Sidney Campbell works with Zilla, a 19-year old falcon, at the American Bald Eagle Foundation in Haines. (Claire Stremple for KHNS)

The American Bald Eagle Foundation in Haines just finished construction on two new outdoor aviaries for their birds. 

Sidney Campbell is the raptor program manager at the American Bald Eagle Foundation. She’s working with Zilla, a Lanner Saker hybrid falcon, who’s perched comfortably on her gloved hand.

They’re exercising in one of the foundation’s brand new aviaries. They’re an upgrade three years in the making. The Bald Eagle Foundation completed construction in mid-December. Fish and Game gave the green light for the birds to move in to their new homes at the end of the month.

“When facility was built there wasn’t a super great understanding of what birds really need to thrive in their spaces,” says Campbell.

She says they’ve learned a lot since then. She credits her predecessor, Leia Minch, with big changes. Those include a crucial pre-development grant from the non-profit Foraker group. When Minch left, it was up to Campbell to fundraise. She says crowdfunding paid for most of the $70,000  project.

“The spaces are much larger, much brighter,” she explains. “They have areas that are not roofed, so the weather can come in. Birds can choose to spend time in rain or snow. The goal for us was to give birds more choices.”

The old enclosures were too small and didn’t let enough light in. But the foundation is hanging onto them. They’ll get an update: the foundation is adding skylights and taking out some interior walls so there’s more space.

Inside the aviary, Campbell can stand up straight. She taps a perch and Zilla flies to it. It’s easy to watch them through the open net walls. Natural sunlight comes in through a transparent roof. The Department of Fish and Game may have signed off on the aviaries, but the real test is what the birds think. Do they like it?

“Oh yeah,” says Campbell. “Zilla mostly just has way more space. She can actually fly. There’s just a big difference in all of them. They seem so much happier.”

Zilla cleans her beak. That’s the sign that she’s done working for the day.