Here are the owls

The Northwest Raptor & Wildlife Center’s presentation at our recent Lavender Festival included three owls. Above is a barred owl, the largest of the three shown.

Next came a screech-owl.

And, finally, a saw-whet owl was introduced. If you have looked carefully at these shots you may have noticed that where you can see two eyes they do not match. That is because all three are blind in one eye, the result of being hit by cars. Night-hunting owls are vulnerable to such accidents as their focus is on prey, not oncoming traffic.

I was pleased to read recently in the local newspaper that permanent resident owls at the Northwest Raptor Center do duty as surrogate parents to baby owls that end up at the center for one reason or another. Though they may not live naturally in the wild, they nonetheless are able to do service for their own.

The falcon

In addition to the red-tailed hawks I showed you yesterday, the Northwest Raptor & Wildlife Center introduced a peregrine falcon at their Lavender Festival presentation. It is one of the fastest creatures alive, and a fearsome hunter. It has legendary eyesight which becomes obvious when you see the size of its eyes relative to its head. Illustrations I’ve seen don’t do these birds justice.

I was so taken with this bird I don’t recall why it cannot be returned to the wild. That left wing may have been permanently injured. As sad as that is, I’m grateful to have had an opportunity to see it alive and up close (thanks to my zoom lens).

Raptors up close

I had the good fortune last week to stumble into a presentation by the Northwest Raptor & Wildlife Center at the Lavender Festival. Not only did I hear a great talk but I was introduced to some spectacular birds of prey. Above is a female red-tailed hawk.

The Northwest Raptor Center rehabilitates and cares for injured, orphaned, or permanently incapacitated raptors and takes some of its permanent residents to public programs for environmental education. This gorgeous female had apparently been trained and acclimated to humans, then released. She became part of the Center’s family when she literally flew down and perched on someone’s shoulder, looking for a handout. Not a safe or effective survival strategy.

This male red-tailed hawk has a permanently injured wing but he’s no less beautiful for it.

I have seen many taxidermied birds and animals over the years. But living, breathing birds like these are truly magnificent. Tomorrow: a peregrine falcon up close.

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