Gabriele Drozdowski, also known to many simply as “Gabi,” passed away on May 28, 2026, after several years living with Alzheimer’s disease. She was 74 years old.

Gabriele was born on March 17, 1952, in Hof, Germany, and grew up in the nearby town of Schwarzenbach an der Saale.

From an early age she loved the natural world, spending countless hours exploring forests and swimming in local lakes.

Those childhood experiences fostered a lifelong fascination with animals and nature that would ultimately shape the course of her life.

As a young woman, Gabriele immigrated to the United States. She spent time in Chicago studying acting and pursuing an interest in the performing arts before moving to California during the cultural ferment of the 1970s.

In California she met James “Jim” Walker, with whom she would share more than three decades of life and adventure.

Together, they settled in Santa Barbara, where they raised two sons Bright and John.

During the 1980s Gabriele worked as a professional clown and entertainer. She performed at birthday parties, community events, resorts and festivals throughout Southern California.

She designed and sewed many of her own elaborate costumes and became known for her creativity, energy, and ability to connect with children.

She credited master entertainer Igor Rudenko with teaching her the art of juggling and helping shape her approach to performance.

Wildlife rehabilitation entered Gabriele’s life gradually but soon became her true calling. Following a significant Southern California oil spill, she and Jim helped care for injured seabirds.

What began as volunteer work evolved into a lifelong commitment to wildlife rescue, rehabilitation and education. The family’s modest Santa Barbara property eventually became home to an assortment of recovering birds and the facilities needed to care for them.

Over time, Gabriele’s focus shifted from seabirds to birds of prey. Alongside Jim, she helped rehabilitate hawks, owls, falcons and other raptors. Among the most beloved was Max, a great horned owl whose story would become inseparable from her own.

In 1998, Gabriele and Jim began caring for Max and Ivan, a red-tailed hawk.

Realizing these birds and their stories could inspire others, Gabriele proposed an educational outreach program to the Santa Barbara Audubon Society. That idea became Eyes in the Sky, a program she founded and directed for nearly two decades.

Through live presentations featuring non-releasable raptors, Gabriele and her dedicated volunteers brought wildlife education to schools, libraries, museums, senior centers, and community organizations throughout the region.

Under her leadership, Eyes in the Sky grew into one of Santa Barbara’s most recognized environmental education programs. Thousands of children met their first owl, hawk, falcon or kestrel through Gabriele’s presentations.

She created the “Meet Your Wild Neighbor” curriculum, and helped establish the Museum Aviary Exhibit at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, creating a permanent home for the program and its avian ambassadors.

Gabriele’s contributions were recognized throughout the community. She received the Santa Barbara Independent Local Hero Award in 2013 and the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Legacy Award in 2018.

When she retired in 2018, the volunteer organization she had built was contributing thousands of hours each year and remained one of the Santa Barbara Audubon Society’s flagship educational programs.

After retirement, Gabriele spent time with family in South Korea before returning to Arizona. In 2021 she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and entered memory care in Tucson, Arizona, where she spent the final years of her life.

Although she touched countless lives through her work with wildlife, those who knew her best will remember her not only for the birds she cared for, but for her enthusiasm, creativity, determination, and her ability to inspire wonder in children.

For many Santa Barbara students, seeing Max the Great Horned Owl perched beside Gabriele was their first close encounter with a wild raptor and the beginning of a lifelong appreciation for nature.

Gabriele is survived by her sons Markus Ward, Bright Walker and John Walker; her extended family in Germany and the United States; and an extraordinary community of friends, volunteers, educators, and wildlife advocates who continue the work she began.

Her family is grateful for the many people whose friendship, support, and shared commitment to wildlife enriched her life.

Please visit this site to share memories and find more details about Gabriele’s memorial on Aug. 9. The memorial will be 11 a.m.-2 p.m. in Fleischmann Auditorium at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. Everyone who knew Gabriele is warmly welcome to attend.