Tyto (Tea-toe) was born at the Muskoka Wildlife Centre in Ontario.  Tyto came to the Park as a young owl and has become one of the stars of our annual Summer Falconry Show! 

Description: Barn owls have a characteristic heart shaped face, which is actually their facial disc that helps them to hear and see better at night!  The plumage of the barn owl is mainly white with golden coloured wings and back.  

Distribution: The barn owl can be found across North America, however they do not migrate and cannot tolerate cold climates.  In British Columbia, these owls can be found in the Lower Mainland.  Unfortunately, our farming practices have changed over the years; at one time each farm had a smaller area of land with a large barn on it.  Today farmers have larger areas with fewer barns, leading to habitat loss for barn owls.  You can go online to see how you can help the barn owl in your area!

Diet: Barn owls feed almost strictly on mice and other small rodents, but they have been known to consume small birds.

Behaviour: Females lay their eggs on a layer of feathers and pellets.  Barn owl parents are known for being monogamous for their whole breeding lives and cooperate in bringing food to the chicks.

Quetemie₇ (Keh-TEM-ee) and Praesidis (Pray-sid-us) were both born at the Park which has been involved in breeding burrowing owls and releasing them into the wild for over 20 years!  Click here for more information!

Description: The Burrowing Owl is the only owl species that lives underground. These birds are crepuscular (kre-PUS-kyou-lar) by nature, which means they are active at both dawn and dusk. They live in either abandoned burrows from animals like gophers, badgers and marmots, or they can steal burrows; they do not dig their own home.

Distribution: Burrowing owls can be found in the Interior of British Columbia, and in the grasslands of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.  The BC birds are geographically isolated from the Prairie owls by the Rocky Mountains.  Burrowing owls can also be found throughout the Western United States and down into Mexico.

Diet: Burrowing owls eat mainly grasshoppers in the summer months, but also eat a variety of mice, voles, small snakes and lizards, and small birds.

Behaviour: Burrowing owls make a variety of sounds, including the sound of a hissing rattlesnake when they feel threatened.  While these owls do not make their own home like their name suggests, they are able to take over abandoned burrows or steal burrows from other animals.  Burrowing owls are migratory, and will travel to warmer climates in the fall.  The BC Interior is the most northern part of the owl's BC range, although birds have sometimes been found as far north as Williams Lake. 

These owls are currently listed as an "At Risk" species in BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.  Loss of habitat is the main reason for their decline, however tainted food (when pesticides and chemicals are used to kill insects sometimes the owls eat these chemicals and get sick) poses and equal threat to these small predators.     

Echo came to the Park as a 4 month old bird from Pacific Northwest Raptors in Duncan, BC.  Echo is a 3 year old hawk who will be part of our bird of prey demonstration this summer.

Description: The name ferruginous comes from the Latin word for iron/rust, which is what the plumage looks like.  The ferruginous hawk is the largest hawk in North America.  When soaring, it can be distinguished by it's rusty coloured legs contrasting with the very light belly, and large wing span (53 inches wide!)

Distribution: Ferruginous hawks can be found throughout the United States, but are not typically found in British Columbia.

Diet: Consumes mainly large rodents and small mammals, like rabbits and ground squirrels.

Behaviour: These hawks build large nests made of sticks, and in the past bison bones! 

Aquila the golden eagle came to us with a broken wing, and was unable to be released back into the wild.  She is currently living in our Falconry building learning how to be a wildlife ambassador.

Description: Golden eagles are large birds that resemble juvenille bald eagles.  Their plumage tends to be mostly brown with a golden hue in the sun.  They have large broad wings that allow them to soar on warm air currents for long periods of time.  Male golden eagles can weigh from 3.5 - 4 kg (8-9 lbs), while females tend to be larger, weighing 4.5-6 kg (10-14 lbs).  Golden eagles have feathers all the way down to their feet, while bald eagles have bare legs.

Distribution: Golden eagles are found mostly in the western regions of Canada and the United States.  They prefer rockier and more forested areas than the bald eagle.

Diet: These large predators feed on rabbit and other small mammals, fish, snakes, and even roadkill they come across.  Golden eagles have been known to attack an kill young mountain goats and bighorn sheep.

Rusty came to the Park from Pacific Northwest Raptors in Duncan, BC in 2007.  He is a 12 year old hybrid falcon which means he is a cross between two different species of falcon.  This kind of cross would never occur in the wild, but is an artificial cross made in captivity for the purpose of breeding a large and more level tempered bird for display purposes and demonstrations.

Description: The Gyr falcon is a large falcon that can be found in North America, while the Lanner falcon is a small falcon found in Africa.  The cross results in a variety of colors, however the overall body size resembles that of an adult female peregrine falcon.

Distribution: Only found in captivity as they are the result of captive breeding and would never occur in the wild.

Diet: Like other falcons, this bird specializes in hunting and eating other birds.  

There are two Harris Hawks at the Park.

Description: Harris hawks are a brightly coloured desert hawk that lives in social groups.  Their main body is dark brown, with rust coloured shoulders.  The tips of their tail feathers are white and their rump is also white which is very distinct when they are in flight.

Distribution: Harris hawks can be found in desert habitats from Arizona, Texas, New Mexico and down into Central America.     

Diet: Like most hawks, harris hawks consume smaller prey like rats, lizards, other birds, rabbits and ground squirrels.

Behaviour:  Typically, hawks are solitary hunters,  however harris hawks are unique since they are the only raptor in North America that hunts in groups.  Groups of 3 to 5 birds are common; with more birds working together like a wolf pack, they can take down larger prey by being able to tire it out with persistent pursuing.  Another interesting thing that harris hawks are known for is "stacking".  With few good perches available in the desert, one hawk may land on a large cactus, with other hawks landing on their back for a safe prickle free perch (this has rarely been captured on film!)  

Xeximene (HAW-he-manah) came to the park as an injured owl.  He was hit by a car, and lost an eye and most of his flight abilities.  He has come to find a permanent home at the Wildlife Park, and is currently an Education Ambassador.

Description: Long eared owls have tufts of feathers on their heads (which are not real ears), which can cause people to confuse them with the common great horned owl.  The markings on their backs resemble the bark of trees, while they have a distinctive barring pattern on their chest. 

Distribution: These owls can be found in forests all across North America.  

Diet: Long eared owls have a varied diet of mice and other small mammals, as well as some birds, snakes, frogs and insects.

Behaviour: Long eared owls tend to do their hunting in range land or open fields as opposed to in the forests where they live, and like most owls, are only active at nighttime. 

Gontran and Fester are our resident turkey vultures.  Gontran was taken from the wild illegally by some teenagers in Quebec in 2003 and hand raised.  While they did take good care of him, they soon realized that he was too much to care for.  He was given to the Quebec zoo, and when they closed down, he was able to find a home here at the Park.  Fester was a wild born vulture who had been hit by a car and came to us with a broken wing.  Even though he is healed, he will never be able to fly again and has found a permanent home here at the Park as well.

Description: Turkey vultures are large birds (the 4th largest in North America).  Their body is all black or dark brown with featherless legs and head.  In flight, you can identify a turkey vulture by its very large wingspan, and it will look like it doesn't have a head (they hold it back in flight).  The head and legs are featherless to help them stay cleaner while feeding on large carcasses.

Distribution: These vultures can be found across the Southern ranges of Canada and all across the United States. 

Diet: While vultures are classified as birds of prey (birds that hunt other animals), they do not hunt their own food.  They are strictly scavengers and will consume roadkill and other carcasses. 

Behaviour: To be a good scavenger, you need to be patient and have good stamina (it may be a while before you find something to eat).  Turkey vultures are great at soaring for long periods of time; they are able to find thermals (warm rising air currents) that they can ride on.  They are social birds, living in groups and roosting together during the night.  If a turkey vulture feels threatened, they will throw up their last meal to repel the threat.  It always works; turkey vulture vomit is very smelly.

Han Solo came to the Park as a retired falconer's bird from Pacific Northwest Raptors on Vancouver Island.  Solo is 23 years old; in the wild red tailed hawks can live to be about 25 years old.

Description: The back of these birds is a deep brown with white wing tips and most obviously their rusty coloured tail.

Distribution: Can be found across Canada and the United States and is a very common bird to see sitting beside the highway hunting.

Diet: Consumes mainly mice and other small rodents, small birds, rabbits and dead animals.

Behaviour: These birds of prey are very good at sitting and waiting for prey to come by instead of soaring like a vulture or chasing like a falcon.  Hawks have very powerful feet that squeeze and kill their prey quickly.  Around the BC Wildlife Park, we have several breeding pairs that can be seen throughout the year!

Qaanik (KA-nick) was born at the BC Wildlife Park and was hand raised.

Description: These large owls have striking white plumage with occasional scattered dark markings. Females have more dark markings than males to help them blend into the ground while sitting on their eggs.  Snowy owls are North America's heaviest owl.  They are well insulated birds with feathered feet to help them stay warm while sitting on the snow.

Distribution: The snowy owl can be found throughout the icy habitats encircling the North Pole, including Alaska, Greenland, Canada, Scandinavia and Russia (this is called circumpolar). During the winter, they will venture further south in search of food.

Diet: The snowy owl feeds mostly on lemmings and mice, although rabbits, birds and fish are also a part of the diet. While most owls hunt at night, the snowy owl is diurnal (meaning that they are active during the day).

Behaviour: Females lay their eggs in simple bowls scraped into the ground. Both parents cooperate in bringing food to the chicks, and they also protect their young by dive-bombing predators that approach the nesting site.