Shulian-4.5.09-Screech Owl Research (The Raptor Trust)

On the same day of our interview with Andy Stone (4/4/09), we also went to the 26 year old non-profit organization called The Raptor Trust, located in New Jersey.  After lunch, Andy drove us to The Raptor Trust — it was about a thirty-minute ride.  Andy said we were very fortunate that it didn’t rain that day. The Raptor Trust is a rehabilitation center that takes in injured, sick or orphaned wild birds.  The center’s main focus is to educate people about these wild birds, especially birds of prey. Ava’s and my visit to the center was just an ordinary visit, mostly just looking at the birds and playing with the stuffed ones in the souvenir shop.  We were pretty much the only ones there, my mom, and I, Ava, Andy, Andy’s son Adam.  We had no person to interview or work that could be done there.  The center was surrounded by swamp and tall thin trees.  It was very windy and cold that day, and each time a gush of wind came the trees would rock back and forth.   The Raptor Trust is very neatly laid out.  I thought perhaps it would look like an animal hospital or a veterinary-type office but it did not.  There were huge outside wooden cages with fence where each bird is kept, and one had to walk around each one like a maze.  Each bird had its own painted background, a tree and a wooden sleeping area.  Outside the cage is a sign identifying the bird and giving some information about it.  There must have been at least 30 birds outside.  Some were hard to see within their cages.  The most interesting birds we saw, in my opinion, were the bald eagle, the turkey vulture and of course the screech owl.  When we saw the screech owl it was inside its wooden house.  It was great seeing the birds up-close. After around forty minutes of looking around we decided to leave.  The visit was free, but at the entrance each one of us took turns putting money in the donation box.  Below is a picture of a screech owl resting happily in his wooden house, sorry that the picture is a little blurry, the double layered fence was not good for taking photos through.