It is a privilege to watch. A juvenile barred owl eyes its dinner from a perch high in a sycamore tree. Finally, it takes flight, gliding downward and then pulling up before landing on top of the oversized pet carrier that has been its home for the last several days. On top of the carrier, or "hack box," are mice left by Illinois Raptor Center volunteers.

The barred owl was one of two chicks brought to the center as orphans. They were part of a program in which orphaned birds of prey are released into the wild gradually and naturally. At first, food is left daily. As the birds gain strength and confidence, the food is gradually reduced until the owls are on their own.

In some cases, wild barred owls living in the area will care for and defend the chicks. Both barred owl chicks amazed us with their progress. Others have since been released in the same way.

Hacking is a falconry term for slow, gradual release. When the owls are "hacked out," they have the great outdoors, not a flight cage, as teacher. Our hack towers are deer stands set on 14-foot high legs. Birds are kept in the boxes for a few days before the door is opened, allowing them to leave the nest and branch out--naturally.