Raptors at St. George's June 2011

Douglas Lovell of Kes Douglas (www.kesdouglas.com) brought four of his friends to meet the children of St George's last week.

In three separate workshops the children were introduced to Gizmo, an American kestrel, Tosca, a spirited Harris hawk, Carmen, a refined Bengal eagle owl and Beethoven, an imposing European eagle owl.

The children learned about falcon husbandry and were fed many interesting facts about our feathered friends.  They discovered how owls swoop silently, what pellets are made from and how talons can be retracted to protect the hand that feeds them.

The children and staff were enthralled to see the majestic birds fly from perch to hand and amazed to discover that the raptors appeared to understand spoken commands.

Some of the children even had the chance to handle the birds and found it hard to believe how light they are.

We all enjoyed the magic of seeing birds of prey up close and are very grateful to the Georgian Association for sponsoring the visit.

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