Shady Creek Outdoor School & Event Center

Raptor Barn

WELCOME TO OUR RAPTOR BARN!

At Shady Creek Outdoor School and Event Center, we house several rescue birds that help us to teach kids about the nature around them. Meet some of our beautiful birds below!

Bald Eagle - Haliaeetus leucocephalus

Name:

Shasta

Injury:

Shasta joined the outdoor school family in 1997. A poacher shot Shasta, and he lost part of his left wing. As a result Shasta will never be able to fly and so he cannot be returned to the wild. Instead, Shasta became an educator who meets over five thousand students each year. He helps teach about bird adaptations and caring for birds.

Special Adaptations:

- Large hooked beak for tearing food
- Extremely strong grasping talons (feet) for killing prey
- Binocular vision to help hunt for food

Diet:

Shasta enjoys a diet of rats, quail, chicks, and fish. The Shady Creek Outdoor Education Foundation generously provide Shasta’s food.

What can you do to help?

A chemical used in farming called DDT was a major factor in the decreased number of many bird species including bald eagles. Thanks to the people who cared enough about the bad effects of DDT, it is now illegal to use DDT in the United States. Bald Eagles were removed from the endangered species list in 2007. We all can help by caring and learning more about the impact harmful chemicals and pollutants can have on animal populations.

Red-Tailed Hawk - Buteo Jamaicensis

Name:

Roja

Biography:

Roja joined the Outdoor School family in 2008. Roja was found next to a highway and we believe that she was hit by a car. Roja was taken to the UC Davis Raptor Center where it was discovered that she had sustained an injury to her left wing. Although every attempt was made to rehabilitate Roja, her injury was too great, and she would not survive if she was released back into the wild. Instead, Roja became an educator at Shady Creek where she meets over five thousand students each year. She helps teach about bird adaptations and caring for birds.

Special Adaptations:

- Sharp hooked beak for tearing food
- Extremely strong grasping talons (feet) for killing prey
- Excellent binocular vision to help hunt for food

Diet:

Roja enjoys a diet of mice, quail and Chicks. The Shady Creek Outdoor Education Foundation generously provides Roja’s food.

What can you do to help?

We all can help by caring and learning more about Red-Tailed Hawks and then sharing that knowledge and caring with others.

Western Screech Owl - Megascops kennicottii

Name:

Piper

Injury:

Piper joined the Shady Creek family in 2013 after being found on the ground in a lumber yard. A caring citizen figured out that because he is a nocturnal animal and was out during the day, something was wrong. He was taken to a wildlife rehabilitation center where it was discovered that he lost his sight most likely due to a mosquito that carried West Nile virus. Piper is a master of camouflage with many adaptations to help him blend in with his surroundings, and he helps us educate over five thousand students every year who come to Shady Creek.

Special Adaptations:

- Specialized feathers to help him fly silently.
- Excellent camouflage for blending in when perched in trees.
- Fourteen vertebrae in his spine (compared to seven in humans) giving him the ability to turn his head about three quarters of the way around.

Diet:

Piper eats a diet of mice generously provided by the Shady Creek Foundation.

What can you do to help?

Piper went blind because of West Nile virus but another common way that birds can go blind and also die is by flying into windows, so you can put stickers or streamers on your windows to prevent this from happening.

Turkey Vulture - Cathartes aura

Name:

Conrad

Injury:

Conrad joined the Shady Creek Family in 2015 after being shot by a poacher and losing his entire right wing. Without the ability to fly Conrad would never survive in the wild, so now he helps our staff educate the over five thousand students who come to Shady Creek every year about scavengers.

Special Adaptations:

- Highly developed sense of small to help him find food.
- Large V shaped wings for gliding in pockets of air called thermals.
- Their naked heads remain cleaner when feeding inside large carcasses.