World Bird Sanctuary Review

Love what they are doing here! Great place to take your family. The new little playground is a nice addition for kids.

Great place to learn about birds. They take good care of their animals. Also it's a great place to play Pokemon Go

My kids and I enjoyed seeing all the different birds.

You know they have birds. But did you know they have a hiking trail ?

Liked it but kinda sad with all the birds in cages.

I could be wrong, about what is required for birds of prey. However, the enclosures did not provide any stimulation for the animals. I'm not sure what their conservation program is, and perhaps there that's their main function. However, it did not impress me in terms of the standards for caring for birds of prey.

Not only a sanctuary but we can view plus donate to their cause! Worth the ride. I love the owls!! A place to go whether you go once a year or to bring visiting guests! Excellent for nature lovers!

Great place to view several different species of birds. Right next to Lone Elk Park.

My first time visiting the World Bird Sanctuary, we did a Boy Scout activity; Running with the Raptors. The hike by itself was so much fun! We saw a huge Buck and so many different types of birds! We checked the other section that had some spiders, bats, a snake and hissing cockroaches. The weather was on the chiller side, but the staff was very informative and was able to keep the attention of a lot of boys from the age of 5 to 10. I learned a lot of information about their rescued animals and the woods in vernal. What a great experience!

Great place doing great things for bird! And nice place to spend some time!

Nice little place to get away from the busyness of like and learn about birds

I love visiting this place. They used to have an outdoor section that was fantastic for photographing some of the birds. They now have new enclosures in that area which take away from the photography part but its probably better for the birds so maybe I'm just being selfish by taking a star away just because of photo opportunities. Otherwise its still a neat place to visit and it is right next to Lone Elk Park if you want unobstructed views of wildlife

You get an up close view of the birds... and many of them are fairly exotic!

Friendly people with lots of birds; most notably several exotic but with plenty of locals too. Chadder the kookaburra even decided to give us a performance of his call, which we felt pretty happy about since we really didn't hear him again while we were there. Beautiful creatures, and definitely a place to see and support.

The WBS was by far an amazing visit. We got to see a cute little fancy rat, a beautiful bird named Dorothy, a bunny, and so much more. The owls were so cool! Definitely a recommended experience especially our guy CJ who explained to us so many interesting facts. He was well informed and quite humourous. They hire great staff so check it out! I got a white necked raven painting so that was superb.

Definitely worth a visit. So many incredible birds!!

The walk to see the condor, eagles and vultures is great. The emu brothers are so adorable.

Loved meeting a few of the owls at their owl prowl. Great experience.

These folks do wonder educating public about birds on shoestring budget.

Nestled in the woods along the southern edge of Castlewood State park in Valley Park is yet another treasure of St. Louis that is not as well known as one might think. The World Bird Sanctuary is a place where sick and/or injured birds of prey or other exotic birds can be taken to heal and recover. When the birds are fully rehabilitated, the medical staff then assesses whether or not they are able to be released back into the wild or if they will be given a new permanent home at the sanctuary and become educational ambassadors. Located in a state park, the heavily wooded setting offers ample opportunities to observe and interact with a wide variety of feathered creatures. Age appropriate activities are in abundance and educational opportunities are endless. For the more active visitor, there are nature trails to explore and even a playground for kids who want to simply run around.

I went here today on a field trip with my work place. We brought a group of children with Autism spectrum disorder and they were very excited to be there! After about 5 minutes of being there we where informed that we where to loud and we where an unfit group. This absolutely saddens my heart and is absolutely pitiful for our kids!

Simple, nice, and educational. I certainly would encourage people to donate since most things are free of charge.

Nice variety of rescued birds. The facility, and the cages in particular are fairly run down. I assume this is a volunteer run not for profit organization. It's amazing that this is operated without charging admission fees.

During the 2017 solar eclipse the entry fee was fairly steep.

Really fun place and cool new playground. So egg-sighting!

If you are expecting the zoo, you will be disappointed. Having said that it's a great place the people are friendly and they have a pretty good variety of different birds and it's I really great thing to do if you just want to go for a couple of hours. Plus, Lone Oak Park is right next to it and you can drive through there when you're done because your legs might be a little tired from walking around the bird sanctuary.

To see them take care of these birds is amazing. You can see one species at more than one location. Never knew about Polish Chickens. There's a 25 year old owl here!!! Inside, there is a grey rabbit, you can rub, but not pick up, with Mink like fur. There are snakes here along with other mammals too. The Summer Jr. staff....they are eager to spread their knowledge. Wonderful place and an shaded tree paved walking path. :-) Please Donate to this facility.

It's such a wonderful place if you love nature and especially birds. It's a favorite place

Wonderful bird park. Particularly impressive are the birds of prey with the giant eagles. Great flight demonstrations. Absolutely worth seeing.

Really fun adventure. Free to go but be sure to donate to feed the birds.

Ok place to see birds but at the same time very depressing

Grandson loves this place, he asks to go all the time

My fiance and I decided to try their Owl Prowl night last evening. We was blown away! I love birds and was thrilled to have this opportunity to see around 6 different owls & a raven up close. The staff Tess, Nicole and Kat did a phenomenal job of working with the birds including getting them to fly over the audience. They were also knowledgeable on the different birds and the speech had my attention the whole time, expect a 45-50 min talk. Also I highly encourage bringing some spare cash for at the end! Their Raven Mischief does some adorable tricks if you'll spare even a $1, to help support the sanctuary. The second part of the tour involved going outside to try spotting and hearing wild owls around the sanctuary. Its winter time and we was outside about an hour so dress warmly! We spoted one wild owl and miraculously a young bald eagle! The eagle wasn't what we was looking for but was a pleasant surprise and Tess said that had never happened on an Owl Prowl before! Overall, terrific experience, I definitely want to go back again with my mom so she can experience it as well! Word of advice - when we drove in we didnt see any signs directing us to where we should go. We parked in front of the public bathrooms and ended up wondering down to the bird hospital, simply looking for what lights were on and where to go. When parking, go to your left! Signs would be helpful.

Also, to the people who say staking the birds outside is mean, you must remember this is partially a rehabilitation/hospital for injured birds! Tess explained that they get over 400 birds a year with injuries and if hurt bad enough these birds CANNOT survive on their own in the wild any longer. So most likely those birds either can't fly anymore or sustained their injuries outside the bird sanctuary and are now living their life as best as they can, meaning they're still alive and cared for thanks to the sanctuary! The sanctuary also has a 44% release rate for rehabilitated birds, better then the national average and those that can't be released are provided a home at the sanctuary. A class with the sanctuary might help some people before passing judgement on this sanctuary.

My husband and I truly enjoyed our 1st ever trip to the area and to the WBS! Will be back next time we are in the area. Owls and my husband seem to have a connection so every owl we encountered talked to him. We love this peaceful place

This is a really cool place to visit for all ages. Free admission. There is a donation box but not required. It's worth the donation though.

There is a large variety of birds there tanging from small owls to huge eagals. The care takers are very friendly. There's also a small jungle gym for kids.

It's free, you see exotic birds and they have a bird show. It's a great way to spend an afternoon.

These birds at World Bird Sanctuary are very well taken care of. It is a great experience!

Good idea, sorry to see the birds tied down. I know this place has good heart, so I wish this could be dealt with. Perhaps the Boy Scouts could build wire enclosures for a project. I think people would be very willing to help fund this if they know it will be for a specific project.

What a fun place for the family to spend some time at. Not to mention this sanctuary does wonderful things with these birds! They help the Injured birds so that they can be returned back into their habitats. I would highly recommend a visit here!

I was amazed by all the different types of birds to view. They are expanding exhibits too. Nice paths to take short hikes.

It breaks my heart to see people say things like "sorry to see the birds tied down" or "this is the worst place". I wish I could take you on a personal tour and share with you what I know. Birds of prey are sedentary creatures. They don't fly about because it's fun. Flying takes a great deal of energy and so if they don't need to flee danger, hunt for food or nesting materials, or find a mate, they are going to perch. This is what the birds at World Bird Sanctuary do. The equipment is more for their and the visitor's safety than for holding them in place. If any of the birds show signs of stress, volunteers and staff are quick to respond to the bird's needs. Many visitors tend to anthropomorphize birds in thinking that they "look" bored or are "stressed" because they are just perching. They don't exhibit facial expressions like people do so the look you see is what you get at any given time. They are cared for around the clock by people that love them. The birds that are on display in the weathering areas are all birds that were either hatched and hand raised in a breeding program (often right at WBS), were permanently injured and can not be released, or were rescued from the illegal bird trade. Any bird undergoing rehabilitation for release back to the wild will never be on display or have any encounters with humans beyond their immediate medical care. The birds that are on equipment have all given their permission if you will and have accepted the equipment. They are not forced to be glove birds or program birds. Birds that do not take to equipment, are not forced to do so but are then placed in open mews or enclosures without equipment (the jesses and leashes). Older birds are taken off equipment and cared for in mews as well. The staff and volunteers are very in tune with a bird's needs and will do what is necessary to make sure that every bird has the best care and creature comforts. I have seen this personally and am thrilled that this wonderful organization exists. Oh. And bird poo happens. Birds go whenever and wherever they like. It's a fact of life. And vultures love deer heads. It's gross but a wonderful teaching moment when you visit and see what the delightful Andean Condor loves to eat.

Wonderful mission and park. Only wish more of the birds were viewable without a wire mesh between them and the lens.

Always a good place to spend some quality time with the kiddos. Alot of construction taking place with well deserved enclosure upgrades but still a ton of stuff to see!!

Enjoyed walking the short path near the playground near the parking lot and the longer walk back in the woods through the enclosures. Serene and informative. A very friendly and knowledgeable staff member taught us about the vultures and another informed us about the construction projects. Highly recommended.

Birds of prey and some other animals. Great staff and educational demonstrations.Located inside Lone Elk park where there are bison, elk and beautiful woods.

Wonderful place to visit!! The birds are gorgeous and well cared for. The staff are knowledgeable and friendly. There is a lot of construction going on which is very exciting because they will be able to care for more birds in the near future. I would highly recommend this place to anyone especially families because they have a playground and the path to see the birds is stroller friendly. It's also free which is amazing but please donate to this great cause!

Great place for the family.I can't wait for the update.

It's free go and check out all the animals in the park. We love this park

If you love birds, you should probably go here and visit all the silly birbs.

I'm not sure how this place was in the past but when I visited today it was horrible. The birds were all tethered to posts on short cords with no room to fly no matter how much they tried and barely any room to move around for that matter. They'd jump flap their wings then get pulled to the ground from the cord attached to their leg. 2 of the birds there looked like they had something wrong with an eye, the birds that actually had cages looked like their cages had not been cleaned in years, there was a snowy owl in one of the cages that looked miserable (they're polar climate birds and it was hot out), and there was rotting fish in one of the cages as well (flies had more interest in in than the birds). I felt sorry for those birds and really hope that's not the norm for this "sanctuary"

Me and my kids absolutely love this place. We go out there all the time, plus Lone Elk Park is right nextdoor, which is a huge plus. Two activities to do that are free, and gets the kids outdoors

It was great seeing all the birds! The people working there know soooooo much about all the birds! So ask questions because it's very interesting! All volunteers, so please donate to help them save these birds!

While these are rescued birds, they seem to have limited lives. This is not a place for older or handicapped individuals. It is a rough and long walk. Although many paths are paved, getting to them requires a long walk. If you are on your own, this is beyond difficult to navigate if you are older or have any trouble getting around. There is no signage to direct individuals where to go. This is a good educational resource for children who are accompanied by adults.

Its a great place for kids and adults, gentle walk to see all the birds, some unique birds. They were asking for a donation to get in when I was there in Aug 2020, this is new, was always free in the past but not a big deal, happy to support the Sanctuary.

This was such a cool place to go to. It was under construction when we went but there was still plenty to see. I had never seen some of the birds in person before this, I never realized how massive bald eagles are. I absolutely recommend this for anyone looking for an outdoor learning experience. Anytime I saw staff they were very friendly and did well answering questions.