Raptor, Inc.

Browncoat

Senior Member
Tomorrow morning I'm going to Raptor, Inc. - a bird preserve in Cincinnati, OH. They have a deal with the local photo club to let small groups come in and photograph the birds once in awhile. $22 fee through the club for the shoot, most is donated to the preserve.

No idea what birds will be there or what to expect. I was told a 200mm should be just fine. A handler brings out birds one at a time and you can get pretty close without spooking them. Guess if you don't see some pics here tomorrow evening, I've been mauled by a large bird. Send help.
 
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Robin W

Senior Member
Looking forward to seeing your photos and hearing about the experience. We live about an hour out of Cincinnati and might consider doing that sometime.
 

Browncoat

Senior Member
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Ollie - Great Horned Owl
Wing and leg fractures

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Athena - Eastern Screech Owl
Left wing broken, right eye blind

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Scarlet - Red Tailed Hawk
Left wing fracture

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Storm - Barn Owl
Left wing amputation

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Rufous - Eastern Screech Owl
Left eye blind, right eye impaired (he's also molting)
This poor dude looks like the poster child for Monday mornings

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Earl - Turkey Vulture
Imprinted on people
Was being raised illegally and now she thinks we're all birds like her

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Spencer - Barred Owl
Right eye blind, hearing impaired

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Isis - Red Tailed Hawk
Gunshot wound, leucistic (partial albino)
She would never survive in the wild without camouflage
 
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Browncoat

Senior Member
Looking forward to seeing your photos and hearing about the experience. We live about an hour out of Cincinnati and might consider doing that sometime.

They also have a Bald Eagle, but they won't bring him out. He's not people-friendly. I was really hoping to see the Kestrel (they're so pretty), but he was sent somewhere else recently.

This was a 1.5 hour trip for me. It was worth it. The handlers talk about the birds and their injuries, which was educational.
 

Whiskeyman

Senior Member
They also have a Bald Eagle, but they won't bring him out. He's not people-friendly. I was really hoping to see the Kestrel (they're so pretty), but he was sent somewhere else recently.

This was a 1.5 hour trip for me. It was worth it. The handlers talk about the birds and their injuries, which was educational.

That leucistic hawk shot is beautiful!

I took my family to The Audubon Center for Birds of Prey in Maitland, Florida several years ago. The kids complained about having to go until we got there, and of course, they liked it and complained when we had to leave. It was a great visit and I felt like the entrance fees were to a great cause and effort. That the center you visited had a photographers' shoot tied to a visit is an added bonus.

If you can ever make it to Central Florida in February - April and want to see bald eagles in the wild, I know a guide who really knows his stuff, except that the just got rid of all of his Nikon gear to switch back to Canon. (The worst part of it is that he had a lens or two that I would have purchased if put on sale a bit later.) Send me a PM if you want contact information for him.

And BTW, it's good to see you weren't mauled...
WM
 
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Robin W

Senior Member
There's is a raptor rehab in Louisville. I had been meaning to get by there and then COVID hit. I am not sure they are open to the public right now. And I think there is another raptor rehab place at Hardy Lake in Indiana. They had a peregrine falcon, a bald eagle and some owls. That was fun.
 
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