We Carlisle Visitor Center Naturalists will get asked frequently, and understandably so, during the wintertime, “Are your Raptor Center birds still outside(in their enclosures)?” Depending on “when” we get asked this question (for example during a Polar Vortex like now they are INside the Raptor Center), the answer is usually “yes, they are outside” because eight of our nine(exception turkey vulture) native Ohio residents are well-adapted to surviving our chilly, snowy Ohio winters. That being said, due to some of our raptors’ “older” ages and permanent injuries(“why” they are unable to survive in the wild), we do take certain precautions in order to keep their enclosures ‘home sweet home’ during the winter months. For example, we swap out their regular water dishes with heated ones, install heated perches and/or heated pads, and insulate their shelter boxes. Factors such as the raptor’s health, size, & age and daily weather conditions(air temperature, wind chill, and kind & amount of precipitation) play a role in determining whether or not and for how long we decide to bring that individual inside the Raptor Center.
Pictured here is Murray our American kestrel hanging-out on his heated perch with a heated pad behind him. From bone-chilling, subzero temperatures to sweltering, 90+ degree days, we CVC Naturalists & our wonderful Raptor Corps Volunteers (Thank you!) can be found at the Raptor Center in all types of weather. The Raptor Center is located at the Carlisle Visitor Center and is open to the public from 8:00am till dusk. We offer a variety of raptor-related FREE public programs throughout the year; please refer to our Arrowhead program guide for themes, dates, & times. ~CVC Naturalist, Miss Jenn 🙂
Lorain County Metro Parks 