Our Animals
The mission of the Ohio Bird Sanctuary involves rehabilitation of native species of birds. Our goal is always to release admitted injured and orphaned birds back into the wild. However, this is not always possible. The Sanctuary is home to 87 permanent residents, including raptors, vultures, and songbirds.
Portraits of our animals compliments of David Fitzsimmons
Hawks
Highlight: DJ (Red-shouldered hawk) was found on the ground as a nestling. He suffered from a metabolic bone deficiency that has impacted his ability to fly.
Other Resident Hawks: Ruby, Ray, and Maverick (Red-tailed); Tundra (Rough-legged), and Phoenix (Harris Hawk).
Owls
Highlight: Seymour (Great-horned owl) was brought to OBS as a nestling in the winter of 2004. She had broken her wing after falling from the nest and is unable to fly. Seymour now helps to educate people about the unique adaptations of owls.
Other Resident Owls: Monty, Cairo, Silo, and Soran (Barn); Apollo, Maple and Marshall (Barred); Winnie and Duke (Screech).
Falcons
Highlight: Pippin (Peregrine falcon) was struck by a vehicle in the fall of 2013 and sustained damage to one of his wings that does not allow him to fly well enough to hunt and survive in the wild. Peregrine falcons in the wild can reach speeds of up to 270 miles per hour in flight.
Other Resident Falcons: Blaze (Peregrine) & Niles and Grace (American Kestrel).
Eagles
Highlight: Gus ((Named after long-time volunteer, Angus Barton) was one of the first eaglets hatched in Ohio through the reintroduction program. At the age of 25 he was struck by a vehicle. He sustained a severe fracture to his right wing making him unable to fly.
In Gus's life time the eagle population in Ohio has grown from 7 nests to over 850!
Other Resident Eagles: Saint Alice & Tahoe
Vultures
Highlight: Elliott* (Black vulture) was illegally hand-raised by humans before being brought to OBS in the summer of 2015. He is now a human imprint, which means he does not recognize his own species. Elliott is intelligent, like all vultures, and has a big personality, as well as a talent for getting into everything.
Other Resident Vultures: Ichabod & Ralph (Turkey vultures).
Crows
Our American crows, Cece, Colee, & Edgar were illegally hand-raised by humans before being brought to OBS. They are intelligent birds, capable of problem-solving and mimicry. If you visit, you may be lucky enough to hear them say “Hi, Owl”, "Cool It" or bark like a dog.
Songbirds
Our Aviary is home to several species of songbirds, including blue jays, cardinals, mourning doves, rose-breasted grosbeaks, orioles, and Ned the gull. You may walk through our Aviary and feed the birds with cups of food purchased in the Visitor Center. The blue jays are very curious and may investigate your purse, watch, jewelry, etc.
Tangerine is a Baltimore Oriole. He is one of the orioles that inhabit the aviary. He suffered an injury to his shoulder when he was struck by a car. A fan of oranges Tangerine will also take meal worms from visitors if they sit quietly and earn his trust.
Bantam Chickens
Lucy & Chloe : These two chickens are ambassadors for birds as a whole. They travel with our staff to preschools and are also part of our Feathered Friends program. When they are not working, they can be seen wandering around the Visitor Center.
Non-Avian Animals
Netherlands Dwarf Rabbit
Peter is one of our non-avian animal ambassadors. He travels to preschools with our staff to educate students and is also part of our Feathered Friends program.
Eastern Box Turtle
Shelly is another of our non-avian animal ambassadors. She and her companion Terra accompany staff to preschools to help educate students about their species.
