While these birds of prey are in captivity, many of them are not here for the rest of their lives. In fact, what prompted me to make this visit was walking out my front door, about a month ago leaving for work, and being greated by a bald eagle less than 20 feet away from me, just standing on the grass. This is not a common site when you live in the most urban area in the state, yet it was amazing just the same. I learned later that day, this was most likely the eagle found last fall with an injured wing, making it unable to fly at that time, yet that morning I watched as several seconds after I exited my front door, this eagle flew gracefullly and majestically into the nearby trees. 

 

While I have been aware of this wonderful organization for most of my time in this area, this was actually my first visit. There are a number of birds in residence that will be here for the balance of their lives, as well as many others currently being nursed back to health for release. For example, the Osprey in the fourth image has been in the center for over 13 years. It was originally brought in with hopes of reparing the damaged left wing. Unfortunately, the infection prevented saving all of it, and a portion had to be amputated. The resulting amputation made it unable to fly for any distance, and so would most likely not survive in the wild. These days, it spends time helping the staff calm birds from the wild brought in to be healed and nursed back to health. Many of the birds which fall into the category of unable to return to nature, are helper birds.