Education Birds

American Kestrel - Kricket is a 1-year old female American Kestrel that came to us on July 7th, 2009. She was found as a young nestling in Anola, MB, and was quite dehydrated. After re-hydrating her and getting her to eat on her own, it became apparent that she was imprinted to humans, which most likely occurred before arriving at our facility. Imprinting occurs during an important stage of nestling development when humans have excessive interaction with the bird. Imprinted animals recognize humans as their role model, and consequently, often cannot survive in the wild. Therefore, we decided to keep Kricket for our education program.

Great Horned Owl - Max is a 3-year old male Great Horned Owl that came to the Wildlife Haven on May 16th, 2007. He was found as a very young nestling in Selkirk, MB where he fell out of his nest and fractured his radius and ulna in his right wing. He was brought to the centre by Manitoba Conservation, and upon examination, it was discovered that in addition to the broken wing, he also had maggots in both of his ears. The parasites caused scarring on his eardrums, and therefore his hearing is most likely impaired, so he was trained as an education bird.

Red-tailed Hawk - R2 is a 9-year old male Red-tailed Hawk that was originally found by Manitoba Conservation officers in the Victoria Beach area. He was starving, trying to hunt, and had jesses attached to its legs. It was later discovered that the hawk had escaped from a Falconer, and was an imprinted subadult. Imprinting occurs during an important stage of nestling development when humans have excessive interaction with the bird. Imprinted animals recognize humans as their role model, and consequently, often cannot survive in the wild. R2 was confiscated and turned over to the Wildlife Haven on Sept. 20th, 2001, and because he was non-releasable due to imprinting, he became a part of our education program.

Barred Owl - Bardy is a 15-year old female Barred Owl that was admitted to the O.W.L Rehabilitation Society in Delta, BC on Aug. 2nd, 2000. She fractured the radius and ulna in her left wing. A vet in BC surgically repaired the fracture by pinning the bones, but the wing never healed back to normal and therefore Bardy does not have full flight ability. Since she was non-releasable and had a good, docile temperament, O.W.L. sent her to our facility on May 16, 2001 to join our education team. Barred owls are common in BC, but are also native to Manitoba.

Broad-winged Hawk - BW is an 18-year old female Broad-winged Hawk that was found on Sept. 9th, 1995 on the #1 Hwy near the Manitoba-Ontario border. She fractured both the radius and ulna in her right wing, so it was surgically pinned at Central Veterinary Services. However, full flight was never regained, so because of her calm disposition BW became a Wildlife Ambassador. She is our easiest and most versatile education bird for new handlers to work with.

Red-tailed Hawk - Red was the first and founding member of our Wildlife Ambassador program. She is a 25-year old female Red-tailed Hawk. In 1987, the Department of Natural Resources confiscated this hawk from someone who was illegally keeping her as a pet. Her captor had trimmed her primary feathers to keep her from flying away, resulting in damaged follicles. Once in our care, every effort was made to encourage the flight feathers to grow back in during molting periods, but unfortunately the damage was permanent. Red cannot fly at all, and therefore was trained as an education bird.