Located south of Hamilton, very near Lake Erie, the Canadian Raptor Conservancy is one of the largest captive breeding projects in the world. They have over 200 captive-bred birds at their facility. They regularly breed over 15 different species each year. Many are endangered species and some of their offspring are sent back into the wild through organized release projects around the world. All of the birds used for our demonstrations are captive-bred.
The facility is involved in caring for sick and injured birds of prey that have come from wild populations. They typically take in over 50 birds per year into our rehab program. Working very closely with veterinarians to assess injuries and try, if at all possible, to return the birds back to the wild.
Their birds are frequently seen through southern and eastern Ontario at fairs, exhibitions etc.
When time permits, they also offer photographic opportunities at the facility. We were due to attend in April, but a last minute weather cancellation ended that trip. We managed to book ourselves again in early November. Sixteen photographers in total (normally there are only 10-12)
While I much prefer to photograph birds in the wild, I was not about to pass up this opportunity. Below are a very few of the way too many photos (and many more deletes) I took that afternoon.
Some birds enjoyed free flights while others were shown statically.
Great horned owl
Screech owl pair (red and grey morph)
Male snowy owl
Eagle owl (not a Canadian bird)
Red=tailed hawk
Harris Hawks are found in the southern US to northern South America
Kestrels are VERY difficult to photograph in flight, they are very fast
Two falcons - a peregrine on the left and a gyrfalcon on the right
Last but not least, a bald eagle
