Capes Raptor Centre — Attraction in Margaret River

Lovely morning visiting the Raptor Centre on our recent holiday to Margaret River. We had booked our tickets in advance online prior to our visit, we arrived early and there were quite a few visitors arriving also. If you have are wanting to catch a morning show it possibly would be okay to just turn up although with many of our activities during our holiday I always like to book in advance so we aren’t disappointed by just turning up in case they end up super busy.

There was a good amount of parking. We were greeted with a friendly young lady at reception who gave us lots of info regarding the display and the self guided nature walk. You can choose to do this prior to the bird display or after. It’s a good 15 to 20 minute look of the birds of prey but this walk could take longer with smaller children or if you spend reasonable amounts of time at each bird enclosure. We didn’t give ourselves enough time to complete before so we decided to watch the display first and complete the walk after.

The bird display arena is moderate in size and consisted of rows of wooden bench seating, however they are all one level so if you do have very small children I highly recommend arriving early and getting yourself seated to try and get one of the benches along the front to give smaller children a better view.

The show started promptly and was given by a friendly and very informative guide. We were given lots of information regarding the barn owl we got to see and the Black Kites, we were also given opportunities to ask questions, kids and adults took the opportunity to do so and were given great responses by the guide which was great as they were on the spot questions so she really knew her stuff 😊

The centre is doing great things in rehabilitation for these birds of prey and they are living long and healthy lives at the centre.

They are non for profit so all the money they make from our tickets etc goes straight back in to the rehabilitation of the birds. Whilst the display only had to displays there are lots of birds to walk around and see on the trail you even get to have a picture with the sooty owl which the kids love (and me) 😊 so the ticket fees are super reasonable and good value for a short activity.

There’s toilets onsite which were clean and a gift shop at the end which we always try and purchase from to help put money into the rehabilitation of...

Our visit to Eagles Heritage was truly inspiring and heartwarming. This sanctuary, one of Australia's largest bird of prey sanctuary, is dedicated to the care and rehabilitation of injured or orphaned birds of prey. As we strolled around the sanctuary, we were in awe of the majestic eagles, hawks, falcons, and owls that have found a permanent home here due to their injuries that would prevent them from surviving in the wild.

It was both heartwarming and saddening to learn about the challenges and dangers these magnificent creatures face in the wild. The sanctuary's efforts to treat and rehabilitate these birds, as well as provide a safe haven for those who cannot be released, are truly commendable.

Attending the bird show was a highlight of our visit, where we had the privilege of getting up close to a barn owl and three black fork-tail kites. The informative talk by Ann-Marie (I think that was her name, apologises if I got that wrong) who exuded passion and dedication, shed light on the important work being done at the sanctuary.

It was heartening to see that our admission fee goes directly towards the care of these beautiful creatures. Our whole family, including our youngest son who usually struggles to sit still, was captivated by the experience. The knowledge we gained sparked conversations and our eldest son wants to build an owl box in our yard.

Thank you, Ann-Marie, for your wonderful presentation and for the amazing work being done at Eagles Heritage. We left the sanctuary with a newfound appreciation for these birds of prey and a desire to support their conservation...

Good but with some minor improvements could be excellent.

Seating for bird encounter is substandard. First come best seated, regardless of booking tickets online or rocking up at the door. But that means kids and oldies can be sat down the back unable to hear as well or get a view past large people occupying seats near the front. For a very small spend a tiered seating structure could be set up with seats for kids and oldies in front and fitter bigger people up back higher up. If that is too expensive, stick a small platform (flatbed trailer height) in the paddock for the presenter to stand on and be visible to those at the back. And look at getting an audio system so the presenter can be more easily heard. They do it at Taronga Zoo with flying raptors so it can’t be too disruptive for the birds.

That aside, the bird encounter is really good. Excellent staff and information, and well worth seeing. The aviary birds were surprisingly chilled out at the presence of people looking at them.

Great place for a couple of hours viewing...