It’ll be a hoot this week as Dudley Zoo becomes a hub of witchcraft and wizardry to mark International Owl Awareness Day.

The event, based on J.K. Rowling’s hugely popular 'Harry Potter' series, will focus on the 12 owls on site, celebrate the iconic bird species and raise awareness of their plight in the wild.

There’s a bird of prey display at 12 noon in the castle courtyard and Northern white-faced owl, Todd, will be among the owls taking part in a special owl Go Wild! show at 2.15pm in the Discovery Centre.

Staff from the birds section will be dressing up as characters from the franchise and Quidditch will be played in the courtyard. Opportunities to have photos taken next to the owls, a game to see which house the Sorting Hat puts people in and chance for visitors to test their strength and see if they have a tighter grip than our feathered friends will all be on offer. Birds Section Leader, Nicola Wright, said:

“Owls are the most recognised bird species and Harry Potter is one of the nation’s favourite books and films so it’s nice to put the two together and capture people’s interest and raise funds for owls.”

There are 217 owl species in the world and those resident at the zoo include Northern white-faced, great grey, snowy, barn, little, burrowing and great horned owls.