Georgia Raptor Conservation & Education Programs, LLC

Georgia Raptor Conservation & Education Programs, LLC GADNR & USFWS Licensed for Wildlife Possession/Exhibition of Birds of Prey

05/22/2026

Y’all. We need to have a little group chat. 😅

Georgia Wildlife Network is here to connect the public with LICENSED rehabbers so injured and orphaned wildlife can get into care. Every person answering texts, coordinating placements, and transporting animals is a VOLUNTEER.

We cannot guarantee transport availability. Ever. But especially not right now.

We’ve got animals going here, there, and everywhere. It’s wildlife baby season, the last day of school, a holiday weekend, AND the beginning of summer vacation all rolled into one… which means more animals and fewer people available to help.

Some folks reaching out seem to think we’re parked at the end of the driveway waiting to pick up an animal found 15 minutes ago. 😅

Friend… respectfully… no.

If you find injured or orphaned wildlife, PLEASE plan to transport if at all possible. We need to reserve volunteer transport help for truly critical situations and for people who genuinely have no other options.

Get creative:
• Call a neighbor
• Text your cousin
• Rekindle things with your mother-in-law you haven’t spoken to since the Christmas incident
• Bribe your teenager with Taco Bell
• Call a pet-friendly Uber
• Ask literally anyone with a pulse and a vehicle

Please do everything you can to get the animal where it needs to go (quickly) before requesting transport help. At the same time, don't let it sit there three days without reaching out.

Please remember, you are not calling customer service for a product you overpaid for. We are exhausted wildlife volunteers running on stress, snacks, and enough caffeine to mildly concern our primary care physicians. 😅

Help us help you. The more teamwork we get from the public, the more animals we can save. 💚 THANK YOU!

Thrilled that this sweet Barred Owl branching baby made it back to his family and I could help on his journey back home....
05/09/2026

Thrilled that this sweet Barred Owl branching baby made it back to his family and I could help on his journey back home.

Thank you to the homeowner, his neighbor, Wild Nest Bird Rehab, Georgia Wildlife Network (and their transporter for case), and Chattahoochee Nature Center Wildlife Rehabilitation for all working together. You all are THE BEST and we wish you all well during this incredibly busy baby season.

🎂 Happy 2nd Hatch Day to our girl, Harmony! Look at this baby face! 😍 Hard to believe this fluffy little nugget grew int...
05/01/2026

🎂 Happy 2nd Hatch Day to our girl, Harmony!

Look at this baby face! 😍 Hard to believe this fluffy little nugget grew into the stunning Red-tailed Hawk she is today. **Drop in Wild Birds Unlimited tomorrow May 2nd, anytime 12-2pm to meet her.**

Harmony is an educational ambassador, which means she’ll never soar free in the wild. Not because of anything that happened to her in nature, but because a human made the decision to keep her illegally for the first three weeks of her life.

Vonda at Laurens Wildlife Rescue did everything she could to give Harmony a chance at a wild life, she is imprinted on humans and cannot survive on her own. THIS is exactly why I get so passionate when people illegally possess wildlife. It seems harmless. It never is.

These animals deserve wild lives. When we take that from them, even with the best intentions, it’s often gone forever.

So happy birthday, sweet Harmony. You didn’t get the life you were born for, but you are so deeply loved and every person you meet at our programs leaves a little more committed to protecting the “wild things”.

All photos by Vonda of Lauren’s Wildlife Rescue

⚠️ RED-SHOULDERED HAWK NESTLINGS: A STORY THAT ALMOST HAD A VERY DIFFERENT ENDING ⚠️I debated sharing this but I believe...
05/01/2026

⚠️ RED-SHOULDERED HAWK NESTLINGS: A STORY THAT ALMOST HAD A VERY DIFFERENT ENDING ⚠️

I debated sharing this but I believe it’s an important lesson.

Last week, a tree was removed that contained an active Red-shouldered Hawk nest with 3 nestlings. A crane was used to lower the nest when it was discovered, so the babies were physically uninjured, and I met with someone at midnight to provide overnight care for 2 of the 3 nestlings. I’m grateful for that.

But here’s where my heart broke.
That third baby? I was never told about it. Whether communication broke down somewhere along the way, I still don’t know.

What I do know is that a helpless nestling was separated from its siblings, alone. Most likely not warmed up and rehydrated, not fed it's proper diet and all while I had no idea it even existed.

Due to the quick thinking of some truly incredible people, this story has a happy ending. Brandon of Sanders Wildlife, Inc. and a Chattahoochee Nature Center Wildlife Rehabilitation volunteer worked together to renest the first two babies in a surrogate nest. That same volunteer was then told about the third baby that “wasn't doing well” and acted immediately, picking it up from another location around 4:30 PM and rushing it to CNC for an exam.

After a couple of days of monitoring, it was deemed healthy and reunited with its siblings.
All three babies are together now and back home. But it so easily could have gone the other way.

Here’s what everyone needs to understand:

-Red-shouldered Hawks (and all raptors) are federally protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
-Disturbing, destroying, or taking their nests and young is a federal offense.
-Cutting down a tree with an active nest is illegal, regardless of whether it’s on private property.
-Nestlings cannot survive on their own. They are entirely dependent on their parents, or a licensed rehabilitator, for food, warmth, and protection. Their parents cannot “pick them up” to take them to a new nest and they will not reject them if you touch them to help. Every hour counts.

If you are a homeowner, a tree company, or a contractor, please, please, please check for active nests before any tree work begins. If you find one, stop work and contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitator and/or your state DNR immediately. There are people who will help, and you will not get in trouble for doing the right thing. Yes, it may cost you some extra time, BUT you’ll make a huge difference and learn something along the way. Some of the best partnerships between tree companies and wildlife rehabbers have been built exactly this way.

This story has a happy ending. The next one might not. 💔

Photo by CNC wildlife rehab

Thankful for a homeowner in Ellijay that saw this Barred Owl nestling on the ground in their yard Tuesday. It was injure...
05/01/2026

Thankful for a homeowner in Ellijay that saw this Barred Owl nestling on the ground in their yard Tuesday. It was injured and we also noted its eyes were kind of hazy, which was worrying.

Thankful Bells Ferry Veterinary Hospital was able to triage and my friend Hailey kindly transported for us.

It was transferred to Chattahoochee Nature Center Wildlife Rehabilitationon on Wednesday for continued care and even has a cage mate for its rehab journey. Happy healing buddy!
Link in comments. 🦉

Post from Chattahoochee Nature Center Wildlife Rehabilitation:

“Case 26-0195, arrived April 29:

Ellijay residents found this young Barred Owl grounded on their property and took it to a Cherokee County vet clinic. An exam at the clinic revealed fly eggs and maggots on its back and neck. They treated the fly strike and transferred the owlet to CNC for continued care. The little one has good weight and is now a cagemate for Case 26-0179”

Baby season is in full swing! PLEASE hold off on tree work unless it’s an emergency. We've had a few overnight guests in...
05/01/2026

Baby season is in full swing! PLEASE hold off on tree work unless it’s an emergency. We've had a few overnight guests in the last week or so. One case arrived because their nest tree was cut down. Always ask your tree company to check for nests first, too.

A huge thank you to Chattahoochee Nature Center Wildlife Rehabilitation and Bells Ferry Veterinary Hospital for taking these cases, to the homeowners and to everyone who helped coordinate transport. Luckily, all babies have been returned home/to parents with new surrogate nests.

Found a raptor on the ground? Not every grounded bird needs rescuing! Young raptors go through a natural fledgling phase where they leave the nest but are still being fed and cared for by their parents on the ground and some are often capable of climbing back up even before they can fly.

Do call for help if you see:
-Flies or fly eggs on the bird
-Visible injuries
-A bird still covered in down that clearly isn’t ready to have left the nest

When in doubt, reach out to professionals anyway as it’s always better to consult early so you’re already connected if help is needed.

For help finding a licensed Rehabber nearest you, please consult the following.

Animal Help Now
Georgia Wildlife Network

⚠️ A reminder: It is illegal to possess protected migratory birds without the proper state and federal permits. They may look cute and you might be tempted to take one home but trust us, that is the worst decision you can make for that bird. Harmony, our illegally imprinted Red-tailed Hawk is a perfect example. More on this later. 😖

🥚 Journey Update: Egg #3! 🦅Our Broad-winged Hawk ambassador, Journey, laid her third egg today completing what would be...
04/06/2026

🥚 Journey Update: Egg #3! 🦅

Our Broad-winged Hawk ambassador, Journey, laid her third egg today completing what would be a full clutch for her species in the wild!

Here’s something fascinating about how raptor egg laying works: hawks don’t lay all their eggs at once. Each egg is produced and laid individually over several days, which is a significant physical process. It really takes a lot out of them and we’re so glad Journey is done with the process and can get back to just being her wonderful self!

As an educational ambassador, Journey lives a very different life than a wild Broad-winged Hawk. She perches rather than nests, and has no instinct to build a nest or incubate eggs, which is completely normal for a bird in captivity. The eggs were not viable as she does not have a mate, but that doesn’t make this any less of a biological milestone worth celebrating!

Journey continues to be an impactful ambassador, helping thousands of people connect with/appreciate raptors while she was with Blue Ridge Raptors Educational Programs and is continuing her valuable work with us now. We’re so proud of her, even when she keeps us on our toes!

2 exciting announcements! 🎉🥚 Journey laid her first egg of the year on Monday morning! This is notably early as last yea...
04/01/2026

2 exciting announcements! 🎉

🥚 Journey laid her first egg of the year on Monday morning! This is notably early as last year her first egg arrived on April 12, followed by a second about a week later. Broad-Winged Hawks typically lay 2–3 eggs per clutch, spaced a few days apart, and incubation lasts around 28–32 days. We’re watching closely to see if a second egg follows!

🧳 The local Broad-Winged Hawks are baaaack!! After an incredible migration of up to 4,000+ miles from South or Central America, they’ve returned for the Spring and Summer to nest and raise their young. Broad-Winged Hawks are known for traveling in large flocks called “kettles” during migration, one of nature’s most impressive spectacles.
We had quite the adventure with them last year! Journey loves their visits and gets very vocal. They don’t bother her, but they do try to intimidate Harmony. Hopefully things are a little calmer this year now that they’re all acquainted. (Pic from yesterday.)

03/29/2026

Special view into Harmony’s “playtime”. While I do provide her a lot of natural materials (pine cones, branches, saplings etc. to explore, she has absolutely treasured her little blue stuffed candle with a squeaker in it from her birthday last year (May 1st, she will be 2!!!).

Everything else gets destroyed, but she cherishes this item and will even play catch with it. I reached out to the company last year to see if I could just buy the blue candle instead of the whole cake w/ three candles… but they could not as it only comes in a set that I unfortunately can’t find anymore.

A huge THANK YOU to Twin Branch Nursery and Landscape for having us at their event today and to their amazing customers ...
11/28/2025

A huge THANK YOU to Twin Branch Nursery and Landscape for having us at their event today and to their amazing customers who came out to pick the perfect Christmas trees, shop the wonderful local vendors who were decked out for the “Frasier Firs & Festive Finds” event and were able to make a meaningful, memorable connections to the world of raptors!

Twin Branch Nursery’s hours of operation are:
Monday–Saturday: 8:00 AM–5:00 PM (closed on Sundays). TwinBranch.com

Be sure to stop by to grab your Christmas tree and/or wreath, stroll the beautiful property, snap some festive family photos, and start planning your next yard and garden projects!

Happy holidays, and thank you again for making today so special! 🎄✨🦉

Address

Acworth, GA
30102

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Georgia Raptor Conservation & Education Programs, LLC posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to Georgia Raptor Conservation & Education Programs, LLC:

Shortcuts

Featured

Share

Category