A Creative, Behavior-Focused Approach to Bird Enrichment

It’s a quiet afternoon on the Audubon Middle for Birds of Prey, however in Mortimer and Godiva’s aviary, it’s play time. The Turkey Vulture and Crested Caracara stare at a wierd pink field on the ground, inching nearer with warning like a pair of cavemen investigating a crashed alien ship. Godiva approaches the field first, gingerly inspecting the pinecone within the center as Mortimer watches from a excessive perch. Out of the blue, Mortimer finds her confidence and nudges Godiva out of the best way to see the field for herself. She pecks on the brown paper shapes poking out of every aspect of the field, resembling fish tails. The satisfying crinkle of the paper, the problem of greedy the pinecone, the eye-catching pink of the field: all of this makes for the right enrichment for this pair of raptors.

The Middle for Birds of Prey has a complete volunteer staff devoted to assembling and distributing enrichment — something from ping pong balls to tissue paper, sticks to paper towel rolls, that may hold the birds engaged and busy. There are strict USDA tips for enrichment, making certain it’s all protected for the birds and the atmosphere, however volunteers are inspired to get artistic. No one does creativity higher than Lisa Ferguson.

Rising up in Lancashire, England, Ferguson is aware of about imperiled birds of prey: Raptors just like the Osprey, White-tailed Eagle, Marsh Harrier, and Goshawk have been extirpated from the British Isles within the early twentieth century. The unlawful theft of eggs contributed to additional decline in raptor populations within the nation.

Ferguson moved to the U.S. in 1998 and has labored for Disney for the final 27 years, in a subject that she says evokes her curiosity about human habits. When she began watching nest cameras, she realized she was simply as interested in raptor habits.

“Watching nest cams is not for the faint hearted, however I am not one which views nature from an emotional perspective,” she says. “(Watching nest cams) is to witness the rising challenges all wildlife is confronted with, previous, current, and future, and in some small method, be their voice, not silent.”

In 2019, Ferguson took her curiosity in raptors off the display and into the true world when she got here throughout a name for volunteers from the Middle for Birds of Prey. It had been a nerve-racking yr for her, and volunteering with the birds that fascinated her appeared like an ideal salve. She started cleansing aviaries sooner or later every week, and 6 years later, “it has been extra useful to my thoughts and spirit than something a doctor might prescribe,” she says. “I discovered the peace and calm that I wanted.”

One chicken was particularly soothing for Ferguson: Paige the Bald Eagle, who handed away in December 2024 on the age of 30. However after a number of years of volunteering, Ferguson is aware of every chicken extremely effectively, together with their likes and dislikes in relation to enrichment. It’s all a part of a fancy thought course of she makes use of when designing the toys.

As soon as every week, Ferguson volunteers on the Middle crafting enrichment and delivering it to the resident birds and people in rehabilitation. She thinks in regards to the species, the age, and the person chicken’s character when making enrichment. For Scarlet the Pink-tailed Hawk, a paper towel tube with tissue paper flowers will present most shredding alternatives. Younger Bald Eagles in rehabilitation get supplies which can be deliberately troublesome to shred, serving to them construct “robust necks and toned thighs reasonably than hen legs,” jokes Ferguson. Ruby the Snail Kite’s enrichment sometimes features a lengthy, skinny stick that she will extract and maintain proudly in her beak.

Ferguson says first-year birds are naturally interested in new issues of their aviaries. “They play like juveniles in nature,” she says. “pounce on a pinecone, bounce round on the nest whereas flapping, selecting up sticks — simply being curious to new issues.” In the meantime, older birds are extra suspicious of and even oblivious to the objects. These birds current an actual problem for enrichment volunteers, however Ferguson leans on her expertise with human habits to provide you with options.

“I believe that by specializing in a pure, inherent habits and replicating that as finest you possibly can, you’ll finally tempt even probably the most obstinate of birds to be curious,” she explains. “Be repetitive along with your presence and actually apply what you already know in regards to the species. For instance, owls do not construct nests, so perhaps a ‘stick-y’ creation will fall flat. And you’ll stack rocks to imitate the popular habitat of Peregrine Falcons.”

The Middle for Birds of Prey staff acknowledged Ferguson’s creativity and fervour by naming her Volunteer of the 12 months in 2024, an honor that she says left her “blindsided and speechless,” — much like how Mortimer the Turkey Vulture seems to be when she receives new enrichment!

At Audubon, we all know that birds are our superpower. Their magnificence, songs, and personalities seize the creativeness of individuals everywhere in the world. Bringing folks collectively to know and recognize birds is step one towards inspiring actions that defend them.