Pacific baza in intensive care cage with infrared lamp at the Australian Raptor Care & Conservation Centre.

Australian masked owl (Tyto novaehollandiae).

Pacific baza.

Peggy McDonald holds a wedge-tailed eagle while vet Charlie Carter examines its wing.

A wedge-tailed eagle stretches its wings and practises flapping. 

Peggy McDonald and vet Charlie Carter examine feathers discarded by a Pacific baza (Aviceda subcristata). The bird suffered at the hands of an inexperienced vet who had offered bad ‘imping’ – the process where healthy feathers are implanted in a wing to quicken recovery.

Southern boobooks (Ninox boobook) at the Australian Raptor Care & Conservation Centre.

Wedge-tailed eagle (Aquila audax).

Peggy McDonald cleans the 8m-high, shadecloth-wrapped aviary. The space is designed to be a gym for birds of prey to train up and be released into the wild, where they need to be fiting-fit. The shadecloth ensures the birds fly in a circle rather than back and forth, as they are unable to scout a targeted spot to head towards.

Peggy McDonald releases a Pacific baza back into its cage after checkup by a vet.

Peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) perched in the Australian Raptor Care & Conservation Centre aviary.

Food for raptors consists of frozen birds and rodents, bred for the purpose.

Exterior shot of the aviary.