Monday, July 12, 2010

A Visit for the birds

A few weeks ago we made a visit up to the city of Duncan to visit the Pacific Northwest Raptors.  They have over 100 different birds on site, some out on display while others are hiding out behind the scenes.

Some of the noted birds we visited were the great horned owls, European eagle owl, the laughing kookburra's, a mix of immature and mature bald eagles, a harris hawk, red-trailed hawk, ferruginous hawks, a falcon, a spectacled owl, a snowy owl, western screech owl, and barn owls.

The birds at the center are mostly captive bred, hatched at the center,  or came to the center as a result of an accident in the wild. When it came time for the demonstration flight of a few birds, the experience was amazing.  One big trouble was just being able to photograph the birds from where we were sitting, especially with all of the kids in the way.


 1 yr old female bald eagle in flight.

 2nd photo of the 1 yr old female.  She won't get her white colors until she is ready to mate.


 1 yr old female bald eagle  up close

 A Barn owl in flight.


 Barn owl in flight.
 A turkey vulture who is not actually a raptor or bird of prey.  As we found out, they are more comfortable on the ground.

 Turkey vultures are very clean animals and actually have no feathers on their head or feet so that they keep them sterile and clean.

 A very fast falcon

 This little guy was so fast, I was lucky to get any shots of him.


 One of the bald eagles at the Pacific Raptors.

 A picture of the main center, but most everything is outside for viewing.





 Overall, we were very impressed with the visit and would highly recommend going to Duncan if you are in the area.  The birds are very impressive and can be viewed up close.  The entry fee is quite reasonable too.  The birds on this day were fairly hot so they were not able to fly as high or fast as a result.

8 comments:

  1. Fabulous captures, Jen, of these magnificent creatures. It looks like it was well worth your time!

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  2. Wow, what a cool place! Great photos Jen. I'm glad you're finally getting some summer on the west coast!

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  3. What a fantastic place and you took great pictures!!

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  4. First of all:
    Thanks for your nice comments regarding my so far short reports from Turkey..
    Then your post above:
    I'm amazed how you really captured those big Birds with your Camera. It's - well what to say but: Hurray.
    Excellent shots.

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  5. I'm back again:
    Can you follow Tour de France?
    We do from Summer House.
    As you did write as sonn as the stages were published:
    This will be a very tough tour.
    As Norwegian we are proud of the fact that Thor Hushovd still mantains the Maillot Verte.

    hugs from T and A
    Norway

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  6. Anonymous9:01 AM

    Eagles are fascinating birds, a bit scary even! I like owls though. They look friendly with their big eyes!

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  8. What great shots! That is so cool to see all of those birds.

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