Live Birds of Prey at Michigan Tech Friday and Saturday

What does an owl’s ear look like? Do owls have eyelashes?  What does a facial disk do?

Everyone is invited to come and find out this week, when Gayle and Randy Bruntjens of the Upper Peninsula Raptor Rehab and Wildlife Center bring several live birds of prey to Michigan Technological University for "Whoo's in Houghton?" Their presentation will be held on the front lawn of the Walker Arts and Humanities Center on Friday, Oct. 29, from 5 to 8 p.m., and on Saturday, Oct. 30, from noon to 6 p.m. The event is sponsored by he Inter-Residence Hall Council.

All of the birds suffer from injuries that make them non-releasable. A great-horned owl, barred owl, North American hawk owl, great gray owl, immature Cooper’s hawk, red-shouldered hawk and red-tailed hawk are all expected to make an appearance.

The Bruntjenses founded the U.P. Raptor Rehab and Wildlife Center, of Gladstone, to provide local rehabilitation for area raptors.

"Before we started in March of 2006, there were no state or federally licensed facilities in the Upper Peninsula that could take in injured birds of prey,” said Gayle Bruntjens. As a result, no birds were available for educational programs around the Upper Peninsula.

Classes from L’Anse to Lake Linden will bring approximately 400 students to "Whoo's in Houghton?" For more information, contact Rebecca Prich at rlprich@mtu.edu.

Michigan Technological University is a public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, Michigan, and is home to more than 7,000 students from 55 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, Michigan’s flagship technological university offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, computing, forestry, business and economics, health professions, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and the arts. The rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, offering year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure.