Audubon's Avian Ambassadors

Red-tailed Hawk
Avian Ambassador since October 2004
Age: Unknown
Sex: Female
Approx. Weight: 3 lb (1360 g)

During the year before Lady Hawk came to Audubon, she was with two different local rehabilitators after being found with a fractured left wing from an "impact injury" in the Clinton area. Very often impact injuries are caused by car collision, but in her case, the cause is uncertain. She was brought to Clinton Veterinary Hospital and a pin was placed in the wing and left for several months. She started showing signs of pain from the pin slipping and it was then removed. The wing healed and calcified, resulting in an apparent droop in the wing and she can no longer fly. Lady Hawk spent one month waiting for a new home at Wind Over Wings, located in Clinton, CT. She then came to Audubon in October 2004. She has arthritis in her injured joints and is on pain medication to keep her comfortable.

Fun Fact
A Red-tailed Hawk can dive or "stoop" upon its prey at 85 mph!

Barred Owl
Avian Ambassador since July 2006
Age: Unknown
Sex: Female
Approx. Weight: 1.7 lb (770 g)

Eec (pronounced "eek") lives at Audubon's Environmental Education Center, which is the bird's namesake. The Barred Owl was found on the side of Interstate 93 in New Hampshire. It was assumed that the bird was hit by a car. She was brought to the Vermont Institute of Nature Science (VINS) in Quechee, VT for rehabilitation. Eec suffered from a detached retina in her left eye. The result is very little, if any, sight in that eye. It is also thought that there is some brain damage from the impact by the car.

Fun Fact
Listen for the Barred Owl’s hooting call, “Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you-all?” while out in old forests and treed swamps.

Red-tailed Hawk
Avian Ambassador since January 2016
Age: Hatched Spring 2015
Sex: Male
Approx. Weight: 2.3 lb (1060 g)

In August 2015, Christine Peyreigne, of Christine's Critters wildlife rehabilitation in Weston, CT, rescued a hawk that had been spotted hopping along the median of Route 8 in nearby Shelton, CT. He most likely broke his left wing when he was fledging. His parents continued to feed him while he was on the ground. The bone healed improperly and as a result, he can now only fly short distances. Audubon Society of Rhode Island became Finn's forever home once he had healed well enough. When introduced to Atlanta, the female Red-Tailed Hawk with whom Finn shares an enclosure, both birds were extremely curious, and have since adjusted well to each other. Finn and Atlanta can be observed in their enclosure at the Audubon Nature Center and Aquarium in Bristol, RI.

Fun Fact
A Red-tailed Hawk's eyes are ten times more powerful than a human's!

Red-tailed Hawk
Avian Ambassador since March 2017
Age: Hatched Spring 2013
Sex: Female
Approx. Weight: 2.5 lb (1150 g)

This beautiful Red-tailed Hawk was born in the spring of 2013 in Georgia. She was rescued by the Atlanta Wild Animal Rescue Effort (AWARE) presumably after being hit by a car. The hawk’s right wing did not heal well enough to be released back into wild despite of excellent veterinary care. During the rehabilitation process, Wind Over Wings in Maine was selected as her future home. After being acclimated to the colder weather of Maine, Atlanta began her new life as an educational ambassador. She would spend the next four years here. Upon her retirement in 2017, Wind Over Wings Founder Hope Douglas chose Audubon Society of Rhode Island as Atlanta's new caregivers. When introduced to Finn, the Red-Tailed Hawk with whom Atlanta shares an enclosure, both birds were extremely curious, and have since adjusted well to each other. Atlanta and Finn can be observed in their enclosure at the Audubon Nature Center and Aquarium in Bristol, RI.

Fun Fact
A Red-tailed Hawk's fleshy cere at the base of the bill has two functions; the color identifies individuals during mating displays and it is supplied with many sensitive tactile nerve endings to help sense contact with prey. The ridge above each eye is called the "orbital ridge". It protects the eyes from damage and acts like a visor on a sunny day.

Great Horned Owl
Avian Ambassador since August 2017
Age: Hatched 1997
Sex: Female
Approx. Weight: 5 lb (2270 g)

Sollie fell from her nest during the winter of 1997. Instead of returning the young owl to her nest, a passerby who witnessed the bird fall kept her in captivity during this critical period of development. The result? Sollie imprinted upon her caregiver, in this case, a human. This means that she does not know the ways of an owl and is irreversibly more comfortable with humans. The owl was given to Wind Over Wings to live out her life. During her years with Wind Over Wings, she served as an educational bird and a surrogate mother for many orphaned Great Horned Owlets who were successfully released back to the wild. At Wind Over Wings, she was initially housed in the same mew with Webster, a male Great Horned Owl who after being rehabbed, was placed into Audubon’s permanent care. Almost two decades later, the birds were “reunited” when Audubon acquired Sollie from Wind Over Wings upon the organization's retirement. Audubon caretakers did not try to house them together this time around because they knew Sollie had been completely uninterested in Webster when they first crossed paths.

Fun Fact
Great Horned Owls are the most powerful owl in North America. Their grip strength easily rivals that of four adult human men (1,600 pounds per square inch).

Common Raven
Avian Ambassador since August 2017
Age: Hatched Spring 2011
Sex: Male
Approx. Weight: 3 lb (1360 g)

Zachariah, or "Zach", was born in Maine in 2011 but fell from his nest soon after, fracturing the radius and ulna bones in his wing. Avian Haven rescued and rehabilitated the young raven, but found that he was unable to fly. He spent his rehabilitation time with surrogate adult ravens. Between 2012 and 2017, Zach was an education ambassador for Wind Over Wings. He quickly learned to step up on a glove and is now enjoying his life as an educational ambassador with Audubon. He stars in the “Bird Brains” program that features avian intelligence. They don’t get any smarter than this!

Fun Fact
Common Ravens are smart, which makes them dangerous predators. They sometimes work in pairs to raid seabird colonies, with one bird distracting an incubating adult and the other waiting to grab an egg or chick as soon as it’s uncovered. They’ve been seen waiting in trees as ewes give birth, then attacking the newborn lambs. They also use their intellect to put together cause and effect. A study in Wyoming discovered that during hunting season, the sound of a gunshot draws ravens in to investigate a presumed carcass, whereas the birds ignore sounds that are just as loud but harmless, such as an air-horn or a car door slamming.

Barred Owl
Avian Ambassador since April 2018
Age: Hatched Spring 2017
Sex: Male
Approx. Weight: 1.5 lb (680 g)

The Barred Owl at Fisherville Brook was found in North Carolina with a broken humerus (wing) on his right side. This is also believed to be an impact injury, most likely from a car. He arrived in Rhode Island in March 2018, and was given his name by Charlotte, the daughter of Laura Carberry, our Refuge Manager at Fisherville Brook.
 

Barred Owl
Avian Ambassador since April 2018
Age: Hatched Spring 2017
Sex: Female
Approx. Weight: 1.7 lb (770 g)

Serena lives in Smithfield and was found in Westerly, RI with an impact injury on her left side. It is believed that she was hit by a car.  She has a detached retina in her left eye and most likely suffered brain damage from her accident. She was rehabilitated at Born to Be Wild Wildlife Rehab Center in Rhode Island.

Barred Owl
Avian Ambassador since January 2019
Age: Hatched Spring 2018
Sex: Male
Approx. Weight: 1.5 lb (680 g)

Audubon’s newest ambassador, a Barred Owl named Archimedes (or Archie to his friends) is about 1 ½ years old. He was found by the side of the road in Suffield, CT in January 2019, assumed to be hit by a car. Initial veterinary examination showed head trauma and feather damage. Archie was later discovered to be missing phalanges on his right wing, thus reducing his ability to fly.

He was rehabilitated at Horizon Wings in Ashford, CT, a rehabilitation organization run by Mary Beth Kaeser who has been a presenter at both Raptor Weekend and Party for the Peregrines. Audubon acquired Archie on August 20, 2019 and he now makes his home at Audubon.

Fun Fact
A very opportunistic hunter, a Barred Owl can sometimes be seen hunting before dark. This typically occurs during the nesting season or on dark and cloudy days.

Eastern Screech-owl
Avian Ambassador since May 2021
Age: Hatched Spring of 2019 or 2020
Sex: Female
Approx. Weight: 8.5 oz. (240 g)

Acorn is a gray morph Eastern Screech-Owl. She was found by the side of the road in Rhode Island with injuries to her left wing. After her rehabilitation, she was only partially flighted and was welcomed into our family of ambassadors. Audubon has cared for this small owl since May of 2021.

Fun Fact
Screech-owls are common in urban as well as rural areas where they may roost behind loose boards on buildings or cavities in human structures. They will avoid dense forests because predators like Barred Owls and Great Horned Owls use that habitat.

Great Horned Owl
Avian Ambassador since July 2022
Age: Unknown
Sex: Female
Approx. Weight: 4.5 lbs (2040 g)

Maeve was found in Connecticut tangled in a soccer net. Her struggles damaged her left wing and a 3-4 inch area of her secondary wing feathers were missing, and are likely to never regrow. After being rehabilitated by falconer David Stevens, she came to Audubon in July of 2022.

Fun Fact
Great Horned Owls may take prey 2-3 times heavier than themselves, and have been known to take great blue herons, osprey, raccoons, domestic cats and geese.

Merlin
Avian Ambassador since October 2022
Age: Unknown (Potentially Born 2021 or 2020)
Sex: Female
Approx. Weight: 7 oz. (200 g)

Banjo came to Audubon from a veterinarian/wildlife rehabilitator in upstate New York. Her left wing had a traumatic injury to the wrist and phalanges tissues. The injury prevents primary feathers from growing on that wing, making Banjo unable to fly and be released back into the wild.

Fun Fact
This very vocal bird was named Banjo for the strum-like, chortle sound she makes when greeting her handlers and animal care staff.