Eyes in the Sky

Since 2000, Eyes in the Sky (EITS) has been Santa Barbara Audubon Society’s key wildlife education program. It features live birds of prey trained to interact with the public as ambassador animals. Each of our birds was adopted from a licensed wildlife rescue center; they are considered non-releasable and would be unlikely to survive outside of human care.

Our birds are housed on the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History campus. You can view the birds in their aviary during the Museum’s open hours: 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM daily. Santa Barbara Audubon Society volunteers are present to teach guests about the birds 2:00–4:00 PM on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

The EITS birds also travel off the Museum campus for private educational programs. The majority of our offsite programs take place in public elementary schools, after-school programs, and community centers. If you’d like to schedule a visit from the birds, please see the “Programs” tab above.

EITS was founded in 2000 by Gabriele Drozdowski, who retired as the program’s director in 2018. The program is now run by one half-time staff person – Hannah Atkinson, a former volunteer and licensed falconer – and supported by a team of about 25 volunteer educators. To learn more about volunteering, please see the “Volunteer” tab above.