Taking Flight: Experience Owls, Hawks & More at Raptor Hallow’s Expanded Sanctuary in Alliance, Ohio

Enter a shaded stretch of woods at Alliance’s Butler Rodman Park, and you’re suddenly surrounded by the screeches, calls and squawks of birds of prey, echoing through the forest. You’re in the new location of Raptor Hallow Sanctuary — currently home to around 16 of its animals.

“They are very fierce, and people respect that,” says head trainer Aimee Sommer. “Getting to come here and see them up close, see them fly for you, see them catch a piece of food in the air, that’s something that you are pretty much never going to see on your own in the wild.”

At Raptor Hallow, a nonprofit offering animal encounters, educational programs and events surrounding its animal ambassadors — chiefly birds of prey — visitors can see birds such as Eurasian eagle-owls, turkey vultures, Harris’s hawks and more.

“Watching it fly by during a show or getting to meet it up close on someone’s glove,” Sommer says. “That really makes people realize that these animals are super cool and have a personality of their own and deserve to be cared for.”

Founded in 2016 by Joshua Kuszmaul, Raptor Hallow began with one bird, a red-tailed hawk named Cherokee. The bird was hit by a car at a very young age, pushing one of his eyes into his skull and reducing his depth perception. Because of his injury, Cherokee could not be reintroduced to the wild. Instead, he found a permanent residence at the nonprofit and is now at Butler Rodman.

“A lot of the animals we get go to rehab centers. They have some sort of injury, so they are non-releasable to the wild for one reason or another. A lot of them are animals that have been hit by a car or maybe have an eye or wing injury … or they are human imprints, which means they don’t fully associate with other animals of their kind,” says Sommer. “We like to call ourselves a retirement home for them.”

Raptor Hallow was previously located in Beech Creek Botanical Garden & Nature Preserve in Alliance and started moving into its new location in May 2025.

“At Beech Creek, we had about an acre of land. Here at Butler Rodman, they offered us almost 15 acres,” Sommer says. “We have so much space to expand here.”

By December 2025, the remainder of Raptor Hallow’s nearly 90 animals — including reptiles, mammals and other birds — will be moved to Butler Rodman. Animals currently at Butler Rodman include Sammie, a Harris’s hawk who was electrocuted while hunting, Puke and Vladimir, human-imprinted turkey vultures, Bobby-Stanley, a human-imprinted sandhill crane and Aurora, a barred owl who was hit by a car.

“We use every single animal that we have in some sort of way to educate the public, whether that’s being on exhibit or going on outreach programs to schools, nursing homes, 4-H groups,” says Sommer.

Though Raptor Hallow is currently open at Butler Rodman, its official grand opening won’t take place until spring. There are plans for the new location to feature over 20 exhibits and a visitor center. Currently, guests can embark on a self-guided tour of the grounds, see birds swooping overhead during flight experiences and take part in activity stations. Events include Talons to Tinsel — which features a decorated trail of holiday lights, keeper chats, hot chocolate and a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus Dec. 13 and 20.

“It’s super cool just learning each individual animal and their personality, and I love educating people about them,” Sommer says. “I love getting to tell people a cool fact, and watching their jaw drop open or seeing a kid just staring at an owl, obsessed with it. Things like that make my day.”

2295 W. State St., Alliance. 330-600-8972, raptorhallow.org