WINGED WONDERS

PALMER — When it comes to creating origami cranes, MaryAnn Cockle has more than a leg to stand on.

The Palmer resident has been making cranes out of intricately folded paper since she was about 2 years old, an art taught by her Japanese mother. On Saturday, Cockle sat behind a table littered with colorful paper squares resembling giant confetti. Her fingers move quickly across the paper, instructing eager students.

“Wow, this is so fun, and so neat that someone 54 years old can learn to do this,” said Talyne Corlyn of Hunter Creek. “I think it’s a really relaxing, wonderful thing.”

Origami was just part of the fun and informational programs at the annual Celebration of Cranes, an event that also serves to open the Palmer Museum and Visitor Center for the season.

A gaggle of folks from the Alaska Wild Bird Rehabilitation Center was also on hand with a variety of wild birds. Nancy Moore spent part of the afternoon trying to keep a rough-legged hawk calm. The hawk came to the Houston rehab center from Cody, Wyo., where it had been hit by a car. It has since healed, but not enough to be released back into the wild.

That’s the story with most of the center’s educational birds, said executive director Kent Briske.

“In rehab, we have a portion of them that can’t be released,” he said. “You can apply to get them in your education program. Most of our (education) birds are non-flighted, and most of these birds are (still wild). If you tried to touch them, they will bite you.”

Although the center didn’t have any cranes to bring to the celebration, the other birds were a big hit.

A one-eyed great gray owl came to the center after being hit by a car. The mature bird of prey was impressive and drew stares from visitors as it seemed to turn its head all the way around.

In reality, owls can’t turn their heads 360 degrees, Briske said. With 14 vertebrae in their necks, owls can turn their heads 270 degrees. And just because the educational bird at the center has only one eye doesn’t mean it can’t still hunt.

“There’s been a lot of research on releasing owls with vision in only one eye,” he said. “This guy here flies more with his ears than his eyes. She can actually catch a mouse under a foot and a half of snow.”

The center rehabilitates about 350 birds a year, Briske said, adding the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage has a crane that came through the center.

“We’ve had cranes before,” he said. “The one at the zoo became too imprinted on people. After about a week we knew this bird would never make it out in the wild.”

Most of the birds that come to the center are injured, either by vehicles, flying into windows or by cats, he said.

“Cats actually do a lot of damage,” he said. “They carry a lot of germs. You ever hear of cat scratch fever?”

Along with the live birds, the Valley Art Alliance hosted its annual Crane Art Show at the Palmer visitor center, featuring sculptures and other crane-related pieces by local artists.

Contact Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.