Bird of Prey/Owl exhibits- do you like them?

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Pertinax

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
I was at a 'Wildlife Park' the other day which had quite a large display of Owls and Birds of Prey, kept in large aviaries (not pegged out on Falconry perches which I don't like to see)

I regard Owls and Birds of Prey generally as among my least favourite exhibits in zoos- even in spacious aviaries they sit and do nothing most of the time and captivity just doesn't seem to provide for their lifestyle needs really. I appreciate Owls in particular are free breeders in captivity but that doesn't really make me feel any better about them.

What do other people think?
 
Pertinax said:
I was at a 'Wildlife Park' the other day which had quite a large display of Owls and Birds of Prey, kept in large aviaries (not pegged out on Falconry perches which I don't like to see)

I regard Owls and Birds of Prey generally as among my least favourite exhibits in zoos- even in spacious aviaries they sit and do nothing most of the time and captivity just doesn't seem to provide for their lifestyle needs really. I appreciate Owls in particular are free breeders in captivity but that doesn't really make me feel any better about them.

What do other people think?
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I think it really does depend on the exhibit. I have seen plenty of small/bad aviaries that hardly have room for flight. However, @ Chester then Condor Cliffs and Europe on the Edge seem good enough (I have seen the birds being activ in these, and I don't even spend much time viewing them).
 
I'm sorry to hear they're among your least favorites. Personally, I can't get enough of the feathered ones. Given an aviary like, say, the one at Discovery Cove (Orlando), I'd probably end up spending most (if not all) of the day in it.

I would, however, like to point out a couple of things. The reason you don't see a lot of activity from raptors in general is because -- that's exactly the way they are in the wild. If they're not hunting, or working on raising youngsters, they're conserving as much energy as they can. The broadwings (hawks, eagles, vultures) will spend hours either perched on the highest point they can find, or simply soaring at altitude. As for falcons, they expend so much energy in catching enough prey to stay alive that they're usually too tired to do much other than eat afterward.

In actuality, if the exhibit and environments are done well, and the handlers are competent, raptors in captivity get to do more flying and hunting than their wild counterparts. And, like many other captive critters, they get a longer lifespan out of it.

As for the perches you describe, I'm a bit confused as to why you don't like to see them. They're in common use for many good reasons, mostly having to do with foot health of the bird involved.

There's a great site called 'The Modern Apprentice,' loaded with info on raptors in general and falconry in particular, including the hows-and-whys of perches. Here's a couple of links.

http://www.themodernapprentice.com/questions.htm

http://www.themodernapprentice.com/perches.htm

I've been privileged to work with a number of raptors, including several who are truly amazing ambassadors for their species. Every bird I've seen or worked with to date, with only a few exceptions (notably, GV Zoo), has been in excellent health and of very stable temperament.

Happy travels.
 
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kc7gr said:
and the handlers are competent, raptors in captivity get to do more flying and hunting than their wild counterparts. And, like many other captive critters, they get a longer lifespan out of it.

As for the perches you describe, I'm a bit confused as to why you don't like to see them. They're in common use for many good reasons, mostly having to do with foot health of the bird involved.
Don't get me wrong- I love all raptors, but far prefer viewing them in the wild. I was actually referring to those birds which are kept in large aviaries permanently and are never 'flown' in any displays. Here in the UK many wildlife parks display Owls and diurnal raptors in large Aviaries, often Snowy, Eagle and other Owl species, Caracaras, Buzzards and other hawks etc. These are permanent displays and the birds are not removed from them. I appreciate these birds are largely inactive when not hunting, but Aviaries completely deny all these birds real flight opportunities apart from flapping from one perch to another.

In respect to Falconry displays- these do allow the birds much better flying opportunity as you say. What I don't really like is to see the birds tethered out on their blocks and bow perches at ground level- again I fully realise this is traditional falconry practise too- but it always seems to me to be against the birds' natural preferences to perch high.
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Pertinax said:
even in spacious aviaries they sit and do nothing most of the time
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Because that is natural! When not breeding or hunting, raptors conserve energy. Thes same goes for falconry birds. Falconers can only fly their birds when they are hungry. Otherwise a raptor flies to the nearest treetop and sits there happily.

I agree that raptors make boring displays in aviaries, and are absolutely great in flight shows.
 
Thanks for clarifying

Ahh, now I can better understand your objections! Yes, I absolutely agree with most of what you wrote. I have, unfortunately, seen zoos where, if they have any raptors, they're never worked with. Some haven't even been jess-equipped. They're simply left in their mews, fed, watered, and that's about it. Bad idea!

As for the perches, it seems to be primarily the falcons who like to get up high. The broadwing hawks I've seen don't seem to have any problem with the idea of a ground-based perch.

In fact, Mistral, a female peregrine I've worked with, greatly prefers a high perch. She belongs to our falconry mentor, who has already accommodated her in this regard. She's perfectly happy to, when not eating or flying, simply people-watch from her lofty spot (just above head-height for most humans).

Then again, I think it also depends largely on the bird's personality. Saber, our mentor's gyr/saker hybrid falcon, seems to like ground-based perches, mainly because he has a penchant for exploring the ground around such.

Happy travels.
 
kc7gr said:
Yes, I absolutely agree with most of what you wrote. I have, unfortunately, seen zoos where, if they have any raptors, they're never worked with. Some haven't even been jess-equipped. They're simply left in their mews, fed, watered, and that's about it. Bad idea!
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The wildlife park I referred to above has a large collection of Owls plus Hawks and Caracaras all kept in large aviaries. They never leave these, it is a static exhibit. None of these birds are flown and there are no falconry displays at this park. Another park not far away has similar large aviaries for many species of Owls and Hawks- again, static exhibits- these birds are not flown or used in free flight displays. There are very many birds of prey kept in UK collections like that.
 
Jurek7 said:
Because that is natural! When not breeding or hunting, raptors conserve energy.
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My point being that when kept permanently in Aviaries they can't use any of their energy apart from a couple of flaps from one perch to another. They cannot fly any distances, soar, hunt etc. They can certainly breed, and many do.
 
I perform volunteer work with a raptor rehab group. We currently have one eagle, one hawk, one falcon, six owls, and one turkey vulture. These are program birds that are unable to function in the wild.

In the US there are very strict regulations governing raptors. We are required to have state and federal licenses for each of our birds. No raptors can be taken from the wild. Therefore zoos have to obtain their raptors from rehab groups. and since most rehab birds have wing damage,
they don't fly very far. Rehab eagles are obtained from the government.
 
The Zooquarium in Cape Cod, Mass has an atrocious enclosure for what I think was a Red Shouldered Hawk. It's essentially a big wooden box (10 foot by 6 foot, I think) with no openings except a screen on the front. It's completely dark, except the front. And it's completely bare, except one big branch that the bird sits on 24/7. I sent a complaint email and they said it's a permanent enclosure.

Having been said, I think Birds of Prey with room to fly, multiple perches, a varied diet, lots of enrichment, and a light/day schedule... I love seeing Birds of Prey in these kinds of enclosures:)
 
Tig said:
The Zooquarium in Cape Cod, Mass has an atrocious enclosure for what I think was a Red Shouldered Hawk. It's essentially a big wooden box (10 foot by 6 foot, I think) with no openings except a screen on the front. It's completely dark, except the front. And it's completely bare, except one big branch that the bird sits on 24/7. I sent a complaint email and they said it's a permanent enclosure.

Having been said, I think Birds of Prey with room to fly, multiple perches, a varied diet, lots of enrichment, and a light/day schedule... I love seeing Birds of Prey in these kinds of enclosures:)
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Big wooden boxes with just a screen in the front is also not bad, (but being bare inside with just one perch is) several raptor species feel way more comfortable this way then being in open enclosures. The box is then also way more discomfortable for us humans then for the birds.

But Pertinax I agree with you that a lot of raptor or owl enclosures are insufficient, especially if the birds are not flown. There is a tendency to build big vulture enclosure in Europe but these still are not that big (even the ones in Amsterdam and Rotterdam are ok and not good yet). I must admit I m talking from an European perspective where most captive raptors are not rehab birds.
 
Pertinax said:
I was at a 'Wildlife Park' the other day which had quite a large display of Owls and Birds of Prey, kept in large aviaries (not pegged out on Falconry perches which I don't like to see)

I regard Owls and Birds of Prey generally as among my least favourite exhibits in zoos- even in spacious aviaries they sit and do nothing most of the time and captivity just doesn't seem to provide for their lifestyle needs really. I appreciate Owls in particular are free breeders in captivity but that doesn't really make me feel any better about them.

What do other people think?
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I think it has been mentioned that raptors will sit for long preiods as natural behaviour to conserve energy, I think the point you are making can be extended to the big cats who are only really active for a short part of the day, how many times have we all been to zoos and safari parks to observe lions and tigers sleeping the day away. Again all natural behaviour.
 
I like them a lot. Especially the one at my hometown National Aviary. We have a exhibit called sky deck and it shows you all types of bird of prey and what they can do in mid flight. its awesome!!!
 
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