Join us on a visit to Screech Owl Sanctuary & Animal Park, set within the Cornish countryside on the outskirts of Newquay, north Cornwall. Home to a variety of rescue owls, plus raccoons, meerkats, emus, lemurs, pygmy goats, and alpacas plus there’s a play park, tea room, gift shop, and nature trail, it is a fun day out for all the family with plenty to see and do.

Most of the owls living at the sanctuary are imprinted, which means they don’t see humans as a threat, and therefore are too friendly to live in the wild. Some are part of breeding and educational programmes, others have been re-homed or rehabilitated for various reasons. 

We strolled around the owl aviaries, reading the stories of the owls, we learned about each species, their habitats and diet, and how they came to be at the sanctuary. We met Stella, a magnificent Short Eared Owl, who was admitted to the sanctuary’s hospital in 2011 after a road traffic accident resulted in her right wing being partially amputated.  After recovering from her injury, Stella was given a home at the sanctuary.

We then headed to the first of their twice-daily flying displays, where Joe the European Eagle Owl, Angel the West Indian Ashy-faced Owl, and Bob the Tawny Owl showed us their flying skills and we learned about their characteristics and very unique personalities. The display is a wonderful way to see the owls in flight! We particularly enjoyed some of Bob’s low flying antics as he swept across our heads!! Seeing the beautiful owls up close was an amazing opportunity, as they settled down amongst the crowds.

Angel, a beautiful but very cheeky owl that was born at the sanctuary as part of a breeding program, she sometimes abandons her flying displays to visit the on-site gift shop, but today she chose to get comfy in the rafters of the display barn before swopping around the crowd. Whilst, Bob the 18-year-old Tawny owl, is a seasoned professional and happily showed off his flying skills in style!

After a cup of tea and scone in the tea room, we headed back to the barn for the Owl Talk, where we had the chance to see some of the tame owls, up close and personal. We learned lots of fascinating facts about species from all around the world.

After meeting the owls, we went to see some of the other animals, including the inquisitive meerkats, very friendly pygmy goats and the black and white ruffed lemurs to name just a few, before ending the day with a stroll around the pretty Nature Walk, a haven for local wildlife, from frogs to butterfly's and much more!

Rosina Perry, Property Manager for Aspects Holidays says of the visit "What a lovely sanctuary, there were so many beautiful owls there. We learnt so much about the various owls that live there, and I even got to hold one during the flying display. What a hoot it was!" Property Administrator Nic Mijatovic, says “It was amazing to get so close to these incredible birds. The staff were extremely knowledgeable and informative.” 

Funded solely by donations, Screech Owl Sanctuary & Animal Park is open from 10am-4pm daily. If you’d like to visit the sanctuary, find out more here.

Tags: Newquay | North Cornwall | Animals |