JILL

Common Buzzard - Buteo buteo

Jill is a female Common Buzzard, hatched around 1997. Jill came to The Raptor Foundation in 1999, along with another Common Buzzard - Odie - who is possibly her brother, when their previous owner was no longer able to look after them. Jill can be moody, and bad tempered when food is around, but when she is in a good mood she is an exceptional member of the flying team.

The Common Buzzard is found throughout Europe and Russia, with some found in the northern tip of Africa. They are found throughout the majority of the UK, but there are very few found in East Anglia. In Scotland they are often mistaken for Golden Eagles and one of their local names is the "Tourist Eagle".

REDS

Red Tailed Hawk - Buteo jamaicensis

Reds, is a female Red Tailed Hawk, hatched in 1993. We are her third owners, her first owner hunted her at game fairly successfully, but her second owner decided that she was too big for him to handle and let her get fat in an aviary. She has had her fair share of health problems, the most serious being a bad kidney complaint. She makes a beautiful addition to our flying team. She does have two problems though, she is very nervous and liable to fly off if she sees anything unusual, such as hot air balloons, however far away they are. She also views all of the other birds, especially those tethered outside as food. For these two reasons, she is mostly flown on a training line (creance).

The red tailed hawk is a member of the buzzard family, related to our own Common Buzzard. They are the most common buzzard found in America breeding in Central America and the West Indies and throughout North America, including Alaska.

QUARK

Ferruginous Hawk - Buteo regalis

Quark is a male Ferruginous Hawk, hatched around 1995. He is named after the character "Quark", the Ferengi barkeeper in "Deep Space Nine". He came to The Raptor Foundation in 1998, when his owner decide that he needed a more experienced handler. He is a very highly strung bird and very strong willed, but is a beautiful addition to the flying team.

Ferruginous Hawks are native to North America, found mainly on the western side. They breed as far north as the southern regions of Saskatchewan in Canada down to northern Texas. Over winter they migrate to southern California and Central America. They have relatively small feet, for their size, and a relatively large mouth. This combination means they are not very popular for falconry, they can only catch relatively small prey and they can eat it very quickly.