Gladdie the bald eagle's enrichment today!

There are a wide range of enrichment activities offered to TRC’s education winged ambassadors.  Today, some of the birds received large bones from a commercially raised turkey.  These larger bones can be broken into smaller pieces to eat, as Gladdie the bald eagle did today. 

The activity of manipulating these larger bones with their beaks and feet also emulates what wild raptors would do.  The grabbing action and beak action are great activities because they are so novel (meaning, the birds do not get these every day), and keeps their attention for longer periods of time.

Encourage Young Birders

Birding is a great activity that you can start at any age, and enjoy at any level.  There are some great resources and groups that can help young birders get started on this life-long passion.

In Minnesota, there is a Minnesota Young Birders Club.  It connects youth to other young birders in the state via monthly field days, workshops, and social media. This group provides a challenging environment where youth can learn about birds, conservation and science while socializing with friends.

Elsewhere, the Young Birders Network is a group that aims to provide resources for young birders to connect and learn, while giving their adult advocates resources to encourage and support. The network is coordinated by the Black Swamp Bird Observatory and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and includes dozens of partners.

Update on TRC Construction from Darner the American Kestrel

Darner, the American kestrel

While construction is ongoing at TRC, we have Darner the American kestrel perched in our lobby.  It is good experience for her to have ongoing exposure to the public as part of training, and we think the public appreciates being able to say hello to such an enigmatic raptor species. 

She asked to give the construction update from her perspective, as she can see the work being done from the lobby perch:

“As you can see, work is continually being done on our new housing.  The window in the lobby of The Raptor Center, in which I am spending the day, overlooks the rehabilitation bird pens.  However, the humans at TRC talk about that work is also being done on the new housing for me and my education winged ambassador co-workers.  Artemis the peregrine falcon reported earlier on the concrete walkways that were poured and the pea gravel for drainage that is in place.  I can see the structure that will be a roof to keep rain and snow out of the human paths of the rehabilitation bird area. I do not understand why a good rain bath is not welcome to them. It does wonders for my feathers.

It is easier to see where each pen will be from the outline of the structure right now. The holes are for concrete footings, and were being dug just today.  I am told that being able to dig in the ground in Minnesota in January is not common. 

I wonder if there are any mice that might be running around in those holes outside. . . yum! . . . but I hear "mouse" is going to be my lunch today anyway, prepared for me by TRC volunteers."

Holes being dug this morning!  This view can be seen from The Raptor
Center's lobby.  It overlooks the rehabilitation bird pens.

You can see the covered walkways here.

. . . and here.

This photo was taken just a couple of weeks ago.  See how quickly
work is done!

This is a photo of the education bird courtyard.

Test Your Knowledge - Your State Bird!

Do you know what your state bird is?  Do you know which species is the state bird for the most states?  How about what a "yellow-hammer" is?

A quick web search will yield your answers.  Here is one site, and the text below:

State:	Bird:
Alabama	Yellow Hammer
Alaska	Willow Ptarmigan
Arizona	Cactus Wren
Arkansas	Northern Mockingbird
California	California Valley Quail
Colorado	Lark Bunting
Connecticut	American Robin
Delaware	Delaware Blue Hen
Florida	Northern Mockingbird
Georgia	Brown Thrasher
Hawaii	Hawaiian Goose
Idaho	Mountain Bluebird
Illinois	Northern Cardinal
Indiana	Northern Cardinal
Iowa	Eastern Goldfinch
Kansas	Western Meadowlark
Kentucky	Northern Cardinal
Louisiana	Brown Pelican
Maine	Black-capped Chickadee
Maryland	Baltimore Oriole
Massachusetts	Black-capped Chickadee
Michigan	American Robin
Minnesota	Common Loon
Mississippi	Northern Mockingbird
Missouri	Eastern Bluebird
Montana	Western Meadowlark
Nebraska	Western Meadowlark
Nevada	Mountain Bluebird
New Hampshire	Purple Finch
New Jersey	Eastern Goldfinch
New Mexico	Roadrunner
New York	Eastern Bluebird
North Carolina	Northern Cardinal
North Dakota	Western Meadowlark
Ohio	Northern Cardinal
Oklahoma	Scissor Tailed Flycatcher
Oregon	Western Meadowlark
Pennsylvania	Ruffed Grouse
Rhode Island	Rhode Island Red
South Carolina	Carolina Wren
South Dakota	Ring Necked Pheasant
Tennessee	Northern Mockingbird
Texas	Northern Mockingbird
Utah	California Gull
Vermont	Hermit Thrush
Virginia	Northern Cardinal
Washington	American Goldfinch
West Virgina	Northern Cardinal
Wisconsin	American Robin
Wyoming	Western Meadowlark

Do you know the United States/national bird? Of course, it's the Bald Eagle.

Answers from above: The Northern Cardinal is the state bird of seven states, followed by the Western Meadowlark as the state bird of six states.

Yellow Hammer is Northern Flicker.