Boyd Hill Nature Preserve’s Raptor Fest is Saturday
More than 30 Florida birds of prey – from the tiny screech owl to the imposing bald eagle – will be in the spotlight Saturday at Boyd Hill Nature Preserve’s annual Raptor Fest.
The 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. event, free and open to the public, attracts an estimated 3,000 visitors each year (weather permitting).
Master falconer Steve Hoddy will give “free flight” demonstrations.
Boyd Hill, the 245-acre preserve on St. Petersburg’s south side, is home to 17 or 18 indigenous raptors at its Birds of Prey Aviary, named for Dr. Gabe Vargo, the retired biologist who founded the educational Birds of Prey program in 1986.
Jason Cowan, executive director of the nonprofit Friends of Boyd Hill, is also the current program director. Representing approximately a dozen species, each Boyd Hill bird – hawks, vultures, owls and more – was rehabbed elsewhere after an injury, and moved to the Vargo Aviary as a permanent home.
The birds are non-releasable into the wild. But, Cowan explained, they are specially trained – and fully permitted – to go to schools and community centers for wildlife education.
The live bird experience, he continued, “is a really important aspect, especially because of how much Boyd Hill is used for youth programming. With youth, it’s hard to engage and get them to care about certain things, or about learning certain things. Without having something that’s really, tangibly there.
“Most of our birds are the way they are because of human involvement. So we can actually tie the human behavior to why they are handicapped, and that’s usually what gets kids to understand the importance of their own behaviors in the natural world.”
Raptor Fest features 30 exhibitors, including environmental organizations, artists and licensed wildlife handlers. Steve Hoddy, a Georgia-based master falconer (and longtime wildlife educator), will demonstrate birds in “free flight,” at 10:30 a.m., 12:30 and 2:30 p.m.
Representatives from Moccasin Lake Nature Park, McGough Nature Park, the Seaside Seabird Sanctuary and the Owl’s Nest Sanctuary For Wildlife will be on hand, too. With their own raptors.
“Everyone in the county that has them comes,” Cowan said. “It’s almost like a big ‘bird meet’ – but the public’s invited to it, too.”
For additional information, visit the Raptor Fest website at this link.
