It happened so fast! The Eurasian eagle owl—with a wingspan of nearly six feet—soared across John Jay High School’s theater, over the heads of dozens of students, landing on a perch set up on the stage. Students responded to its long, surprisingly fast glide with spontaneous applause, celebrating the magnificent sight.
The bird, named Wyatt, was the final guest in a presentation called Silent Wings: Raptor Rehab and Education, a program of The Wildlife Institute of Eastern New York. The visit was an in-school field trip for students in AP Environmental Science, taught by Matt Funnell, and AP Biology students of Anna Trieller.
Learning about birds of prey supports the students’ study of ecosystem health, biodiversity and resilience. “Raptors are indicator species, and a healthy population of raptors indicates a healthy environment,” said APES teacher Funnell.
Wildlife educator Trish Marki introduced Wyatt and four other raptors including Hootie, an eastern screech owl; and Estoban, an aplomado falcon. While she highlighted each bird’s key adaptations, a person trained to handle raptors brought it around the auditorium for students to have a closer look.
“Be completely silent,” Marki said to the students while Lucas, the barred owl, was brought into the audience. “Now, wiggle your toes in your shoes. Lucas can hear your hearts beating.”
A gasp rippled through the audience when she introduced Clarisse, a large, black turkey vulture. “Vultures can smell a dead animal 10 miles away,” Marki said. She explained that vultures’ stomach acid is stronger than a battery acid, which is why the birds can feed from carcasses and not get sick.
AP Bio teacher Trieller said that her students loved seeing the live birds, especially the owls and the vulture.
“I ask the students to always consider system analytics when observing living organisms or biological processes,” she said. “Being able to see the adaptions while looking at predators (and the cool vulture!) of ecosystems they are familiar with allowed them to consider all the interactions and underpinnings that define ecological balance.”