Meet Our Raptor Ambassadors
Blackland Prairie Raptor Center’s education birds of prey are the highlight of our outreach programming. Their purpose is to inspire our audiences to think about and actively participate in helping preserve raptors and the environment for generations to come.
Though these education ambassadors have been given names, we must respect them as wild animals. In many cases these birds will be with us for many years, and since we have more than one bird per species, we attempt to give them names that are derived from a bird’s actions or a reference to the natural history of that species. As you read their stories, remember that these birds began their lives as wild creatures and came to us after humans had a negative impact on them. It must be stressed that the birds of Blackland Prairie Raptor Center are and always will remain wild birds of prey, not pets.
All of our raptor ambassadors have come to BPRC with circumstances that make them non-releasable. Due to their injuries or conditions, they would not be able to survive on their own in the wild. They have become the ambassadors for all wild birds of prey by educating the public about the issues concerning their future.

Hawkeye
Red-shouldered Hawk
Hawkeye was transferred to BPRC in 2015 from the Carolina Raptor Center to become an education ambassador. She was brought to CRC, as a juvenile, and it was discovered that she had a congenital abnormality in her left eye, causing injuries preventing her from hunting and surviving in the wild.

Cleopatra
American Kestrel (female)
Cleopatra was admitted into BPRC’s rehabilitation clinic in the spring of 2016 as an orphan. She was deemed non-releasable when we noticed her lack of fear for humans, making her a human imprint*. She was transferred to the education department soon after.

Wilbur
American Kestrel (male)
Wilbur was admitted into BPRC’s rehabilitation clinic in the spring of 2016 as an orphan. He was deemed non-releasable when we noticed his lack of fear for humans, making him a human imprint*. He was transferred to the education department soon after.

Sweet Pea
Eastern Screech Owl (Gray-Phase)
Sweet Pea hatched in the spring of 2003. She was found by a family who took her home and kept her in a rabbit cage. The family realized it was illegal to have her and took her to the appropriate authorities. She was found to be in good condition, however she is imprinted on humans*, making her non-releasable. She was transferred to BPRC in August 2004 to become an education ambassador.

Missi
Mississippi Kite
Missi was admitted into BPRC’s rehabilitation clinic in the summer of 2017 as an orphan. She was deemed non-releasable when we noticed her lack of fear for humans, making her a human imprint*. She was transferred to the education department soon after.

Iris
American Kestrel

Aurora
Red-tailed Hawk

RG
Red-shouldered Hawk

Maverick
Peregrine Falcon

Genesis
Harris’s Hawk

Petunia
Black Vulture

Loki
Black Vulture
*Human Imprint
Human imprinting occurs when people take a bird out of the wild within days or weeks after hatching, and care for it. Most think they are saving a bird’s life when they take it home and feed it, but unknown to them, they can cause a life-long problem. A young bird becomes imprinted on whomever is feeding it. Many don’t realize that imprinting occurs, at all, and that it happens in the first few weeks of a bird’s life, which is the critical learning period of brain development. When people feed baby birds, the bird learns that people are its sole food source. Imprinting is a permanent, non-reversible type of mental injury. Imprinted raptors cannot be returned to the wild because they don’t fear humans, they cannot hunt for themselves, and they cannot recognize predators or dangers in the wild. These are all things they must learn from their bird parents in order to survive. Human imprinting occurs more often than it should, because most people don’t know about it. This is why BPRC created the Nest is Best campaign. To learn more, please visit our rehab page.
***Disclaimer: It is illegal to take in and raise any native bird species in the United States. Federal and state government permits are required to care for these birds.