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Avalon continues handler training on her quest to work as an Ambassador Bald Eagle!
Young Eagle turns 3 years old in March.
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2013
K-04, a female bald eagle (aka Avalon) is continuing to train to become an Ambassador Eagle at ORC. Her training has been focused on teaching her to be comfortable standing on a handler's glove while being displayed to the public for education.
Volunteer handler Mike McLellan has worked consistently since Avalon's arrival in August 2011 to introduce her to the life of an Ambassador Eagle and her role at ORC. You can follow her progress by reading the Avalon Reports and watching video posted here and on Ojai Raptor Center FB page.
K04, as she was officially known, was born on the Two Harbors Nest on Catalina Island in 2010 and made her way to Washington State. In February 2011 she was taken in by the Sarvey Wildlife Care Center in Arlington Washington, having been found with a broken wing and severely dehydrated. After much care and recovery time it was determined that she would never be able to fly well enough to be released into the wild. It was then decided that she could be transported back to Ventura County to join ORC's Resident Raptor program to become an education bird. See stories and video about Avalon's history near the bottom of this page. Also, see the Avalon reports with video from 2012 and 2011.
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Avalon Report 2013
by Mike McLellan, ORC volunteer
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February 20, 2013 video, right from 2/9/13
It was a beautiful, sunny day last Saturday Feb. 9th when our friends from IWS came to visit. Avalon has been much more receptive lately to getting ‘gloved up’ and coming outside, so I had her out in no time. Since I do this on a regular basis, I only witness the slow progression of her training, so it is a real treat to see us together on these videos. By watching this month’s video (courtesy of Carole wood and Kate Laird), and comparing to older ones, I really notice how much more relaxed Avalon can be these days. You can see from her posture, she is more comfortable, and less spooked by the ‘little’ things that are happening all around. What you don’t see in the video is the small crowd of people gathered by. She still baits if she gets spooked, but nowadays, for longer, more frequent periods, she will just stand there while I’m busy talking with the people present.
So take a closer look at Avalon and you can see how her head feathers are starting to get a little white tip on each one. Her chest is slowly turning dark brown and her beak is turning yellow. She will be 3 years old in March so each season now we should see a gradual progression to adult plumage.
Those of you who have followed Avalon for a while know she has been kept in several different cages. We have been in a slow but steady build out here at ORC since we first moved to the new facility. We are now nearing the completion of the last phase of cage construction. Avalon was at first, not in the master plan, but after we acquired her we had to find room for her. So now as we near the completion of the final, permanent, cages for all of the other Education Birds, we are also building a new enclosure for Avalon. It should be finished by April. During the winter months Avalon has become a lot mellower and has been much more ready to participate with me in getting on the glove. I have even been able to hand feed her (using long tongs) a couple of times. I must say that Avalon has definitely continued to adjust to being one of our education birds. She now gets on the glove readily and lets us handle her physically (for medical exams) without all the complaining she had before. Now she just has to become a little more socialized and practice the things she will be exposed to in her role as an ORC Education Bird.
Watching the video you can see how she is less interested in me, and in turn is looking around at other things a lot more. I noticed lately when I’m working her alone; if I look away from her she would turn her head away from me too. Then if I stared right at her she would stare right back! You may also notice me touching her with my fingers more than before. I am not trying to pet her, or calm her, but instead just trying to desensitize her to being touched. I need to be able to reach in and adjust her jesses and gear, plus we need t be able to examine her from time to time without upsetting her too much. And I use it as a way to correct her position, which can help calm her. But generally we try to keep our fingers away from the birds, especially the talons.
Well that’s about it for now, next month, March 27th is her birthday (do I hear party?) and we should have some great video to share. See you then.
See Past Reports & Video from 2012 and 2011
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See video of Avalon's first time on a glove!
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The Journey... K-04 'Avalon' - Avalon's story from hatching on Catalina Island until she arrived injured at the Sarvey Wildlife Center.
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"From the Beginning" - Avalon's Story
video courtesy of Kate Laird
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2-9-13 - Video by Carole Wood and edited by Kate Laird
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Want to help us feed and care for Avalon? Eagles are expensive! Costs include aviary construction, flying Avalon from Washington to LAX, transportation to ORC Wildlife Rehabilitation Center and providing lots of fish for her to eat! Be one of the first to adopt Avalon!
Adoption for 1 year - $500
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Avalon is in the Ventura County Star news!
Check out this awesome video about Avalon and ORC's Open House. Read the full story and see more photos Here.
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Oct 22, 2011 - ORC and Avalon are in the news! Check out this great story and video featured on NBCLosAngeles.com.
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