• Home
  • Our History
    • Meet Anne and Paul
  • Feedback About Our Programs
  • Meet the Birds
    • Defiant (Peregrine Falcon)
    • Bronson (Lanner Falcon)
    • Goliath & Andromeda (Eagle Owls)
    • Hilda (African Hawk Eagle)
    • Odin & Coda (Harris’s Hawks)
    • Emily (Swainson’s Hawk)
    • Marlee (Barn Owl)
    • Stihl & Timber (Saw-whet Owls)
    • Leopold (Bald Eagle)
    • Charlie (American Kestrel)
    • Ellis (Golden Eagle)
  • Programs
    • Amazing Adventures in Learning & Conservation
  • Links
  • Contact Us
  • Institute for Environmental Learning
  • Get Involved

Arizona's Raptor Experience

Where our focus is your experience.

“But man is a part of nature, and his war against nature is inevitably a war against himself.”
~Rachel Carson

Bronson (Lanner Falcon)

Bronson, Lanner Falcon (photo by Bruce Usher)

Bronson is a male Lanner Falcon (Falco biarmicus) who came to us recently from the World Bird Sanctuary in Missouri. He is approximately 20 years old and worked for 10 years doing bird abatement at Travis Air Force Base in California before becoming an education bird at WBS.

Known as “desert falcons,” the main population of Lanner Falcons is found south of the Sahara in semi-desert regions in East and South Africa. They can be found from sea level to 6,600 ft. Smaller populations exist in Egypt, Arabia, the Middle East, North Africa  and Mediterranean Europe.  Although common in most of their African range, they have declined dramatically in Europe due to loss of nesting habitat and contamination of their avian prey with pesticides.

Common food sources include birds, small mammals, reptiles, insects and bats.  Mated pairs are known for hunting cooperatively, even outside the nesting season. They are known for hunting isolated water holes where desert birds congregate to drink. They wait on nearby perches and strike while drinking birds are still on the ground.

Bronson is named after Donald Bronson (1935-2006) of Newfane in upstate NY. He was a Marine, a highly regarded high school science teacher, a master hunter safety instructor and award-winning conservationist.  He and Paul were close friends for decades.

Kazakh Eagle Hunters & Huntress

Aishopan the heroine of the documentary ‘The Eagle Huntress'. Click to view an exclusive peak into the lives of the Kazahh Eagle Hunters & Huntress.
Kazakh Eagle Hunter in Olgii Mongolia at the Blue Wolf Golden Eagle Festival.

Like Us on Facebook

Like Us on Facebook

Read Brendan’s Owl Experience

Read about 9 year old Brendan's memorable Owl encounter at Arizona's Raptor Experience

Newsletters

Read all of our newsletters online HERE.
Owl with Flag
Baby Goliath on a Harley
Andromeda at 3 Weeks Old
“We must go and see for ourselves.” Jacques Cousteau
Peregrine Falcon
Lyra and Luna
Birthday Party Made Special with Live Birds!
Paul, Sharps Rifle, and 1800 Pound Bison Bull
Just how big is a bald eagle's nest?
Anne with a Peregrine Falcon
Copyright © 2021 || All raptor photos taken by Paul Schnell.