Trish Nixon, raptor specialist at The Peregrine Fund, will deliver the keynote address at the Winter Wings Festival in Klamath, Oregon, on 15 February 2008.
Nixon kicks off the three-day birding festival with a behind-the-scenes look at how The Peregrine Fund raises endangered birds in captivity at the World Center for Birds of Prey in Boise, Idaho, and prepares them for release to the wild. Her talk, "Back by Popular Demand: California Condors and Aplomado Falcons in the American West," follows a reception that begins at 6 p.m. in the Oregon Institute of Technology College Union. Tickets are $20.
Nixon will present live birds of prey as part of the program, allowing photo opportunities and answering questions about The Peregrine Fund and raptors in general.
"I am honored to be invited to share my lifelong passion for birds of prey," she said. "I think it's important for people to understand the tremendous amount of knowledge and sheer hard work needed to conserve endangered birds like the California Condor."
For eight years, Nixon has been responsible for the training, feeding and daily care of the 17 eagles, hawks, falcons, and owls used in the education program at The Peregrine Fund's interpretive center in Boise. She speaks to hundreds of visitors, schoolchildren, college students, and adult groups each year. Nixon shares her office with an Aplomado Falcon and is training several birds for flight demonstrations.
The Winter Wings Festival celebrates wintering waterfowl on the Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge and nearby rivers and lakes. The area has the largest concentration of wintering Bald Eagles in the lower 48 states. (www.winterwingsfest.org)
The Peregrine Fund was founded in 1970 to recover the endangered Peregrine Falcon, which was removed from the Endangered Species List in 1999. Currently, the organization is involved in more than 20 raptor recovery projects around the world.
For more information, contact:
Erin Katzner
Director of Global Engagement
Main Phone:208-362-3716
Direct Phone:208-362-8277
Additional contact
Susan Whaley, Public Relations Coordinator
208) 362-8274
Trish Nixon, Raptor Specialist
208) 362-8258
