Scugog is home to numerous wonderful and unique individuals, and the Dulong family is no exception.
Chris and Debbie Dulong are licensed falconers who moved to Scugog five years ago and instantly knew this was the place they were going to call home.
The couple met as co-workers at a large conservation and wildlife rehabilitation centre in Halton Region, which provided ‘Birds of Prey’ education programs for children.
Warm, funny and passionate, their mutual love and commitment to both wildlife and the environment fuelled a relationship and they have now been married for 12 years.
Deb became pregnant soon after she and Chris were married. Then, back-to- back maternity leaves, spanning close to three years, kept Deb away from the work she loved, teaching kids about birds, wildlife and their relationship to the environment.
Debbie shows off the beautiful red tail of Cody,
the red tailed hawk.
During that time, Chris moved on to the Toronto Zoo, initially caring for birds, but soon moving on to the African Pavilion and developing expertise with elephants. He is currently president of the Elephant Managers Association.
Their family has always included a menagerie of animals; cats, dogs and of course, birds! Their two daughters, Emily, 10 and Sarah, 8, share the same love and dedication for animals as their parents, and display a maturity not often seen in kids their age.
The young girls possess a deep appreciation for nature and the role their birds play in it. Emily and Sarah both spend countless hours helping to care for the birds with their parents and have tagged along on presentations since they were babies.
Currently, the Dulongs provide a home for a number of bird species. There’s a barn owl, Stella, who joined the family when she was just a few days old. The fledgling actually imprinted on Deb who took care of all of its basic needs. In fact, she was the first thing the newborn owl saw when its eyes first cleared.
Although bred in captivity, these birds are not domesticated, they are not pets and not treated as such. Given the very best professional care, they are viewed as ambassadors to birds in the wild, and in turn they foster an appreciation in children for these amazing creatures and their habitat.
Each bird has its own enclosure, suited to its individual needs and are free-flying. Many of the birds are used for falconry and are flown daily to hunt during the season.
Emily with “Gwen” the peregrine falcon.
Deb’s commitment to providing education for children has paved the way for the creation of ‘SOAR-Birds of Prey’; an affordable education program for kids of all ages.
At the wildlife centre it always bothered Deb that kids paid more for the bus trip to the centre, than they did for the program, and her showings were very dependent on good weather. So, she decided to take her show to the classroom.
“This way I can come to them, right into their classrooms” Deb explains.
All decisions made about the programs are based around the welfare of the birds.
“These birds have taught literally thousands of children over the past 10 years to take better care of our planet. They learn not only about the role of falconry in the middle ages, but they leave knowing that birds of prey sit at the top of the food chain, and are excellent environmental indicators toward the health of our eco-system. If something goes wrong with them, you know something is really wrong with our environment,” she continues.
Sarah, with her favourite bird, “Stella”
a colourful barn owl.
Deb realizes that while having falcons in their family for the past 20 years is rather ordinary for them, it is extraordinary for the children that take part in her education programs. The gratification and joy she gets from the kids she teaches is evident.
Caring for falcons is a truly extraordinary privilege for the family and having the opportunity to teach children about these amazing creatures is both timely and relevant, given the current state of our planet.
For more information about Birds of Prey and Soar educational programs go to www.soarbirdsofprey.com
By Tammy Horvath
Special to Focus on Scugog
Personalities
