Critters
Photographs and stories by Alexa Walker

HELLO DOLLY
Bamberger Ranch Preserve, Texas

Bamberger Ranch is a living laboratory, so to speak, of all that could be. It's a teaching facility, too, especially wonderful when the "city kids," who sometimes never see the stars, come out on field trips to learn about the earth, rain and runoff, critters that are found in the ponds, native grasses, dinosaur tracks, and birds of prey. I was able to photo-graph Dolly, a Harris Hawk, at one of their fundraisers, She's captive now, not able to be released back into the wild - a wild she has never known. Obtained young in her life by someone who did not know how to properly nourish her, she didn't get the calcium she needed to form strong bones, and she wouldn't make it on her own. So now she's part of the educational opportunities at the ranch, and she is absolutely beautiful and a magnificent creature, still.