Steppe eagle
The steppe eagle is an impressive bird with a wingspan of over 2 metres and a weight that can reach 4 kilos. Our steppe eagle is of the Russian type, which is typically larger.
We have a single steppe eagle at Falkecenter Samsø, named Cherie. She is a determined lady, and decides how the day's flight is going to go. Some days she'll soar high and show the audience the essence of being an eagle. Other days, she prefers to have her meal of the day close to the audience - flights with Cherie are never the same.
Cherie is an elegant and light flier with a gentle mind, and has a personal relationship with each falconer. Some she likes, some she doesn't.
The steppe eagle originates from the Asian and Russian steppes, where it feeds on rodents such as hares and rabbits, but it also takes snakes, baby birds and carrion. The eagle winters in Africa and India. They nest mainly on the ground and in flat treetops, preferring to live in dry lands such as desert and steppe.
The steppe eagle can also be seen in the Kazakhstani flag.
Cherie weighs 3 kg.
At the Falkecenter, we have had a breeding pair that produced beautiful chicks. Our most recent chicks are from 2017.
Black-chested buzzard-eagle
The black-chested buzzard-eagle is characterized by its slightly thick and powerful build, long wingspan and short tapered tail. It is an amazing soarer and has the majestic build and posture of an eagle.
Inge's ancestors come from Peru in South America. She herself comes from a skilled breeder in Austria, where she spent the first 6 months of her life with her parents. We brought her home to Samsø in October 2021.
Inge is slightly smaller than average and currently weighs 2200g. Inge has a unique and unusually calm temperament. From day one, she was ready for new challenges, as children are when they leave home and have had enough of their parents. She is truly excellent to work with.
Currently, we are working on building up Inge's strength, so she can fly high and glide like her ancestors in Peru. Enjoying her freedom while maintaining her bond with the falconer.
Bald eagle
The bald eagle is a North American bird of prey that is easily recognisable with its white head, neck and tail. The eagle is the national symbol of the United States and lives in coastal areas, rivers and large lakes in the US and Canada.
The white-tailed eagle is an impressive bird of prey. Its body can be almost a metre long, its wingspan up to 2.5 metres and they can weigh up to 6 kilograms.
The white-tailed eagle feeds mainly on fish that it catches in the sea and lakes, but it also hunts ducks and eats carrion. When chasing its prey, the white-tailed eagle can reach speeds of 160-200 km/h. They are also known as sea eagles since they can pull fish out of the water that weigh as much as they do!
In their first years of life, the white-tailed eagles feathers and beak are dark brown with no major markings. They only gets their signature yellow beak, white tail and white head when they reaches sexual maturity around the age of 5.
At Falkecenter Samsø we have 2 white-tailed eagles, Alaska from 2012 and Paco from 2004.
Paco was our first white-tailed eagle. He was born in Germany and spent his early years in Spain. Paco is the eagle we fly at the Falconer school with students and trainees. He has a great personality and very confident, truly a special bird. He's a bit of a 'circus horse': when he sees the audience, he wants to be with them. He loves attention and showing that he is the king of the skies. In summer weather, Paco can be a bit lazy and loves to play pranks, but in harsh weather, wind and cold he shines and loves to fly.
Alaska was born in the north of England and spent the first years of her life flying in the highlands. She came to Denmark in November of 2018 and is now the queen of our shows. Like Paco, Alaska has a big personality, albeit on the more dominant side. She is a very powerful eagle, and with her fighting weight of five kilos, she is not only the largest bird at Falkecenter Samsø, but 30% larger than Paco.
African spotted eagle-owl
The spotted eagle-owl is a subspecies of the Eurasian eagle-owl we know from our own country, only lighter and slightly larger. They are some of the largest owls in the world and can live up to 50 years.
Our spotted eagle-owl is originally from North Africa, but Fat Bertha was born in Denmark. This type of owl finds a mate for life. They build their nests on rocks or directly on the ground, where they simply scrape a hole.
The eagle-owl is nocturnal and hunts smaller mammals, lizards and birds.
The eagle-owl is not picky when food is scarce. They have been seen hunting small antelopes, fox puppies and domestic cats. The biggest catch seen in Scandinavia is golden eagle remains found in an eagle-owl's nest.
The eagle-owl in Lille Vildmose (in North Jutland), for example, has specialised in catching domestic cats that it finds in the nearby town.
At the Falkecenter we have one spotted eagle-owl, the charming and impressive Bertha from 2012. Her wingspan is 180 cm and she weighs 3 kg, so she handles all kinds of weather and maneuvers in any wind, from 0 m/s to 20 m/s.
Bertha earned the nickname 'Chunky Bertha' from a retired history teacher - and yes, she also has a big personality!
Ural owl
The Ural owl is a medium-sized owl weighing 630-1,020 g. It typically has a height of 58-62 cm and a wingspan of 124-134 cm. They are somewhat similar to tawny owls, but have a slightly longer tail with light-colored stripes. In the wild, they live in Eurasia, from northern Scandinavia to northern Asia. They catch small rodents, but are also skilled bird hunters.
In the wild, Ural owls nest in hollow trees in forested areas, but they are also very fond of nest boxes.
Our Ural owl Siri was already laying eggs at the age of 2 years. She only laid 2, but Ural owls can lay up to 6 eggs between March and April. The chicks are ready to fly within 5-6 weeks of hatching.
The Ural owl has a very charming and sweet expression. They have a wonderfully gentle mind, but make no mistake - they defend their young fearlessly and aggressively.
Siri is the little princess of the Falconer school. Children can help fly her from glove to glove. It's very popular to lie on the ground while she flies over you and feel her silent, light flight across the body.
American scops owl
The little scops owl weighs between 100 and 180 grams and measures between 15 and 17 cm. Our scops owl, Brutalis, from 2010 is Falkecenter Samsø's most charming fellow.
The American scops owl is common in South America, where it lives in dense vegetation. Its grayish-brown colors, which blend in with the bark of a tree, make it easy for them to hide.
The owl only hunts at night and feeds on insects, small rodents and reptiles. The owl catches prey by snatching them while they sit still. It can also catch prey in flight, usually insects.
During the day, the scops owl sits in trees, closes its eyes and raises its ear tufts. This way, it blends in with the tree and can be hard to spot.
The owl is often associated with the Greek goddess Athena - the protector of wisdom - and in the visual arts it is a symbol of wisdom and learning. Unfortunately, this is merely symbolic. Our beloved owls are not exactly members of MENSA...
Lanner Falcon
The Lanner Falcon is an African falcon that is slightly smaller than the Peregrine Falcon. It weighs between 530 and 800 grams and has a wingspan of up to 120 cm. Its wings allow it to hover for a long periods of time without much effort.
Because of this, it can roam large areas looking for prey. The Lanner falcon hunts in quick, surprise attacks, in Africa often preying on flocks of small birds at waterholes. The male and female cooperate in the hunt: the female scares up the prey while the male knocks it down. As they dive after the prey, they tie up their captors and box the prey so hard that they kill it, usually by breaking the neck.
There has never been a great tradition of using Lanner falcons as hunting birds, but they are actually amazing flyers with relatively long tails that turn and brake very quickly. During our demonstrations, we fly the Lanner falcon to the decoy and simulate a hunting situation.
The Lanner falcon is typically found in desert and steppe areas in Africa, where it nests on cliff ledges, among other places. Since it lives in arid regions, it is not picky. In addition to common prey such as pigeons and hares, it also hunts lizards and ground beetles.
At Falkecenter Samsø we have two Lanner falcons, and because of their calm and pleasant temperament, we use them to show our audience how the falcon hunts; the falconers skillfully swing decoys to simulate prey. The falcons are very trusting, which allows us to use them for these demonstrations, but also for external events.
Jeanne d'Arc is 7 years old and Anton is our youngest and newest member at the center, turning 2 in 2023.
Both falcons are used for our public shows.
Saker falcon
The saker falcon is the second largest falcon in the world, second only to the Gyrfalcon. The saker falcon is a brave bird and always eager to hunt, often going after prey much larger than itself.
The saker falcon typically weighs between 700 and 1200 grams, but in 2009 Falkecenter Samsø broke a small local "record" when our female falcon reached 1280 grams. In other words, we had a falcon in good condition that took down both pheasants and ducks with excellent technique and precision. If there had been wild rabbits on Samsø, they would also be obvious prey.
The Swedish name for the saker falcon is tatarfalk, which is reminiscent of the great Asian steppes where falconry first began thousands of years ago. This makes sense, since the saker falcon is widespread in Southeast Europe and Asia, where it inhabits steppe and forest areas. However, they also like to be near marshlands where there is rich bird life.
Our saker falcon is called Zaka, he is 5 years old (from 2017) and weighs 880 grams. Zaka has a willful mind, a big personality and loves to play in the air. He is an excellent flyer who leaves both the audience and the falconer breathless with quick attacks on the decoy.
American kestrel
The American kestrel (falco sparverius) is one of the world's smallest birds of prey. As the name suggests, it is widely distributed in North and South America. An American kestrel weighs only between 100 and 130 grams. In other words, an American kestrel is the size of a common blackbird.
The kestrel feeds on insects that it catches in the air, as well as mice, rodents, lizards and small birds. The little bird is an expert at "mousing" - standing still in one spot in the air for an extended period of time. It stands there with wings flapping until it has confidently located its prey and then dives vertically with great precision to catch it.
The American kestrel manages to survive even in very hot desert areas since it doesn't need to drink water; it gets enough hydration from its prey.
The kestrel has greatly admired by guests season after season when it has demonstrated its impressive hunting techniques.
We have one American kestrel at Falkecenter Samsø, who comes from our own breeding programme: Christiano Ronaldo (from 2016). He is the charm-master of the center and loves participating in the Falconer school.
Harris Hawk
The Harris hawk is called brown-shouldered hawk in Danish because of the reddish-brown areas on its shoulders. It is common in South and Central America and the southern United States.
The Harris Hawk has long, thin legs that are effective when going after prey in rabbit holes, for example.
It is one of the few bird species that hunts collectively. Antyhing from 2 to 10 individual hawks can hunt together, including older chicks helping parents catch food for new chicks in the nest. Once the prey is exhausted and killed, the birds share their catch.
Harris Hawks have been used for hunting by falconers for a long time, especially in countries such as England where they were used for rabbit and hare hunting.
At Falkecenter Samsø we have 5 Harris Hawks that participate in our displays as a flock. It's impressive to see them working together. In the Falconer school, Houdini and Esteban are flown to glove, here you will really see how fast a hawk can be.
The hawk team consists of females and males. Our female hawks are Linse (8 years old), Poca (6 years old) and Fiona (2 years old, and all weigh around 1100 grams. Our male hawks are Houdini (11 years old) and cheeky Esteban (9 years old) who weigh less, around 700 grams.
Nordic raven
The raven belongs to the crow family, being the largest in the group and about the of a buzzard. They are recognised by their wedge-shaped tails and large, powerful beaks.
Ravens live in most parts of the world. They breed all over Europe, except for some parts of Western and Central Europe. From here, the distribution extends eastward through Asia to the Pacific Ocean. The one we have at Falkecenter Samsø was born in Belgium and came to us as a young bird.
Ravens can talk, which creates a lot of fun when our Raven Lis'lot addresses guests with "Good morning - Hello Honey - Paco - piifffffff" etc. The voice is distinctive and mimics the human voice exactly. In addition, ravens have a naturally deep, coarse and loud cry.
The raven plays a central role in Norse mythology as Odin's two scouts Hugin and Munin. Before the current Danish flag Dannebrog, the flag was the Raven Banner, which showed a raven on a red background.
When you arrive, Lis'lot receives guests from her aviary facing the car park.
