserves will come alive once more with new growth, followed not far behind with the sounds of birdsong as another new season of little lives comes along.

Nigel