Photography Class at TRC Sunday Feb 2

TRC is offering two new classes - one on photography (this Sunday, Feb 2, 10am-2pm), and another using carbon dust as the sketching technique (Feb 23, 10am-4pm). Of course, our winged ambassadors will be the focal "muses" for these classes. Full information, including cost and detailed descriptions, is on our website. Class sizes are limited. Call 612-624-4745 to reserve your place.

TRC on the Road - Yankton, SD

Mike and Ricke

Maxime the bald eagle

TRC recently helped Yankton, SD celebrate Bald Eagle Days.  Mike Billington, Interpretive Naturalist, Juneau the peregrine falcon, Alula the red-tailed hawk, Maxime the bald eagle and Ricke the great horned owl, all greeted the public and made new friends. 

You can read a write-up of the appearance in the Argus Leader here.  The Washington Post also carried two photos of the event  in their slideshow - numbers 9 and 10.

You can always find where we are appearing on our public events calendar. 

Creative Housekeeping at TRC

Some of the birds are temporary roommates. 
Here is a look inside our Falcon Room today.

With the ongoing cold weather, we’ve had to do some creative housekeeping at TRC.  Mindful of the adage, “fish and company start to smell after three days,” we are so very grateful that our dedicated volunteers have been making sure that our “indoor company” (our education birds who are housed inside for the colder days) are housed in clean and very not-smelly rooms.  Our wonderful volunteers have been coming in each day to make sure that the birds' perches and other equipment are cleaned, as well as offering fresh water for bathing daily.

Here is a look inside our Owl Room today.

Look at how white Pi's head is!  He looks so much like Max!

Watch a Penguin Colony through an Egg Cam

Don't tell your employer if you miss two minutes of work time watching this great video! It's taken from an upcoming BBC feature called Penguins - Spy in the Huddle. An egg cam is placed in a colony of penguins. However, both a striated caracara and some turkey vultures discover it.

Why do Birds Fly in a "V"?

While that opening may sound like a riddle, here is an article recently published in the journal Nature that addresses research on this topic. 

Hunters of the Sky Summer Camp and Photo Class at TRC

It's not too early to think about summer camps! 

The Hunters of the Sky camp will bring together interpretive naturalists from The Raptor Center and Richardson Nature Center to offer you an in-depth study of birds of prey. There will be many opportunities to be up close with owls, eagles, falcons, hawks, and vultures. Two days will be spent at Richardson Nature Center exploring various habitats such as prairies, forests, and ponds. You will have the chance to help these birds and other wildlife by participating in stewardship projects. Two days will be spent off-site at The Raptor Center learning rehabilitation skills (such as reading x-rays), daily husbandry skills like preparing raptor food and maintaining raptor housing, and learning about animal training while a trained owl flies overhead. Remember to also sign up for the optional Minnesota Zoo Field Trip on 8/22. Ages 9-13.  $300.  August 18-21, Monday-Thursday.  #312910-15.  9:00am - 3:00pm. Register through Three Rivers website at ThreeRiversParks.org, or call (763) 559-6700.  

We also have some openings in our February 2 Photography class.  More information here. 

Update on TRC Raptor Clinic Patient Guesses

Thank you to all who are still placing guesses as to when our 40th Raptor Clinic Patient will be admitted, and which species it will be.

Red-tailed hawk has now become the leader, with great horned owl not far behind.

February 9 is also the date leader.

We have admitted 16 patients so far in 2014.  You can check the weekly clinic census here. 

Place your guess if you haven't already, and if you missed the date, please guess again.