The Chattanooga Audubon Society is holding its eighth annual Little Owl Festival at Audubon Acres on Saturday, June 1, from 9 a.m. to noon. The wildlife sanctuary is located at 900 N. Sanctuary Road.
Organizers have refocused the emphasis of the festival to reflect its new tag line “Kids, Nature, Art.”
The Happinest Wildlife Rehabilitators will open the festival with the release of a first-year broad-winged hawk outside Walker Hall on the wildlife sanctuary grounds.
The young bird was found grounded with a broken leg and underwent surgery at University of Tennessee veterinary clinic, according to Ray Zimmerman of Audubon Acres. The bird has become a strong flier while under care and will soon soar over its natural habitat.
Visitors can join Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center biologists as they survey Audubon Acres for yellow-billed cuckoos. Researchers from the center are tagging and tracking cuckoos to determine their migration routes. The information obtained will benefit conservation for migratory birds worldwide.