Auburn raptor center presenting Football, Fans and Feathers show on Fridays before home football games

Auburn University’s Southeastern Raptor Center will host its annual fall educational series—Football, Fans and Feathers—again this season on Fridays before home football games.

Seven shows will give guests an opportunity to experience an up-close view of birds of prey while exploring the mysteries of their survival, flight and ecological roles. Shows will be held Sept. 3, 10 and 24;  Oct. 8 and 29; and Nov. 12 and 26. Each show begins at 4 p.m.

Tickets are $8 per person, with children ages 3 and under admitted free, for the hour-long program that takes place at the center’s Edgar B. Carter Educational Amphitheater at 1350 Pratt-Carden Drive off Shug Jordan Parkway. Tickets will be available at the amphitheater or may be purchased in advance online at www.aub.ie/fff.

Gates open one hour prior to the start of the presentation, and seating is first-come, first-served. Concessions will not be sold, but those attending are welcome to bring their own chair, food or drink. The amphitheater is an open-air facility with little shade.

During the show, hawks, falcons, eagles and other birds of prey are free-flown from towers and around the amphitheater, with each program featuring approximately 10 raptors. At the conclusion, several raptors are brought back out so attendees can have an up-close view and talk with the trainers. No two shows are alike, as a variety of birds are chosen for each program.

All birds used in the programs are permanent residents that are non-releasable due to prior injuries or human imprinting. The Southeastern Raptor Center is a division of the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine. For more information, visit www.auburn.edu/raptor.