Trabolgan Holiday Village were delighted with the success of the “Birds of Prey Educational Centre” that opened in 2011. The 2012 season will see the centre open again to resident guest, day visitors & our membership club for a small entrance fee & hope to add to the already amazing collection of birds available to see .
Trabolgan Bird of Prey Educational Centre offers you and your family the chance to learn about birds of prey and to raise awareness of the indigenous species and environmental issues involved in their protection and conservation. We endeavour to make your visit a very special one. Education through conservation is a very important part of what we do; the many children we talk to are in fact the future of these wonderful creatures.
Our education centre is run by state licensed falconers with many years experience in handling, training and flying birds of prey.
On your visit to our education centre you will get to see our beautiful falcons close up and personal including “Brendan” our native PEREGRINE FALCON and “Sundari” and stunning BLACK SHAHEEN (the only one in Ireland).
Meet “Morgan” our native kestrel and we also have a fantastic selection of owls from “Lucy” the little spotted owl weighing in a 4oz to the magnificent “Oscar” our European Eagle Owl tipping the scale at just over 9lbs.
Our owlets “Whisper” the Barn Own and “Leopold” the Bengal Eagle Owl are this year’s youngsters and are simply stunning.
Fly your own Hawk! €7 per person
A once in a lifetime opportunity to interact with one of nature’s top Raptors awaits you. Harris Hawks are the world’s only social Raptors and are perfectly suited to working with the public. Your instructor will coach you on how to release and call your hawk back. You then set off for an unforgettable experience so make sure to bring your camera to capture the exact moment your hawk flies to your glove.
*Places are limited so to ensure quality time spent with the falconer, book early to avoid disappointment. Bookings to be made directly at the clubhouse. All flights are weather dependent. Age and height restrictions apply.
Birds of prey are birds that hunt for food primarily on the wing, using their keen senses, especially vision. They are defined as birds that primarily hunt vertebrates, including other birds. Their talons and beaks tend to be relatively large, powerful and adapted for tearing and/or piercing flesh. In most cases, the females are considerably larger than the males
Hawks: are medium-sized birds of prey that usually belong to the genus Accipiter. They are mainly woodland birds that hunt by sudden dashes from a concealed perch. They usually have long tails for tight steering.
Falcons: are small to medium-size birds of prey with long pointed wings. Unlike most other raptors, they belong to the Falconidae, rather than the Accipitridae. Many are particularly swift flyers. Instead of building their own nests, falcons appropriate old nests of other birds, but sometimes they lay their eggs on cliff ledges or in tree hollows. Caracaras are a distinct subgroup of the Falconidae unique to the New World, and most common in the Neotropics – their broad wings, naked faces and appetites of a generalist suggest some level of convergence with either the Buteos or the vulturine birds, or both.
Owls: are variable-sized, typically night-specialized hunting birds. They fly with extremely little audible turbulence due to special feather structure and have particularly acute hearing.
TO BOOK your 2012 break call reservations on 021 4661551 or click on the book now button to book your holiday online.