The Dwight Chamberlain Raptor Center at Hardy Lake in northern Scott County was established to introduce Hoosiers to live birds of prey and to offer a rehab facility where injured hawks, owls and other raptors could be brought to be treated and, when possible, released.
Indiana State Parks will be closing the raptor rehab portion of this facility permanently.
“We will continue to care for live birds of prey that serve as educational ambassadors for programs at Hardy Lake and across the state,” according to a recent post of Facebook.
The organization stopped accepting birds for rehabilitation due to an avian influenza outbreak in the spring of 2022. The impact of that outbreak has lessened, but there are still periodic reports of this disease in the state. Our primary responsibility is protecting the education birds we use in programs. Because avian flu is highly contagious, closing the rehabilitation side of the center reduces the potential of exposure for these educational ambassadors.
Raptor rehabilitation requires a significant investment of time and financial resources. Closing the rehab portion of the program will allow us to devote more attention to training and enrichment for the education birds so their work of introducing Hoosiers to the habits and habitat of birds of prey is as effective as possible.
Today, the number of licensed rehabilitators is greater across the state than when the facility first opened. DNR’s Division of Fish and Wildlife maintains a list of these licensed rehabilitators, so they are more accessible for the general public who may find injured or juvenile raptors.
To find an Indiana licensed wildlife rehabilitators at on.in.gov/wildliferehab
The facility will still need the support of the Friends of Hardy Lake and the community. We look forward to continued support as we go forward in caring for the educational birds, read their recent post. We have every intention of continuing to house and use raptors to serve as educational ambassadors in programming, and the support provided by the friends group and the community are critical to that work in providing food, medical care and volunteer support.
Ongoing maintenance is needed for the existing educational bird enclosures. Long-term, we are beginning to develop a plan for appropriate housing for the education birds inside Hardy Lake State Recreation Area so they be more easily displayed on site every day and more easily used in programming.
Dwight Chamberlain was a wildlife biologist, educator, and life-long conservationist residing in Scott county who was well-known for his love of birds (crows and ravens in particular.) He was also a dedicated philanthropist and provided funding to support the raptor center. The center was named in his honor in 2003 and will remain unchanged.