New Westerner

Albuquerque’s Very Own Birdman

By Ben Ikenson, 7-20-06

	Courtesy City of Albuquerque

By Ben Ikenson
Last year, Darby raked in a cool five grand in audience contributions— no small feat for an umbrella cockatoo. The comical Darby is but one of more than 20 remarkable birds that star in the Albuquerque Zoological Park’s most popular attraction, a 25-minute affair called World Wildlife Encounters. Last year, the show reached an audience of more than 60,000 zoo visitors. The bills Darby procures from the hands of audience members go to bird conservation groups such as The Peregrine Fund, the Raptor Center, and the World Parrot Trust.

“Kids line up to have Darby take a dollar from their hands,” says the show’s head trainer, Tom Smylie. “They love it.”

For the last seven years, the show has been arranged by this 69-year-old wizard with birds. Smylie is so devoted to his calling, he has 60 homing pigeons trained to meet him at work, 40 miles away, when he releases them in the morning from his Edgewood home. The birds, of course, always arrive before their earthbound master.

“I’ve been training birds for forty five years,” Smylie says. “I became instantly hooked when I saw that prairie falcon circling above the field during halftime. This was in 1958. ” Then an undergrad at the University of New Mexico, Smylie, who played football for the Lobos, found himself unable to take his eyes off of the rival team’s mascot. He pursued his life’s work as a falconer.

Now, audiences watch his birds. At showtime, Smylie usually begins with two of the stunning shock-white specimens, which dart on cue from out of sight and set gracefully on either of his outstretched arms. Part Saint Francis, part P.T. Barnum, Smylie creates a dramatic opening for his show.

At Smylie's beckoning, Max, a 40-year-old emerald-feathered military macaw, plunges from the shadows of a towering cottonwood 100 yards away, points his hooked bill, and sails on outstretched wings, swooping just inches above the heads of the crowd. The bird lands smoothly on a perch directly in front of the audience and preens his brilliant plumage before nibbling at his reward, the grape in Smylie's hand, and reveling in the collective gapes of admiration.

All the while, Smylie offers tidbits of trivia on his feathered friends: the common raven is the most intelligent bird in the state, and one of smartest birds in the world; hawks help control the mice population, which would otherwise explode and wreak havoc.

Offstage, Smylie’s office is an open-air arena hedged in by pens of varying size and, of course, the pens’ avian occupants, also of varying size. From a Eurasian eagle owl, the largest owl on Earth, with a six-foot wingspan, to the diminutive 95-gram conure, a tiny parrot, Smylie works on developing their natural skills with assistant Melissa Levison.

Levison, 23, has worked the show for three years now and is already an expert in her own right, especially on parrots. While exhibiting the vibrant fluff of a green-winged macaw, Levison explains, “Some parrots that are taken from the wild in South America are losing their rainforest habitat at a rate of 150 acres per minute. Putting them into the pet trade just further leads to their demise.”

Levison’s remarks are in keeping with the show’s purpose. In giving people the opportunity to get up-close glimpses of birds, the show combines eye-popping entertainment with a strong conservation message. The message is, in fact, a deeply personal one to Smylie, particular when he talks about his favorite bird, Sir William, a 4-year-old peregrine falcon. “The peregrine falcon is the world's fastest animal,” he announces to a chorus of “oohs” and “aahs.” "Because it only eats flying birds, it’s built for speed. It can dive at speeds of over 250 miles per hour. It's the top gun of the bird world.... And you're very fortunate today to see this bird up-close."

Fortunate, indeed, since this top gun almost took a nosedive into the abyss of extinction—a fate that Smylie played a role in thwarting. The species used to number more than 3,000 documented pairs in the U.S. But because of the widespread use of the pesticide DDT, less than 100 pairs existed in the country by the mid-1960s. After the bird was placed on the endangered species list and DDT was federally banned in 1972, recovery seemed like a reality.

Supported by state and federal agencies, other conservation organizations, private corporations, and individuals, including falconers like Smylie, The Peregrine Fund worked intensively for the recovery of the species. Smylie provided some of the first pairs of peregrines used by to rebuild the species through captive breeding efforts at Cornell University. In 1999, the plausible became the possible: The peregrine falcon was removed from the endangered species list.

“The peregrine falcon is the eptiome of speed, power, grace, and beauty,” Smylie says. “The peregrine has evolved into an extemely specialized creature; and its power has held a special place in man’s heart throughout history, fron anitiquity. To see it’s place assured for future generations is profoundly rewarding.”

With Sir William calmly poised on Smylie’s wrist, the image of the man caught between his admiration for the bird on his arm and the urge to explain it to others typifies Smylie’s career as both student and teacher of the natural world.

When he gets home at night, Smylie’s homing pigeons will be there to greet him. They’re a comforting constant, reminding him that diligence can yield results.
Showtimes: 11:30 am Wednesday – Friday
11:30 am & 2:00 pm Weekends

From Memorial Day to Labor Day:
Wednesday -- Sundays 11:30 & 2:00
Editor's Note: This story is reprinted with permission from Albuquerque the Magazine

Like this story? Get more! Sign up for our free newsletters.