Southeastern Raptor Center Pays Visit to Autauga Prattville Public Library

By Andrew Edwards

Elmore/Autauga News Staff Writer

Top Photo: Bryant Tarr with “Spirit” a familiar American Bald Eagle for Auburn Fans.

It was a great afternoon Tuesday for families to come down to the Autauga Prattville Public Library to learn about birds of prey as the Southeastern Raptor Center showed off seven of their rehabilitated raptors.

The Southeastern Raptor Center is a regional rehabilitation and education facility located in Auburn, which provides educational programming for those interested in learning about raptors – including hawks, owls, eagles, falcons, kites and vultures.

Over the past year, the SRC has helped to rescue approximately 300 raptors who were injured or orphaned.

“These birds play such a pivotal role in our environment,” said Bryant Tarr, Raptor Specialist with SRC. “They are such fantastic creatures, and everybody finds them inspirational. When you see them up close, it really drives home the message about how cool and valuable they are to have around.”

Tarr walked among the crowd, showing off several of the birds that the SRC have helped to raise in captivity – including an Eastern Screech Owl, Barn Owl, Great Horned Owl, Red-Tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, Black Vulture, and Bald Eagle.

The Bald Eagle rounded out the viewing. It was surprising to most of the crowd when they found out that the raptor was a bit of a celebrity. The eagle’s name was Spirit – the 25-year-old bird that most Auburn football fans will recognize as the creature that flies around the stadium before a game. Tarr explained that Spirit has flown the stadium 200 times since her first game back in 2002.

“We love Spirit, she’s such a majestic bird. She’s given us some breath-taking moments over the years,” Tarr said.

Tarr said that, due to her age, Spirit will soon be retired from her football game flights. He also explained that Bald Eagle, perhaps the most recognizable bird in North America, has made a resurgence over the past several years – finding itself no longer on the endangered species list. Now, over 300,000 Bald Eagles fly the skies in North America.

The Autauga Prattville Public Library has a full list of events this summer that are all family friendly! Follow them on Facebook for updates.