Work at the Center

So I have been working out at the eagle Center for the past few days. It is beautiful out there. It is everything a rainforest paradise should be. There are other animals besides eagles, like crocodiles, monkeys and different types of birds living there. There are also many types of native flowers and trees and a beautiful little lagoon filled with lily pads and fish by the visitor’s center.


Here are a few pictures I took out at the Center:




I have been observing a bird that is undergoing aversion training. Basically they want the bird to be afraid of landing on powerlines because it will be electrocuted and die (this happened to one of their released birds before they started the aversion training program). They have the bird in an enclosure with some perches and a nest platform, as well as two electrical posts with wires between them and 110v current. This is not enough to seriously harm the bird but it is enough to shock her into not wanting it to happen again. Hence, she should become averse to landing on the poles or the wires.

What I do is observe her to see if she lands on the electrical poles, what her reaction is and so forth. But because she is kinda weary of the poles and doesn`t want to land on them, mostly I just keep a log of her activities which involves a lot of looking around while sitting or perched on her nest platform. For example the log generally reads:

0930 – Walk to nest bowl – look around
0931 – Jump to nest edge – crest – look around
0933 – Perched on nest edge – preen left wing – look around

And so on. It is actually as incredibly boring as it sounds. Still, if there is anything I know about science it`s that it can be a bit tedious at times, but is usually worth it, so I don`t really mind. That said, I`ve never wanted to see something get mildly electrocuted so badly. But she never lands on the poles!

Instead, the most exciting thing that happens (I think for the both of us) is when she gets fed and I get to see her pull all the fur off a dead bunny or a piece of horse meat and then rip it apart and eat it. Although, today the most exciting thing that happened was when a lizard ran into the observation tower, followed by a smack, which happened to be a snake landing on the floor, looking for a meal. It scared the crap out of me! The lucky little lizard got away though and the snake slithered off not long after in a different direction. I had hoped that this little drama would be a one time occurrence but was later reassured by one of the PEF staff that it happens all the time – but not to worry because the snakes aren’t dangerous, they always just slink away.

Kalabugao, the eagle I observe

My little observation tower room (the snake went by right under my chair)