On Friday, September 12, Hawks Aloft set up a booth at the State Fair for Celebra la Ciencia!, their Science and Technology day. Our booth was outside on the main concourse, strategically placed AWAY from the chemistry booth, where they were firing off rockets! We were next to the Rio Grande Nature Center and Outdoor Space booths, which turned out to be excellent company.
Attending the event were Kim Villescas, Hawks Aloft Educator; Sandy Skeba, Biologist and Outreach Coordinator; and wonderful volunteers Chuck Brandt, who has been with Hawks Aloft since its inception in 1994, and Jim Lakatos, who just started volunteering with us a month ago. Also attending were four Avian Educational Ambassadors: a Mississippi Kite, a Merlin, a Burrowing Owl, and a Red-tailed Hawk. They stole the show!
Visitors to the booth ran the full spectrum from nature lovers who marveled at the beauty of 
the birds, to people who were afraid (that type of bird ate my chihuahua!), to people who wanted one of their own. All of us explained politely, many times, the wonderful facts about each bird and how, sorry, it's illegal to own one unless you go through lots of training and permits. And no, they don't like being petted! As always, the kids were the most responsive and awed by our raptors.
the birds, to people who were afraid (that type of bird ate my chihuahua!), to people who wanted one of their own. All of us explained politely, many times, the wonderful facts about each bird and how, sorry, it's illegal to own one unless you go through lots of training and permits. And no, they don't like being petted! As always, the kids were the most responsive and awed by our raptors.So, despite it being a wearying day mentally and physically, we contacted lots of people and hopefully instilled a little bit of our enthusiasm about protecting birds and the habitats they need to survive.
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