All eyes are on raptors at event 7/15/2009 12:49 AM
By SUZANNE R. STONE Staff writer
Windsor, a red tailed hawk, and Raleigh, a barred owl, went through their paces as educational birds Tuesday evening at Birds & Butterflies.
The birds were brought to Birds & Butterflies by wildlife biologists and raptor rehabilitators Larry and Carol Eldridge, who gave a lecture on raptors Tuesday as part of the nature store's 2009 Nature Series. Both birds reside at the Ruth Patrick Science and Education Center on the USC Aiken campus, according to the Eldridges.
"Windsor is non-releasable. He had a human-caused injury by gunshot. We've worked with him for 17 years; we were his original rehabilitators," said Carol Eldridge.
"He's one of our failures," Larry Eldridge said.
Windsor is a "failure" because their goal is to nurse a rehabilitating bird to the point where it can be released back into the wild, the Eldridges said. In cases where that isn't possible, under federal and state guidelines for the handling of wild birds, they have two choices: either train the bird for use in wildlife education, or euthanize it.
Raleigh, new to education work, was more nervous; he entered rehabilitation in late 2007 after being hit by a car. Barred owls hunt roadsides, as litter from cars makes for a well-fed rodent population in those areas; their tight focus on prey means they don't look both ways before swooping across the road; and as nocturnal hunters with dark feather markings, drivers can't always spot them coming.
The Eldridges pointed out the differences in feathering on the two birds - the hawk's are sleek for fast flying, while the owl's are fluffy for nighttime insulation - and the powerful talons both birds use for hunting.
The Eldridges, who live in Jackson, said they no longer do full-time raptor rehabilitation, but do rescue, triage and support for organizations such as the Ruth Patrick Center and the Carolina Raptor Centers in Charleston and Charlotte, N.C. Both have full-time jobs and lack the time to devote to rehabilitation, Carol Eldridge explained.
Said Larry Eldridge, "You don't have a life other than rehabilitation when you're doing that. You live for those birds. We like to take a vacation every few years."
The next entry in the 2009 Nature Series will be "Identifying Hawks & Owls of Our Area," and is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 11, at the nature and garden shop on Laurens Street. For more information or to reserve a seat, call Birds & Butterflies at 649-7999.
Contact Suzanne Stone at sstone@aikenstandard.com.
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