It is a Saturday on the Plains during football season. Auburn fans are swarming Jordan-Hare Stadium in excitement for the game to come. Pre-game festivities begin and Auburn lights up. While pre-game has always been a tradition for Auburn, there is a tradition that exceeds them all. The flying of the eagle is a coveted ritual that Auburn fans, students and alumni cherish and respect. We love to watch the eagle soar above our heads as we cheer him on saying WAR EAGLE. Our tradition has gone as far as Salt Lake City where one of our eagles flew in the opening ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. While we love to watch the eagle fly, do we really know the behind the scenes information? What happens to make these birds fly in the first place?

Auburn University has been flying eagles since 1996. Currently they have two flying eagles, Nova and Spirit. Both Nova and Spirit live in the Auburn University Raptor Center. There are two separate divisions, the Elmore Bellingrath Bartlett Raptor Center Hospital and the Carol Clark Laster/W.E. Clark Jr. Raptor Training Facility. The raptor center hospital is used to rehabilitate and re-release injured animals while the training facilities are used for those animals that cannot be released back into the wild.

The raptor training facility is currently housing 27 birds including owls, vultures, hawks, falcons and four eagles (two of which are bald eagles). While these animals are unable to be re-released they are not at a loss for purpose in life. Educational Specialists Marianne Murphy and Roy Crowe work with the birds daily to train them well enough to be used in educational programs throughout the Southeast. While the eagle’s main role seems to be flying at games, they are also used in these programs.

Murphy and Crowe travel the Southeast teaching various lessons in places like schools, churches, civic clubs and scout groups. While some programs are about animal safety and birds, other programs that they teach include lessons on math, physics, art, and history. Murphy said, “These birds are used to get the student’s attention and make them love to learn.” While many of the shows are on the road, they also hold shows at 4:00 on Fridays before home games in the Edgar B. Carter Educational Amphitheater.

Spirit, a bald eagle, is one of the most vocal birds of the 27 and is a fan favorite at the shows. He was brought to the center with a beak deformity making it impossible for him to shred his food and survive in the wild. He, like all the others, is trained using food as a reward. He still has the instinct that wild animals have, so any food that is given to him is something he needs and wants so he works to get it. As a gameday eagle, Spirit has to practice in Jordan-Hare Stadium every day to ensure that he will perform on Saturdays.

Spirit works hard. He trains, he learns and he delivers. Auburn fans should recognize his hard work and not take it for granted. Show appreciation for the Auburn University Raptor Center and for Spirit next time he flies and give them the warmest “War Eagle” in history.

For more information on shows, Spirit, or the Auburn University Raptor Center visit http://www.vetmed.auburn.edu/index.pl/raptor.


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