Earth Day

Great Horned Owl, originally uploaded by evens.john.

Save the planet or I'll set my Great Horned Owl on you! Make no mistake, this guy could really ruin your day - look at the size of those talons! Unfortunately he's not my Great Horned Owl to boss around. That job belongs to Quinn from the Wildlife Center of Virginia, who introduced us to this beasty and two other injured bird from his collection at the Henrico County Earth Day celebration.
That's right, it's Earth Day (officially 22nd April), and Kristal was on the clock manning a booth to promote DCR Natural Heritage and the protection of rare species in the Henrico Area. I helped he set up the display, then wandered off to watch this guy pull Red-Tailed Hawks out of a hat. Well, there was only one hawk (and two owls), and they were in cages not hats, but it was still freakin' awesome! Especially when our friend pictured above tried to fly away and half the front row suffered cardiac arrest.
Also presenting was 'Keep Henrico Beautiful' (who I quizzed about recycling at work) and the James River Advisory Council. I talked to the gentleman at the JRAC stand for some time. He had been stationed in the UK with the USAF when he was younger, so actually knew where Reading was, which is always nicer than meeting somebody who went to London once. He told me a lot about volunteer opportunities on the James River, as well as fishing lessons, which I'd definitely like to try.