FOUNDATION PROJECTS

RAPTOR TRAINING at the Ornithology Center

The Foundation sent Ornithology Center Naturalists Anne Cecere and Brittany Davis to a four-day raptor training program Oct. 8–11, 2013 at the well-known University of Minnesota Raptor Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Anne and Brittany joined a group of 20 educators from across the U.S. and Canada to receive 12 hours of clinical and hands-on medical training, and 10 hours of training focused on their educational birds using operant conditioning. They each performed necropsy on dead raptors, inserted feeding tubes, wrapped broken wings, treated bumblefoot, diagnosed zoonosis, and administered fluids, medical check-ups, and eye exams. Additionally, they prepared the diet for 20 different raptor species.

By touring the raptor facility, they were also happy to learn that the Ornithology Center’s newly renovated mews (cages) were right on track for Eagle Creek’s captive birds. The pair brought back some new ideas of perches, tethers, and enrichment toys to implement at the Ornithology Center, which Foundation members also helped fund.