Meet Our Ambassador Birds

These are among the most adept and acrobatic fliers of all the raptors. They reside in Florida in the spring and summer, raise their young, then migrate to South America for the winter. Sojourner was admitted in April 2021 with multiple fractures in her left wing. Sojourner was named after abolitionist and women’s rights leader, Sojourner Truth, by our resident artist, Lauren Austin.

Shadow was admitted to the Raptor Trauma Clinic in August, 2017. He had a severely injured right wing and eventually part of that wing was amputated. Shadow is easy to spot, he's all grey with a few white feathers on his back.

Ruby was admitted to the Center in October 2021 after she was hit by an airboat. She had a fractured right humerus, a dislocated right elbow, leg paralysis, and spinal trauma, all of which have healed, but not enough to where she was able to be released back into the wild. Ruby was named by Kathy Sayre and John Corbitt, who won her naming at the Center’s annual fundraiser.

Nutmeg was admitted in June 2023 as an adult with a fractured right coracoid and clavicle. He could not regain full flight. His name is temporary and he will receive a permanent name soon.

Spike was admitted in 2000 with a damaged left eye after being found standing on a pile of logs under her nest. Since the condition was chronic, her damaged eye was removed. Scarlet was admitted in 2016 with a fractured right coracoid from a gunshot wound. Though shooting wild raptors is illegal, we do have a significant number of gunshot patients.

Mortimer was brought to the Center in 1988 with a fractured left wing and toe, the result of a car collision. Mortimer shares her home with Godiva the Caracara, where she is often seen sitting with or preening Godiva. In the wild these two species are often found together on the side of the road eating carrion.

Godiva was rescued as a mature bird in Brevard County by a person on horseback in 2001. Godiva suffered from starvation, an old fracture of her right wing, and eye trauma in the right eye. The affects of these injuries have made her non-releasable. She often can be found next to her BFF and roommate, Mortimer the Turkey Vulture.