Walking an Owl with Coda Falconry

About a year ago, it was Dann’s birthday! Unsure what to get someone who never knows what they want for their birthday, I figured getting an experience was the best option. Dann loves owls and always mentioned a time when his brother got to go off and do a owl experience with his grandparents and how he wanted to do similar. So, after a bit of googling, I ended up booking him a ticket for the Owl Encounter at Coda Falconry – along with a spectator ticket, in case he wanted to bring a friend.

I ended up being that friend! Currently, Coda Falconry isn’t properly open due to COVID, but they still are doing these experiences, as they are with small groups of people. Ours was an own walk, where Dann got to hold the owl, cast him off, and walk around. I got to follow and pet the owl at the end, opting to take pictures and ask questions along the way. Our owl was named Dusk – a beautiful creature with a twin sister who we also got to meet!

When we got to Coda Falconry, Dann was given a glove and we were briefed on how the day would work. This experience is about two hours long, and is a walk through the forest with an owl. We were told how to hold the glove, not to pet Dusk until the end, and warned that Dusk’s treats were raw meat, as well as a bit about his diet in general. We got to meet a few of the owls as well, before settling with Dusk and setting off to our walk. Once we were at a good spot, Dusk was let out of his box and flew around, before circling back to us and sitting on Dann’s glove! There, he got a treat and he just hung around, looking about, until it was time for him to fly back around and land on the next person’s glove. In between, we were told all about owls; how often they are awake and sleeping (they sleep for most of the day, like a cat), how often they are taken out (they go on one big individual walk each day), if they like living in groups (they fight each other) and about his twin sister (they were born just a few hours apart).

At one point, Dusk actually lost us, flying a bit in the wrong direction and then unable to see where we went. The individual running the event (there were two, but I can’t remember both of their names) ended up going back and finding Dusk – they have little trackers so they can tell where the bird is, but they can’t go up in the tree and make owls come back to them, so it was really up to Dusk to come back to us. Once he was though, the walk continued.

Dusk is an interesting owl. He has all sorts of favorites – a favorite spot on a bench he kept flying over too, even though the bench was full of people – a favorite tree to sit in, before coming to everyone. It was a nice walk – Dusk even flew over a pond! There were plenty of times to hold the owl – at loads of different spots. At the end of it, we were able to pet the bird a few times, he was given a massive treat, and we walked back to the main grounds.

Once there, we were able to check out other owls they had for a bit and everyone who flew owls were given a certificate for attending. The Coda Falconry looks like it has a lot going on, when it’s able to be open, so we look forward to going back and checking out more activities next year! The Craft Room also went on an Owl Walk – check out their adventure too.

This post is apart of our Blogtober series, all with a Halloween or Autumn theme.