Soaring over Maymont 

Saturday, September 13 marked the grand opening of the Robert M. Freeman Bald Eagle Habitat & Raptor Valley at Maymont with activities, educational programs and a ribbon cutting ceremony.
The permanent exhibit offers visitors an opportunity to get a close look at several fascinating creatures of the air. Its star is a bald eagle which was rescued from the King and Queen landfill. The eagle is non-flighted, due to the partial amputation of its left wing, and would not be able to survive outside of the habitat.
“Maymont’s birds are non-releasable due to injury or imprinting,” explains Debbie Rea, Maymont’s manager of zoology. Many birds were hit by cars and sent to the Wildlife Center of Virginia in Waynesboro for rehabilitation.
Director of Maymont’s Nature Center Buz Bireline recommends that if you see an injured bird, you do not pick it up. In fact, that would be illegal. Instead, call a local wildlife rehab group or a veterinarian.