Raptors and Wetlands

I am getting old but, partly, that is a good thing….

Back in the 1980’s – when I was in my twenties – the only place that I could see bald eagles in abundance was to take a trip to Alaska.  Flying into Juneau, I looked out the window to see the eagles roosting on the electrical towers close to the water where the fish were in abundance.  So, too, were the Peregrine Falcons, catching their favorite food of ducks in midair, swooping down as the ducks were taking off.   Both species of birds of prey migrated with the species they preyed on – the spawning fish and migrating duck species, but the raptors’ populations were still in sad, sad shape after years of DDT.

An Audubon print depicting Peregrine Falcons with their prey (photo: wikipedia files)

Fast forward 35 years with concentrated human effort (at places like World Bird Sanctuary) to bring raptor populations back to a healthy level….  My gray hair has increased, but so have the bird populations and even the wetlands where they find their favorite prey.  It was only a few years ago that I watched a mature Bald Eagle swoop in front of a tractor-trailer on Highway 55, barely missing death, but headed for the ‘safe zone’ of the median strip, of all places, to eat his large fish. 

It has also been a success of World Bird Sanctuary’s efforts in the last few years to have nesting peregrines on the tall office buildings of downtown St. Louis.  But, especially in recent years, I have enjoyed watching builders, developers, and city/county/federal government programs help bring back the wetlands, to bring back the fish, to bring back the waterfowl, and to ultimately bring back the raptors.

Peregrines, especially, will ultimately benefit from the wetlands habitat increase.  According to the website http://www.defenders.org/peregrine-falcon/basic-facts, there are approximately 1650 breeding pairs in North America, not a large number but a bigger population base than in years past, especially within my lifetime. To quote from the same site: “Adults have blue-gray wings, dark brown backs, a buff colored underside with brown spots, and white faces with a black tear stripe on their cheeks.  They have a hooked beak and strong talons.  Their name comes from the Latin word ‘peregrinus’, which means “to wander.”  They are commonly referred to as the Duck Hawk.  Peregrine Falcons are the fastest-flying birds in the world – they are able to dive at speeds in excess of 200 miles per hour….Peregrine Falcons eat other birds, such as songbirds and ducks, as well as bats.  They catch their prey in mid-air….”   Right now, I can only imagine the sight of watching such a mid-air swoop over a rising flock of ducks from a constructed wetlands, but it is on my bucket-list now because that would be a success story where mankind ‘finally got it right.’

In future blogs, I hope to discuss in more detail about the intricate layers of wetlands as an important habitat for raptor populations.  It all starts with the water….

Submitted by Paula Arbuthnot, World Bird Sanctuary Part-time ETC Employee

Last Chance to experience Eagle Days before winter is over!

You can still join World Bird Sanctuary and our partners as we celebrate Bald Eagle Season around the region!  

For those of us who live along the Mississippi flyway the colder temperatures herald the arrival of some of the most admired and magnificent creatures of them all.  This is the season for eagle watching!  The season is in full swings, with just a few weeks left to catch this natural wonder.

Eagle watchers regularly see Bald Eagles on the frozen Mississippi River during eagle days.
Photo with kind permission of Sandra's Shooting Gallery.

If you can bear braving the cold and wind along the river, chances are that you will see wild Bald Eagles in action, hunting their prey, perching in a tree, or soaring up above. Eagle watching is an annual tradition for many of us, even those of us that are lucky enough to see and work with them every day.

If you want to see a live bald eagle up close and in person, you can visit the World Bird Sanctuary, or catch one of the displays or presentations below:

March 10^th, 2015 | 5:30 pm & 7 pm

Master Naturalist ofMissouri Meramec Hills

Rolla Middle School Auditorium

1111 Soest Road

Rolla, MO 65401

Raptor Awareness Program with eagle

Features birds of prey including an eagle, falcons, hawks, owls and vultures. Not only will you see different species of raptors, but you'll also learn a vulture's secret weapon and how to identify a bird of prey in the wild. Sit back and enjoy an up close view as some of the birds soar right over your head!

Meet a live bald eagle and other birds of prey in person
at these last Eagle Days events of the season.
Photo with kind permission of Sandra's Shooting Gallery.

April 4^th, 2015 | 10 am—3pm

Wetlands for Kids—Missouri Department of Conservation

Busch Wildlife Area

2360 Hwy D

Saint Charles, MO 63304

Birds of Prey Display

A wetlands themed 4 bird display featuring birds of prey.  Naturalists will be on hand to talk about the animals.

With all these eagle programs, indoors and outdoors, there is no reason for you not to get outside this winter to enjoy our National Symbol!

Submitted by Catherine Redfern

Lake of the Ozarks Nesting Platform

Maybe this will be the year the Bald Eagles will use the nesting platform at Lake Ozark’s Bagnell Dam.

The Osage River just below the Dam

The nest platform was designed and built by Eagle Scout candidates and their team of helpers.  World Bird Sanctuary worked in conjunction with Ameren Missouri to have the Eagle nest platforms installed just below the dam.  The Eagles congregate there to catch fish when the power company has the gate of the dam open and water is going through. Fish travel through, too. The Bald Eagles swoop in just below the Dam to grab the fish with their black talons.

We started across the dam at daybreak

We checked the nesting platform at daybreak on our way to my favorite breakfast place called Stewart's.  Stewart's is known for great food and big breakfasts at reasonable prices. The waitresses are always friendly and ask us which of our eagles we brought with us for this year’s Lake of the Ozarks Eagle Days event.

WBS volunteers Lynnette McCurdy and Mike Cerutti were with me.

We were surprised to see Vultures on the Eagle Nesting platform

We checked the Eagle nest platform after we drove over the dam, hoping to see eagles,

but to our surprise we saw Vultures!  Remember, this was daybreak and the Vultures looked lethargic, like they had been there all night.  Upon taking a closer look at the Vultures and counting the birds, we counted seven Vultures that had apparently slept on the Eagle Nest platform.  And on even closer examination of the birds, five were Turkey Vultures and two were Black Vultures.  I was very excited by the Black Vultures.  Even after all these years I still get excited by sightings of Black Vultures in Missouri!

Turkey Vultures are the main Vulture we see in the St. Louis Area.  Black Vultures are found farther south in Missouri and the Southeastern United States.

Anyway it was exciting to see birds using the nest platform, even if they were vultures just using the high platform as a place to spend the night and sleep.

Maybe this year the Bald Eagles will add sticks to the platform and use the nest. Could this be the year?  I hope so.

Submitted by Michael Zieloski, World Bird Sanctuary Director of Education

365 Photo Project - Year 2

On January 1, 2013 I started year two of my 365 photo project. 

I started off the new year with a new camera; a Coolpix Nikon p510.  This is a camera I had the opportunity to try at WBS’s Camera Days with Schiller’s Camera in attendance. 

Every year my family has a tradition of going birding on New Years Day, trying to find as many birds as possible.  I brought my camera along hoping to take some photos. 

The first photo was taken in the morning.  We were watching some feeders near Honeyeo Lake in New York.  My Mom and I were looking at the birds in the bushes and heard the Chickadees making a ton of noise.  Moments later a Northern Shrike flew thru trying to catch the Chickadees. It disappeared; then moments later it showed up again and landed in the tree above our car, allowing me to take several photos.  This photo of the Shrike is my favorite. 

The second photo was taken at Riverlands Refuge, in West Alton, Missouri.  I had driven out to the Mississippi/Missouri Rivers confluence area looking for whatever birds I could find.  I had just finished my short walk when overhead and behind me I heard a Bald Eagle calling.  I turned to see two Bald Eagles interacting, a juvenile and an adult.  I quickly shot a few photos and this is one of my favorites from that series.

The 365 photo project can be done in so many ways and is fun to do.  I joined a site online that consists of others doing their own 365 projects and it is so much fun to see photos by people from around the world, and looking at all of their amazing photos.

I have learned a lot from doing this project, and since I get out often to take the photos, I see so much more than I would normally.

Submitted by Cathy Spahn, World Bird Sanctuary Naturalist

Eagle Days Are Here!

Yesterday as I was returning from St. Louis to my home in St. Charles County via the new Page Avenue extension I was treated to the sight of a Bald Eagle soaring overhead as I crossed over Creve Coeur Lake and then the Missouri River.

At this time of year those of us who live between the two main rivers that constitute the Mississippi flyway—the Missouri and the Mississippi—are fortunate to live right in the path of the Bald Eagle migration.  As the waters freeze up north the birds follow the open waters of these rivers, congregating at the locks and dams where open water and fish (the main staple of their diet) are plentiful.

 Patriot, one of our Bald Eagle ambassadors

I have lived my whole life in the St. Louis, Missouri, area and until the mid to late 1990’s had never even seen a Bald Eagle in the wild, much less one soaring over one of our local highways.  In recent years, however, this is becoming a more and more frequent sight—a testament to the hard work of organizations such as the World Bird Sanctuary and many others like ours throughout the country. 

Most of these organizations started out as rehabilitation facilities, caring for sick and injured birds—many of them victims of the pesticide DDT, habitat loss and other problems stemming from humans, such as gunshot wounds and tangled in fishing line.  Today, with the vast majority of hunters and fishermen being aware and responsible for the conservation of habitat and all animals, we see very few Bald Eagles with gunshot wounds, and we fully believe that this reduction is due to the laws that protect Bald Eagles and WBS’s focus on environmental education.  After all, who could shoot a Bald Eagle after they’ve been personally introduced to one?

 Join us for one of our Eagle Days presentations 

You’ve never been personally introduced?  Then we invite you to attend one of our Eagle Days programs where you will have that opportunity—or come visit them at the World Bird Sanctuary, open daily from 8 am to 5 pm.  To find a schedule of Eagle Days programs throughout the area go to our website and click on the Events tab to go to our Events Calendar.

In the meantime--look up occasionally.  That large bird soaring overhead may just be a Bald Eagle.

Submitted by Gay Schroer, World Bird Sanctuary Volunteer/Photographer

‘Tis the Season

At this time of year, the holidays are behind us, the weather has turned cold and nasty, and we’re all looking for something to do besides watching TV and holding down our recliners.

For those of us who live along the Mississippi flyway the colder temperatures herald the arrival of some of the most admired and magnificent creatures of them all.  No--not reindeer.  This is the season for eagle watching!

 See wild Bald Eagles perched on an ice floe on the river...

The nearby rivers make for great eagle watching, particularly near Locks and Dams.  Bald Eagles migrate south along the Mississippi River, looking for good fishing in water that hasn’t frozen solid.

 ...or perched in the trees at the riverbanks

If you can bear braving the cold and the wind along the river, chances are that you will see wild Bald Eagles in action, hunting their prey, perching in a tree, or soaring up above.  Eagle watching is an annual tradition for many of us, even those of us that are lucky enough to see and work with them every day.

 Meet them up close when our Naturalists give their presentations

If you want to see a live bald eagle up close and in person, you can visit the World Bird Sanctuary, or catch one of the displays or presentations below:

Traveling Talons Calendar

January 20, 27

February 3, 10

Audubon Center at Riverlands

West Alton, IL

Eagle Meet and Greet

January 19, 26

Alton Visitor’s Bureau

Alton, IL

Eagle Meet & Greet and Traveling Talons Gift Shop

January 19

Fort Bellefontaine Park

St. Louis, MO

Display with eagle and other birds of prey

January 19 and 20

Keokuk Eagle Days

Keokuk, IA

Raptor Awareness Program with eagle

January 26 and 27

Clarksville Eagle Days

Clarksville, MO

All About Eagles Programs

January 26 and 27

Starved Rock Lodge

Utica, IL

Raptor Awareness Program with eagle

February 2

Kaskaskia Eagle Day

Modoc, IL

All About Eagles Programs

February 16 – 18

National Great Rivers Museum

East Alton, IL

Masters of the Sky program and eagle display

February 23

Lewis and Clark Confluence Tower

Hartford, IL

Eagle Meet & Greet

Our annual celebration to mark the end of Eagle Season will be held on March 24, 2013 at World Bird Sanctuary.  It’s called World Eagle Day and celebrates eagles from around the world with educational shows and more.  Mark your calendars!

If you would like to stay up to date on where you can catch WBS on the road, sign up to receive our email newsletter by entering your email address in the box on the right hand side of this page.

Submitted by Billie Baumann, World Bird Sanctuary Outreach Coordinator

What Makes Eagles Laugh?

Normally I choose to write about things from long ago or which may seem unbelievable. However, this month I choose to write about events that have happened to me while at the World Bird Sanctuary.

 One doesn't usually think of the stately Bald Eagle laughing, but read on....

All sorts of interesting things have happened; things I will never forget for the rest of my life. However, there are some things that stand out more than others. One of the things that stood out the most is when I got the eagles to laugh.

I know what you are saying. Eagles don’t laugh--especially at people and what they do. Well that is true…but from a human perception it often seems that eagles do laugh.  They also seem to laugh when they are proud of themselves. Attributing human emotions to animals is called anthropomorphism and I believe that all animal lovers have been guilty of it at one time or another.  As a writer of fables I tend to give human traits to inanimate objects, as well as animals, so humor me for the next few paragraphs.

As the Supervisor of the Education Training Center (we call it the ETC for short) for the summer of 2012, I get to work with many of our resident Bald Eagles. For the most part they are rather quiet, and happily sit on their perches and wait for their food to come. That’s one thing that can get an eagle to laugh. They see us coming with a big fish in our hands and start to get excited. How do they get excited you ask? Well they start to flap their wings and call out as we pass by. With a quick toss, the fish lands in front on them, at which they quickly jump on top of them like the fish would swim away. I assure you that they can’t… the fish are… well… dead of course.

 Lewis having a good laugh--or so it seems

Many of the Bald Eagles throw their heads back and release a long and hardy call which sounds just like a laugh. What does an Eagle laugh sound like? Well, you’ll have to come by and listen for yourself. It is quite contagious. Good food is always something to laugh about and have a good time over.

Bald Eagles don’t just laugh about food--though that seems to be the case most of the time. They also tend to laugh when they are proud. Sometimes when we train the eagles, instead of getting a mouse or a piece of rat as a reward, they get to go after a lure. Yes, that’s right, birds like lures too, but they’re a little different from the ones people use to catch fish--a lot different.

When the bird sees the lure being swung around by the trainer, they know they are going to have a bit of fun. They swoop in low and take hold of the lure.  One of our eagles, Lewis, loves the lure. He pounces on it and throws his head back and lets loose a long loud laugh. He likes to let the other eagles know that he got to play with the lure and he’s proud that he did. Though sometimes he gets a little carried away and tries to bring his prize back to the perch with him. Of course, he’s not allowed to.

The funniest thing that make eagles laugh are things their trainers and keepers do. Just recently, I was eating my lunch in the ETC. It was just about one o’clock and time to head back to work. I had been sitting for some time and was a little stiff. All of a sudden I heard a “tink tink” on the roof. It didn’t hit me at first, but then I grabbed my keys and ran to my car. It had started to rain rather hard and I had left my windows down. My leg wouldn’t work and my glasses were slowly filling with water. By the time I got to my car, my seats were wet and so was everything else in my car. I quickly rolled up my windows. As soon as they were up, the rain let up and was barely a sprinkle. I sat in my car for a moment and released a sigh. I got out and started to walk back to the building. As I stumbled and grumbled, all of the eagles that had watched me run started to laugh and cackle. I’m not exaggerating. They all started to laugh.

I look back and think of that surreal moment--Eagles laughing at me because I was trying to keep the interior of my car dry. I’m sure they weren’t thinking that. They probably thought it was funny to see a person running and then grumbling at the sky. As if the sky cared that my windows were opened. As if they cared that the inside of my car was now wet. They really did seem to enjoy watching me run like a mad woman.

It is kind of nice to know that I can at least make an eagle laugh.

Submitted by Allison Brehmer, World Bird Sanctuary ETC Supervisor

Bald Eagles in Rehab

We recently received two Bald Eagles in the Wildlife Hospital.  Not an unusual thing for a rehab facility that specializes in injured raptors, you say?  Read on…

One of the two luckiest Bald Eagles in the state of Missouri

These two birds were brought in by different sources and were found on different sides of the state.  One of the things they both had in common was that they each had a broken wing and were starving.  The other thing they had in common was that the broken wing had healed.  In both cases the wing had healed as straight and as well as if our vets had set the wing themselves.

This is “lightning” or “lottery” odds we are talking about!

A bone takes six weeks to heal, and these birds must have found enough food near them to stay alive while they were grounded.  Then they would have had to stay still and the two halves of the bone would have to be in the right place so that it could heal properly.  Against all these odds, something must have worked in their favor. 

These eagles are flying perfectly now.  After spending some time in our rehab enclosures and being given the proper nourishment, they are now fat and well fed.  The best news is that we have now scheduled their return to the wild.

The first was released in early August and the other is scheduled to be released in October.  I hope some of their luck rubs off on me-I’m going to get my lottery tickets tonight!

Submitted by Joe Hoffmann, Sanctuary Manager, World Bird Sanctuary

Eagle Watching Season Is Upon Us!

I have never been a big fan of cold weather. Yet I look forward every year to eagle watching season with great anticipation. 

Cold weather and ice on the water means good eagle watching

You just can’t have a good eagle watching season without some really cold weather.  They definitely go hand in hand.  Eagle watching is a really big deal in this and surrounding areas and draws quite an audience and following. 

Ice floes near the locks and dams mean good fishing for the many Bald Eagles that congregate there

There are several nearby places where you can go to watch the migrating wild bald eagles congregate on the rivers, locks and dams.  The Mississippi River provides some of the most spectacular eagle watching available in the St. Louis area.  We are fortunate to be so close to where the eagle migration is at its best.

Watch for eagles in the treetops near the river

What does eagle watching season mean for WBS?  The World Bird Sanctuary will be traveling through several states presenting live eagle programs and live bird of prey demonstrations and displays.  The next few months will be some of the busiest of the year for our Education Department.

Meet Liberty--one of the stars of our Traveling Talons troop

Check out our Traveling Talons Calendar and make plans to see a live bald eagle up close and personal:

January  6 – 8

Quad Cities Eagle Days

Rock Island, Illinois

Masters of the Sky Programs

Display & Traveling Gift Shop

January 7 & 15

February 4 & 11

Audubon Center at Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary

West Alton, Illinois

Eagle Display

January 7 & 8

Lake of the Ozarks Eagle Days

Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri

All About Eagles Programs

Traveling Gift Shop

January 8

Pere Marquette

Pere Marquette Lodge

Grafton, Illinois

Display and Masters of the Sky Programs

January 14, 21 & 28

Alton Visitor Center

Alton, Illinois

Eagle Display

January 14 & 15

Chain of Rocks Eagle Days

Chain of Rocks Bridge

St. Louis, Missouri

All About Eagles Programs

January 21

Bald Eagle Watch

Dubuque, Iowa

Masters of the Sky Programs

January 21

Fort Bellefontaine Park

St. Louis, Missouri

Multi-Bird Display with Eagle

January 21 & 22

Keokuk Eagle Days

Keokuk Iowa

Masters of the Sky Programs

Traveling Gift Shop

January 22 & 29

February 5, 12

Great Rivers Museum

East Alton, Illinois

Eagle Display

January 28 & 29

Starved Rock Eagle Days

Starved Rock State Park, Illinois

Masters of the Sky Programs

January 28 & 29

Clarksville Eagle Days

Clarksville, Missouri

Masters of the Sky Programs

February 4

Kaskaskia Lock & Dam

Modoc, Illinois

All About Eagles Programs

February 18, 19 & 20

Great Rivers Museum

East Alton, Illinois

Masters of the Sky Programs

February 25 & 26

Lewis and Clark Confluence Tower

Hartford, Illinois

Eagle Display

March 3 & 4

Carpenter Nature Center

Hastings, Minnesota

Masters of the Sky Programs

Be sure to mark your calendars now for our upcoming Annual World Eagle Day, March 18, 2012 from 10 – 4.  For more information please click on our home web page. 

If you would like to stay up to date on where you can catch a World Bird Sanctuary program in your area, or on events here at WBS, sign up to receive our email newsletter by entering your email address in the box on the right-hand side of this page.

You can also become a WBS Sponsor starting at as little as $35.00 and receive our Mews News Newsletter tri-annually – full of events, updates, stories and our Traveling Talons schedule.

As always, for more information you can visit our web page

Submitted by Billie Baumann, World Bird Sanctuary Outreach Coordinator

WBS Assists Wisconsin Organization

In late August our Director, Walter Crawford, received a call from a raptor rehabilitation organization in Wisconsin asking for our help.

 A mixture of species shares quarters around this facility's pond

Because of the many severe storms and tornadoes in their area this past spring the Wisconsin facility had been inundated with injured and orphaned birds.  Some birds came in with the usual injuries and problems, but many were youngsters who had been swept from their nests by the severe storms.  Many of these were otherwise healthy, but needed time in the large flight cages to perfect their flying and hunting skills.  This large influx of birds had taxed their facility’s holding capacity to the maximum.

This enclosure and the many others at the facility can now be used to their best advantage by shuffling housing arrangements

Because the director of this organization had a longstanding acquaintance with Walter Crawford, our Director, and knew of the World Bird Sanctuary’s excellent reputation as rehabbers and educators, she turned to us for assistance.

REGI staff member Katie Farvour and my husband, Art Schroer, with what looks like a mountain of crates--how will they all fit in the van?

On Labor Day weekend my husband and I headed north to pick up sixteen birds from this organization.  The quarters vacated by these sixteen birds would make room for significantly more than sixteen injured and orphaned birds—housing arrangements can sometimes get complicated with animals. Once all the birds were loaded into the van we made a beeline for St. Louis.

The birds begin their journey on a foggy Wisconsin morning 

Transporting birds can sometimes be tricky—especially if they are birds that have never been crated before.  Some of these birds fell into that category.  Our main concern on the drive home was keeping the van cool so that the birds would not overheat.  Lunch was definitely a drive through affair, and potty stops were taken in shifts while one person stayed with the birds to keep the air conditioner running.  However, all was quiet in the back of the van during the eleven-hour drive and all sixteen of our charges weathered the drive well. 

 Great care was taken with the birds who were unaccustomed to being crated

As the St. Louis Arch came into view we called ahead to let WBS personnel know that we would be there shortly.  To our amazement, when we pulled into the parking area at  WBS’s behind the scenes facility we were met by a small army of WBS staff members, including our wonderful volunteer veterinarian Dr. Stacey Schaeffer.

 WBS personnel help unload the crates after a safe and successful 11-hour trip from up north

With everyone’s help the newcomers were quickly checked out and their health status and injuries evaluated.  The eagles that simply needed flight cage time were released into the large rehab flight enclosure, and the other birds were settled into their new quarters where they would be given time to acclimate themselves to their new surroundings.

 All the birds were assessed by our vet and staff members

Our list of passengers included:

•            Six possibly releasable Bald Eagles which needed time in a large flight enclosure to allow them to strengthen their flight muscles and perfect their flying skills.  As of this date three have been released, the fourth is scheduled to be released next week, the fifth is scheduled to be released on the 29^th, and the sixth and final bird is still in the flight cage regaining his flying skills and being conditioned for a successful release. 

 The six releasable Bald Eagles were released into the flight enclosure to strengthen flight muscles

•            Four non-releasable Bald Eagles who may become Education or Display birds

•            Two Bald Eagles who have already been trained as education birds and will enhance our existing roster of education birds, either locally or at zoo shows in the coming year. 

The education birds who were already wearing "equipment" receive new anklets 

•            One White Pelican who has a wing injury and cannot fly.  This bird has been placed with another injured White Pelican that WBS received about a year ago.  Both these birds will be placed with another facility sometime in the not-too-distant future.

•            One Rough legged Hawk who was non-releasable due to an eye injury. She had already been trained to the glove and has joined our Education Department.  Bella (which means “beautiful”) can be seen in the weathering area behind the Nature Center, and has already begun taking part in education programs.

•            Two wing-injured Sandhill Cranes who will be permanent residents of our display line.  This pair has in the past laid eggs and it is hoped that they will be comfortable enough in their new surroundings to produce young.

Submitted by Gay Schroer, World Bird Sanctuary Volunteer/Photographer 

Ballpark Flying

World Bird Sanctuary is home to numerous bald eagles.

Many of these are rehabilitation birds that were injured in the wild and deemed non-releasable.  Some of them have wing amputations, rendering them unable to fly.  You can see many of these birds on the display line at WBS, just past the hospital and down the gravel path.

 Just two of the non-releasable Bald Eagles on exhibit at WBS

However, some of our bald eagles, while still non-releasable for myriad reasons, are able to fly quite well.  Two of these eagles, Lewis and Clark, can be seen flying from Homer’s Landing out to the pitcher’s mound at Busch Stadium before certain Cardinal Baseball games.  I recently had the opportunity to go along with Roger Wallace, our lead eagle trainer, as he practiced flying the eagles at the stadium.  It was a very cool experience.

 Volunteer, Melanie Kunkel, waiting with Clark as he waits his turn in the release box

When we got to Busch Stadium, we met one of our long-time volunteers, Melanie Kunkel, who enjoys helping out with the eagle training.  She, Roger and I unloaded both birds, and a stadium employee drove up on a golf cart to help us take Lewis’s and Clark’s crates up to Homer’s Landing.

Once there, we deliberated. The birds had both flown well in the past, but we wanted to make sure that they were going to be comfortable during their flights.  Clark was a very experienced flier, but Lewis had a troubling habit of making circles around the field before he came down to land.  After a few minutes, we decided to fly Clark first.  We put his crate in a special release box that the stadium keeps for us, while Roger climbed down a ladder into the field, and began to walk toward the pitcher’s mound.

Melanie and I waited.  Since Roger was so far away, we had to rely on hand and body signals to know when to release the eagles; we never would have heard him if he had shouted.  We watched closely as Roger got closer and closer to the pitcher’s mound.  Suddenly, he turned around.  That was the signal!

Clark came bounding out of the release box

Melanie quickly opened Clark’s crate, and the big eagle bounded out and into the air.  At Roger’s whistle, Clark began his descent, and soon after, alighted upon Roger’s arm.  The whistle sounded twice, and Clark got a treat—some nice, juicy mice.  Then Roger walked back to us with the bird.  He had flown beautifully, and we were very proud of him.

Lewis flying straight and true to Roger Wallace 

 After a couple more flights, it was Lewis’s turn.  We decided to try a different approach with Lewis.  To get a straight flight, we flew him from next to the wall in the outfield--at the same elevation as the pitcher’s mound, instead of from up on Homer’s Landing.  We hoped it would negate the circling, and give him a smoother flight.  I held Lewis as Roger walked to the mound.  When he turned around, I released Lewis.  We all watched nervously as the eagle began his flight… and flew a perfectly straight line from me to Roger.  We were all very happy, and Lewis got an extra big treat.  We flew him once again from on the field, and then once from the top of the outfield wall.  Each time, Lewis flew straight and true, from my glove and then Melanie’s, over center field to the pitcher’s mound, and the snack he knew was waiting.  As Roger returned each time Lewis displayed another habit of his—he chirped, which seems to be the sound he makes when he’s happy.  By all means, he should have been.

 Lewis chirping, a sound he makes when he seems to make when he's pleased with himself

Roger took Lewis to fly at the stadium on July 4^th.  Unfortunately, I had to go out of town, and was very sad I missed the opportunity to see Lewis in flight just before the game started.  Roger told us what happened later.  He said, “I told Lewis (as if he was really listening to me) he could make one circle around the field, and then he had to come to me.  So when he was released, he made three circles, just to show me who was boss, then came and landed on my glove.”

I smiled. I’d been to a game to watch the eagles fly before, so I tried to guess from a human’s perspective what Lewis had been thinking.  Maybe he was caught up in the sheer exhilaration of seeing—and being—a bald eagle in flight.

Submitted by Emily Hall, World Bird Sanctuary Naturalist/Trainer