Alaska Raptor Center

Part of my training is learning about the birds around Sitka. I got to experience visiting the Alaska Raptor center which is full of owls and bald eagles. These are all rescues that have suffered a gun shot wound, hit by car, or just found injured.

Volta and his trainer Robert

Volta was found injured on the ground after flying into a power line on the Sitka waterfront in 1992. He was brought to the Alaska Raptor Center suffering from concussion, electrocution, and several bone fracture injuries. Most of Volta's head injuries healed perfectly, but the coracoid on his right side was partially destroyed in the collision. The coracoid is a small bone in a bird's shoulder that is critical for gaining lift in flight, and without it Volta cannon take flight from the ground or a perch, making him non-releasable. Volta is about 28 years old and loves life at the Alaska Raptor Center.

Volta and I

Some interesting facts about bald eagles:

• There are about 100,000 bald eagles in the United States: 50,000 of them live in Alaksa and about 33,000 live in Southeast Alaska. 
• When born they are called eaglets and are brown. When they are four to five years old, they develop their normal white heads and tales.
• Bald eagles have been the national symbol since 1782.
• Female bald eagles are bigger than males.
• In the wild, bald eagles can live up to 35 years. In captivity, bald eagles can live up to 50 years.
• In the wild, a male weighs about 7-12 pounds and a female weighs about 10-15 pounds. 
• Bald eagles can soar up to 10,000 feet high.
• There great eyesight can see fish up to a mile away.
• There bodies can be three feet long and their wingspan can be up to 8 feet wide.

How big is my wing span?

• Bald eagles feast on fish, ducks, snakes, and turtles. They will also eat rabbits, muskrats, and dead animals.