Me & Rachel

The thumbnail photo for this blog was taken in Scotland 2005. Rachel is the red-tail hawk I had the privilege of holding (for a small donation)! There was a "bird awareness" [?] tent set up at a strip mall where our tour bus stopped for the "pilgrims of commerce"/shoppers. I was so excited to have the opportunity to hold a raptor bird! (In the US one must have a license to do so, that requires several government agencies to agree to give you a license. I digress.) My camera was in the bus (why would I need a camera at a strip mall in Scotland?!), the bus was locked, so I went frantically searching thru stores to find other tour mates with a camera. The other bird is Golden Eagle named Duchess. The bird's handler said that the birds liked me because they were not flapping around on my hand/arm; and they were making small bird noises. I was able to stroke their chests as well. Magnificent experience! Magnificent creatures! The highlight of that trip!