The American Bald Eagle Foundation Raptor Center and Natural History Museum in Haines is inviting local people to come visit them while they train their eagles.
Sidney Campbell is the Education and Development Manager at the Center. She says the Eagles, in particular, need to get used to crowds again before cruise ship season starts.
“It’s been a long, quiet winter and the birds are all in winter mode so what we’d really like to be doing is exposing them slowly but surely to audiences again so that they get used to performing for large crowds,” said Campbell. “So, if any Haines locals are interested in coming in and seeing some training sessions, we could really use it in the eagles especially. They can always call us or they can drop by in the early afternoon and usually see something cool happening.”
The Raptor Center is home to three Bald Eagles as well as two Red-tailed Hawks, a Eurasian Eagle Owl, an Eastern Screech Owl, a Peregrine Falcon, a Lanner-Saker Hybrid Falcon and a Merlin.
The Center is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Training takes place in the early afternoons. Visiting the Center is free for Haines locals.