August 11th

Three days in a row of working with Kily! Lacie had instructed me to retrieve him from his mew to be placed in the small raptor weathering yard for the day. I tried, I bribed but couldn't get Kily to come down from the rafters. It was late in the afternoon when Lacy was finally able to retrieve him. I think something scared him the night before and made him a bit nervous to come down. When returning Kily to his mew I placed his food cup on his feeding stump upside down and signaling him to it. When removing the cup Kily took to the air and flew around my body following the cup. In the process he gently raked his talons on my chest. It was as if a whirlwind had just spun me around. Not until after Kily landed on his perch did I realize he was staring at the cup in my hand, where he thought the food was. I signaled to the food and he quickly understood where his supper was located. Smart bird.

I knew this was coming from the past week of talk at the center but didn't want to believe it, Kodiak was being put down after work today. For months the small boreal owl has been sick with what Vickie believes is the signs of a brain tumor. The life expectancy of a boreal doesn't typically exceed 4 years in the wild, Kodiak has been at the center for four years so we knew he wasn't going to make it much longer. It was so hard not to swell up with tears when gazing upon the tiny bird in the huge eagle crate. Everyone was quiet in the ICU as we said our final good buys. You will be greatly missed Kodiak.


-Kodiak. Taken by Reece Flexner, 2008.

August 9th

The young bear returns. This time I was ready keeping my camera close at hand with an air horn equally as ready, just in case.



Round two of working with Kily. He is such a great bird to handle, very tolerable of new handlers like me. We have been keeping Kily in ICU at night for protection from the bears. Kily is terrified of larger animals and tends to be a rather vocal bird. The keepers at the center are afraid he would spot a bear and draw allot of attention to himself putting this red-tail in potentially deadly danger. When taking him off his lead he decided to jump from my glove and his short jesses slipped from my hand. Kily took flight and wound up on top of the shelves in the ICU. I'm sure glad this happened in a closed small room and with that particular well behave bird. In less than five minutes Miranda and I had Kily back on the glove and put away for the evening. Makes me realize how easy it could be to loose a bird, I never even felt the straps slip from my fingers.

August 8th

A young male brown bear has been making frequent visits fishing in the Indian River behind the Raptor Center. When he makes his appearance everyone gathers at our back deck for viewing. What a perfect way to watch a bear in it's natural habitat in a safe manner. He's a very good fishing bear, caching his fill. Ravens gather around him ranting and raving waiting for the salmon carcase to be left behind so they to can eat.


-Sunset watching the young bear.


-lunch time.



Jen let me handle Kily the Harlen's Red-Tailed Hawk today. It was amazing having a large bird on my arm. I could defiantly feel the wait difference with him in comparison to Katy. The feeling of having a wild bird working with me, sitting right on my arm is something I want to experience for the rest of my life. What an amazing feeling.


-Kily. What a BEAUTIFUL bird.

August 7th

The day had finally come where I was able to work with Katie the American Kestrel. I had been pushing my interest handling the birds quite frequently this week and with the relived drama of Kirsten and Zoie being gone and with Roger back, perhaps had something to do with my accomplishment. After ten mins. or so, Katie was sitting on my glove. She wasn't overly excited to be working with me and acted on the aggressive side. I wanted to get her used to my movements and voice so I walked her around the enclosure while humming and singing. After a spray bottle bath and some quality handling time she had calmed down drastically. I decided to leave on a pleasant note said goodnight to Katie.


-My Katie bird.

August 5th

Today's bear encounter at the Raptor Center will always be imbedded into my memories. While I was visiting with guest a older gentleman informed me that a mother with FOUR bear cubs were walking in the river just off the trail. I rushed to tell Debbie as the word of the bears was spreading and guests were making there way towards the spectacle. I had heard stories of this sow with her many cubs and knew the possible danger that our guests could find themselves in. I was equally as excited as all those people however to catch a glimpse of the rare sight. Not more than hop, skip and a jump off the trail was the bears walking down the Indian Rivers rapids. The cubs were so small and the sight was incredible. Because of the frequent bear encounters we closed off the hiking trails and board walk.


-Pink Salmon in Indian River.

August 4th

After work Lindsey and I made jam together at her place. I never new how easy of a proses making jam is, sure dose take a lot of time however. The amount of sugar required was unreal, one cup of berries called for one cup of sugar. We made close to 48 jars! I may never buy another jar of jam again now that I know how to create such a tasty treat.

August 2nd

While talking to some guest today at the center, a miniature husky carelessly strolled my way onto the deck. Kily our Harlan's Red-Tail is terrified of dogs so I quickly snagged the K9 by the collar to avoid havoc. The way the dog strolled out onto the deck I was sure that an owner was close behind. There was no owner around so Lacie and I tied up the small dog in the back. Jenna called the number on the dogs collar and soon the owner, who didn't even know her dog was gone, arrived.


-Bow Wow tied out back.


-Can you tell I was having fun taking her picture?


-What a photogenic dog.

Reece and I explored the streams after work. The pinks are really making there way into the Indian River. The estuary area is packed as the fish are further make their way. The bald eagles are congregating in great numbers aswell, you can see white heads scattered throughout the trees.


-Bald eagles above the salmon run.


-Heads in the trees.