Students at Cornell University are eligible to volunteer with the Cornell Raptor Program after taking ANSC 1130: Introduction to Captive Raptor Husbandry. This is a 1 credit, S/U course held over the first 7 weeks of the fall semester. It provides a snap shot of information spanning species, nutrition, health care, husbandry, behavior, and ethics. It has a 1 hour lecture and a 3 hour lab weekly. This course provides standardized training for all students interested in learning more about raptors. After completing the course, individuals are eligible to volunteer for the program.
Volunteering consists of two activities:
- Workday attendance – 2 hour “workday” sessions are held on Sat and Sun throughout each semester. Groups of students signup for a specific workday to attend through the semester at the start of each semester. Workdays are an opportunity for students to spend more time around the birds and help with the regular husbandry and facility maintenance required by the program. This includes everything from handling birds, to cleaning aviaries, fixing perches, and observing husbandry tasks like beak and talon trims. You will work with fellow students under the guidance of student supervisors with more experience.
- Education presenter – students are trained to present information about raptors to public audiences using one of our resident raptors as your co-education ambassador. You will work with an assigned bird and learn / present about their species to the public.
For those that have more time to devote to the program, more opportunities exist. This includes opportunities to work with individual resident birds in training, hand feeding, and leadership opportunities.
If you are interested in learning more about the program and opportunities, our team typically attends Club Fest and other campus programs. Enroll in ANSC 1130 in the fall (note that this course fills up fast and has dedicated spots for all academic groups). Graduate students and staff are also eligible to take the course. Staff should contact Dr. Huson directly at hjh3@cornell.edu.
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Tying the Falconry Knot: a how-to youtube video
