Birds of Prey

The World Center for Birds of Prey, sponsored by the Peregrine Fund, is located 5 miles south of Boise.  Founded in 1970, the Fund was established to save the Peregrine Falcon from extinction via a capture/breed/release program.  Their efforts were a success: they released 100s of falcons into the wild and they were removed from the endangered species list in 1999.  Now the Center is doing the same with condors.

Condors have the largest wingspan of any bird in the USA: 9.5'.

The specimen above is stuffed; the 2 below are part of the breeding program.

This fierce looking fellow is a harpy eagle, stuffed.

This little screech owl is being held by a volunteer.

More stuffed raptors.

The Center has assisted 65 countries with 100+ raptor species, has an extensive 

research library, numerous displays and several sculptures.

Falconry has been around for about 4000 years.  Initially, it was a means of capturing wild game for the dinner table, later, a status symbol hobby, currently, a bit of both.