Our education raptors have their own story to tell about why they are with the Maryland Raptor Conservancy. Learn more about our birds below.
American Kestrel
The Maryland Raptor Conservancy has a non-releasable male American Kestrel. Kestrels are the smallest falcon in North America. He was born in May 2024 in Virginia at a military facility. When he and his two siblings tried to fledge, they had to be rescued by military personnel who sent them to Nature’s Nanny Wildlife Rehabilitation. All three were examined and had no injuries or illnesses.
While this Kestrel’s siblings passed live prey and flight testing and were successfully released, he showed no interest in learning to be a falcon and doing normal Kestrel behaviors. Based on his calm demeanor and interest in watching people, he was deemed non-releasable. He now lives his best life showing others how special American Kestrels are.
Barred Owl Luna
Luna is a Barred Owl. She is a falconry owl (yes, owls can be falconry birds as well). She is nine years old and her Master Falconer handler allows her to help the Maryland Raptor Conservancy represent of one of Maryland’s most common owls. Luna shows our participants how special Barred Owls are during programs and events.
Barn Owl "Owlvira"
Owlvira the Barn Owl was born and raised at Hawk Creek Wildlife Center, Inc. to be an education/ambassador raptor. She enjoys walks on the glove, meeting new people and eating mice. Barn owls in the DMV are in decline due to habitat loss and secondary rodenticide poisoning, so this owl is an important messenger to help people understand how to live with, and increase the native Barn Owl population.
Red Tailed Hawk
Our non-releasable Red Tailed hawk suffered eye injuries and cannot successfully hunt on her own out in the wild. She is now our ambassador bird to share her personal story with others.
