Current:Home > Contact-usRescued American kestrel bird turns to painting after losing ability to fly-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
Rescued American kestrel bird turns to painting after losing ability to fly
View Date:2024-12-23 19:25:45
Have you ever wanted to make art in the presence of a bird of prey?
Thanks to an army of dedicated people who have made it their job to protect threatened and injured birds, dozens of rescued raptors live as bird ambassadors in the village of Quechee, about 90 miles south of Burlington, Vermont.
Last month, an American kestrel called Ferrisburgh — name after the Vermont town where he was found — launched a new career as a model and artist leading a class for several people who were interested in learning about birds.
Ferrisburgh led his first painting class for humans of all ages alongside Mal Muratori and Lexie Smith, Environmental Educators at Vermont Institute of Natural Science (VINS). The class began with another American kestrel named Westford, who soared above a small sea of excited faces, effortlessly gliding back and forth from each instructors’ gloves, as they shared interesting facts about falcons.
After a few minutes, Ferrisburgh’s loud calls could be heard from behind a wall and filled the classroom with excitement shortly before he was brought out for the main event: watching a bird of prey paint on canvases.
During the hour-long class, instructors explained Ferrisburgh’s life story and why he became involved in all of this. Why should a bird do something that mimics learned human behavior rather than its own? The answer to that is actually quite simple.
Birds at VINS are encouraged to exercise and engage in mentally stimulating activities everyday in order to maintain health and not get bored of the everyday humdrum of life. Activities include flying or jumping for exercise and playing with toys or games for enrichment. Ferrisburgh had to retire from being a flight ambassador this summer due to a broken bone, which is when Smith brought up the idea of making art with him.
After seeing a friend do painting with birds at the American Eagle Foundation in Tennessee, Smith wondered if the newly-retired Ferrisburgh would enjoy it too. According to Muratori and Smith, VINS believes that “choice-based” training is one of the best ways to work with birds — especially birds like Ferrisburgh that were imprinted by humans as a baby.
According to the instructors, Ferrisburgh was captured by humans as a baby, and as a result of captivity, he never learned to hunt or act like a bird because he thinks he’s a human. It is also likely that Ferrisburgh’s bone broke because of disease caused by a lack of quality diet, which would normally consist of insects, mice or small birds.
By giving them the opportunity to make a choice rather than something more similar to learned helplessness, which is a more traditional training method with birds of prey, birds at VINS were observed to be more social and confident when flying on a glove.
Although Ferrisburgh sadly can no longer fly, he can get exercise from chasing mealworms around and making beautiful art at the same time.
Who else is there to see at the Vermont Institute of Natural Science? Bald eagles, bluejays, hawks
veryGood! (62)
Related
- Chris Wallace will leave CNN 3 years after defecting from 'Fox News Sunday'
- Lone orca kills great white shark in never-before-seen incident, scientists say
- Mom arrested after mixing a drink to give to child's bully at Texas school, officials say
- Mississippi Supreme Court affirms a death row inmate’s convictions in the killings of 8 people
- Jerry Jones lashes out at question about sun's glare at AT&T Stadium after Cowboys' loss
- These Hidden Gems From Kohl’s Will Instantly Make You Want to Shop There Again
- Proposed transmission line for renewable power from Canada to New England canceled
- Gisele Bündchen Addresses Her Dating Life After Tom Brady Divorce
- New 'Yellowstone' is here: Season 5 Part 2 premiere date, time, where to watch
- Crew of the giant Icon of the Seas cruise ship rescues 14 people adrift in the sea
Ranking
- Jennifer Lopez Turns Wicked Premiere Into Family Outing With 16-Year-Old Emme
- Mississippi Supreme Court affirms a death row inmate’s convictions in the killings of 8 people
- LinkedIn users say they can't access site amid outage reports
- Movie Review: John Cena gets the laughs in middling comedy ‘Ricky Stanicky’
- The boy was found in a ditch in Wisconsin in 1959. He was identified 65 years later.
- Tennessee lawmakers advance bill to undo Memphis’ traffic stop reforms after Tyre Nichols death
- Panel says the next generation of online gambling will be more social, engaged and targeted
- Virginia budget leaders confirm Alexandria arena deal is out of the proposed spending plan
Recommendation
-
Megan Fox Is Pregnant, Expecting Baby With Machine Gun Kelly
-
Kentucky high school evacuated after 'fart spray' found in trash cans, officials say
-
Jake Paul will fight Mike Tyson at 80,000-seat AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys
-
Amy Robach Shares She's Delayed Blood Work in Fear of a Breast Cancer Recurrence
-
2 weeks after Peanut the Squirrel's euthanasia, owner is seeking answers, justice
-
NFL Network's Good Morning Football going on hiatus, will relaunch later this summer
-
Investigators say they confirmed pilots’ account of a rudder-control failure on a Boeing Max jet
-
US applications for jobless claims hold at healthy levels