Since I left California, some six or eight weeks ago, wildlife sightings have been few and far between. In the desert, most animals are nocturnal, and since I’m not, well there you go. There’s also a dearth of trees in the desert, so birds are hard to find. I did see a roadrunner, but didn’t have my camera at the ready, of course.

So everywhere I go, I search for “wildlife places,” as well as scenery. I love having access to the internet (most of the time, at least), so I can find out what there is to see where ever I happen to be. In Flagstaff, Arizona, I found a few places that sounded promising for spotting raptors. Anyone who knows me knows that raptors are my favorite birds, so off I went to Rogers Lake. A place where eagles are purported to nest, and hawks routinely hunt. Ten miles of bumpy dirt road later, there I was. And not an eagle or hawk to be seen. I did see the usual suspects–flickers, jays, bluebirds and crows. And I shot photos of them, too. But I was longing for a raptor fix. Disappointed, I headed back toward town.

On the way back was the Flagstaff Arboretum. I noticed it on the way out of town, and thought it was odd to have such a tourist attraction on a bumpy dirt road three miles from pavement. So, having struck out on the raptors, and having some time left in the day, I decided to stop and see what it was all about. Maybe I could shoot some exotic flowers or something.

Walking up to the visitor center, a sign caught my eye that said something about Airborne Raptors. Well, of course I had to ask. As it turns out, they have a raptor show twice a day, except Fridays. I was there on Thursday, and had already missed both of them.

I usually don’t like to shoot captive animals. I stay away from zoos and wildlife parks because, frankly, they just make me sad. All of my wildlife photos, up to now, have been shot in the wild. When I got back to my computer, I did a little research and discovered that all the raptors in this particular show are rehabilitated, rescued birds, that are un-releasable for various reasons. That made me a little more comfortable about it, and I decided to try and catch the next show on Saturday.

Well, Saturday’s show got cancelled, but I went on Sunday. I have to say, it was an awesome experience to see these magnificent birds so close. The show was very educational and the birds were amazingly smart as well as beautiful.

I honestly don’t know if I will shoot captive birds again, but I’m really happy that I did this time. I mean, what are the chances I will ever have the opportunity to photograph a Eurasian Eagle Owl in the wild, right?

Oh, and by the way, the only raptor that actually flew in the Airborne Raptor show was a Harris’s Hawk. A beautiful bird that I have seen only once in the wild. Alas, me being so close, and the hawk being so fast, I failed to capture any decent flight images. But this bird, I hope to capture in the wild someday.

For now, thanks to the Flagstaff Arboretum, I got my raptor fix!