I recently went to The Raptors on Vancouver Island. It’s a place I have always wanted to visit but in all my years of living on Vancouver Island, I drove by the turn off to get there from the highway, so many times and just drove on by, home.
Finally I decided to make a day of it and am I ever glad that I did. I am not a fan of zoos or anywhere that have captive animals or birds usually, unless it is for ethical rescue and rehabilitation. However, The Raptors won me over with their educational approach (they do a great job!) and their obvious love and care for these birds was a joy to see.
Also, many of their birds do work, using their inherent behaviours to help facilitate change (like chasing other birds away from airplane runways to keep airports safer) or some have roles as actors, working in movies.
I went specifically to work on my photography skills. I have recently taken to bird photography and photographing birds in flight is an art. Often you can’t get close enough to birds without baiting, which I won’t do, in order to get a good photo. I also went to practice composition, and basic things like F-Stop and Aperture, but in a different environment.
I had a great time on my day trip, and I highly recommend them! If you can time it, book your visit during a Flight Demonstration. Super cool!
I hope that you enjoy my photo of the Golden Eagle. (p.s. this was all done with natural lighting, outdoors, no flash of course)
/brenda
