Getting close to a gyrfalcon, a Harris hawk and a great horned owl is not a normal summer activity.

Unless you’re participating in the Carbon County Environmental Education Center’s conservation camp.

The weeklong camp at Camp Shehaqua in Hickory Run State Park began Monday with a safety program and a special visit from Margaret the Falconry Girl.

Margaret Young, based in Mertztown, brought three of her raptors to inform and delight the 17 campers.

Young, a music teacher during the week and a falconry hunter, explained birds of prey have special talons and beaks to capture and kill their prey instead of pecking at it.

Jasper the Harris hawk

Jasper, a Harris hawk, was the first raptor they met. His talons, Young explained, have a gripping pressure of 180 psi.

“His beak is his fork and his knife,” Young said, adding that he pulls the prey with his strong neck muscles.

Built to hunt, his eyes are large and forward facing.

“His entire world is visual. He cannot smell,” she said.

The Harris hawk’s eyes see a broader spectrum of colors than humans do, almost like an ultraviolet light where he can pick up trails of urine from his favorite food, the meadow vole.

Humans process images to the brain at 24 frames per second. The Harris Hawk processes at 180 frames per second and has exceptional peripheral vision, allowing to him to dive to catch prey and react quickly if foxes, coyotes or larger birds of prey are lurking.

He has three eyelids, including one that acts as a shade so he can see to capture prey while protecting his eyes.

While Young was talking, she took time to spray Jasper to cool him off. The focal point was his feet, which allow him to cool faster.

Young talked about the mortality of hawks. Eighty percent don’t make it past the first year, with just 3 out of 100 living to be 10 years old. In captivity they can long lives.

Sabine and Lady Boca Raton

Next up was Sabine, a gyrfalcon who can travel an average of 150 mph when diving for prey. Young told campers the fastest recorded speed from a gyrfalcon was 242 mph.

“They have a built-in wind baffle in her nose,” she said.

Birds’ bones are hollow to allow them to fly.

She also introduced Lady Boca Raton, a great horned owl. The owl has the biggest eyes of all to allow them to see prey during its nighttime hunts. With only normal hearing and no sense of smell, Young said their eyes are their greatest asset.

The owl has gripping power of 800 psi.

Since they can’t smell, they can eat skunks and not care about being sprayed.

That brought questions from the campers, such as won’t other animals smell the owl? Yes, but they won’t see the skunk, so it would be confusing.

Campers wanted to know if the territorial birds would attack their brother. Not in the nest, Young said. And likely the birds have spread out so that will not happen.

But how can they recognize their spouse, campers asked. Young said their exceptional eyesight allows them to recognize patterns on the feathers that we can’t see.

Connecting with nature

Before the bird presentation, campers spent time getting to know each other by throwing a beach ball that had questions written on it. They answered the question where their thumb landed when they caught the ball.

Some of the topics included pets, favorite color, best thing about summer, siblings, favorite food (one said calamari) and ability to swim and ride bike.

Lydia Zellers, 11, of Towamensing Township, said this was her third year at camp. She most enjoys, “seeing friends and things you normally wouldn’t see such as birds of prey.”

Sierra Steward, 10, of Weatherly said she enjoys the free time, rafting and swimming.

The camp is open to children ages 8 through 12. Naturalist Franklin Klock said, it’s a trek to learn about nature and get away from electronics, which can be a deal breaker for some students.

“We’ve had kids come and go right home when they found out that they couldn’t have their phones and games,” Klock said.

Last year, one boy faked being sick so he could go home, because an update to his video game had been released.

The week is packed with activities including rafting; hikes; a visit from Dani Long Legs, who performs on stilts; a visit to Boulder Field, swimming, a movie night and bonfire.

Meals include tacos, hot dogs, mac and cheese, spaghetti, pizza and other favorites.