Haven heaven for raptors

Bubo was in a lousy mood.

The great horned owl, a longtime resident of Rusty’s Raptor Center at Woodleaf Outdoor School, was not expecting midday company; the disruption put his feathers in a ruffle.

After a few moments perched atop the familiar hand of Woodleaf Outdoor School Director George Stratman, he began to hoot contentedly.

“He’s a character,” Stratman says of the unnaturally tame bird.

Bubo and other residents at the center - a combination raptor long-term care facility and education center - will move next spring or summer to the school’s new location in Nevada County.

The particulars of their future habitat are, as yet, unclear. But Stratman says the birds will remain an integral part of the school and its curriculum.

Ever since Rusty, an injured red-tailed hawk, was brought in 28 years ago, the study of raptors - birds of prey - has been a popular feature at Woodleaf.

Former School Director John Hendrickson, a raptor specialist, says that Rusty had been shot in the wing by “someone who was not a hunter, but a criminal.”

The bird fell ill the morning after Hendrickson’s retirement party in December 2004 and died a few weeks later.

Afterward, the facility, which keeps mostly unreleasable raptors, was renamed in the beloved mascot’s honor. Her likeness now graces the school’s logo.

The current facility, in place since 1996, serves as a classroom for more than 5,000 5th- and 6th-grade students brought to Woodleaf each year from a seven-county region for a week of natural science study.

Each of the raptor center’s seven residents was a victim of misfortune before being brought to Woodleaf. The stories are printed in the hallway outside each occupant’s enclosure.

Bubo’s is especially odd for an owl.

As a juvenile, he was taken into human captivity as a pet. Stratman said he was kept in a parakeet cage and fed hot dogs.

Once he became dependent on humans for food, that was it.

If he was released, “He would try to find people,” Stratman said. “He wouldn’t last very long.”

Eventually, a beak bite led one of his captors to the doctor, who informed the patient that native owl ownership is against the law.

He can’t be returned to his natural habitat, so now Bubo - short for Bubo Virginianus, the species to which he belongs - entertains kids and helps illustrate distinctions between wild animals, and animals that are appropriate to keep as pets.

Sometimes Bubo reinforces this point by attempting to land on a person’s head or shoe, Stratman says.

Human responsibility for keeping nature in balance becomes part of the lesson, and a long-eared owl at the center provides one such teaching opportunity.

The 8-inch bird named Tecolate (Spanish for owl) had been hit by a car and then stalked by a house cat. The man who found him chased the cat away and rescued the wounded bird.

Students are taught that the seemingly harmless act of throwing organic trash - like an apple core - out of a car window, can create an unanticipated chain of events.

A rodent could go after the apple, an owl could go after the rodent, a car could injure the bird, and a cat could endanger its own life pursuing the wounded bird.

This is more or less the way Tecolate’s ill-fated day played out, Stratman explains.

In September, Woodleaf will reopen at the former school and conference center property in Nevada County formerly called Shady Creek Family Camp and Conference Center.

Administrators at the Sutter County Superintendent of Schools office are in the process of purchasing the fully furnished complex for $4.4 million.

Stratman is unsure if Young Life, the national Christian organization that owns the current Woodleaf School property, wants to develop its own wildlife care facility. If so, he says, the raptor center building will be left as is, and school foundation board members would plan for construction of a new facility at the 133-acre Shady Creek site.

Another possibility would be to put the raptor center building on wheels - including several bedroom-sized bird enclosures, a teaching space, high-ceilinged rehabilitation area and a kitchenette - and send the whole thing to Shady Creek.

Then, there is the issue of oversight.

Hendrickson, who lives adjacent to the Young Life property, is licensed to care for the raptor center’s birds by U.S. Fish and Wildlife. Staff members at the school provide most of the day-to-day care for the animals during weeks when school is in session.

But during the summer and holiday season, Hendrickson is still the primary caretaker.

He is uncertain how things will play out when the birds are relocated.

Yesterday, Stratman took an off-season opportunity to deliver a lesson with the birds. He marveled aloud about the speed of peregrine falcons when diving after their prey (about 150 mph), and he points to Cassidy, one such impressive specimen.

Meanwhile, several previously stiff rats, mice, and quail were defrosting on a countertop nearby.

In late January, students will be present to witness feasts such as the one that is soon to begin.

But it’s holiday season now, Stratman explained. Even raptors get to eat in peace.

Reach Appeal-Democrat reporter Nancy Pasternack at 749-4712. E-mail her at npasternack@appealdemocrat.com.