Education Ambassadors

As a very young fledgling, Raz the Raven was found in a slate quarry in Granville, New York in 2005. He was starving with infections in both eyes.

For months, OFES co-founder Craig Newman nursed him back to health, patiently putting drops in Raz’s eyes while jokingly admonishing the bird to “hold still.” Raz now often says “hold still” and a host of other phrases. He is blind in one eye and has impaired vision in the other.

He twists his head at funny angles to see better, and always enjoys raspberries (the reason for his name).

Elfric, the gray phase Eastern Screech Owl, was hit by a car in Charlotte in 2001 and as a result lost an eye and hearing on the left side.

   

Carson, the red phase Eastern Screech Owl, was hit by a car and suffered a broken wing on New Year’s eve 2003 in Grand Isle, Vermont. She remains calm on school visits and other programs and enjoys perching on the hands of OFES summer campers. She often spends her days snuggled with her friend Elfric, a gray phase Eastern Screech Owl.

Anubis, a Turkey Vulture, hatched in 2002 in the Brattleboro, Vermont area and suffered a soft tissue injury and fracture to his left wing. Nobody knows what happened.

In March 2003, he transferred to OFES from another rehabilitation facility. He has a lot of personality and enjoys playing with milk carton caps, eating melon, and terrorizing OFES volunteers (pecking at shoes and untying laces). Many of his days are spent on supervised play dates with his friend Raz, the Raven.