On Saturday, I attended the Raptors at Rose event.  Normally I attend events during the week, but I saw an opportunity to learn about animals and I couldn’t resist.  The student representatives from the Cornell Raptor Program were incredibly knowledgeable and I came away with a much better understanding of what birds of prey are like.  First we heard a lot about the program and its founding; I think it’s great that we have a program dedicated to such interesting birds.  If they can’t go out into the wild anyways due to injury, at least scientists have the opportunity to study and learn about these birds while they live out their days in a program that cares for them.  Three groups of raptors were shown – hawks, falcons, and owls, and before each group, one of the students talked about the group as a whole and some defining characteristics.  Then each handler talked extensively about the species they brought out and that specific bird’s history and traits.  I learned some really surprising facts – for example, owls are thought of to be wise, but they technically have a much smaller brain than other raptors.  Their eyes are so big that they take up too much room in their skull to have room for a relatively large brain.  Some of the birds can be found in the Ithaca area, so I enjoyed learning about how they fit into the local ecosystem.