Owls, hawks and ice cream, oh my!

Kinana McDaniel had to drag Phoenix from the cage. The barn owl was not too interested in seeing what was out there in the larger world. Eventually, a combination of patience and the heavy leather gloves McDaniel wore got the big white owl out of hiding and out for people to see. Once out, the ooohs and ahhhhs from the crowd were definitely heard by the bird. Phoenix came to Wild for Life around the same time as McDaniel—you might say they grew up there together—when she started as an 11-year old volunteer there.

On the other side of the room, Susie Wright was showing off Rufous, an eastern screech owl. “They make a lot of noise, maybe to make up for their size,” said Wright. Susie has been with Wild for Life since 1989, and sums up their mission, saying “Our goal is to return wild animals to the wild. To date, we have helped around 1400 animals and returned 60% to the wild. I feel good about that.”

But owls and salted caramel ice cream were not all on the menu tonight. Trish McCoy soon brought out Junior, a broadwinged hawk, who is the victim of some kind of accident and suffered a brain injury. You have never been stared down until you have been stared down by a hawk. McCoy has been a volunteer for 4 years, and says “this is just the best kind of community place to volunteer.” Junior—who until recently was thought to be a male—does not have any obvious injuries, no missing wing, foot or tail. It gives him, well, presence. I would not want to be a mouse, rabbit or snake around him.

Oh yeah, that recently-discovered gender thing? In birds of prey it is very difficult to tell the sex of an individual. In Junior’s case, she recently layed an egg, so that was pretty good proof, but she’s still Junior.

Mary Beth Bryman was birdless at this show. She shared some of the challenges of caring for their flock, especially their diet of frozen mice The current population is 14 hawks and owls, they eat thawed mice, some of them have to be fed by hand due to physical limitations. Wild for Life goes through about 1,000 mice a month, it’s what’s for dinner. “We are the only local 501(c)3 wildlife rehab center. We specialize in birds of prey(hawks, owls, eagles) and turkey vultures, and we do whatever we can to restore these fantastic creatures back to the wild.”

Wild for Life has another, larger fundraiser coming up on July 20th at the Orange Peel, Phoenix, Rufous and Junior will all be there. Another month, another 1,000 mice out of the freezer and into the beaks.

 

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

One thought on “Owls, hawks and ice cream, oh my!

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.