Birds of prey highlight migration festival

A bald eagle, a northern saw-whet owl and a turkey vulture are just three of the raptors who will help celebrate spring migration over Braddock Bay April 11-19. Braddock Bay Raptor Research (BBRR) is sponsoring its 15th annual celebration of Bird of Prey Week (BOP) in and around Braddock Bay Park, its lodge and its hawkwatching platform.

Throughout the week, there will be numerous opportunities for people to get a close-up view of some of the majestic birds that normally are not much more than specks in the skies overhead. Each night of the festival promises a new and interesting presenter that will talk about various bird-related topics.

The celebration of hawks will open Friday, April 11 with a special show sponsored by The Institute for Environmental Learning. Paul Schnell will appear with Liberty, the Alaskan bald eagle. Paul is an innovative educator with non-releasable birds of prey.

Raptor educator/conservationist Ron Walker from Avon will bring several species of owls for a 2 p.m. show Sunday, April 13. Ron will also present his Wildlife Puppet Show on Wednesday, April 16.

Monday evening, April 14, Kathy Barone will deliver a presentation on the owls of Braddock Bay and owl migration. The following evening, April 15, Elizabeth Thompson from Genesee Country Nature Center will talk on raptors' mammal cousins, the bats.

One hundred years of raptor banding in North American will be celebrated Wednesday evening April 16. Presenters John Newhouse (vice-president of BBRR) and Anne Terninko (Professor at Finger Lakes Community College) will discuss raptor banding and its importance in conserving these great birds.

Daena Ford will bring a few of BBRR's birds for a "Live Birds of Prey" show Thursday evening, April 17. The residents include a red-tailed hawk, a broad-winged hawk and an American kestrel in addition to a turkey vulture, eastern screech owls and a northern saw-whet owl. Ford has worked as a naturalist at Bear Mountain State Park, as the hawkwatching intern and Education Coordinator at Braddock Bay Raptor Research, and is now a full-time teacher as well as BBRR's president.

Each day of the week includes several other opportunities to learn about and enjoy the raptors of Braddock Bay. For those who want to try to identify hawks flying overhead as part of the spring migration, there will be a hawk identification class at the lodge for beginners as well as for more advanced hawkwatchers. There will also be workshops and group hawk-watches led by BBRR's world famous raptor biologists.

Special programs for school children will take place during the weekdays. Hawks for Kids features games and craft activities, storytelling, a visit from one of the live birds of prey, and the Incredible Hawk, BBRR's six-foot tall mascot.

The festival will finish up Saturday, April 19 with the 15th annual HawkOut! Celebration. The day holds activities for the entire family. The picnic/cookout from 11 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. includes live birds of prey presentations, kids' games, and booths featuring local birding and conservation organizations, local wildlife artist displays, and lots of food.