The first two questions commonly asked by guests engaging with the popular Raptors Ridge Birds of Prey interactive feature at Capilano Suspension Bridge Park is: “what is that and is it alive?”
“When they’re told (the birds are) alive, they get very excited. People really seem to enjoy seeing predatory animals. Deer are fun and squirrels are fun, but. … this is sort of the lion and tiger of this area and people find them really interesting. They love to learn about them and they love to take pictures,” says Linden Maultsaid-Blair, operations supervisor.
Capilano Suspension Bridge Park has hosted the Maple Ridge-based educational commercial facility and its diverse collection of raptors – a variety of species of owls, hawks and falcons included – on its grounds for the last eight years.
“Nature and ecology is a big part of what we want to showcase here,” says Maultsaid-Blair.
While the park has long boasted a variety of rich natural features in the way of trees and plant life throughout its grounds, staff became interested in adding some animals to the mix.
They felt the best way to do so would be to work with an existing organization and partnered with Raptors Ridge, attracted to its strong educational focus. In addition to its Capilano Suspension Bridge Park initiative, offerings include educational programs, school and university visits and participation in community events. Raptors Ridge also works in agriculture and participates in bird abatement projects. It currently houses 28 birds, some of which were captive-bred and came from government-licensed facilities. Others came from different zoos or were received from rehabilitation facilities after they were deemed non-releasable.
“We wanted them because it’s a good way to showcase nature that’s more interactive, it’s more alive, it’s more exciting but it’s also in a sustainable way,” says Maultsaid-Blair.
Raptors Ridge brings two to three birds to the North Vancouver park daily. This season, a new facility was constructed to house the company during operating hours and its handlers hang out in the space all day, on hand to engage directly with park guests, fielding any questions they might have.
The raptors can annually be found in the park starting on weekends in May. On June 18, they bumped up their appearances to seven days a week, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., which will continue through to Labour Day. For September to Thanksgiving they’ll be on site once again on weekends only.
When asked what he most enjoys about the relationship forged between his organization and Capilano Suspension Bridge Park, Kim Kamstra, who co-founded Raptors Ridge with his wife Karen more than a decade ago, says it’s the opportunity it affords to interact with people from around the world and to offer information.
“It’s a great informational resource for them,” he says, going on to say Raptors Ridge’s presence at the park provides an amazing opportunity to help people learn about nature and to teach them how to look at the natural world even in their own backyards.
“It also provides clarity for a lot of these raptor species of who they are, what they do and why they do it. These birds prefer to live very secretive lives. They truthfully don’t want us to know who they are, what they’re doing and why they’re doing it. But also, we can dispel a lot of myths,” he says.
That said, learning goes both ways.
“The stories that (guests) share with us are truly amazing. We’ve heard some amazing stories from different people from different parts of the world,” he says.
