Adlerwarte Berlebeck, Bird of prey sanctuary in Detmold, Germany

Adlerwarte Berlebeck is a bird park on a heath-covered rocky ridge in the Berlebeck district of Detmold, founded in 1939 and run by the city since 1971. It keeps 46 bird of prey species with over 200 birds, including a pair of Andean condors that bred here in 1989, the first in Europe. A stand with 160 seats faces the free-flight shows, and a teaching and information centre covers falconry history and species protection.

Adolf Deppe, from Milse, searched for a site in Detmold in 1938, hoping to benefit from visitors to the Hermannsdenkmal and Externsteine. After the Lippe government rejected the Grotenburg, he chose the heather-covered rocky knoll then called Hitlerhöhe in Berlebeck. The facility opened at Pentecost 1939, was destroyed in April 1945 and rebuilt after the 1948 currency reform. The Deppes transferred it to the city of Detmold in 1971.

The free-flight demonstrations take place several times a day during the season, staged in front of a spectator stand with 160 seats. The adjoining teaching and information centre explains the history of falconry and the sanctuary's role in species protection. The birds fly over a rocky, heather-covered hilltop chosen in 1939 for exactly this purpose.

The facility is set within the Teutoburg Forest and is best visited during warmer months when conditions are most comfortable. Bring sturdy shoes and allow time to watch the birds and observe their flight demonstrations throughout your visit.

In 1981 the first harpy eagle chick hatched in captivity worldwide, at Berlin Zoo, from a breeding pair of a female Berlin bird and a male from Berlebeck. In 1989 an Andean condor pair bred here, a first for Europe. The on-site rescue station takes in up to 230 injured wild birds a year and releases 70 to 75 percent of them.