Final flight for Birds of Prey as season comes to a close
By Lethbridge Herald on September 4, 2025.
Joe Manio
Lethbridge Herald
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Grace the bald eagle made a series of flights in front of visitors at Coaldale’s Alberta Birds of Prey Centre on Labour Day Monday, marking the official end of another successful season there. With that, the summer nature interpreters, most of them high school and university students, will head back to their schools to hit the books.
However, the Alberta Birds of Prey Centre’s mission of rescuing, rehabilitating, and releasing injured birds of prey back into the wild will continue until the Centre reopens for the 2026 season next May.
*At the end of every summer season, there are always many mixed feelings of relief, exhaustion, sadness and great personal satisfaction that another summer has come and gone,” says managing director Colin Weir. “Overall though we are very pleased with the strong visitation and delighted with all the positive visitor feedback throughout the summer.*
The centre’s nature interpreters are vital ambassadors for positive visitor experiences. They’re all fresh-faced and enthusiastic teenagers and young adults, ranging in age from 15 to 24. Most of the 2027 crew were female.
*We recruit our interpreters through social media, our website, advertising at the college and university and a program called ‘Careers NextGen’ which referred some great students tous,” says Weir.
What Weir looks for in a prospective nature interpreter is a love of nature and the outdoors; enjoy conversing and interacting with people; desire to become good story-tellers; and motivation to learn and grow.
“I grew up in Lethbridge, so I knew a lot about the centre before and I had been looking for a job that would get me outdoors and with animals,” says 20-year-old Lethbridge Polytechnic student Mackenzie Arndt, who has just finished her first season. “So this kind of was one of my top picks.”
“I found out that they hire people that haven’t already graduated from university or college. You could just work here as a summer student. Once I figured that out, I thought I had to apply next year and so I did. I really wanted this job so much that it’s the only job I applied for.”
Fifteen-year-old Abigail Norcott is returning to Lethbridge Collegiate Institute after also finishing her first season at the Centre.
“I really enjoyed my summer here. I was a bit nervous at the start, but learned a lot.”
Weir says just because the 2025 season at the Centre is officially over doesn’t necessarily mean the show is completely over.
“Depending on staff availability and weather, in the weeks ahead, we hope to open up again for just a few more weekends in September. We would ask that people please check our website or call us at 403-331-9520 for the latest information.”
Meanwhile, post-season work at the centre commences, which includes releasing as many birds as possible back to the wild before the weather changes, getting the site ready for fall and winter, fall cleanup and
planning for 2026.
The Alberta Birds of Prey Centre was established in 1989, with construction on the facility beginning that year. The Alberta Birds of Prey Foundation, which supports the Centre, was founded in 1982 by Weir and Wendy Slaytor.
The Alberta Birds of Prey Centre’s mission is to rescue, rehabilitate and release injured birds of prey like hawks, eagles, owls, and falcons, and to promote environmental awareness and education by connecting the public with these majestic animals through unique programs and experiences.
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birds of prey is a zen, beautiful contribution to our province. they do so much more than their great work with birds of prey. their love of all creatures and their willingness to do as much as they can to help creatures in distress makes them deserving of community support and individual donations.