Vehicles, power lines and badly-located wind turbines are all stunningly efficient at maiming or killing birds, and birds of prey are certainly no exception.
Anne Schnell of Braddock Bay Raptor Research, with a rescued Peregrine Falcon. Photo copyright, 2014, Eddie Wren. All rights reserved.
Some of the less-badly-injured individuals are capable of surviving if they receive care from rehabilitation experts, and a lucky few are subsequently able to be released back into the wild. However, this leaves a question about what should happen to the ones that are too badly hurt ever to be released. They are, after all, wild creatures and may take very badly to the stress of being kept captive, surrounded by what they should logically perceive to be dangerous predators — we humans!
Peregrine portrait. Photo copyright, 2014, Eddie Wren. All rights reserved.
Captive (rescued) Eastern Screech Owl. Photo copyright, 2014, Eddie Wren. All rights reserved.
Should they be kept as pets? That’s highly questionable. But if looked after by experts who have the birds’ best interests at heart and they are used to genuinely improve understanding of wild creatures and their needs, then the desirability of this situation undeniably shifts.
We had the good fortune to watch a demonstration by Anne Schnell, of Braddock Bay Raptor Research [BBRR], who had a very clear understanding and affinity for her charges; on this occasion an Eastern Screech Owl (Otus asio) and a Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus).
Another ‘bird handler’, in the audience! (Photo taken with permission of grandparents.) Copyright 2014, Eddie Wren. All rights reserved.
But, albeit light-heartedly, the final photograph above is dedicated to the true target audience for such events — the younger generation (no matter how young!) who will need to take up the running and improve on the vital conservation work that has been done so far. And if we fail to preserve the environment then everything else is a total waste of time and effort…. My apologies for the seriousness of this closing aspect, but that’s exactly what it is: serious!
Eddie Wren
Other sections of this topic:
Part 3: Captive (i.e. Injured) Raptors — you are on this page