The University of Idaho Argonaut

Charlie Kimball, left, with Dakota, a female Red tailed hawk, talks to a guest in the Falcon room. The Washington State University Raptor Club held its first annual Raptor Safari on Saturday. Allison Clark/Courtesy Photo

Since 1981, the Washington State University Raptor Club has been rehabilitating and taking care of birds of prey that cannot survive in the wild.
“Any raptor that comes into the facility that can’t be released, the club will take on,” said Ali Clark, member of the WSU Raptor Club. “We’ll do their basic care, feed them and take them on presentations.”

Clark said a raptor is defined as any bird that kills its prey with its feet. She said this includes birds such as eagles, hawks and owls.
The club held its first annual Raptor Safari from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday. The event consisted of a tour featuring the club’s birds, activities to learn about the various birds and a crafts section where children made pine cone owls.

Clark said the event was organized to teach people about the birds and the club’s efforts in taking care of them.
“We’re teaching the public about the conservationof these animals, biology facts about these animals and what we do as a club,” Clark said. “Just basic conservation facts about them.”

Shawnese Rocco, president of the WSU Raptor Club, said the club started in 1981 when a red-tailed hawk that had been hit by the car was brought to WSU by Erik Stauber, a professor of small animal medicine and the adviser of the club. She said the club was started because of the red-tailed hawk, named Charlie, and has been taking birds in ever since.

“We kind of give them a second chance at life as education ambassadors,” Rocco said.
Clark said in order for the club to own and maintain the birds they must have permits. Some of the species, such as eagles, are protected by laws. Rocco said one of the permits requires the club to take the birds on educational presentations.
“The permit requires that we do 12 a year, but we do over 80 presentations a year,” he said.
Matt Bocek, a senior English major at WSU, attended the event.

“A lot of the exhibits were really cool,” Bocek said. “The kids that I saw here seemed really excited about it.”
Bocek said the members of the club put a lot of effort into the event.
“The staff was really knowledgeable and really eager to show off their birds,” he said.
Clark said the club consistently has new birds coming in and out of the club to be taken care of. She said the club currently takes care of 20 birds. Anyone can join the club as long as they are 18 or older, and they don’t have to be a student at WSU.

The event featured several birds including a golden eagle, peregrine falcon and a great horned owl. Several people attended the event, the majority of them being young children with their families. Clark said the club will continue to hold the event each year.