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At the Colorado Renaissance Festival each summer, crowds flock to watch Sky Quackenbush lead daily bird-of-prey shows starring some of the planet’s most charismatic avian species: majestic bald eagles, graceful peregrine falcons, and the spooky, ghost-faced barn owl. But she’s especially fond of a bird that most people overlook, if not downright detest. “Vultures are some of our most social birds,” says Quackenbush, an animal care specialist for Nature’s Educators, a Florence-based nonprofit. “They’re very intelligent, and they prevent the spread of disease. Their stomach acid is comparable to battery acid, so it kills everything.”
Of the 33 rescue birds in the group’s flock, one of Quackenbush’s favorites is Sashimi, a turkey vulture who was found as a chick in a cardboard box in St. Louis. “To earn a bird’s trust is unique,” she says. Quackenbush, 26, and her birds are one of the most popular attractions at the renaissance festival, which runs June 14 through August 3 in Larkspur. She and her colleagues also regularly host performances at the Royal Gorge Bridge & Park, near Cañon City.
To prepare for the shows, each animal undergoes dozens of hours of training, with handlers using positive reinforcement in the form of tasty rat, quail, and rabbit treats. Attendees are advised not to bring food or small pets to the show (dare to snack on a turkey leg, and it may be snatched from your hands). “It’s always the birds’ choice to fly or not that day, so you never know exactly how things will go,” says Quackenbush, who’s worked at Nature’s Educators since 2018.
And no, Sky Quackenbush is not her given name, and she did not come up with the nom de guerre to suit her profession. “It was just an online username I used to use,” she laughs. “But it fits.”
Read More: How to Assemble a Costume for the Colorado Renaissance Festival
