Avian veterinarian students can learn how to treat sick raptors, or birds of prey, by practicing with dead birds.

Jodeane Cancilla, coordinator for the Macbride Raptor Project, teaches the skills necessary to deal with a sick or injured raptor Saturday at a workshop for members of the Association of Avian Veterinarians Iowa Chapter.

“I am bringing in deceased birds to practice on,” Cancilla said. “They are easier to deal with when learning and a lot safer.”

Cancilla said workshop participants will have a chance to practice restraining and bandaging raptors.

“I’m going to talk about identification characteristics, feeding requirements and bandaging techniques,” Cancilla said. “There are also rules and regulations when dealing with raptors.”

Jaclyn Harry, junior in veterinary medicine and president of the Association of Avian Veterinarians Iowa chapter, said this workshop was chosen because Cancilla is great teacher.

“[The Macbride Project] is very eager to get information to the public and promote education,” Harry said.

The Macbride Raptor Project is a nonprofit organization devoted to the preservation of Iowa’s raptors and their natural habitats.

The organization rehabilitates sick and injured raptors, provides educational programs for the public, and performs field research of Iowa’s native raptors.

Some of these research projects include the survivability of released rehabilitated raptors, raptor migration along the Iowa river, the reintroduction of Peregrine Falcons and the introduction of Osprey into the wild, according to the program’s Web site, www.macbrideraptorproject.org.

Each year, the Macbride Raptor Project receives approximately 150 to 200 injured or sick raptors. Most of these birds have been injured by cars or have been illegally shot or trapped. About 40 percent will make a full recovery, Cancilla said.

The Macbride Raptor Project is based in two locations — one at Kirkwood Community College and another at the University of Iowa.

The Kirkwood Community College location consists of a medical clinic and a permanent home for several raptors. Each raptor brought in or picked up is examined and treated at this clinic.

Cancilla said a “flight cage” is located on the University of Iowa campus. She said the cage is designed to provide conditioning for raptor patients before their release. It is the largest and most effective facility of its kind in Iowa.

Since raptors, like humans, are at the top of their food chain, they can be a good indicator of problems within the ecosystem and environmental quality, Cancilla said.

“What affects them, affects us,” Cancilla said. “They can tell us if things are going wrong in the environment.”

She said raptors can also be valuable allies to Iowa farmers.

“On agricultural lands, a hawk or owl can save the farmer hundreds of dollars each year in crop damage caused by rodents,” Cancilla said.