Birds of Prey
Junior, the turkey vulture, shows his broken wing that healed poorly seven years ago.
Jeff Picton, Director of the Chintimini Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, introduced a number of live raptors, native to the Willamette Valley, to an audience of more than 100 people at the old Clemens Mill site on July 7. His presentation was sponsored by the Education Committee of the Marys Peak Natural Resources Interpretive Center's summer science series: "Science, Music, and Marshmallows."
Before presenting four raptors and their individual volunteer trainers, Mr. Picton awed the gathering of more than 100 people by releasing a rehabilitated green heron back into the wild. The four raptors--a great horned owl, a barn owl, a turkey vulture, and an American kestrel--were then presented to the audience, who asked questions and were allowed to approach near to the birds and their handlers.
Index of Photographs and JPEGs
 |
Wild Hog in the Woods. John, John, and Hershell played original and traditional acoustic tunes as people gathered to take part in the evening's activities. |
 |
Ryan's Snakes & Lizards. Ryan let kids and adults handle a variety of native herptivores that he keeps as pets, including a rubber boa, alligator lizard, red-spotted garter snake, western terrestrial garter snake, northwestern garter snake, and red-bellied swift. |
 |
Jeff Mitchell, long-time Philomath HS ecology and botany teacher, introduces the Summer 2004 "Science, Music, and Marshmallows" series. The series is sponsored by the Education Committee of the Marys Peak Natural Resources Interpetive Center, and Mr. Mitchell is the series' founder and first host. |
 |
Jeff Picton releases a rehabilitated green heron back into the wild. |
 |
Parade of prey birds. |
 |
American kestrel. |
 |
Great horned owl. |
 |
Turkey vulture. |
 |
Barn owl. |
 |
Barn owl economics 101. Instructors, Jeff Mitchell and Jeff Picton. |
 |
Marshmallows. Video night-light and studio Muzak (computerized Mozart, thanks to our friends at www.joshmeredith.com) add to the laughter and ambiance of friends and families roasting marshmallows at the conclusion of the evening. |