Birds of prey on display

Bashful, a 4-year-old turkey vulture, shows his impressive wingspan to the crowd on George Richter's arm during a Birds of Prey presentation Nov. 10 at the Starved Rock Visitor Center in Oglesby. George and Berni Richter are the proprietors of Save Our American Raptors (SOAR), a nonprofit organization that takes in birds and teaches various classes on raptor management. Between both of the Richters, they have 83 years of raptor experience. Go to soar-inc.org for more information. Meanwhile, Deshcha, a bald eagle, came to SOAR when she was 6 months old and has been unable to fly ever since. Berni Richter said Deshcha's flightlessness is not because she can't fly, but because an accident made her afraid to fly, and she prefers to walk. Deshcha is also the Starved Rock mascot for the Plum Island Eagle Sanctuary project.