An Outing on the Wild Side

Last month, I went on an "Artists Tour" to Wildlife Images in Merlin, Oregon. This is a wildlife rehabilitation and education center since 1981. The tour was organized by an amazing wildlife artist Olivia Schemansky who, with her husband and two artist daughters, own and run Irelock Imaging (where I have my artwork scanned and reproduced).

Lots of local artists take advantage of the opportunity to see and photograph wildlife. These photographs are valuable for reference shots for future art projects. All the proceeds from the tour go directly to Wildlife Images, which is doing a great job educating young people about wildlife and the need to conserve and protect it.

I'd like to share a few shots from a recent tour.

The first part of each tour begins with a line-up of various raptors. Wildlife Images rehabilitates and returns as many injured or lost animals it can. But sometimes the injury is too great for a release to the wild; or the animal may have been bonded to humans and unable to fend for itself. In these cases, the animals become valuable tenants of the center for educating the public.


Above is a Bald Eagle; below is a Golden Eagle.


Magnificent, aren't they? They're hefty birds, weighing between 7-11 pounds. I felt for the keeper holding these birds at arms-length so we could get good photographs!

There were also quite a few owls. The Barn Owl shown above was intently watching a rat scurry by, nearly under his perch (he was jessed and unable to pursue).

In a future post, I'll show you some shots of mammals that are housed at this fascinating and beautiful spot in the mountains of Southern Oregon.