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Reminder Assistant Editor EAST LONGMEADOW "You can't just go into Big Y and buy hamburger," Julie Anne Collier explained. "You have to have fresh mice and rats. My birds are very picky." Collier, along with Jim Parks, serves as a raptor rehabilitator with Wingmasters, a partnership dedicated to increasing public understanding and appreciation of North American birds of prey. Many of the birds they rehabilitate can be released back into the wild, but in some cases the birds are left permanently handicapped. Collier and Parks are licensed to provide a home for these non-releasable raptors and use them for educational programs. Since 1994, Wingmasters has presented more than 5,000 programs at schools, libraries and museums throughout New England. On March 30, Collier will be coming to Colorful Creations Bead Company in East Longmeadow to educate while the store uses the money raised during that "Charity Day" to help Collier pay for food for the 20 handicapped birds who live with her full-time. "We think it's important to help," Pat Pawlowicz, co-owner of Colorful Creations, said. Pawlowicz said the store has hosted similar "Charity Days" in the past for other organizations in need, including a local chapter of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA). Customers who visit the store between noon and 5 p.m. on March 30 will have the opportunity to make keychains or bracelets using owl or eagle charms. The money raised from these creations will be donated to Collier and Wingmasters. In addition to crafting bracelets and keychains, Collier will have her own works of art on display and up for sale at the shop. She and her birds will be moving to a new seven-acre home in Leverett (north of Amherst) soon, so funds raised will also go toward the move northward of Wingmasters. Collier said during the "Charity Day" at Colorful Creations, she'll be doing educational programs every hour on the hour for 30-minute sessions. She'll be bringing five of her unreleasable birds of prey with her for the day. A 17-pound golden eagle with a 6.5-foot wingspan will be one of the visitors that day, which will most likely be followed by a three-ounce saw-whet owl. "I show them in that order so people can really see the size differences and realize how diverse birds of prey really are," Collier said. Also visiting the bead company that day will be a barred owl, a red-tailed hawk and an American kestrel (a falcon). "The responses [of people who attend my programs] will always be fun," Collier told Reminder Publications. "There will be 'aaws' with the saw-whet and disbelief at how well camouflaged owls can be. There will be choruses of 'Oh, that's what that is!' when they see a red-tailed hawk and dropped jaws at the size of the eagle." Collier, who admits to being biased when it comes to eagles preferring the golden variety over the bald said that while she's glad the American bald eagle is making a comeback, more focus needs to be put on bringing back the golden eagle now. "These programs let people know about the birds around them," she said. "[This 'Charity Day'] will be enjoyable for all ages," Pawlowicz noted. "We're hoping for Julie that it will have a good turnout." Colorful Creations is located in the Heritage Village Shops off Harkness Avenue. To learn more about the store, visit www.colorfulcreationsbeadcompany.com. To learn more about Collier and her work with Wingmasters, visit www.wingmasters.net. | ||||||
