The All Life Foundation approved a grant of $155,000 in November 2018 for Ohio Wildlife Center to construct outdoor raptor enclosures at the Pre-Release Facility on Cook Road.
The enclosures will serve as flight cages and foster parent enclosures so the Center can accommodate the growing number of Bald Eagles, hawks, owls and falcons requiring long-phased recovery and rehabilitation. In the past three years, the Wildlife Hospital has assessed nearly 700 raptors, with nearly half being juvenile birds that require additional time for rehabilitation.
“This grant will enable Ohio Wildlife Center to meet the increasing housing and flight-conditioning needs for the rehabilitation and reconditioning of raptors,” said Dusty Lombardi, executive director of Ohio Wildlife Center. “With new enclosures to also accommodate the cross fostering of young birds and raptors, we will increase their survivability in the wild,” she added.
Lombardi noted that during the recent migration season, some of the raptors admitted to the Wildlife Hospital required long rehabilitation periods before release, including a Snowy Owl and several American Bald Eagles. Due to their size, health status and care requirements, some of the large raptors cannot be combined in the same flight cage at the Pre-Release Facility for safety reasons.
According to Lombardi, the additional enclosures will also allow the Center to respond to more and more orphaned, nestling and juvenile raptors arriving at the hospital that require foster parenting by adults of the same species because they cannot be reunited with their own parents. These owls, hawks and falcons require enclosures that can be separated from public viewing so fostering can be successful within a controlled area at the Education Center.
“This form of cross-fostering is a valuable opportunity for the Center’s permanent raptor ambassadors to help birds that are release candidates and improve their outcomes,” she said.
“We are very grateful for the partnership with the All Life Foundation to address these important priorities and assist the Center in meeting the growing needs for raptor rehabilitation in Central Ohio,” Lombardi added.
