Wild Wings. Bird of Prey Centre

Wild Wings is a Bird of Prey Centre at about half an hour away from us. Yesterday we took advantage of the gorgeous weather we had and went to see the birds. The centre is a charity that takes care of birds of prey. The ones that can be released into the wild are kept in a separate area. I didn’t approach it, nor taken pictures of it for obvious reasons. Unfortunately, the ones we could approach can’t be released. All of them were born into captivity and they might not be able to fend for themselves. Most of them have sad stories and were in need of rehabilitation.

I like that all the birds had their names and breed on display. It was quite helpful to see the differences between them, as I can’t identify them easily.

While we were watching them, one of the volunteers approached us and he started to talk about the birds. We kept him for a long time because it was very interesting what he was saying, about the individual birds that they have there or about wild birds of prey in general. All of these birds are handled by them regularly.

In the next part of the centre are the cages with birds that might be handled or not. Some of them have medical issues, as in a couple of birds are blind in one eye. I picked a few pictures to show them in this post. The birds are magnificent and so well looked after.

This curious looking bird is Kookaburras. I wouldn’t have guessed it is a bird of prey by its look.

The Steppe Eagle, called Logan, was very curious about us. He was looking at us, turning his head around and checking us out. This is a Romanian eagle.

African spotted Eagle Owls are only one of the owls they have at the centre. These look so pretty. Although, I do say that about all the owls. I’m very keen on owls, since I was a child. These two are called Sparkle and Twilight.

Matui, the Mackinder’s Eagle Owl, has such a sad story. The man who rescued her told us he went to check some birds someone wanted to give to the charity as they were not in a position to take care of them anymore. Matui was kept in a bird cage so small that she wasn’t able to spread her wings. He took her on the spot and went on the following week to get the other 5 birds too.

I was surprised to see Matui’s reaction when she saw her rescuer. She started screeching with excitement. How wonderful is that?

Besides the birds of prey, the centre has two types of animals: racoons and ferrets. This is the racoon cage. We’ve been there for more than two hours, looking at the birds and chatting with different volunteers, and in that time we didn’t see them at all. I imagine they put on quite a show when they play with all those toys they have there in their cage.

I was given all three ferrets to hold, one at a time, because they are quite a handful. All of them tried to get underneath my jacket.

My glasses were another thing they were very curious about. All of them sniffed the glasses and one was pushing them with her nose. I imagine they would have liked to have fun with my glasses. Her whiskers were so ticklish.

All three ferrets are very sociable and eager to be petted. When the staffs go towards their cage, they run towards the door, so they can be picked up and cuddled with. I loved seeing that.

Wild Wings Birds of Prey is on New Hall Lane, Risley, Croft, Warrington, WA3 6BH. They are opened to the public from Friday to Sunday, from 10 am to 4 pm. Check their website @ wildwingsbirdsofprey.co.uk for more details about the charity and opening hours, open days, and so on. The entry fee is only £4.5 for adults.