Checking in with Harley the Bald Eagle

We haven't check in with Harley for a bit. Harley remains in northern Minnesota on the Iron Range east of Hibbing and south of Virginia. In the past few weeks he has moved slowly north following the St. Louis River moving about 12 miles and is currently 6 miles west of Evelyth, MN (fig 1).

Harley completed his spring migration from Arkansas on March 16 and remained in the SW part of Douglas County, Wis until May 6. On May 7 he started moving north and covered 283 miles by May 15 when he was in southern Ontario. He remained in southern Ontario/northern Minnesota through June 10. On June 11 he moved 72 miles south on to the Iron Range of MN about 12 mi. NW of Hibbing, MN. He ranged over an area to the west of Hibbing which was about 21 miles long and 8 miles wide from June 11 to July 2 and then decided the area east of Hibbing was more his liking and has made his living along a swath of the north woods between Hibbing and Evelyth, about 21 miles long (fig 2). (You can click on each map picture to make it larger.)

August 22 Clinic Stats

The Raptor Center has received 451 patients so far this year. We currently have 65 patients.

Eagles
Bald Eagle 17

Hawks - Buteos
Red-tailed Hawk 14
Broad-winged Hawk 6
Rough-legged Hawk 0

Hawks - Accipiters
Sharp-shinned Hawk 0
Swainson's Hawk 0
Cooper's Hawk 9

Falcons
American Kestrel 0
Peregrine Falcon 3
Merlin 2
Gyrfalcon 0

Owls
Great Horned Owl 9
Barred Owl 1
Northern Saw-whet Owl 0
Eastern Screech-owl 1

Others (Osprey) 3

2011 Duke Lecture Announced!

The Raptor Center is pleased to announce our 2011 Duke Lecture! Dr. Julia Ponder, Executive Director, and Lori Arent, TRC Clinic Manager, will share their stories and photos about their work with the Galapagos hawks. This important project is a wonderful example of how TRC’s expertise has global effects for the health of raptors and the environment we share with them.

The time is 4:00pm, Friday, October 21. It will be on the St Paul campus of the University of Minnesota, in the Ben Pomeroy Alumni Center. Please stay afterwards for refreshments and a chance to meet some of TRC’s winged ambassadors. For those who cannot attend in person, there is an opportunity to view the presentation online. RSVP’s are requested.

Click here to RSVP! We look forward to seeing you!

The Raptor Center at Renaissance Festival

The Raptor Center will present at the Renaissance Festival every weekend from August 20th through October 3rd. The times are 10am, 11am, 12:30pm and 4pm. Come out and learn about raptors and falconry in medieval times!

Raptor Center Patient Census Aug 15

We have received 434 patients so far this year. We currently have 64.

Eagles
Bald eagles - 15

Hawks
Red-tailed hawks - 13
Broad-winged hawks - 8
Coopers' hawks - 7

Falcons
Peregrine falcons - 3
Merlins - 3

Owls
Great horned owls - 7
Eastern screech-owls - 2
Barred owls - 2

Others
Osprey - 4

Turkey Vulture Patient Update

Remember the turkey vulture chick featured a few weeks ago? To recap, the 4-5 day old youngster was recovered from Marine on the St. Croix and could not be reunited with its parents. So, TRC helped it to get the next best thing: adoptive vulture parents housed with a rehabilitator in Wisconsin. The foster adults are permanently disabled birds that have helped raise orphan vultures in the past. They immediately took their new charge under their wings and raised it to be a hissy, feisty, ground stomping juvenile – all traits that are desirable if you are a young vulture! The bird is now about 60 days of age and will be “fledging” in the next few days. It will be put through a “hack” (slow release process), until its flying and scavenging skills allow it to be self sufficient.

Photo 1: Look closely! You can see that the TUVU chick is “hiding” in the hollow log.




Photo 2: It is physical exam day. The juvenile was removed from its enclosure (and temporarily from its foster parents) and placed on a scale to record its weight. Checking in at a little over 3 pounds at an estimated 6 weeks of age, this youngster appears quite healthy.

TRC and ACES

The Raptor Center has been partnering with ACES (Athletes Committed to Educating Students ) since 2007. Their goal is after-school tutoring and mentoring programs. The website for more information is www.aces4kids.org.

Every year their students do a service learning project and TRC met with each of their schools they work with, to talk about owls! This year they made us “raptor lunchboxes”. We use the lunchboxes to teach very young kids about what raptors eat and don’t eat in the wild.

Eagles, Owls and Hawks Camp!

Please join us for a week-long camp at Richardson Nature Center and The Raptor Center - Eagles, Owls and Hawks, Oh My! It is from Monday, August 22 - Friday, August 26. This unique camp brings together The Raptor Center educators and the Richardson Nature Center naturalists to offer you this expansive birds-of-prey discovery. Three days will be spent at Richardson Nature Center meeting live raptors, spending time in their habitats to observe their behaviors, mimicking their hunting behaviors with a predator/prey game, and learning some of the responsibilities of care and maintenance of injured birds. For two days, campuers will be bussed to TRC to gain exposure to some veterinary techniques to help injured birds, and get hands-on training in operant conditioning, a practice used to train animals.

Register here, or call The Raptor Center at 612-624-2756 for more information.

Clinic Patient Census Aug 1

Here is a clinic patient census for The Raptor Center:

Eagles
Bald Eagle 15

Hawks - Buteos
Red-tailed Hawk 15
Broad-winged Hawk 3
Rough-legged Hawk 0

Hawks - Accipiters
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1
Swainson's Hawk 0
Cooper's Hawk 6

Falcons
American Kestrel 2
Peregrine Falcon 3
Merlin 2

Owls
Great Horned Owl 6
Barred Owl 3
Northern Saw-whet Owl 1
Eastern Screech-owl 1

Turkey Vulture 1
Osprey 1