Our Birds

The Falcons

Webby Palmer 1

A 2007 male Lanner/Saker hybrid is named after a famous North American falconer and author Hal Webster. One of our all-stars here at the center, he is a real ham during flight demonstrations and is good at wowing the crowds. He comes right out of the sun at speeds upwards of 100 mph and excels in vertical drops, or stoops. Webster also does great work in our various abatement projects. Hybridization is done in captivity to help fend off disease or to acquire desired attributes for hunting and flying.

Lanner and Saker are both Eastern Hemisphere species of falcon.
Image: Rob Palmer

Isaly 3

Islay (pronounced eye-la) is a 2015 female Lanner Falcon and is named after the island of Islay, Scotland. Her parents were from Africa which makes her a 1st generation Lanner falcon in North America. Islay loves to hit the glove harder than any of the other male falcons which makes for a fun game of catch with our guests. (We often hear it feels like catching a softball!) This pretty lady also puts on quite a show when delivering wedding rings. One of her favorite things is to drink water out of a squirt bottle.

Lanner falcons are native to Southeast Europe, Africa, and parts of Asia. They often capture their prey in flight from a horizontal pursuit.

Image: David Swanson Photography

Sake on Glove scaled

A 2014 male Saker, “saker” means falcon in Arabic. Sake has more of a reserved personality but can be very playful when he feels comfortable. He occasionally assists in abatement services and smaller private programs that take place at our center.

Sakers breed from eastern Europe eastwards across Asia to Manchuria.   The Saker is the national bird of Hungary and, in 2012, was selected as the national bird of Mongolia.
Image: Hilary Kaseman

Sladkiy on Glove

We received Sladkiy, a male Aplomado falcon, as a product from a breeding project through the Peregrine Fund in 2020. His parents were a part of the breeding project and were released back to the wild. We’ve had him since he was 9 days old and he’s become quite a staple at our center. He often joins our children’s’ birthday parties and school events. Because he’s an imprinted falcon, he loves to talk to us at all hours of the day. One of his favorite activities is dancing on the scale when we weigh him in the morning.

Aplomado falcons are a desert southwest bird found in parts of New Mexico, Texas, Mexico and into South America.

The Hawks

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Mariposa – is a 2003 Female Harris Hawk and she came to us in ’09 after hunting with a falconer since’ 03.  Mariposa is an accomplished hunter and is a solid education bird, often the main flyer at events.  She loves a crowd.  She likes to tease the dogs and her favorite color is red!

Sonoran Harris hawks are found in the desert southwest of the United States.

Diego Scott McCuster 3

Don Diego – His full name is Don Diego Alejandro Santiago Saragossa Inigo Montoya Del Gato. As one of our veterans on the team, he is a 2005 Sonoran Harris’ hawk and has been doing education events since he was 24 weeks old. He was also invited to a Dos Equis event and was named ‘The Most Interesting Hawk’.  If we go hunting near a school he will leave the hunt to go visit the kids. Diego loves attending school events, children’s birthdays, and is an absolute rockstar during our education classes.

Sonoran Harris hawks are found in the desert southwest of the United States.

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Avalon – is a 2010 Female Sonoran Harris Hawk she is named after the city of Avalon on Catalina Island. Avalon is one of our top performing hawks and knows how to steal the show during our education programs, parties, and school events. She has a sweet and silly demeanor and often makes little coos when she’s on the glove with her falconers.

Sonoran Harris hawks are found in the desert southwest of the United States.

Piper

Piper – Piper is a male 2012 Swainson’s Hawk. This is not a species used in falconry and the Swainson’s Hawk has been a threatened species for many years. Piper was found and imprinted by a rehab facility. He cannot be released to the wild because he was hand raised and imprinted on people.  He is an amazing ambassador for this seldom seen species of hawk and often goes with us to school and education events.  He teaches about habitat loss and other factors that threaten his species.  Swainson’s hawks have one of the longest migratory paths of any hawk species in North America.  The Great Basin population travels every year to the southern tip of Argentina.  Swainson’s hawks are threatened due to secondary poisoning from pesticides and habitat loss in California.

Cora

Cora – Cora is a 2014 female, dark morph, Red tailed hawk.  Cora was a falconry bird for her first year and successfully hunted.  Unfortunately she contracted a disease called avian pox. The pox infected her right eye and is now blind in that eye. Her vision in the left eye has slowly diminished over the years as well, so she is a retired bird here at our center. Her gentle disposition shows through and Cora still serves as an educational ambassador for school events and the occasional birthday party.

Red tailed hawks are found throughout the United States and are the most widespread of all the North American hawk species.

Image: Swanson Photography

The Owls

high quality photo of an owl

Cailleach (pronounced Kay-leesh) –  A 2005 Eurasian Eagle owl, her name means ‘Wise Woman’ or ‘Crone’ in Gaelic. Eurasian Eagle owls are the largest species of owl in the world. Her wing span is near six feet! She is considered an average size for this species weighing in at 6 lbs. Cailleach is our only non-native owl at the center and is a fan favorite at educational events. She is afraid of little wheels and umbrellas.

Eurasian Eagle owls are found through the central Eastern Hemisphere from Denmark to Manchuria.

Amadan – Her whole name is Amadan Ban Bheag, which is Gaelic for ‘Little White Fool.’ Amadan is a captive bred Barn owl and hatched on April 1st of 2013. She is a wonderful education ambassador and will often fly to guests for a treat. She strongly dislikes the garden hose, loud noises, and small wheels. She helps us to teach about rodent poison and its impact on wild raptor populations.

Barn owls are found on every continent except Antarctica!

Tigg’rr Is a male 2015 Great Horned Owl, and is one of Kate Marden’s personal falconry birds. We’ve had him since he was 14 days old and have trained him for our education programs. Tigg’rr loves courting the women on our staff and is quite a hoot with the ladies. He flies beautifully but is timid of men, eagles, and spinning wheels.

Great Horned Owls are also know as the “tiger owl” and are native to the Americas.

Hamish

Wee Hamish  – A 2017 Eastern Screech Owl, gray morph. He is a captive bred owl and hatched on April 29th, 2017. Hamish is a heart throb for anyone and everyone that comes to the center and is a great addition to bird-day parties and school events. He is a speedy flier, if you blink you might miss him! Hamish works great with guests of all ages, as long as there are no vultures or strollers nearby.

The eastern screech owls are found east of the Rockies in woods, suburbs, and parks. To many surprise, they do not actually screech! These supremely camouflaged birds hide out in nooks and tree crannies through out the day, so train your ears and listen for their whinny calls at night.

In Memoriam

Zephyr

Zephyr – Zephyr was a 30+ year old Finnish Goshawk. She came to WCF in 2012 after a full falconry career and spending ten years in a breeding project. Zephyr’s story is important because she was one of the first Finnish Goshawks imported to the United States for breeding purposes. Finnish goshawks were not a protected species until 1989. She passed away on October 1st, 2018.

Owlsley

Owlsley Owlyisius Owlgernon Whooligan III was a fun and unique 2014 Spectacled Owl. He passed away in May of 2016 from a blood parasite via mosquitos.  Unfortunately there was no way for us to screen or prevent this blood parasite.

Spectacled Owls are tropical owls that are native to Central and South America and predominately live in rain forests, however, they often venture into other habitats as well.

Enkidu

Enkidu was a 2014 male Aplomado Falcon. Named for the wild-man in the ancient Assyrian tale the Epic of Gilgamesh which first mentions Falconry in human history.  Enkidu was our loudest of the bunch with his constant baby bird chirping, but his high energy spirit and sweet demeanor had earned him a place in our hearts. We will miss him dearly.

The Aplomado is a desert south-west falcon that was native from southern Arizona and Texas all the way into South America. They are the only falcon still endangered in North America. Sadly, atomic testing (way back when) in White Sands NM, the decimation of Prairie Dog environment  (it’s a long story), the continued overgrazing of cattle and rampant development have left little natural habitat for these birds in the U.S.

Image: Brent Martin MyPhotographyAdventure.com

Lambekyn on a walk

Fuzzy Lambekyn was a 2 year old turkey vulture that lived a life like no other. Lambekyn was found as a juvenile and was given to a veterinarian requiring medication. We received him shortly after with the goal to release him back to the wild. As it turns out, Lambekyn was a strange case and seemed to be imprinted on both humans and vultures. He would fly around with the wild vultures but come back daily for food and to help out around the center. He loved landing on some of the staff’s heads and sit at the table during our lunches. We miss his shenanigans greatly and he will always have a hold on our hearts.

Lambekyn on a walk
Zopi

Zopilote Cathartes was a 2013 Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture. Sweet and silly, he always brought a smile to our faces. In April of 2021 a staff member took Zopi out to exercise and he flew off. We have been unable to locate him but he will never be forgotten. Lesser Yellow-headed vultures are found in the savannas of South America.  Vultures are not used for falconry but do play an important role in our ecosystems world wide.  Vultures are on the decline throughout the world due to may factors, including lead poisoning and pharmaceuticals used on cattle.

Cailleach (Call-Yoch  or Kay-leesh) –  A 2005 Eurasian Eagle owl, she was named for a Celtic Winter Goddess. Eurasian Eagle owls are one of the largest species of owls in the world with a near six foot wing span. Cailleach was Kate’s first owl and a great favorite here at the center. These birds can be very long lived and we had planned for Cailleach to be with us for quite a while. Nature had other ideas and a cancerous growth forced us to let her go October 2024. She touched the soul of all who knew here and will be sorely missed.