FEATHERY FUNDRAISER

Falcon Fiesta benefits Hawks Aloft, planned Center for Birds of Prey

The Falcon Fiesta on Saturday, Sept. 15, will help benefit Hawks Aloft and its goal to build the New Mexico Center for Birds of Prey. The education center will showcase birds of New Mexico and teach the public about the issues the birds face.

The New Mexico Falconers Association will do a demonstration with its falcons at the fundraiser. There will be a silent auction and a live auction featuring a number of items, including professional photography, trips, tours and gift baskets. Hawks Aloft will have several of its educational birds on hand, including Flame, Beauty and Sunny.

Hawks Aloft recently acquired Flame, a flammulated owl that was struck by a car in Carrizozo and is no longer able to fly. Flammulated owls stand about 4 inches tall and have dark eyes rather than yellow eyes, which most owls are known for. Flame was named for the tiny orange feathers on his back.

Beauty, a turkey vulture, became part of the Hawks Aloft family in January. She was confiscated from someone who had her illegally and raised her in captivity. Due to her human imprint, Beauty is social, friendly and seems to think she is human, according to Garber.

“People often think of turkey vultures as unclean or disgusting because they are black and they eat things that are dead, but turkey vultures fill a unique role in our world,” Garber said. “They are the garbage collectors; they are the ones that clean up the carcasses and prevent the spread of disease, because a rotting carcass, of course, attracts a lot of unsavory things and that could potentially create a disease hazard for humans and other animals.”

A rescued prairie falcon, Sunny, also will be in attendance.

“He’s super-cute,” Garber said. “His name is Sunny because he has nice stripes below his eyes like the ones football players wear, and he was found by hikers hiking in the Organ Mountains. He was a long way from the road, so we don’t know what happened to him, but his wing was pretty well ripped off, and so he is not releasable, but he is a really awesome bird.”