Flying Gunk

They say time flies when you are having fun.  This year, I am having more fun than ever working at the World Bird Sanctuary’s Milwaukee County Zoo Bird Show.

Duncan, the Wedge-tailed Eagle executes a beautiful flight (photo: Flannery O'Brien)

However, the birds and time are not the only things that are flying at the bird show.  Blood.  Guts.  Poo.  Slobber.  All of these things are constantly soaring around those of us who work these amazing programs.  Unfortunately, sometimes these soaring pieces of “gunk” find their way onto our arms, face, and even into our mouths.

I like to talk--a lot! (photo: Ian Wright)

I like to talk; a lot.  It’s kind of my thing.  My job sort of requires that I talk constantly and nine times out of ten my sentences seem perfectly timed for my mouth to be open just as the bird is sending a slobber, blood, or meat filled shower my way.  I can talk my way through a lot of unexpected situations, such as a bird deciding it wants to take the scenic route to its perch.  However, when an unwanted bird shower ends up in my mouth, it’s impossible to not be taken aback for a few seconds.

Whiskey Sam Adams, our African Augur Buzzard (photo: Flannery O'Brien)

Earlier this year, our African Augur Buzzard, Whiskey Sam, decided to become a part of the Africa section of the zoo by hanging out in a tree within the Bongo exhibit.  After running out of my long list of “Fun Fowl Facts with Flannery,” I decided to ask the audience for questions.  Of course, the first hand into the air was a little girl in the front row.   She obviously had been itching to ask me the question for a while.  I called on her and she eagerly opened her mouth and asked, “What would happen if a baby was crying and a bird flew over and pooped in that baby’s mouth?”

I love kid questions.  They are so creative.  However this was by far the most creative and unexpected question I have ever been asked.  After hesitating for a moment and rewording the question so everyone could hear, I came up with the only answer I could think of, “Well, the mom would probably run to the bathroom and rinse that baby’s mouth out.”

At the time, that was probably the worst scenario I could have imagined happening with flying bird “gunk.”  Until, that is, a couple of weeks later.  At the end of the show, as I am delivering a particularly delightful conclusion, Clark, our Bald Eagle, decided that the piece of meat he was in the middle of consuming, needed to be shared.  He shook his head and sent a shower of slobbery, disgusting, gooey meat directly towards my face and into my mouth!

All was going well until Clark decided to "share" (photo: Ian Wright)

As mentioned earlier, I can usually pretend the situation never happened and keep talking--but a piece of meat flying into my mouth was not a situation I can handle with much grace.  Instantly, I started sputtering, trying to get the gunk out, but to no avail.  The only thing that resulted was that the speakers were echoing my sputtering into the stands, and that was not professional.  My left hand was in a glove that Clark was seated on top of, and my right was covered in blood and gore from handling food for the rest of the birds.  So I did the only thing I could do.  I took a deep breathe, thought, “Yep, I’m doing this,” swallowed as best I could, and continued with the rest of the conclusion.  The second that show was over, and I had joked with several people about being more patriotic now that the Bald Eagle had given me that deliciously disgusting piece of food, I gracefully put Clark down, and did exactly what I had told the little girl.  I ran to the sink and rinsed my mouth profusely with water.

When you work with animals, you sign up for the fun things like speaking shows and watching a bird problem-solve on its own.  You also sign up for the not so fun stuff, like scrubbing poo and apparently sometimes sharing their dinners.  It was easily the most disgusting experience of my life, but that was the moment I knew that I was hooked on this career and that I found where I belong.  Because if I can suck it up, eat a ball of slobber and gore, and still keep a smile on my face, I can do anything that this job throws at me.  Literally.

Submitted by Flannery O’Brien, World Bird Sanctuary Milwaukee County Zoo Show Naturalist/Trainer

The Rookie Files: Training Clark

I’m sure I’ve mentioned Clark the Bald Eagle in previous blogs, but he is one of my favorites.

 Clark, one of our magnificent flying Bald Eagles

I know, I know, parents aren’t supposed to have favorite kids, and trainers are not supposed to have favorite birds--but we often do, and Clark is one of mine.

My Clark fan club membership was recently renewed because I got to work one on one with him for the first time in years.  The first year I worked with Clark I was but a young rookie myself.  Fresh off my second internship and summer at Grant’s Farm I was told we were going to fly Clark at Silver Dollar City, Branson, Missouri, in the fall of 2009.

When he first arrived for preliminary training at WBS’s Milwaukee County Zoo bird show (where many of the staff who would eventually work at WBS’s Silver Dollar City bird show were stationed) I was a little on the nervous side.  A Bald EAGLE was going to be flying towards me!  It was a little unnerving to say the least.

 A Bald Eagle in full flight heading straight toward you can be a little unnerving!

Luckily for me at that point in my career, Clark was first trained by our excellent Bald Eagle trainer, Roger Wallace, and then continued his education with our amazing ETC supervisor; so no Bald Eagle landing on MY head!  …well, there was that one time when he didn’t really understand that we were calling him to a stump rather than the glove, but that was a fluke.  He was amazing to fly at Silver Dollar City, never missed a beat, and had the most incredible flights!

I was able to work with Clark a few more times over the next couple winters.  I only heard about his great double flights with Lewis the Bald eagle, but overall I did not work with Clark in a show capacity again until the summer of 2012.  We flew Clark at WBS’s Stone Zoo bird show in Stoneham, Massachusetts, near Boston.

This time I was the one in charge of Clark for the summer--his training, his pattern, his health and wellness.  To be honest, I was a little apprehensive, but felt confident that I was up to the challenge.  And then I remembered all of Clark’s delightful little quirks that I had completely forgotten about during the winter!  Clark loves to rip, tear and shred—it doesn’t matter what, just as long as he can turn it into a chew toy.

As I mentioned in my earlier Enrichment blog we had to provide Clark with a variety of different things to distract him at night so that he would not destroy his anklets or jesses.  Due to his “chewtastic” nature, Clark has to have special woven, nylon jesses instead of the usual leather ones.

 The goal was to get Clark to cue to the word "feathers"--and only to "feathers"

Clark is also very smart and very good at picking up on patterns.  At the beginning of the show we would ask the audience a question, the answer to which was the word “feathers!”. Once this guess was confirmed by the speaker, Clark would be cued for his exit.  Clark first picked up on the connection between the audience speaking and his cue for food.  When the audience would guess incorrectly, Clark would still try to leave.  Clark then learned that his food cue was connected to the word “feathers” itself.  By the end of the season, Clark would be ready to exit if the audience yelled “feathers”, but only “feathers”.  If, for instance, they yelled “wings” Clark would sit patiently until they guessed correctly; only then would he be primed to leave!

 Clark launching himself from the second story window of our Nature Center

Clark also started to anticipate his end pattern and became bored with it, forcing us to come up with new and exciting patterns to keep him engaged.  Birds of prey may not be as intelligent as some parrots or corvids (crows, ravens, jays), but don’t ever let anyone tell you that Bald eagles are dumb.  Fortunately it was this pattern recognition and intelligence that allowed us to be able to do an incredible release for WBS’s Open House this year--flying Clark out of our Nature Center’s second story window and out over the audience in our amphitheater!

 Our Open House audience experiencing a Bald Eagle flying just a few feet overhead

Clark and I have both come so far since we first met.  I became a supervisor and trainer in my own right; he flew in tandem with another Bald eagle and before a Saint Louis Blues hockey match.  He is a challenging bird who keeps me on my toes, and for enrichment purposes, I keep him guessing as well.  We may not always be working together due to scheduling conflicts, but when we do I think Clark and I bring out the best in each other.

Submitted by Leah Tyndall, World Bird Sanctuary 

Bald Eagle To Fly At Hockey Game

Mark Tamar the Vice President of Entertainment and Event Marketing for the St. Louis Blues Hockey Club visited World Bird Sanctuary recently and talked with WBS staff member Trina Whitener.

Mark Tamar, Vice President of Entertainment & Marketing for the St. Louis Blues Hockey Team

Mark had visited World Bird Sanctuary with his family on previous occasions and liked our displays, birds and the WBS mission which includes educating the public about these magnificent birds.  Mark and Trina got to talking about Blues Hockey and the possibility of having an Eagle at a Blues Hockey Game.  Trina is so passionate about Blues Hockey and knows the capability of our birds and our staff.

Subsequently, Trina talked to our management about having an Eagle at the Blues Game.  Many of our staff are passionate Blues Hockey fans, including me.  As a side note--I've been a Blues fan since 1967 when the Blues were an expansion club in the National Hockey League.  My dad split a season ticket package with three other men and I was able to go to 2-3 games a year.  What a treat for a 7 year old boy!!  I am still an avid Blues fan to this day.

World Bird Sanctuary management approved the idea of having a Bald Eagle at the Blues game for the National Anthem.  Mark and our team wanted to make it even more exciting by flying the Bald Eagle during the pre-game ceremony.

WBS Director Jeff Meshach, Mark Tamar, and WBS's Flying Eagles Team members discuss strategy

Roger Wallace, the head Eagle trainer, was consulted and he chose the Bald Eagle named Clark.  Clark is the Bald Eagle who is "all business"--no circling around to make the flights more dramatic.  Roger Wallace, Director Jeff Meshach, and the rest of our flying eagles team met with Mark Tamar at the Scottrade Center and viewed all the plexiglass and support cables holding up the protective netting and the Jumbotron.  Roger knew then that he must choose Clark--the straight flying, no nonsense, get from here to there quickly--Bald Eagle.

WBS Director Jeff Meshach, and Roger Wallace (not shown) checked out overhead obstacles

To make the event even more meaningful, Mark Tamar wanted the Bald Eagle to be at the game closest to Veterans Day; and so it was planned for November 10, 2012.

World Bird Sanctuary received the VIP treatment with special parking close to where the players park and where the Zamboni (ice resurfacing vehicle) is kept at ice level.

Naturalist Trina Whitener and Head Eagle trainer Roger Wallace surveying the venue

We had a pre-event meeting to see where and how the Bald Eagle would be escorted onto the ice.  Roger Wallace put ice crampons on the bottom of is shoes so that he could walk across the ice from the Samboni chute to the penalty box, where Roger would release the Bald Eagle to Trina Whitener.  Trina was stationed close to the Blues goal and goalie.

After the pre-ceremony eagle flight meeting we all went to a dressing room for entertainers--a Green Room so to speak.  This room was equipped with giant mirrors, large countertops, comfy chairs, and a TV to watch the Blues pre-game broadcast.  Mark Tamar told us when he would come to get us for the Eagle flight.  Everything was planned down to the exact minute.

Roger Wallace and Trina Whitener received official Blues jerseys from Mark Tamar to be worn during the event.  What an awesome gift!  I know Trina was in heaven, since she is a lifelong Blues fan and an ardent Naturalist.

Roger Wallace, Clark the Bald Eagle, and Trina Whitener ready for the big event

You will have to tune in to my next blog to see how the event turned out and to see the next set of exciting pictures.

Submitted by World Bird Sanctuary Naturalist/EEC Supervisor Mike Zieloski

Photos by Mike Zieloski

Bald Eagle Flight at Joplin's Home Football Game

On the 1-year anniversary of the tornado that devastated the city of Joplin, Missouri, I have been reflecting on an amazing experience.  On September 10, 2011 a World Bird Sanctuary crew of staff members, birds of prey, and a Bald Eagle traveled to Joplin, Missouri. 

This was the beginning of a new school year in Joplin—just under four months after the devastating tornado tore through town on May 22nd, 2011. The occasion was the home opening game of the new school season.

 All the Joplin schools have the Bald Eagle as their mascot

World Bird Sanctuary and Missouri American Water Company, who sponsored our trip, wanted to help lift the spirits of the people of Joplin.

We did live bird programs at all 4 of the grade schools affected by the tornado.

We also did a program on Thursday night at the Community Center in downtown Joplin. The program was open to the public and very well attended. We flew some birds of prey over the guests and then capped off the evening by flying Clark the Bald Eagle—twice--over the crowd.  Everyone was in high spirits that night.

 We did programs at all 4 of the schools affected by the tornado

The next day was Friday--the day of the first home game of the new Football season. To say there was excitement in the crowd is an understatement.  The feeling of accomplishment and resilience in this town was palpable.

 Eagle Trainer Roger Wallace and WBS founder Walter Crawford with Clark before the release

Kids and adults were dressed in the school colors. The band was playing.  Roger Wallace, the Eagle trainer, and I had practiced flying the Eagle over the football field the day before. So we were very confident that Clark the Bald Eagle would fly straight and true.  Roger Wallace has done an excellent job training this beautiful bird.

 Roger Wallace & Clark before the release

 As I walked onto the playing field with Clark, after the National anthem, the crowd suddenly went silent.  Over the loud speaker the crowd was told to focus their attention on the 20-yard line to watch the flying of the Bald Eagle. Suddenly you could hear a pin drop.  I was holding the Eagle, which I had done many times before, but this time seemed surreal.  You could almost feel the tension of the crowd. 

I could see that Roger was ready, and then saw him give the cue. I was ready to heave Clark into the air for the flight, but Clark had already seen Roger give his cue and he lifted off the glove as if he knew that this time was something special.  I watched him fly down the field to Roger as he had practiced so many times before, straight and true as an arrow.  WHAT A GREAT FEW MOMENTS!  There was a deafening roar from the crowd as Clark landed on Roger’s glove, and they went crazy!  I’ve never heard such a loud crowd response before or since.

I'm sure more than a few people shed a tear at the glorious sight of our National Symbol, Joplin’s School Mascot, flying down that field.  Clark seemed to symbolize the spirit, resilience and courage of this small town, which had come so far in such a short time.

Our thanks to Missouri American Water Company for making this inspiring event possible.

Submitted by Michael Zieloski, World Bird Sanctuary Naturalist