LAURINBURG — The Scotland County Memorial Library welcomed more than just patrons through its doors on Tuesday, as Carolina Raptors held a program for the Summer Reading Program.
Kate Shaner, the educational manager for the Carolina Raptor Center, taught the crowd of kids about the raptors and showed off a few that live at the center. The audience got to meet Lakota, a red shoulder hawk; Watson, an American kestrel falcon; and Emma, a barn owl.
“One of our biggest things at the Raptor Center is conservation,” Shaner said. “We want to connect people with these birds so that they care about them and would help preserve them … a quote that we often use in our field is ‘touch the heart to teach the mind’ so basically you want to connect people with the animals and then ask them to help clean up the litter and just a little conservation tips to help.”
The Carolina Raptor Center is both a zoo, hospital and rehabilitation facility for birds of prey in Huntersville.
“We see birds that come in that have been hit by cars, tangled in fishing line, shot or poisoned,” Shaner said. “So we like to get out in the community to talk about the birds and what people can do to protect them.”
During the event, Shaner spoke about the different feathers on the different birds to how each of them get their prey. It’s the reaction to some of these facts that Shaner says is her favorite part of these events.
“I love to watch their expressions when they learn some of the really cool facts about these birds,” Shaner said. “So when I do the whole thing with the ears and I show them where the ears are on an owl and then I watch their faces as they think about it. I know that they are never going to forget that and they’re going to go tell their families and their friends about it which is doing exactly what we want. We want to spread the word about these birds and their importance in the environment. So that’s my favorite part is getting to see that click in their heads.”
Shaner added she encourages anyone who wants to learn more to check out the website www.carolinaraptorcenter.org and to come to visit the center in Huntersville.
Youth Services Librarian Jenna Maley was excited to have the raptors visit for the first time since she took over the position.
“I’m glad they were able to return it’s a show that’s been at the library before,” Maley said. “They’ve come for several years and it was really exciting to get up close and personal with the birds.”
The Raptors are one of the final events for the Summer Reading Program as Wednesday will have a craft day where children can paint their own whale planter from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.; Thursday will have a morning movie from 10:30 a.m.; Friday will be the Bubble Day event from 10 a.m. to noon at Hammond Park.
“It’s been really good getting some of our long-term patrons back into the library for the Summer Reading Program,” Maley said. “I think the community has really appreciated having these events in person.”
Reach Katelin Gandee at kgandee@laurinburgexch.wpenginepowered.com.