TRC Help the Girl Scouts Celebrate 100 Years

The Raptor Center presented at the Mall of America this past weekend, as a part of the Girl Scouts 100 Year Celebration. Adam Barnett, Interpretive Naturalist, took this pic from the corner of the stage, looking out onto the crowd.

Here are a few more pics on the Girl Scouts' blog.

KSTP, WCCO and KARE 11 were just a few of the local network affiliates who covered this great event.

Raptor Tails for Young Learners

Join us for an activity-oriented learning experience for ages 3-5 about raptors and their environment. Children will hear stories, take part in activities, and get to meet a live raptor each session. The goal of this program is for pre-schoolers to develop a positive relationship with raptors and the environment.
Spring/Summer Session: "Raptors in Spring and Summer"
March 20: Baby Raptors and Eggs
March 27: Raptor Watching
April 3: All About Beaks and Talons

Please join us for one or all the sessions.

Classes are from 10:15am to 11:00am on Tuesdays, and are limited to 10 children. A parent or guardian must accompany each child. Call 612-625-0201 to pre-register. Pre-registration price for each class is $5 per child, or $7.50 for two children in a family.

Download flyer here.

The Raptor Center at National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association Conference

The 2012 NWRA (National Wildlife Rehabilitators Conference) is held next week in Baton Rouge, LA. Gail Buhl, Education Program Manager, will present on three different topics related to training and work with educational animals. Gail will start with the basics of animal training and what it means for enriching the lives of the educational animals they work with. She'll then talk about solving “problem” behaviors and how to prevent them in the first place, and finally conduct breakout sessions where specific challenges can be addressed.

Dr. Ponder and Dr. Willette in Taipei

Last spring, The Raptor Center hosted its first Avian Orthopedic and Basic Raptor Rehabilitation workshops. Designed for veterinary and rehabilitation professionals, they drew participants from around the world. Two veterinarians from Taiwan were so impressed with the knowledge and skills of our staff that they invited Dr. Julia Ponder, Executive Director, and Dr. Michelle Willette, staff veterinarian, to present in Taiwan this week. The Endemic Species Research Institute is hosting an Avian Clinical Technique Workshop. Over several days, Drs. Ponder and Willette will introduce and demonstrate many of the techniques The Raptor Center has perfected related to avian clinic care, traveling the last day to the Taipei Zoo for final presentations.

Dr. Ponder has sent an update! "Yesterday, Dr. Willette was supposed to start the day with a lecture on raptor handling and physical exam. Last minute, it was changed to a demonstration/practical with birds from the local wildlife center. We decided I would grab the bird and be the handler while Dr. Willette explained the process." Dr. Ponder's familiarity with safe procedures in handing raptors served her well - the species was a crested serpent eagle, one she had not encountered before. The bird is quite small for an eagle - perhaps 30-50% bigger than a large female red-tailed hawk.

The photos Dr. Ponder sent are: Photo 1:class photo in front of the Endemic Species Research Institute; Photo 2: two students working with a crested serpent eagle, and Photo 3: Dr. Ponder with the crested serpent eagle.

TRC Travels to the Breck School

Judy Moran presented a pre-K education program recently at the Breck School, for Mrs. Rogers and Mrs. McCool's classrooms. Bud the bald eagle and Bubo the great horned owl (named for his Latin name of Bubo virginianus) helped Judy illustrate TRC's message of how important raptors are to our environment. We thank Breck for their generous permission to post these photos.

The Raptor Center is in IA and WI for Bald Eagle programs

If you live in Iowa or Wisconsin, you can see The Raptor Center at a couple of upcoming public programs. On March 3, in Ferryville WI, the Third Annual Bald Eagle Watching Day is in Ferryville at the Community Center located on Highway 35, ‘The Great River Road.

In Pella, IA, on March 3, you can catch us at the 24th Bald Eagle Day at Red Rock Central College’s Graham Conference Center and Douwstra Auditorium and Lake Red Rock’s North Tailwater Recreation Area.

You can find information on these, and all of our other public programs, at our Event Calendar.

TRC in Pierre, SD

The Raptor Center was in Pierre, SD over the weekend to help educate and celebrate Bald Eagle Days. Here is an article from the Pierre Capital Journal. The photo is taken from that article.