The Owls Trust, Llandudno

I discovered The Owls Trust in Llandudno when researching potential things to visit in the town that I hadn’t been to before. The Trust has been allowed to set up their facilities at Bodafon Farm Park and entrance to the farm also includes entrance to the Trust’s bird cages. They are a charity rescuing and rehabilitating injured birds of prey which if possible they release back into the wild and also work to protect rare breeds around the world.

There were a lot more owls there than I was expecting for such a relatively small place and I was delighted to find lots of owl species I’d never encountered before. Some of my favourites included:

The Ashy-Faced Owl. This owl is native to the Dominican Republic and Haiti and is very reminiscent of a barn owl. It’s listed as being of Least Concern on the List of Endangered Species because while it is not common worldwide, it’s population seems to be stable.

Then we have the Indian Scops Owl which has some particularly distinctive features – reminiscent perhaps of a pantomime villain! This owl, called Otis, has been at the Trust since he hatched in 1999. Normally these owls are found in Asia, including in the Himalayas.

This unusual looking owl is a Pel’s Fishing Owl named Orion who was hatched by The Owls Trust from the only breeding parents known to be in captivity in Italy. In the wild this owl lives in the southern half of Africa but is rarely seen so the exact population numbers are unknown.

This sleepy looking lady, called Wilhelmina, is a Verreaux’s Eagle Owl, one of the world’s biggest owls. It’s named after a French collector and taxidermist Jules Pierre Verreaux. This is another owl that typically lives in the southern half of Africa. It’s not currently endangered and its prey includes other owls and even eagles.

The Owl’s Trust doesn’t just house owls, but also a kookaburra, inevitably named Sheila for its Australian origins, and this lovely Harris’s Hawk. I got to see the hawk flying around, but far too quick for me to grab a video!

A really enjoyable place to visit with a surprising amount of birds to see.