Our Ambassador crew has grown in the last few months!
Victor, our grey morph Eastern Screech Owl from Pocahontas county is all grown up now and is happily sharing his enclosure with Olga, our new red morph Eastern Screech Owl. Victor is partially flighted from a left wing that was broken when he was just learning to fly. It healed in a zigzag pattern before he was rescued. Olga came to us as an adult late last year from a collision with a vehicle in Logan county. The impact destroyed the vision in her left eye and she has been unable to compensate for it. They are getting along really well, even snuggling together now and again inside one of their nest boxes.
We’ve also added Atticus, a young Turkey Vulture who was found in Monroe county with a dislocated elbow. He is sharing mews space with Ryan, one of our two Red Tailed Hawk Ambassadors. Atticus is currently going through training to be able to come out to the Public during our programs, but for right now he is getting used to being on display in his mews. Our off-site public outreach programs are starting up again, following all current CDC COVID guidelines. Watch for our schedule soon!
We are happy to introduce our new Media Specialist, Griffin Stone!
Griffin is a recent graduate of Concord University and grew up hiking the trails of the New River Gorge National Park and surrounding areas. He is a part-time climbing instructor and professional photographer. Here at TRAC he will be able to combine his love of the outdoors with his photography and video skills to help us with our public outreach. He is also thrilled to be joining us in our educational programs! He has a deep love of animals and shares his home with his kitty Gwen and his roommate’s kitties Leo and Chuck. His most memorable quote so far came after feeding Regis, our Bald Eagle Ambassador. Regis came and got up on his perch to accept his food from the glove, prompting this comment shortly afterwards from Griffin: “You know, you just can’t talk baby talk when you are feeding a velociraptor!” Welcome aboard Griffin!
Baby season has begun!
The bald eagles in the Brooks Island nest in the New River below Hinton have 3 chicks in the nest, and they are growing fast! The third chick hatched a few days later than the first two so it is noticeably smaller but is doing well. Both bald eagle parents are quite attentive parents!
Baby great-horned owls are getting out of their nests now and running around on the ground. Just a reminder: this is normal behavior. They get out of the nest before they can fly and spend the next couple of weeks learning to hunt and hide. The parents keep watch and provide food and protection. The young great-horned owl on the left in this picture had a hard landing and broke his right radius and ulna. The one on the left was rescued from dogs. Both are doing well and want nothing to do with humans!! They begin their outdoor training this week.
The 2021 Bird of Prey Photography Workshops at Three Rivers Avian Center are on!
The 2021 Bird of Prey Photography Workshops at Three Rivers Avian Center are on! The Spring Photo Workshop is Saturday April 24th, the Fall one is October 9th. Preregistration is required. Ten to twelve of our Raptor Ambassadors will be in natural settings, offering photographers the chance to capture unique shots. The morning session runs from 9 – 12, the afternoon session runs from 1 – 4. You can sign up for either session or both!
Due to COVID-19, if you have signed up for both the morning and afternoon sessions you will need to bring your own food and beverages, at least to the Spring Workshop. Masks and social distancing will be in effect,
and plan to be outdoors during the workshops. Participant numbers are limited. Here’s the link to more information and how to sign up:
https://www.stevenrotsch.com/Workshops/Birds%20of%20Prey%20Workshop%20Press%20Release.htm
Blue Heron
This lovely female great blue heron was found lying by a creek in farmer’s field in Putnam county. She had 2 other herons with her, but they flew off when the farmer approached. The female was able to raise her head and move her wings, but her legs would not move. He scooped her up and, since it was the weekend, he took her to the Kanawha Valley Animal Emergency Clinic in South Charleston. We quickly picked her up from there and got her to TRAC for evaluation. It was late at night by the time she arrived, the exam showed that her legs were fine and there seemed to be no injury to her pelvis. The next morning, she was found standing up in her cage, and there was a beautiful blue egg tucked into the towels. She had been egg-bound. Follow up exams proved her ready to go so she was back home 24 hours after rescue.
