Take a look at a couple of our late hatch Harris’ hawk chicks! These little grey fluffballs are about a month old and are hanging out in our gift shop so they can get used to being around people. Aren’t they cute?
Sorry for the blurry photos, it was a gloomy day and I didn’t want to use my flash on these little guys.
One of the jobs our birds of prey have is bird abatement. They work at landfills, airports, vineyards and building sites to move birds like gulls, starlings and geese.
Geese in the distance
Geese hanging out near Shakespeare’s grave (Enoch Shakespeare, that is)
We recently started a contract working at my local cemetery to move the flocks of Canada Geese that like to loiter all day leaving their slippery little gifts everywhere. Our job is to go in, count the geese, record any of the neck tags we see and then encourage them to move along. This can be done with lasers, dogs, and of course hawks.
Getting ready to fly
Today we brought Lulu the female Harris hawk over for our literal wild goose chase. It’s not very hard to convince a group of sixty-seven geese to skedaddle once they see Lulu.
Lulu can be a bit of a talker
The end goal
Pretty much one short flight in their direction was enough to send them packing. We still took Lulu for a walk around the rest of the cemetery so she could enjoy some exercise and look beautiful doing it.
Harris hawk appropriately atop the gravestone of Harriet Harris
Lulu going after a toss-up, see the little piece of meat?
Got it!
There are lots of interesting old tombstones at this cemetery and apparently multiple thousands of people are buried here. Many of the grave markers are very old, and quite a few are for those who died quite young. It’s a beautiful and serene place and I’d like to come back some time with the supplies to do some sketches and stone rubbings.
Someone my age who was “killed in the explosion” in 1887. Likely a miner
Gravesite of a 12 year old boy who died in 1889
You can see that both of these old grave markers have been reinforced with concrete. That’s because they’re carved from marble which is actually a very soft stone that erodes comparatively quickly in the weather. Nowadays most gravestones are made from granite.
We are open again at the Raptor Centre! It’s been great to have everyone back in to see the demos and visit with the birds. It’s a busy time, but I love that there’s always something to do.
Here are a couple of shots of two of our lovely eagles. The first is one of our adult male bald eagles who has just finished performing his aerial maneuvers for a big crowd in the daily flying demonstration.
And here is one of our female golden eagles with a juvenile male baldy in the background.
Because it’s spring time we also have lots of raptor moms getting ready to hatch out some eggs. I can’t wait!
Here is one of our beautiful male Great Horned owls. This species has a lot of variation in plumage color, and this particular owl is from further north so he is very light. In these photos I have brought him out of his aviary to soak up some warm spring sunshine
What an absolute sweetie he is. The little sounds an owl makes when they are content would melt your heart.
This little girl has actually lost most of her tail for now. Luckily she has luxury accommodations and room service for as long as it takes to grow back!
If you ever get a chance to man a redtailed hawk, you’ll understand how serious their talons are. They are strong birds that can grip almost hard enough to crush your hand if they really wanted to.
On the glove, to brighten your day! If you ever get a chance to hold one, they weigh next to nothing. I think he weighs about 250 grams if I remember right. I love being able to have him up close so I can admire his intricate feather patterns.
Barn owls are definitely one of the strangest birds I’ve ever met. They can seem a bit deranged, especially when they’re well-fed and display this very menacing behavior where they hold out their wings and rock back and forth, clicking their beaks at you. It’s pretty demonic.
I still quite like them though!
Take a look at one of our most handsome (and heaviest!) owls. This beautiful boy is an Eurasian Eagle Owl.
Check out these huge, fluffy feet! His giant talons are menacing but he’s actually a very gentle boy.
How can you not love those glowing orange eyes?
Just wanted to share some shots of two birds I worked with today. Above you can see a superb little male peregrine falcon, who is still young and sporting his rusty brown juvenile plumage.
Compare him to this adult male peregrine, with his much different creamy beige and pale blue plumage. Stunning, isn’t he?
Two undeniably gorgeous boys.
Yesterday while I was working outside, my dog was also hard at work. We have a couple of rats that have dug some burrows near the chicken coop, and she has been diligently trying to excavate them. She was extra intense about her task yesterday and it wasn’t long before I heard the telltale squeaks of baby rats. I went over to see that she had uncovered a rat’s nest containing seven baby rats, about a week or two old.
She pulled them out one by one, dispatched them each with a quick bite, and continued her search for the adults. I am very pleased that there are now seven less potential rats living here and I hope mom and dad rat have been reminded yet again that this is not a safe place to set up house.
The baby rats were tossed onto the compost pile, and the next morning I awoke to see what I think is a large female Cooper’s hawk perched on the edge of the bin. She is a young (passage) bird as you can tell by her juvenile plumage. This is the first time I’ve seen a hawk of any kind in my yard and I quickly grabbed my camera and got the best shots I could, which are unfortunately not very good. I’ve definitely been spoiled by being able to photograph raptors up close at the Raptor Centre. Anyway, at least I have some evidence of her visit!
When I went outside a little bit later I noticed that all seven baby rats were gone from the pile and I assume she ate them. I’m glad she was able to get such a good meal here and I’m once again happy I do not use poison as rodent control.
If you’d like a more up-close shot of a passage female Cooper’s hawk, I just happen to have one here for you:
I wanted to share some shots of one of our female peregrine falcons being manned while hooded. The hood works because in most birds, their instinct when it gets dark is to become quiet and still. This is also where the term “hoodwinked” comes from. This little girl is so serious, she’ll sometimes try to fly while hooded! Not good.
She may be naughty sometimes but she sure is pretty.
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