Middle Tennessee Raptor Center

05/31/2026

We have had several successful releases over the past 2 weeks. Both Turkey Vultures ‘Solo & Chewy’, 5 American Kestrels, and a Screech Owl. We will get freedom videos made soon. We have many more releases but have been at the mercy of the rainy weather. Here is a pic of the Screech Owl that was released this evening.

05/31/2026

05/31/2026

This adult male Kestrel came to us on May 15th with a broken leg. We splinted the leg and made a boot which worked really well. This kestrel we named ‘Boots’ he didn’t let that slow him down he has been fun to work with.

05/30/2026

Update from our May 22nd post of the five orphaned Kestrels. They are doing great and eating us out of house and home! About another week and they will be ready to go back where they came from and make their own lives. ❤️

05/29/2026

😴😴

05/29/2026

This little one was found at the Wi******er ball fields. We would have liked to have renested this baby but circumstances at the ball field and too many kids eager to handle the little one…we felt it best just to remove it from a situation that would likely have a poor outcome. Tomorrow this little one will be introduced to ‘Zip’ one of our foster Kestrel moms so it can be raised and then released.

05/24/2026

Hercules 💕 boy is he messy! Thank goodness he is so darn cute!

05/24/2026

This little Red Shouldered Hawk was found by a homeowner yesterday. We are grateful because this little one had been on the ground for a while and was covered in flat flies, soaking wet, and starving. It should make a full recovery and be able to be released after a little more time growing and proper nutrition.

05/23/2026

Update from our May 14th post and the little Barred Owl that had a badly broken leg. After today’s vet visit it was determined the leg was not salvageable and it was very clear that it was terribly painful. Regardless of our efforts and so many others who worked tirelessly to try and rehabilitate this little one, we came to the end of the road. With a very heavy heart the decision was made to humanely euthanize. We are sad but we know everything that could have been done to give this little one a fighting chance was done. He just wasn’t meant to fly these skies. Until we see you again little one… a special thank you to Taylor at Reflection Riding Arboretum & Nature Center and Dr. Keller and all the staff at The Mountain Hospital For Animals for their kindness and compassion. I appreciate you all more than you know!

05/23/2026

Zip and Clover are our 2 surrogate American Kestrel moms. They are both doing a wonderful job helping us raise the orphaned kestrels that have come into our care. I got this pic of Zip today and 2 of her babies that she is teaching how to fly. The least amount of human contact, the more successful these young birds will be when returned to the wild; this is why the picture quality is so poor. These are taken from our ring cameras. As much as we would love to get up close and personal during baby raising season for photo ops, we want to set them up for success. You will also see one of the screech owls (on the left) that is currently in rehab who decided to photo bomb this pic.