A look at birds of prey

MONTROSE — Watching birds of prey soar the skies above the Western Slope isn’t a rare sight. Seeing the majestic birds up close is something special.

Visitors to an educational event with Master Falconer Kin Quitugua enjoyed that unique opportunity Saturday night at the Ute Indian Museum.

A master falconer is someone with at least 7 years (5 years according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife) of experience training birds of prey; Quitugua has 30 years to his credit.

His love of the animals grew from an experience he had at age 9, he said. “I saw a movie called ‘The Vikings.’ There was a scene where a hawk caught a pheasant in the air because the vikings trained birds,” he recalled. “I was so enamored that I said some day I’m gonna train birds. From 9 years old, I always knew that was something I wanted to do.”

He founded the Colorado nonprofit organization, Hawk Quest, in 1986 to educate others about birds of prey, and to allow audiences experiences with the creatures at close range. Hawk Quest did close to 600 events last year.

“The main thing (we teach) is respect for wildlife,” said Quitugua. “The way we do that is through education because education is paramount.”

The Saturday gathering was part of an all-day fundraiser for Friends of the Ute Indian Museum (friendsofutemuseum.org), a nonprofit organization that supports the museum. Friends President Carol Harris-Fike said the group brought Hawk Quest back to Montrose because it loves Quitugua’s message of respect for wildlife and ecosystems. Birds of prey also hold a sacred place in Native Indian cultures, she added.

Roland McCook, great-great grandson of Chief Ouray and Chipeta, touched upon the importance of the eagle to Indian people in opening the event. “The eagle is very, very special to the Indians. The Plains Indians and many other tribes revere the eagles that occupy the vast areas above our heads ... We think about them as our ears, our eyes and our wisdom.” McCook said that when a young man committed an act of courage or bravery, he would sometimes be rewarded with a feather.

Dusty Waterman was among the dozens of people who came to see the show. She has seen others like it, and always returns because of a special connection she has with the animals.

“The hawk is my spiritual guide,” said Waterman, who is of Native Indian descent. “Just to watch them is wonderful. They are part of mother earth.”

Quitugua brought a Bald eagle, Harris hawk, peregrine falcon and Great-horned owl to the show. Hawk Quest gets its birds through various places, including breeding programs, special permits from U.S. Fish and Wildlife and from rehabilitation centers, where the birds are deemed non-releasable.

He said the Western Slope makes ideal habitat for raptors because there is a lot of area for prey, such as cottontail rabbits. “So you have a lot of environment that really can sustain birds of prey like the Red-tailed hawk, the Golden eagle, Bald eagles in the winter and so forth.”

Sitting at the top of their ecosystems, these creatures play an important role that affects everything underneath them on the food chain. However, birds of prey face many threats, including pesticides and electrocution, Quitugua said. Additionally, people still shoot the birds or hit them with cars.

“Probably the biggest problem that birds of prey have today is we humans think we own this world and we don’t own it,” he said. “We’re just passing through.”

 It’s called habitat encroachment. We just keep encroaching because we think we own this world.”

Quitugua said there are some steps people can take to help sustain raptor populations. The most important action is ensuring the birds have areas to live in. People can also put up nest boxes for owls, or kestrel boxes for sparrow hawks.

For further information on Hawk Quest, call (303) 690-6959 or visit the Web site: www.hawkquest.org.