For the Birds!

Mike, a shipmate of mine that I hadn't seen since at least 1991 moved to Arizona a few years ago. We've been trying to get together but it hadn't worked out until this last weekend...

Cade - male Peregrine Falcon

Mike set up a visit to Arizona's Raptor Experience in Chino, Arizona. This place offers up close and personal photography of their raptors in natural, desert settings. They take their birds outside where they've positioned stumps and they'll do what they can to pose the birds for you. You can walk around them, shoot low or high. You can easily get within a few feet of them. The owners, Anne and Paul Schnell, will keep the birds out, moving them from location to location, until you've captured all of the shots you want or until the birds get too hot (it is Arizona!).

The facility is available by appointment only and isn't cheap but it doesn't break the bank either. We were there almost 3 hours and it cost a bit over $200. That included some flight time (of which I didn't get any usable photographs).

I decided that I'd leave Phoenix after getting off work at my day job on Friday. I arranged for a motel in Prescott Valley, Arizona, about 95 miles north of Phoenix. The Prescott Highland Games event was going on so I was lucky to get a room for about triple the weekday rate. Woo hoo! That's why I don't like staying in motels very often. I don't spend much time in them for the money. I decided to try to get more out of my stay this time.

Luna - male Barn Owl

I got to Prescott Valley at about 4:45 PM. I stopped at a Circle K and picked up a 6-pack of an IPA. I then went to Pizza Hut and got a small Meat Lovers pizza with mushrooms, olives, and onions added, and a small order of spicy wings. I checked in to America's Best Value Inn and discovered that I'd got one of their handicapped rooms. I don't know if that was the reason but the bed was great!

I first checked in with wifey then enjoyed my dinner. I ate less than 1/2 of the pizza, ended up drinking 3 of the beers, and had 3 of the wings. I wish you could get smaller portions of food items! I just can't often eat the "normal" portions. I also didn't care for the IPA much and ended up leaving the rest of it in the refrigerator when I left. Hopefully someone gets some good out of it! 

I made use of their swimming pool and hot tub. I can't remember the last time I had been in a swimming pool, probably around 2003 or 2004. I had the pool to myself so really enjoyed it. 

I placed a wake-up call for 5:15 the following morning. Chino Valley is about 15 miles from where I was staying and we were going to meet at 6:30 at the McDonald's. As it turned out, I made it about 2 minutes early. Mike and his family were already there.

It's something meeting someone that you went through a war together with (Desert Storm) but basically hadn't seen since. He offered his hand and I took it but then made him give me a bro hug. I think it surprised him a bit. We made a bit of small talk, which, surprisingly, centered around photography. 

Eventually we headed out to see the birds...

Anne and Paul met us with smiling faces, happy to show us their feathered friends. They posed them for us on the various perches, let some of our party hold some of the birds, and gave us a lot of information about the birds. It's clear they love what they do and want to share their friends and promote respect for the raptors.

Emily - female Swainson's Hawk

Not only is it really cool seeing their birds up close, but I learned a lot too. Raptors need padded perches, for example, because their feet aren't designed to support a lethargic lifestyle - they're not normally on their feet much. Consequently it is necessary to monitor and care for their feet so they don't develop "bumblefoot" infections.

I shot about 400 pictures of the birds and another 200 of our party. I even got some good shots of the birds. I have learned that I rarely get a good handheld shot so I shot almost everything from the tripod. The 8 or 10 handheld shots I took are unusable other than for memory purposes. Even still, the birds constantly turn their heads or bodies so it's not as easy as you might imagine to get a great shot. It's better than stalking them in the wild, of course, but it's also not like every shot is a winner.

I also got zero usable shots of the hawk in flight. I so rarely use auto focus that it took me a while to remember how to engage it. I use back button focus and had a hard time letting the camera try to take over. If / when I go back I really need to refresh myself on auto focus operation. 

All in all, it was a wonderful experience and I got some photographs I couldn't have gotten any other way. If you get a chance to visit them please do!