The Largest Collection of Owls in the World

 
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"SUCH A WONDERFUL AND UNIQUE PLACE TO LEARN ABOUT WILDLIFE!"

senninhasenninha, tripadvisor.co.uk

 
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100+ OWLS FROM
AROUND THE WORLD

DAILY ALL-WEATHER
FLYING DISPLAYS

HANDS-ON
EDUCATION FEATURES

HOLD AN OWL FOR A PHOTO

ADVENTURE PLAYGROUND

PICNIC AREA

GIFT SHOP

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FACE TO FACE

Now you can meet face to face the birds that you've only heard as a distant Twit-Twoo. From the giant Siberian Eagle Owl to the tiny Scops Owl you can learn about their habits and habitats and how to help in their conservation. Let these awesome creatures inspire you to make a difference.

 

"WOW, WOW AND WOW AGAIN!!"

C. Kiddell, Somerset

 
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CONNECT WITH US

Little video snippets from display arena training with Sheila the 14 week-old Boobook Owl and Mel, the 16 week-old Melanistic Barn Owl today🦉😊 They are both doing incredibly well! #boobookowl #melanisticbarnowl #ninoxboobook #tytoalba #training #owlets #owlsofinstagram #owl #scottishowlcentre #birdsofprey #raptors The Oriental Bay Owl is a stunning and unusual bird. With no other owls that look quite like it, they are very curious looking creatures🦉. They trust so much in their camouflage ability that they would often sit frozen on their perch and imitate the swaying of a dead leaf on a tree branch rather than taking flight to safety... In some cultures they became known as the 'idiot bird' because of this. Humans could literally walk up to one and pluck the Bay Owl off its perch. They used to be an easy meal in some countries. Thankfully, this has faded into history over the years, but possibly not entirely. Owl species often find themselves in the face of adversity... Yet despite this fact, they are still very much present in our world, even though humans don't always make their continued survival easy for them. Resilience is just one of many fantastic qualities which owls possess - but so many species would benefit from concerted conservation efforts to help boost their chances at survival. Sometimes even the most resilient of creatures need a little help #orientalbayowl #phodilusbadius #owl #owls #birdsofprey #unusual #curious #owlsofinstagram #scottishowlcentre #survival #conservation Today, I came across a little row of all three Tengmalm's Owls sitting side by side like this on the perch with the most sunshine 😂 Wished I could've caught a photo, but it was two minutes before a flying display and my camera wasn't to hand. So here's one I prepared earlier 😝 A little snapshot of a sunbathing Tengmalm's Owl from the last sunny day at our Centre 🦉#tengmalmsowl #borealowl #aegoliusfunereus #owl #sunbathing #owls #owlsofinstagram #tinyraptor #birdsofprey #scottishowlcentre Eretria, our Little Owl, a.k.a fat, floofy little murder ball 😂 Many species of owl can be traced back to ancient human civilisations. Owls have been on our planet for a very long time. The Little Owl in particular has ties to Ancient Greece. This is where one of the first links between owls and wisdom were made. In several Greek towns and cities, they would build shrines and statues to honour their goddess of wisdom, Athena. On multiple occasions, pairs of Little Owls would move into a crevice of the statue and nest there. Thus sparking the ideologies that they were a vessel for Athena, her familiar, the embodiment of wisdom... and it was all because the Greeks thought it was a very clever place for the owl to nest. The Little Owls were safe, they could survey the world around them and spot danger/prey from their high vantage point 😊 #littleowl #athenenoctua #greece #ancientgreece #wisdom #owl #mythology #owlsofinstagram #tinymurderbird #owls #birdsofprey #tinypredator #scottishowlcentre Mel, our melanistic Barn Owl has grown into a stunning bird🦉His ambassadorial training has officially started 😉 Today we were out and about for a wander on the glove, getting used to the sights and sounds of the Centre. Next stage will be flight training in our arena! #melanisticbarnowl #barnowl #tytoalba #melanism #striking #stunning #owl #owlsofinstagram #birdsofprey #raptor #scottishowlcentre #owls So often people miss our Short-Eared Owls who very well could be sitting less than five feet away from visitors within their aviary... And this is why! 😂 Our advice to our visitors is always 'look for amber eyes in the grass' 👀 This is exactly where they'd be hiding out the wild, too. It's one of the reasons why they're one of the most elusive British species - unless you're lucky to see them in flight or catch them hunting from a fence post🦉#shortearedowl #asioflammeus #mastersofcamouflage #camouflage #plumage #ambereyes #owl #hidden #birdsofprey #owlsofinstagram #scottishowlcentre #raptor #hunter Our young pair of Band-Bellied Owls have really settled into their new home now at our Centre🦉They feel very secure in their aviary space, have established their favourite sit-spots like all of our other owls and are much more confident around visitors than in the beginning 😊 Still the first and only in the UK, they are incredibly striking birds with stunning markings. We still feel extremely privileged to have been able to introduce them into our Centre. #bandbelliedowl #pulsatrixmelanota #owls #birdsofprey #raptor #owlsofinstagram #scottishowlcentre #birdsofinstagram #owl
Alicanto the Magellanic Horned Owlet is growing up into a very handsome owl (albeit very slowly! One day we will lose the last of the baby floof 😂)🦉Alicanto has featured in his first flying display and has proven to be a bit of a pouncing extraordinaire 😆 The speed this youngster can build up when going in for a pounce is amazing! #magellanichornedowl #bubomagellanicus #magellanhornedowl #owl #owlsofinstagram #raptor #pounce #birdsofprey #owlet #scottishowlcentre #ambassador Such a handsome young Tawny Owl is our Tony 🙂 He turned three years old this year and has been going through some rigorous moulting recently 😂 There are three main colour morphs that occur in this species: rufous (red-brown), dark grey/silver and then brown. Tony's parents are housed in an aviary at our Centre and are reaching a fair old age now, but still breeding handsome young Tawnies just like Tony. His mum is the red morph, but his dad was the grey... So Tony seems to have ended up somewhere in between! He's much more similar to mum, though, just a little less reddish 😂 He has her same brilliant little ginger goatee, though 😋 Researchers can't seem to come to a consensus on what causes the differing colourations. Some put it down to dominant genes, others think that climate could be a variable (certain feather colours may take more energy to grow through than others, or some colour pigments may possess better insulation properties) which determines colouration... In any case, it's just another of the many things that make owls such fascinating birds 😊 #owls #tawnyowls #tawnyowl #geographicalvariation #colourmorphs #birdsofprey #owlsofinstagram #scottishowlcentre #raptor #strixaluco #rufous #grey #brown #beautiful #fascinating Our three remaining Snowy Owlets from this year🦉They haven't gone off to their new homes quite yet, so whilst they are waiting to be picked up, they have frequently been featuring in our flying displays. They've been incredibly entertaining ☺ Even though they can't fly yet, them getting to grips with how their feet and legs work is just as fun to watch 😂 There has been much unstable pouncing, bunny hops and wing co-ordination failures 😛 #snowyowl #buboscandiacus #owlets #snowyowlet #owl #raptor #birdsofprey #scottishowlcentre #learning This is Kashmir, our Indian Eagle Owl. He's on holiday from displays at the minute as he is going through his first catastrophic adult moult. He's due to turn 3 years old this year 😊. This species is one of the ones who suffer in the wild due to the pet trade. They are an intelligent species, incredibly quick to learn with stunning plumage, making them highly sought after. They are frequently stolen from the wild, often the adult birds will be killed and their nests robbed. Their youngsters are stolen as eggs or as hatchlings and sold on to those who lack knowledge on the high levels of care that owls require, or how large a commitment owning an owl is, or what environments are suitable to house them in... Kashmir helps us raise awareness about these issues during his flying displays. Really looking forward to bringing him back in later in the season 😍 #indianeagleowl #bubobengalensis #owl #owls #owlsofinstagram #scottishowlcentre #raptor #beautiful #fierce #birdsofprey #ambassador Poncho, our Tropical Screech Owl, with the sun on his face🦉😍 Part of Poncho's talk discusses the adaptability of this little owl. The smaller owls have some of the best camouflage of any of the species. With the ability to massively reduce their apparent size and streamline their silhouette, essentially they blend seamlessly with the bark on the tree trunk behind them. They'll sit perfectly still, veil the bright colour of their irises by closing their eyes almost completely... and they'll stay like that until the threat has passed on by. It's one of their best defences against potential predators 😊 Even when they're not hiding from predators, owls are not a particularly dynamic bird. They prefer to sit unnoticed and wait for their unsuspecting prey to come to them. If they can avoid flying (because defying gravity is no easy feat! 😋), that's precisely what they'll want to be doing. It's what makes owls such elusive birds out in the wild! #tropicalscreechowl #megascopscholiba #owl #raptor #birdsofprey #tinykiller #camouflage #survival #owlsofinstagram #scottishowlcentre #perchandpounce #hiddenhunter Sheila the Boobook owlet has been getting braver and more inquisitive by the day 😍 There has been much exploring and exercising of the wings... Definitely won't be too long now until that first attempted flight! #boobookowl #ninoxboobook #southernboobook #owl #owlet #adventures #owletsofinstagram #owlsofinstagram #raptor #birdsofprey #scottishowlcentre Due to the heat, many of our owls have been taking lots of baths all through the day to keep themselves nice and cool🦉This is Pavlov, our male Mackinder's Eagle Owl - he must take at least five or six dips per day at the minute. He also waits for his Keepers to freshly change and top up the water so he can mess it up again 😂 Our Snowy female, she was hatching eggs on the hottest days and the owlets were struggling in the heat. So in another example of 'owl intelligence', she has been leaving the nest to take a dip in her dish and returning sopping wet to sit back on the nest. By doing this, she is effectively providing them with a cold blanket to help regulate their temperature 😊 #hotdays #bathingowls #owl #owlsofinstagram #scottishowlcentre #cleverowls #mackinderseagleowl #bubocapensismackinderi #temperatureregulation #raptors #birdsofprey
Lately, Hosking the Tawny Owl has been featuring a lot in our flying displays🦉Tawny Owls, like lots of other owl species, are very resourceful. People often ask us whether the 'owls being wise' thing is true. The answer isn't really a clear cut yes or no. In terms of straight intelligence, exhibited through problem solving etc., they rank pretty low compared with something like corvidae or parrots. However, they are adaptable, resourceful creatures that are relatively quick to learn something that works to their advantage. For example, urban Tawny Owls have learned that some humans have convenient, giant puddles of water in their garden that fill with fish or frogs - which make an easy meal for a hungry owl 😜 So they've taught themselves to fish from people's garden ponds! They'll swoop low and snatch the amphibian or fish from the pond's surface in the middle of the night. They have also learned that we invented convenient light bulbs on top of a tall metal posts (lamp-posts! 😝). If the owl sits on top of those in the middle of the night, they know that they can't be seen (because they're obscured in shadow behind the bulb's glow) and the bulb attracts insects. Those insects then attract bats hunting them - and bats make a tasty meal for a Tawny Owl 😉. So maybe owls display their own, unique type of wisdom #tawnyowls #wiseowls #owl #hunter #strixaluco #owlsofinstagram #birdsofprey #raptor #scottishowlcentre #clever #resourceful Another new arrival to the Centre and our trained team. Meet our 3 week-old Southern Boobook Owlet, Sheila 🙂 Several owl species are named after the sounds they make, the Boobook Owl is one of those. Their call is unmistakeable and a sound commonly heard in the Australian bush. Sheila's call hasn't fully developed yet - currently she sounds like a little cricket when she attempts it 😂 #boobookowl #ninoxboobook #owlet #owlsofinstagram #owl #raptor #scottishowlcentre #newarrival #ambassadorintraining #owlcalls #vocalisation Beautiful patterning and an incredibly soft, fuzzy surface to the feather fibres which you can actually see in the photo ☺ That soft fuzz is one of the adaptations which contributes to an owl's ability to fly silently. As the owl flies, the feathers shift and move over one another during flight. That fuzzy surface helps to reduce friction, which in turn reduces noise as those feathers shift. This particular feather was moulted by our young Ural Owl, Tomsk🦉#owl #feather #owlfeather #uralowl #strixuralensis #beautiful #evolution #adaptation #owlsofinstagram #raptor #birdsofprey #scottishowlcentre Terrific photo that Dorothy, one of our Volunteers, caught of Oulu during one of our flying displays 😍 Great Grey Owls are a truly stunning bird to watch fly, I've never known something so big to move with such grace and manoeuvrability. Some of the gaps that she manages to squeeze herself through still amazes me every time I fly her🦉She also frequently shows the low, searching flight signature to this species as they search over snowy terrain, listening for signs of their small rodent prey hiding in tunnels beneath the surface #greatgreyowl #strixnebulosa #owl #flying #flyingdisplay #scottishowlcentre #raptor #birdsofprey #beautiful #hunter #ambassador #owlsofinstagram
 
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"IF ONLY ALL WILDLIFE PARKS AND ZOOS WERE AS IMPRESSIVE AS THIS - IT REALLY IS ONE OF A KIND."

theglobetrotta, tripadvisor.co.uk

 
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"WONDERFUL DAY - BEST FLYING SHOW EVER!!"

P. Clockerty, Glasgow

 
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