A Visit From Doris

Our dear friend, Doris Mager, came through Evergreen to stay with us a couple days before heading on to Washington to spend Christmas with her son. Doris travels the country giving educational presentations at elementary schools, state parks, nursing homes... anywhere she can, to teach people about birds of prey. Many years ago, she formed her non-profit organization called S.O.A.R., which stands for Save Our American Raptors. I can't even begin to tell you all the amazing things this incredible woman has done in her 44 years of working with birds. She used to work with eagles, but as she's gotten older, she can no longer handle the heavier birds. She currently travels with four birds... a Great Horned Owl, a Crested Caracara, a Screech Owl, and a American Kestrel (Sparrowhawk). She wanted to do a presentation while she was here to keep the birds working, so I invited a couple of homeschooling groups. We ended up having about 40 people squeeze into my garage to be mesmerized by her stories and her beautiful birds of prey.

Above she is talking to the group about her darling little screech owl. The group loved her, as they always do!

The following day, we did a little sightseeing with her and took her up Lookout Mountain to see Buffalo Bill's grave.

The boys had a fun time dressing up like cowboys in the museum.


Before she left, she let us handle the birds. Below is me with E.T. (stands for Extra Terrific), the Great Horned Owl.

E.T. is 26 years old and has been in Doris' care the entire time. She was taken from the nest illegally and imprinted onto a human, so she was assigned to Doris since she would never be able to survive in the wild. Doris uses E.T. to educate kids on why we don't ever take birds from their nest.

Doris is able to tickle E.T. on the beak and feathers, but no one else would ever get away with such a thing! It's amazing to see her relationship with this gorgeous bird.


Below is Mason holding Cara. She is a 33 year old Crested Caracara... and possibly the oldest in captivity!

Cara was legally taken very young for research purposes, but has been in Doris' care for the last 26 years. Cara is very friendly and loves for you pet her on the head. We didn't keep her out here very long, because she's originally from Florida and this Colorado mountain weather was not her cup of tea! See how her feathers are all ruffled out?! She was C-O-L-D!

It is always a joy to spend time with Doris... she has truly become a cherished member of our family.

Michele