Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Raptorfest!

I ventured out to Prospect Park this last weekend for Raptorfest, an event organized by the Urban Park Rangers.  It was a great opportunity to meet some beautiful birds up close.

Like this ferruginous hawk...

Hello!

Ferruginous hawk

And this sweet rough-legged hawk.

Rough-legged hawk

This Harris's hawk put on a skillful display...

Harris's hawk

...by flying through this guy's arms.

Harris's hawk

Here's a familiar red-tailed hawk, and the very same Ranger Rob, who rescued our local Christodora hawk fledgling (Shaft!) from an air shaft this last June.

Red tailed hawk

I liked this plucky raven.

Raven

This kestrel knows he's a superstar.

Kestrel

As does this gorgeous barn owl, ready for its close-up...

Barn owl

One of the biggest highlights was this Eurasian Eagle Owl.

Eurasian eagle owl

There's no escaping those eyes...

Eurasian eagle owl

But this little saw-whet owl really stole the show.

Saw-whet owl

All the birds were in the care of Wildlife in Need of Rescue and Rehabilitation (WINORR).  Do check out their Facebook page to see the wonderful work they do to care for sick and injured wildlife.

Thanks to the all the park rangers and volunteers who made this event happen.

And, because I am obsessed with hawk tongues...

Rough-legged hawk 

See many more Raptorfest photos here.

3 comments:

  1. what a great chronicle of the event, such gorgeous photos, thank you

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  2. wonderful post, glad to catch up with it...RIP Zelda

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  3. These are really beautiful photographs, and bring back good memories. When I was a child, a barn owl baby fell down our chimney (summer, thankfully) but was reunited with its mother without problem. I got to hold an extremely angry eagle owl once - a rather scary experience - and am not very partial to them. I took part in imperial eagle demo flights a few times - felt like a feudal lord or something! - and I trained a beautiful little kestrel. The falconer I worked with rehabbed a lot of injured birds, and it was always exciting releasing them back into the wild. You should definitely go volunteer / train at a falconry center. So exciting.
    Oh, and not raptors, but next time you're in Brooklyn come and hang out with the Greenwood parrots!

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