Hawks, owls soar onto campus with help of SEA
Kristina Calvird
Issue date: 10/24/06 Section: Student Life
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The event was titled "Birds of Prey" with Joe Rodgers and the Wildlife Recovery Foundation of Midland, Michigan. SEA brought Rodgers and his wife to the UC from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. to show the birds.
Animals that were present included the great horned owl, red-tail hawk, saw-whet owl, eastern screech owl, barred owl, American kestrel and rough-legged hawk.
Rodgers was there to present the birds, explain things about them and answer questions anyone had concerning the animals. Attendees were allowed to take a Polaroid with the animals for $1.
"I've never seen anything like this on campus before," said Laura Lloyd, a UM-D junior.
Most of the animals were injured at one time in their lives. Rodgers decided to take them in because they are not able to live on their own. Sparkle, the eastern screech owl, had his wing shot completely off. "It is amazing he lived through it," said Rodger's wife.
Rodgers went on to explain that this particular owl is very small in size. It usually makes "ghost story noises" which is particularly appropriate this time of year.
Rodgers told attendees where to look to see most hawks. He had one word - expressways. "Most people don't look above when they are driving on the expressways, so they miss all of them," said Rodgers. "The expressway is the perfect place to hide if you are a hawk because drivers don't stop and look, and nobody is walking along the expressway, so hawks go unnoticed there."
"I came purposely today for my environmental studies class. I think it's very interesting though," said Laura Cameron, a senior UM-D student.
When the next bird of prey was brought out, all the elementary students backed up in awe. Little Red, the red-tail hawk, had his wing crushed when a truck hit him on the expressway. Rodgers and his wife joked saying, "it forgot to look both ways before crossing the street."
Rodgers explained that red-tail hawks come in all different colors and patterns. He also explained that only the adults have red tails. Rodgers described Little Red as "a very powerful bird."
Along with these birds, a movie star was also present. The smallest owl of the group, the saw-whet owl, was used on the cover of the "Lost in the Woods" book. Because of the noise that it makes, the bird was given the name Pipsqueak. Rodgers told a story of when Pipsqueak got really excited when she heard a truck backing up. They make similar sounds - beep, beep.
"I think today went really well," said Emily Johnson, vice president of SEA. "We had a good mix of people. We had professors, students and children all attending. I think it was very successful," she said.
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