US avian facilities

SwampDonkey

SwampDonkey

In the Swamp
Premium Member
5+ year member
After the thread by @pachyderm pro pro added the Sylvan Heights Bird Park to the list of top 50 facilities, it was thinking it would be good to have a thread on the avian focused facilities in the US. These are the ones I am aware of, but I am sure there are other worthwhile places - I would love to learn more about them!

I know there are many great large aviaries inside zoos, but this is to focus on institutions that only (or primarily) serve birds.

I will divide it up to different categories of facilities. Let's limit the "Community" type places to slightly larger facilities with permanent captive displays of more than 10 species on permanent display that are open to the public at least 5 days a week without appointments.

General Bird Collections:
National Aviary - Pittsburgh
Tracy Aviary - Salt Lake City

Larger Specialized Collections:
International Crane Foundation - Baraboo WI (Cranes)
Sylvan Heights Bird Park - Scotland Neck NC (Waterfowl)
World Center for Birds of Prey - Boise ID (Birds of Prey)
Audubon Center for Birds of Prey - Maitland Fl (Birds of Prey) - this is more of a medium sized facility.

Community/Rescue type Collections (smaller operations):
Moccasin Lake Raptor Sanctuary - Clearwater FL (Birds of Prey)
Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary - Indian Shores FL (Seabirds)
Save our Seabirds - Sarasota FL (Seabirds)
Parrot Mountain and Gardens - Pigeon Forge TN (Parrots)
 
There's also the Laura Quinn Wild Bird Sanctuary in key largo. Like most of the other small ones, it is a local bird rescue with mostly sea birds, but it also had some birds of prey. On they're website, it also describes a hospital that guests can take a look at.

Its website is here but I'm having trouble getting the link in. https://www.missionwildbird.com/

 
Dr Bright N04 said:
There's also the Laura Quinn Wild Bird Sanctuary in key largo. Like most of the other small ones, it is a local bird rescue with mostly sea birds, but it also had some birds of prey. On they're website, it also describes a hospital that guests can take a look at.

Its website is here but I'm having trouble getting the link in. https://www.missionwildbird.com/
Click to expand...
That's a pretty good one, larger than most of the sanctuary type places often are.

I left out Pelican Harbor in Miami as it is small and primarily is about brown pelicans, not that it is not a noble cause, but that it is really focused on one species and is also quite small.
 
These are zoos that specialize in Birds of Prey:

World Bird Sanctuary (St. Louis, MO)
Gabbert Raptor Center (Falcon Heights, MN)
Open Door Bird Sanctuary (Sturgeon Bay, WI)
Teton Raptor Center (Wilson, WY)

Also my understanding is that while Sylvan Heights still has a large focus on waterfowl they are now more of a general bird park.
 
birdsandbats said:
Also my understanding is that while Sylvan Heights still has a large focus on waterfowl they are now more of a general bird park.
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Very true - there really isn't that much more of an expansion that they can do in the way of waterfowl, as they have almost all of the species that they are likely to get. They've been expanding more in other directions, now. Years ago they were talking about penguins, but that seems to have been put on hold at around the time they inherited the birds from Pandemonium Aviaries.

The other two great US waterfowl collections are Livingston Ripley and Pinola (the later being more private than LRWC and SHBF)
 
Here are some more:

Alaska Raptor Center (Sitka)
California Raptor Center (Davis)
Emerald Forest Bird Gardens (Fallbrook)
Free Flight: Exotic Bird Sanctuary (Del Mar)
Nature & Raptor Center of Pueblo (Pueblo)
Save Our Seabirds: Wild Bird Learning Center (Sarasota)
Seaside Seabird Sanctuary (Indian Shores)
World Center for Birds of Prey (Boise)
Eagle Valley Raptor Center (Cheney)
Raptor Center of University of Minnesota (St. Paul)
Raptor Trust (Millington)
Carolina Raptor Center (Huntersville)
Ohio Bird Sanctuary (Mansfield)
Cascades Raptor Center (Eugene)
Center for Birds of Prey (Awendaw)
 
Dr Bright N04 said:
There's also the Laura Quinn Wild Bird Sanctuary in key largo. Like most of the other small ones, it is a local bird rescue with mostly sea birds, but it also had some birds of prey. On they're website, it also describes a hospital that guests can take a look at.

Its website is here but I'm having trouble getting the link in. https://www.missionwildbird.com/
Click to expand...

I actually visited this facility yesterday, it was on the smaller side but there was quite a few rare species
 
Here's a few more. These are all places that at least do events at their facility or do tours (some might not be currently due to covid and avian flu). There's definitely also some nature centers that only keep birds, but I've been awful at listing the type of facility on my zoo spreadsheet.

American Bald Eagle Foundation, Haines Alaska
Juneau Raptor Center, Juneau Alaska
Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch, Picacho Arizona (also has deer and farm animals, and cownose rays oddly, but focus is ostriches and a few other birds)
Ojai Raptor Center, Oak View California
Quail Run Ranch, Lake Hughes California (ostrich ranch)
Marathon Wild Bird Center, Marathon Florida
Uncle Sandy's Macaw Bird Park, Pensacola Florida
Feathered Friends Forever, Harlem Georgia
W.K. Kellogg Bird Sanctuary, Augusta Michigan
De Witt Birds of Prey Center, Holland Michigan
National Eagle Center, Wabasha Minnesota
Berkshire Bird Paradise, Petersburg New York
American Pigeon Museum, Oklahoma City Oklahoma
Oakhill Avian Center, Oklahoma City Oklahoma (not sure if they do tours at all, but they're ZAA)
John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove, Audubon Pennsylvania
Foster Parrots - New England Exotic Wildlife Sanctuary, Hopkinton Rhode Island
VINS Nature Center, Quechee Vermont
Central Virginia Parrot Sanctuary, Louisa Virginia
Pioneer Park Aviary, Walla Walla Washington
Three Rivers Avian Center, Brooks West Virginia
West Virginia Raptor Center, Fairmont West Virginia


snowleopard said:
Here are some more:
Nature & Raptor Center of Pueblo (Pueblo)
Click to expand...

They joined with another facility to become the Nature & Wildlife Discovery Center in 2018.
 
TinoPup said:
Foster Parrots - New England Exotic Wildlife Sanctuary, Hopkinton Rhode Islan
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Isn't this the place that burned to the ground a year or two ago? And I'm not aware of a single parrot rescue in Rhode Island that is open to the public, are you sure this place is?
 
Neil chace said:
Isn't this the place that burned to the ground a year or two ago? And I'm not aware of a single parrot rescue in Rhode Island that is open to the public, are you sure this place is?
Click to expand...

One of their buildings had a fire, yes, but they have other buildings and are currently adding more. As I said, all of the facilities at least do events and/or tours if they aren't completely public, though some of those might be interrupted because of covid and avian flu.
 
TinoPup said:
Here's a few more. These are all places that at least do events at their facility or do tours (some might not be currently due to covid and avian flu). There's definitely also some nature centers that only keep birds, but I've been awful at listing the type of facility on my zoo spreadsheet.

American Bald Eagle Foundation, Haines Alaska
Juneau Raptor Center, Juneau Alaska
Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch, Picacho Arizona (also has deer and farm animals, and cownose rays oddly, but focus is ostriches and a few other birds)
Ojai Raptor Center, Oak View California
Quail Run Ranch, Lake Hughes California (ostrich ranch)
Marathon Wild Bird Center, Marathon Florida
Uncle Sandy's Macaw Bird Park, Pensacola Florida
Feathered Friends Forever, Harlem Georgia
W.K. Kellogg Bird Sanctuary, Augusta Michigan
De Witt Birds of Prey Center, Holland Michigan
National Eagle Center, Wabasha Minnesota
Berkshire Bird Paradise, Petersburg New York
American Pigeon Museum, Oklahoma City Oklahoma
Oakhill Avian Center, Oklahoma City Oklahoma (not sure if they do tours at all, but they're ZAA)
John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove, Audubon Pennsylvania
Foster Parrots - New England Exotic Wildlife Sanctuary, Hopkinton Rhode Island
VINS Nature Center, Quechee Vermont
Central Virginia Parrot Sanctuary, Louisa Virginia
Pioneer Park Aviary, Walla Walla Washington
Three Rivers Avian Center, Brooks West Virginia
West Virginia Raptor Center, Fairmont West Virginia




They joined with another facility to become the Nature & Wildlife Discovery Center in 2018.
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Thanks! The Aviary in Walla Walla looks quite interesting.
 
Hello, does anyone know what species the World Center for Birds of Prey holds? I don’t need a full species list, but if anyone has any information that would be great.
 
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