A Wyoming dude ranch adventure...: Raptors and a friendly game of cat and grouse

I had heard about the Teton Raptor Center in Wilson, WY and went online to book a one hour "raptor experience" for $12. Money well spent! Their worthwhile mission is to advance raptor conservation through education, research, and rehabilitation. Teton Raptor Center is located on Hardeman ranch and began in 1991 when two field biologists working in Grand Teton National Park began caring for injured raptors out of their home. Now they care for over 130 injured birds per year at their fully equipped rehabilitation facility.

It's a charming place. Our presenter, Becky, brought out a number of owls, large and small and an American kestrel and held them on her gloved hand while she told us about raptors and the specific birds' histories, injuries and origins. Raptors include hawks, eagles, owls, kestrels, kites and ospreys. All have sharp talons, keen vision, eat meat and use their unique curved beaks to tear apart their prey. Female raptors are usually larger than males. Their power center is in their feet which they use to crush, grab or pierce their prey.

This beautiful Barn Owl was my favorite. It arrived injured and was rehabilitated but was determined to be deaf, so now it's an education bird, unable to fend for itself in the wild.

An innocuous looking Great Horned owl... very lethal to small mammals... including cats!

A rare African owl "mix" born in captivity by accident in 2008. His keepers at another facility thought his parents were both male and housed them together despite their being from two different countries in Africa. Voila... a chick was born that can't be released back into nature due to his "hybrid" nature. Because of this he was cleverly named Mendel (remember the genetics biologist?) Sadly, he had an freak accident in his enclosure a few days after I met and photographed him, breaking his foot, and he had to be put down ;(

A Golden Eagle

A Goshawk

A juvenile Bald Eagle that will likely never fly again ;(

The Teton Raptor Center also has a very interesting project affectionately known as the “Poo Poo Project.” It aims to prevent wildlife entrapment within vent pipes found on vault toilets throughout the U.S. through the design, distribution and installation of special screen covers.

Within the last year, the project hit a significant milestone, marking over 7,000 screens distributed. Each year thousands of cavity-nesters, animals that prefer dark, narrow spaces for nesting and roosting, become entrapped in vertical open pipes such as ventilation pipes, claim stakes, and chimneys. Vault toilets, the self-contained restrooms found in many of America’s wilderness areas, feature vertical ventilation pipes that mimic the natural cavities preferred by various bird species for nesting and roosting.There is growing documentation by regional resource managers that small owls are being trapped in these vault toilets after the birds, frequently owls, enter through open-topped vent pipes leading to the waste holding reservoirs below. Once they enter the waste pit they are trapped and unable to fly back up the pipe or out through the toilet... and they die. If you feel like making a contribution to fund one of these screens, here's the link:
http://tetonraptorcenter.org/support/give

Also a great 4 minute YouTube video on the project. Please watch and spread the word:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmyEE58iiF0

All in all, a great time at the Teton Raptor Center... I learned a lot!

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Speaking of birds... the other day I was in my cabin and Scout was sitting just outside. I kept hearing what I thought was an agitated rodent of some sort cooing and clucking, and finally went outside to investigate. There was Scout on a nearby porch, surrounded by a family of grouse! (4)