ABOUT US

Some of our beautiful fliers back from a dove release.  Time to eat!
When the ceremonial white-dove release is over, our flocks return to their loft
in Buxton Woods, the largest maritime forest on North Carolina's Outer Banks.

OUR DOVES

Aurora, Breeze, Cloud, Diver...
 
These are just four of our dozens of magnificent fliers.  To most people, they look alike, but we know each and every one by their distinct personalities that have earned them their names.

Our birds are pure-white homing pigeons, also known as Rock Doves (Columba livia domestica).  Thoroughbreds of the sky, these birds love to fly.  They also love their home and have one of the strongest instincts there is to return to it.

We breed our doves right here on Hatteras Island. They are painstakingly raised, meticulously cared for, and trained for months before we make them available for a release.  Their health and well-being are our primary concern.  After all, they're family. We love them.


  
OUR STAFF




Liz Browning Fox
Liz Browning Fox


Lou Browning
Lou Browning




Linda Meyer Browning
Linda Meyer Browning

Liz is the person you'll speak with when you call Hatteras Doves about your dove release and scheduling.  Liz not only interfaces with our clients, but she also maintains the Buxton flight loft and trains our fabulous birds for their releases.  Liz is one of our handlers as well.

A graduate of UNC Chapel Hill, Liz has worked with birds all of her adult life, rehabilitating raptors and raising African Grey parrots and Ringneck Doves.  Before moving from the mainland back to Hatteras Island, her ancestral home, she served as  a director of the North Carolina Veterinary Medical Foundation Board.  Liz has two children, Lee and Greyson.




Lou manages Hatteras Doves' breeding program and our birds' health-care regimen. He is also a trainer and handler, but his main role is to make sure that everything is done to keep our birds beautiful, healthy, and strong. This includes supervising their dietary needs and overseeing their immunizations.

Lou is a state-permitted and federally-licensed wildlife rehabilitator, who founder Hatteras Island Wildlfe Rehabilitation several years ago. This is a non-profit, all-volunteer organization that treats ill and injured animals for release back into the wild.  Lou specializes in migratory and non-migratory birds and also reptiles and amphibians.  




Linda is the person behind the scenes, creating the narratives that our clients want in order to explain the symbolism of their dove releases. Linda is also our go-to gal for poems, scripture passages, and music suggestions when our clients wish to incorporate them into their releases.

Linda's life-long love of birds goes beyond her bird-watching.  It overflows into her work as a full-time nature/wildlife artist.  She has a keen interest in animal behavior left over from her college days as a psych major and nurtures it by helping Lou care for their peacocks, pheasants, parrots, chickens, and house cats.


       
OUR PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

Hatteras Doves is a proud member of the following
professional organizations:

White Dove Society International
American White Dove Release Association
National White Dove Release Society
Outer Banks Wedding Association