Our Birds
We have a large variety of birds that can be flown or seen in our displays around Wales. At the moment we are going through some amazing developments and some of the birds are getting new homes within our Secret Owl Garden or The British Bird of Prey Centre. They are still available for you to meet and fly, just ask and we can tell you where to find them.
Angus
White Tailed Sea Eagle
Angus is the largest member of our team by far. He is a juvenile White Tailed Sea Eagle, which is the largest Eagle in the UK and has the largest wingspan of all eagles (up to 8 feet). At the moment all of our time is spent getting him to trust us and getting him used to everything around him.
Eagles are very intelligent and he learns his lessons very quickly. We just need to make sure he learns only good lessons. So far he has a lovely nature – but we do keep a close (but not too close) eye on that beak!
Bruce
Blue Winged Kookaburra
Bruce is a Blue Winged Kookaburra. He was born at Folly Farm and was raised by us from 14 days old. He is fast becoming a favourite in the team as he not only looks amazing but he makes some great noises and he flies very differently to the other birds we have and how you’d expect him to fly.
He’s not technically a raptor but he is a bird of prey, happily eating mice, frogs and grasshoppers (which he is catching regularly on our experience days).
Busby
Common Buzzard
As Flint has now retired we thought it was about time we brought in a baby version to fly in our team. Buzzards are iconic in Wales and this little guy is going to be a star. He’s very sweet natured and makes the cutest of noises. With big broad wings he is learning to get higher and higher each day.
Busby is currently in training to join the team at The British Bird of Prey Centre later on in the year. He’ll be out flying daily with the falconers around the gardens.
Diego
Crested Caracara
Diego is a Crested Caracara, but thinks he’s a puppy! He is super intelligent and likes to play fetch and has a naughty habit of undoing shoe laces. We would like to think he’s amazingly well trained, but really he only does what he wants to do. He is currently enjoying a well deserved relax at home!
Doris
Hobby Falcon
This beautiful little lady came all the way from Holland in 2016 to complete our team of native falcons. The Hobby is the second smallest falcon in the UK. She has settled in well and will be showing off her flying skills in our demonstrations in The British Bird of Prey Centre 2018.
Dot
Little Owl
Dot is our Little Owl. She loves children more than adults, probably because we are much more intimidating being so big. She has half a toe missing where she pulled it off in her aviary one day, but it doesn’t seem to bother her at all and she loves to visit schools and prefers to fly inside.
Dot is currently living at The Secret Owl Garden while the weather is too cold for her, she’d love you to visit!
Eddie
Brahminy Kite
Eddie is our cheeky Brahminy Kite. She is very chatty and loves to shout hello to everyone who visits! She has recently learnt to fish and is enjoying showing off her new skills to guests on our half and full day experiences.
Enzo
Peregrine Falcon
Enzo is the fastest member of our team, hence the name. He is a Peregrine Tiercel (this is the falconry term for a boy falcon) He’s a very affectionate falcon and is in love with Alex and cheeps at him all of the time.
Flint
Common Buzzard
Flint is the oldest of our birds, at 27 years old, she’s very old for a common buzzard. She has retired, so we don’t ask her to fly in displays or on our experience days any more as she has a cataract on one of her eyes so struggles to judge distances. However, she does come out for static displays and can be held and photographed.
Frodo
White Faced Owl
At the moment Frodo is living at The Secret Owl Garden, he’d love to see you there to show off his new home in the woods!
Frodo is a little character and has been known to fall asleep at shows on people’s gloves! He is a white faced owl and sounds a little like a cat. He will happily fly to anyone, anywhere. The only thing he doesn’t like are seagulls and will adopt his natural defence and change shape.
Hinge
Long-Eared Owl
At the moment Hinge is living at The Secret Owl Garden.
Hinge got his name because he sounds like a squeaky gate when he calls for food. As a baby Long-Eared Owl he used to run across the floor (before he could fly) squeaking at the exact same interval, over and over again, like a gate or a sign blowing in the wind. When he’s had enough food he still tries to squeak but he opens his mouth and no sound comes out!
Jack
Merlin Falcon
Jack is our Merlin Falcon. His full title is Captain ‘Jack’ Sparrow, but this is a lot to say when you are talking to him, so we just call him Jack for short. In the wild he would be fast enough to catch dragon flies, and this makes him amazing to watch in displays flying to a lure. Alex has been known to let him catch the lure after a few minutes because he feels sick because Jack has had him spinning around so much!
Khaleesi
African White-backed Vulture
Khaleesi is an African White-backed Vulture, born February 2014 in Spain. She is very friendly and is happy to come to anyone who has food! She is a little fussy about what she eats though, at the moment only good quality mince meat will do (expensive taste!).
She’s currently living at the International Centre for Birds of Prey (ICBP) in Newent in the hope she may start a budding romance and have a family of her own. The ICBP work around the world with Vulture conservation programmes to ensure we don’t lose wild populations. If you’d like to find out more about their work please click HERE.
Maleki
Harris Hawk
Maleki (or Mally for short) is the Harris Hawk that started it all. He is 10 this year and is still regularly the star of the show, showing off as he hovers for food. He is Alex’s baby and will not listen to any one else if he is around.
Morticia and Gomez
Turkey Vultures
Morticia and Gomez add a lot of character to our team. They are brother and sister and they are always squabbling over who is the boss. Watching them fly is quite spectacular as their small body and large wingspan allows them to soar easily above Picton Castle. Once they have had a stretch they are both happy to glide down to your glove. Gomez is also more than happy to go for a stroll with you around the lawn.
Morticia is currently living at the International Centre for Birds of Prey (ICBP) in Newent in the hope she may start a budding romance and have a family of her own. The ICBP work around the world with Vulture conservation programmes to ensure we don’t lose wild populations. If you’d like to find out more about their work please click HERE.
Orchid
Barn Owl
This beautiful lady has gone to live at The Secret Owl Garden, she’d love to see you in her brand new home and wow you as she takes her daily flight around the centre.
Orchid is Emma’s Barn Owl. She grew up watching Emma get ready in a morning, sat on top of the mirror and now really has to be in the right mood to want to fly for Alex. When she flies she is lovely and gentle and will circle around and around until called in for food. She has a naughty habit of jumping on your feet when you open her aviary door!
Saffron
Red Kite
Saffron is our new Red Kite. She has learnt the ropes quickly and is already wowing guests on experience days. She is still in training to join our display team next year ready to impress with her amazing flying skills which include catching and eating food in flight.
Popeye
European Eagle Owl
Popeye has just celebrated his 18th birthday! He’s gone to stay at The Secret Owl Garden!
Popeye our gentle giant. He is a European Eagle owl and the largest and heaviest owl in our team by a long way. When he’s happy and full, he makes a deep ‘hoo-ooo’ hooting sound all night long. In the summer he can be seen swooping over lines of people at our shows, almost low enough to touch them.
Bandit
Black Kite
Bandit is our beautiful Black Kite. She has a very sweet nature and loves nothing more than having a nice long bath out on the lawn.
Bombay and Sapphire
European Kestrels
Bombay and Sapphire are brother and sister and both live and fly together. Most mornings they can be found cuddled up together on the same perch. They are currently learning how to hover and are very lovely to have flying to your glove on our experience days as they are so tiny.
Scarlet
Red Kite
Scarlet is a Red Kite and is learning to fly in the open countryside and getting quite good at it. Before she came to us she spent a lot of time in a garden and didn’t really know how to fly like a kite. Every day she is learning to get higher and higher. She regularly gets joined by the wild kites that live nearby, hopefully she’ll get as good as them one day.
Troy
Tawny Owl
Troy now lives at The Secret Owl Garden, he can still be flown on experience days and will happily show you around the woodland gardens!
Troy is a Tawny Owl that joined us in 2015 from Folly Farm. He is very calm and relaxed but hasn’t flown outside much before. His training is going really well and we are excited to say he is now coming to our experience days!
Vogue
Steppe Eagle
Vogue, our female Steppe Eagle, came to us in 2013 and hadn’t flown for 2 years. She now gets to fly all of the time and seems to be enjoying herself. Sometimes a little too much and she goes off to visit the neighbours (a mile away!) She does make some funny noises when she sees Alex and we think she’s in love!
Wicket
Asian Brown Wood Owl
Wicket prefers to meet new friends on experience days and now lives at The Secret Owl Garden where he can do what he enjoys the most!
Wicket our Asian Brown Wood Owl he has a distinctive call that can be heard right the way across the gardens. He has also recently learnt how to fish!
Photo: Geoff Harris
Zephyr
Harris Hawk
Zephyr is a female Harris Hawk. She can be a little noisy when she’s sat still but luckily she’s quiet when she flies. She is super friendly and is not worried by anything. She likes to hunt her own food but will happily fly to a glove all day too. She’s getting pretty good at catching food in the air and this summer started to hover like Mally does.