Henderson preserve trains future bird watchers

By Dave Clark

Thursday, Sept. 25, 2008 | midnight

Peering through binoculars, the Gutierrez and Thuet children gazed at the creatures circling overhead at the Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve.

They had just finished a class on raptors — flesh-eating birds with sharp beaks, eyes and talons who hunt small animals — and were scouring the ground for feathers and owl pellets.

"I think there's a fascination with raptors," recreational assistant Georgann Neubauer said. "You have the history of falconry — the relationship raptors have with people."

People often count themselves lucky to see one. Neubauer told students that 80 percent of raptor babies do not survive.

"It's difficult to find food and a good habitat," she said.

She told students about the digestive habits of barn owls, which gulp down a meal all at once, only to cough up a pellet 12 hours later consisting of fur and bones. Their ears, she said, are lopsided like a satellite dish for better hearing.

The children also learned about a rare raptor, the Harris hawk, which hunts in female-led packs, similar to wolves.

The home-schooled Gutierrez and Thuet children will be studying birds all year as part of their science curriculum. Christine Thuet, mother to the Thuet children, said the group would probably return monthly for more lessons, a prospect that excited first grader Marcus Gutierrez.

"It's really cool," he said. "You get to go to a lot of places to see them."

One of the most interesting things he learned was about owls' appetite for skunks. Lacking a sense of smell, they are immune to their stench.

Fifth graders Emma Gutierrez and Caroline Thuet anticipated their study of birds would last more than a year.

"We are pretty interested in birds," Gutierrez said.

"We want to be bird watchers when we're older," Thuet said.

Neubauer is only too happy when children express an interest in birds — a lifelong passion of hers.

"It's so fun to watch the kids' reaction," she said. "If you can get their attention, then you've got a future bird watcher."

Given climate change and its impact on migration patterns, Neubauer said, younger generations may not be able to watch all of the species that are around today. But younger generations could also play a role in saving species.

"If they can catch the spark young, it makes you feel better about the future," she said.

Dave Clark can be reached at 990-2677 or [email protected].