A Familiar Visit

Maclay School Hosts Its Annual Hawk Day

Photo by Ethan Woodring / Maclay Andalusian

On Feb. 20, 2026, Maclay School held its annual Hawk Day in Langford Hall during Community Time. Hawk Day is a special event in which the Tallahassee Museum brings birds of prey to introduce to the students. This year, the museum brought a great horned owl and a broad-winged hawk. 

Hawk Day commemorates a moment in 2018, when a red-tailed hawk landed on campus and preyed on a squirrel. Students and teachers alike stepped out of their classrooms to watch the entertaining scene. Since then, english teacher Mr. Norment and biology teacher Mrs. Evans created ‘Hawk Day’ as an annual tradition for students to learn more about the birds. 

Tallahassee museum representative Allison Ashcroft, led a live demonstration with the birds, explaining their biological features, abilities and how they came to live at the museum. Notably, the great horned-owl had ocular albinism, meaning his eyesight didn’t develop how it normally should. The broad-winged hawk was injured in a car accident, which caused damage to his bones that led his wings to being healed improperly, leaving him unable to fly. Ashcroft also displayed artifacts, such as an eagle skull, to help show the birds’ biology. After the presentation, students were able to ask questions and take pictures with the hawk. 

“The birds were so adorable and fascinating,” junior Madelyn Singleton said. “Ms. Ashcroft was so insightful: I learned that great horned owls have 14 bones in their necks, which allows them to turn their heads almost fully! 

This annual event has been a beloved tradition for years, so don’t miss signing up when Hawk Day returns next year!