Eagles Flying?

jonathan mark · 09-08-2015 1:54pm #1

Anyone been to see the eagles flying ___eaglesflying.com/WatchEaglesFlying1.htm did you enjoy it? Is their another animal reserve opened in west sligo know name: been their? thanks

redarmyblues · 09-08-2015 2:11pm

I have been there and enjoyed it enormously.

Raminahobbin · 09-08-2015 3:18pm

I've been several times and absolutely loved it. IMO best animal-related activity I've ever been to in Ireland. The animals are looked after fantastically; kept, fed and raised ethically and with extreme care taken of their natural habits and instincts, which is great to see.

It's a 2.5 hour drive (5 hour round trip) from where I am, but I've been on several day trips to it and anyone that has come has agreed it's worth the drive, so that's saying something!!!

you get tremendous value for money, whether it's busy or quiet. I was there a year ago with just myself and 5 friends, nobody else, and they still put on the show for us!

tisgrand · 09-08-2015 3:27pm

To the general public it may seem entertaining, and having been there it is reasonably educational in that Lothar knows much about their biology. However, i disagree the birds are all kept well...the perching and feeding regime of the birds is poor, as is their safety and the safety of the public. He openly admits he is not a falconer, and many of his methods are very poor by modern falconers' standards. The idea of it being a sanctuary or research facility is questionable. It was more of a circus act and an accident waiting to happen from what i saw

Tigger · 09-08-2015 5:44pm

tisgrand wrote: »

To the general public it may seem entertaining, and having been there it is reasonably educational in that Lothar knows much about their biology. However, i disagree the birds are all kept well...the perching and feeding regime of the birds is poor, as is their safety and the safety of the public. He openly admits he is not a falconer, and many of his methods are very poor by modern falconers' standards. The idea of it being a sanctuary or research facility is questionable. It was more of a circus act and an accident waiting to happen from what i saw

i live nearby and i rely on the authority's to regulate such thibgs, what makes you qualified to comment ; are you a falconer?

tisgrand · 09-08-2015 5:58pm

Tigger wrote: »

i live nearby and i rely on the authority's to regulate such thibgs, what makes you qualified to comment ; are you a falconer?

yes, and not the only one to voice concerns about the place

Raminahobbin · 09-08-2015 6:03pm

tisgrand wrote: »

To the general public it may seem entertaining, and having been there it is reasonably educational in that Lothar knows much about their biology. However, i disagree the birds are all kept well...the perching and feeding regime of the birds is poor, as is their safety and the safety of the public. He openly admits he is not a falconer, and many of his methods are very poor by modern falconers' standards. The idea of it being a sanctuary or research facility is questionable. It was more of a circus act and an accident waiting to happen from what i saw

To be fair, I don't know anything about birds of prey so I don't actually know best practice when it comes to their husbandry, but aside from it being quite an interactive display I've never noticed anything that I would have said was dangerous, to either the birds or the public. Can you comment further what you think he might be doing wrong? I'd be interested to learn a bit more.

He only seems to have birds out that are well socialised and can cope with the day. Everything seems well supervised, and I've witnessed him being curt with people, including kids, who act the maggot or cross the line in some way with the animals, which I think is fantastic.

The birds all seem pretty content, and he does make a big deal about how they are fed independently of the shows and how the birds are always well fed and never hungry.

Tigger wrote: »

i live nearby and i rely on the authority's to regulate such thibgs, what makes you qualified to comment ; are you a falconer?

To be fair, regulation of the authorities when it comes to animal welfare is woeful. There's only so much they can do, I certainly would never rely on them to form an opinion. Sure look at the Tayto Park debacle- They shouldn't be allowed any animals at all.

tisgrand · 09-08-2015 6:33pm

I don't doubt his enthusiasm and love for raptors but in his attempts to show how much maligned these birds have been down the centuries he resorts to show man ship and macho bravado which is pretty unnecessary and at times reckless. In his attempts to show that these birds are not vicious or spiteful he calls up children to call them to the fist. Now although he may use the most placid, trustworthy birds he has for this, his insistence on kids having no glove means even a small male Harris hawk will scramble to maintain balance on their fist. The bird may not intend to hurt them (this is his point) but a small child with his or her little hand and thin skin will eventually be scraped and cut at times by a bird merely trying to hold a perching position. I saw this and his response to a small boy whimpering in pain was to shout at him and mock him with macho bravado. Another falconer witnessed the bald eagle, flown on a rope creance, over the crowd, misjudge distance and crash onto a sickly, elderly mans head, seriously cutting his face. These birds are immensely powerful and things may have been far worse had the mans eye been punctured etc by its rear 'halux' talon. He later informed us this bird could only be flown by his son as it tried to seriously hurt anyone else. As for being a sanctuary, he had a tiny rescued merlin...one of our rarer birds of prey...tethered to a perch with a stitched up crop. I asked what happened and he told me as the merlin ate a few days before it was attacked by a peacock who ripped its breast open for the food...yet here it was being thrown food in the same spot with peacocks and huge roosters around it. Merlins are so tiny with such high metabolisms, a day or two of having its ration stolen by other birds could kill it. He also told me he does not weigh his birds and guesses their food ration by behaviour and condition. In this day and age weighing is an essential component in judging condition as small birds with high metabolisms can crash quickly if underweight or ill. The perches were mainly concrete and though clean, are too hard and abrasive on their feet for continual use. These were just some things i was not happy to see...but as you asked, i hope you understand my concerns

tisgrand · 09-08-2015 6:45pm

In fairness to him he has some birds there that were smuggled into Ireland by people, not qualified or licensed to have them...ie not proper falconers...the result is a mistreated, resentful bird either lost or confiscated by npws and given to him. He and his staff appear to spend alot of time bringing these birds around. For this he must be commended. But again his insistence on the staff not using gloves is irresponsible. He may be right in that the birds weren't naturally malicious...mistreatment made them so. However, making a member of staff that a particular female Harris hawk had particular hatred for, pick her up without a glove for two years is irresponsible. She may come around long term but the pain and scars she inflicted on the mans arms and hands for that period was unnecessary and unfair to him

magnumlady · 09-08-2015 8:22pm

jonathan mark wrote: »

Anyone been to see the eagles flying ___eaglesflying.com/WatchEaglesFlying1.htm did you enjoy it? Is their another animal reserve opened in west sligo know name: been their? thanks

You might be thinking about Merlin Wildlife between Easkey and Enniscrone. Very different to Eagles Flying. Merlin is more of a sanctuary. I enjoyed both.

jonathan mark · 10-08-2015 11:19am

magnumlady yes that was the other one i was thinking of. i would like to take photos of the birds so can you get close to the birds at merlin wildlife? which one do you think would be best for doing that? thanks jon

jonathan mark · 10-08-2015 11:25am

Oh and a big thanks to all that have contributed very helpful. re animal welfare i have concerns about animal being locked up. however i visited london zoo and thought the animals looked quite happy with good conditions: for the most part. the owls are in small cages but they say the cages are being rebuilt: so we shall see. ideally they would be free but the work and education that provided to raise public awareness is a important helpful consideration to. thanks again...

jonathan mark · 10-08-2015 11:38am

hmmm i think merlin only do a yearly pass for €50: which is good but i may not be in the area for some time..

magnumlady · 10-08-2015 3:39pm

jonathan mark wrote: »

hmmm i think merlin only do a yearly pass for €50: which is good but i may not be in the area for some it..

Shane from Merlin I'm sure would be happy to see you. There are only about 5 birds though, there's also a lovely forest walk with a bird hide, a pole cat and a badgers set.

You will be able to close to birds at both places but there are more birds at Eagles Flying.

jonathan mark · 15-08-2015 4:54am

thanks everyone went to flying eagles really loved it:)

Elaine_S · 25-08-2015 1:18pm

I went to Eagles Flying less than 2 weeks ago and really enjoyed it.

I can't say I witnessed any of the claims made above. The owner made sure gloves were worn at all times by anyone handling a bird, both staff and audience, through out the show, and was very insistent that kids or adults did not try to touch the birds at all, unless told otherwise by him.

I really appreciated his efforts to encourage people to help with conservation when possible, such as nesting boxes for barn owls, I had no idea that there were so few breeding pairs left in Ireland! There were also several rescued animals that they have taken in, which I saw after the show, a fox, owls, etc.

While I can't comment on his practices in the past, it certainly sounds like he has improved them , going by my personal experience there.

I will certainly return there again!

Eagles Flying?

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