Let's learn about East Tennessee's Farmland Raptors & meet a live raptor! (Sullivan County, TN)

Do you ever wonder what has happened to the birds that once nested in barns and hunted over Tennessee farms?

East Tennessee's farms support more than just crops and livestock. They provide critical habitat for wildlife that is rapidly disappearing from our landscape. Raptors, also known as birds-of-prey, play an important part of our region's landscape.

Raptors include bird species like hawks, eagles, falcons, vultures, and owls. Join us as we explore two of these majestic birds whose populations are in decline - the American kestrel and the American barn owl.

A newly awarded $10,000 grant from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology is helping launch a regional effort to protect these two of East Tennessee's most iconic birds of prey.

We hope you can join us for the Farmland Raptor Project's Sullivan County presentation. It is scheduled for Sunday, October 25, 2026, from 2PM-4PM, at the Ron Ramsey Regional Agricultural Center in Blountville, TN. This event includes a special post-presentation raptor nestbox installation at the Ron Ramsey Center!

Lisa Thomison, co-founder of the Owl Ridge Raptor Program, will highlight her vast knowledge of raptor species and introduce a 'special friend' from the center. The Owl Ridge Raptor Center is a nonprofit dedicated to rescuing, rehabilitating, and releasing injured and orphaned birds of prey.

John Simcox, President and Executive Director of the Talon Ridge Raptor Institute (TRRI), will also share important information about our regional raptors. TRRI is dedicated to preserving raptors and their habitats, advancing knowledge of avian species, and supporting local communities.

Joining Lisa and John is Katheryn Albrecht, Certified Wildlife Biologist®/Ornithologist with MTM Environmental,LLC. Katheryn will highlight the Farmland Raptor Project's recent grant award, upcoming workshops, landowner stewardship program and so much more!

To request a presentation/workshop for your group, please contact Katheryn Albrecht at katheryn@mtmenvironmentalllc.com or 865-804-6321.

For event related questions, please contact Elise Eustace, FLC's Director of Outreach, at eeustace@foothlilsland.org or 865-681-8326.   

About the Farmland Raptor Project...

The Farmland Raptor Project began in 2024 to address declining populations and habitat of the American kestrel and other raptor species. Launched by MTM Environmental and Foothills Land Conservancy, along with guidance from Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, the Farmland Raptor Project focuses on building partnerships among landowners, agencies, conservation organizations, and volunteers to support habitat stewardship and raptor conservation on private lands.

Raptors such as the American Kestrel, American Barn Owl, Northern Harrier, and Short-eared Owl rely on working landscapes—including farms, pasturelands, grasslands, and riparian corridors—that are increasingly threatened by development, changing agricultural practices, habitat loss, and reduced prey availability associated with pesticide use. Because these species serve as important indicators of ecosystem health while also providing natural rodent and insect control, conserving suitable habitat benefits both wildlife and agricultural communities.

Links to learn more and support the cause!