The Eagle and The Owls - Journey Day 5

The last 2 days of my journey were a whirlwind...so many beautiful, unusual and interesting things and places...it will take several days and blog posts to do justice to them all.   On Friday Gretta and I spent the day photographing in Vicksburg MS.  Our day started with a visit to Becky, a friend of Gretta's who rehibilitates birds of prey...there we met these two beautiful owls...

This pretty girl (right) is a 'Barred Owl' who lost her eye to a bebe gun.  Becky told us how she takes her to schools and talks to the kids about respecting these beautiful birds and caring for them rather than harming them.



Below is a 'Great Horned Owl'...she was a little testy when we were there because she has an egg and is very protective of it even though it is infertile and will never hatch.  Becky has provided a home for her for the past 7 or 8 years after rescuing her from a death sentence at a zoo where she had been living for about 11 years.  Owls live long lives like humans...some have lived 70 or 80 years.

 

 

Becky then took us to another location where she has an American Eagle she is currently working to rehabilitate.  While there I asked her how one goes about becoming a wild animal rehabilitator?  She explained that she had to take some classes and a test, then work with an experienced rehabilitator for a year or so and then apply for a licence.  She also told us how she teaches a young bird of prey to hunt.

 

Overall it was an interesting and informative morning.  The Owls were beautiful, the Eagle was slightly intimidating.  It definatly takes a special person to be a 'Bird of Prey Rehabilitator'!
 God bless you Becky!