Reopening the zoos has come just in time says owner of Yorkshire falconry centre

“It will either be really busy because a lot of children are off school or very quiet because people are nervous about coming out,” she said.

The reopening of zoos has been credited to Chester Zoo raising awareness it may not survive a continued shutdown.

“They have paved the way for everybody else, which has been amazing,” said Mrs O’Brien.

She and her husband, Peter, have been running the centre at Rudstone Walk Farm, South Cave, for seven years and have an array of birds, ranging from Steppe eagles to Harris hawks.

“I always say to people it was a hobby that was allowed to rage out of control.

"Peter is passionate about birds and if we had to get rid of them it would break his heart,” she said.

“I am really pleased to reopen because we were getting to the point where money was running out and we would have only been able to carry on for another month or so and we would have had to call it a day.”

Visitors will only have to pre-book if they want an interactive experience.

Otherwise they can walk in and ask for a tour, including of the 20 owls rescued as part of The Wolds Way Owl Trust, which the couple also run.

At one point as many as 12 owls a week were being confiscated from members of the public, most of whom were trying to emulate Harry Potter.

The birds are often very aggressive because they had been housed or fed incorrectly, but there are exceptions.

One is Edward, a European eagle owl, who came to them aged 16 after being kept in a flat and tied to a coffee table.

“He is one in a million,” Mrs O’Brien said.

She added that with reasonable footfall, decent weather and being able to stay open, they should be all right.

A second wave of the virus would, however, be “curtains”.

Flying displays will be at 1pm from Thursday to Sunday.