ADOPT-A-RAPTOR

Red Morph Eastern Screech Owl Megascops asio (EASO)

ORDER: Strigiformes

FAMILY: Strigidae

Chirpa came to us in May 2016 from Hertford City. She was found in an attic after the people living there had closed up the entrance that Chirpa’s parents were using to access her. Unfortunately, she was exhibiting signs of imprinting. Imprinting happens at a young age in birds and is irreversible. When animals are fed and cared for by their parents and siblings that is how they recognize what they are. When they imprint on humans, they lose fear of us which can be dangerous to them and humans. They will not know how to interact with their own species. Other issues caused by imprinting are: not learning to survive by hunting, not knowing to be wary of predators, finding appropriate areas to live etc. For these reasons imprinting makes birds non-releasable.

Eastern Screech Owls are one of smallest owls in NC. They come in 3 different color morphs: red (rufous) morph, gray morph and less frequent brown morph. Chirpa is a red morph. These small owls are experts at camouflage and are seldom seen. They have a unique trill and whinny call that makes it easy to identify them. They eat small prey to include insects, frogs, mice, voles, bats and small songbirds. Eastern Screech-Owls are also very flexible about where they will live and tolerate humans nearby. It is one of the easier owls to attract to your yard by simply putting up an owl box.

Mississippi Kite Ictinia mississippiensis (MIKI)

ORDER: Accipitriformes

FAMILY: Accipitridae

Ellie came to us in August 2016, from Pitt County with a fractured left wing. Her radius and ulna where broken and healed but as they did, they fused together making her unable to fly.

Mississippi Kites come to the US in the spring to breed and raise their young. When fall comes they migrate all the way to South America for the winter. These birds are quite striking in appearance with their slate gray bodies, black tipped wings and mature adults have gorgeous red eyes and legs. They eat a variety of prey including insects, snakes, frogs, small birds and small mammals (mice, bats etc). They

even eat “on the wing,” which means they catch prey (usually insects) and eat while flying.

Barred Owl Strix varia (BDOW)

ORDER: Strigiformes

FAMILY: Strigidae

Adelaide came to us from? When? with an improperly healed, wing fracture from being hit by car. This injury causes her to not fly perfectly and also creates a noise in flight. Owls are silent during flight, which is critical in making them effective hunter. This injury causes her to be non- releasable.

Barred Owls are a medium sized owl and live in mature forest. They eat small mammals and some birds but are usually found near bodies of water and will eat fish, crawfish, snakes and frogs. They are easily disguised with their camouflage but can be identified at night with their unique hoot of “Who cooks for, who cooks for y’all.” They tend to stay in a small area their entire life but if their top predator, the Great Horned Owl, moves in they will leave the area.

Red-shouldered Hawk Buteo lineatus

ORDER: Accipitriformes

FAMILY: Accipitridae

Micro is a Red-shouldered Hawk. She arrived at Cape Fear Raptor Center in October 2015 as a baby with two siblings. The three birds were raised together until ready for release. Unfortunately, Micro never learned how to hunt properly and was found in a farmer’s field shortly after her release. She is slowly becoming a good education bird. 

Red-shouldered Hawks are medium-sized, with broad, rounded wings and medium-length tails that they fan out when soaring. In flight, they often glide or soar with their wingtips pushed slightly forward, imparting a distinctive, “reaching” posture. Adults are colorful hawks with dark-and-white checkered wings and warm reddish barring on the breast. The tail is black with narrow white bands. Immatures are brown above and white below streaked with brown. All ages show narrow, pale crescents near the wingtips in flight. If you see a Red-shouldered Hawk, it is typically a sign of tall woods and water nearby. They can be spotted in deciduous woodlands, often near rivers and swamps.

Nev is a female Red-shouldered Hawk that came to Cape Fear Raptor Center with an ulcerated cornea in her right eye. Despite heroic efforts from the moment she arrived on May 15, 2015 the eye could not be saved. These hawks have binocular vision and this injury means she would not survive in the wild.

Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura

ORDER: Cathartiformes

FAMILY: Cathartidae

Zack is a Turkey Vulture that came to CFRC in 2014. He was struck by a car as he was cleaning up the streets in Pender County. He sustained bilateral wing fractures and a toe fracture. He also suffered from blindness for several weeks due to a traumatic brain injury and was tube fed for 4 weeks until he could eat on his own. Head injuries often compromise a person’s or animals’ ability to smell, and Turkey Vultures use the sense of smell to locate their food which is why Zack could not find his food while blind to eat it. Zack is fully healed and a healthy happy vulture, although he is unable to fly and therefore not releasable.

Turkey Vultures are Nature’s Turkey vultures act as nature's ultimate garbage collector, recycler, and scavenger using their keen sense of smell and sight to find ripe carcasses. Vultures do not usually kill their food; they eat animals that die from disease, natural causes, or are roadkill from car collisions. They play an important role in our environment by cleaning disease, which keeps animals and people from getting sick. They are large dark birds with long, broad wings. Bigger than other raptors except eagles and condors, they have long "fingers" at their wingtips and long tails that extend past their toe tips in flight. When soaring, Turkey Vultures hold their wings slightly raised, making a ‘V’ when seen head-on and are unsteady soarers. Their teetering flight with very few wingbeats is characteristic. Look for them gliding relatively low to the ground, sniffing for carrion, or else riding thermals up to higher vantage points. They may soar in small groups and roost in larger numbers. You may also see them on the ground in small groups, huddled around roadkill or dumpsters.

Barn Owl Tyto alba

ORDER: Strigiformes

FAMILY: Tytonidae

Karma is a Barn Owl that was captive bred under a South Carolina breeding program. She imprinted and therefore became non-releasable. Imprinting happens at a young age in birds and is irreversible. When animals are fed and cared for by their parents and siblings that is how they recognize what they are. When they imprint on humans, they lose fear of us which can be dangerous to them and humans. They will not know how to interact with their own species.

Other issues caused by imprinting are: not learning to survive by hunting, not knowing to be wary of predators, finding appropriate areas to live etc. From the moment she arrived in 2015 she became a favorite of all who see that beautiful heart-shaped face. You will often see Karma at our “Spread Your Wings” experiences and events.

Ghostly pale and normally strictly nocturnal, Barn Owls are silent predators of the night world. Lanky, with a whitish face, chest, and belly, and buffy upperparts, this owl roosts in hidden, quiet places during the day. By night, they hunt on buoyant wingbeats in open fields and meadows. You can find them by listening for their eerie, raspy calls, quite unlike the hoots of other owls. Despite a worldwide distribution, Barn Owls are declining in parts of their range due to habitat loss.

Great Horned Owl Bubo virginianus (GHOW)

ORDER: Strigiformes

FAMILY: Strigidae

Archie is a mature Great Horned Owl. He arrived at Cape Fear Raptor Center in 2014 as a baby. He was found on Gordon Road in Wilmington and had still not opened his eyes. Great Horned Owls don’t make nests, but use old nests or take over other nests. This makes them precarious and not as structurally sound as say a hawk’s nest. Archie more than likely fell out of his nest due to this or high winds. Owlets tend to fall out of their nest as the wind breaks it apart. When Archie finally opened his eyes, he starting exhibiting signs of imprinting, making him non-releasable. Imprinting happens at a young age in birds and is irreversible. When animals are fed and cared for by their parents and siblings that is how they recognize what they are. When they imprint on humans, they lose fear of us which can be dangerous to them and humans. They will not know how to interact with their own species. Other issues caused by imprinting are: not learning to survive by hunting, not knowing to be wary of predators, finding appropriate areas to live etc.

With its long, earlike tufts, intimidating yellow-eyed stare, and deep hooting voice, the Great Horned Owl is the quintessential owl of storybooks. These are large, thick-bodied owls with two prominent feathered tufts on the head. The wings are broad and rounded. In flight, the rounded head and short bill combine to create a blunt-headed silhouette. This powerful predator can take down birds and mammals even larger than itself, but it also dines on daintier fare such as tiny scorpions, mice, and frogs. It’s one of the most common owls in North America, equally at home in deserts, wetlands, forests, grasslands, backyards, cities, and almost any other semi-open habitat between the Arctic and the tropics.

Black Vulture Coragyps atratus

ORDER: Cathartiformes

FAMILY: Cathartidae

Moe (male) and Curly (female) are aptly named Black Vultures loved by all the volunteers. The siblings were found on a local farm and arrived at Cape Fear Raptor Center on May 21, 2017 as babies. Unfortunately, they immediately imprinted and will eventually be education birds.Imprinting happens at a young age in birds and is irreversible. When animals are fed and cared for by their parents and siblings that is how they recognize what they are. When they imprint on humans, they lose fear of us which can be dangerous to them and humans. They will not know how to interact with their own species. Other issues caused by imprinting are: not learning to survive by hunting, not knowing to be wary of predators, finding appropriate areas to live etc. Black Vultures already have a poor sense of smell, so imprinting further decreased their chance of being able to hunt on their own.

With sooty black plumage, a bare black head, and neat white stars under the wingtips, Black Vultures are almost dapper. They also lack a voice box, which limits their vocal abilities to making raspy hisses and grunts. Whereas Turkey Vultures are lanky birds with teetering flight, Black Vultures are compact birds with broad wings, short tails, and powerful wingbeats. The two species often associate. The Black Vulture makes up for its poor sense of smell by following Turkey Vultures to carcasses. Highly social birds with fierce family loyalty, Black Vultures share food with relatives, feeding young for months after they’ve fledged.

Red-tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensis (RTHA)

ORDER: Accipitriformes

FAMILY: Accipitridae

Nero was found on the ground as a juvenile. X-ray imaging showed that he had been shot with multiple pellets, which he did recover from for the most part. Nero still has a pellet fragment in his brain that cannot be removed due to lack of technology. The fragment has caused brain damage hindering his ability to fly and eat. He can fly, but crashes into things and has to be hand fed by placing the food inside his mouth. The fragment also causes Nero to occasionally suffer seizures. Medication and constant care help mitigate this, however and he isn’t in pain from the injury. Nero still lives a relatively normal life and enjoys things such as sunbathing and preening his feathers. CFRC decided he would be an excellent ambassador to help educate the public about shooting raptors.

Red-Tails are probably the most common hawk in North America and has a thrilling, raspy scream that sounds exactly like a raptor should sound. Most Red-tailed Hawks are rich brown above and pale below, with a streaked belly and, on the wing underside, a dark bar between shoulder and wrist. The tail is usually pale below and cinnamon-red above, though in young  birds it’s brown and banded. Red-tailed Hawks soar above open fields, slowly turning circles on their broad, rounded wings. Other times you’ll see them atop telephone poles, eyes fixed on the ground to catch the movements of a vole or a rabbit, or simply waiting out cold weather before climbing a thermal updraft into the sky. If you’ve got sharp eyes you’ll see several individuals on almost any long car ride, anywhere

Osprey Pandion haliaetus

ORDER: Accipitriformes

FAMILY: Pandionidae

Stormy is an adult Osprey, otherwise known as a Seahawk, brought to CFRC by a Coastal Carolina rehabber in September 2015. He arrived with a fractured right radius and right ulna. Osprey’s need to hover as they hunt for fish and Stormy can no longer do this due to the wing injury. Consequently, he cannot be released. He is becoming an excellent education ambassador and has been seen by thousands at UNCW Seahawk sporting events.

Unique among North American raptors for its diet of live fish and ability to dive into water to catch them, Ospreys are common sights soaring over shorelines, patrolling waterways, and standing on their huge stick nests, white heads gleaming. Being a coastal region, they are quite common around these parts. These large, rangy hawks do well around humans and have rebounded in numbers following the ban on the pesticide DDT. Hunting Ospreys are a picture of concentration, diving with feet outstretched and yellow eyes sighting straight along their talons.

Red-tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensis (RTHA)

ORDER: Accipitriformes

FAMILY: Accipitridae

Opie is a male Red-tailed Hawk that came to Cape Fear Raptor Center with a broken left wing in 2014. While the break in his wing has healed, Opie is non-releasable because the break did not heal properly. He can fly, but not hunt as a Red-tailed Hawk needs to. Red-Tail Hawks hover while hunting and the injury prevents that. Opie has been in our care ever since and has become a popular education ambassador.

Red-Tails are probably the most common hawk in North America and has a thrilling, raspy scream that sounds exactly like a raptor should sound. Most Red-tailed Hawks are rich brown above and pale below, with a streaked belly and, on the wing underside, a dark bar between shoulder and wrist. The tail is usually pale below and cinnamon-red above, though in young birds it’s brown and banded. Red-tailed Hawks soar above open fields, slowly turning circles on their broad, rounded wings. Other times you’ll see them atop telephone poles, eyes fixed on the ground to catch the movements of a vole or a rabbit, or simply waiting out cold weather before climbing a thermal updraft into the sky. If you’ve got sharp eyes you’ll see several individuals on almost any long car ride, anywhere.