ORANGE — Community members gathered in Town Hall as they watched Julie Anne Collier of Wingmasters hold a peregrine falcon, the world’s fastest animal, which can travel anywhere between 100 to 200 mph, on her arm covered by a large glove.
The demonstration was part of the Orange Public Libraries’ free program hosted by Wingmasters, a local rehabilitation and education company that aims to increase public understanding of North American birds of prey.
Collier brought six North American birds of prey to show the audience: the American kestrel falcon, the peregrine falcon, the red-tailed hawk, the saw-whet owl, the great horned owl and the barn owl.
She said the American kestrel falcon was a common species she saw around town when she was growing up in Leverett. But now, according to Collier, about 90 percent of the species is gone. The American kestrel is the smallest falcon in North America and has pointed wings, which makes it easier to cut quickly through the air, rather than to soar.
While the peregrine falcon was once thought to be extinct, the bird has made a incredible comeback, said Collier. The falcon can be found in cities such as Boston and Lowell. A peregrine falcon also lives perched up on the top of the 28-story library at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, she said.
The red-tailed hawk Collier brought is one she has had for the past 16 years after rehabilitating the bird. She told the crowd the species of hawk is one common in the North Quabbin and can be found at times waiting, ready to hunt rodents on the side of the road. In order to bring the bird out of its box, Collier had to put on the biggest glove she brought.
As the door of the wooden box holding the next bird opened, the saw-whet owl, with its tiny frame and big eyes, the audience looked on in amazement. Despite what is commonly known to be true about owls, Collier said they are not wise creatures and they do not all hoot. During the day, owls hide in order to protect themselves from harm, she said, while attacking their own prey at night.
To end the program, Collier brought out the barn owl, a species that can only be found protected in Massachusetts on Martha’s Vineyard. She referred to the bird as having a “strange face like a satellite dish.” The barn owl hunts by sound, said Collier, and can break through rat skin when hunting. Unlike placing the other birds carefully back into their boxes, Collier let the barn owl fly off her arm, in front of the crowd, and right back into its wooden box.
Wheeler Memorial Youth Librarian Jason Sullivan-Flynn said the library’s animal programs are usually the most popular, especially ones where residents can see animals they wouldn’t normally have the chance to see up close.
“Our goal is to offer families the chance to get the most out of their library. The library offers wonderful books for kids and adults to read, but there are lots of fun activities and learning opportunities, too, like this,” he said. “So by having a popular animal programs, it highlights that point and encourages people to look to the library for these experiential learning experiences.”
Sullivan-Flynn said a crowd of a “very wide range of ages” was engaged as they watched and learned about the birds’ hunting adaptations and changing status in the world.
The program was funded, in part, by the Orange Cultural Council, as well as the Friends of the Orange Public Library.