Mountsberg Raptor Centre

About

The Mountsberg Raptor Centre, located within Mountsberg Conservation Area, is a facility dedicated to raising awareness about the diversity of Ontario native birds of prey, and the challenges they face due to human activity.

Mountsberg’s raptors are permanent residents and are unable to be released into the wild. Many of our birds came to the Raptor Centre from rehabilitation situations where their injuries prevented a successful return to the wild. Other residents are imprinted on humans rather than on their own species, or were raised in captivity and have never known life in the wild.

Our goal is to provide visitors with a unique “nose-to-beak” experience with these wonderful creatures. Our birds are ambassadors for their species and we hope that by meeting them, our visitors gain a greater respect and understanding for birds of prey in the wild.

Note: Pets are not permitted within the Raptor Centre, in the Flyway, or anywhere on the Wildlife Walkway. Service Animals may be restricted from Mountsberg programs that include live animals, such as the Bird of Prey show and horse-drawn wagon rides. Please contact the park in advance for details on how to make your visit accessible, at 905-878-5011, or e-mail vslead@hrca.on.ca.

Our Raptor Experiences

Register for an Experience

Meet the birds and come nose-to-beak with our resident birds of prey. Click to follow the link to our Facebook page for a profile on each of our feathery friends. Stick around on our Facebook page and you’ll see a day in the life of a raptor. We post pictures, and videos of the raptors eating, learning, and sometimes having a bath in the sun!

 

Meet the Birds

Enjoy a private 45-minute program with our expert Raptor Centre staff, who are pleased to give you a personalized introduction to the amazing world of birds of prey. Depending on the time of your program and your level of interest, you may get a behind the scenes peek at feeding, health-care, training, socialization, or a behind the scenes tour of the facility. Raptor Encounter guests will be given the opportunity to hold one of our native, non-releasable raptors and are invited to take their own photos of this fascinating experience!

Click to learn more.

Raptor Encounters

Looking for a way to wow your classroom or community/corporate event? Outreach raptor programs are customizable to meet your needs. Our raptors are always a hit with an audience! Not only is it a breathtaking experience to meet a live Red-tailed Hawk or Great Horned Owl, but our educational programs engage children and adults alike and help to foster an appreciation for wild habitats and wild creatures.

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Offsite Programs

Experience having a free flying hawk land on your glove! During this private 45 minute program, you will join our Raptor Centre staff and one of our trained Harris’s Hawks for a walk through a picturesque field setting. The program involves the hawk flying along behind you and near you, and landing on a perch in your hand. At the end of the walk the hawk will perch on your gloved hand for photo opportunities.

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Hawk Walk

Other Events

Bird of Prey Presentations

The Raptor Centre trail is open and guests can view birds in their outdoor enclosures. The Raptor Centre building is closed. Check out what raptor experiences are currently being offered.

Photoshoots

Lens to Beak at Mountsberg Raptor Centre

Our photo shoots offer an incredible opportunity to get “lens to beak” with Mountsberg’s beautiful raptors. Whether you are a casual photo-enthusiast or a professional photographer you will enjoy this opportunity to capture images of these awe-inspiring birds. Raptor Centre staff work with our feathered ambassadors in natural settings to enable you to get the best possible shot.

Choose from one of the following options:

Hawk Walks

Experience having a free-flying hawk fly and land next to you! During this private 45-minute program, you will join our Raptor Centre staff and one of our trained Harris’s Hawks for a walk through a picturesque field setting.

For more information and to book a program, please click here.

Volunteer at the Raptor Centre

Volunteering at the Raptor Centre is not for everyone. It involves hours of cleaning, scraping, scrubbing, raking, hosing, more scrubbing, more scraping, mowing, and more. It also involves being outside in the winter cold and the summer heat, preparing food animals (rats, rabbits, chicken, etc), and even more cleaning. While volunteers are not guaranteed any experiences with directly handling a bird, it is definitely a possibility for those volunteers who put in the time and effort.

• Be able to commit to volunteering a minimum of one day (at least 6 hours) per week for a period of no less than four months
• Be at least 18 years of age and have a reliable form of transportation to a park not serviced by public transit
• Be friendly, attentive, and respectful of the resident birds, ready and willing to work hard, and have fun!

Sound like you? Email raptors@hrca.on.ca for more information!

Adopt a Raptor

The Raptor Centre at Mountsberg Conservation Area has been providing educational and entertaining programs since 1994. We currently provide a home for more than 30 birds of prey from 15 different native Ontario species, many of whom have permanent injuries which have left them incapable of surviving on their own in the wild. Often, these injuries are caused by human activity, but with the help of these feathered ambassadors, you can learn about how to share our environment with native birds of prey, and how to reduce the negative impact we might have on them.