Auburn Raptor Center

The Auburn Raptor Center is a regional raptor rehabilitation and education facility, providing medical care and rehabilitation for injured, orphaned and ill wild raptors. Expanding the public’s knowledge about raptors and raptor ecosystems, the center supports raptor conservation efforts while providing hands-on learning for veterinary, as well as undergraduate students. A staff of specially-trained raptor rehabilitators, veterinarians and other experts care for more than 200 hawks, owls, eagles, falcons, kites and vultures every year from across the Southeast. The center’s education team conducts approximately 300 public and private educational outreach programs at the on-site outdoor amphitheater and across the Southeast to promote awareness and appreciation for birds of prey, teaching the public about raptor conservation, habitats and ecology.

In addition to the center’s rehabilitation and education mission, it is also home to Auburn’s War Eagle, famous for pre-game stadium flights at every home football game at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Three eagles who have flown in the stadium currently reside at the Auburn Raptor Center: War Eagle VII, Nova, who retired in 2018; War Eagle VIII, Aurea, the current War Eagle; and Spirit, the only Bald Eagle to have ever flown in Jordan-Hare Stadium. A team of expert raptor handlers and trainers at the Auburn Raptor Center train the eagles for not only stadium flights, but other educational presentations alongside other permanent raptor center residents.