Bigger, faster, stronger: girl bald eagles rule this roost
For over 20 years, James and Shauna Cowan have owned and operated a sanctuary for birds of prey called the Raptor Conservancy in Vittoria, Ont. In the spring of 2019, the conservancy got some online fame when a photo of one of their adult bald eagles, Bruce, went viral online, getting over 60 million hits.
Bird enthusiasts have flown in — on planes, to be clear — from as far away as Hong Kong to take part in weekend photography sessions at the facility. To say that the Raptor Conservancy is putting the small hamlet of Vittoria back on the map is an understatement, but that's not the only thing they've been bringing back.
On top of bird rehabilitation, consultation, and specialty training for film and television — you can see some of their feathered stars in the show, Vikings — the facility has a breeding barn that they unironically call the Love Nest.
In the video below, James tells Jonny that in 1980 there were no bald eagles in Southern Ontario. By 2009, the population had recovered enough, thanks to conservation efforts, that they were taken off the endangered species list. The Love Nest is how James and Shauna do their part in bringing back the bird population.
But all the viral fame in the world won't help a handsome devil like Bruce in the Love Nest. There, the males just have to hope the females like them enough to not attack them on sight.
"Girl power rules in birds of prey," says Shawna. "Bigger, faster and much, much stronger."
The females are usually a whole third larger than the males. And they decide whether it's a love match or whether it's an MMA match. James tells Jonny that if a male and a female aren't perfectly matched, you'd better be ready to separate them — fast.
"Not the kind of heavy pecking you're looking for," Jonny jokes.
Watch the full episode to learn more about the Raptor Conservancy and about the hamlet of Vittoria, which has been fondly referred to as "the centre of the universe."