As spring begins to bloom, we welcome the first chicks of the season. Monty is a Milky Eagle Owl, also known as a Verreaux's or Giant Eagle Owl. In the wild, Milky Eagle Owls usually have two chicks at a time but often only one will survive because the larger chick will push the smaller chick out of the nest. With this in mind we have removed Monty from them so they can focus their attention on raising the second chick by itself.

We are currently hand raising / imprinting Monty, in an effort to create a confident bird that will feel very comfortable around people.

We anticipate Monty becoming part of our displays or our Owl Experiences and will make a choice after we get to know Monty a bit better. The Milky Eagle Owl is the largest owl species in Africa and the only species to have pink eyelids, so Monty should be a very unusual and impressive owl to have on the flying team.

As seen in the above picture, Monty's pink eyelids are already visible and on the tip of the beak you might be able to spot the 'egg tooth' (white blob) which is a temporary sharp projection used to break the eggshell during hatching. It usually falls off after 3-4 days but Monty is two weeks old now and still has it.