Students Get Close Up Look
At Auburn Raptors

Auburn Raptor Education Biologist Marianne Murphy, holds on as Spirit stretches his wings during Arab High School program.  Spirit is one of the eagles that performs at the beginning of Auburn football games.   Arab Today Photo by Dwight Hayes

Roy Crowe, Raptor Education Specialist and Eagle Consultant for the Auburn University Raptor Center holds a Barn Owl during Arab High School presentation.                 Arab Today photo by Dwight Hayes

April 21, 2009
Every other year, Arab High School Agriscience instructor Benny Isom incorporates a program on fish and wildlife into his curriculum.  As part of this year's curriculum, Isom arranged for the Auburn Raptor Center educational team to present their raptor education program to Arab students and the Arab Rotary Club last Thursday. 

Raptor education specialist Roy Crowe, and Raptor education biologist Marianne Murphy, brought seven different raptor species to the schools.  Crowe and Murphy are full time educators, doing about 250 raptor programs per year.  While they do travel out of state, most of the programs are in Alabama.  They also train and handle the eagles used in the preliminary ceremonies of the Auburn University football games.

Crowe and Murphy brought seven different raptors for the Arab program, including a black vulture, falcon, red tailed hawk, barn owl, barred owl, screech owl, and a bald eagle.  Crow said the birds used in the program are the type likely to be seen in the wild in North Alabama.

Raptors get their name from the three characteristics that set them apart from other birds.  All raptors have very strong feet with sharp talons that are use to grasp their prey.  They have a hooked beak use to kill and eat their prey, and they consume a diet that consists entirely of meat. 

The black vulture may not be the most lovable looking bird but it performs a valuable service by searching out and eating dead animals according to Auburn Raptor Biologist Marianne Murphy.

Raptor education specialist Roy Crowe holds a Falcon as part of the AHS program.  Falcons are the fastest bird in the world with speeds of over 200 mph measured during a dive for prey.

Murphy holds a red tail hawk.  The red tail hawk is common to the North Alabama region.

This barred owl is a nocturnal bird of prey and often glides silently through the night in search of food.  The hoot of the barred owl is often heard in the North Alabama woods.

Murphy shows off the smallest, but most aggressive owl common to North Alabama during a presentation to the Arab Rotary Club.

Roy Crowe holds Spirit as he answers several questions from members of the Arab Rotary Club during a presentation on Thursday.

The mission of the Raptor Center is to provide rehabilitation for sick or injured raptors, education about the birds, and research.  The Auburn Raptor center currently houses twenty-five permanent residents of which four are eagles.

 Crowe and Murphy handle the eagles during Auburn football games.  Crowe said it takes about one year to train the eagles to fly into the arena in front of 100,000 screaming fans.  The handlers have two minutes to release the eagle, allow it to fly to the field, and get off the field.  Crowe said the event is very tightly choreographed.

According to Murphy there are about 300 active eagle nesting locations.  "Normally 2-3 babies are hatched in a nest each year," Murphy said.  600-900 eagles are potentially added to the eagle population each year.

It is illegal for an individual to keep wild animals as pets in Alabama.   

The Raptor Center is part of the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine. For more information about the Auburn Raptor Center click www.auburn.edu/raptor