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Radnor Lake celebrates 10 years of caring for injured birds of prey
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — The sights and sounds synonymous with Music City fade from existence roughly 20 minutes south of Broadway. Radnor Lake State Park and State Natural Area has been a peaceful solace in Nashville for more than 50 years.
'Radnor was really saved for birding. It's a really unique place. It's one of the best places to bird in the southeast. A lot of people don't know that,' said Park Manager Steve Ward. 'We have people travel here from all over the country just to see one bird during migration.'
After 23 years into his tenure, the park's magic has never faded for Ward. During our interview, he paused to point our attention to a hummingbird nearby.
'It's the quality of life.. better than I deserve.'
His passion is fueled by one of the park's hidden gems, nestled high in the trees.
'The birds don't have to worry about noises associated with other parts of Nashville.'
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The Barbara J. Mapp Aviary Education Center celebrates a milestone with its 10th anniversary this year. These non-releasable birds-of-prey are housed and cared for at the park through a public-private partnership with the state of Tennessee. The birds are designated as education animals and they all have permanent injuries.
'She was shot by somebody in East Tennessee as a one-year-old. When they shot her it broke her scapula, spread lead all through her body,' stated Ward as he showed an American Bald Eagle to a group of visitors.
The aviary center is like a retirement home for these birds to live out the rest of their lives.
'If you could go back in time you wish you never had to build a facility like this but when a bird gets injured in the wild it either recovers from its injury on its own, it gets found, taken to a rehab center and released as soon as possible or it has to be placed in a home and if there's no home for it, they're euthanized,' explained Ward. 'We didn't like option four so we spent $800,000 on option three.'
He explained that park rangers train and interact with the birds daily and chose not to name them.
'We don't own them. There's nothing wrong with that. A lot of facilities do that for fundraising and things. That's not a bad thing. We chose when we were building this that we were going to do the opposite,' said Ward.
Friends of Radnor Lake is the nonprofit founded in 1971 to protect, preserve, and promote the lake's natural integrity through education and acquiring land.
'The land acquisition has been the best in the last six years than my entire career,' said Ward. 'We're on target for several acres this year. We're getting all the land we can. We've had a great relationship with foundations and partners. The state of Tennessee has been extremely supportive.'
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Ward said public and private support help to make the park better for visitors and feathered friends alike. They're looking to make improvements like an exercise enclosure and having better accessibility. 'There's so many facets of it that are awesome,' said Ward. 'It's having a relationship with an eagle. The visitor interaction, our neighbors, those interactions are priceless.'
There's also construction at the park to keep in mind if visiting this summer. Otter Creek Road between the west south lake/cove trail entrance and the hall drive will be closed to all visitor activity beginning from now until Nov. 1 while road repairs are being completed.
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