Birds of Prey Show

Eastern Screech Owl

Smallest owl with ear tufts in North America
~

This past weekend was the annual Beaver Brook Fall Festival. It was rather pathetic compared to past years filled with vendors and more people. This year, the only real highlight (aside sipping my first hot apple cider of the year - its tradition for me to only have my first one here each year) was the Birds Of Prey show put on by a nonprofit raptor rescue: Wingmasters They rescue injured, orphaned or sick raptors. They release to the wild when the birds are ready, but some are handicapped for life and must stay.

I took pics of all the birds they showed and educated us on, however the bright sunlight and white tent made for poor quality images. However, here they are with one fact I took away from the show for each (my favorite fact/story is for the Barn Owl at the bottom);

Northern Saw Whet Owl
Adults only weigh up to 3.2 ounces.
~

Red Tailed Hawk
When you hear "eagle calls" in movies - its usually the call from this hawk they dub in
~

Peregrine Falcon
Can travel between 100 - 200 miles per hour! (160 - 321 kph)
~

American Kestrel
Worlds smallest falcon. Yes. It's a falcon.
~

Great Horned Owl
Has no natural predators. Deaths usually are caused by man.
~

Golden Eagle (Lakota) with Wingmaster Julia (Lakota thinks Julia is her mate)
Has a wingspan of 6 feet

~

North American Barn Owl
Often found hunting voles in cemeteries back in colonial times because they would live in bell towers (and barns obviously). They would stop voles dead in their tracks by shrieking and stunning the vole. Couple that with a ghostly white face flying over the headstones, and many ghost stories around cemeteries arouse from the hunting techniques of this lovely owl.
(also.. I've seen Labyrinth... this is possibly a goblin king)
~