HARLNGEN — Just call them the raptor wranglers.
One of the most popular aspects of the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival is the show put on by professional staff who haul birds of prey around the country for avian show-and-tell.
The first show was held Thursday afternoon at the Harlingen Convention Center, and the stars were an African white-necked raven, an aplomado falcon, a northern crested caracara and a great horned owl.
“She’s so pretty!” said one bystander of the brown and white aplomado, a bird which is recovering its range and a few can be found at Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge.
This one was born in captivity in Arizona.
“She is pretty gentle, although if people get too close to her, she tends to freak out,” said bird handler Victor Lawrence. “She’s a daddy’s bird, too.”
Lawrence said he’s been doing shows like this one for eight years.
The raptor wranglers make regular appearances at the Harlingen birding festival.
“I grew up with birds — parakeets, canaries, cockatiels — and then when I was 19, I got my first macaw and had my macaw parrots for 32 years,” he said. “I gave them up for a little while, but then in a short period of time I lost my mom, my dad and my brother, and so I said I don’t want to live my life without birds somewhere in there.”
Despite all being covered in feathers of one color or another, birds are not created equal.
Some are smarter, some train more easily, and some are more difficult to handle, Lawrence said.
“The owls tend to take a long time to train, their intelligence levels aren’t quite up with some of the other birds,” Lawrence said. “The Harris’s hawks are extremely malleable to training because they’re social in the wild.
“My raven is obviously not a native species, but they’re rated as corvids as being the smartest birds on the planet,” he added. “He was 10 weeks old when I got him and he just kind of trained as things went along and he’s been doing very well. The aplomado? She trains very quickly. “
The RGV birding festival continues through Sunday.
The raptor show gives outdoor demonstrations each afternoon at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
RGV birding festival
WHERE: Harlingen Convention Center
WHEN: Through Sunday
RAPTOR SHOW: 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
COST: Admission is free
