A Tale of 2 Lolos From Catalina Island

Meet Lolo and his falconer, Dave Long, the founder of the Catalina Falconry Experience.

I met Dave and Lolo, the Harris hawk, on the beach while enjoying happy hour at a local establishment. Dave was nice enough to come by and tell my friend and me what he and Lolo were up to. He said Lolo is a working bird. His job is to keep the seagulls from camping out around the beach, restaurants, and shops of Avalon. The restaurants on the shore draw both tourists and seagulls in large numbers. When left to their own devices, seagulls will camp out and wait for crumbs and handouts. An excessive amount of seagulls in the area means an excessive amount of seagull poop in the water, which leads to excessive bacteria counts and that stinks for all. I always wondered why the bacteria levels were so high in what looks like crystal clear turquoise waters of Catalina. Now I know.

Lolo the hawk was named after Lolo Saldana, the legendary local barber of Avalon. Lolo’s father came to Catalina in 1919, the same year that William Wrigley, Jr. purchased the island. Born and raised in Catalina, Lolo is 94 years old and still tending shop and cutting hair in his barber shop as he has for last half-century. Watch the documentary about Lolo the barber on YouTube.

If you’d like to see what it feels like to have this majestic Southwestern hawk or other raptors land on your hand and learn about them, check out the Catalina Falconry Experience next time you’re on the island. And if you need a haircut, stop into the barbershop and get your hair cut by a legend.

https://www.visitcatalinaisland.com/things-to-do/land-tours/falconry-experience/

https://www.facebook.com/catalinafalconryexperience/

(800) 626-1496