At the Center for Birds of Prey, located just north of Mt. Pleasant in Awendaw, you can watch hawks, falcons, owls, eagles, kites and vultures soar above the flying field and gain fascinating insight into their unique adaptations. Every year thousands watch the Birds of Prey fly and swoop in Marion Square during the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition.

The Avian Conservation Center is an umbrella organization for the Center for Birds of Prey,  the Avian Medical Center and the South Carolina Oil Spill Treatment Facility.

About our Speaker

Jim Elliot has been a lifelong student of birds. His many years of experience have been significantly effective in his quest to protect avian species and their habitats. Early in his career, he became aware of the need for a professional level of care for injured birds of prey in South Carolina, equipped to sufficiently manage the direct threats to the birds of prey population.

That awareness eventually led Elliott to establish the Charleston Raptor Center in 1991. As the Center grew, Elliott recognized the need to increase public understanding of avian species and the crucial role they play in the environment.

This expanded vision led Elliott and his growing team to broaden the scope and reach of the organization. In 2004, the Avian Conservation Center opened, incorporating The Center for Birds of Prey and the Avian Medical and Oiled Bird Treatment Facility.

Elliott has participated in a number of professional rehabilitation and veterinary internships and training focused on the ecology, care, housing, and medical care for birds of prey, and has studied and consulted extensively with leading raptor centers both in the United States and abroad including the Rocky Mountain Raptor Program at Colorado State University, the Raptor Center at the University of Minnesota at St. Paul and the National Birds of Prey Centre in the U.K.

Additionally, Elliott has led research initiatives in South Carolina, including the South Carolina Coastal Hawk Migration Study and a long-term American Swallow-tailed Kite survey.

In 2002, he established the Wildlife Toxicity Working Group to investigate secondary barbiturate poisoning of bald eagles in public landfills, and in 2005, he co-founded the Avian Medical and Oiled Bird Treatment Facility in cooperation with the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

The Center, now in  their 25th year, will commemorate their Silver Anniversary with Wild at Wingswood, an iconic evening celebrating avian science and wildlife conservation, on Saturday, October 15, 2016 at the Center for Birds of Prey.

Among other affiliations, Elliott now serves as a member of the National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association, the International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council, and the Raptor Research Foundation. In 1998, he received the Wildlife Conservation Award given by the South Carolina Wildlife Federation, and in 2001 he received the Environmental Awareness Award given by the Governor of South Carolina. In addition, the Center received the 2006 Award for Excellence in Management given by the South Carolina Association of Nonprofit Organizations. Elliott regularly lectures and consults on relevant avian conservation issues, contributing to the avian programs that he once studied.

Each month, Small Business Lunch at Halls features a distinguished speaker from the business, civic or political arenas upstairs at Halls Chophouse with an imaginative three-course meal prepared by Executive Chef Adam Jakins.

Tickets are $31 per person plus tax and processing fee for the luncheon. Doors open at 11:45 a.m. and lunch is served promptly at noon. Limited seating provides an intimate experience with each speaker.

Click Here to Purchase Tickets

Halls Chophouse is located at 434 King Street in downtown Charleston. Convenient parking is available at the Visitors Center Garage on Ann Street between King and Meeting Streets.