Remember that article I included in my May 5th post regarding an eagle whose top beak got shot off, well there’s good news!
Beauty (that’s its name) has gotten a prosthetic beak.
Now on with the last of the Earth Day Celebration Treats (or photos).
This is a golden eagle, one of the two newest members at the raptor center. Just to show you how big they are. One has to be very strong to have a bird as big as this being perched on a gloved hand; so you can see the volunteer handler resting her gloved hand on a stationary perch. They can weigh from 5 to 14 pounds, with a wing span of 55 to 95 inches, a bit smaller than the golden eagles.
Golden eagles are not as great looking as the bald eagles. But they are more adaptable and less scared of humans than the bald eagles. I heard one story comparing the two eagles as such: that if bald eagle parents sitting on a nest encounters a human, they will abandon the nest, even if there are eggs or young in it. With the golden, the parents will not back down unless shooed away. But then they will try to come back to the nest. The symbol of the country? Not brave? Just beauty? Let me just leave that to your interpretation.
This is a burrowing owl. The photo is a bit blurry, because I wanted to shoot quickly before it scurried away. I was afraid with failing to take even one photo as this owl is very shy.
The burrowing owl is about 9 to 11 inches and weighs 4 to 6 ounces only. It feeds on insects and small mammals, small birds, reptiles and amphibians. Its habitat is open country primarily grassland and desert associated with prairie dog or ground squirrel colonies.
Taka, is a ’dark morph’ Swainson’s Hawk. Injury to his right wing rendered him unable to fly, hence he couldn’t be released. First thought that a car collision was the cause of his wing injury, an x-ray finding showed he was shot. The name Swainson’s Hawk was derived from being named by an English naturalist, William Swainson. Must be a big name in the bird world! Duh!
I wish I could show you Lethe. He’s a turkey vulture. Unfortunately, I somehow erased the one photo I have of him as I was editing it. Lethe is such a character. I will promise to get a photo or two of him the next time I visit the raptor center. There are a couple more interesting fellas I’d like to take photos of and are every bit full of character.
