Birds of Prey

We went to a birds of prey show yesterday.  It was a little over Gwen's head, but she enjoyed seeing the birds and stayed in her chair and listened quite well.

This first one is a type of falcon.  The special thing about falcons is the way they approach prey... like a heat seeking missile.

Then one of my favorites... the red tailed hawk.  We see a lot of these around here.  The man wore a glove, but the hawk still punctured his skin and made him bleed with this talons.  Don't mess with these birds!  They are majestic and beautiful.

Then on to the barred owl.  It is a beautiful animal... just beautiful.

a stuffed owl they had there also.  This is a great horned owl.

Things I learned... if you see one of these that has been hit by a car... do not move it.  (like I'm going to put an injured hawk in the back of the car with my kids...but anyway)  It is a federal offense.  Also, when birds take flight they poop to make themselves lighter.  The man says it is owl breeding season right now and you can hear males duking it out all over.  They mate for life and only look for a new mate if their's dies.  The man also said that the hawk is very heavy and the only reason it can fly is the intricate and light weight wings it's got.  He also said that the birds imprint if you raise them from chicks and they can never return to the wild.  They associate being fed with humans.  Most of these birds got hit by a car and they try to rehab them and if they can't (the falcon had only one wing) they use them for educational purposes.