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Raptors of Indiana program

Indiana Raptor Center is presenting the program Raptors of Indiana on Saturday January 20, 1pm at the Brown County Library. Registration is requested so we may best prepare the program room. Please visit https://browncountylibrary.info/raptors for registration info and address of the library. Looking forward to seeing you there.

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Indiana Raptor Center Public Program Dates for 2023

All ages are welcome to our public presentations. There is no charge for these programs, but donations are encouraged to help feed and care for the birds.  All monies go directly to bird care – staff and volunteers at Indiana Raptor Center are not paid for their efforts.  Many thanks in advance for your financial support!

4/22 Brown Co Earth Day at YMCA, 10-12

5/27    Brown Co State Park Nature Center 7 PM

6/3      Brown Co State Park Nature Center 7 PM

6/24    Brown Co State Park Nature Center 7 PM

7/1      Brown Co State Park Nature Center  7 PM

7/15    Brown Co State Park Nature Center 7 PM

9/9      Brown Co State Park Nature Center 2 PM

9/30    Brown Co State Park Nature Center 2 PM

10/21  Brown Co State Park Nature Center 2 PM

10/28  Brown Co State Park Nature Center 2 PM

All ages are welcome to attend our presentations at the Brown County State Park Nature Center. Program listings – date, location, and time – are available on our home page of this website. Location may change with weather conditions, so be sure to check at the North Gate to the park or at the Abe Martin Lodge or Nature Center for up to the minute information on location. Our team of expert educators and bird rescuers provide excellent insights into raptor biology, their roles in our environment, and the challenges they face in coexisting with humans. Presentations are free, with donations accepted to help fund the Indiana Raptor Center rehabilitation of injured birds of prey.

6/21, Monro Co Public Library, Ellettsville  11 AM

6/21, Monroe Co Public Library, Bloomington, 2 PM

7/19, Monroe Co Public Library SW, 5:30 PM

For the Monroe Co Library programs, please contact that library system for details; there usually is a count limit for attendees based on the room used, so may need to get on a reservation list

Indiana Raptor Center facility tours are available by appointment May through July and September through early November.  Please call 812-988-8990 to make a reservation.  Also please see the tour information listed below while planning your outing.

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Indiana Raptor Center Visitation Guidelines

The Board of Directors at Indiana Raptor Center presents these instructions for tours of our facility. To accommodate any Covid concerns and to maintain a quality and safe experience for everyone, there are some restrictions and information that we do need share for these activities as follows:

  1. To respect social distancing recommendations, tours may contain no more than 10 guests, preferably less. Tours of single families are encouraged.
  2. ALL GUESTS MUST WEAR MASKS DURING THE TOURS. Please bring your own or purchase them at the CVS in town (available on a limited basis).
  3. People arriving without masks will be rescheduled.
  4. Please bring your own HAND SANITIZER – we have a limited amount we can share with you but appreciate you bringing your own.
  5. As usual tours are only available BY APPOINTMENT.
  6. Tours cannot include children under the age of 6, and all children must wear masks as well.
  7. Also as usual, the address of the center and other pertinent information will be given out at the time that reservations are made.
  8. There are no public restrooms at the center, but we can recommend locations to you when you call for an appointment.
  9. We reserve the right to reschedule your tour at your convenience in case of inclement weather, or illnesses affecting the tour guides.
  10. The center is, first and foremost, an avian hospital, so we ask that people please use “indoor voices” when touring. Smoking and alcohol are not permitted on the grounds. Children need to be managed by parents; no running or gravel throwing please!
  11. Tours are completely outdoors, and pathways are covered in gravel, so please dress appropriately and wear closed shoes rather than sandals, for your own comfort.
  12. Visitors are not allowed to touch any of the birds. This is a law established by US Fish and Wildlife Services. However, photos are certainly permitted.
    To those who find these rules restrictive, may I point out that the center is not on business property but is located on private property containing the home of two of the board’s officers. We hope you can respect our desire to keep our home covid-free, especially as our family contains members with compromised conditions such as diabetes and cancer survival. We also want to protect YOU from other people who may be on the property at the same time!

Please call for further information and reservations at 812-988-8990.
We appreciate your patience with these rules and decisions and hope that all of you and your friends, families and colleagues can remain healthy and safe during this time of difficulty for people everywhere. May we all be kind to one another in the face of this health threat to the entire world and take seriously all calls for caution and restraint in public interactions.

All actions will be taken with staff, volunteers, visitors, off-site audiences, bird finders, and birds in mind.

Very Best Regards,
Patti Reynolds
President/Executive Director

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Raptor Gifts for the Holidays!

It’s that time of year again, and if you’ve got raptor lovers in your life, we’ve got a shop for you! The Indiana Raptor Center runs a shop on the popular website Redbubble where you can buy a number of fetching tees, prints, mugs, tote bags, and more. Offering a selection of both illustrated designs and photographs, we think there’s something for every lover of birds of prey. Plus, your purchases help us in our unending mission to rescue, rehabilitate, and release injured and orphaned raptors.

We’ve added some new products this year as well! You can find products featuring our logos as well as our popular “barn owl and Triceratops” patch design! Head to the shop to browse the selection.

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Vulture Awareness Day!

Today is Vulture Awareness Day around the world. Vultures may not be the most popular birds among the general public, but they are vital members of the environment. They are facing a range of pressures around the world, most famously from diclofenac poisoning.

A few years ago, I accompanied Patti Reynolds and stalwart volunteer/ house taxidermist Markus to retrieve and injured Turkey Vulture. Her wing injury would prove to be of the sort that just can’t be fixed, but Markus, Patti, and Laura gave the bird their all in hopes of a good outcome. It is so often the case that the stresses these birds encounter before entering Indiana Raptor Center’s care prove to be too much, and the best that can be done is to provide a safe, stress-free environment for their passing.

Patti and Markus rescue an injured Turkey Vulture

Patti and Markus rescue an injured Turkey Vulture

An injured Turkey Vulture, rescued by Indiana Raptor Center

An injured Turkey Vulture, rescued by Indiana Raptor Center

Laura Edmunds and Patti Reynolds tend to an injured Turkey Vulture

Laura Edmunds and Patti Reynolds tend to an injured Turkey Vulture

It was exciting to watch my first bird rescue. For my part, I got to hold a big net and help form a perimeter so Patti and Markus could nab her. She had not eaten recently, and therefore couldn’t manage the trademarked defense-by-repulsion method Turkey Vultures favor: good old-fashioned puke.

Bird rescue and rehabilitation is a tireless occupation, with many heartbreaks along the way. Please donate to Indiana Raptor Center to help us rescue and care for these birds. Thank You for your support.

Paypal donation button

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Raptor Art Spotlight: Avery

Our friend Avery is our featured artist for July-August. Avery is a bright talented 8 year old Hoosier who is a good friend of the Indiana Raptor Center. Her artwork displays an observational power, and the budding skills to reproduce those observations, that are well beyond her years. Jack Wittenbrink, our supporting metal and papercut artist from New Orleans thinks she is something of a prodigy because her drawings depict correct anatomical features in proper proportion, while also putting the light of life, curiosity and spirit into the birds she draws. We are happy to have her as a friend, and will continue to feature her work on this website as long as she continues to grace us with more drawings!

A pencil drawing of a screech owl

A pencil drawing of a screech owl by young artist Avery

A pencil drawing of a parrot

A drawing of a parrot by young artist Avery

A pencil drawing of a barn owl in flight

A pencil drawing of a barn owl in flight by young artist Avery

A pencil drawing of a barn owl with a mouse

Barn owl with mouse, by young artist Avery.

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