Thursday, February 11, 2016

Raptors Up Close - Winterfest Falconry

I really enjoy nature and am always marveled by the intricacies and beauty that God created for us to enjoy.  I had the chance to get up close and personal with raptors.  I didn't know until just the other day that in Sandy, Utah there is a winter festival where individuals who own raptors come and display their birds for the public to see.  It's amazing what you can find on Facebook, and apparently this is the 14th year of this event.  I'm glad I heard about it!

While the day of the event there was a huge winter snow storm which came through the area it was still really neat to see the birds.  Many of the owners would let you come within feet of their raptors and answer questions that you may have.  It was informative and fun to have time to just study the birds.  They also flew the birds in some timed trials for fun but it didn't last long as the weather was so bad (okay, I have no idea how long it lasted...I didn't last very long though).

There were golden eagle, harriers, red tail hawks, falcons, and owls there.  Of particular interest to me were the owls.  I hadn't thought of owning an owl, not even when watching Harry Potter films, but there were people with owls.  Now, I'm not expecting that these owls deliver mail or even want to cuddle with you but people had them!  I figured it was like people who have pet tigers or something crazy. While you can't technically "own" an owl in the US you can "possess" an owl.  It seems like semantics to me as you still have to do the same things: license them, take care of them, feed them, clean them and even clean up after them.  Of course, I'm a concept person and not so much a details person.  But, I'll tell you that the "possessors" of owls really harp on you when you talk to them about their pets.  I'm just saying...don't call them pets!  (again, let's face it - they are!)

Below are a few pictures of some of the "possessed" Great Horned Owls.

Check out the size of those eyes!  They are twice the size of a humans!

The Great Horned Owl

Okay, if this doesn't say Crazy Eyes I don't know what does!


You can look at other pictures from around Utah in the Photo Gallery By LocationYou can also view all my pictures in my Public Gallery.

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