Goodbye Raptor Free Flight

It's slowly sinking in that my 2-year weekly volunteer job has given to my life in a huge way and that I, sadly, will not be returning in the fall.
Every Sunday I went to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, where I volunteered for the Raptor Free Flight program. Last school year (September to April) was my first season, and this year made my second. On Sundays there is a lovely crew of girls I got to work with: Heather, Chantal and Rita. We've been co-volunteers for both seasons.

So what is Raptor Free Flight? It's a demonstration of native birds and raptors flying free in the desert! Well, not quite that simple. The birds are released and fly over a specific range they've been trained to stay in. Some birds do a lot of soaring, others mostly fly from one snag to another. All are impressive and beautiful. They get rewarded for landing in the right place with a bit of meat ("tidbits," I love this word), and thus they are positively reinforced as the method of training.

Behind the scenes, the birds stay in the "mew" and are cared for exceptionally by the staff and volunteers.

Their weights are meticulously tracked multiple times per day.

The equipment: hoods and jesses.

Rita in front of the old male barn owl, and Heather/Chantal cleaning an enclosure.

Male Great Horned Owl in the flight enclosure - my favorite bird ever.
Let's see these birds in action! Due credit goes to Heather for the following fabulous pictures.

Great Horned Owl again.

Harris' Hawks: Elegant flyers and graceful landers.

Scarlet Macaw in flight training.

Ravens - birds who are too smart for their own good :P

This is the male Barn Owl, literally light as a feather.

The Ferruginous Hawk is the largest hawk in North America. Being trained to handle this one was my big victory this season.

Grey Hawk, a very cute bird. I mean.... vicious predator... with a uhh... piercing scream. That's it.

Roadrunner. I think this photo may be my favorite Heather took at RFF.

I'll miss RFF, surely. It has taught me so much in terms of animal handling and training, working with many different types of people, patience in all areas, natural history of the Sonoran Desert and the true natures of birds. I have an appreciation for birds I couldn't, and would not, have gotten from anywhere else. On top of all of that, I have it to thank for the three close friendships with amazing people I now have and know will last.