Bird Park Pics

Hey everyone. Well, I finally got some pictures from the bird park. The pics were taken from a guest who visited us during a morning show over a week ago now. Here I am on the left with Flo, one of our resident Eurasien Eagle Owl, which in German is called "Uhu". The Uhu is the largest owl in Europe, and one of the largest in the world. At 3.2 kg (7.05 lbs) she isn't too light. Her unmistakeable "horns" are a trademark to her species. You'll notice her special build: her eyes cannot move, she has to move her full head in order to look around, which she can move 270 degrees; also, her thick body build... she is actually (like other owls) not related to the other raptors... We don't fly Flo at the park, since she is a night owl and is built the way she is, it is quite dangerous for her to fly during the day due to the resident birds of prey of the area, who aren't owned by the park. She has nothing against them during the day, but at night she is a formidable opponent and hunter, and at nigh she is left alone. Flo is used by us twice a day however, as she is very sweet and loving. The visitors are allowed to pet her, and the workers/volunteers can pretty much cuddle with her, and she'll just lovingly "nibble" on our fingers with her beak.


Here is a picture of the first bird who we take out in the morning, Paulchen (pronounced P-owl-shen). Just for you Paul, "Paulchen" is your name, only the cute version. "chen" is used at the end of words to signify something cute or also as a nickname to. Anyways, Paulchen is a Harris Hawk who is the one of the only raptor species who actually lives in swarms. Most raptors live alone. Since he lives naturally in a swarm, but was raised by the owners of the park (particularly Wolfgang, who is with him in this picture) he views the owners as his "swarm" and therefore will not leave the area of the park. When going on a walk or driving in a car, the Hawk will follow along right behind. That isn't to say, however that Paulchen is all that nice when it comes to his food. When there's food in the mix, Paulchen is quite protective, as he would be in the wild. As soon as the food is gone again though, he's as nice as can be.


Here is our Peregrine Falcon, Luka. Luka is a beautiful bird, who I know nothing about... and therefore can't tell you too much about him. Somehow a lot of information about our owl, Paulchen, our eagles, our smaller falcons... but information about Luka hasn't quite stuck yet... sorry.

I can take this time to explain a bit about the park though. The park is currently in it's third year of operation and is located in a mountainous region just north west of Saarbruecken. The shows take place on the side of a mountian, while the entrace to the park is in the valley. There are two shows a day, one at 11 and one at 3 and the birds are very used to this schedule. There are 15 different birds at the park including falcons, bald eagles, owls (including a snow owl and a baby owl), and a variety of hawks. The birds are housed on the mountain where our shows take place. Along with the birds there are also raccoons (and babys), ferrets (and babys), pigeons (and babys), bunnies (and babys), 2 donkeys, 1 pony, and a three pigs. To read about a typical day at the park (at least my typical day) click here.

Here is my last picture of me with our 3 year old Bald Eagle, Phoenix. Bald Eagles are not fully grown until 5 years of age, which is why Phoenix is still a bit smaller and without the typical white head, that we know them for. Still, by a "bit smaller" a mean only a bit: phoenix weighs 3.2 kg (around 7 lbs) and has a wing span of 180 cm (nearly 6 feet), which is 10 cm more than me. When he's flying, it's easy to forget how huge he is, but with him right next to me, it's easy to see. Just compare his body to the size of me, from my shoulders to my waist. He's at least that big, plus his wings are HUGE! This is actually a rare occurance for me. Since the birds are on a schedule, it's difficult to train me extra with the birds, and since there are usually a lot of people at our shows, it's hard to take the time out to train me on the birds during it. Since I'm new, the birds react differently around me. They'll still fly to me, land, eat the food, but then they'll try to steal the glove from me as they fly away, which makes my role a bit more difficult. Plus I'm new, so I'm all worried about just doing the basic things right, and the eagles are heavy when you try to lift them up to "throw" them so they'll fly away. Anyways, it is a great experience (though you can tell in this pic that I'm struggling a bit). We also have a 2 year old Bald Eagle, who we call Tago. He is a bit smaller than Phoenix, but still just as beautiful. These two are definitely a highlight of the show.

Well, hope you guys enjoyed it. As I get more pics, I'll put more up. Including someitme soon a "babys" post, where you can see pics of all our resident babies... they are totally cute. :)