PIEDMONT NATURAL GAS SEEKS HELP NAMING NEWLY RESCUED OSPREY
Rehabilitated Bird Will Live in New Osprey Enclosure at Carolina Raptor Center
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Aug. 10, 2011 – One year ago, a group of Piedmont Natural Gas interns helped clear the land and start to build an Osprey enclosure as part of a new exhibit at Carolina Raptor Center in Huntersville. The enclosure would house a wounded young Osprey whose right wing had been severely injured by a gunshot and surgically repaired at The Wildlife Center in Espanola, N.M.
The build was a labor of love that continued all year long thanks to countless volunteers from Piedmont Natural Gas and other groups and organizations throughout the community.
In return for its work and financial support of the project, Piedmont earned the right to name the young Osprey, who will be a permanent resident of Carolina Raptor Center and the first Osprey in more than 20 years to be on display for visitors to see.
“We want the community to help us name this very special Osprey, and hope everyone will log onto our Facebook page and vote beginning this Friday, Aug. 12,” said Ken Valentine, a Piedmont Natural Gas vice president, who is a member of the Carolina Raptor Center board. “Those who vote will have the opportunity to win free passes to the Raptor center – and equally important, will help us name our newest resident.”
Sometimes called sea hawks, Osprey are large birds known for their keen fishing abilities. The six names under consideration are:
· Altair – Means “the flyer”
· Hemingway – Avid fisherman and author of The Old Man and the Sea
· Kosumi – Means “spear fisher”
· Monte – Taken from Piedmont, and means “mountain”
· Skye – Taken from sky, and means “the upper atmosphere”
· Swoop – Means “to sweep through the air”
Voting will take place online at
www.facebook.com/PiedmontNG beginning Friday, Aug. 12 at 12:01 a.m. and ending Sunday, Aug. 21 at midnight.
The winning name will be announced Saturday, Aug. 27 at 4:30 p.m. at the Osprey Observation Deck Dedication as part of the Carolina Raptor Center’s annual friends and family picnic and volunteer appreciation event. The exhibit will open to the public beginning Sunday, Aug. 28, at noon, and the newly named Osprey will be available for viewing in September.
EAGLE RELEASE SCHEDULED FOR SATURDAY, JULY 9 CANCELLED
Officials at Carolina Raptor Center made the decision late today to cancel Saturday’s release of the American Bald Eagle found at the Wake County Landfill.
“We went to check on the eagle today and it had wounds on both wrists, so we made the decision to wait until those heal to release the bird,” said Veterinarian Dave Scott. “Unfortunately, this happens sometimes in the large flight cages.”
The release will be rescheduled as soon as the eagle heals – likely in 2-3 weeks. Interested parties can track the birds progress at http://raptormed.carolinaraptorcenter.org the home of Carolina Raptor Center’s online medical records. The bird’s patient number is 15,237.
Tech Day of Service Visits Carolina Raptor Center
About 25 Charlotte-area nonprofits got some free tech support Wednesday from an army of IBM workers. In a "Tech Day of Service" organized by the nonprofit consulting firm N-Power, 75 volunteers fanned out to defrag hard drives, remove viruses and rig routers for nonprofits that often struggle to keep up with changing technology.
At the Carolina Raptor Center, volunteers worked to get one of the center's most popular attractions back online.
A visit to the Carolina Raptor Center is pretty low-tech. Dirt trails link bird enclosures. Printed signs explain what's on display. The reading's up to you. <Click on this link for the rest of the story.>
American Bald Eagle "Independence" Released at Latta Plantation Nature Preserve Catawba River Park
Carolina Raptor Center released an American bald eagle at Latta Plantation Nature Preserve on Monday, July 4th. Over 200 spectators, joined the staff, volunteers and friends of Carolina Raptor Center on Monday, July 4th at 11 am for the release of a juvenile American bald eagle, rehabilitated in our raptor hospital. Participants were encouraged to bring a lunch and stay a while at the riverside park at the end of Sample Road in Huntersville. Festivities began at 10:30 am and included games and a visit from our summer campers. Over 50 people chose to come back to Carolina Raptor Center for a 1 pm Eagle Presentation and take advantage of the $2 off admission.
Area Coverage of the release of "Independence."
WBTV News
News Channel 14
CRC News
Carolina Raptor Center’s American Bald Eagle “Garibaldi” Passes Away, Tuesday, June 21, 2011
HUNTERSVILLE: Carolina Raptor Center Executive Director Jim Warren announced today that one of the center’s seven resident American bald eagles passed away overnight last night in the eagle aviary. No cause of death was immediately known, but the eagle was approximately 20 years old and had lived a normal lifespan for a wild bald eagle.
Garibaldi was one of six bald eagles that inhabit the eagle aviary. He was transferred to Carolina Raptor Center from the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey in Maitland, FL, in 1998 as an adult – having already reached maturity with a full white head and tail. (Juvenile American bald eagles retain brown coloring until they reach 5-6 years of age.) He retained a hole in the skin of his wing that caused problems with his flight.
Garibaldi made headlines in 2005 when a severe storm caused the eagle netting to collapse. After escaping from the open aviary, the eagle was on the lam evading captors for about 7 months before he was recaptured in February 2006 near Beverly Hills Elementary School in Concord, NC. He was able to scavenge well enough to survive for 7 months in the wild, but was thin and undernourished when he was found. A search campaign similar to the campaign this fall around the Bronx Zoo’s Cobra recorded sightings in Florida, New York and various locations around North Carolina. “Have You Seen Garibaldi T-shirts?” were printed to publicize the search.
After spending a few weeks in the rehabilitation hospital, Garibaldi returned to the repaired aviary to much fanfare where he has lived happily for the past five years.
Garibaldi will be remembered fondly by volunteers and staff. His remains will be sent to the National Eagle Repository http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/law/eagle/. His bio will remain near the eagle aviary as a memorial. Donations to the Garibaldi Eagle Memorial Fund can be sent to Carolina Raptor Center, P.O. Box 16443, Charlotte, NC 28297. The fund will be used to help replace the eagle aviary netting in the near future.
