Yesterday I took two of my grandchildren to the Cascades Raptor Center here in south Eugene hills. This nonprofit rehabilitates injured birds and houses some that are too severely injured to be able to survive in the wild. The large, screened cages are nestled beneath the branches of native forest–it’s as close to being out in the woods as any confined birds can experience elsewhere I think. We saw Steller’s Jays, juncoes and chickadees in the nearby trees. I hadn’t been there for a while and was surprised to see several new, large cages, most built by volunteers. They have four bald eagles this time and even an osprey. Other birds include several species of hawks and owls. A magpie shares a cage with a raven. I was pleased to see that the turkey vulture with the shoe fetish is still there. He bonded too closely to people when young and used to fly down and pull on shoelaces, particularly of shoes worn by women. Of course he has a shoe to play with in his cage! The Raptor Center relies on a few paid employees and many hours of volunteer help as well as donations and grants. They also go out into the community with a few of the birds for events and participate with schools.
Cascades Raptor Center
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