The Hawks
Sedosa
Sedosa is a large female Harris’s Hawk from the “Mancini” line of Harris’s Hawks bred by Lee Shelton of Virginia. Besides being incredibly intelligent, Harris’ Hawks are the only “social” bird of prey in the world and Sedosa is a wonderful demonstration of that as she really seems to enjoy being around people. One of OSF’s original birds, Sedosa is now in semi-retirement and is occasionally used in our falconry programs.
Chase
Chase is a male captive bred, eastern Red-Tailed Hawk. Bred in Michigan by Aimee Pico, Chase comes to us by way of another Falconry School located in California. Chase is a very tall bird with beautiful adult plumage. Red Tails are one of the most common birds of prey in the United States and can be found in almost every ecosystem in North America. Chase is used predominantly in our Introduction to Falconry and our Walk with Hawks programs.
Mannix (a.k.a. Manny)
Manny is a European Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo) that was bred by Sia: The Comanche Nation Ethno-Ornithological Initiative in Oklahoma. Euro Buzzards have very small feet and largely subsist on carrion, filling the niche in Europe that is occupied by Turkey Vultures here in North America. In Europe, many consider the Common Buzzard to be the perfect beginners’ bird for new falconers due to their laid back nature. True to his species, Manny is an incredibly calm bird and seems to take everything on a slow pace! Manny is used for a variety of our public and school-based falconry programming.
Irwin
Irwin is a 2019 hatch male Harris’ Hawk whose mother was one of our “best-ever” hunting hawks, Ms. Sinister. As with all our other Harris’ Hawks, Irwin is incredibly laid back and really seems to enjoy his daily interactions with our staff and class participants. Irwin is used for all of our Falconry Fundamentals classes.
Savannah
Savannah is a female African Augur Buzzard (Buteo augur) that was bred by SIA: The Comanche Nation Ethno-Ornithological Initiative in Oklahoma.
Augur Buzzards can be typically found living in the grasslands and mountains (at elevations of up to 16,000’) of eastern and southwestern Africa and are one of the many buzzards available to falconers in Africa. One of the most recent members to join our educational ambassador flight team, Savannah is used for a variety of our public and school-based falconry programming.
The Owls
Henson (a.k.a. Baby Henny)
One of the most popular members of our flock is Henson (a male Eurasian Eagle Owl that was named for Muppets creator Jim Henson). Now used by many people in the sport of falconry, Eurasian Eagle Owls (Bubo bubo) are the largest, and most widely distributed, owls in the world and are often commonly mistaken for our North American Great Horned Owl, despite their smaller size. Our male was bred by Rick and Judy West of Upstate New York who breed some of the finest Eagle Owls in the country. Henson makes appearances at many of our programs (e.g. Owl Encounter, Introduction to Falconry, and Walk with Hawks) as well as doing commercial and wedding work.
Dr. Hoo
Dr. Hoo, a male North American Barn Owl (Tyto alba) that was bred by Jonathan Wood of upstate New York. Besides being one of the most widely distributed species of owl in the world, Barn Owls are also one of the most iconic, thanks to their easily recognizable heart-shaped facial disc. Found on almost every major continent, Barn Owls are commonly classified into three different subspecies, including the American Barn Owl (North/South America), the Western Barn Owl (Europe, Asia, Africa and western Asia) and the Eastern Barn Owl (southeast Asia and Australasia). Dr. Hoo is of the American variety, which is largely considered to be the largest of the subspecies Dr. Hoo occasionally joins us for our Falconry 101: Introduction to Falconry, Falconry 201: Walk with Hawks, and Falconry 301: Owl Encounter programs.
Quinny
Bred by our very good friends at the Avian Conservation Center and Center for Birds of Prey in Charleston, SC, Quinny is a female European (aka “Western”) Barn Owl (Tyto alba). Considered the smallest of the three recognized subspecies, the European Barn Owls found on the British Isles have developed the habit of hunting during the day, as well as by night. Barn Owls are incredibly good at rodent control and one Barn Owl can typically catch over 1,000 rodents per year. Quinny’s sweet hearted nature make her a particular crowd favorite and she occasionally joins us for our Falconry 101: Introduction to Falconry, Falconry 201: Walk with Hawks, and Falconry 301: Owl Encounter programs.
The Falcons
Shelly
Shelly is an 8-year old pure Anatum Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus anatum) bred by Rick Woods in Iowa. Peregrines are the most wide-spread of all falcon species in the world and can be found on every continent except Antartica. In North America, there are three distinct peregrine subspecies, including the Peales (largest subspecies, found along the coast of Washington and Oregon), the Tundrius (smallest subspecies, found in the Artic region), and the Anatum (found throughout the US and Canada). Due to her outstanding genetics, Shelly will be paired with a male Anatum early next spring as part of our new breeding program.
Cruella (a.k.a. Crue)
Cruella is a 6-year old 7/8 Gyr-Saker falcon that comes to us from Adam Chavez in California. In her previous life, Cruella worked in the bird abatement industry where her job was to harass nuisance gulls and crows at beaches, resorts, and landfills. At OSF, Cruella is used as part many of our educational programs and will eventually become part of our new bird abatement team.
Jaeger
Jaeger is a 4-year old pure Anatum Peregrine falcon that joins our team after a 3-year stint with Falcon Force, a bird abatement company run by Vahe Alaverdian. Jaeger’s biggest claim to fame was that he was one of the falcons used in the testing of Marshall Radio Telemetry’s GPS system, which allows falconers to track their birds using a GPS interface on their iPhones. Like Cruella, Jaeger is used as part many of our educational programs and will eventually become part of our new bird abatement team.
The Propagation Team
Hera/Odell
Hera is an 11-year female Harris’s Hawk from the “Mancini” line of Harris’s Hawks bred by Lee Shelton of Virginia. In fact, Hera is Sedosa’s older sister by two years and was previously flown by Ohio Falconry Association President, Mick Brown. Hera is large by any standard of Harris’ Hawks and typically flew at about 38 ounces. Odell was originally bred by Chris Davis of New England Falconry and before he became a breeder was used for falconry school classes. Our goal is to produce a line of large, athletic and laid back Harris’ Hawks that will excel in a variety of uses (e.g. hunting, education, abatement, etc.).
Zinc/Lady Rogue Kracken
Zinc is a wild trapped, 5-year old, male Red Tailed hawk that just recently retired after a stellar career as a falconry bird (flown by our very own Kris Klosterman). Zinc will be paired with arguably one of the largest female Red Tailed Hawks ever trapped in Ohio falconry history. At 62 ounces off the trap (and with a noticeable keel), Rogue has proven herself to be not only be a great hunter, but a BIG one at that. Our goal is to produce the finest captive bred Red Tails available in the U.S.