Santa Catalina Lower and Middle School students in kindergarten and first grade met a character straight out of a book when a red-tailed hawk visited the library.
Volunteers from the SPCA Wildlife Center brought DD the hawk to the library—appropriately nicknamed “The Treehouse”—to accompany a reading from the book The Hawk in the Castle: A Story of Medieval Falconry.
After learning a lot of interesting facts about DD and hawks like her, the eager students were invited up to a table where they could touch the feathers of other birds of prey, see a talon up close, and lift a bag of rocks to feel how heavy—or light, at about 3 pounds—their guest was.
The visit from DD brought the magic of storytelling to life for these young students, reminding them that the world is full of amazing creatures.