A barn owl named Storm is in the foreground as a representative with Raptors Education Group Inc. talks about the bird’s attributes during one of the block party events July 21 at the Naberhood Plaza. Storm was raised in captivity for education purposes, but she is not from Wisconsin, according to Samantha Brooks, REGI’s director of education, because barn owls are extinct in Wisconsin due to the proliferation of rodenticide in the state. Mice and rats are a primary food source, and the poison can affect the owls, too.
Cinna Smallwood, wildlife educator with Raptors Education Group Inc., holds up an American kestrel falcon for about 50 people in the crowd July 21 at the Naberhood Plaza. Named Benji, the falcon was found as a chick by humans and imprinted on them, making it impossible to release him into the wild as a result. Kestrels like Benji can be seen along highways in Wisconsin. (Lee Pulaski | NEW Media)
