Auburn's War Eagle vi passed away..

[wdwerker]

She was 34 years old. I met her once in the early 1980's. I was dating a girl who went to Auburn and drove down to spend the weekend. Got there early and carefully walked over the the huge outdoor enclosure she lived in. Sat down by the fence and she got curious, flew over and walked right up to me.

Her eyeballs were the size of a lime , we were both at her eye level. I could tell that this was an intelligent creature and her beak and talons were formidable weapons . I sat there quietly enjoying the experience until some idiot came running over talking loudly. The eagle spread her wings and lunged towards the fence (scaring the crap out of me) and after a few minutes flew over to perch in a tree.

Now they have a golden and a bald eagle that fly at ball games. The vet school at Auburn and a fraternity take care of them, one of the reasons they are allowed to have these protected species in captivity. I think the birds are usually rescued from an injury that would have been fatal in the wild.

Big Aviary with trees inside ! Apparently it was relocated due to construction on the campus.

[TerryMcK]

Nice story Steve. She sounds like she was quite a character

[DaveT]

Sounds like she made quite an impact on you Steve. I was lucky enough to live near The Hawk Conservancy Trust for a time and was a regular visitor. Sitting watching some of those birds was awesome but actually having the chance to fly a hawk was indescribable. Not an experience I will ever forget.

[RichardA]

I get up, for some unknown reason, about 4AM every single day! Get my coffee and sit on my couch and watch the gardens in the rear of my house! I get to see hawks, falcons, owls and all the normal birds, play, fight and do what they do to survive.... It has to be the very best way to begin a day!