During our Mid-East Gulf Trip around 6 years back, we visited the Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital. The following summer, Lucas and I visited the World Center for Birds of Prey in Boise, Idaho.
These were both very memorable experiences so when Kim came across the Falconry Center in Dubrava, Croatia, we had to visit!
The Falconry Center in Dubrava is an NGO which helps rehabilitate injured birds to (hopefully) release them back into the wild.
We were running a bit late and rushed to make the 3:00 PM tour, the last of the day. We arrived a few minutes late but we able to join in with the tour already in progress.
As the guide talked about the center and a small falcon, kids got the opportunity to feed this bird of prey!
Lucas was eager to have a turn and loved the experience once again. (Look at the smile on his face!)
Theo’s turn was next but he had a couple of issues at first. The glove did not fit his hand and the falcon had some food so it wasn’t interested in coming to him!
After a short wait, the trainer had Theo give it a try again. As the bird came near, he was a bit afraid but then came around. He was so happy to get to hold this incredible creature!
I would’ve liked a turn but the falcon was full so I settled for some awesome close-up photos.
After the visit with the falcon was over, the whole group headed over to see some more falcons and an owl.
Another trainer (the founder?) sat us down for a private demonstration with the owl. It turns out we missed this part of the tour due to being late.
We loved learning all about this owl’s life story including details about her behavior and why she had to remain in captivity. I’m pretty sure we sat for a good half hour learning about owls. All of us were very interested and only (almost 5 year-old) Theo got bored towards the end.
Before the conversation was over, we got to take pictures with the owl.
Lucas loved this experience as did I!
Before heading off, we spent some time checking out the other falcons.
The falcons get free time to fly but have to be roped up due to a very interesting reason. We were told if they were free to fly all of the time, they would try to kill each other.
Final Thoughts:
Visiting the Falconry Center in Dubrava, Croatia was a real change of pace from other things we’ve been doing during our trip. The kids especially enjoyed it (they have been a little over wandering old towns and fortresses). Besides supporting this awesome program, we also got a close-up look at these amazing birds of prey!
Find out more about the Falconry Center (Sokolarski Centar) in Dubrava Croatia here.
