Raptor Hollow to offer shows with birds in flight

Josh Kuszmaul and Katelyn Vannoy could say their work is for the birds.

Kuszmaul is executive director of Raptor Hollow Sanctuary, and Vannoy is the facility’s veterinarian.

Together with three other staff members, volunteers and interns from Mount Union, Malone, Walsh and Kent State, they care for animals at the sanctuary, which specializes in birds of prey – owls, eagles, hawks and vultures.

The pair told members of Alliance Rotary Club all about Raptor Hollow Sanctuary during a recent group meeting at Alliance YWCA.

They also brought along a special guest – Sammie, a Harris’ hawk.

“My passion is education and that’s what led me to open Raptor Hollow Sanctuary to teach conservation education using birds of prey, which are important to ecosystems,” said Kuszmaul, a 2007 West Branch graduate who went on to Ohio State and later worked at the Columbus Zoo, Cleveland Zoo, Kansas City Zoo, and Stone Zoo near Boston before starting the sanctuary at his parents’ home in 2016 with four birds.

Now located at Beech Creek Botanical Gardens, Raptor Hollow Sanctuary is filled to capacity with 13 raptor ambassadors along with two foxes, two macaws, some reptiles, a peacock, some Guineafowl and a gull. Also on hand are some sacred ibis, which are the birds shown in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics.

Vannoy, a graduate of Washington & Jefferson and Tufts University, has been doctor to all of them for the past two years, visiting Raptor Hollow on days off from her practice in her hometown of Pittsburgh, where she works at an emergency and general practice hospital, treating mainly dogs and cats.

Kuszmaul and Vannoy work to train the animals at Raptor Hollow, including Sammie, one of the first birds at the sanctuary who will be among the stars of a new show in which the birds will fly over audience members' heads so they can truly appreciate how they would live in the wild.

All of the animals at Raptor Hollow Sanctuary have been injured in some way and cannot be released back in the wild. Most have come from other facilities that did not have room for them, and most have been hit by a car.

“Humans have a huge impact on our environment and wildlife, but we are also the only ones that can do something to help protect them and help our environment,” said Kuszmaul.

In the case of Sammie, he was a falconer’s bird that landed on some wires and was electrocuted. As a result, he is missing some talons, making him unable to hunt. He suffers from occasional head tremors and has some neurological issues. He also has some head feathers that did not grow back correctly.

The falconer tried to keep Sammie after his injury, but it contracted West Nile virus and needed professional medical treatment.

Now as healthy as possible, Sammie loves to be around people and loves to fly, making him an ideal member of the group of nine birds who will be featured in shows twice a day on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from Memorial Day to Labor Day. The show will be included with admission to Beech Greek Botanical Gardens.

Kuszmaul and Vannoy said they hope their birds will fly.

“They have free choice,” said Kuszmaul. “We don’t ever make them perform or do something that they don’t feel like doing that day.”

He explained that during one program , an owl that was featured flew into a tree and fell asleep – for five hours. The trainers waited patiently and once the owl woke up, it flew right back down to its keepers.

“They know we have their food, so they don’t really go very far,” Vannoy said.

Sammie was cooperative when he visited the Rotary Club, making several passes over members while Vannoy and Kuszmaul talked about his species and the operation at Raptor Hollow Sanctuary.

Found in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, Harris’ hawks have a lot of similarities to the red-tail hawk, found in Ohio.

Sammie is about 13 years old and likely would have lived to be only about 10 in the wild. At the sanctuary, Sammie could live to age 25.

That gives him many more years to be a star at the summer weekend shows, which in turn will aid VulPro, an initiative to help rehabilitate and conserve vultures in South Africa where their numbers are threatened and they are a major part of the ecosystems. Half of the donations received this year during the weekend shows will be donated to VulPro.

The new weekend shows are the latest in a number of educational programs that Raptor Hollow offers, including “All About Beaks,” which talks about how birds eat; “Predator vs. Prey,” which talks about how animals adapt to live among each other; “Nature’s Recyclers,” which explains the crucial role of vultures to the environment; and “Fur, Feathers and Scales,” which introduces youngsters to the differences between mammals, reptiles and birds; just to name a few. The facility also offers small-group animal encounters for a fee.

To learn more about Raptor Hollow Sanctuary and how to support it, visit raptorhollow.org, call 330-206-9674 or visit the facility at 11929 Beech St. NE.

“We’re sort of a hidden little gem right there inside Beech Creek Botanical Gardens,” said Kuszmaul. “We hope you come visit us.”

This article originally appeared on The Alliance Review: Raptor Hollow Sanctuary to offer shows with birds in flight