‘Eagle Lady’ to visit the Highland Lakes Master Naturalists

December 18, 2012, 9:00 pm by From Staff Reports

Doris Mager and E.T., a 30-year-old Great-Horned Owl

Doris Mager, "The Eagle Lady," bird rehabilitator and founder of Save Our American Raptors, will once again return to the Highland Lakes area with her birds of prey the first week of January 2013.

This is a great opportunity for children and adults to see this amazing woman, witness her program about birds of prey, and see her special birds up close. Mager will give several presentations while she is in the area, but only two of the programs listed will be free and open to the general public.

She will be at the Kingsland Library meeting room, 125 Polk Street in Kingsland, on Thursday, Jan. 3 at 10 a.m., and the Inks Dam National Fish Hatchery on 345 Clay Young Road (off Park Road 4 West) on Saturday, Jan. 5 at 10 a.m.

For over 40 years, Mager has been a tireless advocate for the conservation and preservation of American raptors (birds of prey). She has rehabilitated over 80 Bald Eagles and many other raptors during that time. As part of a fund raising effort for a new Raptor Rehabilitation Center in Florida, she biked, at the age of 60, across the country, at which point the Governor of Florida dubbed her the "Eagle Lady."

In 1983, Mager left the Florida Audubon Society and founded Save Our American Raptors (S.O.A.R.), a non-profit organization, with the focus of educating children and adults about the fate of America's beautiful birds of prey. She and her birds crisscross the country in her van presenting programs in schools, wildlife centers, state parks, libraries, and senior adult centers.

All the birds in Mager’s programs are non-releasable. Some have injuries that prohibit their return to the wild and others have imprinted on humans and are not able to fend for themselves in the wild. Currently she travels with and uses three raptors in her program: E.T., a 30-year-old Great-Horned Owl; EV Yaah, an American Kestrel; and Tex, a small Screech Owl. The Birds of Prey presentation includes a 45-minute program that showcases the birds, the value and characteristics of raptors and what it takes to be a wildlife rehabilitator. Mager’s work on behalf of raptors has been acclaimed by many national and local organizations including The Nature Conservancy, PBS, Tennessee Valley Authority, the Sierra Club and numerous Audubon chapters. She has been honored as Conservation Educator of the Year by the National Wildlife Federation.