Author: Melissa Hill

While earning her Bachelor's Degree in Wildlife Management at the University of Wyoming, Melissa began volunteering at Laramie Raptor Refuge and was instantly hooked on birds of prey.

Since those early days, she has worked with nearly 70 different raptors at four different raptor education groups in three states. She is a former member of the Education Committee for the International Association of Avian Trainers and Educators (IAATE) and a National Association for Interpretation's Certified Interpretive Guide.

When she's not "playing with the birds" she enjoys spending time quilting, crocheting, and exploring the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem with her non-bird family.

“That bird’s as big as you are!”

July 9, 2012 by Melissa Hill

By Sarah the Intern I was so excited when Melissa told me we were finally going to have me hold Suli the turkey vulture. This was it. I was about […]

A raptor update is needed!

June 25, 2012 by Melissa Hill

By Sarah the Intern I have spent so much time and space on this blog talking about the raptors themselves, that I figured I’d use an extra space this week […]

The equal-opportunity grump: our great horned owl

June 25, 2012 by Melissa Hill

By Sarah the Intern Teasdale the great horned owl was the second bird to stand on my glove. He slowly and reluctantly made his way onto my arm, glaring at […]

Isham the red-tailed hawk, Greater Yellowstone Raptor Experience

A Boy and His Bird, or more accurately, a red-tailed hawk who tolerates the presence of a boy

June 18, 2012 by Melissa Hill

By Sarah the Intern It was earlier in my experiences with the birds, probably around my first week, when a woman asked an interesting question. She wanted to know if […]

Four score and seven years ago, we chose to go to the moon and I had a dream. (There were birds in it and I was in my underwear)

June 11, 2012 by Melissa Hill

By Sarah the Intern I knew this day would come…kind of like how you know you’re going to have high blood pressure some day, or heart disease. Eventually it’s going […]

A bird in the hand is worth two Facebook posts (at least at first)

June 4, 2012 by Melissa Hill

By Sarah the Intern It wasn’t until the second day, when Melissa let us hold Teasdale the great horned owl, that it finally hit me. It was the second time […]