Molly Laury, a conservation education trainee at Hawk Mountain, kicked off Whitehall Township Public Library’s 2023 summer reading program with a June 10 presentation. The theme this year is All Together Now and was meant to encourage friendship, unity and equality.

Founded in 1934, Hawk Mountain was the first refuge for birds.

Laury’s presentation focused on birds of prey and raptors. Raptors are a subgroup of birds of prey and are distinguished by their sharp, powerful talons and curved upper beak.

Laury first brought out an American kestrel. Kermy is a 2- to 3-year-old male. American kestrels are the smallest birds of prey in North America. They largely feed on insects and small rodents, such as mice and shrews. They are able to focus on three moving objects at once and often bounce their heads to refocus their eyes.

Males and females in this species look different. This is called sexual dimorphism. Males have blue-gray feathers on their tails and heads, unlike the females.

Next, Laury showed the audience a 10-year-old red-tailed hawk. Rosie arrived at Hawk Mountain in 2015 after being hit by a car and not being able to fly. They are habitat and food generalists, meaning they eat and live whatever and wherever they can. Red-tailed hawks focus on abundant species smaller than them, and their diets can vary from region to region.

Their distinctive red tail doesn’t show up until the bird reaches 2 years of age. Another easy way to identify them is the band of darker feathers across their stomachs.

Lastly, Laury brought out an eastern screech owl named Tiny. No one is sure how old Tiny is because when she came to Hawk Mountain in 2020, she was already fully grown.

Eastern screech owls are the second smallest species of owl and are largely insectivores, meaning they eat bugs. They do not make nests of their own and instead steal nests from other birds. These owls have 14 vertebrae in their neck, which allows them to turn their heads 275 degrees. Also, their eyes take up two-thirds of their skull, so they have to move their whole head to look at something.

Laury wrapped up the program by encouraging attendees to help the birds by not littering, buying organically grown food and supporting organizations like Hawk Mountain.