Thursday, May 04, 2000
Birds of prey fascinate young and old park visitors
By Cindy Schroeder
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COVINGTON — Only three days old when he fell from a tree, Squeaky resembled a fuzz-covered golf ball when his rescuer took him to Raptor Rehabilitation of Kentucky in Louisville.
At the volunteer center, the little Eastern screech owl with the bloody, mangled foot eventually found a new calling. Now the 11-year-old owl is a traveling wildlife ambassador, touring Kentucky with his human colleagues and educating others on the importance of saving birds of prey like him.
“Our goals are to teach people about (raptors') importance, inform them of their protected status, and tell people what to do if they find one,” said Eileen Wicker, director of Raptor Rehabilitation. Raptor, from the Latin word, “raptus,” signifies birds of prey, such as eagles, hawks, falcons and owls.
On Wednesday, Mrs. Wicker showed off Squeaky and fellow Eastern screech owl, Puff; as well as a pair of American kestrels, a red-tailed hawk, a turkey vulture, and a great horned owl at the inaugural program for Wild Wednesdays! sponsored by Kenton County Recreation and the Kenton County Cooperative Extension Service.
Designed to educate and entertain, the programs will be offered from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. each Wednesday through Sept. 27 at Mills Road Park in south Covington. Upcoming presentations will feature Cincinnati Zoo animals on May 10, Louisville singer/songwriter Debbie Tuggle on May 17, zoo animals on May 24 and a Kenton County Cooperative Extension Service program on May 31.
Last year, Mrs. Wicker and her husband, John, along with 26 other volunteers at their nonprofit center, rescued 246 injured or abandoned birds of prey. Of those, 164 were returned to the wild.
Wednesday's program drew 137 people, including several preschool and home school groups.
Brothers Alex, 7, and Jared Simpson, 5, of Ryland Heights, quizzed Mrs. Wicker on everything from the raptors' feeding habits to their size.
“That might have been the biggest owl I've ever seen,” Alex said of the great horned owl, a 31/2-pound bird capable of carrying off a 14-pound skunk.
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