High above the Raptor Refuge at Kettering a wedge-tailed eagle sat atop one of the aviaries.
I took a double-take, thinking for a moment that one of the eagles undergoing rehabilitation had escaped. No, this eagle was truly a wild specimen, taking a time-out from riding the thermals to view his kin whose lives on the wing were less fortunate that its own.
The refuge’s owner and operator, Craig Webb, said the sighting was not unusual. A wedgie or two came every day to perch and look at what went on within the giant, main aviary and the smaller ones.
The fact that the endangered eagles are flying across the landscape of not just Kettering but Tasmania as a whole is due to Craig Webb and other eagle lovers who have spent time, effort and money ensuring the survival of Australia’s biggest bird of prey. And Webb’s own contribution will be celebrated on Thursday evening, November 7, when I launch a book about his initiative, Tasmanian Raptors and The Raptor Refuge at Fullers Bookshop.
I’ve known Craig from the time the refuge was established more than 20 years ago, which coincidentally is when I started writing the On the Wing column.
The raptor refuge actually featured in one of the first columns after I had visited its predecessor, an eagle rehabilitation centre located inside Risdon Prison with prisoners assisting as volunteers.
Former parks and wildlife ranger Nick Mooney had told me at the time the aviary was closing because of expansion plans for the prison and he feared for the eagles, many with injuries which made it impossible for them to be released.
Mooney phoned me later to say a registered wildlife carer down at Kettering was keen to build his own aviary and take the eagles on.
On that first visit to the Raptor Refuge a little later I was staggered by the size of the first aviary, constructed with the use of a fish-farm pen and ultra-high power poles. As soon as Craig opened the doors, injured wedge-tailed and white-bellied sea eagles started to arrive, along with other, smaller raptors.
Over the years I’ve seen the refuge grow from a single aviary to a complex that now embraces not only assorted aviaries featuring all Tasmania’s birds of prey but information and education facilities. They all sit in landscaped grounds festooned with sculptures and carvings of raptors which can be viewed as part of a tour.
Through my columns I have had the privilege over the years to share in Craig’s journey, witnessing the release of rehabilitated eagles across the state. I’ve seen a wedgie set free on kununyi/Mt Wellington and a sea eagle released from a boat off Bruny Island. But there’s nothing like the symbolic sight of an eagle perched outside the aviaries at the raptor refuge, looking in.