The Avian Reconditioning Center in Apopka, FL (just north of Orlando) is a rehabilitation facility for raptors. Many of their rescues come in injured from an accident and are rehabilitated and released back into the wild. Some are injured so badly that they can never be released and they have a home there where they can help the public learn about their species and their lives.

Every Fall, the Center holds an Owl Fest and this year I read about it in the local paper and decided to head on over with camera in hand just to see what it was all about. There were several hundreds of people there, mostly young parents with small children. The staff is wonderful: knowledgeable and friendly. The birds, amazing. So, let me introduce you to a few of the residents of the Avian Reconditioning Center.

First up is a juvenile Barn Owl that is being raised at the Center. His mom is also here.



And here's mom.



Since this was Owl Fest, I focused my attention on this handsome Great Horned Owl. Here are a few shots of him.







Some of the other residents are very special. This is a female Peregrine Falcon. She came to the center with her mate who was injured and cannot fly. Peregrine's mate for life and so she's stayed with him and is the star of the falconry demonstrations at the Center. Did you know that when Peregrine's dive for prey they can be traveling over 200 mph?!



One of the long-term guests of the Center is this Bald Eagle who was born with a deformed wing. Oscar is over 30 years old.





One of my quests for the past few years was to get a shot of a Swallow-tailed Kite. I've seen them many times but always when my camera is somewhere else. At the Center, they have two Kites and I was able to photography them. My feelings about that are somewhat bitter-sweet: on one hand, the staff tells me they get very few Kites in for rehab which is good. The painful part was seeing these birds, so awesome in flight, looking somewhat like oversized pigeons when tethered to the stands. I still need to capture these guys in flight.



In addition to these guys, there are Golden Eagles, Red Shouldered Hawks, and lots of other Kites and Kestrels. My plan is to revisit the Center during these Fall months and get to know the staff and the birds better. It is a wonderful facility and they do some really great work with these beautiful birds.

Jim

Some really fine portraits here Jim. It was interesting to learn about the fine work being done by the Avian Reconditioning Center. I'm really glad there are folks out there willing to take on such emotionally taxing work.

Jim

Wow, what nice pictures! I love them!

I actually work at the Avian Reconditioning Center, and I was hoping to correct some minor things. Maybe you spoke to a misinformed volunteer? All the birds in the pictures do live at our center, but our barn owls, Henry and Whisper aren't related. Henry is a European Barn Owl, and Whisper is a Common Barn Owl. Our two peregrine falcons are also unrelated.

We don't have any golden eagles at our center, although it would be amazing to have one, they don't often make it over to Florida. We do have three Bald Eagles, Windy, Stormy, and Ike. Our oldest bald eagle is about 15 years now. I think that's a picture of Ike there!

I'm glad you had a good time at Owl Fest, and I hope I could help clear up some misunderstandings. You took some lovely pictures! Hope to see you there again this year!

Nice set.

Allison,
thanks for clarifying some of the information I received at Owl Fest. It was a very hectic day and I may have mis-heard some of the information that was being exchanged with the folks around me.

You folks do a lot of great work and we were impressed with both the facility and the dedication of the workers/volunteers there. We hope to get back often to photograph such gorgeous birds, many of which are difficult to find in the wild.

Take care,

Jim

Hey Jim,

Thanks for sharing - and of course, to everyone for this interesting conversation.

James