loch lomond bird of prey centre

My mother is a keen bird-lover, so I took her to the Bird of Prey Center for her birthday. It was an amazing experience. Stewart was so knowledgeable about his animals, and was happy to share that knowledge with us. We did an owl experience and got to meet Smudge, Oscar, and Mozart. All three owls were beautiful and we were able to interact with them in different ways, which made the whole experience very special. If you are a bird lover, I would definitely recommend purchasing one of the experience packages available, it is well worth it. These birds are beautifully maintained and obviously have access to a variety of enrichment activities to keep them entertained. It is clear the staff love their animals and their job, and take pride in the way they care for their birds.I would recommend bringing a camera (definitely) and a water bottle. The amount of time you could spend there varies depending on your interest in the birds, but I wouldn't think you would need to bring food for anyone except little children. My mum and I spent almost three hours there, but we're known to linger over animals.

We spend a lovely few hours walking amongst the owls and, kestrels and eagles in a lovely quiet corner of woodland accessible from the Lomond Shores carpark. (Sadly no Hawks since they were stolen during the week before we visited).Director Stewart - and the other staff we saw - has a great relationship with the birds, and could talk all day about them. He seemed happy to but we had an appointment to go elsewhere! Highly recommend this if you are in the Loch Lomond area. The entry allows you to come and go as you please throughout the day which is a nice touch.

We have just returned from a weekend in Loch Lomond. I had given my husband the Bird Experience at the Loch Lomond Bird of Prey Centre as a Christmas gift. We had a fabulous afternoon learning about the birds, who are all very well cared for at the centre, and interact very well with Stewart, the Director. We had a wander round with Stewart who was very informative, advising us about all the birds. He then invited us into the office and offered us a cup of tea and chocolate biscuit. It was very welcomed as it was such a freezing cold day. This was now the time for my husband to personally meet some of the birds. Stewart has a fantastic rapport with all the birds, and my husband thoroughly enjoyed his experience. I would really recommend visiting the centre, but make sure you wrap up well during the winter weather.

Visited here in the winter, and even though it was raining this made for an excellent afternoon out with the kids! The owners are very knowledgeable, and each of the areas has information on where the kids (and us adults) could learn more about each species. Highly recommend!

We spent a very enjoyable hour in the rain this week looking at all the birds. We would have liked to go a bit closer to the birds of prey, as it was a bit frustrating looking at them from 10 feet away. Very well kept establishment and some really amusing descriptions of the birds. This was the best entertainment at Loch Lomond shores.

Visited a month ago, birds well kept and premises clean. Surprised by the size of the place - its small - on a wet day it takes 15mins to go round and at £8 each its dear. Staff were doing other stuff so very little in the way of interaction. No flying display , but it wasn't great weather. Oh and a few rats scampering about but hardly surprising in the middle of a wood. Worth it to see Orla.

It has been a while since we have visited the Lomond Bird of Prey Centre so it was the first time we had visited the new location. We were very impressed and the staff very helpful. We will visit again later in the year. Sadly Orla was out working/filming the day we visited :( Keep up the good work guys.

Went for the 'Meet the Birds Experience' was a brilliant day out, learnt so much about all the different birds they have and it is clear how much love, care and attention the staff give to all the birds. The tour we received was brilliant and it was an amazing experience getting up close to so many of the different birds during the visit.

Superb all the way, booked for daughters 21st on a cold wintry day but spirits were great due to Stewart and the magnifying Hawk he brought to do the Walk, explaining every step of the way he took us all over an open area with some trees and it was great, the cheeky Hawk liked to trail through muddy pools and had to be told off, she did not care !!!, it was great, you can take as many pics as you like, Stewart explained everything in detail and the knowledge was outstanding on the Birds, a great time was had by all, would do again easily.

our second visit and it was lovely to see all the birds looking so well & cared for.Stewart & the team were again very approachable and keen to share info & stories.Well worth a visit and it's lovely knowing you're helping to support the centre

It was great to see so many different types of owls, including the 5 you would see in the UK. All the birds were in excellent condition and were kept in spotless aviaries. Stewart obviously has a great relationship with all his birds and is really knowledgable, he is great to watch when interacting with his birds. There was a great selection of Eagles, Hawks and Falcons too. I think people are missing the point with entrance fees at centres like this. It is not about value for money it is about supporting the upkeep of these wonderful birds. They also take in injured wild birds and will release them when recovered. Often these centres are manned by unpaid volunteers who 'sweep up' for the love of the birds, not to waste your entrance fee. Birds not in aviaries are always going to be tethered(not restrained). Birds only fly when they need to hunt so would spend most of their time resting anyway. There are plans for a display arena and bird handling/hawk walk activities are available.There is an education centre with lots of of information and 'exhibits' and Stewart will answer any questions you may have. There is a feeding station where you can watch wild birds/ squirrels and rats.If you are in the area and are interested in Birds of Prey it is well worth a visit- we were staying in The Cairngorms and drove for 3 hours specifically to visit this centre. We sponsored one of the British Owls so that we can be part of his upkeep.

£8 per adult and £4 per child for a walk that took 20 minutes. Very little interaction with staff and no opportunity to do anything other than stare at birds in cages. It is the worst value for money attraction I have ever taken my son to.

These birds seem a lot happier than they were up at Balloch garden centre and olla the golden eagle seems to look a lot healthier in her new home ,well worth a visit from anyone who likes birds especially raptors ,Yes its £6 to see them but that is to feed the birds and see they are well cared for so in my eyes money well spent .

Re visiting scotland a as we have for the past 3 years. Bird of prey centre is definitely on of our ports of call.Well worth a visit, for the young old and Disabled. Stewart and all of the staff are on hand to answer any questions, In fact at times they welcome a quick 10 minutes rest. Only joking they work hard to ensure a safe and pleasurable life for birds that have been rescued. Birds are tethered this is in order to prevent the birds flying off. Surely this is the only way we can fully appreciate the bird which has the ability to flap wings and jump down of their perch. Much better than being behind bars.lintop53@hotmail.co.Lord Linton Paul AdamsAdele Holland P's Stewart see you next year August 2015. We will bring the photo of Heather with Mozart on her arm ? How she held it.

After reading a few of the most recent reviews I felt the need to write about my own experience. I am an avid animal lover and my love of birds is actually a big hobby of mine. While I do get slightly excited when I see the birds of prey outside at shopping centres etc, part of it doesn't rest well with me as I know enough about birds to know that a little owl is going to be feeling very nervous stuck so close to a large eagle and so I don't feel having this variety of birds out tied up so close together is good for the birds, and my concern will always be for the welfare of the animals before anything else. This is one of the reasons why I loved my visit to the loch lomond bird of prey centre. It's not so much focused on being an 'entertainment centre' for people and instead focuses on what matters - the care and well being of these beautiful birds. The owner Stewart is clearly so devoted to his birds and it's such a lovely experience to witness the affection and relationship between them. There is a large variety of birds of prey on show and each comes with some information on the species and also some information on the unique personality of each bird itself which is a really nice touch. I visited the centre with my husband and although we maybe were only there for half an hour or so...we were perfectly happy to know our admission charges help a place like this continue to run.A visit to see Orla is always worth it as I always recognise her from springwatch/winterwatch. Another great touch to finish off our visit was to see all the newspaper stories related to the centre on the wall in the little hut. A very heart warming experience, and Stewart was very lovely to chat to.