EDIT: Everything is posted now, so I'll respond to any questions I can answer for you now. Enjoy, and I hope you learn some new things!
Went to a bird banding event held by Wildlands Conservancy last night. Unfortunately this year has been a bit of a poor showing due to the warm weather, and we didn't end up with any owls.
There was still a great presentation on the owls of Pennsylvania and the bird banding process. We did get to meet some of the educational owls and handle some nice examples of things being discussed.
I got some time to talk to the guy running the banding and the lady running the animal education part of things and got some of my questions answered. I've been becoming really interested in learning more of the regulatory side of things. There is a real web of agencies that govern how wildlife can be handled.
Screech Owl vs Prairie Falcon feathers
Great Horned Owl vs Red Tailed Hawk feathers
You can see the owl feathers are fatter and rounder for silent flight while the hawk and falcon are sleeker and pointier for more speed at the cost of more flapping sound.
Tried to get some shots of the unique combed edges of the feathers that make the sound killing micro turbulence. These have seen a lot of handling from guests, so not the best, but you get the idea.