Tags
birding, birds, Boise, Conservation, Eagles, education, Endangered Species, hawks, owls, Raptors, The Peregrine Fund, World Center for Birds of Prey
Just six miles from home is the amazing World Center for Birds of Prey (WCBP). For about six weeks in September & October, the WCBP hosts Fall Flights during which expert bird handlers show off the amazing skills of their education birds. What is a bird of prey? Also known as raptors, birds of prey share these traits:
- Meat Eaters
- Hooked Beaks with sharp cutting edges
- Sharp Talons to catch, hold, and carry prey
- Keen Eyesight
Raptors include eagles, hawks, falcons, and owls.
Meet Oliver, the Verreaux’s Eagle-owl, one of the largest owls in the world. Oliver was magnificent once he got over his stage fright and stepped out of the cage. He swooped silently from one handler’s arm to the other’s nearly parting some of the audience’s hair.
Next came Griffin, the Swainson’s Hawk, looking rightfully regal.
Finn, the Red-tailed hawk enjoyed showing off his prodigious beak.
Farrah, a beautiful Ferruginous Hawk has a pretty intense stare.
Makeda the Lanner Falcon wowed us all with her stunning outfit and her arial acrobatics.
This was a really fun hour of life. These creatures are amazing and it’s a treat to see them up close.
The World Center for Birds of Prey is the headquarters of The Peregrine Fund, “founded in 1970 to restore the Peregrine Falcon.” The Peregrine had been declared extinct on the eastern seaboard due to exposure to DDT when a few passionate raptor biologists had the audacity to propose a captive breeding program using eggs from the few remaining Peregrines in the western United States. Thus began the Peregrine Fund sustained mostly by private donations. “The Peregrine Falcon was removed from the U.S. Endangered Species List in 1999. That success encouraged the organization to expand its focus to raptor conservation efforts on behalf of more than 100 species in 65 countries worldwide, including the California Condor and Aplomado Falcon in the United States. The organization is non-political, solution-oriented and hands-on.”
Rangewriter 
I wonder how they train them to come back to the handler after those free-flying demonstrations. Cool birds! Wouldn’t want to come up against that huge owl in the middle of the night!
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I think the birds are handled from a very young age and are trained with food rewards, much the way zoo animals are trained to respond to handlers for veterinary/maintenance procedures. Falconry is a fascinating field. It originated in the Middle East, where falcons were used for hunting. There’s a cool story about a young Mongolian girl who was determined to be a falconer, even though women were not welcome to do that in their culture. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3882074/ (The Eagle Hunter)
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I happened to have that movie at home right now, I loved it!
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Amazing thing to witness these magnificent birds. They have demos at our local zoo but only caught the end of it. Glad that you got to see the show and get these great shots!
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It was an amazing 2 hours. The lady beside me had a “real” camera with a beautiful long wildlife lens, but the birds flew so close and so fast that she had difficulty capturing them.
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Shooting birds with camera is a constant challenge.
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Extraordinary creatures and wonderful post! What a thrill it must have been to meet them up close.
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It was definitely an afternoon well spent. I’m pretty sure everyone went home with big smiles on their faces.
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What a treat! We also have a birds of prey sanctuary in the Rhine valley (canton St Gallen). I took the grandkids to see a demonstration there a few years ago, marvellous. We were also allowed to stroke a giant owl, whose feathers felt like silk. Such a privilege!
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I bet the kids loved that. Experiences like that, I believe, make life long wildlife lovers of young kids. Owl feathers are so amazing.
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A great post. I have never seen anything like this.
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Glad you enjoyed it as much as I did, Gerard.
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Wow! What gorgeous creatures. That must have been an amazing experience.
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Definitely fun!
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This is one of the things I miss about living in Idaho. I remember when hiking to Lucky Peak, this is the time of year the raptor biologists and volunteers would have their blinds set up below the peak. A long time ago a Peregrine falcon was nesting in a high place in downtown Boise. I like the photo of Finn’s beak – thanks for the nature lesson on these beautiful birds!
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Yes, and this is eagle season along the river. I also get a huge bang out of watching the Great Blue Herons fishing. An interesting thing about the river corridor, my former husband’s dad was an avid fly fisherman, quite well known among the local cadre of them in Boise during his time. I once asked him what kind of birds he used to see when he fished the Boise River back in the late 40s, 50s and 60s. He said hawks, osprey, and kingfishers mostly. I asked about eagles and herons and he said he very rarely saw any of those. I also don’t think there were many of them around in the 70s when I first arrived here. I think cleaning up the river has done tremendous good for our avian friends, despite the many people who use the river corridor now.
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Well I hope so! I remember driving on the highway north toward Idaho City and saw a majestic bald eagle just sitting on a fence that overlooked the Arrowrock Reservoir. I hope the ospreys are still along the river. Would be interesting to talk to the Boise State Bird biologists to find out statistics. Do you fly-fish?
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Nope. I detest fishing. I leave that to the birds! Do you?
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I don’t and not sure I would have the patience! Would probably be good therapy and meditation. I may be with you, however, and dislike fishing!
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I saw such a show in Germany a few years ago, what an emotion!
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I think shows like this are very important in educating the public. I rarely paid attention to birds before I started attending some bird research presentations.
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