Enraptured by raptors: Birds of prey visit campus

The Pre-Vet club hosted a Raptor Showcase in the Stuce on Saturday, Nov. 16. The club worked with the
Lake Cumberland Wildlife Refuge (home of the Liberty Nature Center) to bring birds of prey for Asbury
students and other members of the community to meet.
“We wanted something really unique and engaging for our students that wasn’t just a panel, or a talk
that feels more like school,” junior Phoebe Grimwood said. “We really wanted it to be interactive and
bring awareness about these species of birds and the wildlife rehabilitation presence in Kentucky, as
well as inviting conversation about the importance of conservation.”
Frances Carter, CEO and founder of Liberty Nature Center, began her journey by teaching at Casey
County High School in 1985. Upon finding an owl stuck in a fence, Carter started obtaining permits to
legally handle these animals. In 1993, Carter moved her program and animals to Southwestern High
School in Somerset, Kentucky. When she retired in 2014, her students insisted she not stop her work
with the center. They found a plot of land in Somerset, and the center officially moved.
During the Raptor Showcase, Carter and students associated with the program introduced attendees to
many different species of birds, such as vultures, owls and hawks. The first of these birds was a black
vulture named Codey.
“[Codey] was actually hatched under a chicken,” Carter said during the bird’s introduction. “A barn fell,
and the guy raised chickens, so when he found this egg in the barn, he thought it came from one of his
hens, so he stuck it under one of his hens. When it hatched, he put it in this little container and brought
it to us saying, ‘This is not a chicken.’” Carter explained that Codey is very different from typical wild
vultures; he doesn’t like rotten food and he’s scared of heights, among other things.
Many of the birds introduced at the showcase had disabilities, making it unlikely for them to return to
the wild. Other birds introduced included Barbosa, a barred owl with only one eye and a wing problem
after an incident with a car, and Ayasha, an American Kestrel with an injured wing from a cat attack.
Through the programs Liberty Nature Center offers, students in grades 7-12 have the opportunity to
handle the birds and other wildlife at the center. The youngest volunteer at the showcase was a seventh
grader handling a tawny owl named Adahy. “The birds pick the student,” Carter said. “The students go
into the cage with the bird and if the bird doesn’t like them, they have to leave.”
Visit the Liberty Nature Center in Somerset, Kentucky, to meet more of their magnificent birds of prey,
as well as other animals, like an iguana and miniature horses.