World Center for Birds of Prey - August 2011

California Condors

The 580-acre World Center for Birds of Prey is located in the outskirts of Boise.  It was established in 1984 by the Peregrine Fund, an organization dedicated to saving birds of prey from extinction.  The center includes a large research library, a visitor center, and a captive breeding facility.  Fifty-seven California condors, part of the captive condor breeding program, call the center home.  Most of the condors are far away from visitors, but a few rotate into a large outdoor cage just outside the Velma Morrison Visitor Center.

In 2010, eleven condor eggs hatched at the Boise site.  As of the end of 2010, sixteen chicks had been raised successfully there.  Five captive-raised adult condors from Boise were released into the wild in the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument in September of that year.  For information about the condors and the next release date and site, please visit this web link: http://www.peregrinefund.org/condor.

Turkey Vulture

Several other raptors can be seen at the center, including owls, peregrine falcons, and bald eagles.   We attended an indoor nature demonstration where a very clever turkey vulture showed off its skills and visited with the audience.

Harpy Eagle

Harpy Eagle*

The harpy eagles were huge and their feathered head dresses were quite impressive.  We saw them in their cages and later in an outdoor tethered flight demonstration.

Hooded Peregrine Falcon

Hood being removed

 We were treated to a free-flight demonstration by a peregrine falcon - the first one of the season.  One handler walked out into an open field carrying a lure.  The falcon beat its wings and pulled on its tether in anticipation as the second handler removed its hood.

Airborne!*

The first handler then began swinging the lure on a long tether.  The second handler released the falcon.  It flew a few huge circles in the air to stretch its wings in true free flight for the first time in months, then made a pass or two at the lure in the air.  To keep the falcon from becoming overheated in the extreme heat, the first handler then let the lure fall to the ground and the falcon landed on it. 

If you are ever in the Boise area, this is a great place to visit.  Set aside time to drive out into the adjacent Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area, a 480,000 acre nature reserve along 81 miles of the Snake River set aside by Congress in 1993.  The Snake River canyon contains the largest concentration of birds of prey in North America.

*These two pictures were taken by Marilyn.