Last weekend I was in Ojai again to house/dog/bunny/fish-sit for my sister. My Mom was off at her 50 year high school reunion so my Dad and I decided to head over to Ojai Day on Saturday. Lots of booths in the park and downtown with food venders, people selling jewelry, paintings, pottery and other hand made items. Bands play throughout the day and there are also various organizations there to help the community and the environment.
The Ojai Raptor Center had a booth set up in the park and my Dad and I spent the better part of an hour talking to the volunteers, meeting these beautiful birds and of course, taking pictures. The Center rescues different species of raptors with the goal of returning them to the wild. Most of the time they are successful but in the cases of these educational birds (below) they were either too injured or had been imprinted to humans and would be unable to survive in the wild even though they are otherwise healthy - which is so sad.
Riley - Eastern Screech Owl
Bob - American Kestrel Imprinted to humans
Tito - Barn OwlHe is 4 years old and came to ORC with some head trauma, bi-lateral cataracts and both wings had improperly healed fractures.
Lucky - Red-Shouldered Hawk (Red tailed hawk is behind him)
Imprint - Non-releasable
Lucky's close-up
Hope you have enjoyed being introduced to these beautiful birds. They are incredible and so are the people who take care of them. It inspires me and gives me hope that people are out there doing this work, giving of themselves and their time. I miss volunteering and am feeling the need to get back to it, especially now.
Libby Park - downtown Ojai
If you are interested in more information about the Ojai Raptor Center, in donating or getting one of their awesome t-shirts or calenders you can go to ojairaptorcenter.org
"Unselfish and noble actions
are the most radiant pages
in the biography of souls."
~David Thomas
8 comments:
Oh myyyy....I am awestruck by these enchanting souls..thankyouoooooo!Such Beautiful creatures..I am smitten....gorgeous photos Lu!!
Hugs....
Kiki~
Extraordinary creatures. I think doing volunteer stuff with individual animals is probably pretty satisfying because it IS doable - one can get overwhelmed by the volume of need/suffering in the world, it's just a relief to focus in on what one can do here, now, even if it;s just a little thing.
I just love raptors. All of the birds in your photos are magnificent! I spotted a peregrine falcon in our yard not too long ago. We also have a nesting pair of eagles not too far from here and our share of owls. Love hearing them at night.
So glad you introduced me to these birds. It's sad to think that because of humans, they are in the situation they are in but heartening to know that because of humans, we are being educated about their plight. That little screech owl may just be a future needle felting sculpture! He is SO sweet! Gorgeous photos by the way...
WOW these birds are beautiful! A big thank you to the volunteers for their time and picking up the pieces to such a great cause. xo
Aren't they beautiful creatures, i especially love the little screech owl! x
Oh Wow!
These are the most beautiful birds. Your photos are amazing!
They all look so healthy and well looked after.
It was was a real treat to see your post today and as you know, I'm very fond of owls. Thank you for sharing your day at Ojai. It looks like a very good center.
xox
So beautiful...an uplifting post!
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