Repairs and Assistance After Hurricane Helene 

Carolina Raptor Center shares the compassion of everyone in Charlotte for the devastating impact of Hurricane Helene on the people, places, and animals of western North Carolina.

Our hearts are with our friends at the May Wildlife Rehabilitation Center at Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk, Wildlife Rehabilitation with Blue Ridge Audubon, and the Western North Carolina Nature Center in Asheville. We are grateful that their people and animals are safe and are working closely with them to take in raptor patients from these facilities as needed.  

We welcome anyone displaced from Hurricane Helene with free admission to our zoological Raptor Trail through the end of 2024. Simply let us know when you arrive at our Visitor’s Center so we can properly welcome you to our home here on Latta Nature Preserve. Walking our ¾ mile to interact with owls, hawks, vultures, eagles, and other species can be a welcome escape. 

While we are deeply grateful that the staff and birds at the Carolina Raptor Center remained safe, we also experienced the damaging impact of Hurricane Helene here on property at Latta Nature Preserve, including damage to five enclosures where we house recovering raptor patients and avian ambassadors. 

Damage to the Carolina Raptor Center 

One building containing two joint enclosures, sustained significant damage from a falling pine tree, tearing through the roof and walls of and leaving the entire structure unstable. We use these 40-foot flight enclosures for medium-sized raptor patients like Red-shouldered Hawks and Barred Owls, our top two admitted species. Due to the impact of Hurricane Helene, these enclosures will need to be torn down and rebuilt.   

The interior damage to two adjoined flight enclosures. 

Thankfully, no raptor patients were harmed by this damage. Until just a few days before the storm, one enclosure’s latest resident was a young Broad-winged Hawk who was transferred to us from Appalachian Wildlife Refuge. Thankfully, this bird was imped, a technique where we replace damaged feathers with donor feathers, on Monday, September 23rd, and released on Wednesday, September 25th. This timing allowed the hawk to not only avoid the destruction of Hurricane Helene but also begin its long migration to Central or South America in time for winter.  

Next door, three Barred Owls weathered the storm. With the primary damage occurring to the adjacent enclosure, these owls remained secure until staff arrived Friday morning and were able to safely contain, examine, and relocate them to a different enclosure. Our team found no injuries on any of the owls, and we expect all three Barred Owls to be ready for release in the coming weeks.  

Two other rehabilitation enclosures also sustained damage. Another pine tree fell through the corner of a 60-foot flight enclosure that we use to help birds exercise and gain muscle before release. An additional pine tree destroyed the front half of a smaller enclosure used for recently admitted patients. Both these enclosures will require major repairs, if not full rebuilding.  

Most of our enclosures housing avian ambassadors were unharmed. However, a large pine tree fell on our Z-Building Friday afternoon. This building contains four enclosures for avian ambassadors doing behind-the-scenes work, often including birds who are still in training for their jobs as ambassadors. These birds had all been evacuated from the building before the storm, but damage from the fallen tree renders at least one enclosure unusable until repairs are completed.  

Ensuring the Safety of Our Birds and Staff 

We are grateful that the impact of Hurricane Helene on our site was limited, in no small part because of our staff’s efforts in preparing for and responding to Hurricane Helene. Upon learning that the Carolina Raptor Center was potentially in the path of the storm, our team immediately began implementing our Communication and Emergency Response Protocol.  

A major part of our preparation before storms is moving raptor patients and avian ambassadors who are potentially at risk. This includes birds whose enclosures have the potential to be damaged by flooding or nearby trees as well as those who we predict to potentially react negatively to the storm. An additional step we take is to preemptively release any raptor patients who are fully recovered and would likely be released in the coming days, as they have a high chance of surviving the storm in the wild.  

With nearly 100 birds onsite between raptor patients and avian ambassadors, this can be an all-hands-on-deck endeavor, with staff split between evaluating hazards, moving birds, preparing and feeding extra diets to birds, and ensuring protocols are in place for power outages. Before Hurricane Helene, our staff relocated 9 of our avian ambassadors both small, like an Eastern Screech Owl and Mississippi Kite, and large, like Bald Eagle and Andean Condor. Our Raptor Hospital team also released 10 raptor patients. The continued safety of the birds in our care throughout the storm is a testament to our team’s dedication to ensuring their welfare as our top priority.  

In the days following Hurricane Helene’s pass through Charlotte, a dozen staff and volunteers worked quickly last weekend to make initial repairs and get our Raptor Trail safe for the public to return on September 29th. We still have work to do to bring back our full capacity with rehabilitation spaces and look forward to welcoming patients and visitors in the weeks ahead.   

How To Help 

Thanks to the hard work of our team, the raptors are safe, and we’re beginning to rebuild. However, with several enclosures significant repairs, your support is more important than ever. For Charlotteans and other Carolinians who have not visited us in a while and want to help, now is a great time to attend an event like Owl-O-Ween or Birds & Brews: Fall for Raptors, join as a member, or make a gift to help our birds of prey. Whether by attending our events or donating online, you can help us restore these birds’ homes and ensure they receive the care they need. 

If you find an injured bird of prey, please refer to our website and contact our Raptor Hospital at (704)875-6521 ext. 125.  

Thank you for your support as we continue to repair our facilities and for your impact on our friends in the mountains who have a long path to recovery after the devastation of Hurricane Helene.   

Our mission remains important today – to ignite a passion for raptors and a responsibility for our shared natural world.  

Together we will remain Carolina Strong.