Come visit Aurora in Virginia (more pics in post)

State 46 - Virginia

Raptor Hill Falconry - Stanley, VA

Today I’m going to highlight a bit of a different type of place. This is a for-profit business, as opposed to a rehab or education center. I typically avoid these because I’m not sure how the animals are treated, but this website seems more focused on education, has stacks if approval from state authorities, and the customer reviews are all positive.

I also hesitate because these places aren’t cheap, so I knows that limits the opportunity for a lot of you to go. I’m making an accepting today since I’m almost at the end of my 50 States of Owls, and for those that can do it, it is probably an amazing experience, and there aren’t that many opportunities for you to actually handle a raptor so I wanted everyone know that you can if you want to, you just can’t do it any old place, and there is a hefty price because you typically can’t handle these types of animals.

Boring stuff over, time for the owl!

Raptor Hill Falconry is a falconry experience. I’m going to keep the focus on the owl, but you can do an owl visit, a hunting bird experience, or a combined one where you get to handle both.

https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/ee66e708-9e60-4079-8223-7ab8741ce143.jpeg

Aurora, an Eurasian Eagle Owl, seems to be the main owl they feature. Eagle Owls are one of the larger owls, and are some very beautiful and powerful birds. Get a look at those talons!

https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/ccfed617-712b-4b1b-ab79-94d0bf40b450.jpeg

Even as a baby, those feet were huge! This is her getting ready for one of her first animal ambassador appearances. The main picture for this post was her 1 year birthday photo, so you can see how fast she grew. She’s older now, they don’t seem to do much social media so I think she’s around 4 years old now.

Here’s some TripAdvisor photos I grabbed so you can see you get to hold the owl and learn all about it and also to get an idea how big she is. I did see a few other random owls like a Screech Owl and a Barn Owl, so they may have had others, most show the Eagle Owl though.

https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/5d17ce98-857e-494f-abcb-aa31aae13baa.jpeg

https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/eb84c205-e3a6-4382-9c5c-5fee678f6a3f.jpeg

https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/eb02e911-02a3-4699-8f07-6f271897116d.jpeg

Here is what they say in their training method section:

We use the training method that places mental and physical well being of the raptors first. How the birds perceive you and us, is most important, so, PRT (Positive Reinforcement Training) also known as ABA (Applied Behavioral Analysis) or Instrumental learning, is the only training method we use.

When utilizing PRT, our raptors are given free choice to participate or not, without the use of force or punishment.

We use PRT to desensitize the birds from “scary stuff”, allowing us to build trust, reduce stress, along with providing mental stimulation (raptors are smart!) and most importantly, our favorite, PRT encourages super strong bonds/relationships between bird and trainer (just like besties!).

​During your visit you may witness that many of our raptors seem to be preforming tricks or what we call “learned or trained behaviors”. Learning trained behaviors allows the birds to solve ways to get a reward, as they would do in the wild.

Teaching these trained behaviors allows the raptors much needed mental enrichment and can even help aid in their own care and management.

Aviandelight,
@Aviandelight@mander.xyz avatar

I’ve never been here but I do know of it. In Virginia you have to get a falconry license to keep birds of prey and it is a very extensive process. It is nice to know that there are still places that teach this and share the experience with the general public.

anon6789,
@anon6789@lemmy.world avatar

Yes, I’ve checked out what is involved with licensing here in Pennsylvania before, but I’m beginning to understand from talking with handlers what a convoluted mess raptor laws are and how many agencies are involved.

For falconry in PA, I believe they’re all supposed to be wild birds that are caught, and then you can keep them for 3 years I think the rules said, and then you release them.

I didn’t read too much about the falcons, mainly the owl things they do, but the Eagle Owl was definitely bred as an educational animal, so I’m not sure if the hawks are wild or not. The owner did list a bunch of licenses she had, including some zoo licenses, so I’m not sure what all rules that lets her work around. From what I can see and read though, it seems legit and decent.

I greatly enjoy the part of Virginia this is in. A few years ago for my birthday, I took a trip down through here, going into 6 caves across the state. It was neat to compare them and see how different they are given how close they are to each other. The best surprise was the people at Natural Bridge gave us the wrong business hours as they had recently changed, so when we showed up they apologized, but since they had said they were still open, they stayed open for us and we got a private tour of the caverns.

Aviandelight,
@Aviandelight@mander.xyz avatar

Oh I love all the cave tours here in VA too! If you like hiking give Crab Tree falls a shot too. It takes all day but it is so worth it.

anon6789,
@anon6789@lemmy.world avatar

Oh no! I was going to say I could swing by Crabtree Falls on my way to the tank museum in Danville, but they’re closing down! 😭

The falls do look very pretty though! I’ll have to keep it in mind when I go back to cave country!

My uncle used to be a ranger at Carlsbad and was a big cave nerd, so some of it rubbed off on me.

anon6789,
@anon6789@lemmy.world avatar

How do you feel about this type of place?

I want to feel it’s positive, because of course I want to hold an owl, but I have concerns about animals being used as a business.

What do you think?

Or just let me know what you think about Aurora herself, she is a magnificent bird!

NakariLexfortaine,

It’s a complicated subject. On one hand, experiences like these can do so much for education and actually giving a solid point of “I care” for people by allowing positive, and memorable, interactions. They can also act as care facilities for rehab, in some cases.

On the other, the potential for abuse and otherwise mistreatment of the animals as a means of making a profit.

It’s something I see debated even in rehabber circles where some have non-releasable animals walk on a canvas and they auction off the art to help raise money.

Personally, I’m against the establishment of more for-profit enterprises like this, and for a greater push for assistance and focus on rehabilitation centers working to help get species back into their natural habitats and educating the public.

anon6789,
@anon6789@lemmy.world avatar

As we haven’t gotten all the snags worked out of human rights yet, animals rights will keep evolving as well. There is absolutely murky area we get into when we debate things like why whales in Sea World is bad vs all animals in captivity is bad. But I’m glad people are having these debates.

For good or bad, the price is going to keep a lot of people away, so the birds aren’t subject to hundreds of people. It’s also probably a plus people can essentially rent an animal (with trainer included) instead of trying to get their own animal to see if they like it.

I have seen the primate paintings, and the aquarium in NJ I know did hippo nose print paintings, but I never thought too much about that. I know some people are very against animals being made to do anything though, and I can respect that opinion.

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