Buzzard’s Roost Whiskey announced that it will play host to a celebration March 15 in honor of National Buzzards Day. The event will be held at its Whiskey Row Experience in downtown Louisville.

What is National Buzzards Day? Great question. March 15 is the day each year when buzzards, also known in America as turkey vultures, instinctively flock and return home following winter migration. While the references to the buzzards’ returns dates to the 1800s, it first became a holiday thanks to Hinckley, Ohio, a town just south of Cleveland.

According to NationalToday.com, in 1957, a patrol officer for Cleveland Metroparks named Walter Nawalaniec informed Robert Bordner of the Cleveland Press and local historian Eunice Morton that he had observed that the buzzards returned each year after their migration on the same day, without fail. Though he previously knew that the buzzards returned at roughly the same time, he ultimately realized it was the same exact date annually. Incredibly, this was also true during a leap year.

Once word got out, almost 9,000 visitors came to see the birds return from their winter expeditions. Since then, every year, Ohio is visited by thousands of bird lovers who want to witness the return of the buzzards. Thus, Buzzards Day was created.

In honor of the holiday, Buzzard’s Roost will partner with Raptor Rehabilitation of Kentucky, who will be on-site at the event with a real buzzard for a meet and greet and photo opps. Visitors can enjoy small bites featuring the traditional foods of National Buzzards Day, pancakes and sausage, not to mention complimentary sample cocktails, a cash bar and buzzard-themed storytelling.

A $5 suggested donation at the door will benefit Kentucky Raptor Rescue, and sales of Kentucky Raptor Rehabilitation merchandise also will benefit the non-profit organization. The event is 4-7 p.m. on the 15^th. The Buzzard’s Roost Whiskey Row Experience is located at 624 W. Main Street in Louisville, Ky.

For more information about Buzzard’s Roost, visit https://www.buzzardsroostwhiskey.com/.

(Photo via Wikimedia Commons/Kalkoengier)