(Photo provided by Colin Weir, Birds of Prey Centre)

By Justin Goulet

Last weekend to visit the Alberta Birds of Prey Centre

Sep 4, 2020 | 10:21 AM

COALDALE, AB – If you want to meet your favourite owl or see an eagle at the Alberta Birds of Prey Centre, this weekend is your last chance for the season.

The facility is closing up shop for walk-in visitors after the Labour Day weekend.

It’ll be open from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. until and including Monday, September 7.

LNN spoke with Managing Director Colin Weir to see how this summer went for their crew, as staff and volunteers worked around the COVID-19 pandemic.

“[It was] very tough and challenging, for sure financially. We lost our first two months, May and June, when we were closed,” he said.

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“We also do a number of special events around the province that help generate revenue for us, and that’s in places like Calgary, Banff, Lake Louise, Edmonton, and those have all been cancelled indefinitely so that’s had quite a big negative impact on our income, unfortunately.”

However, Weir did note that they’ve received donations from members of the community. The centre operates without government subsidies and relies on donations and admission fees to keep operating.

“What’s also really been uplifting is all the calls of appreciation from people asking if we’re open and the feeling of relief and quotes of ‘thank goodness, I’m so happy we can come visit you again’, so it’s been really gratifying to hear all of those favourable comments.”

After Labour Day, Weir said staff will continue to take care of injured birds.

“The big challenge is it’s really difficult for us to stay visitor-ready after Labour Day Monday because we lose all of our summer staff when they return to school,” he said.

“We still have a small skeleton staff that are here, that are still able to receive injured birds and we’re still here manning the phones. That’s throughout the year until we open next spring or summer in 2021.”

For more on the Alberta Birds of Prey Centre, visit burrowingowl.com.

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