This Lowcountry treasure allows visitors to get up close and personal with their stunning collection of birds
Our family is currently being bombarded at all hours of the day and night. Thwack! Pop!
The towering pecan tree just feet from our back porch is showering our house and yard with its projectile fruit. I’ve never taken one directly to the head, but I’m sure it would hurt — they travel with some velocity.
The assault on our roof is the earliest sign of an approaching fall. Like us, the pecans have hung on through the oppressive heat and humidity of summer and seem to let go in collective, heady excitement at the mere suggestion of cooler weather to come. Little do they know, they will soon be bathed in bourbon, chocolate, and molasses, and baked into pie.
Like an overly anxious sprinter, autumn usually approaches the Lowcountry with some false starts. We enjoy a tease of cooler weather, only to be reminded that summer will not leave without a fight. Even though it’s September, we still have plenty of warm beach days ahead of us, and now is the perfect opportunity to enjoy our outdoor spaces with more hospitable weather and fewer out-of-town tourists to trip over.
Many nature and wildlife enthusiasts were disappointed when the 2021 Southeastern Wildlife Exposition, or SEWE, was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s not everyday, after all, that you get to see a cheetah strolling around Marion Square.
One of the highlights of SEWE for me is always the Birds of Prey demonstration. It’s breathtaking to see owls, vultures, and hawks fly majestically between downtown landmarks, always with one eye trained keenly on the falconer’s glove. Even when it goes wrong, the falconers keep their cool. I remember one year when a raptor perched on top of the Citadel Square Baptist Church steeple and refused to come down. She finally returned to her handler after enjoying the view for an hour or so.
Of course, there are birds of prey around us all year long, but to see them up close is truly amazing. Fortunately, we don’t have to wait until SEWE 2022 to experience these feathered acrobats in all their glory. The Center for Birds of Prey in Awendaw allows a handful of visitors at a time to get up close and personal with their stunning collection of birds, all while learning about their conservation and rescue efforts. Weekly tours and flight demonstrations are held every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday and are limited to 75 people. This means they sell out quickly, so reserve your tickets ahead of time. To get the most out of your trip, download the Center for Birds of Prey’s app prior to your visit. The app features virtual tours, maps, and information on each of the birds you’ll see.
On a recent visit, our family braved the hot weather and spent the morning exploring the center’s beautiful property and it’s feathered occupants. During the hour-long flight demonstration, owls, harris hawks, and kites skimmed the tops of our heads while we were seated in the outdoor auditorium. There were collective gasps as the kites snatched a morsel of meat from the falconer’s hand and ate it mid-flight.
The crowd let out a synchronized ‘awwww’ when the tiny burrowing owl hopped around the ground in front of us. I had to fight the urge to take it home as a pet and call it ‘Mr. Muggles’ or ‘Hootie’. We were reminded that, cute as they may be, they are still very much wild animals. In fact, many of the birds find their way to sanctuaries like this after failed attempts at being raised as pets, only for people to lose a finger and realize they’re in way over their heads.
If you want to get more involved with birds of prey, there are better ways to help that don’t risk losing an eye. The Center for Birds of Prey invites the public to engage in some citizen science and the opportunity to bird-nerd for the greater good. The public can report swallow-tailed kite sightings via the center’s website to help monitor distribution, nesting sites, and population trends. They’re easy to identify and a fun way to get kids involved. Caw Caw Interpretive Center is a great place to see them doing their high-altitude stunts, but you may also see them from your backyard.
A frequent visitor to our backyard is a barred owl that perches on our fence and scopes out the fish in our pond, considering a quick snack. We’ve had some go missing over the years which I’ll count as my contribution to the bird of prey population. If only they liked pecans.
Where: The Center for Birds of Prey, Awendaw
Cost: $20 adults, $15 youth, free for kids under 3 Distance from the Coburg Cow: 20 miles
Pairs well with: Fried seafood at See Wee Restaurant
Aaron O’Brien is a native of Great Britain. He and his wife Christina make up local duo Oh Valentino. When they’re not performing, you can find them exploring local attractions and outdoor spaces.
