More than 70 people came to learn about different breeds of raptors at Palisades-Keplar State Park Saturday, Oct. 8.
The event was hosted by the Friends of the Palisades-Keplar State Park, and featured speakers from Raptology of Iowa City.
Attendees learned about screech owls, turkey vultures and peregrine falcons during the event.
Sarah, the screech owl, was unable to be released back into the wild due to imprinting on humans.
Owls are nocturnal animals, meaning many people have probably not seen them too often if they aren’t in an education format. They may have heard the cries of the owls in the evening, but rarely see the animals due to their camouflage and habit of hunting late in the evening.
Owls make pellets of the undigestable elements of many of the animals they eat, including their bones and fur.
Their necks are flexible, giving them a high range of vision at the event.
Screech owls can live up to 20 years, but the first year is critical for any raptors survival. Many raptors of all species do not survive that first year of life.
Most of the screech owls in Iowa are of the grey variety, but there are variants of red screech owls in the area and they can breed with grey screech owls.
Gonzo, the turkey vulture spread his vast wings multiple times during the presentation Saturday morning. It’s a habit turkey vultures are keen to do in morning hours, as a way to dry up dew that may have accumulated overnight when they sleep.
Vultures also do a lot more soaring then flapping, riding thermal updrafts to gain elevation when they are flying.
The vultures also are a migratory bird, with many beginning the trend to the south as winter approaches.
Rachel, the peregrine falcon, was the final of the three birds at the session Saturday morning.
Falcons are more closely related to parrots than they are hawks. They are one of the birds that does a lot more flapping of wings to fly, and an reach speeds of 240 miles per hour as they dive towards prey.
They nest frequently on skyscrapers and other high buildings, with some from Cedar rapids noting they had been in the downtown metro in the past.
Mya Correll (right) inspects the talon of a raptor, one of many of the exhibits Raptology had on display as well after the in-person meeting the birds Saturday.