Date: 6/27/25 10:07 pm From: Brent Barnes <00000113f4c02191-dmarc-request...> Subject: Re: Southern OK Big Day
Hello all! I just read the fascinating article in the summer Audubon magazine about Sia - the Commanche-led eagle raptor center in Cyril, Oklahoma. I was completely unaware of this center. The article reports they do extensive work with eagles including having more than 100 resident raptors, most being captive-bred eagles, many of which are descendants of generations of Commanche birds. The article reports they also provide a home for injured wild birds that cannot be released including Crested Caracara and Zone-Tailed Hawks. Amazingly, the center apparently has a captive-bred program and was the first center to succeed in hatching a Hawaiian Hawk after multiple zoos had failed. It also reports the center is the only place in the Western Hemisphere to propagate non-native species such as Verreaux's Eagles and Steppe Eagles which it provides to zoological partners.
While I have mixed feelings on the captive-bred program, the center apparently has contributed significantly to bolstering the wild eagle population and has extensive expertise in raptor conservation and provides much information about the history of raptors and the Commanche. The article also noted that in April, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service granted Sia the authority to release unlimited numbers of captive-bred Bald Eagles and Golden Eagles on to historic Numunuh lands in six states over a 30 year period.
Does anyone have experience or work with this center? Do they do public tours at all? Do they allow the general public to attend releases of captive-bred eagles?
Brent Barnes
