The National
Bird of Prey
Centre

Excellent and well worth a visit - adults or kids!

Spent some time there today and it was beyond amazing. The kids were thrilled. Highly interactive, educational and great fun. The staff are brilliant and the experience was wonderful. Cant say enough about the Centre - go and see it (with or without kids) I travel a lot and get to see many wonderful attractions around the world, it's great to see something so good right at home. We'll be back again soon. Thanks folks :)

Mick W on Tripadviser.com

Superb. Would highly recommend a visit!

A great day out with the children from start to finish. So informative and nothing was too much trouble. An opportunity to be so close and be interactive with amazing creatures. The team working there are so inclusive and enthusiastic - cannot recommend a visit highly enough. Cannot wait to return!

FYBDublin on Tripadvisor.com

Fantastic

If you love wildlife this place is fantastic. The staff are really knowledgeable and answered all our questions. We got to hold several owls and we’re talked through all of the breeds they have in the aviaries. The birds are all well cared for and you can really tell the staff enjoy their jobs. Would definitely visit again.

Harry T on Tripadvisor.com

The Hawk Walk was a top highlight of our Holiday !

We very much enjoyed talking with the Falconers about each of the birds that they have on site. We got to walk from each enclosure and learn about the uniqueness of each bird and hear anecdotes about them. The highlight was going to a field for our Hawk Walk, where the Falconer had the Hawk fly away and then come back to us and land right on our arms......many, many times. So cool to watch a hawk coming down from the trees and land on your arm. Really neat experience.....especially, when you know they are not going to try to tear your face off....definitely worth the price to do this !

mikeg00dman on Tripadvisor.com

Owls, owls, owls

We stopped at the Centre with our tour guide as per our request. For 8 euro each, we got a detailed tour of every bird being rehabilitated in the sanctuary, which included many owls, kestrels, eagles, a turkey vulture, etc. The Centre offers birding walks where you get to take one of the birds on a hunt in the rolling parklands of the Russborough estate. We were happy with the tour. And then the first owl was brought out for us to hold. It was a brown (tawny) owl. We got a rundown on its eating habits and breed statistics as we passed the poor bird around.

We must have shown so much enthusiasm for the one owl that they brought out a great grey owl. It was still damp from a bath and the largest owl we've seen. We took more pictures and stroked its soft feathers. Then out they bring a barn owl; quiet a sight up close. More photos, more marvelling at its softness and calm.

If it hadn't been so cold and we were not on a schedule, we could have spent even more time then we already did (an hour). A truly memorable wildlife experience!

Olga B on Tripadvisor.com

AWESOME MUST DO EXPERIENCE!!!

You MUST SEE the National Birds of Prey Center also on the same property as the Russborough House. We were the only people there when we went so we basically got a private tour of the facility which was an in depth explanation of each of the birds we saw. Very interesting! We learned so much & had so much fun!

We had previously booked the 'owl experience' so we also got to hold 5 different kinds of owls & learn all about them. I cannot highly recommend this place enough! It's a once in a lifetime experience to handle the owls. They are beautiful up close. Calm & you get to pet them & fly one of the owls. DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!! You can also do falconry here.

CaLittleRed on Tripadvisor.com

Great family experience

We live fairly close by yet have never visited the National Bird of Prey Centre before. The staff are extremely knowledgeable and passionate about their work and field of expertise, and this comes across in the excellent guided tour. The price is very reasonable and young kids will enjoy being so close to birds that they may never see in the wild. My 5 year old (as did I) enjoyed holding the owls, and learning about the many different birds in their care.

This birds are very well looked after and the information the centre provides is extremely important to the conservation of some of the native birds of prey to Ireland. Well worth a visit and support from visitors and locals alike when visiting Russborough House.

Gary R on Tripadvisor.com

AMAZING!

We've been to Russborough House before but decided to go there for a nice walk in the grounds. Finding the National Bird of Prey Centre was such a bonus and an amazing and humbling experience. I wanted to steal them all!!! They're mainly hand reared birds so are well used to people and I even managed to hold an owl and falcon - so exciting!! Go and see it yourself. The guides are so passionate about what they do and obviously love the birds very much. Really great afternoon,

Pouche on Tripadvisor.com

Owls owls owls

We took our teenage kids and both our mom’s. All six of us absolutely loved it. The Owl Experience was worth every penny and the staff could not have been more welcoming and accommodating. They really want you to have an amazing experience and they deliver. Afterwards, head to the pub in Hollywood for comfortable outdoor seating with great food. A wonderful recommendation. Thank you so much a day we will all carry with us forever!

Lei C on Tripadvisor.com

Excellent Experience, Highly Recommend!

A wonderful experience. Fantastic setting! Learned so much from their very friendly and helpful staff. Ollie in particular was our guide on the Hawk Walk. Extremely knowledgeable and a great passion for his work. An absolute joy to listen to him tell you all the history and the details of all the birds. I definitely will be back. Keep up the amazing work !

Jim on Tripadvisor.com

Must See & DO!

This is a must see location. It's on my doorstep and for 2years i never knew it was there. We visited Russbourough house for a family day and seen this advertised so ventured back the following week. The keepers and staff are amazing. They really look after the birds so well. We visited when they had baby owls that the kids could hold and pet. It was amazing. Out girls both 13 & 6 at the time loved it here and we'd highly recommend doing it.

Jinja Ninja! on Tripadvisor.com

Amazing Owl expereince, highly recommended.

The real stars are the owl, hawks, falcons and eagles, truly amazing birds of prey. We booked the owl experience and started with an introduction to the birds from the extremely knowledgeable and enthusiastically staff, learning about each in turn. We then had time to don a handling glove and have the privilege of allowing four different owls perch on your arms and then to gently stroke their feathers or tickle under their chin. We ended our trip by flying the owl under the guidance of the staff. Bring you camera and wear sturdy shoes as you will be taking a short walk into the fields. This is an amazing experience and well worth the price tag as this is a nationally accredited centre and is working with other centres across Europe to preserve and breed some of the endangered species.

Gerry K on Tripadvisor.com

Lovely day out

Would highly recommend a trip to the national bird of prey centre. The staff were very welcoming, and knowledgeable- gave us a tour, and were happy to answer any questions we had. The kids were fascinated, and even got to hold a little owl for a few minutes. Such an unusual place to visit, and lovely to see how passionate the staff are about the conservation and welfare of the birds. We also enjoyed a gorgeous walk on the grounds of Russborough house afterward. Will 100% return.

Nelzer32 on Tripadvisor.com

just amazing!

This was the second time we have visited the national bird of prey centre in the stunning Russborough house County Wicklow. The house itself is worth visiting, the architecture and art collection, the gardens and lovely gift and coffee shop.
The bird of prey centre is part of the estate. There are all different kind of birds, birds of prey, owls, ...
We book an owl experience with the very kind and knowledgeable Donal. He showed us around and explaining all the different birds to us. He brought out a good few different types of owls for us to admire and hold. We were also brought on a hawk walk, the very charming hawk accompanying us, landing on our arms, fetching items in mid air.

Easily booked online. A great experience for all bird lovers.

BrookeMorales on Tripadvisor.com

Soaring Hawk. Soaring Heart.

So great an experience - a review of the Hawk Walk won't do it justice. Having a harrier hawk glide towards you at speed and then land gently on your arm is not easily described - just makes your heart soar. The introduction to resident birds of prey, combined with insights into the centre's work in education and conservation, and a rundown on the ancient sport of falconery added hugely to an afternoon that was both exhilarating and educational. Honestly wasn't sure I'd enjoy this but wanted to treat my friend to a gift I thought she'd enjoy. She was enthralled as was l. Big shout out to our expert and passionate guide Donal. Highly recommended.

H R on Tripadvisor.com

Great day out flying Owls

As my wife is a huge fan of owls I was very happy to discover the National Bird of Prey centre. I booked the owl experience were a highly knowledgeable expert with talk you through several owls. During the talk you will be allowed to handle some of the birds.

After the talk you are brought out to a field where you are able to fly an owl. Once you are finished flying the owl you are brought on a tour of all the other birds in the centre. There are even some celebrity birds there with one of the eagles appearing in numerous shows including "Vikings".

The centre also nurses birds that are injured back to health and appears to be involved with the reintroduction of birds of prey to Ireland. It was also nice to hear them explain the danger of rat poisons to these animals as it is something people might not have though about.

Lt_Shade on Tripadvisor.com

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