Alberta Birds of Prey Centre opens for the season

Westwind Weekly News Photo by Kristine Jean. SEASON OPENS: Jefferson, a permanent resident Bald Eagle at the Alberta Birds of Prey Centre in Coaldale, comes in for a landing on the arm of staff member Chyan Humphrey during a flight training session in preparation for the season’s opening day on May 17.

By Kristine Jean
Southern Alberta Newspapers

Another season is taking flight at the Alberta Birds of Prey Centre.  

The centre opened its doors for the season May 17, welcoming visitors and area residents to experience one of Coaldale’s biggest tourist attractions, which runs every spring and summer between Victoria Day weekend in mid-May and Labour Day weekend in early September.

Staff at the centre have been busy in the past few weeks preparing birds and the facility for the season.

“We have been getting our flight birds ready for our flight demonstrations,” said staff member Chyan Humphrey. “(In the springtime) we weigh them every day to make sure that they’re at a healthy weight and then we’ll start doing our flight demonstrations.”

Visitors can expect to see a wide range of birds including Bald Eagles, Red-Tailed Hawks, Ravens, Crows and a number of owl species including Barn Owls, Great-Horned Owls, Snowy Owls and Great Gray Owls, among others.  

While the centre focuses on rehabilitation to return birds to the wild, there are a number of birds that have either been injured or abandoned at a young age and are not able to survive on their own, and have become permanent residents at the Alberta Birds of Prey Centre.

“Our main focus here is to rescue, rehab and release as many birds of prey as possible back into the wild,” said Humphrey. “We have around 60 permanent residents that people are able to see at any point during the day,” she added, noting the centre is open during the season seven days a week from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and all admission fees and money collected through gift shop purchases goes back into the sanctuary, for the care and upkeep of the birds and the facility.

In addition to a gift shop, displays and demonstrations, there is also a big focus on education at the Alberta Birds of Prey Centre, for both children and adults that visit the centre each season. 

“We do a lot of school tours with young children as well and our main focus of that is to get young people excited about conservation and thinking about wildlife and their purpose in the ecosystem,” explained Humphrey. 

One of those educational features is the Burrowing Owl breeding program. An endangered species in Canada, the centre’s Burrowing Owl breeding program plays a pivotal role in helping secure the future of this species.

“We work closely with (Alberta) Fish and Wildlife when we release the young into the wild. We have about eight or nine breeding pairs of Burrowing Owls that will hatch young,” said Humphrey. “We have a burrowing owl enclosure here where we have four breeding pairs that people are able to see,” she added, noting their young typically hatch in late June.

Visitors will also see some new features at the centre this season, that were completed near the end of last summer. They include a picnic shelter sponsored by Fortis Alberta, where visitors can have lunch or a break during the day, and Turtle Cove, a new shelter area by one of the centre’s ponds that is home to the Western Painted Turtle.

“We’ve got quite a few turtles that have moved into our pond,” said Humphrey. “At Turtle Cove we have a nice shaded area – the idea with these shelters is that they provide some sort of shade throughout the day, no matter where the sun is.”

With the 2025 season now underway, the centre eagerly awaits the thousands of visitors, tourists and residents expected this summer.  

“Spring is always really exciting. We’re excited to have our school tours come through again … see families of all ages and a lot of tourists,” said Humphrey.