Birds Of Prey Will Be Featured At Earth Day April 30

By Kendra Bobowick

Bird of Prey: carnivorous birds that hunt and kill other animals. Birds that hunt for food primarily on the wing, using keen senses, especially vision. Their talons and beaks tend to be relatively large, powerful and adapted for tearing and/or piercing flesh.

Earth Day event Coordinator Bob Brophy looks forward to the Sharon Audubon Society’s Birds of Prey exhibit at Newtown’s fourth annual event on April 30.

“These are beautiful birds [that] many people won’t ever see,” he said. But at the Earth Day celebration this year, families will have a chance to look at different species from just a few feet away.

The Audubon Society will offer a program at this year’s event. “This is a good attractions. It’s something alive that the younger crowd and families will enjoy,” Mr Brophy said. “I think it will be a highlight of the event.”

An education intern will feature four different birds during the Earth Day celebration, explained Education Program Manager Wendy Miller with the Sharon Audubon Center. The program “usually includes two hawks and two owls,” and a brief discussions of each raptor species, she said. Although the Sharon facility aims to rehabilitate birds, “get them better, and release them,” that is not always the case. As with the birds that make the rounds to events such as Newtown’s Earth Day, Ms Miller said, “Some birds in the program can’t be released back to the wild” due to the severity of an injury, adding, “They make good ambassadors for their species.”

She said, “This will be a good chance to see [species] up close. Little kids love the program and to see birds up close.” Nocturnal hunters, “typically owls,” are often heard more than sighted, while hawks are visible during the day, but usually not up close, she said.

At this time of year, “courtship is going on,” for species including hawks. “You might see tumbling in the sky.” The Great Horned Owl could also catch residents by surprise. “There is screeching — it’s the young doing a begging call,” Ms Miller said. “There are not many other signs of spring” among the raptors, she said.

People can make small changes to help the birds at home. Depending on habitat, species such as the American Kestrel will nest in boxes, which is something residents can place in their yards.

The Audubon’s Birds of Prey demonstration in Newtown on April 30 will run from 2 to 3 pm, but an exhibit will be open from 1 to 4 pm that day. Visit Sharon.audubon.org/about/about_raptor.html for more details about the facility in Sharon, and the wildlife species there.

This week the Newtown Earth Day website continues to promote the April 30 event at the Newtown Middle School from 10 am to 4 pm. The rain date is May 7. According to the site, the day promises “kids’ activities, live music, tasty food, an environmental maze, silent auction, Birds of Prey, litter pick-up, and a vendor fair. It’s a great day for helping our community become a bit more aware of being ‘green.’”

Earth Day will be “a full-day of family fun and learning with proceeds now supporting an annual ‘green’ scholarship at Newtown High School.” Visit the NewtownEarthDay.org for updates lists of vendors, sponsors, and the day’s scheduled events.