Raptors return to the Coronado Center
By MARY ELIADES, HSV Voice correspondent
FIRST PUBLISHED IN THE SEPT. 24, 2024, ISSUE OF THE HOT SPRINGS VILLAGE VOICE. REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION.
HSV Audubon members and guests were treated to a return engagement by Rodney Paul, founder and director of Raptor Rehab of Central Arkansas, and five of his avian ambassadors at Audubon’s monthly program on September 12.
Paul was last in the Village five years ago for a presentation, and the Coronado Center auditorium was packed with people eager to get another look at his beautiful birds.
Paul, who comes from a background in aviation but served as a volunteer at the Little Rock Zoo, founded Raptor Rehab in 2003 with a mission “to provide quality care and rehabilitation for ill, injured or orphaned birds of prey with the goal of their release back into the wild.”
The presentation began with a brief video tour of the facility in El Paso, Arkansas, as Paul explained that birds are brought to the facility from all over Arkansas after traumatic injuries caused by vehicle strikes, collisions with wind turbines, traps, or hunter’s bullets. Lead poisoning from ammunition is becoming more common in bald eagles, although if the bird is recovered quickly, rehabilitation is possible.
The facility is maintained to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service standards and is federally licensed, but the nonprofit organization receives no federal or state funds and relies on donations to feed and house the raptors.
In addition to working closely with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission in recovering birds, Raptor Rehab started a volunteer program 13 years ago and partners with Hendrix College in Conway to match student volunteers with work at the facility. The students receive credit for their work with the birds.
Paul said it costs $6,000 to $10,000 per year to feed the raptors, and up to 400 birds transit through the facility every year. Raptor Rehab is the largest raptor rehabilitation facility in Arkansas.
Raptor Rehab has released more than 3,000 birds into the wild, including the recent rehab and release of the 75th bald eagle from the facility.
Paul said they try to release the birds in the same area they were recovered, especially in the case of bald eagles, but since birds come from across Arkansas, it is not always feasible.
The organization receives 10 to 15 calls every day and responds to all of them in some way, even when a report of “eagle down” turns out to be an injured turkey vulture (as Audubon president Norma Wall learned when Paul walked her through the rescue after getting a call from a Village resident).
Paul is a lively, engaging speaker, but the stars of the show were definitely his feathered friends. Annalee Wesson, one of the student volunteers, brought out the birds one by one to let audience members get close-up looks and photos of the magnificent creatures.
Bogart, a female great horned owl, was very vocal during her turn on the stage and Paul quipped that she was easily recognized as a female because “she talks all the time.” Paul said that when Bogart first came to the facility, she was blind and ostracized by the other horned owls (“they knew something was wrong with her”). She later gained her sight – she was just slow to develop – but by then she had imprinted, or bonded, with her human caretakers and was not suitable for release into the wild. “She’s one of the stars of our educational program,” said Paul.
Although Bogart looks like a very large bird, she only weighs four pounds – birds’ bones are hollow and their anatomies are specifically designed for flight.
Great horned owls are common in Hot Springs Village but only about 25 to 30 percent live past the age of 2 in the wild; conversely, captive great horned owls can live up to 30 to 35 years.
Paul described some of the risks inherent in raptor rehabilitation. He has been bitten twice in the face by bald eagles, the second time by a bird reaching up under his face shield to get at him. He has also been “footed” – just what it sounds like: punctured by the sharp talon of a raptor,
He also described the…unique experience of being puked on by a vulture. Vultures use vomit as a defense mechanism or to lighten the load preparatory to takeoff, and since their diet consists of animals – dead or alive – the result is extremely unpleasant.
Although most birds taken into Raptor Rehab are released into the wild – after a few weeks or a year or more – some of the birds are deemed “non-releasable” and either become part of the education program or sent to other programs around the country. If a bird becomes imprinted or is severely injured and unable to fend for itself in the wild, depending on its temperament, it might join Paul’s entourage as he travels around the state, doing programs for schools and other organizations.
The “education birds” are handled very differently from the rehab raptors; the birds slated for re-release are not socialized and are kept separate from other birds and humans to facilitate their reentry into the wild.
Titus, a snowy-white barn owl, was the next to make an appearance. She was found as a nestling on the ground near a creek and Paul pointed out that the bird’s eyes are dark, which indicates that barn owls are nocturnal fliers (Bogart, the great horned owl, has yellow eyes and is crepuscular - hunts mostly at dusk and dawn). Paul explained that barn owls are “silent fliers” but their “call is a blood-curdling scream.”
Shaheen, a 9-year-old peregrine falcon, arrived at Raptor Rehab with a broken wingtip and joined the educational team because she was not “fully flighted,” according to Paul. Peregrine falcons are the fastest birds – and fastest members of the animal kingdom – and can reach more than 200 miles per hour on a dive. The birds have black markings (known as a “mustache”) under their eyes, to reduce glare and give them another advantage in going after prey.
Paul said peregrine falcons were on the edge of extinction but have been brought back, largely due to the efforts of falconers and falconry clubs. The birds are now “plentiful” in Arkansas. Paul praised the falconers, saying they capture the birds young and teach them to hunt, and many later release them back into the wild.
Phoenix, a Harris’s hawk, was legally bred in captivity and used as a breeding bird for many years. Phoenix is now 28 years old (Harris’s hawks can live 20 to 25 years in captivity) and another star of the education program.
Paul said Harris’s hawks are primarily desert dwellers and often hunt in groups – cooperating to find and bring down prey and sharing the food.
The last member of the team to appear was Price, a Swainson’s hawk. These birds are rare in Arkansas – primarily cold climate raptors – and arrived at Raptor Rehab with a broken wing that never healed properly.
All of the raptors mate for life, but Paul said they will re-mate if their mate dies or if they are relocated.
More information about Paul and his raptors can be found at http://www.rrca-raptors.org, and donations can be also be made through the website.